Korean Interview as it can be found on Reddit

I thought it was important for this to be an immediate topic since it answers a great deal of questions that many Diablo Fans have.

I quote it here and I want to thanks to the user that originally talked about it (TanisGunthar):

Q. It is unfortunate that the character’s appearance is senile compared to the original. Do you have any plans to modify it?

When I did everything, 70% aimed to bring the original work to life, and 30% aimed to bring more detail and life to life. The characters worked to reflect the appropriate time of the world view. Didn’t they go through several battles? I can’t say that there will be absolutely no corrections, but for now, I am working hard to reinforce storytelling through art and bring out realistic details.

Q. A bug in the original work, such as copying, has been confirmed. Are you aware of this?

Diablo 2 has accumulated data on bugs over the past 20 years, and based on this, you can judge the importance and proceed with the work. In the case of copying, we are putting a lot of effort into the Battlenet side. When playing multiplayer on BattleNet, enhanced security will be applied to copying items and using bots. The local character stored with the computer is separate from the BattleNet character, so it is impossible to move items.

Q. Can I meet the butchers and wolves that existed only with data in the original work?

There is no plan. Since we are doing all the work based on the original version, you will not be able to meet a form that did not exist in the past.

Q. It seems that some skill expressions were not perfect. What is the update plan for the skill effect?

Through the Technical Alpha, we have received several feedbacks and are watching closely. I know that there is a lot of feedback in skill expression. It’s hard to say that it changes everything, but some of the Sorceress’s Blizzard skills are scheduled to change.

Q. It is good to pay attention to the dark atmosphere, but it was a bit difficult to identify Pia. What do you think about this?

I think it’s good feedback. Even within the team, we are aware that pia identification can be difficult. Adjusting the light effect of a character or item is not a big cost, so we look closely at the feedback and try to do a number of tasks based on it.

Q. In the original work, there was a module for convenience, but can it be used in Resurrection?

First of all, we don’t plan to block all modules as users in all communities have shown affection for decades. Resurrection will also support it, but it may be difficult to use modules that are outside the defined framework, such as hacking the code.

Q. I am curious if community elements such as guild system and guild housing will be added

Battle.net functionality is modernized, and chat via the launcher, which was found in other games, is available. However, in the case of in-game, I want to make use of the authenticity of the original. There may be plans in the future, but for now, I want to focus on saving the original.

Q. You said that it is difficult to expand your inventory. What is true inventory separately?

This is a question I often hear. Many people say that the more they approach the final content, the more the inventory becomes full and it is difficult to carry items. If this is corrected, it seems that there should be changes in the end game content as well. Although we are aware of the opinions of users, we do not have plans at this time because we think that the work to revive the original is out of scope.

Q. I can’t collect a lot of gems and runes. Is the overlapping system difficult?

Recognized feedback, but now we are experimenting with the flexibility of the system. We are looking at how users are responding to the widened warehouse.

Q. Will hybrid rune words be maintained?

Parts such as hybrid runewords are undergoing a lot of discussion internally. We are looking at whether it hurts the experience of the game, or whether long-time fans of the original are affectionately. In addition, item duplication is being discussed aggressively for a solution.

Q. Diablo 2: Is the Resurrection season the same as before?

The season period is planned to be taken shorter than before. In addition, if registered on the ladder board, we are going to introduce additional functions that can be inquired afterwards.

Q. There was a local delay, so it was difficult to attack the Act 2 boss. Do you have any plans to make up for it?

First, a lot of work is being done on the loading time. Optimization work is in progress to shorten it. Problems such as starting a battle or being killed while loading are considered separate issues and solutions are being prepared.

Q. What will happen to Uberdia content?

Contents such as Uberdia and Uber Tristrum are retained. There will be some changes as we are planning to become a global server, but basically we will continue to see these events.

Q. What is the likelihood that low-preferred skills such as Amazon’s Evasion Bug, Necromancer’s Poison Dagger, and Druid’s Summon will be adjusted?

As the current biggest goal is to faithfully implement the original look, there are no plans to adjust the mentioned skills. If the balance is adjusted later, the meta will be able to diversify. I don’t intend to make all the skills good. We are looking at Amazon’s evasion bug.

Q. What’s the difference between Vicarious Visions and Blizzard?

Vicarious Visions is pleased to be part of Blizzard. There may be cultural differences between the two companies, but in most cases, I think collaboration is working well. Since both companies are full of enthusiasm and have similar goals, the work is done organically.

Q. You said you would maintain legitimacy, but is it that you focus on users who have enjoyed the game in the past rather than new users?

Priority was given to reviving memories of the past. Diablo 2 has been a part of many people’s daily lives for a very long time and is a game that has given me good memories. Our goal was to modernize this while allowing more users, including new ones, to experience it. When it is necessary to add a new element, the work has been carried out in the line that preserves the legitimacy of the past.

Q. What kind of greeting do you want to leave to your Korean fans?

Chris Amaral: Overall, I think the Technical Alpha went well, and I sincerely thank everyone who participated. I will listen and accept both praise and criticism. We look forward to playing the next version together.

Rob Galerani: We are pleased to be able to experience the game for all users around the world. If you haven’t applied yet, I hope you can participate in the beta test and enjoy it together.

is in progress, what do you think internally?

Chris Amaral: We’ve had a lot of reactions and I’m happy. I was able to get a lot of feedback, some of which are ongoing and planned. In particular, it seems that the visual reactions such as zoom-in and legacy toggle were hot. I think there are a lot of things we need to do in the future. Had a nice weekend.

Rob Galerani: I am pleased that I was able to feel the past experience through Diablo 2 Resurrection. It seems that there were a lot of favorable reviews for convenience functions as well.

Q. There was a lot of talk about inventory. I wonder if there are any plans to expand it like a warehouse.

First of all, there are currently no plans to expand the inventory. In fact, I think that the element of inventory is something the user has to make decisions at every moment in the game and can affect gameplay. It was determined that expanding the inventory would rather reduce the user’s choice. In the case of the warehouse, it was expanded because it did not directly affect the gameplay.

Q. What is the goal of diablo2 Resurrection? Is it competing with the current generation of RPGs?

The most essential goal is to preserve the legitimacy of past experiences. Even users who haven’t played the original or have a faint memory, want to be able to enjoy Diablo 2 through more modern systems, hardware, and convenience. Of course, you could compete with the latest games, but it wasn’t the goal to make it completely new.

Q. Are there any plans to proceed with new content or balance adjustments after release?

The first goal is to be faithful to the basics. At this point, the focus is on the quality of the game’s job, level, balance, and music. After that, the ladder system will proceed, but for now, the biggest goal is to sew the first button well.

Q. In the Technical Alpha test, only Amazon, Sorceress, and Barbarian could play. Why?

The reason I chose the three jobs first is because I thought that it would reveal a wide range of play styles. I also wanted to check out the pad play, but I decided that I could see several aspects through the ranged Sorceress, the Melee Barbarian, and the Amazon in the middle. Also, in terms of visuals, I was able to look at various parts.

Q. The sound change was impressive. What was the implementation method and direction?

I think I can talk about the planning aspect. The most important thing was to preserve the original sound. It maximizes the nostalgic feeling and at the same time pays attention to the sense of depth. In the desert, a more deserted sound can be heard, and the dripping sound is made more vivid in the sewer. Through these changes, I was able to stimulate nostalgia.

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You are a gentlemen and a scholar. Thank you kindly.

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"Q. It is unfortunate that the character’s appearance is senile compared to the original. Do you have any plans to modify it?

When I did everything, 70% aimed to bring the original work to life, and 30% aimed to bring more detail and life to life. The characters worked to reflect the appropriate time of the world view. Didn’t they go through several battles? I can’t say that there will be absolutely no corrections, but for now, I am working hard to reinforce storytelling through art and bring out realistic details."

"The characters worked to reflect the appropriate time of the world view."

Smh…

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While I am encouraged by the majority of the interview, I do not understand the design philosophy addressed in this answer.

When we first meet our character in Diablo 2, they have not been confronted by the minions of the Dark Wanderer. Everything has just started. The adventurers that come to the Rouge encampment are new to the conflict. They have not yet fought the evils nor have they experienced the horrors. D2R starts from the exact same point in time.

The answer to this questions seems to indicate that the art direction wanted to indicate that the adventurers were veterans of battles against Hell’s forces. Thus they sought to indicate that by aging them and adding fatigue, lines and wrinkles to make them look battle hardened.

However, for me, this goes against the story that is being told in Diablo 2. The characters (and we) are noobs to the struggle when we arrive to speak to Akara. We are looking to make a name for ourselves, gather riches and gear and save the world. Some of us are even called “young” by Akara. The game made me believe we were all young, robust, strong and ready to take on the world. This was a core part of the game for me.

Because of that, the new art direction actually takes away from my enjoyment of the game because it seems to indicate that my character is a battle tested veteran from day one. Why then am I beginning my adventure without my armor and weapons? Why am I venturing forth from the Rogue encampment nearly naked to face the monsters that roam outside the gate? Why am I so ill prepared for what awaits me? Why am I so naive and clueless?

It makes no sense. Please make the characters appearance match their level of experience given that this is the same time as the start of D2. No time has passed for them. Doing so will increase my level of immersion in the game and my enjoyment while playing it.

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TLDR: most things will not change at launch.

That was also the part that made me the saddest.

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The answer is no, these are not the hero’s from many battles. As Rampage properly states these are new hero’s not veterans who are aged and seasoned by wars. Why would we be starting at lvl 1 with no armor and weapons if we were veterans?

Did they later change the lore on them to make them old? Did they seem to think these are the Veterans from D1? Why would they think D2 guys should be old when they kept the ‘young’ theme in D3?

I still can’t help thinking this is just a stab at the old player base, trying to make the toons as old as us.

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I believe it is actually just a super lame excuse in order to hide the truth, which is: Wanting to be super politically correct.

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Some of these questions really feel like they are coming from an antognistic pov but there is some new info in here at least.

Very glad they aren’t going to do gem stacking as we have the extended stash already.

Also mod support is massive. I know it’s already something they announced as supported but its still nice to see it reiterated. Will be interesting to see where they draw the line between mod and hack.

I guess a hack would be something that works on live while a mod is separate.

No .dll injection type mods will work. They are making more data available through the gamee API though so modders can change what is displayed and how - off data Blizz makes available. Maybe something like the WoW addons that use available data and change the display of it? They don’t change the game functionality, but do show data like combat logs and stuff.

That is what we know so far. Of course, offline mode is not something Blizz can really control.

‘D2 API’ those words sound like heaven. So much easier than digging around in dlls looking for a specific function.

The only reason I could do it at all was because the existing modding community was already amazing when I hopped in.

Is the API mentioned or public anywhere yet?

Not sure they said exactly API … I wish I remembered what interview it was. There were so many. I think they were talking about the ability to link items in chat for item compare/easier selling/trade and said something about making more data available in game for modders to use. Might have been Blizzcon.

Here is another article that has a summary of stuff. Best Diablo 2: Resurrected mods | PC Gamer

Modding: There are 20 years of Diablo 2 mods out there at this point, and Diablo 2: Resurrected will still allow modding. But it won’t work exactly the same way, since modern Battle.net is stricter and more secure. Gallerani pointed to .DLL injections as something you could do with classic Diablo 2 that you can’t do with D2R. However, he also said that many parts of the game that once required those kinds of invasive mods to modify have been shifted into easily modifiable data, so modders will still be able to access them despite Battle.net’s tighter security.

Battle.net friends lists, dedicated servers and security: Gallerani says Blizzard is “actively discouraging” exploits like item duping and botting, things the modern Battle.net client helps prevent. It also offers the advantages of just being able to click on a friend’s name to invite them without typing in an IP address or scrolling through a list of game lobbies. Hosting games now means you’re hosting a dedicated Battle.net server for people to join.

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Awesome, thank you!

I’ll definitely poke around once the game is out. Or maybe a season after the game has been out.

Blockquote Q. Will hybrid rune words be maintained?
Parts such as hybrid runewords are undergoing a lot of discussion internally. We are looking at whether it hurts the experience of the game, or whether long-time fans of the original are affectionately. In addition, item duplication is being discussed aggressively for a solution.

When they talk about “hybrid” runewords, are they talking about items that grant oskills like enigma? I really hope this is the case.

No that’s not it, they are talking about the following:

“All these are are items that have had the first word in them (say ‘Enigma’) and then a glitch was used where the runes in the sockets were destroyed (Hel, town portal scroll, and item in the cube), but somehow the item retained the qualities of the runeword that was in the item. Then the runes for a new word were placed in the item. It gets the title of the word (say ‘Duress’), but only the properties of the 2nd set of runes themselves (Shael, Um, Thul), not any of the properties of the 2nd word (such as cb, open wounds).”

but there are no ith item on the new game, and if they were, whats to discuss, just get rid of them

What the hell is Pia and how do you identify it? :smiley: