Median_2 v1.0 mod released!

[HBeachBabe]

my insta-review:
(before playing)
some screenies look cool, but ultimately, it seems to suffer from the same thing all mods do - the übercoolness thing. That is, in an attempt to make everything "cool" you wind up with lots of flash, big overpowered skills (even if they have big overwhelming drawbacks), big monsters and lots and lots of flash. Diablo works so well because it's in many ways a "small" game - not every skill is a kill skill nor are they meant to be. There is a progression to the bigger "cooler" skills and it's not always an all-or-nothing situation.

Mods usually seem to me to be like a bad movie sequel (think Matrix 2) in that they take those aspects of the original that are pretty "cool" and magnify them, pushing out everything else in the process so what you are left with is a barrage of "cool" which ceases to be cool when given in such large doeses (sorta like the difference between a good 15 minutes of Owen Wilson in a movie (Meet the Parents) and an unbearable 2 hours of Owen Wilson in a movie (Shanghai Knights))

(after DLing and playing for a few minutes)
I just tried a 'zon for about 10 minutes. I was disappointed in the mismash of skills available. all skills but "ultimate skills" are available immediately, and ultimate skills at level 20. many seem terrible unbalanced or "overbalanced" that is, they subscribe to a "bigger is better" philosophy in that it's OK to have an overpowered skill if you also give it a huge drawback.

with no skill trees, there seems to be no progression of skills and all skills seem to focus on doing massive damage - there are few if any "utility" skills. skills also didn't seem to be focused on the class but just a random collection of "cool skills"

the "bigger is better" also strikes in the basic game start up - sure there is a wider variety of critters in an area, and they are stronger more aggressive and can kill you quicker but you get to start with a socketed bow, socketed armor & a hordric cube. It's like the idea of leveling a table but cutting a leg down... and then having to cut another leg to even it out... then realizing you need to cut another, until eventually you have a flat table lying on the ground. It's all just an excuse to have "bigger, better, more" right from the start. Oh well.

 

[TheNix]

*sigh*

@AE - I'll go get the rulers if you want.

Bloody dyslexia.

 

[dune6836]

had a quick look at your mod info. it does indeed look fine. you must have spent many hours working on it. i have played a few mods, as other folk here have said, many simply add overpowered items and allow the creation of essentially unkillable characters. might as well goto open b-net and make a god.
i already have a modded seperate install of diablo, and hard drive space is limited! but when i get bored with that one i will try yours.
what i would really like is a mod that left all of the game mechanics alone except the map. i would like a map 10 times bigger and with many more caves,tunnels,hidden areas etc to explore. less linear, easier to get lost in.
btw, to judge by the number of views and replies this thread has i think a seperate sticky for the discussion of our mod experiencies is in order.
good luck. dune

 

[DX-Crawler]

If you want bigger dungeons, that is rather easy to fix by changing the stats in the mpq file, get a larger amount of dungeons is another matter though, need some more programming experience to do that

DX

 

[dune6836]

If you want bigger dungeons, that is rather easy to fix by changing the stats in the mpq file, get a larger amount of dungeons is another matter though, need some more programming experience to do that

DX

yes. i dont have the time or knowhow to achieve this, although i have some raw programming skill from years ago.
i think the basic graphics and character control, item generation and variety in diablo2 is more or less perfect, (a few bugs not withstanding)
id like to have a new world that i could take my diablo characters into. it would be completely open to exploration. many times larger than the current world. a sort of 2d elite (for those who remember this classic)
i looked into the modding world and i think that what i am looking for would require hard recoding. oh well.

 

[Brother Laz]

Thanks PH.

many seem terrible unbalanced or "overbalanced" that is, they subscribe to a "bigger is better" philosophy in that it's OK to have an overpowered skill if you also give it a huge drawback.

???? The only overpowered skill with a huge drawback imo is Punisher, and one sure kill every 10 seconds is hardly 'uber'. And the paladin's Holy Armor, but you said you played an amazon. So I'm at a loss here...

with no skill trees, there seems to be no progression of skills and all skills seem to focus on doing massive damage - there are few if any "utility" skills. skills also didn't seem to be focused on the class but just a random collection of "cool skills"

This is exactly the point. You can make a bowbarb if you want. I have a necro that's a mix of bow and melee skills and he does fine. As for utility skills, you mean missing utility skills like Shadowform, Shackles of Ice, Possess, Rejuvenate, Mindflay, Avengers, Art of War, Ravenflight [stun!], Blood Flash, Glacial Nova, Shield Wall, Demonic Speed, Death Coil, Slaves, Holy Armor, Barbaric Heal, Bloodlust, Dark Power, Hex, Empower, Vampiric Icon or Mark of the Wild? Obviously I have to provide enough offensive options as well, but that's not really a lack of support skills, is it?

As for skill progression, did you notice that skills cap out at level 5? In the end you can have a large collection of skills and use them as the situation permits, which you'll need when a pack of soul burners charges you at high speed.

The numbers are different than in CLoD, but just because you have 500 life in Act 5 Normal does not mean the monsters aren't hitting for 150, and there is no instant heal option or endless leech.

you get to start with a socketed bow, socketed armor & a hordric cube.

Just because you start with a socketed bow that does less damage over time than a short bow in CLoD, and OMG a cube, does not mean the monsters aren't much stronger as well. The problem with socketed items in CLoD is that they come too late to be useful, ie. you have to wait for your two socket helm until after the point where two socket helms are useful. It's a new paradigm: stronger items, stronger monsters, no overpowered items, no overpowered monsters.

Also, overpowered CLoD stuff such as instant-heal rejuv potions and 300% damage Extra Strong is gone.

Just trying to explain some things.