I felt this way about the logo too.
I also agree with everything youâve touched base on. I hope someone reads and applies the fine points you have taken the time to share.
Blizzard really needs this kind of constructive feedback.
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Nailed it!
Visual design needs a lot of improvement to make it fit the vibe of the older games.
It doesnât exist in it but it is rooted in it. It takes inspiration from it.
Should add this to OP.
This ^
Again⌠this ^
Dude you nailing all the points.
I hope they return to Diablo 2 and really dig their feet into what makes it great, not just the art style but the skills, items and other system working behind the scenes.
Letâs hold the Devs to a higher standard by SHOWING them what that standard is like.
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I can appreciate the amount of effort and concerns from your post, but the reality is most of your comments are irrelevant because itâs a demoâŚ
Not because of the graphics resolution available at the time, and massively skewed perception?
Itâs like saying Diablo 2 was a dark fantasy game, when in reality it was a colorful mess with box assets because that was what was available then.
Sanctuary is a fantasy setting, comparatively different periods of times can mean whatever the developers want them to mean. Rather than the ruling faction and loss of architectural advancement at the time directing the artistic style across Europe. -pro tip, demons, goatmen, and the undead didnât exist in medieval Europe eitherâŚNor do you play yourself in third person isometric in real life, or did people in medieval times.
You also donât have a UI, world map, or randomly generated assets in realism.
Agreed, on this.
Largely due to the fact itâs a demo⌠But it would be good to see random AI based similar to player combat experienceâs occur in the world of sanctuary. I think this has a tonne of potential, having random Blizzard bots join Diablo 4 games, with a randomly generated characterâŚ
I like the idea of an actual static world, as long as aspects of the world are dynamic, rather than randomly generated terrain - but the world has to be enormousâŚ
The UI and Inventory - Itâs a Demo, you have no idea what they have in mind.
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This is an awesome D2 vâs D3 comparison when saying cartoony.
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Nailed it, agree 100% with the above, well written.
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Friend, I think they donât even have a clue. They didnât even go to the level of depth that u go.
This times time of attention to details is long gone from blizzard.
I donât think they are capable of doing what you suggest with the current dev team and company mine set.
They will treat Diablo 4 as a call of duty franchise,
Quick, short, made for consoles, and with a lot of xpacks.
Unfortunately, Diablo 4 will share the same faith as Diablo 3. I knew it from the first 1 minute of gameplay.
And just for comparison, PoE2 gameplay trailer looks much better as a sequel to Diablo 2 than Diablo 4.
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https:// ibb. co /8XT9TGq
This is the picture. It looks great btw, but there are some details. If those are arrows, i wouldnât put them with the points up, or any other weapon for that matter.
I just posted it. Iâm not familiar with reddit though.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Diablo/comments/dx5zrq/diablo_4_art_look_feel_screenshots_collection/
@OP, It looked nice for a while but then went far too much into bullsh*t, honestly
- WHY would completing a quest not give you EXP ?
- WHY would you not have a good idea where youâre and where you need to go just by looking at the map ?
- WHY would they have to remove the âoutlookâ of your character while changing gear
- WHY would discussions with NPCs be only current two lines shown on the screen ?
There are suggestions, sure, loved the idea of a sketch map and say removal of excessive color to the world map, but there are things that could be categorized in no other way than ridiculous BS
I can see where you coming from but geez man, try contain yourself a bit with details and critique. IF there are no reasons or no practical reason to them (other than look & feel, whatever), then perhaps set the tone down a bit. And yes fyi there are PRACTICAL reasons for many of those things
You surely didnât contain yourself at all while âchoosingâ the critics, did you ?, Some excentric fashion modeler should hire you, probablyâŚ, but the problem of âgoing to the extremeâ style of post as a result is
It makes a relatively decent post and honest critique from what could be described as an art-committed person sound not serious with all the extremely-overnitpicked detailings (other than art style suggestions) you've presented
That being said:
PLS, try to stay on a single topic, it makes discussions less messed up and really stick up to the point rather than (potentially later on get derailed all over the place)
F.Y.I
I donât think thereâs a single person who reads quest logs (other than streamers that want to have the chat included in the story) in order to have them completed. Aand that even goes (usually) only once at the opener, if a quest getâs replayed again (due to whatever the reason), the âpressing space bar to have talk stoppedâ gets in action (repeatedly) 
And even aside THAT practical standpoint, hereâs another goal/critique from a game-designing standpoint:
UNLESS itâs an adventure game (in which the main goal is to âdecypherâ the goal and destination and action/s required to solve):
If youâre at a spot where players HAVE TO read the quest log just in order to understand what they need to do youâre probably in a bad place
Hi Lostariel, thank you for your reply.
WHY would completing a quest not give you EXP ?
Sure it could, but It should not be systematically the case. It the same wow mechanics carried over. And currently, their plan is to make side quests in every regions. I think itâs a big mistake. In d2, many quests encourage replayability and add a additional layer of depth to the character. A quest must not give every time the same linear reward.
WHY would you not have a good idea where youâre and where you need to go just by looking at the map ?
As I said, Itâs a design philosophy. The franchise is about find its way in a ravaged world. Maps were not usable for effective travel because they were not accurate. They were tools to indicate a vague direction.
WHY would they have to remove the âoutlookâ of your character while changing gear
Because you already have the outlook in Isometric mode.
WHY would discussions with NPCs be only current two lines shown on the screen ?
You have not red me properly. The text must unscrolls and develop.
Just like here:
As for the rest of your post, I agree art and judgement is subjective. This is why itâs important to give as many references as possible when one talk ascetics and arts.
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Thereâs a lot I agree with her, plenty more that I donât, but I have more of a personal question for you OP: do you have a background in history or the arts?
I ask because while I see that youâre attempting to root some of your criticisms in historic fact, Iâm concerned youâre conflating or else compressing a period of history that covers an enormous span of time, across many hundreds of different nations and cultures, into a single, monolithic whole. While there certainly does exist examples of medieval art that are more functional and modest, thereâs also a bounty of examples of medieval art that are highly decorative, elaborate, and ornate.
Furthermore, the idea that in the world of Sanctuary one must not utilise elements from a certain art style on the basis that âitâs too recentâ are a little hard to understand when you consider that Diablo is, first and foremost, a game. Itâs not supposed to be an accurate depiction of medieval life. Sacrificing gameplay elements (such as being able to quickly determine where you are on a map, identify your skills, etc.) in pursuit of some elusive idea of âhistorical accuracyâ seems to me like a recipe for disappointment and frustration.
There are certainly some elements I think youâre absolutely right to address (such as the glowing red aura around enemies) but a lot of the things youâve pointed out are accessibility elements that will otherwise make the game considerably more tedious and difficult to navigate, or decisions dictated by the requirements of playing a game. No, in real life you wouldnât find someone 50 metres outside of town, asking for help, but Iâm personally willing to suspend my belief in this regard if it means I donât have to canter across the misty moors for 2 hours to rescue the fair maiden, you know?
Finally, I want to commend you on this post. Itâs evident this is something youâre really passionate about, and youâve clearly gone to a lot of effort putting this together. Good work, and thanks for sharing your thoughts with us 
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- Itâs obvious that the game must not only stick to the idea of medieval europe. But itâs what has been showcased in the demo.
- Agreed that medieval also have ornaments. But I donât want to complicate too much my criticism. Blizzard would make less mistakes if they just keep things more simple. Itâs fine if they add the right ornaments, but they need to know what they are doing.
As for the personal question, I generally donât talk about my personal life but yes I come from various backgrounds and yes I own a degree in the fields of arts. Though, degrees are not important to me.
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Getting rewarded too much , even with little amounts, breaks atmosphere, making the game looks like itâs made for kids.
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While we can agree constructive criticism and attention to detail in creating games like this to be lasting and impactful are required. Your kind of absolute attitude is still a limiting factor in design.
I think you should study the Diablo fantasy universe timeline. It is distinctly different from reality and has many many historic variances. diablofandom has a great timeline reference.
Yes Diablo itself has gothic roots. Beyond that its fantasy: The series is set in the fantasy world of Sanctuary.
Also, you keep referencing Roman architecture but Gothic architecture stemmed from the Roman design that pre dated the middle ages. So your argument there is simply wrong. Even if you overlay RL historic timelines over Sanctuary timelines.
Also, Diablo 2 offers us romanesque armor and art by way of the Amazonâs, Act 2 (+Indo/Arabian themes) and much of the item art, not medieval at all.
While I love your attention to detail and passion, the entirity of your wants exist in a bubble. One that youâve created.
You have the break the rule book friend and step outside. I think you have a very good grasp at critiquing and fundamentals but are limited by your own inability to see past the boundaries. You have an Art Degree you should understand not only the breadth of the arts and their respective histories but how they are constantly harvest from one another throughout time.
Evolution, agriculture, conquest, geography and more have affected arts and architecture throughout time; RL and in Sanctuary. And youâre making an apples to oranges argument about what Diablo should be.
Let me be clear, I agree that the art direction in the demo is not correct for Diablo, I do think itâs an improvement over D3 but thatâs not saying much. I disagree with most of your MUSTs for reasons I have already stated
If they want to do something realistic, the fantasy thing shouldnât be an excuse to do what ever. I think that have a base in reality would make the game more realistic. And keep in mind something like physics canât hurt: ofc, there is magic too but shouldnât abuse of that explanation if want to look realistic.
Mix things of different times its ok but one should first see which general style they want to give to the region they are building, then can change things if they look cooler. Different regions could have different styles based on the culture, the weather, type of territory, etc.
Can have in account the regionâs characteristics: buildings (and other stuff) closer to the coast would have sea decorations, while those decorations could be rare (maybe things that can be trade) or even nonexistent (for example on buildings) on other places. Or for example, buildings on places in which snow would be different than others in the desert areas.
Others things to have in account that could make it different from the real world is that there are different types of creatures in that world, and with the attack of monsters, the buildings (can see the town of the demo has a fortification outside) and life style of people would change (that lady outside town wouldnât come out alone, but i donât remember if there are other people dead around there).
Also, another thing to take in accout is from where those people get their food, whater and other resources: could be farms close, and rivers or other sources of whater. And obviously roads that lead to other places.
Dear Skyi, I acknowledge you have written, thank you. But the developers donât have time read this. I must keep it compact.
Look how much you have written here.
There is nothing wrong with other civilisation armors and art as long as itâs not post medieval time (max ~1400). I donât need your asumptions, I posted enough on the other forum for a while and suggested other parts of the world: greek ruins, ethiopian civilisation or chinese misty mountains and many other ideas.
Renaissance references donât make sense because there never was powder weapons in the franchise. itâs the main idea. I only want to make sure I prove it properly and bring enough references.
As for the âmust notâ that I keep writingâŚIf they iterate a differente version, a âmust notâ could turn into a âcan beâ.
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Gunpowder is your source point? Sigh.
And two wrongs donât equal a right.
I see youâre determined to be right, when youâre wrong. All I can say is do better research and open your mind a little bit sometime. I will leave it at that.
Regardless, keep up the passion, of that there is no doubt you have tons.
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Please can you explain what is wrong in what I said?
My criticism is based on what is presented in the demo.
Keep in mind we wait for a successor for the franchise for almost decades. I addressed feedback in 2012, 2014 2018 so sorry if I sound rigid. I had to keep discussing with people who had very little understanding of european history, ascetics in general. Iâm glad you do though.
I understand your point of vue and totally understand that you want to express nuances, opinion that I also share.
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Some videos to get some perspective on this things:
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Just two different perspectives on how the information should be used.
We agree that what is currently being presented is insufficient at best.
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