Diablo III --Impressions start on page 36 --

[namatoki]

That's probably more than even the best of databases could handle (and they aren't all the same physical database either, if they're smart)

I picture poorly-paid interns running back and forth to a card catalog, looking up login credentials. 

Paid? LOL.

I tried to make my character at midnight and like everyone else, timed out and gave up.  This morning, I log in and see my character list is full of demon hunters. 

[Crabbs]

My friend bought the game from newegg and wants to know how to install it early.  Is there a link for the installer or would he had to have been on the beta?

I posted a link a few pages back, but I think I also just saw someone say that the old installer isn't working properly anymore.  Not sure if if there's an updated non-Blizzard link out in the wild yet.

Looks like they're providing a direct link from the Battle.net splash page. Gives you the option to activate a key or to download the client.

[Harpua3]

Let me know how it plays on Mac!!! I'm purposely getting mp3 tonight so I don't fall prey to this yet... I want to know how well it runs and frankly give it a few days for the servers to settle in...

[Travis]

My friend bought the game from newegg and wants to know how to install it early.  Is there a link for the installer or would he had to have been on the beta?

I posted a link a few pages back, but I think I also just saw someone say that the old installer isn't working properly anymore.  Not sure if if there's an updated non-Blizzard link out in the wild yet.

Looks like they're providing a direct link from the Battle.net splash page. Gives you the option to activate a key or to download the client.

Thanks guys!  I sent the info to him.

[wonderpug]

Let me know how it plays on Mac!!! I'm purposely getting mp3 tonight so I don't fall prey to this yet... I want to know how well it runs and frankly give it a few days for the servers to settle in...

Just tried it for 5 minutes on my Fall 2010 11" Macbook Air, and it seemed to work great.  Combat chugged at first, but turning down shadows seemed to make it fine.  I think most of the other details were turned up by default, so there's still plenty more room to boost performance.

This was just dipping my toes in, though.  Didn't get to see it with lots of simultaneous enemies or spell effects.  I think it's going to run just fine, though.  (The fan was going crazy, though. )

[Purge]

Here's to hoping that it runs well later today. Ron wants me to produce a review for it.

[JayDee]

Three hours later and I'm still getting Error 3007 and dumped back to the login screen. Happening every 20-30 mins now. I'm going to be level 60 before I get out of Act 1 at this rate.

[CeeKay]

LOL

[CeeKay]

Three hours later and I'm still getting Error 3007 and dumped back to the login screen. Happening every 20-30 mins now. I'm going to be level 60 before I get out of Act 1 at this rate.

did you check this page?

[Orgull]

It's working fine for me up here in Happy Canada. No crashes, no bugs, no errors.

I'm loving the game so far. Am partway through Act II. I loved the cutscenes between acts 1 and 2. Awesome. I'm playing a wizard and enjoying it but I'm very surprised at how much more difficult the finished game is than the beta. I've died quite a bit, especially against certain elites. Not complaining though, would hate if it was too easy. They've also made crafting so expensive it's almost prohibitive for a first-time playthrough. But that's ok too.

Two Thumbs Up, way up, so far.

[Covenant]

I've had no problem logging in since I woke up this morning.  I'm a good way into Act 1 now and it is FANTASTIC.  This is definitely a Diablo game and those who worried it might be dumbed down couldn't be more wrong. Plenty of  options I can see so far and I'm just getting started, the world is appearing to be huge and well thought out, the story is actually interesting, and combat is much more interesting/involved than it was in D2. I'll write up more later as I'm anxious to get back to it.

[skystride]

It's working fine for me up here in Happy Canada. No crashes, no bugs, no errors.

Of course it works fine now!  I'm really hoping I can play tonight when the masses pour in but I have my doubts.

[JayDee]

Looks like the game isn't playing nice with certain models of D-Link routers, especially the 615. Of course it worked perfectly in beta....

[TiLT]

This game has some surprisingly serious issues for a Blizzard game. There's at least one way to permanently lock you out of the game that has been found by now, and a lot of people (including me) are either losing plenty of achievements or not getting them in the first place. I just killed the skeleton king, but I've only received one achievement (much earlier in the game). I tried logging out to see if that helped, and now I can't get back in. Figures.

[USMC Kato]

I like the game, but these launch issues are ridiculous. Luckily I have a lot of gaming options available (Max Payne) while these issues get taken care of. If all I had to play was Diablo, I would probably be pissed.

[wonderpug]

To hell with Blizzard!!!



  Just as soon as I get off work.

[JCC]

Gods curse you Blizzard! (Downloading the game now on my desktop and trying to focus on work on my laptop....)

[Crabbs]

Are the American servers even up? Looks like they are doing emergency maintenance

11:30 a.m. PDT- We are in the process of performing an emergency maintenance for Diablo III servers in the Americas to resolve several issues that are currently impacting the game. This maintenance may cause some interruption in communication, ability to log in, use of in-game features, and disconnections. We anticipate all servers will be available for play at approximately 1:30 p.m. PDT. We will provide further updates as necessary. Thank you for your patience.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

10: 22 a.m. PDT- We are in the process of performing an emergency maintenance for all North American Diablo III servers to resolve several issues that are currently impacting the game. This maintenance may cause some interruption in communication, ability to log in, use of in-game features, and disconnections. We anticipate all servers will be available for play in approximately 1 hour.

Thank you for your patience.

Still waiting on my copy from Amazon (should be here within the hour) just wanted to know if there should even be a rush to try logging in if the servers are kaput until 4:30pm EST

[CeeKay]

screw this, I'm going to go get some Taco Bell.

[Hetz]

I love the game so far (when I can get on and play it). This is going to be my new addiction for quite awhile, I believe. Too bad about the launch issues though.

[Hotfreak]

I was able to get in this morning and play a bit, then snuck in a little time during lunch.  Now the servers are down.  I expect that all will be ironed out within a few days and these issues will become a distant memory.

As far as gameplay goes, I'm enjoying it much more than the beta, (played only during open beta weekend), primarily because they increased the difficulty perceptibly.  It's still pretty easy, but no longer mind-numbingly so.  I believe they increased shop prices as well as the threat that enemies pose. 

I am also very glad that my friends list survived from beta.  Looking forward to playing with folks here and from the Wanderers tomorrow, when I get my first big chunk of time to dedicate to it.

hotfreak#1424

[leo8877]

Been playing all morning and just got kicked off.  Got about 5 hours in though.  Pretty silly launch issues though.  How can they not expect it?

[TiLT]

Here's a tip to avoid losing or not even gaining achievements in the first place: Make sure you always do a clean logout when you exit the game. In other words, choose Leave Game and then log out. Don't just quit. I don't know how accurate this tip is, but several people have reported that it works for them and it did fix my issue with achievements (though it wasn't retroactive, which means I lost several that I'll just have to go retake later).

Up to level 11 now. I think I'm a pretty slow player. I tend to explore every nook and cranny, talk to every NPC and look closely at equipment and game mechanics. It probably took me about 4-5 hours to get this far. Still, I haven't died even once as a Monk.

Edit: Now that I think about it, some of that time was spent dealing with technical issues such as logging in. So probably more like 3-4 hours then.

[The Grue]

Got my CE, but all I am doing is staring at the part where it wants to load the character list, but can't.

[Blackjack]

Got my CE, but all I am doing is staring at the part where it wants to load the character list, but can't.

Guys, better BOOKMARK this Battle.net Emergency Maintenance status page for future reference (probably mentioned here earlier):
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/5051765603

We anticipate all servers will be available for play at approximately 1:30 p.m. PDT. [i.e., 4:30 p.m. Eastern]

So, presumably they're (or at least "most" of "they're") not up yet.

None of this surprises me because the moment they announced it was a server-based game (basically), I know all the server screw ups that occur with nearly every big mmorpg release were going to happen with D3 too. I guess it's just a question of whether this is gonna be the "new normal," or if it's just a one or two day launch-load fiasco. 

[Teggy]

Guess I shouldn't have logged out when I went to eat lunch :\

[USMC Kato]

Got my CE, but all I am doing is staring at the part where it wants to load the character list, but can't.

So lame. Diablo 3 is a multiplayer game, but if no one can log in its a 0-player game 

[Isgrimnur]

Got my CE, but all I am doing is staring at the part where it wants to load the character list, but can't.

So lame. Diablo 3 is a multiplayer game, but if no one can log in its a 0-player game 

Didn't you read about their massive new ARG subgame, Nerd Rage?

[Misguided]

Noob question. How do weapon stats affect skills, if at all?

[leo8877]

Noob question. How do weapon stats affect skills, if at all?

If you mouse over the skill in your character pane, it will tell you what each stat does.

[Nonnahob]

There is no excuse for these queues. You implement this shit and yet don't plan appropriately for usage. Blizzard is effectively selling paperweights or coasters until they get their shit sorted out.

[ericb]

[jament]

The queue screen is great. Installed, waited in queue for two hours because the servers I don't need to play on are full, then got disconnected and went on-line to find that servers are to be down for another two hours.

Good stuff.

[wonderpug]

Noob question. How do weapon stats affect skills, if at all?

If you mouse over the skill in your character pane, it will tell you what each stat does.

You may have to enable advanced tool tips? Can't remember

[Misguided]

What about stuff like bonus damage? If a weapon adds cold or holy damage, does that impact anything other than regular attacks? For example if I through a fireball as a wizard, is that affected by bonus damage on the axe I'm carrying around (just a silly example).

[Blackjack]

What about stuff like bonus damage? If a weapon adds cold or holy damage, does that impact anything other than regular attacks? For example if I through a fireball as a wizard, is that affected by bonus damage on the axe I'm carrying around (just a silly example).

It can get tricky. From my beta recollection, some skills that "look" like say, a bow skill, or a Monk's fist skill, are in fact "magic attacks." So I too would get confused on whether a bow with an elemental bonus was contributing when the attack was more some sort of magical projectile.

I think the maintenance thread should be retitled...
We Are FUBARed!
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/5051765603

1:55 p.m. PDT - Starting at approximately 2:15 p.m. PDT, we will be bringing Diablo III servers in the Americas offline for urgent maintenance to address several issues that are impacting the game.

We anticipate that maintenance will last for about an hour and that servers will be available at approximately 3:30 p.m. PDT. [6:30 p.m. Eastern] We will provide further updates as they are necessary. Thank you for your patience.

What I don't fathom is they should know exactly how many digital editions they've sold, and at least how many SKUs were sent out. And certainly they know how rabid the demand is since they've been hyping the game for months if not years. It shouldn't have been a mystery to project what was going to flood the servers today.

So how do they know all that, and still not be able to project what sort of server capacity, demand, strength, whatever they're going to need to withstand the traffic? Clearly they've been Zerged on launch day, but I would've thought their experience with WoW and its expansions, and SC2 would've prepared 'em for this.

[Soulchilde]

So D3 is being review bombed on Amazon. 

[Gratch]

Was going to "work from home" tomorrow so I could play, figuring they'd have the day one issues sorted out...rethinking that plan now.

[Autistic Angel]

Well, at least you can still "work from home" tomorrow so you can play more Xenoblade Chronicles!

-Autistic Angel

[Ascendent]

Whats funny I bought a physical copy so I wouldn't have to worry about trying to download the game, and I can't even install the game it just hangs at "updating files" how hilarious is that, so now I'm downloading it via bnet lovely....