Blizzard president and co-founder Mike Morhaime has taken to the Diablo 3 forums to address concerns over the game’s launch and to reassure players of the company’s commitment to its future development, which is nice. He’s also appreciative of the “candor and passion” with which fans have responded to the game. Candour and passion! Well that’s one way of putting it. “While we can’t claim to have ever shipped a perfect game,” admits Morhaime in the open letter, “we are committed to supporting our games relentlessly and making improvements where we can.”
Morhaime begins by explaining the causes behind Diablo 3’s connection issues at launch, which are now all but eradicated. He admits that Blizzard just weren’t prepared for the sheer volume of players attempting to connect on day one. “For Diablo III, we looked at historical sales for Blizzard games and other top-selling PC games and watched preorder numbers. We even upped our estimates to ensure we had additional capacity, or so we thought. In the end, it just wasn’t enough, and that is something we will work hard to conquer for future releases.”
He’s not so confident as to insist that Diablo 3’s latency and connection issues have been entirely laid to rest, however, stating that “even as we work to address or resolve current issues, it’s always possible that further issues will crop up.”
He goes on to detail some of the game’s coming updates, which he believe will surprise players. “Patch 1.0.4 will also include new and improved Legendary items that are more interesting, more powerful, and more epic in ways you probably won’t be expecting.”
“We’re also working on a number of interface updates, including social improvements that will allow players to more easily view their friends’ achievements, more quickly join games, and more efficiently communicate with each other. In addition, we’ll be making updates to the auction house in the future to provide players with better information through tooltips and notices, offer improved search functionality, and more.”
He adds: “We’re also working on a gameplay system that will provide players who have max-level, high-powered characters new goals to strive for as an alternative to the ‘item hunt’.”
On criticism of Diablo 3’s always-online requirement, Morhaime is unmoving. “The online requirement is critical for the long-term integrity of the game experience,” he claims.
You can read the full post on the Diablo 3 forum, where players are now busy replying with typical candour and passion.