Diablo 3 article on NY Times website today

[boozie]

Sadly, this all but kills the hope of a 2011 release. Even if the beta started as early as 7/1/11, and even if they only needed six months from that point before full release, that still pushes Diablo 3 to 1/1/12.

Huh? SC2 beta was out in Feb and the game came out in July (five months). I'm not claiming the game will be done in 2011, but you can't just stamp 6 months after the beta til release.

 

[JackSpadesSI]

Huh? SC2 beta was out in Feb and the game came out in July (five months). I'm not claiming the game will be done in 2011, but you can't just stamp 6 months after the beta til release.

I got six months because the SC2 beta came out in early February, while the game released at the end of July. That's very nearly six months. I also figure that the beta for D3 (an RPG) will be longer than the beta for SC2 (an RTS).

But, I agree that the six month figure didn't originate from Blizzard, if that's what you're asking.

Believe me, no one would be happier than me if D3 released in 2011!

 

[SMOGZINN]

I got six months because the SC2 beta came out in early February, while the game released at the end of July. That's very nearly six months. I also figure that the beta for D3 (an RPG) will be longer than the beta for SC2 (an RTS).

I think that an RTS is much harder to beta then an Action RPG. A lot of the testing and bug crunching will be able to be done in house before the beta, there are really only so many combinations of skills you can have. QA testers can instantly create specific skill builds to test, and can run though specific areas multiple times looking for glitchy areas easy.

In an RTS you have to worry about all sorts of balance issues. The numbers of combinations are immense, and you can’t just jump start a game to check something easily, you pretty much have to play full games against another human to really understand how it will work.

 

[boozie]

I got six months because the SC2 beta came out in early February, while the game released at the end of July. That's very nearly six months. I also figure that the beta for D3 (an RPG) will be longer than the beta for SC2 (an RTS).

Actually it released mid Feb (17th) so it's like 5.33 months. Not a big deal, but I am saying if they released on Jul 1 (not likely) it's entirely plausible for a 2011 release.

 

[JackSpadesSI]

I think that an RTS is much harder to beta then an Action RPG. A lot of the testing and bug crunching will be able to be done in house before the beta, there are really only so many combinations of skills you can have. QA testers can instantly create specific skill builds to test, and can run though specific areas multiple times looking for glitchy areas easy.

In an RTS you have to worry about all sorts of balance issues. The numbers of combinations are immense, and you can’t just jump start a game to check something easily, you pretty much have to play full games against another human to really understand how it will work.

Well, I certainly agree that the number of skill combinations is limited. However, the combinations for items/properties and level design are infinite (for all intents and purposes).

Actually it released mid Feb (17th) so it's like 5.33 months. Not a big deal, but I am saying if they released on Jul 1 (not likely) it's entirely plausible for a 2011 release.

For some reason I had 2/3/10 in my head. Anyway, when Blizzard claims they’ll start a beta in Q3 I fully expect that beta to start on 9/30… at the earliest. Blizzard does quality, no question. Timing? Not so much. Personally, I’m not going to hold my breath for 2011.