I still don't like always online for single player...

[Kameburger]

So I recently downloaded Diablo 3. Everyone had said it's gotten better, and I though I would give it a shot. After 2 hours downloading patches and updates I hit the play button and the first thing that happens is a window pops up telling me that my OS is no longer supported. I can still play but soon I won't be and I will have to update my OS in order to continue playing. I haven't even gotten to play the game yet and already I am reminded by this extraordinarily intrusive DRM. I'm running OSX 7.5 on a machine that was new about a year ago. I just want to play single player. I wonder how it's going to run. I remember it running like shit because of latency spikes when I first got it. Cool, now that's the first thought that comes to mind as I restart this game.

Gonna start playing now, but please anyone tell me something that makes me feel good about this game. I really hate Blizzard right now for making me pay money for this trash.

 

[Elijin]

I really hate Blizzard right now for making me pay money for this trash.

This is where you lost me!

Lets say that you are such a diablo junkie that you totally had to have this (ridiculous, but its the only time this approaches 'making you pay money for it')....well, in that case, this game is pretty old and well known of its online only status. Furthermore, there are 4 different platforms of this game which dont run always online.

I mean dont get me wrong, the always online is balls, and really hurts the experience. Especially if you have the audacity to not live in America. But no one made you pay money for this. You chose to, and it didnt work out. Bummer. Though the fact you're going back to it means maybe not that big of a bummer. I mean in the midst of all this, you're going back for another hit. Obviously something in the mix did something right, since your experience was overall negative, and you're still going back for another chug.

 

[Kameburger]

I really hate Blizzard right now for making me pay money for this trash.

This is where you lost me!

Lets say that you are such a diablo junkie that you totally had to have this (ridiculous, but its the only time this approaches 'making you pay money for it')....well, in that case, this game is pretty old and well known of its online only status. Furthermore, there are 4 different platforms of this game which dont run always online.

I mean dont get me wrong, the always online is balls, and really hurts the experience. Especially if you have the audacity to not live in America. But no one made you pay money for this. You chose to, and it didnt work out. Bummer. Though the fact you're going back to it means maybe not that big of a bummer. I mean in the midst of all this, you're going back for another hit. Obviously something in the mix did something right, since your experience was overall negative, and you're still going back for another chug.

your right they didn't make me pay for it. I miss spoke, I dislike my self for making the decision based on my company loyalty and I am regretting that and i subconsciously projected that onto them. Your right it's my fault. I bought this ages ago, got the sudden urge to try it again and was immediately greeted with a terrible experience right out the gate.. While I maintain that they have some responsibility for the quality of my experience, they did force me to have that experience. I still resent that I paid money and had a shit time. They made that shit time, but yes they didn't hold a gun to my head. So yes I'm sorry you made that one valid point.

As a side note I played it the first time got pissed off and stopped after 2 days. Maybe 4 hours total. I spent 60 dollars and upon hearing good news I decided to give it another shot because I had after all spent 60 damn dollars on this game. I played for 10 minutes remembered why I left and I repeated that decision. That happened between the time I posted in this thread.

Am I complaining yes, but whatever people are going to continue to give blizzard money to produce this kind of poor quality consumer despising nonsense. I don't want to be counted among those who support it and since they already have my money I can't think of a better way. Plus I needed some catharsis and I couldn't count on the game to finish it.

 

[shrekfan246]

Uh...

That seems less like an issue with Blizzard's online and more like an issue with video game support for Macs. So, congratulations, you've discovered that gaming on a Mac is not optimal?

Also, it seems like you already didn't like the game to begin with, and are predisposed to hate it regardless of what anybody says or what Blizzard does to change it, so I'm not entirely sure what you expect any of us to do except validate you, and frankly I'm not going to do that because I rather enjoy Diablo III and have collectively put in something like ~150 hours to it. The always-online is trash, yes, but the game itself is fine. And I don't have a particularly good internet connection myself (it takes me an hour to download 1 GB at the best of times). Recommendations for reducing latency would include ensuring that you're not downloading or streaming anything that would eat up your bandwidth.

But hey, if the constant online connection is actually the only reason you hate the game, then I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that the console versions of the game don't have it. If, however, you've let that cloud your impressions of the actual gameplay, then I don't think there's really much reason for you to bother.

 

[tilmoph]

Is there a patch or mod online you can download to make it compatible with your OS. I know I had to do some dancing to get Kotor to run on Win 7, but it wasn't anything too awful. Maybe that would work here.

 

[Bat Vader]

I had the collector's edition Diablo 3 pre-ordered but when they announced it was always online I canceled it.

 

[Worgen]

I despise blizzard and never plan on giving them money again, but I was tempted for diablo 3 since I always enjoyed the diablo series, but after they announced it was always online I stopped being tempted.

 

[Maze1125]

Uh...

That seems less like an issue with Blizzard's online and more like an issue with video game support for Macs. So, congratulations, you've discovered that gaming on a Mac is not optimal?

No, this is an issue with the game being always online.

Do you know what happens to an offline game if a patch results in a game failing to work on your OS? You just don't download the patch and carry one playing as you always have.

Do you know what happens to an always online game if a patch results in a game failing to work on your OS? You're fucked.

 

[Callate]

I still haven't purchased Diablo III for much this reason. (Well, that and having a huge, embarrassing stack of other games to play from various sales, admittedly.) Having an update tell you that your OS is no longer supported is pretty damn lame, I've got to agree. Sorry.

 

[Fieldy409_v1legacy]

Its funny because the pirates are probably having the time of their lives playing a version of Diablo 3 stripped of always online DRM. I dont think a pirate can play online but thats a small tradeoff in this case for a lot less bullshit. DRM just gives the pirates a better product to offer its crazy.

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

I absolutely love(d) Diablo I & Hellfire, Diablo II & Lord of Destruction and was eagerly awaiting Diablo III.
I had noticed more things were beginning to become "exclusive" to Steam and otherwise also requiring some form of Online Activation. ( I think it started around '05 )
I thought that a game like Diablo III would maybe have a simple one-time activation and I was actually considering breaking my "no online DRM" just for this game.
I would mostly have played single-player since I don't have any friends but all that went down in flames when I heard about the always online.. The absolute F ...

The worst part..Watching people go along with it. Accept Steam and online activations and always online..
I'm sure going to get some flack for this but some gamers really are "Farmyard animal #3".
That or they really don't care, or able to think long-term. I'm not sure which is worse.
Well, people be people.

All I know is that I wont ever buy into leasing games, EVER.

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

Sorry for double-posting.

Its funny because the pirates are probably having the time of their lives playing a version of Diablo 3 stripped of always online DRM. I dont think a pirate can play online but thats a small tradeoff in this case for a lot less bullshit. DRM just gives the pirates a better product to offer its crazy.

I've actually yet to see a pirated version out there.
It will come, no doubt about it, look at Wow. It took some time though.

 

[Aeshi]

Do you know what happens to an offline game if a patch results in a game failing to work on your OS? You just don't download the patch and carry one playing as you always have.

Do you know what happens to an always online game if a patch results in a game failing to work on your OS? You're fucked.

That complaint might have more water if the new OS that's needed WASN'T FREE.

Fellow Mac player of D3 here, you know what I did when I got that error? Spent a few minutes downloading said free OS, another few minutes installing it and then went right back to playing. Truly the evils of DRM are tormenting us.

I'm sure going to get some flack for this but some gamers really are "Farmyard animal #3".

Why? Because we want a game where we can play multiplayer without some invincible hacker with duped gear joining, murdering us and taking our gear (yeah, funny how you left THAT part of the D2 experience out.)

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

Why? Because we want a game where we can play multiplayer without some invincible hacker with duped gear joining, murdering us and taking our gear (yeah, funny how you left THAT part of the D2 experience out.)

I did write that I would mostly play single-player right?
I do know about that though, and I fail to see how having always online would in anyway stifle that?
Is not wow or other mmo's or even multiplayer games still rife with cheaters?

That comment was not meant for Diablo III only, as it was preceded by me saying

The worst part..Watching people go along with it. Accept Steam and online activations and always online..

 

[Aeshi]

I do know about that though, and I fail to see how having always online would in anyway stifle that?
Is not wow or other mmo's or even multiplayer games still rife with cheaters?

Because if the game is always online then all the "key" files (the ones that say which ability does what, things like that) can be kept on the server (as the server hosts all the games). People can't modify game files they don't have in the first place. Hacking D3 would basically require breaking into the building its servers are kept and modifying them directly, which is probably beyond the average hacker (reskinning models might be possible, but that hardly confers any advantage.)

Yes there still might be the odd cheater, but they'll be more along the line of "I've got a bot to play the game for me" and less along the lines of "I've got max every talent/skill and custom-made weapons with stats superior to anything the game itself offers."

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

I do know about that though, and I fail to see how having always online would in anyway stifle that?
Is not wow or other mmo's or even multiplayer games still rife with cheaters?

Because if the game is always online then all the "key" files (the ones that say which ability does what, things like that) can be kept on the server (as the server hosts all the games). People can't modify game files they don't have in the first place. Hacking D3 would basically require breaking into the building its servers are kept and modifying them directly, which is probably beyond the average hacker (reskinning models might be possible, but that hardly confers any advantage.)

Yes there still might be the odd cheater, but they'll be more along the line of "I've got a bot to play the game for me" and less along the lines of "I've got max every talent/skill and custom-made weapons with stats superior to anything the game itself offers."

Then it just comes down to what one thinks is worse.

Joining a multiplayer game voluntarily that might contain cheaters, or create one with your pals who are not.

Being forced to be always online and hold your game ransom so that a certain type of cheater are less likely to succeed or..well..no, that is the only option really.

 

[VoidOfOne]

OT: I played Diablo 3. Extensively. Even the expansion. I don't play anymore.

To me, of feels as though the development are having more fun than the gamers, at the expense of the gamers. Mental expense, mind you. And no matter what others may say, this fake was meant to be multiplayer, with some single player elements.

I no longer have fun in the game, even with friends. So I avoid it. Maybe you will find the fun, but you may not be able to do that alone.

 

[Recusant]

If it's any consolation, Kameburger, you're not the only one who feels awful about Diablo 3. Oh, I haven't given Blizzard a penny since they started gutting Warcraft lore to make new content for WOW, and haven't been willing to pay them since they insisted on stripping out LAN support for Starcraft 2, but they're a major power in the industry, and warrant close watching. So when they made the announcement that Diablo 3 would require a constant online connection, many refused to go along.

We'd show them! We'd make a stand! We'd draw a line and say 'this is as far as you shall get'! And when the game comes out, we'll sit around smugly and watch as it... becomes... the fastest selling game... of all... time. Then we went back into our rooms and cried.

The bottom line is, you wasted sixty bucks and supported something you shouldn't have. And that's too bad, but c'mon, it's not like you spent your life savings on building a puppy-murdering factory. Take some time, contemplate what you want and don't want from games and gaming, and what you're willing and unwilling to put up with in exchange. Fix your guidelines firmly in your mind and go forward following them.

 

[Kameburger]

Uh...

That seems less like an issue with Blizzard's online and more like an issue with video game support for Macs. So, congratulations, you've discovered that gaming on a Mac is not optimal?

Also, it seems like you already didn't like the game to begin with, and are predisposed to hate it regardless of what anybody says or what Blizzard does to change it, so I'm not entirely sure what you expect any of us to do except validate you, and frankly I'm not going to do that because I rather enjoy Diablo III and have collectively put in something like ~150 hours to it. The always-online is trash, yes, but the game itself is fine. And I don't have a particularly good internet connection myself (it takes me an hour to download 1 GB at the best of times). Recommendations for reducing latency would include ensuring that you're not downloading or streaming anything that would eat up your bandwidth.

But hey, if the constant online connection is actually the only reason you hate the game, then I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that the console versions of the game don't have it. If, however, you've let that cloud your impressions of the actual gameplay, then I don't think there's really much reason for you to bother.

Other games run completely fine on this machine even online games. I can play FPS with proper frame rates, I can't play games requiring similar resources and they run problem free. I don't expect you to validate me. But yes, the persistent online connection is ruining my single player experience. The game play is alright. I kind of like it, but the latency leads to problems, and yeah while the console version runs without internet, it only serves as a reminder that the game doesn't need this connection and they are keeping it to satisfy their own ends. So yeah I've tried to optimize things sure, but the fact is the game runs kinda ok when I play by myself and the second anyone joins even just one person the game runs like ass again. Ping spikes can lead to death in more difficult areas and essentially it becomes a playability issue.

The mac issue was just a horrible first reminder for me when I went to try and give the game another chance.