Diablo III --Impressions start on page 36 --

[Soulchilde]

My Amazon order just updated with a September 4th ship date....

2012?

that would be a negative 2011

Ah, I wonder if that's a glitch.  Wonderpug will eat Leo's shorts if it actually comes out then, with a month to do the beta, go gold and get ready for global distribution.

Agreed.   

[Alefroth]

The real money AH is going bring the account hackers out in full force.  Now instead of just gaining access to your account they can actually buy a bunch of stuff on your "method of payment" as that is directly linked to your AH purchases.  Someone is going to get their credit card absolutely raped by this. 
 Its going to be real interesting to hear the fallout when someone has their account hacked and the hacker uses their cc to buy $1500 worth of crap, that the hacker listed on the AH just for that purpose.
 Of course anyone one who plays this game without an attached authenticator is a fool but worry not, the world is full of fools.  Besides Im not completely sold on the security those authenticators provide, at least where a skilled determined hacker is concerned.

Not quite that bad

Ale

[vizionblind]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDYjljdje-g&feature=player_embedded#at=47

[jersoc]

The real money AH is going bring the account hackers out in full force.  Now instead of just gaining access to your account they can actually buy a bunch of stuff on your "method of payment" as that is directly linked to your AH purchases.  Someone is going to get their credit card absolutely raped by this. 
 Its going to be real interesting to hear the fallout when someone has their account hacked and the hacker uses their cc to buy $1500 worth of crap, that the hacker listed on the AH just for that purpose.
 Of course anyone one who plays this game without an attached authenticator is a fool but worry not, the world is full of fools.  Besides Im not completely sold on the security those authenticators provide, at least where a skilled determined hacker is concerned.

please expand on how easy you believe it will be to crack those auths? considering the auth reside on a phone or other device.

suddenly everyone is a security expert.

[Razgon]

I'm not!

[rshetts2]

The real money AH is going bring the account hackers out in full force.  Now instead of just gaining access to your account they can actually buy a bunch of stuff on your "method of payment" as that is directly linked to your AH purchases.  Someone is going to get their credit card absolutely raped by this. 
 Its going to be real interesting to hear the fallout when someone has their account hacked and the hacker uses their cc to buy $1500 worth of crap, that the hacker listed on the AH just for that purpose.
 Of course anyone one who plays this game without an attached authenticator is a fool but worry not, the world is full of fools.  Besides Im not completely sold on the security those authenticators provide, at least where a skilled determined hacker is concerned.

please expand on how easy you believe it will be to crack those auths? considering the auth reside on a phone or other device.

suddenly everyone is a security expert.

and where did I say it would be easy?  I said I wasnt completely sold on the authenticators security  and further added "at least where a SKILLED DETERMINEDhacker is concerned" 

according to you in a different post:  "even if you don't have a current wow account and use bnet get an auth. on your account. that is 99.9% hack proof. if you get hacked using one chances are it's blizzard's fault then. "
By that I guess you believe that they are not hack proof.  Go ahead now and say that at 99.9%  it may as well be but with the huge amount of subscribers to battlenet and blizzards games that .1% would affect 100's of thousands of people.
 Your statement about cracking the authenticators?  Theres more than one way to compromise an authenticators security. Hackers  have developed a virus that can do it on the users end    http://www.mmocrunch.com/2010/02/28/world-of-warcraft-authenticator-hacked/   and there has been other suspected hacks through Blizzards end as well. 
So to summarize, do I think and authenticator improved user end security on battlenet accounts?  Yes I do.  Do I feel the authenticator system is completely secure and unhackable, no I dont.  In fact hackers have already done so.  With real money available to be taken, these attempts will only increase. 
Am I a security expert?  No I am not.  But it doesnt take a security expert to know that pretty much any security that has been developed can be hacked.

[Victoria Raverna]

Man in middle attack can hack accounts that are protected by authenticators.

[jersoc]

The real money AH is going bring the account hackers out in full force.  Now instead of just gaining access to your account they can actually buy a bunch of stuff on your "method of payment" as that is directly linked to your AH purchases.  Someone is going to get their credit card absolutely raped by this. 
 Its going to be real interesting to hear the fallout when someone has their account hacked and the hacker uses their cc to buy $1500 worth of crap, that the hacker listed on the AH just for that purpose.
 Of course anyone one who plays this game without an attached authenticator is a fool but worry not, the world is full of fools.  Besides Im not completely sold on the security those authenticators provide, at least where a skilled determined hacker is concerned.

please expand on how easy you believe it will be to crack those auths? considering the auth reside on a phone or other device.

suddenly everyone is a security expert.

and where did I say it would be easy?  I said I wasnt completely sold on the authenticators security  and further added "at least where a SKILLED DETERMINEDhacker is concerned" 

according to you in a different post:  "even if you don't have a current wow account and use bnet get an auth. on your account. that is 99.9% hack proof. if you get hacked using one chances are it's blizzard's fault then. "
By that I guess you believe that they are not hack proof.  Go ahead now and say that at 99.9%  it may as well be but with the huge amount of subscribers to battlenet and blizzards games that .1% would affect 100's of thousands of people.
 Your statement about cracking the authenticators?  Theres more than one way to compromise an authenticators security. Hackers  have developed a virus that can do it on the users end    http://www.mmocrunch.com/2010/02/28/world-of-warcraft-authenticator-hacked/   and there has been other suspected hacks through Blizzards end as well. 
So to summarize, do I think and authenticator improved user end security on battlenet accounts?  Yes I do.  Do I feel the authenticator system is completely secure and unhackable, no I dont.  In fact hackers have already done so.  With real money available to be taken, these attempts will only increase. 
Am I a security expert?  No I am not.  But it doesnt take a security expert to know that pretty much any security that has been developed can be hacked.

they didnt' hack shit. they intercepted via a trojan. there is a difference.

Last week reports of a "man-in-the-middle-attack" surfaced in regards to Blizzard's MMORPG. World of Warcraft. Apparently hackers have created a tool that grants them access to accounts protected by an authentication tool. Once they are in control of the account, hackers can thus steal virtual gold and possessions until the account password is reset. Currently there's no indication if the hackers gain access to data such as credit cards or other personal information.

The tool in question is a keylogger, possibly a file named emcor.dll which can be found in C:/Documents and Settings/Users/[username]/Application Data/Temp. Once the user launches the keylogger, the PC is infected and will in turn cause World of Warcraft to crash. Once the players re-start the game and log back into the account, the authenticator code is intercepted by the hacker. A different code is sent to Blizzard's servers, locking the player out.

Because authenticator codes only last for 30 seconds, hackers have access to the WoW account until they log out. "This is still perpetrated by key loggers, and no method is always 100% secure," Blizzard said in this forum post.

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/blizzard-warcraft-authenticator-hack,9821.html

so yeah. there ya go. now you know. i'm pretty sure no one is trying to hack my phone right now. they are jacking the code you send and that gives them a 30second window to sign in. once again, if you are getting viruses how is that blizzard's fault?

[Victoria Raverna]

I think you misunderstood rshetts2. He was not completely sold on the security those authenticators provide. Not the security of the authenticators itself. So man in the middle attack is a good reason for that.

[rshetts2]

I think you misunderstood rshetts2. He was not completely sold on the security those authenticators provide. Not the security of the authenticators itself. So man in the middle attack is a good reason for that.

He didnt misunderstand, he chose to ignore the context of my statements because otherwise he wouldnt have been able to support his witty reparte'.  Ive chosen not to reply to Jersoc because as his past history has show he enjoys throwing his derogatory comments at anyone he can.  As my dad once told me,  Son, dont wrestle with a pig, it just gets you both dirty and the pig enjoys it.

But you are exactly right, I dont expect some techno-geek to throw on ninja gear and stealthily steal my authenticator or phone and then hack it some how, thats pretty ludicrous.  Still, with real cash on the table I suspect that we will see more man in the middle attacks and in fact I wouldnt be surprised to see Blizzard itself hacked somewhere down the line.  After all, theres going to be a major amount of money available in peoples e-balances and if someone can hack through and access the accounts through Blizzard we are talking a potential payday in the tens if not hundreds of millions. 
 

[Thry]

But you are exactly right, I dont expect some techno-geek to throw on ninja gear and stealthily steal my authenticator or phone and then hack it some how, thats pretty ludicrous.  Still, with real cash on the table I suspect that we will see more man in the middle attacks and in fact I wouldnt be surprised to see Blizzard itself hacked somewhere down the line.  After all, theres going to be a major amount of money available in peoples e-balances and if someone can hack through and access the accounts through Blizzard we are talking a potential payday in the tens if not hundreds of millions. 

I'm sure security is a huge issue for them just like any other company that deals with large amounts of web transactions.  Banks, gambling, and retail sites are just as much, if not more of a security risk.  The bottom line risk for the typical user is relatively low. 

I don't recall reading about any major gambling sites being hacked and some of those guys stand to lose BIG bucks. 

[Blackjack]

D3 interview w/ lead content designer, at Blizzard's site in line with the recent beta announcement:
http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/events/diablo3-announcement/index.html#beta:d3-interview

Now that the internal testing is nearing completion, what aspects of the game do you hope to focus on during the beta test?

Kevin Martens: Polish, polish, polish. In particular, we’re going to keep refining our approach to the game’s action-storytelling. We want the player to experience the story, instead of just being told the story by NPCs, so we’re moving a lot of the dialogue into the gameplay and leaving the quest hubs with just the bare, essential details needed to keep the plot moving.

One example of this kind of a change can be found when players first get to New Tristram. When they arrive, they find the town under siege by a horde of zombies, and the guards need help fending off the attack before they can open the gates. One of the conversations between the player and the guards used to take place before the main zombie attack, but it now takes place during the attack. That subtle change took a short conversation and moved it into the action of the game, which made it more impactful and intense. Ultimately, we want the story to feel ambient and organic, instead of something that only happens between battles.

Aside from the story elements, how are you tuning the game’s combat encounters?

Kevin Martens: We want the game’s difficulty to hit a range of “peaks” and “valleys” as the player progresses from battle to battle. During the “peaks”, the challenge level spikes and players will be tested to their limits. In the “valleys”, the difficulty relaxes and players can build up their health and energy again.

From a gameplay standpoint, valleys are important because they allow players to learn and experiment with their abilities without too much fear of failure or death. It’s the skills and techniques developed during the valleys that enable players to survive the peaks, which tend to be much tougher encounters, like ambushes, large groups, rare monsters, or even bosses. The peaks will require players to think quickly, spend their resources carefully, and move around the battlefield to avoid getting surrounded.

What’s involved in designing a difficulty “peak”? Can you give us an example?

Kevin Martens: We have to make sure peaks are challenging for both melee and ranged characters, which is sometimes difficult because these two types of characters tend to have opposing strengths and weaknesses.

Take the Skeleton King for example. He’s an Act 1 mini-boss who presents the highest difficulty peak in the early game. He has a ton of hit points, so he can stand toe to toe with most melee characters, but he also has a rush attack to chase down any ranged character who try to kite him [though this rush is telegraphed, so the player has a brief chance to get out of the way]. He summons minions that soak up a lot of player damage, but they also drop health globes, which the player will need to survive the lengthy boss encounter. The minions are plentiful and relatively weak, so they keep the overall intensity of the encounter high, even while the player recovers and the Skeleton King sets up his next rush attack.

How are you approaching balancing the game’s overall difficulty?

Kevin Martens: When it comes down to balancing the actual numbers, there is an expected amount of damage output that players should be able to sustain based on their level and gear. There is no absolute benchmark though, as skillful players will be able to do more damage with speed, precision, and advanced attack combos, while less experienced players will generally do less damage with more straight-forward attacks. The expected damage is a starting point to balance from.

Balance must be maintained for both players types, and everyone in between, which can be tricky. Ultimately, it’s going to take the game's harder difficulty modes -- Hell and Inferno -- to challenge the limits of the best Diablo III players.

When grouping together, what roles will the five player character classes fill? How will they interact with each other?

Kevin Martens: Diablo III doesn’t adhere to rigidly-defined class roles. Instead, we want to equip each class with the core toolset of abilities they need to be self-reliant. This toolset includes abilities for single-target damage, area-of-effect damage, movement, defense, and crowd control.

Of course, that’s not to say each class will play exactly the same, nor do I want to imply that grouping will not be helpful. At the most basic level, the heavily-armored melee characters tend to wade into combat and soak up attacks, while the lighter, ranged characters dart around their enemies’ flanks, using position and speed to their advantage. Runes, equipment, and skill choices can also affect how a character will play.

For example: a monk with the right build can withstand a lot of damage, enabling him to wade into enemy lines, while a barbarian with a certain spec might become a crowd-controlling striker, one that doesn’t go toe-to-toe with a mob of enemies, but instead charges quickly and isolates members of a larger group.

How are you approaching balancing the itemization in the game?

Kevin Martens: Itemization is part of a character’s expected damage output, so that’s already accounted for in the balance numbers. Runestones, however, add another layer of complexity, so we’re spending a lot of time with these. In fact, we’re treating each rune much like a unique skill because we want the player to think carefully about the advantages and drawbacks of each rune choice.

For example, the wizard’s Electrocute attack can be modified with an Obsidian Runestone to give it a shorter, wider blast radius, much like a shotgun, or it can be modified with a Crimson Runestone which decreases overall damage, but can pass through multiple targets in a longer line, making it ideal for sniping ranks of enemies. The former is a good for Wizards who are built to wade into groups of enemies, and the latter is good for Wizards who are built to stay out of range of enemy attacks and deal damage from afar. Our challenge is to offer the player this kind of choice with each skill and runestone.

[rshetts2]

But you are exactly right, I dont expect some techno-geek to throw on ninja gear and stealthily steal my authenticator or phone and then hack it some how, thats pretty ludicrous.  Still, with real cash on the table I suspect that we will see more man in the middle attacks and in fact I wouldnt be surprised to see Blizzard itself hacked somewhere down the line.  After all, theres going to be a major amount of money available in peoples e-balances and if someone can hack through and access the accounts through Blizzard we are talking a potential payday in the tens if not hundreds of millions. 

I'm sure security is a huge issue for them just like any other company that deals with large amounts of web transactions.  Banks, gambling, and retail sites are just as much, if not more of a security risk.  The bottom line risk for the typical user is relatively low. 

I don't recall reading about any major gambling sites being hacked and some of those guys stand to lose BIG bucks. 

I really cant speak about poker sites but if you check on the internet you will find that several institutions run global surveys on financial information security and they all state that off site intrusions are a very real and persistent threat, requiring constant vigilance.
 Im not saying that Blizzard is lackadaisical in their security efforts, Im saying that the attempts are going to be made regardless and may eventually be successful ( remember the sony fiasco ? )  and that access to ebalances will likely make those attempts even more persistent.  Cyber crime is the fastest growing criminal effort, world wide.  It is extremely lucrative and on an individual basis identity theft/credit fraud  accounts for billions lost in the US alone.  In the past 6 months we have seen major assaults against Sony, Epsilon. the Pentagon, the FBI and several other law enforcement databases and the truth of the matter is what the general public actually hears about is just the tip of the iceberg. 

Anyway, Im getting far off topic from Diablo 3.  Security issues and cyber criminals aside, I am looking forward to the game and will be playing regardless.  So keep your ebalances low and your health and mana high, we have demons to kill once again!

[SkyLander]

I think with the online only issues and the real money auction house.....I'm...going to wait and see.

I know that is blasphemy with a Blizzard game but there are to many things that are rubbing me the wrong way.

[Purge]

Starcraft II was ... alright.

Diablo III, I think, is Blizzards last chance at proving they can be a competitor in today's market (WoW is pretty mych a different business entirely). This is one of their crowning jewels, and as I see it, the last bastion unless they drop some new IP. Blackstone isn't compelling enough. Starcraft II 2/3, and 3/3 aren't going to be anything truly different.

They need to make sure this game wears out mouse buttons and marriages.

[leo8877]

Starcraft II was ... alright.

Diablo III, I think, is Blizzards last chance at proving they can be a competitor in today's market (WoW is pretty mych a different business entirely). This is one of their crowning jewels, and as I see it, the last bastion unless they drop some new IP. Blackstone isn't compelling enough. Starcraft II 2/3, and 3/3 aren't going to be anything truly different.

They need to make sure this game wears out mouse buttons and marriages.

Well they said their new MMO is a new IP, so one is definitely coming.

[Purge]

MMO is still a different business entirely and the development is entirely hinged upon creating almost entirely unobtainable carrots for people to chase after.

[Big Jake]

It was only today that I read about the announcement and details from last week.

An Auction House that functions on actual money (and therefore, will only make the gold farming worse)?
No single player? (And yes, if I have to hook up to your server to play, that's no single player.

This just went from my most expected sequel ever to...'Why, GodAllahBuddhaCthulu, Why?'

Fuck Blizzard. 

[wonderpug]

It was only today that I read about the announcement and details from last week.

An Auction House that functions on actual money (and therefore, will only make the gold farming worse)?
No single player? (And yes, if I have to hook up to your server to play, that's no single player.

This just went from my most expected sequel ever to...'Why, GodAllahBuddhaCthulu, Why?'

Fuck Blizzard. 

Huh?

I think the real money AH is a bad idea, and I'm annoyed by the always-online requirement.  I also expect I'll be playing the game solo most of the time.

So...  I'll use the fake money AH and avoid the real money one, and I will play in solo instances of the game.  Playing this way, I will never encounter any gold-farmed items, nor will I interact with anyone superpower equipped with money-bought items. 

So I mean, I'm not in favor of these design decisions, but other than being tethered to an internet connection, they aren't going to affect me in any way.  As I play single player, that is.

[wonderpug]

No single player? (And yes, if I have to hook up to your server to play, that's no single player.

One more note on that.  By your reasoning, none of these PopCap games would be single player, nor any of these by Armor Games, nor Orisinal games, or even Trogdor.

[Gratch]

No single player? (And yes, if I have to hook up to your server to play, that's no single player.

Um, no.

[ibdoomed]

It was only today that I read about the announcement and details from last week.

An Auction House that functions on actual money (and therefore, will only make the gold farming worse)?
No single player? (And yes, if I have to hook up to your server to play, that's no single player.

This just went from my most expected sequel ever to...'Why, GodAllahBuddhaCthulu, Why?'

Fuck Blizzard. 

Sorry bud. I have to disagree with you there. You're getting single player mixed up with offline.

Don't worry about it though, between here, OO and Wanderers, you'll always have trustworthy friends to play with. Ok, well most of them can be trusted.... 3 of them?  Oh bother.

[Crabbs]

It was only today that I read about the announcement and details from last week.

An Auction House that functions on actual money (and therefore, will only make the gold farming worse)?
No single player? (And yes, if I have to hook up to your server to play, that's no single player.

This just went from my most expected sequel ever to...'Why, GodAllahBuddhaCthulu, Why?'

Fuck Blizzard.  

Party limit is 4, so it's perfect Seeya there!
Sorry bud. I have to disagree with you there. You're getting single player mixed up with offline.

Don't worry about it though, between here, OO and Wanderers, you'll always have trustworthy friends to play with. Ok, well most of them can be trusted.... 3 of them?  Oh bother.

Well since group limit is 4, only 3 trustworthy guildies makes for a perfect setup

EDIT:No idea why it didn't submit my response the first time.

[CeeKay]

It did, you accidentally put it in the quotes section.

[Crabbs]

It did, you accidentally put it in the quotes section.

Makes me even more of a dumb ass

[rittchard]

It was only today that I read about the announcement and details from last week.

An Auction House that functions on actual money (and therefore, will only make the gold farming worse)?
No single player? (And yes, if I have to hook up to your server to play, that's no single player.

This just went from my most expected sequel ever to...'Why, GodAllahBuddhaCthulu, Why?'

Fuck Blizzard. 

Huh?

I think the real money AH is a bad idea, and I'm annoyed by the always-online requirement.  I also expect I'll be playing the game solo most of the time.

So...  I'll use the fake money AH and avoid the real money one, and I will play in solo instances of the game.  Playing this way, I will never encounter any gold-farmed items, nor will I interact with anyone superpower equipped with money-bought items. 

So I mean, I'm not in favor of these design decisions, but other than being tethered to an internet connection, they aren't going to affect me in any way.  As I play single player, that is.

I'm gonna make you play with ME by sending you endless invites until you cave!  Come on, it will be just like visiting each others' cities in We Rule.  Except with 100% more demons   

[rittchard]

It did, you accidentally put it in the quotes section.

Makes me even more of a dumb ass

I think you just got kicked off of Big Jakes' list of 3 friends. 

[EddieA]

IGN has some video overviews of the five classes.

[heloder]

A funny Diablo 3 comic

[Blackjack]

Like me, you probably don't wait breathlessly for "open letters to..." at Armchair Empire, but here 'tis! (about the always-on connection stuff, not about RMT).

An Open Letter to Mike Morhaime
http://www.armchairempire.com/Editorials/open-letter-mike-morhaime.htm

Yes, I am a great admirer of the work that Blizzard has put out over the years. It is as an admirer and a member of the gaming press that I must put the following question to you.

Have you taken complete and thorough leave of your senses?

Mostly pointing out how many people don't truly have access to always-on connections still.

I'm blase at this point. Clearly the "always-on" requirement had no impact on Starcraft II sales (lots of folks were upset about it on that), so I don't think Blizzard ... I mean Activision-Blizzard ... is awake at night worrying about this, at least financially.

Some of the letter seems histrionic. Yes, everything and everyone is being hacked, cracked, split open in two. Should we give up on smartphones, and start using typewriters again instead of computers? Just give up on online gaming altogether since there's no way to guarantee protection of people's data and payment information? I'd say if someone's gonna write "an open letter to," it needs to be a bit more level headed.

Rather than "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! The hacking barbarians are at the gates! Let me stay offline!"  

[Appollo]

It was only today that I read about the announcement and details from last week.

An Auction House that functions on actual money (and therefore, will only make the gold farming worse)?
No single player? (And yes, if I have to hook up to your server to play, that's no single player.

This just went from my most expected sequel ever to...'Why, GodAllahBuddhaCthulu, Why?'

Fuck Blizzard. 

Huh?

I think the real money AH is a bad idea, and I'm annoyed by the always-online requirement.  I also expect I'll be playing the game solo most of the time.

So...  I'll use the fake money AH and avoid the real money one, and I will play in solo instances of the game.  Playing this way, I will never encounter any gold-farmed items, nor will I interact with anyone superpower equipped with money-bought items. 

So I mean, I'm not in favor of these design decisions, but other than being tethered to an internet connection, they aren't going to affect me in any way.  As I play single player, that is.

This is pretty much me, I am not even sure I have the click click click patience anymore.

At the moment I am in my flight sim cycle so it is only with casual interest I read this stuff.

Dunno ... just dunno at this point

[leo8877]

[Gratch]

Huh?

I think the real money AH is a bad idea, and I'm annoyed by the always-online requirement.  I also expect I'll be playing the game solo most of the time.

So...  I'll use the fake money AH and avoid the real money one, and I will play in solo instances of the game.  Playing this way, I will never encounter any gold-farmed items, nor will I interact with anyone superpower equipped with money-bought items. 

So I mean, I'm not in favor of these design decisions, but other than being tethered to an internet connection, they aren't going to affect me in any way.  As I play single player, that is.

Same here.  I'm also single player only, so all the other stuff won't affect me in the least.  I actually find the wailing and gnashing of teeth over it rather amusing.

[rittchard]

Huh?

I think the real money AH is a bad idea, and I'm annoyed by the always-online requirement.  I also expect I'll be playing the game solo most of the time.

So...  I'll use the fake money AH and avoid the real money one, and I will play in solo instances of the game.  Playing this way, I will never encounter any gold-farmed items, nor will I interact with anyone superpower equipped with money-bought items. 

So I mean, I'm not in favor of these design decisions, but other than being tethered to an internet connection, they aren't going to affect me in any way.  As I play single player, that is.

Same here.  I'm also single player only, so all the other stuff won't affect me in the least.  I actually find the wailing and gnashing of teeth over it rather amusing.

Even though it's kind of pointless since who knows when this game is ever going to come out, I'd just throw out the idea to those of you who have decided to only play single player to keep an open mind.  The dynamics of this type of game change dramatically in a party and multi-player (if done correctly, as I suspect Blizzard will) should feel like a completely different game.  I still remember when I first played D2, I was completely adverse to playing with others.  I enjoyed the game as a single player experience - but it wasn't until the expansion and playing online multiplayer that the game really went to the next level for me - teamwork, camaraderie, skills working in unison to enhance each other... there are some things that just can't be mimicked in single player.

[Gratch]

Huh?

I think the real money AH is a bad idea, and I'm annoyed by the always-online requirement.  I also expect I'll be playing the game solo most of the time.

So...  I'll use the fake money AH and avoid the real money one, and I will play in solo instances of the game.  Playing this way, I will never encounter any gold-farmed items, nor will I interact with anyone superpower equipped with money-bought items.  

So I mean, I'm not in favor of these design decisions, but other than being tethered to an internet connection, they aren't going to affect me in any way.  As I play single player, that is.

Same here.  I'm also single player only, so all the other stuff won't affect me in the least.  I actually find the wailing and gnashing of teeth over it rather amusing.

Even though it's kind of pointless since who knows when this game is ever going to come out, I'd just throw out the idea to those of you who have decided to only play single player to keep an open mind.  The dynamics of this type of game change dramatically in a party and multi-player (if done correctly, as I suspect Blizzard will) should feel like a completely different game.  I still remember when I first played D2, I was completely adverse to playing with others.  I enjoyed the game as a single player experience - but it wasn't until the expansion and playing online multiplayer that the game really went to the next level for me - teamwork, camaraderie, skills working in unison to enhance each other... there are some things that just can't be mimicked in single player.

The same has been said about every multiplayer game since...well, ever and I have yet to find one that makes me want to play with other people.  Due to lots of factors (i.e. very little gaming time, the inability to play for long stretches, a weird work schedule, having a 2 year old, generally being a bit anti-social, etc), I'm just a very solitary gamer.  

[Harkonis]

the 10,000 post anti-social gamer 

[EddieA]

Blizzard has started sending out beta invites.  There's no NDA, so people are doing video streams.  Anyone here get in the beta yet?

[CeeKay]

Blizzard has started sending out beta invites.  There's no NDA, so people are doing video streams.  Anyone here get in the beta yet?

I get so many phishing attempts for Blizzard stuff I probably wouldn't believe the invite was real if I got one.

[jersoc]

Blizzard has started sending out beta invites.  There's no NDA, so people are doing video streams.  Anyone here get in the beta yet?

it's friends and family

[Crabbs]

Blizzard has started sending out beta invites.  There's no NDA, so people are doing video streams.  Anyone here get in the beta yet?

it's friends and family

Yep here's Bashiok's quote

FYI, we’re getting very close to starting the closed public beta test for Diablo III. You might start seeing some new reports about the beta client as we’ve begun limited external testing with employees and their families, and there is no non-disclosure agreement (NDA) for that. We look forward to sharing more info about the beta test in the near future. Stay tuned.

If you have a beta license, you are free to show, share, or talk about any portion of the beta content to which you have access, as this beta test is not confidential.