05-11-2003, 01:11 AM
Actually my biggest gripe with it is that is seems to be another quantity over quality patch. I didn't mind it taking forever because I knew they were externalizing a lot of information and I figured some of that was so that it would be easier to fine tune things as need be. I was hoping that there was going to be a lot of testing to help ensure less bugs and better "balance". But then we find out there are over 100 new uniques, new secret quests, etc. Blizzard even refers to it as being as big as an expansion pack. That creates that sinking feeling.
While I don't think the game necessarily needs to be "balanced" (however you want to describe that term in such a multifaceted product) there were some exploits and annoyances that many people agreed should have some work done to them so that the game would be more fun. I was hoping all the time and effort was going to make the existing product be more fun as well as more easily modified, not changing the product so much that it is basically something else (ala LOD makes enough changes to make it feel like a different game than classice D2). That isn't going to happen, and that saddens me a little.
Of course this isn't to say that the changes aren't going to be fun, I don't really know. I still play the game after 3 years and I still have fun most of the time (especially in NM, that to me is the best difficulty, access to all the skills good exp gains still, and you don't have the problem of just cruising along then getting one hit killed by a special like Hell has). I doubt 1.10 will "drive me away" from the game or "suck me back in". It may breathe some more life and get me to binge on it for a bit again, but I don't see them changing the core concept of the game that much, just the trappings on that concept. The simple game play mechanics, decent interface, decent variety, and limited annoyances are what keep the game fun. The variety and the annoyances are really all that be affected at this stage, and of those 2 the variety really does usually go up with every patch (and there are several kinds of variety in the game). As for annoyances, a clean realm will fix one of the bigger ones, so that is a plus as well. So, despite my misgivings that I started out with, I truly don't believe the patch can destroy the game. It can make it significantly different on the edge, but the real core will still be there for me. Just like with Dialbo I, which is why I still play that 7 year old game. So, I'll worry and anticipate until I finally have it downloaded and installed, and I'll see if it really is a new package on the same product like I fear.
While I don't think the game necessarily needs to be "balanced" (however you want to describe that term in such a multifaceted product) there were some exploits and annoyances that many people agreed should have some work done to them so that the game would be more fun. I was hoping all the time and effort was going to make the existing product be more fun as well as more easily modified, not changing the product so much that it is basically something else (ala LOD makes enough changes to make it feel like a different game than classice D2). That isn't going to happen, and that saddens me a little.
Of course this isn't to say that the changes aren't going to be fun, I don't really know. I still play the game after 3 years and I still have fun most of the time (especially in NM, that to me is the best difficulty, access to all the skills good exp gains still, and you don't have the problem of just cruising along then getting one hit killed by a special like Hell has). I doubt 1.10 will "drive me away" from the game or "suck me back in". It may breathe some more life and get me to binge on it for a bit again, but I don't see them changing the core concept of the game that much, just the trappings on that concept. The simple game play mechanics, decent interface, decent variety, and limited annoyances are what keep the game fun. The variety and the annoyances are really all that be affected at this stage, and of those 2 the variety really does usually go up with every patch (and there are several kinds of variety in the game). As for annoyances, a clean realm will fix one of the bigger ones, so that is a plus as well. So, despite my misgivings that I started out with, I truly don't believe the patch can destroy the game. It can make it significantly different on the edge, but the real core will still be there for me. Just like with Dialbo I, which is why I still play that 7 year old game. So, I'll worry and anticipate until I finally have it downloaded and installed, and I'll see if it really is a new package on the same product like I fear.
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It's all just zeroes and ones and duct tape in the end.
It's all just zeroes and ones and duct tape in the end.