A brand new Diablo 4 update has revealed plenty of exciting information about the upcoming title.
Fans of the demon-hunting world of Diablo will be pleased to know that the development team is making good progress on the game. The Blizzard team has announced a series of changes including the way character interactions are handled, an expanded open world, and the multiplayer aspect.
Character Interactions
One of the main things that the team at Blizzard has announced is a change to the way they deliver stories in Diablo.
In Diablo 3, the game relied on UI panes which had characters’ names and portraits on. This time around, they are experimenting with a new tool-generated and manually choreographed camera to tackle conversations between characters.
For basic interactions, this would look like a camera zooming into the characters. Then, a library of animations would be used to deliver the “gist of the conversations”. For more complex conversations, the camera would still “zoom in” but the character’s movements would be deliberately hand-crafted to the individual conversation.
Blizzard has released an example of an interaction like this:
Real-Time Cutscenes
The second main storytelling change that will go into Diablo 4 is real-time cutscenes. The developers have decided to treat storytelling as more of a movie in between your gameplay.
These cutscenes will only be reserved for the most important story moments. The fact that they’re in real-time will make them feel seamless and less disruptive to your gaming.
Diablo 4 cutscenes were originally shown at the BlizzCon demo but the development team has since made plenty of improvements. A screenshot of the cinematic cutscenes is shown below.
We’re not sure whether we’ll see the return of the ultra-realistic cinematics that broke up each act of Diablo 3, but we really hope so.
Explore the Open World
Another major change that’s coming to Diablo is the open-world design. While we’ve had a degree of open exploration in previous Diablo titles, this looks like a much more expanded version.
In between experiencing the new and improved story campaign, you’ll be able to explore the world of Sanctuary in more detail. This gives you the chance for a nice break from the main campaign where you’ll be able to craft, explore, and of course fight.
Blizzard says that the inclusion of an open world allows players to tailor their own Diablo experience between the campaign and open-world gameplay.
“We think the ability to approach the game with a different mix of story and side content tailored to your own appetite will make playing (and re-playing) the campaign more enjoyable than it has been in previous ARPGs.”
The most popular activity in the open world tests has so far been the camps. These are places that have been overrun by enemies which can be turned into friendly outposts with NPCs and a waypoint location.
Each of these camps has its own little backstory and side quest which gives players plenty of opportunities to take a break from the main campaign.
Examples of the camps include a zone affected by a curse that turned the villagers in piles of salt. Another example can be found in a crypt haunted by a spirit who can possess the undead.
Seamless Multiplayer Options
Blizzard’s main goal with multiplayer is to include elements of shared worlds without going into full MMO-territory.
They confirmed that dungeons and key story moments will always be private but the potential to meet other players is possible in other areas.
“Once story moments are complete and towns turned into social hubs, you’d run into a few people in town. While on the road, you’d sometimes run into a player here and there. And then finally, if you went to a location where a world event was happening, you would see a larger congregation of players trying to defend against an attack by a cannibal horde or trying to take down Ashava, the demonic world boss we showed at BlizzCon.”
Blizzard also stressed that while “coordination is helpful” it’s not necessary to join a party. You can wander into world events at will and wander off on your own journey if you want.
“We think this seamless approach to multiplayer is working well and look forward to sharing more about this approach with you. In our tests so far, the world feels alive and dynamic without compromising the feel of Diablo.”
For those who do want to join a party, the developers are working on new ways to help you find a group. “And for players that do want to party up against the minions of Hell, we have new tools available to find a group, whether by activity or proximity in the game world.”
Nothing Set in Stone Yet
While this is all exciting news, it’s important to note that nothing is set in stone just yet. This is still just a playtest and the game isn’t in alpha or beta stage yet.
However, it looks like development and tests are progressing well enough that it looks like we’ll see many of these elements in the final product.
Part of the reason Blizzard has made these announcements is due to the cancellation of BlizzCon this year. “We don’t typically discuss our early milestones publicly during the course of development, but we think it’s especially important to continue to share our progress during a year without a BlizzCon,” Blizzard said in their blog update.
So far, there’s no word on a release date target but it looks like we’ve got a long wait on our hands. In the meantime, it’s good to see what the team is getting up to so we’ve got an idea of what to expect whenever the game drops.
What do you think of the recent Diablo 4 updates? Which new element are you most excited to try out? Let us know what you think in the comments section.