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Diablo 1 for Web Browsers

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Re: Diablo 1 for Web Browsers

#71

Still some of the best (pseudo-) random dungeon generation I've ever played. That functionality alone probably accounts for over 90% of the time I spent replaying it. It's strange to me that so few games in the genre seem to do this as well, over 25 years later. Hades is supposed to be good, but for some reason it doesn't look like something I'd enjoy. Maybe I'll pick it up on sale at some point and find out.

Have you tried Diablo 3 yet? After the real money auction house fiasco, Blizzard did a 360 and completely turned the game around and continued to grow it over the years. It is an excellent game now.

Path of Exile is another really good one, more like D2, whereas D3 was more streamlined (plays very well, but less customization).

Both do random dungeon generation.

In a different genre, but Deep Rock Galactic has super cool underground cave systems procedurally generated... it's just an excellent game throughout: https://www.ghostship.dk/blog/procedural-level-generation

Re: Diablo 1 for Web Browsers

#72

Still some of the best (pseudo-) random dungeon generation I've ever played. That functionality alone probably accounts for over 90% of the time I spent replaying it. It's strange to me that so few games in the genre seem to do this as well, over 25 years later. Hades is supposed to be good, but for some reason it doesn't look like something I'd enjoy. Maybe I'll pick it up on sale at some point and find out.

Have you tried Diablo 3 yet? After the real money auction house fiasco, Blizzard did a 360 and completely turned the game around and continued to grow it over the years. It is an excellent game now. Path of Exile is another really good one, more like D2, whereas D3 was more streamlined (plays very well, but less customization). Both do random dungeon generation. In a different genre, but Deep Rock Galactic has super…

What made me dislike Diablo 3, is that for me it fails to deliver the atmosphere that really made Diablo 1 and 2 a game worth experiencing.

Diablo 3 is too colorful and looks like it has been heavily influenced by games like World of Warcraft (in a bad way).

Re: Diablo 1 for Web Browsers

#73

Counterstrike 1.6 in the browser for those who like quick trips down memory lane: https://play-cs.com

I am instantly taken back to a time where we literally planned to lug big tower computers to my friends house just to be able to play CS 1.6 together. Thank you for sharing!

I miss LAN parties with my friends so much. It felt like we had endless free time.

Thanks for making me remember.

Re: Diablo 1 for Web Browsers

#74
post #40
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's mostly just download time. Didn't take long for me. Oh, do you mean between game areas? I didn't actually play it yet!

Yes, the load times between levels are super fast. I remember waiting for perhaps 30 seconds when playing the game on my PC in 1997. Also, I would've sworn that the shareware version included the Butcher on level 2. It doesn't...

The Butcher isn't a guaranteed quest on every playthrough, maybe that's also true of the Shareware version?

Re: Diablo 1 for Web Browsers

#75
post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you tried Diablo 3 yet? After the real money auction house fiasco, Blizzard did a 360 and completely turned the game around and continued to grow it over the years. It is an excellent game now. Path of Exile is another really good one, more like D2, whereas D3 was more streamlined (plays very well, but less customization). Both do random dungeon generation. In a different genre, but Deep Rock Galactic has super…

What made me dislike Diablo 3, is that for me it fails to deliver the atmosphere that really made Diablo 1 and 2 a game worth experiencing. Diablo 3 is too colorful and looks like it has been heavily influenced by games like World of Warcraft (in a bad way).

Definitely. And it's not just the atmosphere, the gameplay is borrowed from WoW too (in a good way, IMO, but YMMV).

Path of Exile might be more up your alley. It's more D2-like both in atmosphere and depth -- it's more about traversing giant skill trees to slowly customize your character, than D3's "choose a few unique skills and learn to use them together well" model.

Funny, my one main gripe about PoE (and also D2) are the superdark graphics. I miss the WoW art style, personally... guess it's not for everyone :)

Re: Diablo 1 for Web Browsers

#76
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMO the sense of wonder and the defined dark aesthetics of both the worlds created for Diablo 1 and 2 are something Blizzard will have to proove it can still pull off.

Diablo 1 and 2 were made by Blizzard North, a different group of developers than Blizzard. There's a reason Diablo 3 feels so different.

D3 was initially also developed by Blizzard North. But then it got overhauled, multiple time. I'd say Diablo 3 became a good game... but it started out terrible. The RMAH has taught me a great thing though (something I should've learned by playing MtG back in the days).

Re: Diablo 1 for Web Browsers

#77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Diablo 1 and 2 were made by Blizzard North, a different group of developers than Blizzard. There's a reason Diablo 3 feels so different.

There is that... and then there is explicitly mocking the fans who wanted the dark/gritty asthethic.

Do you have a smartphone though?

Re: Diablo 1 for Web Browsers

#78

Still some of the best (pseudo-) random dungeon generation I've ever played. That functionality alone probably accounts for over 90% of the time I spent replaying it. It's strange to me that so few games in the genre seem to do this as well, over 25 years later. Hades is supposed to be good, but for some reason it doesn't look like something I'd enjoy. Maybe I'll pick it up on sale at some point and find out.

The dungeon and item generation randomization is great. The real time isometric view, gameplay, and atmosphere, while groundbreaking, would not have been enough to get me to replay more than a handful of times. Without the randomization, the game would have had to have many more expansions.

I have played Diablo for far too many hours to count. On the other hand, Baldur's Gate is a game I replay about once every 5 years due to the atmosphere being so good.

One thing I loved about this game was the vast amount of fan pages dedicated to it in the early years when I was learning how to play. I have spent some time compiling links to those sites, that are still hosted or archived, at my website https://mgpat-gm.github.io/links.html. If you want a trip down memory lane, click away.

Re: Diablo 1 for Web Browsers

#79
post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you tried Diablo 3 yet? After the real money auction house fiasco, Blizzard did a 360 and completely turned the game around and continued to grow it over the years. It is an excellent game now. Path of Exile is another really good one, more like D2, whereas D3 was more streamlined (plays very well, but less customization). Both do random dungeon generation. In a different genre, but Deep Rock Galactic has super…

What made me dislike Diablo 3, is that for me it fails to deliver the atmosphere that really made Diablo 1 and 2 a game worth experiencing. Diablo 3 is too colorful and looks like it has been heavily influenced by games like World of Warcraft (in a bad way).

Part of that missing atmosphere was that in D1 (and to a lesser extent D2), you were a weak human and death was around every corner. You might walk into a room and near-instantly die. You spent a lot of time running for your life.

Contrast that to D3, where I literally beat the game the first time without using a single health potion. You were a super-hero who could punch a skeleton and send the pieces flying at level 1. And while I can certainly see the allure of such experiences (hell, I enjoy them too in other games), it was not what I wanted from a Diablo experience.

Re: Diablo 1 for Web Browsers

#80
post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Diablo 1 and 2 were made by Blizzard North, a different group of developers than Blizzard. There's a reason Diablo 3 feels so different.

D3 was initially also developed by Blizzard North. But then it got overhauled, multiple time. I'd say Diablo 3 became a good game... but it started out terrible. The RMAH has taught me a great thing though (something I should've learned by playing MtG back in the days).

I mentionned that Diablo 3 feels different. Its art style and gameplay loop are both going in a different direction. It's quality has nothing to do with it.
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