May's News

  • Diablo II Info Section. (5/31)

We have begun work on a section devoted to compiling all the known information in Diablo II into an easy to browse guide.  The Diablo II Info section contains information on levels, weapons, and other aspects of Diablo II.  This section is nowhere near complete, but please feel free to look at what we have and offer suggestions on improving it. 

There was a Gamespot TV show featuring Diablo II that was scheduled to happen soon (posted here), but it apparently hasn´t.  I don´t know if the show has been canceled or isn´t happening now, we will keep you posted as soon as more information becomes available. 

  • Official Sites Down. (5/29)

It seems that the official Blizzard sites are temporarily down, perhaps Blizzard is implementing some more updates.  However, Battle.net is still up, so you can still visit the forums. 

  • Diablo II Resolutions. (5/28)

Juju reports that a French Gaming Magazine states that Diablo II might function at 1024x768, which is in addition to 640x480 and 800x600.  While this information is dubious, it might also be true.  We´ll keep you posted if any additional informatio becomes available. 

Looks like this rendered shot from Blizzard´s main site eluded our attention:

Well, this rendered shot is now archived and will always be viewable at our Sketches and Rendered Shots section. 

  • Changes at Blizzard´s Site... (5/27)

It seems as though Blizzard is still in the process of updating their main site.  They have added a Diablo II watermark to their cinematic still (which comes from an E3 cinematic which should be released soon) and well as adding a logo to the cinematic still at their Official Diablo II Site.  GFrazier has also stated that their FTP is undergoing an upgrade, so downloading might be difficult at the present. 

  • Game Music and the Grammy. (5/27)

While trolling for news I discovered this very interesting article at the Adenaline Vault.  The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences has decided to allow game music to be entered into the running for the prestigious Grammy awards.  After this, we might see game music take a definite step forward in both quality and quantity. 

  • Interview Winner... (5/26)

It appears that the winner of Blizzard´s monthly interview for June is DiabloII.net.  I must say that this is good to hear, as DiabloII.net has always been one of the best sites out there.  They are taking submissions for questions even now, so be sure to give them all the questions that have been gnawing at you. 

  • Liber Fictionarum Moved. (5/26)

As you can see, the Liber Fictionarum is now accessable through our main menu.  We have done this as we all felt that this section was somewhat hidden and more than a little hard to find.  It will also be updated very soon. 

  • Diablo II on TV. (5/26)

Diablo II will appearing on Gamespot TV; the show will feature Blizzard´s Bill Roper and David Brevik as they talk about E3.  This show will only occur on satellite only, but you can click here for a listing of channels it will appear on.  More on this soon. 

  • New Screenshot of the Week. (5/25)

Blizzard has released the latest screenshot of the week, and it is quite beautiful.  See it here: 

Blzzard´s Shlonglor made a small but important post on the battle.net forums, which I will simply put here:

    We'll be working to get new content on the Diablo II site including the trailers from E3.

You can see the actual post and its thread of responses here.  I hope they mean that the Necromancer gameplay video is underway. 

  • Preview at CGO... (5/24)

CGO has a preview up that covers the highlights of Diablo II´s E3 build.  Bill Roper is the guide in this information-packed preview, which is definately worth any Diablo II fan´s time. 

  • Best of E3. (5/24)

There is a list of nominees for Best Game at E3 available from the Game Critics Commitee.  Diablo II features in the RPG catagory along with Anachronox, Dues Ex, Final Fantasy 8, Ultima: Ascension and Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption.  It will be a tough fight, but I´m sure Diablo II can win.  See the nominees for all the games here. 

  • Screensaver and Wallpaper... (5/24)

There is a new screensaver from Azmodan, which is quite good and can be downloaded here.  Also, feel free to view this new wallpaper from the mind of Elyssah, which is also excellent and can be found here. 

  • Paladin Section Update. (5/23)

We have updated our Paladin character section today with all the new skills we´ve unearthed from the flood of information from E3.  Many of the Paladin´s new skills are unknown at the present time, but as soon as we know more it will be deposited there. 

  • Gamecenter RPG Article. (5/22)

Gamecenter has recently done an article discussing RPG´s in general.  While the article does not focus on Diablo or Diablo II, it is an interesting and recommended read.  You can find their article here. 

  • E3 Articles... (5/22)

Well, it´s nice to know that E3 can spawn a wildfire of articles from the various gaming sites out there.  So far we´ve collected two more of high quality: NGO with "Twenty Games That Will Save the World", which is basically a list of the best upcoming titles, and PC-IGN has an article with good information and a complete skill listing.  Last and unfortunately least is the Game Revolution offering, which is basically a slopped-together article with rehashed news and terrible screenshots.  Be sure to look at these articles (excepting perhaps the last one) if you missed E3.  Also, all of our Character sections have been updated with new skill information. 

  • Vault Network Analysis. (5/21)

The Vault Network has a small analysis of the E3 show on their site, which you can see here.  This analysis, although small, is surprisingly in-depth. 

  • Newsletter Sent. (5/21)

The first part of the ShadowSpiral Newsletter´s special E3 edition has been sent.  If you had any problems with this edition, please email us and we´ll fix the problem and send you another copy.  The next part to this special edition will ship tomorrow. 

  • AGN3D Report... (5/21)

There is a surprisingly technical report on Diablo II available at AGN3D.  This report covers such issues as install size, 3D capability, and multiplayer options.  This is a very interesting report that I highly recommend you read if you´re interested in Diablo II.  The most pertinent info is in our Compendium as well. 

  • Dueling Grounds Update. (5/20)

We have updated the Dueling Grounds will new info, including several new items and weapons.  Just head on over to the Dueling Grounds section to see the new additions. 

  • Blizzard at E3. (5/19)

On their main page Blizzard has a link to some of the highlights of their E3 show, listed as jpeg´s with neat captions and all.  Click here to check out their display, which is a great way to see E3 if, like me, you weren´t able to attend. 

  • New Screenshots... (5/19)

Blizzard has released several new screenshots, all of which feature the Barbarian.  See them listed below: 

There is a news article at the Adrenaline Vault on Blizzard´s efforts to establish a licensing partnership with Wizards of the Coast and TSR (a subsidiary of WotC).  You can see the news article here.  It will be quite interesting if the deal goes through, and we´ll do our best to keep you posted on all the latest developments. 

  • Changes at Havas... (5/19)

While not Diablo II or directly Blizzard related, this was interesting nonetheless.  It appears that as of July 1st,.1999 that Hubert Joly will take over the job of CEO at Havas.  This probably won´t have any effect on Diablo II or Blizzard though. 

  • Another Press Release... (5/18)

Although we already knew that Diablo II would be supporting OpenGL, it is always nice to have an official release backing it.  Click here to view Blizzard´s latest press release about OpenGL and Perspective Scrolling and Parallax. 

  • Blizzard War Room Posts. (5/18)

The Blizzard Web Team has recently posted a message to the Battle.net War Room stating that the next Gampley AVI released will be for the Necromancer, and that their gallery for the Necromancer will also be up soon.  See the full post here. 

  • Blizzard Press Releases... (5/18)

Blizzard has posted two new official press releases, one for merchandising their new supplements via TSR (see it here) and another on the release date for Diablo II on the Macintosh (see it here).  Also, Blizzard´s website seems to undergone some changes, they´re in full Diablo II mode now. We captured a new rendered shot from their page as well:  

Another of Blizzard´s offerings, this one with the new belt interface as well.  Check it out below: 

Due to the size of our main page, we have archived the first half of this month in our News Archive under May.  Please check the News Archive if you have missed anything. 

  • Another Blizzard Post... (5/18)

Erich Schaefer strikes again, this time on the Battle.net Diablo II Suggestions Forum.  This post was about the Barbarian, and was in response to someone´s fears that he wouldn´t be very fun as a character. 

  • Blizzard Posts. (5/17)

Apparently Blizzard´s own Erich Schaefer has made several guest appearances on DiabloII.net´s forum.  In these posts he clarifies some of the confusing issues about Diablo II.  Check here (a post on saving multiplayer games), here (a post on hotkeys), here (a post on advancement), here (a post on the Sorceress), here (about the lack of a Heal spell), and here (Convert and client/server). 

We´ve added even more info to our E3 Unveiled article, including info on Diablo II´s AI and more on Perspective Scrolling and Parallax. 

  • Character Pages Updated. (5/16)

Now that we have all of the names of the characters´ skills, we have updated our character pages accordingly.  However, because of the massive re-writing that was necessary, the Paladin section is the only one without updates today.  We should have him updated by tomorrow, since he has undergone some major changes.  Go to the Compendium to access the character pages. 

  • Previews Everywhere. (5/16)

Well, as E3 wraps up this weekend we have previews leaping out from everywhere.  These previews really don´t have any new info or screenshots, but they are great summations of the material covered in E3.  Here they are: 

There is a 50 megabyte RealVideo feed from AGN now available, which you can see here if you have a version of RealPlayer.  The video is general gaming news, but it does contain clips of Diablo II as well as a small interview with Bill Roper. 

  • E3 Unveiled Update. (5/16)

Our article, E3 Unveiled, has been updated with new information on saved games and exporting characters from Battle.net. 

  • E3 Unveiled. (5/15)

i have begun work on an article detailing all the newest features to Diablo II given to us by the E3 coverage.  This article, entitled "E3 Unveiled", is available in our Articles section.  Keep checking the article, because as we learn more it will be detailing in it.  You can also find other, smaller additions in our Knowledge Vault, part of the Compendium. 

  • More Info from E3... (5/15)

Well, Flux has part I of his giant analysis of Diablo II up.  I really do wish that it was possible to have someone from this site at E3, but unfortunately we are too far away.  Anyway, you can read his report here, it is filled with new information.  I´ve taken the most pertinent information from it and archived it in our Compendium and the various character sections, so you can also look there for a quick reference. 

  • Info from E3. (5/15)

Well, we have managed to get even more info from E3, some things that are quite interesting.  This from an informational flyer Blizzard handed out at E3:

    Blizzard is in final negotiations with a major book publisher to license novelization rights for its Diablo, StarCraft and Warcraft universes. Under a nine-book deal, three novels will be published for each game. The first in each series will begin appearing during the spring and summer of 2000.

    Additionally, Wizards of the Coast subsidiary TSR Inc. is creating a variety of products including fast-play games, boxed sets, and adventure module. The Diablo games will be based on the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons rule book, while the StarCraft products will follw the Alternity science fiction role-playing rules system. The first games are scheduled for release later this year.

    Following last year's successful launch of StarCraft and Warcraft action fiures, Blizzard also announced plans to self-publish a line of Diablo II figures. The first series will include Diablo and three other heroes and monsters from the game. The action figures will be available when Diablo II launches later this year.

Also, Flux of DiabloII.net fame was able to grab some more info on various characters´ skills, all of which have been placed into their appropriate sections.  Some of the skills are completely new, so they might be in the wrong catagories at this time.  There is also a small review of the Diablo II build on E3.net, which can be read here. 

  • Some Sketches... (5/14)

DiabloII.net posted some wonderful sketches from their E3 coverage that I have captured and placed on this site as well.  There is also a wonderful Diablo II poster: 

We have gotten some more of the new screenshots, most of which deal with the Barbarian.  Just look below:

Also, we have another interesting fact in our Compendium for today. 

This E3 coverage has given us tons of new info, all of which you can find in our Compendium.  The Necromancer section has also been updated. 

  • Screenshots from Gamespot. (5/13)

Gamespot has put up some screenshots from their E3 coverage.  Most of the shots have already been seen (see a full index here), but a few are new and can be find below: 

We´ve updated our Barbarian section with the newest info gleaned from the information released today.  There was a great screenshot showing the Barbarian´s War Cries skill tree, which we got some of his skill icons from, though the icons are for unknown skills. 

  • CGO Coverage... (5/13)

Computer Games Online also has some pre-E3 coverage available.  Here is a small excerpt from their article:

    Blizzard also unveiled Diablo II's perspective scaling and parallax, a new display option within the game's 3D-accelerator support options. Scaling and parallax effects add what the company is calling "near-perfect perspective to the 3D-accelerated isometric view." The effect is at its best when the character is running through terrain populated with trees or around buildings

    A Macintosh version of the game is slated for completion during the first half of 2000.

Very interesting, and Mac users will be glad to get an estimated release date for the Macintosh version of Diablo II.  You can read the rest of the article here. 

  • Adrenaline Vault Coverage. (5/13)

The Adrenaline Vault has a little E3 coverage available, which you can see here.  Most of it is basic information, but it does have a few screenshots, which are better copies of the ones released by Gamecenter that are available in the post below this one. 

  • E3 Shots from Gamecenter. (5/13)

Gamecenter was able to get a hold of some shots slated for release at E3 ahead of time.  Most of them are new, and can be seen below: 

Diablo II was featured in a PVP comic, which you can see here.  PVP is a internet-only cartoon strip that has been around since Ultima Online, which is what it originally poked fun of.  The comic is very good, and quite funny. 

  • Interview with Bill Roper. (5/12)

Gamestar Magazine managed to attain an interview with Bill Roper himself.  The interview was in German, but Moritz was able to supply a translation.  The interview is in our Articles section, and can be read here. 

  • Throne of Blood Details... (5/12)

It appears that more information about the game designed by the developers who left Blizzard is now available.  Over at the Adenaline Vault there is a small preview of the game, which is called Throne of Blood. 

  • The Demo at E3. (5/12)

Over at CDMag there is a detailed listing of the demos that will be shown at E3, you can click here to see it.  The Diablo II demo will be shown on Friday, 12:00 - 1:00 PM Pacific Standard Time on a Voodoo3 powered display. 

  • SSOTW Analysis... (5/12)

As promised, my analysis of the Screenshot of the Week #10 is up and ready to be read here.  This analysis also goes into how the interface will work with Diablo II, in case you are new to the game and its predecessor. 

  • New Screenshot of the Week. (5/11)

Submitted for your approval, here is Blizzard´s latest offering:

This shot is a very unusual shot, of a greatly better caliber of any released shot to date.  As a matter of fact, it deserves an analysis all its own, which I will post later in the day.  For now, feast your eyes on it. 

  • Gamespot Poll... (5/10)

At Gamespot you´ll find a poll asking "how excited are you about Diablo II?"  The possible answers are: "very excited, "quien es el Diablo?", "not very", "not excited at all", and "somewhat excited."  "Very excited" is blazing a trail with 46% of the 3,866 votes, with "not very" not far behind at 21% of the votes.  Hurry,. go vote! 

  • German Diablo II Preview. (5/10)

Over at Games News, a German gaming site, there is a small preview about Diablo II.  Though it has no new screenshots, we don´t know if any new info will be available until we get a translation.  If anyone can read and translate German, pay the preview a visit.

Update: According to DiabloII.net´s Flux, the Games News preview doesn´t really contain any new information, and therefore really doesn´t need a translation.  Only one interesting point was stated and that was about monsters attacking the towns.  While we already knew this, it was good to hear it officially. 

  • Diablo II Preview... (5/10)

There is a small Diablo II preview at Game-Over, but it doesn´t really contain any new information or screenshots.  Of course, if you need a quick infusing of Diablo II today, then feel free to check it out here. 

  • The Newsletter has Shipped. (5/9)

The May 7th edition of the ShadowSpiral Newsletter has shipped and should be in your inbox as you read this.  We are very sorry for the two day delay in shipping the newsletter, but we were unexpectedly overwhelmed with a ton of non-related work (not to mention semester exams).  This absolutely will not be a common occurence, and I promise that the next newsletter will be delivered prompty on May 21st. 

  • Monthly Fansite Interview. (5/8)

The Diablo II Realm has posting the Fansite Interview with Blizzard that they won.  The Interview was quite good and gave us a few new tidbits of info.  It did a very good job at clarifying some things we already knew.  It seemed as though Blizzard was a little tight with info this time around, but with E3 looming close that is understandable. 

  • Updates Late in the Day... (5/7)

I apologize for the lack of updating today but my whole staff had their semester exams today, and we were quite busy all day long.  But, in the true fanatic´s way, we´ve taken all of the day´s news and updates and consolidated them into this post.  As an effect, our Compendium, Sorceress (including her entire spell listing), Dueling Grounds, and Necromancer pages have been updated.

Also, we have the preview analysis done by Flux up in our Articles section, which can be read here.  We will post the preview in its entirety as soon as we can.  We also have two new screenshots and a miscellaneous pic which can be seen here: 

On the Diablo II Suggestions Forum, Erich Schaefer has made a post concerning the arena.  On his previous visit to DiabloII.net´s forum he stated that the Dueling Arena was a person to person (2 player) duel.  On his newest post he states that perhaps up to 16 players may be in the arena at once.  Perhaps this is an update, or maybe his post at DiabloII.net´s forum was misunderstood. 

  • Screenshots from the Preview. (5/7)

We´ve gotten a hold of some of the screenshots from the PCAccelerator preview which had been given to DiabloII.net.  The screenshots are rather grainy and of poor quality, so we will be on the lookout for better, larger-sized ones: 

More info from both the PCPlayer and PCAccelerator previews is now available, all this has been added to our Compendium.  It is also worth note that the PCAccelerator magazine preview contains screenshots of the Barbarian, a full display of all the Sorceress´s skill trees, and a couple shots from ACT III, which means the Sorceress section has been updated as well.  As soon as we can get a hold of these pics we will post them. 

  • Info from the PCPlayer Preview... (5/6)

A German gamer named Rolf was able to translate a few points in the PCPlayer preview to English for us, so we have added that information to our Compendium.  One of the new pieces of information, about the Necromancer possessing the ability to shapeshift into other creatures (the example given was a scorpion) was quite odd, but compelling. 

Blizzard´s Erich Schaefer also made a guest appearance on DiabloII.net´s forum, answering two posts with new information.  This new info is also in our Compendium if you want to see it. 

The German PCPlayer magazine has a preview on their website, which you can read here.  Unfortunately the preview is in German and I can´t really report on it until we have a translation available.  An expanded edition of this preview may be out in the PCPlayer for June. 

  • Roper´s Band... (5/5)

In the recent issue of Gamestar Magazine (a German magazine) there was a small article on Bill Roper and the small Renassaince Faire band he is in, called the "Poxy Boggards."  You can hear a sampling of their music by clicking on the Church in WarCraft II.  Click here to see a picture of the band. 

The newest edition of PCAccelerator magazine has a giant article on Diablo II, complete with new screenshots.  We haven´t been able to pick up a copy of the new edition, so right now we don´t know if it has any new info or not, but we will have more information later today. 

  • Preparing for E3. (5/5)

There is an article at Next Generation in which Bill Roper describes the preparations Blizzard is making for Diablo II´s debut at E3.  While this article doesn´t really give any new info on the game, it is a very interesting and amusing read. 

  • New Screenshot of the Week... (5/4)

Blizzard has released the latest screenshot of the week, which you´ll find in our Special Screenshots section and here: 

It seems that Blizzard has been acquiring new domains with an extension of .nu for their purposes.  The .nu extension is offered by the nation of Togo, and Blizzard acquired these domains before anyone else could. 

www.diablo.nu and www.starcraft.nu - mirrors of Blizzard´s main site.
www.battlenet.nu - a mirror of Battle.net.

There is a small preview at Sharky Extreme, which can be seen here.  Unfortunately the preview doesn´t have any new info or screenshots, but the screenshots are all recent Screenshots of the Week, so they are worth a look if you´ve missed out on them.  Thanks to Khadafi-TSA for the information. 

  • Menu Bar Explaination. (5/3)

This comes in from Danfell of Graveyard fame.  It appears that the thin bar above the Stamina gauge is a way to tell your experience, and when it fills you gain a level.  This comes in from Blizzard´s Tony Gervase, so it is official information.  A lot of people had been wondering what this bar was, it´s good to finally know. 

  • Diablo II Radio... (5/3)

The Sanctuary is running a radio show about Diablo II.  Click here to access the radio presentation, and you will need Winamp to listen in.  You can download Winamp from here or in our Downloads section. 

  • The Diablo II Rumor Mill. (5/3)

There was a frenzy of rumors created by a pic that had been doctored by Azrael of the Catacombs of Tristram.  This pictures showed a screen with an installation panel for Diablo II,  you can see the picture here.  This screenshot is not real, and was meant as a harmless joke before the Rumor Mill went out of control.  Look at it for a laugh, but rest assured that Diablo II isn´t out there yet. 

  • Diablo II and Macintosh... (5/3)

It seems Diablo II has even started popping up in Macintosh gaming magazines now.  The May edition of Mac Addict sported a small article on Diablo II and Blizzard, unfortunately there was no new info though.  Thanks to Tektonic9 for the lead. 

  • New Rendered Shots. (5/2)

We have happened onto some new rendered shots, some showing the first ever rendered poses of the Barbarian.  These renders have been added to our Sketches and Rendered Shots section and can be seen here: 

Several new Diablo II general news and info sites, as well as a few new guilds, have opened their doors to the public in the past few days.  As a result, I´ve updated our Community section with these new sites.  The sites that were added are: The Moon Templars, The Diablo II Castle, and The Brotherhood.  If you have a site or guild that you would like in our Community Index, just email us or tell us on our Message Board. 

  • We´ve Archived April´s News... (5/1)

The month has changed and we have moved all of April´s news to the April section in our News Archive.  If there was something you missed in April, be sure to check the archive for all the info.  We are really looking forward to this month, as it will bring E3 and pics of Act III and the Barbarian.  E3 will occur May 13th - 15th, and you can bet we will be reporting the news as soon as we get our hands on it. 

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Skill of the Week

Iron Maiden
Harkening back to an inquisitional torture, the Iron Maiden curse causes all damage an enemy does to you to be returned to that enemy as well.  Part of the Necromancer´s Curses, it is a powerful addition to his arsenal.

Counter courtesy of
TheCounter.com


 
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