Torchlight 2 - The Right Way

[stormlord]

I just wanted to make a thread about Torchlight 2.

Lately I been reading a lot about Diablo 3. What I'm reading is painting a sad story of how acti-blizzard is chopping up the series and trying to transform it into a quasi WoW-esque AH-dominated mess. I don't know how it all happened, but it's tremendously terrible news for anybody that liked the Diablo series.

I was a fan of Diablo 1/2 and like the rogue-like feel they have. The likeness to a rogue-like is a call back to Hack and Nethack or other old and new variants on this special sub-genre. But unlike many of these other rogue-likes, Diablo 1/2, particularly, are easier to get into. For one, they don't use ASCI graphics. It's visual splendor, by comparison. And another, they don't have quite as many details to swamp someone. Nethack was massive on details and required a lot of time to adjust to it. And another point is that traditional rogue-likes would have perma-death. This wasn't something that was enforced in the Diablo series, but it was offered as an option in Diablo 2. There're probably other things too. Some people think this qualifies them as not being rogue-like. Somebody could probably write half a book on this one topic. But I'll suffice to say that they bare enough in common with rogue-likes that it's not worth spilling milk over and crying. It's close enough.

Aside from their roots, Diablo 1/2, like other pick-up-and-go action rpgs, are great for someone that doesn't have the time or interest in a full-scale persistent world like an MMORPG. Yet, they still have enough depth to hold you for some time. This applies to anybody - hardcore or casual or soft or carebear. That's the beauty of Diablo 1/2. And better yet they only required a one-time fee for the box. No monthly fees!

But there's no Diablo 3 to continue the series. Per say....

That's until Torchlight was released in October 2009. This was when we see a glimmer of hope. Co-designers who had worked with Diablo 1/2 got together with others and produced this gem. It had no multiplayer capability, but its resemblance to the Diablo series was unmistakeable. It got high reviews and even won an award (or more?). However, it received harsh complaints about its lack of multiplayer.

Fast forward to September 2012. Torchlight 2 is released.

Here is the answer to those looking for what was lost in Diablo 3.

Torchlight 2:
http://www.torchlight2game.com/about

There're so many good things to say. I'll start by saying that this is a fully digital-download game. You can't buy it in a box. However, this mean the price comes down to $20 rather than $60. They're able to pull a profit without having the middle-man trumpeting the powers of the box and they're gracious enough to hand the profits over to the consumer. Furthermore, they're allowing their players to MOD the game!

If you liked Diablo 1/2, give these people your business and show your appreciation.

[Bamzal Sherbet]

dude go play path of exile for free. its considered diablo 2.5 and the skill tree is more like a skill galaxy

[stormlord]

Path of Exile is a great game too. But I'm not going to spoil this thread by talking about another game. Others can make up their own mind. Torchlight 2 is deserving of some attention, regardless.

[Breeziyo]

TL2 and PoE are both amazing, and I play both.

I have yet to beat TL2, though. My friends always quit before we get passed act 2 or can't decide on a difficulty.

[stormlord]

Here's some trivia:
The same (music) composer that worked on Diablo 2 also worked on Torchlight 2.

Also here're the (very friendly) system requirements for Torchlight 2:
System Requirements
OS: Windows XP SP3/Vista/Windows 7
Processor: x86-compatible 1.4GHz or faster processor
Memory: 1GB System RAM
Hard Disk Space: 1.2GB free space (subject to change)
Video Card: DirectX compatible 3D graphics card with at least 256MB of addressable memory.
DirectX®: 9.0c

The art-style in Torchlight 1/2 reminds me of WoW somewhat in its first release. Could this be because Torchlight 1/2 has Blizzard North working on it? Some people think this is one of its worst choices. But I don't think it matters. Quite remarkably, one of the reasons WoW had such popularity early on was its low system requirements. One of stated goals of Blizzard North when working on Torchlight 1/2 was to keep its system requirements very low to increase the size of their audience. They did this without using shaders.

One can explore in much more depth how they went about the art in Torchlight 1/2 here:
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/featur...t_.php?print=1

...........
Gameplay similarities aside, the art controversy surrounding the announcement of D3 was somewhat fascinating to me and, in a small way, contributed towards Torchlight's look. My reaction to the first screenshots was that Blizzard had created a beautiful, living painting. To me, it was absolutely gorgeous, and a style that I would have loved to have pursued.

But knowing the direction Blizzard went with the game helped inform our decision to go in a different direction. We didn't want the inevitable comparisons, so in a way... it helped us define which artistic choices were now off limits.
...........

[Dullah]

TL2 better than D3, but that doesn't say much. Storyline was even more horrible than d3 if thats possible, but I did enjoy the combat more.

[Loli Pops]

TL2 > D3. Though I don't feel like playing it any more after beating it.

[SamwiseRed]

D2>D2 LOD>D3

[Graahle]

Originally Posted by SamwiseRed [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

D2>D2 LOD>D3

D2LoDv1.09>all. FTFY bud.

[SamwiseRed]

runewords too OP. every class shouldnt have TP. i like how rares were best in slot, for the most part, in classic. and most rares were different so not every character looked the same. in LoD there is pretty much a unique/runeword that is best in slot. made everyone the same [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.] also runewards are OP in pvp. errrbody in this bitch TPing with nigma.