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Wonderful, how did you post the links?
Looks great!
inb4 complaining
He is Trust Level 3; however, I think that you only need to be Trust level 2 to post links to youtube videos. Someone will correct me if I am wrong.
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Correct. Just avoid posting any videos with questionable language and/or content and you’ll be fine.
As far as the videos posted, I’m going to watch them when I get the game… I’m pulling my hand away from clicking the videos… NO STOP… BAD PHALANGES! 
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Hmmm, they removed the pee strain on the ground where marius was laying and the drool falling from his mouth when he wakes up, too creepy for today standards? …
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The skeleton also didn’t break the other guy’s sword during their duel. Also, CANNOT WAIT for the Act 3 one.
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Hi and thank you very much for sharing these two cinematics which are I believe are the two most important ones.
Like you and all of us I care for d2 and I want success to it. I value the tremendous job that has been done. However let me share how I feel about the cinematics, I’m not going to comment all the things that look right. I am going rather to be direct and precise, because it’s how it can help.
Side by side comparison cinematics :
Act I cinematic
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0:12 — Spider : the original spider is not a tarantula. I think it’s not supposed to look scary. Rather a small spider to make the place believable.
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Marius
What defines him in the original are his worried eyebrows pointing up in my opinion.
https://i.ibb.co/PCRh6N6/d2r-marius.jpg
In d2r Beta, this absence strikes me and lacks. People who smile all their life have smiling winkles, Maryus tend to have worried wrinkles. It’s important because evil purposely takes advantage of innocent and vulnerable persons.
Marius lacks his typical worried imo because it gives drama and sadness to the story. Marius looks too composed whereas he should look unrest. It makes Beta’s story telling wrong.
Remember Marius is tormented and have remorses of removing the soulstone.
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0:12 — The jail : the original scene is a back-lit, somehow overexposed and blazing in a distant bath of light ; to give a higher contrast. It keeps the dark wanderer not recognizable to keep the viewer uninformed and intrigued.
0:50 — Camera Alignment : we can clearly see that the sun comes from the RIGHT. Marius, the Wanderer and the sun are aligned in the original. However the position of the camera is centered and wrong. It is critical because : -
0:56 — Camera Alignment/Window : It’s impossible to see the window in front view, since Marius dies where the sunrays hits the ground (reference :
https://youtu.be/fw5-CsIlqC4?t=147) -
Marius is blinded by the Sun at the position of the head (evil uses tricks, it’s a reminder that evil is tricksy). So again, the camera cannot be positioned in the center
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The sun is behind : it is a backlight scene! So the original is right and contrasty. Both Dark wanderer AND Tyrael’s silouette should remain black. It is to indicate the reason why Marius is blind by the sun. (simply position a punctual light further)
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This Beta is D3 HotS Tyrael. Power Ranger Nephalem. Tyrael’s armor from the original version is low profile and undertone. Remember Marius expect someone of trust and of compassion. Not a showoff budy. For me, this beta Terminator Tyrael looks particularly offensive.
I believe Tyrael use light to fight, rather than metal. I would like to remind that the original skin of the armor Tyrael’s might before Lod is called Silks of the Victor.https://diablo.fandom.com/wiki/Silks_of_the_Victor -
Original Tyrael’s rays are white to match the color of the sun while D2R Beta’s Tyrael look blue. Marius is mistaken BECAUSE of the lighting cheats his eyes so it should match the original colors. It’s the Tyrael he SEES and imagines.
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0:58 — 2 Lens effects for each eyes : in the original, the lens effect a bit like this
https://picturecorrect-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/lens-flare-1.jpgwhich make us understand we impersonate Marius’s eye sight. This effect helps to understand his physical and moral state. -
1:00 — movements and knees : In the original, displaying Marius’s knees motion tells more about his confused and clumsy personality. His movements of the head and knees ARE important to display. I believe a narrower depth of field focused on Marius’ face would help (because the details of the wood and of the fabric distract our attention).
This scene of Marius is critical because of what Diablo2 is about. It needs particular attention imo.
- 3:06 — worried eyebrows : again I think Marius is lacking his worried eyebrows that are his dramatic trademark.
- 6:19 — Lantern bouncing : The new outdoor lighting(sky light) is too bright and It makes the lantern lightning less dramatic. This one is a (very) iconic scene. I think the outdoor should be darker in order to really see the projected light bouncing due to the wind.
Act II cinematic
- 7:04 — Desert : Marius and we players travel from 4th level catacombs, an environment without light or at dusk, and travel into a vivid desert. Which means it’s supposed to be dazzling.
This scene is meant to be the highest contrast of the game. But the lighting d2R beta is too red. Kight at mid day is actually has a full spectrum, almost blue-ish.
https://i.ibb.co/6FthDpR/so-what-does-the-right-kind-of-light-at-the-right-time-of-day-have-to-do-with-health.jpg
You can see the tints of blue. It’s clearly mid day in which we “wake up and walk through”. - We come from a claustrophobic and cloudy act1. The original Act2 transition is supposed to give the opposite contrast. This is why seeing the horizon is important to give a sense of space and of “never-ending”. There is too much sand in the air. The wind wipes sand on the ground mostly in the original. (Sandstorm in the other shots are okay but the very first shot at 7:04 needs to be crystal clear, a sharp contrast with act1)
- 8:38 — Tyrael poser : Tyrael looks again like in d3/sc2/OW cinematics : “posing”, showing off like for a fashion show. I think it’s wrong or dangerous to add sugar to a course that does not need any.
D2 legacy’s Tyrael is an archangel : a model of humbleness, a paragon of virtue. This attitude makes him lose his divine feature and alters the serious tone of the game. Think of Gandalf posing, it would not reinforce the mood of the movie. ) - 8:56 — “imprison the demon” : The voice mention “imprison the demon”. It’s a face of a demon in the original, but face of human in D2R Beta witch sounds odd with the audio.
- 9:46 — Sun/moon : in the original, there is no doubt for the viewer that it’s the moon. It is lit from a side, more often characteristics of the moon. In Beta, the full moon make it appear like the sun and it can be confusing.
- 10:00 — Final image : I may sound annoying but I think clouds are NOT right. Act2 is meant to contrast with all the other acts in terms of climate. It’s meant to be bright and clear. Adding details should not detriment the original intention.
Once again I see lots of little changes and they are either welcome, good, tolerable or are added details with no issues, congrats.
I understand the task to replicate the spirit of the original is huge. Tremendous job already but I think these details that I mention are crititical because these two cinematics particularly set the story ; and deserve this attention.
I think if a remaster can’t always improve, it should never alter. I understand some people will find it too much at first, but I hope my comment will grow on their mind or at least share some of the points I brought.
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Pee and drool from waking up? Sounds like a night’s drinking, only difference is waking up sleeping on someone’s lawn.
I agree that it should never alter. I wish they would have kept the same cinematics from og D2, but just enhanced it with modern technology to see better details of everything. That would have been a better route to go in my opinion.
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I think these look great. Yeah granted theyre not exactly the same, but that’s part of the point isn’t it? I like this modern, more realistic look. This is what they should have done with all the Warcraft 3 cinematics.
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You know, best thing about these cinematics, is how accurate Marius is to Geezer in the beginning of the first one. 
Love you Geezer.