Diablo 3

[Kthanid]

However, eventually somewhere towards the end of this decennium everyone has stable internet everywhere, and then "always online" comes as zero annoyance to any user as they will be always online. Then it only makes sense for everyone to use it as a copy protection, as by then it no longer comes with a downside.

I really hope you get a chance to live somewhere with one of the following in place:

* No stable internet connection

* An internet connection with a bandwidth cap

Both of these are very real present day constraints. The latter of these is (unfortunately) becoming more and more common. It's fantastically unrealistic to believe that we will magically appear in a world where neither of these constraints exist, at least not anytime soon.

[Kthanid]

I don't play LoL either, but as I understand it nothing you pay for impacts the game in any functional way. People paying are doing so for aesthetic changes only and doing so either for that reason or to support the game. I completely agree with your stance that nothing someone pay's for should give them an advantage in the game for having spent more money. As I understand it LoL doesn't operate this way and neither do plenty of other games (I believe TF2 is probably another good example of this, but I haven't played it either).

Didn't it eventually unlock more classes?

If not, then I'm probably mixing it up with HoN, in which case my apologies.

If it did then I'm not aware of it (and if they did that I retract my statement regarding them doing it right). It was my understanding from conversations with friends that play it that their is no functional advantage from purchases in LoL, but I prepare to stand corrected if someone knows more about it.

[Kthanid]

Also, to be clear: Requiring a CD to be in your drive has always been easy-to-crack copy protection and it's completely within the realm of possibility that always-online DRM can and will be cracked as well. These things don't prevent piracy, so strike that senseless notion from your mind. The only thing they do is (briefly) delay piracy while needlessly punishing paying customers. That's a poor approach.

[Thels]

I don't play LoL either, but as I understand it nothing you pay for impacts the game in any functional way. People paying are doing so for aesthetic changes only and doing so either for that reason or to support the game. I completely agree with your stance that nothing someone pay's for should give them an advantage in the game for having spent more money. As I understand it LoL doesn't operate this way and neither do plenty of other games (I believe TF2 is probably another good example of this, but I haven't played it either).

Didn't it eventually unlock more classes?

If not, then I'm probably mixing it up with HoN, in which case my apologies.

If it did then I'm not aware of it (and if they did that I retract my statement regarding them doing it right). It was my understanding from conversations with friends that play it that their is no functional advantage from purchases in LoL, but I prepare to stand corrected if someone knows more about it.

From the LOL wikia:

"The Champion Rotation Schedule is the schedule of which champions are available to play for free (i.e., without needing to purchasing them with Riot Points or Influence Points)."

"Riot Points (formerly known as combat points earlier in the European server) are one of the two in-game currencies. They can be purchased with real money and are used to purchase things to add convenience, extra customization options, or to add diversity to the experience. Examples of things that can be purchased with Riot Points are champions, alternate champion skins, or boosts, which are modifiers that increase the rate at which you gain Influence Points or Summoner Experience Points. Apart from purchasing champions, which are also purchasable with Influence Points, Riot Points cannot be used to directly affect gameplay."

"Influence Points, or IP, are earned at the end of each game a player finishes. The amount of IP gained depends on the outcome of the game, the game type and the length of the match. Influence points can be used to permanently unlock champions, runes or additional runebook pages in the Riot Store."

Of course I have no idea how long it takes to gather enough IP, but it seems like a decent model. I wonder if it was always like this.

[Thels]

However, eventually somewhere towards the end of this decennium everyone has stable internet everywhere, and then "always online" comes as zero annoyance to any user as they will be always online. Then it only makes sense for everyone to use it as a copy protection, as by then it no longer comes with a downside.

I really hope you get a chance to live somewhere with one of the following in place:

* No stable internet connection

* An internet connection with a bandwidth cap

Both of these are very real present day constraints. The latter of these is (unfortunately) becoming more and more common. It's fantastically unrealistic to believe that we will magically appear in a world where neither of these constraints exist, at least not anytime soon.

I know what it's like. Back in the 90s in the Netherlands (and most of Europe) we were charged for online time by our phone provider, so it was hopping on briefly, check what I needed to check and hopping offline again. For that reason I didn't play D2 Closed Realm until much later.

I didn't say we were there now, but we will eventually get there. The average internet connection will become more stable as time passes. Bandwidth caps (I agree, a major nuisance) will grow over time, and just checking if you are online barely takes up any bandwidth (much less than browsing this forum).

Of course D3 does a lot more than checking if you are online. D3 has you play on the servers even in single player, so this will eat away on your monthly bandwidth cap, yes. I'm not sure how much, and I'm not trying to defend D3 here. I didn't say "Eventually every single program will verify authentication online" to defend D3 in a manner of "Best get used to it", because D3 is now and now is not eventually.

[Thels]

Kinda weird how we can download the installer, but cannot actually install just yet...

EDIT: The installer works now.

[glyn_ie]

Anyone played Diablo 3 yet? I'm in two minds as to whether to purchase it or not. I've heard that it looks great and everything, read a few reviews...but I've heard it's as easy as noming a bag of maltesers in your underpants. As in so easy, you literally can't die unless you're A) A moron, or B) Not at the controls or C) Both. That doesn't really appeal to me, especially since the game's pretty expensive.

If you provide feedback, please make it honest (no fanboys). If it's great, then great. But if it sucks in any capacity, I want to know.

[Darklord]

I fully expect every review to rave about it, just not sure it's my type of game any more...

Daniel.

[Nachtfischer]

Guess the comments saying it'd be easy only refer to the BEGINNING of ACT 1 in NORMAL mode (beta content)... there will be challenge later on. Especially Nightmare mode seems to be brutal! And there's hardcore (=permadeath) of course.

[glyn_ie]

Watching the gameplay videos...it just seems like killing enemies is as about engaging as clicking check boxes in a Windows dialog box. I really want to like this game...but with the extortionate price tag, far-from-scary atmosphere and ease of gameplay...I'm not sure I want it.

I think I'll wait for the Let's Play videos on YouTube before (or if) I buy.