Well, i think there shouldn’t be any changes period. I can agree with auto-gold pickup because you actually have to run over the gold, not just near it, but i still don’t think it’s necessary, but it doesn’t really change anything. I can tolerate shared stash because of the new bnet 2.0 will change the way muling works, especially with one account. All these changes i have read on this forum and reddit are just way to much, and will impact longevity, depth, feel and balance in ways that will damage, if not destroy the game. And when i say destroy the game, i mean destroy Diablo 2. Because this is remastered version Diablo 2, not a sequel.
But i do think that it should be moddable, with the possibilities of modded servers, so we, the original Diablo 2 fans can play as we used to 20 years ago, and the PoD, PlugY or any of the modded fans can play what they loved. But i do not agree that the game should turn into one off, or mixed versions of the mods.
There is a beauty of gray (if you recall the old song by Live). From one perspective, there is lets keep everything the same and any deviation is bad. This perspective in relation to D2R is problematic because it already is not the same gameplay wise if you play with a non- 4:3 aspect ratio.
I know that you support a subset of QoL changes. I think my issue is more with conservative D2R absolutists who do not recognize some change already exists in D2R.
But the D2 absolutists do recognize change already exists in D2R. We all know there’s autogold, shared stash, and graphics/screen ratio updates. These changes are acceptable for the vast majority of “absolutists” though, unlike loot filters, stackables, lunchables, etc. If Blizz announced a charm inventory Id bet there’d be a lot more protest than there’s been against the shared stash. So it’s a pretty basic point Im making, but I think the issue is - for the most part - the larger changes rather than the ones already announced, which only very few people consider to be too different from D2. =)
By extension, since some changes are acceptable (and presumably this list is framed by what has already been announced), it is not implausible to assume a few more changes could be palatable (may be or may not be).
I think this is a shades of gray issue about what is QoL, minor, and major.
Side tangent: For many people, their musical preference/fondness often are based on the “contemporary” music of the time when they were teenagers/young adults. I am curious a bit about the age demographics of the D2R forum. Someone asked this in another thread, and it seemed like many people started playing D2 in the 10-19 age range, meaning that they are in their 30s now. I wonder if nostalgia and remembering the fondness of D2 from youth has made it so some deficiencies in D2 may not be as vividly remembered or subject to critical analysis.
That was all I needed to hear, not in favor of it then. D3 was the biggest letdown of any serious D2 fan and anything that was changed D2->D3 should be considered a bad idea by default.
And no, I’m not being funny. D3 took the fun and character development aspects of D2 and threw it in the trash.
Btw, I’m currently playing the game in SP mode without any 3rd party program: the biggest challenge is to handle the stash room ! You almost can’t do several things in parallel (i.e store items + runes for RW + gems for craft).
However, this constraint is maybe a bit excessive since you can’t even keep some stuff for another character (making low-level set items totally useless, for example), or for MF, or for a major respec of your character (that you may want to do only when you have several pieces of stuff).
I’m happy with the QoL improvements of the Alpha. More isn’t really needed according to me, but I’ll play D2R whatever changes it will contain.
Decision making is a great frame for Diablo II. We definitely have to do a lot of that. I agree with many of your points and the underlying philosophy, though I want to add an element to the decision-making context.
With old D2, deciding which loot to keep was easy, because we could be conservative and make as many mules as we wanted. Even with shared stash, it isn’t clear whether or not we will be able to acquire unlimited space in D2R. In that context, I feel:
No charm inventory, since charms are entirely about decision-making. Space/choice is at the core of charm mechanics.
Stash sizes should be larger and shared to get as close to the previously-unlimited space we had before. Less about individual space and more about overall space.
Inventory size should be the same. Increase space for storage, not active play (since that would make decision-making too easy).
Gems and runes should be stackable to conserve precious overall space.
That may be, but I’d still think it’d be worthwhile to let the nostalgia happen. It seems like Blizzard’s through-line has been to potentially adjust the game based on player feedback, so maybe this has been their intention the entire time? The original experience at first for everyone so excited about it, and then perhaps making some more significant adjustments if those players ask for them? I think it’d be really dangerous to make large changes before everyone’s played the new game together for a while, though.
The word “decision-making” has been throw around (togther with buzzword like complexity) like is a unviersally good thing without needing context, & do not need to be contested. Its NOT
Not all “decision-making” are meaningful, & not all “decision-making” is net positive.
Imagine if somone buy a car with a small S truck & say he purposely buy one with small truck so there is “decision-making” what to put in the truck, what to buy during goccery shopping so as not to over fill the truck. You will laugh , will you not.
Most people are rational enough to want bigger storage space (all else equal) so they do less “decison-making” what to put in their car.
Decison making of what & how much you can squeeze in your car is NOT meaningful/fun decision making.
I am all for decision making, but only meaningful ones that enchance the game experience, like more viable skills, more item synergy, more runeword that open more build deversity.
Inventory management is not meaningful/fun decision making.
If managing your inventory ment nothing, then people wouldnt care if they got more space because it wouldnt mean anything to them.
Inventory management is meaningful because you have to pick and choose what you want. Doesnt mean its “Fun”, but some people enjoy that kind of thing. Kind of like how some people find horror movies/games “Fun” and others cant get why you would want to put yourself through that.
In Mass Effect, there are many moral choices. Some have lose lose, outcomes or varying degrees of horrible, does that make the game not “Fun”? I would say no, not everything should be just there for “Fun”.