D2 beta reports

Figured now would be a good time to hop into the way back machine and read some of the beta reports for the D2 beta/stress test. Most of them are freaking hilarious.

Gaile (who worked here at the time) did a nigh-daily report as well, flavored with lots of girly glee.

Submitted reports:

http://web.archive.org/web/200010151.../reports.shtml

The ancient "Beta Buzz" section:

http://web.archive.org/web/200010181...ta/index.shtml

Stay a while and have a lulz.


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Find Potion

Find Potion is one skill that really rocks, after some points invested! At around level 6, you can find potions just about every other time you use that skill, and 90% of the time, you find potions that are one level higher than what you would normally find from just killing a monster. For example, in the ST, you find mostly minor (level 1) healing or minor mana, and the skill will get you light potions (level 2 potion) of either kind or rejuvenation potions. In addition, you do NOT need to have your cursor over a corpse to use this skill. As long as you are about 2 feet from a corpse, the barb will automatically go next to it and do his job. Some may said it's a mana drain, 2 mana each use, but after you invest a couple of points, those mana potions you find will more than enough cover the usage of the mana, so no cons there. Overall, if you are not planning to do any froze/kill combo, this skill is a good one to consider for the barb, because the potion just keep on coming in a way that you'll have your whole inventory filled with the pots before you know it.




Posted this in the bnet forums a while ago but figured it would be a good time for it here.|||Haha, this is awesome. I love this stuff. Thanks for sharing.|||Quote:




but you can tell that each barbarian will be different from the others based on where he spends his skill points...no more having every warrior be almost exactly the same.




Lol'd.

Fun to read though, pumps me up to read some beta reports for D3|||Neat! Some ones I like:


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Graphics

Some have complained about the game's 640x480 resolution. Though I imagine that the decision to use a lower resolution was made to keep frame rates down and consequently enhance the ability of those gamers with low end systems to be able to play the game, I find the resolution setting to be truly a non-issue. On my 21" monitor, though pixelation is noted on some of the monster graphics, it certainly does not detract from enjoyment of the game by any means.

In total contrast to any qualms gamers may have about the monster graphics, the wilderness areas and indoor levels of the game contain some amazing architecture and artwork. The first time I visited the Cathedral area in the Rogue's Monastery I found myself gaping at the stained glass windows and the intricate wall murals. Very very nice attention to detail is evident throughout the level designs. The spell graphics also inspire a "gee whiz" kind of reaction with their great variety and good use of color and ambient lighting. Simply put, people complaining about the graphics are in my opinion missing the forest for the trees or are simply predisposed to dislike the game for whatever personal reasons or agenda they may have. Once engrossed in the game world you never look back.





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Only one set - Hsaru's - has been assembled as yet in the beta but it's clear that assembling Item Sets will serve as great motivation for dealing and trading between players, assuming Blizzard is able to keep Closed characters legit with their client/server design.





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The quests are varied and interesting.




|||Ahhh that brings back happy memories Only time I ever played a Barb, heh... was sick to death of him by the time I'd run through those three zones about a zillion times!|||Quote:




For the most part, the game ran well on my Pentium II 300 Mhz, 48 MB RAM, ATI Rage Pro machine.




Hah, my have things changed ... and software become so incredibly inefficient clock for clock that you wonder how programmers get away with it..|||Quote:








Lol'd.

Fun to read though, pumps me up to read some beta reports for D3




The beta reports for D3 may be even more hilarious because there's simply less game.

Imagine if the stress test were all we had to go on. Everyone was obsessed with gems and potions in the ST, thinking it was a big deal.|||Quote:




I absolutely loved the mood and ambience of D1, the music, the sounds, the haunting atmosphere. The gameplay to me was fun but what gave the game its strength was the immersiveness, the feeling I was in a dark, otherworldly environment. Diablo2 unfortunately has a lost a great deal of that. The game appears almost cartoonish in appearance; the weapons the barbarian holds look like toys, the armor looks like paper cutouts. The monsters in D2 also look goofy in comparison to D1, they look like they're all made of mush, again compared to D1 where the skeletons looked they were made of bones, the nightclan looked like they were made of flesh, etc.

Overall game content and character has given way to the major emphasis which is of course internet play. This game had no intentions of really being a single player game but has been streamlined and groomed totally for multiplayer; this is the reason for the major delays in the game. The designers clearly heard the majority's cry for multiplayer and so that's what this game is, a game designed for a number of players to run around and kill monsters, never mind what it actually looks or feels like or the character of the game. I'm in the minority I know (maybe the only one but I'm more than a little disappointed; I'm sure I'll play D2 when it comes out, but I'm not a multiplayer, and the rich single player experience I was hoping for just isn't there.




This one really blew me away. Cartoonist graphics and online play replacing the single player game? This could be a D3 forum post from 2 days ago. It really put some of the posts worrying about D3 into perspective for me.|||Yup. It was plenty common perspective from a lot of people back then. D2 lost a lot of D1's ambiance and there was a lot of disappointment about it at the time from many, including me. But 10+ years later, I'm still playing it. |||Quote:




and it goes as smooth as silk on my friend's 56k modem.






I love this and think I was one of the few people using an ISDN line back then so I was FAST.



Definitely fun reading some of this stuff thanks for the post Risingred