D4 blog is up, enjoy

General Discussion
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Joe Shely,
Game Director, Diablo IV

This thread was started before the CM posted :point_down:

Diablo IV Quarterly Update - Q3 October 2021 - General Discussion - Diablo 3 Forums (blizzard.com)

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So it is indeed only about Audio and Sound for D4. Not my cup of tea. :frowning:

Thought that there will be a surprise that covering different subject about D4.

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They did confirm that the next blog will be about endgame systems, so that’ll be something to look forward to.

That said, Wood Wraith looks pretty cool imo, and I like that the inferno spell takes the form of a great serpent.

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This blog was a bust for me I don’t really want to watch grass blowing in the wind for an hour. :-1:

Next blog:

“As promised, our next blog will cover endgame systems and visual effects.” :+1:

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Do you guys have real sound cards or are you using integrated audio?

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So it’s Joe Shely who got the Game Director chair. Good news.

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I like

  • You understand how sound is important (D2 gems can be recognized just by their sound)
  • Destructible objects
  • The work achieved so far

I dislike

  • The Sea. Feels static / plastic, with a little bit of slime. Add seagulls, some transparency, make the sea foam move, and smoothen the rocks (IRL rocks shall be smoothened by sea).
  • The trees shaking in a loop. I want this monotonic loop to be broken by gusts of wind.
  • Some firebolts start with a low-pitched sound that is confusing with the ending explosion (my ears believe there are 2 explosions, but there is only one on screen)
  • The video clips are in 1080p whereas I expected 4K… (1080 on a 4K screen is pixelated)

I wonder

  • Do the dry steps burn with fire skills ?
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Amazing… Wood Wraith had some extra creaking i didn’t like though (unless there were Wood Wraiths i didn’t/couldn’t see). Foam in sea around rocks not moving is slightly an issue. Lots more burning and cinders please! And don’t have objects disappear after a few seconds. More foliage moving when stepped on and in wind. but overall everything else is… FABULOUUUS!

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The best part was the dudes playing with their lunch.

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I hope Joe Shely is not going to influence D4 into becoming too much like D3, given his experience with D3 only.

Sound is very good, and some neat areas/monsters, but overall a pretty bland blog. Was expecting some music too, hoping for some more classic Diablo vibes, rather than over the top epic like D3 often was.

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I don’t think that’s an issue. Game designers inject their own ideas but also have to follow the game director’s vision.

Joe Shely joined the team for RoS, after D3 launched. He was still on the team in 2017.
After that, he was lead game designer in charge of monsters (you can see his contribution at Blizzcon here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUK75iRYdOQ&t=1225s ) then work on systems as a replacement of David Kim (he was the december blog guy that presented the item revamp).

Of course he’s also a long time fan of D1 & D2.

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Actually, that is the only thing in the blog that made me excited to look forward to the next blog. :rofl:

I hope that the “Endgame” blog will be as long as this blog or longer.

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If we’re fortunate, the next blog might be as long as last year’s December Quarterly update.

But in all honesty, I’d like to know more regarding Keyed Dungeons, World Bosses/Events, and whether or not the Campaign and activities within the overworld will have a place in endgame.

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Depends on the MB really. My last MB had crappy audio compared to my sound card, my new MB I can’t tell the difference so my sound card is not being used.

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I’m sure it will considering it’s going to cover 2 huge topics.

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Considering David Kim said last year that the endgame system will be the second half of specialization after the skilltree, and a more “difficult to master” one, I’m pretty excited to see what they have to share. We might even see a little bit of the actual skilltree after +1 year of development.

Otherwise I’m all for anything gameplay related, but my next big interest would be into the para-itemization : crafting, gems and how their runewords have been shaping up after all this time.

Anyway, I agree, the last blog of the year could be a pretty big one ! Let’s hope Blizzconline will be better too, last one was kinda disappointing.

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Sound was nice, but the visuals in spots look incredible.

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This MMO is going to be amazing! :man_cartwheeling:

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It was all about sound and music. Wich is more important than I realise. But not the most interesting update to read. Sorry for the sound devs, it really is great that so much effort is going into it…

Also loved the new visuals :slight_smile:

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Seeing an updated skill tree (along with the talents and upgrade nodes) along with more on the itemization would be amazing, even more so if we see it along with the endgame topics for the next quarterly update.

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