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You know - maybe this is just me - but since I don't give the slightest damn about graphics, even Torchlight I strikes me as a much better game than Diablo 3. I get and interesting skill tree (at least, as Alchemist. Haven't played the other classes yet), I get good drops, the town merchants at actually useful, challenge is persistent but not overwhelming when I follow the main plot, and via maps I can get a really nerve-wracking challenge when I want it.
Best of all, what few things annoy me (low vendor sale prices, some overlap between vendors), mods exist for. Yes, mods! I almost forgot how incredibly nice it is to be able to have mods for whatever nitpicky features one doen't like. It sure is swell to not be owned by Big Brother DRM/Buzzard.
Finally satisfied that this, in fact, a game in the Diablo series.
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(07-17-2012, 04:26 AM)ViralSpiral Wrote: You know - maybe this is just me - but since I don't give the slightest damn about graphics, even Torchlight I strikes me as a much better game than Diablo 3. I get and interesting skill tree (at least, as Alchemist. Haven't played the other classes yet), I get good drops, the town merchants at actually useful, challenge is persistent but not overwhelming when I follow the main plot, and via maps I can get a really nerve-wracking challenge when I want it.
Best of all, what few things annoy me (low vendor sale prices, some overlap between vendors), mods exist for. Yes, mods! I almost forgot how incredibly nice it is to be able to have mods for whatever nitpicky features one doen't like. It sure is swell to not be owned by Big Brother DRM/Buzzard.
I have never played TL, but have heard consistently good things about it. I know the old team from Blizz North made it, so I would imagine it is probably pretty decent. Where can I dl it?
D3 and its dev teams antics are getting old, fast. 
https://www.youtube.com/user/FireIceTalon
"Your very ideas are but the outgrowth of conditions of your bourgeois production and bourgeois property, just as your jurisprudence is but the will of your class, made into law for all, a will whose essential character and direction are determined by the economic conditions of the existence of your class." - Marx (addressing the bourgeois)
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07-17-2012, 08:27 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-17-2012, 08:28 AM by FoxBat.)
TL does alot of things right, and TL2 does them even better. But the relative mindlessness of combat bothers me. Others might prefer that however.
Being moddable is cool, but I was disappointed that TL mods were mostly new custom imba classes and pet skins, and very light on balance or tactical challenges which the original was sorely lacking. The tools are there, but there is still a question of community interest.
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If you pre-order TL II on Steam for $20, you get TL I included for free. That's how I got it. I'm flawedparadigm on Steam.
Yeah, one of the nice things is if you mention to this dev team that something is out of line, you either get help, or they'll look into it. They don't tell you you're just imagining it. Of course I also worked with Max Schaefer when he was doing Mythos, and he remembered me (from here, actually.)
My only regret is that Peter Hu isn't with them anymore but I'm sure there were good reasons. Excellent folks, though, and a great game.
(07-17-2012, 08:27 AM)FoxBat Wrote: TL does alot of things right, and TL2 does them even better. But the relative mindlessness of combat bothers me. Others might prefer that however.
Being moddable is cool, but I was disappointed that TL mods were mostly new custom imba classes and pet skins, and very light on balance or tactical challenges which the original was sorely lacking. The tools are there, but there is still a question of community interest.
I don't find combat at all mindless, but that may have to do with my minion-based build and having to constantly re-summon things and evaluate my needs, along with keeping my pet buff going and deciding when to blow my mass heal spell CD. So far as mods, I'm not using anything to alter skills or classes, just improve selling prices, add (rare) stat potion drops, up the random quest rewards, and have items always be ID'd. So nothing that directly affects the difficulty, just an indirect bit via quest rewards.
TL II is getting a lot of hype right now, including on Blizzard's boards, so I expect there may be a larger modding community for it. Could get very interesting.
Finally satisfied that this, in fact, a game in the Diablo series.
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I played it through once and didn't feel the need to do so again, even with another class. It didn't have the pull of endless D2 runs. YMMV, of course.
I did enjoy the time I spent with the game though. I'll probably pick up TL2 during a Steam sale for some LAN party action.
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I thought TL1 wasn't that great.
It wasn't a bad game, but it seemed more like an updated version of the standard gameplay from D1, with "better" graphics and a worse story.
It was good for some hours of gameplay, but didn't hold my attention for the long term like D2 did, and D1 before that.
Dunno, I just felt it was lacking something.
TL2 seems very promising though.
I played in the beta for that, which spans the first act, and from what I've seen, it's not bad at all.
Recently, they've released a statement about the state of the development of the game here, and I like what I'm reading.
Especially the skill system seems interesting to me, where more skill points give skills added functionality rather than simply higher numbers (which it was like in the beta).
I think these guys are on the right track.
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What I like most is the sense of constant progression. Every trip into the dungeon I either gain levels, find new items, or gamble/enchant my gear. I simply cannot spend an hour playing without furthering my character in some fashion, whereas in D3 I could play my L60 for 2-3 days without a single improvement to the character. It's really just embarrassing how much better TL is to me than D3, for a three year older game.
Admittedly, I did not play the TL 2 beta, but there's only a few areas I see for improvement.
- The addition of multiplayer, which of course they added.
- D3's non-abusive Town Portal system is one of the things they got right.
- Another thing D3 got right is profiles - it's good to be able to see my friend's characters and gear so that I can either give them character advice or see if an item that dropped might not be useful to them.
- Similarly, for whatever reason, I do like seeing the messages when friends get achievements, especially if they were actually difficult ones.
The pet system from FATE is always a nice addition. It's wonderful to have your pet handle vendor trash sales so you can stay down exploring pretty much as long as you want. If I had to lodge a complaint, it's that I feel pretty much obligated to max every passive that applies to my character - Barter, Treasure Hunter, Adventurer, weapon of choice, armour mastery, critical strikes, and such, and that detracts from my ability to explore each class's unique skills. Of course if it starts really pestering me, I could always download a mod for more skill points.
Finally satisfied that this, in fact, a game in the Diablo series.
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07-23-2012, 02:10 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-23-2012, 11:40 PM by MonTy.)
Game devs posted some worthwhile reading about the current state of the game:
http://forums.runicgames.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=30225
http://www.torchlight2game.com/news/2012...out-scale/
After playing the Beta I'm really looking forward to release. Especially looking forward to giving the mod editor a shot to create some classes.
Edit - btw I uploaded a video of the starting area playing with a Engineer in hardcore mode: http://youtu.be/hGgzVu33wBk?hd=1
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