Does Blizzard plan to make use of Direct X 10 and OpenGL 3.0?
Most of us pc gamers use dx10, I'm sure. As for OpenGL 3.0, we are a little slim on that.

I would like Diablo 3 to make use of one, if not both of these.

Also, about the engine.
I know they are using the Havok physics engine, but they said they are using a new game engine, well, will it be better than the d2 one? On d2, no matter how great of a pc you had, excessive monsters caused you to lag. no matter what. Turning off your map helped reduce the lag. Also running a Glidewrapper helped.
With Glidewrapper being mentioned, will D3 actually work with any form of OpenGL? I know there was a function in D2 for it, but it was disabled and never did anything... So we had to use a Glidewrapper to make use of something better than dx7 - dx9.0c... I forget exactly which dx d2 uses..

D2 is a glide game

http://www.blizzard.com/us/diablo2/popup/3dfx.html

With 3DFX long being bankrupt, I highly we'll see glide as a supported D3 video mode. Glide was ideal for 2D games which D3 is not.

Anyhow, this is why a glide wrapper helped, in fact, a voodoo card helped even more.

Sorry for the tangent.

Blizzard would be extremely smart to put a dx9.0c and dx10 option in the game. If you have a dx10 card, the game should use dx10. If you use a dx9.0c card, the game should use it.

I would really like to see D3 take advantage of the powerful computers we have now adays. Make use of our resources, I don't want my 9800GTX, AMD Phenom x4 OCed to 4.0GHz and my 4GB of ram to go to waste. I know that I don't have top of the line, and I don't want to see new##!s bragging about how their pc is better than mine. Although, MOST pc gamers have at least a 8600... There are exceptions, that's why I propose the option for dx10 vs dx9.0c

Dx10 has been out for a while, and I expect d3 to make use of it. It is there to use, use it. Won't take that much longer to incorporate.

As for J.5's comment on OpenGL 3.0 being only for the Mac, you are wrong. All Nvidia cards are shipped with both Direct X and OpenGL. Windows knows how to use OpenGL, though Mac and Linux are more known of taking advantage of it. Windows prefers Direct X. But OpenGL is often easier to code for and handles heavy loads better than Dx, but it is not standardized.

And 100 entities isn't very many.... There are points in D2 when I would get soooooo many mobs, way more than 100. This is a fast paced hack and slash, I expect wave after wave after wave coming at me, with often more than 100 mobs against me.

As for me making the 'better' comment on the engine, I am talking about its ability to handle activity. The d2 engine couldn't keep up with new computers, and if I am not mistaken, didn't know how to use multi core...? Don't hold me to that, I haven't ran it under Linux with Conky in a while.

A Glidewrapper was a program that would use a different video setting in d2. If you remember when you first install, it does a video test, and gives you a video mode to use. A glidewrapper would give a different mode that would run a lot better than the default.

While I agree that MANY gamers use DX10 and most gamers have DX10 capable cards nowadays, I doubt that MOST gamers use DX10. Many gamers still use Windows XP and many more have Vista but do not use DX10 because of the performance hit that is usually associated with it.

I agree a DX10 option would be nice but it is hardly necessary for a game like Diablo where graphics take a backseat to game play.

I totally understand.
I don't expect anything that REQUIRES dx10. As, not all gamers have dx10 cards, though, most do.

Though a dx10 option to increase graphics would be nice.

Game play does matter more than graphics, but we can have both. A game with epic game play and epic graphics would be great.
Even on dx9.0c, I'm sure it'll look great. I just would really like to see a dx10 option.

No comment on OpenGL Bashiok?

I would put in a setting to select dx9 or dx10, depending upon which system the user is on. I know all the vista users will want to use dx10.

If you are interested in the specs of Diablo III, it's a good idea to check out SC2.

Kalos, the tech guru at StarCraftWire.net, has made an analysis of the use of Shaders and DirectX 10 in StarCraft II. I would assume that 99% of what he writes would be applicable to Diablo 3.

http://www.starcraftwire.net/articles/1089/starcraft-ii-shaders-and-directx-10

If you're interested, I think that the SCW-recommended specs for SC2 will probably be pretty good for D3 as well...

http://www.starcraftwire.net/articles/1636/kalos-starcraft-2-hardware-guide

Please try not to require DirectX 9.0c as many users do not have a 9.0c-compliant card, like me.

Decked, if you don't have a dx9.0c compliant card, you shouldn't be able to play Diablo 3. lol
dx9 has been out on every card for like the past 5 + years. If you expect to be able to play new games, you have another thing coming.

Go buy a new computer.

People like you make me sick, tbh. You think that an old ass computer can play a new game? What the hell? Seriously, if you want to play new games, get a new computer. Games shouldn't be made crappier to have people that are too cheap to buy a new computer be able to play.
There should be some minimum, such as 7900s being the worst card possible.
Now, if some of you can't afford a new computer, I'm sorry, my rant isn't aimed at you. But you can buy a computer for 200$ that can play WoW on full settings. I HOPE Diablo 3 has a higher requirement than WoW... So save your money for the next year until D3 is release, buy a new pc, and play. I'm not saying buy a new pc JUST for D3, because if you don't have a dx9 compliant card, your pc is WAYYYYY out dated and you shouldn't expect to be able to run ANYTHING nowadays.

Dx9.0c is a standard now, by the way.

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Decked, if you don't have a dx9.0c compliant card, you shouldn't be able to play Diablo 3. lol
dx9 has been out on every card for like the past 5 + years. If you expect to be able to play new games, you have another thing coming.

Go buy a new computer.

People like you make me sick, tbh. You think that an old ass computer can play a new game? What the hell? Seriously, if you want to play new games, get a new computer. Games shouldn't be made crappier to have people that are too cheap to buy a new computer be able to play.
There should be some minimum, such as 7900s being the worst card possible.
Now, if some of you can't afford a new computer, I'm sorry, my rant isn't aimed at you. But you can buy a computer for 200$ that can play WoW on full settings. I HOPE Diablo 3 has a higher requirement than WoW... So save your money for the next year until D3 is release, buy a new pc, and play. I'm not saying buy a new pc JUST for D3, because if you don't have a dx9 compliant card, your pc is WAYYYYY out dated and you shouldn't expect to be able to run ANYTHING nowadays.

Dx9.0c is a standard now, by the way.

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You're being way to rough on the guy. Blizzard always try to make the games with an as low requirement as possible, but you are right, and I think it will be hard to keep it under Dx9.0c, if not impossible. My 4 year old laptop will be upgraded to a new one when the Beta is announced (got key from BlizzCon).

Kalos is very good with tech stuff anyway, those articles really tells you everything you need to know (and a lot you didn't need to know) about what to get.

anyone who thinks most gamers have PC that can support DX10, needs to do some research.

actually about 10 - 15% gamers got rig that can run game with DX10, so think agian.

15% is not what i call "most"

anyway D3 doesnt need ultra motion blur, very realistic graphics with soft shadows, because effects in blizzard games are very well done, if they use it, game will need much powerful pc for things that 95% players wont notice

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anyone who thinks most gamers have PC that can support DX10, needs to do some research.

actually about 10 - 15% gamers got rig that can run game with DX10, so think agian.

15% is not what i call "most"

anyway D3 doesnt need ultra motion blur, very realistic graphics with soft shadows, because effects in blizzard games are very well done, if they use it, game will need much powerful pc for things that 95% players wont notice

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Hum, wondering where those figures come from... I can hardly believe that Gamers are only in a proportion of 10-15% that have DX10 compliant hardware. Sorry, this can't be right.

Though D3 is aimed at the largest possible public, most fans of the series are usually gamers who will either upgrade their graphics capabilities when the game comes out, OR already have pretty decent graphics cards.

I didn't look up any real research (if any exists) on what the percentage of the D3 potential buyers' hardware is, but I'd say that at leat 50% of the future buyers have DX10 compliant hardware, and that my friend, is a VERY conservative figure.

But hey, who cares, we know already that the engine will adapt to whatever hardware you throw at it, as long as it's not a geforce FX card ;)

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Hum, wondering where those figures come from... I can hardly believe that Gamers are only in a proportion of 10-15% that have DX10 compliant hardware. Sorry, this can't be right.

Though D3 is aimed at the largest possible public, most fans of the series are usually gamers who will either upgrade their graphics capabilities when the game comes out, OR already have pretty decent graphics cards.

I didn't look up any real research (if any exists) on what the percentage of the D3 potential buyers' hardware is, but I'd say that at leat 50% of the future buyers have DX10 compliant hardware, and that my friend, is a VERY conservative figure.

But hey, who cares, we know already that the engine will adapt to whatever hardware you throw at it, as long as it's not a geforce FX card ;)

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We're talking about prospective D3 users, D3 isn't coming out tomorrow, by the time it does, I'd bet DX11 will be in full swing.

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We're talking about prospective D3 users, D3 isn't coming out tomorrow, by the time it does, I'd bet DX11 will be in full swing.

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This has nothing to do with what I was saying. First and most of all, Bashiok already stated that the engine may not use DX 10 features, it is still uncertain at this point if you read his message. The same goes for eventual DX11 features. I mean come on, DX11 is not even close to being released, why would they base the engine on specifications so far off?

Do you even have an idea when the first GPU will make use of DX11 specifications?

Anyway, my point was only that by the time D3 goes out, the GAMERS that will buy the game, or what you call prospective D3 users, will have, in a LARGE proportion, DX10 compliant hardware. I won't get any specific number out, but I'm sure it's a majority...

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This has nothing to do with what I was saying. First and most of all, Bashiok already stated that the engine may not use DX 10 features, it is still uncertain at this point if you read his message. The same goes for eventual DX11 features. I mean come on, DX11 is not even close to being released, why would they base the engine on specifications so far off?

Do you even have an idea when the first GPU will make use of DX11 specifications?

Anyway, my point was only that by the time D3 goes out, the GAMERS that will buy the game, or what you call prospective D3 users, will have, in a LARGE proportion, DX10 compliant hardware. I won't get any specific number out, but I'm sure it's a majority...

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Hey I was agreeing with you, I was mearly voicing my idea of where about D3 is going to be released.

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People like you make me sick, tbh. You think that an old ass computer can play a new game? What the hell? Seriously, if you want to play new games, get a new computer.

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People like you make me sick, spoilt brats leeching off their parents then having the hide to criticize someone else about material goods.

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On d2, no matter how great of a pc you had, excessive monsters caused you to lag. no matter what.

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Scenes in D2 were rendered in system memory [, and not on the card], and since most gamers are clueless sheep their 300MHz 16GB memory wasn't up to the task.

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People like you make me sick, spoilt brats leeching off their parents then having the hide to criticize someone else about material goods.


Scenes in D2 were rendered in system memory [, and not on the card], and since most gamers are clueless sheep their 300MHz 16GB memory wasn't up to the task.

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Yes because everyone with a decent pc must be a kid leeching off their parents. Hell I was really broke for years and had the same pc for 7 years with only a few little upgrades. Couldn't really play newer games, but I didn't go out and tell companies to make their games easier to run.