4/7 Chat Log

[RBridenbecker] Hi everybody we'll start our chat in a minute or two.

[RBridenbecker] Welcome to the chat, please send in your questions now.

[BillRoper] Thanks to everyone for coming out today. I want to start out by letting you all know that Unholy Battlegrounds (www.battlegrounds.com) will maintain our new authorized fansite list.

[RBridenbecker] Will the Diablo character look different than it did in Diablo 1?

[DiabloIIDevTeam] Yes he will. He is occupying a different human host this time around, and further, he's a lot more angry this time.

[RBridenbecker] When will you release the next character AVI?

[BillRoper] We will be releasing a new gameplay .avi next Tuesday to go along with our Screen Shot of the week.

[RBridenbecker] Have you made a final decision regarding weather effects?

[DiabloIIDevTeam] Not really. We're working with it right now. At very least it will rain, and there will be wind. The problem with having weather affect the game-play is that people will decide not to play while it's raining, for example.

[RBridenbecker] Have you made any decisions about when the beta test will begin?

[BillRoper] We have not decided on a specific date for the Diablo II Battle.net Beta as of yet, but we will be doing a limited Beta test much as we did for Starcrtaft: Brood War.

[RBridenbecker] What will you be showing at E3?

[DiabloIIDevTeam] We will be showing some of Act 3 (as well as 1 and 2), as well as the new Barbarian character. We also have a suprise or two up our sleeves. ;)

[RBridenbecker] Will Diablo fansites see the Barbarian and Act 3 before E3?

[BillRoper] No, we are waiting to unveil the Barbarian and Act III at the show. We will have images of both available for the fansites on May 13th.

[RBridenbecker] Can you describe the functions of "masteries" and how they are used?

[DiabloIIDevTeam] Masteries are what we call the "passive" skills. You don't have to explicitly "use" them, they automatically apply to your other actions. For example, if you are a master of fire, you'll get extra fire damage on all of your attacks. The Barbarian...

[DiabloIIDevTeam] character has a skill tab devoted solely to masteries.

[RBridenbecker] What games are people at Blizzard playing right now?

[BillRoper] Everquest, Everquest and Everquest. (Between games of Team Fortress classic, that is...)

[DiabloIIDevTeam] We're playing Everquest, Starcraft, Alpha Centauri, Baldur's Gate, House of the Dead, Powerstone, among others.

[RBridenbecker] Can the music for Diablo II be played in a regular CD player?

[BillRoper] We play our audio using a method called Direct Digital Audio so that it streams in with the game data. It takes less space and gives us better performance than Red Book audio. We did get a lot of great response to posting our songs in MP3 format...

[BillRoper] ...and may continue with that in the future.

[RBridenbecker] Is the cow level real, or an April 1 joke?

[DiabloIIDevTeam] No comment.

[BillRoper] You guys are SO super-secret!!!!

[RBridenbecker] What is the current status of Diablo II?

[DiabloIIDevTeam] We've gone gold and we're sitting on it for marketing purposes. No, just kidding. It's coming along great, and we're still on schedule.

[RBridenbecker] A Starcraft question: When is the Protoss strategy guide going up on the web site?

[BillRoper] We are doing a final edit on it and both Shlonglor and Warblade! are giving me the evil eye, so I need to get my comments in so we can hopefully get it up in teh next few days. Keep checking www.blizzard.com and www.battle.net for launch details!

[RBridenbecker] Can you explain how the Barbarian will use two weapons?

[DiabloIIDevTeam] For one thing, he has two hands. Actually, the left hand is used for faster jab attacks, and the right is for regular attacks. Some skills will use a combination of both in one attack.

[WebBot] =)

[RBridenbecker] What is Blizzard's current stance on DVD?

[BillRoper] We buy a lot of them and have movie nights every week. In regards to using them for our products, it is till too early to move to just a DVD-ROM format. We are looking at all the manufacturing issues, however, and will probabaly release products on DVD...

[BillRoper] ..in the future.

[RBridenbecker] Can you describe a couple of new skills?

[DiabloIIDevTeam] Sure, we'll describe a couple Barbarian skills. He has a number of "War Cries" that affect a radius of monsters. One is called Howl, which frightens weaker monsters away. Another Barbarian skill is Leap, which will allow him to jump over things.

[RBridenbecker] How many people will be allowed in the guild house?

[DiabloIIDevTeam] It is not finalized yet, but there will probably be variable amounts, depending on the fee paid for the house.

[RBridenbecker] Has any work been done on the finale yet?

[BillRoper] The artists have started concepting the environment and the monsters are underway. It looks awesome, BTW.

[RBridenbecker] Can Battle.net characters be saved in case of a disconnect?

[DiabloIIDevTeam] Battle.net charaters are saved periodically. Even if you disconnect or some catastrophe occurs, you will still have your character!

[DiabloIIDevTeam] By periodically, I mean pretty often!

[RBridenbecker] Who is the coolest employee at Blizzard?

[BillRoper] It is a toss up between Fred Wallace at BHQ and Northwynde at Blizzard North. They are both exceptionally talented developers and awesome gamers.

[RBridenbecker] Will there be one-handed axes so you can use a shield?

[DiabloIIDevTeam] Yes, and throwing axes as well.

[RBridenbecker] Will there be a Diablo II "compendium" after the game is released?

[BillRoper] The web team wants to work closely with the development team to create as complete a guide as possible for Diablo II, ao the answer is a qualified yes.

[RBridenbecker] About how many monsters have been completed?

[DiabloIIDevTeam] More than 50 distinct monsters have been completed, not including color variations. Many more are in progress.

[RBridenbecker] When will the DeathKnight interview be posted?

[BillRoper] I just finished it today, so it should be going out tonight.

[RBridenbecker] Can you explain how poison is used and countered?

[DiabloIIDevTeam] As of now, poisons will gradually drain life until you are dead or cured. One of the Paladin's skills is "Cure Poison."

[DiabloIIDevTeam] Poisons can be encountered through weapons, traps, skills, potions, and monsters.

[RBridenbecker] How will monster generators work?

[BillRoper] They are randomly placed in levels and provide areas from which monsters can logically spawn. They will take many forms, from blood hawk nests to Maggot hives. They can be destroyed.

[RBridenbecker] If you are killed by another player, will you lose your weapon?

[DiabloIIDevTeam] Probably not. This is obviously a controversial topic, and it's still under debate here at Blizzard North.

[DiabloIIDevTeam] (And in every D2 forum!)

[RBridenbecker] Will players be able to see each others' automap?

[BillRoper] Players in an adventuring party will be able to see where each other are located on their own automap so that they can regroup as easily as possible. This isn't in the game yet and is still in the design phases, but it is a great idea!

[RBridenbecker] How will you be able to attack someone while running?

[DiabloIIDevTeam] A character who is running will have a vastly lowerd AC, making them more vulnerable to attack. Also, your stamina is limited, so you can't run away forever.

[DiabloIIDevTeam] (AC = armor class)

[RBridenbecker] What is being done to fix Battle.net server splits?

[BillRoper] We have been working extrenely hard on the Battle.net sever issues, recently adding two more programmers to the team. The stability of Battle.net is our top priority at this time, and we are -- and have been -- in "crunch mode" on it for some time...

[BillRoper] ...We do understand that the server splits have been disruptive, but I want to take this opportunity to say that we do know about the problem, we are working very hard on it and it is a very non-trivial issue. Thanks to everyone for understanding.

[RBridenbecker] Can you describe how curses will work?

[DiabloIIDevTeam] They are all different, but some will weaken the target, another prevents them from healing. They can be targeted to both monsters and players.

[RBridenbecker] Is Shlonglor's car really that cool? [Now stop asking --ed]

[BillRoper] Shlonglor's car rules! He has been out at the speedway all week doing time trials and challenging Vipers to "race for pink slips". It is as cool as he says.

[BillRoper] Plus, chicks dig it...

[RBridenbecker] How will experience points be distributed in multi player games?

[DiabloIIDevTeam] We're still working on this division algorithm, but we will definitely distribute experience within parties. You will probably be required to have landed a blow to get experience.

[RBridenbecker] Who is Blizzard's best Starcraft player?

[BillRoper] Although we haven't had a company wide competition in some time, the top three are definitely Enoyls, Warblade! and Maniaxe.

[RBridenbecker] What type of attack does Andariel have, and how much damage will she inflict?

[DiabloIIDevTeam] She has a poison attack and a vicious melee attack. The damage will be devastating.

[RBridenbecker] Are there any major changes planned for the Blizzard web site?

[BillRoper] We are currently plannihg our redesign of the www.blizzard.com page and we are going to be adding the Protoss compendium section in a few days. Also, we are working on a new Necromancer section for the Diablo II page.

[BillRoper] Sorry for all my typos!

[RBridenbecker] Who is representing the Diablo II development team?

[DiabloIIDevTeam] We are represented today by Max Schaefer (yours truly), Mike Huang, and Matt Householder.

[RBridenbecker] Is it Meteor Storm or Meteor Swarm?

[DiabloIIDevTeam] Actually, it's just "Meteor." As a point of interest, there are Ice Storm and Fire Storm, and Thunder Storm skills, however.

[RBridenbecker] Will the basic difficulty levels in Diablo II be similar to that of Diablo (Normal, Nightmare, Hell)?

[BillRoper] We will have difficulty levels similar to those in Diablo, although we haven't formalized or finalized what they are as of yet.

[RBridenbecker] If playing without a Paladin, how does one get healed of a poison attack?

[DiabloIIDevTeam] It will be possible via an NPC, or possibly by herbs or other methods.

[RBridenbecker] How does Blizzard feel about Starcraft.org's April Fool's joke?

[BillRoper] We thought it was pretty funny, but unfortunately not everyone out there knew it was a joke. It was heart-warming to see how many DIDN'T want battle.net to go away, but Tech Support was swamped with calls about it!

[RBridenbecker] How will the trading system work?

[DiabloIIDevTeam] You will be able to have secure trades with other players. Both players will put up the items and have to OK the transaction before it takes place.

[RBridenbecker] How is inventory different from Diablo?

[BillRoper] First of all, it is much more "smart" about how items are automatically placed within it. Also, there are many different types of ways to carry more stuff in less space, such as different sized belts, books that hold multiple scrolls and so forth.

[BillRoper] Also, there will be a seprarate area for all your gold, so that your riches don't take up valuable item space.

[RBridenbecker] We will be taking two more questions...

[RBridenbecker] When will the next music file be released?

[DiabloIIDevTeam] We don't have a schedule, but we'll probably release some before we're done.

[RBridenbecker] Any clue on when you will announce either of the unannounced games?

[BillRoper] Yes, we know exactly when we are planning to announce our next titles, but it isn't right now... :)

[RBridenbecker] Will the fansite FTP be used anymore?

[BillRoper] Yes, that is where we will be putting up the E3 art, as well as the next Diablo II .avi file.

[DiabloIIDevTeam] Thanks everyone!

[RBridenbecker] Thanks everyone!

[BillRoper] Thanks for coming out everyone. Guys at BN, say hi to Northwynd for me!

[DiabloIIDevTeam] NP

[BillRoper] We will be having our next chat in about 8 weeks. We will be posting the log of this chat ASAP.

[WebBot] bye