Diablo 3

[OpallNotten]

I know I have seen some talk about Diablo.

Some Love It.
Some Hate It.

I am kinda on the fence.


http://blip.tv/day9tv/diablo-3-beta-...y-9-p1-5572720


Here is a closer look at it. (for those who are interested)

It is 5 episodes long. (20-30 min per episode)
It will play them all in order when you click that link.

Or
Go Here:
http://blip.tv/day9tv




Opall

[Xenostrata]

I know I have seen some talk about Diablo.

Some Love It.
Some Hate It.

I am kinda on the fence.


http://blip.tv/day9tv/diablo-3-beta-...y-9-p1-5572720


Here is a closer look at it. (for those who are interested)

It is 5 episodes long. (20-30 min per episode)
It will play them all in order when you click that link.

Or
Go Here:
http://blip.tv/day9tv



Opall

Opall

I'm not really interested in d3. Diablo was my first rpg, and Diablo2 was my favorite - but those were created by Blizzard North, and from what I've heard about d3 the feel of the past two have been completely removed and replaced with WoW/Cartoonish graphics (not to mention a terrible soundtrack).

[OpallNotten]

I'm not really interested in d3. Diablo was my first rpg, and Diablo2 was my favorite - but those were created by Blizzard North, and from what I've heard about d3 the feel of the past two have been completely removed and replaced with WoW/Cartoonish graphics (not to mention a terrible soundtrack).

I tinkered with 1 and 2 a bit a long long time ago

Just watching it being played, I did not get the WoW vibe from it. I got more of the NWN/Warhammer vibe from it....lol if that makes sense

[MeliCat]

i loved d2 (one of the reasons i stuck my nose in DDO)... but i am totally put off by reports of their real world money AH.

looking at this video it looks like a lot more like d2 than i thought it would from what people have been saying.

man i find him annoying though. LOL

Edit: his style is growing on me... although i still might stab him wit a pencil...

[Xenostrata]

First thing that struck me when I visited the d3 website a year (or more... holy **** it's been a while) ago was the size of the wooden beads on the monks neck.

Then the idea of using orbs from fallen enemies for health/mana totally kicked the idea to the curb for me.

It's kind of a shame, I was looking forward to fighting that giant graveyard demon.

[Bodic]

What will be awesome is all the lawsuits after Blizzard drops all the 1099's on everyone cashing in on the $AH$ come Jan31.

[die]

i was looking forward too playing this game.

but i noticed he was useing click too move like in nwn... and i hate that.. is Turbine the only company with enough brains too use mouse look ? it s so easy hit W and move around wow what a no brainer.. that click stuff sucks !

[MeliCat]

What will be awesome is all the lawsuits after Blizzard drops all the 1099's on everyone cashing in on the $AH$ come Jan31.

What is a 1099? Is that an American thing?

I get the impression I might be able to totally ignore the AH and pretty much play this as a solo game with occasional battlenet with friends as before

[Absolute-Omniscience]

i was looking forward too playing this game.

but i noticed he was useing click too move like in nwn... and i hate that.. is Turbine the only company with enough brains too use mouse look ? it s so easy hit W and move around wow what a no brainer.. that click stuff sucks !

I suppose you never played Diablo 1 or 2? Or any hack and slash RPG for that matter?

[Rdonaccount]

What is a 1099? Is that an American thing?

I get the impression I might be able to totally ignore the AH and pretty much play this as a solo game with occasional battlenet with friends as before

a 1099 is one of the forms for reporting income tax. There is going to be a very interesting development in tax law because of d3 (well, interesting if you are the type of person who is interested in tax law. if not, you might want to disregard the rest of this post).

Basically, U.S. imposes tax on all income that is earned, regardless of its source. But there had always been a distinction between in game assets and real life assets (the growth of assets is basically what income is). Courts held that in-game money wasn't a real asset, which is what has allowed gold sellers to exist, by preventing gaming companies from suing for illegal distribution of property. Companies could ban accounts for violating the service agreement, but not seek compensatory or punitive damages.

But diablo 3 blurs that line. You can not only pay into the auction house with real money (you can do the same in DDO, essentially), but you can get paid from the auction house as well. As i understand it, if you "earn" the equivalent of $1000 selling on the AH, you can collect up to 1/2 of that in real life cash, with the rest staying for use in the store. This creates a difficult question with income tax.* How much income did you earn for tax purposes? You clearly were paid $500, so that should show up on your taxes, but you also gained the (uncashable) $500 to use in the store too. So is that now income too? What about the other person who earned $1000 but spent it all in the store? Isn't that the same as someone earning $1000 in a part time job at best buy, then spending it all there? Or the same as saying that they spent the $500 the other player cashed out in? Are online gamers going to be taxed for progress they make in their hobby now?

Should be fun to see how it pans out. (assuming, of course, you are a boring person like me who is interested in tax law).

*as a side note, selling gold or accounts on ebay is income that should be reported. But the buyer would rarely divulge the sale, so the IRS wouldn't likely notice, whereas blizzard will almost definately report any expenditures paid out to players.

[DevHead]

But diablo 3 blurs that line. You can not only pay into the auction house with real money (you can do the same in DDO, essentially), but you can get paid from the auction house as well. As i understand it, if you "earn" the equivalent of $1000 selling on the AH, you can collect up to 1/2 of that in real life cash, with the rest staying for use in the store. This creates a difficult question with income tax.* How much income did you earn for tax purposes? You clearly were paid $500, so that should show up on your taxes, but you also gained the (uncashable) $500 to use in the store too. So is that now income too? What about the other person who earned $1000 but spent it all in the store? Isn't that the same as someone earning $1000 in a part time job at best buy, then spending it all there? Or the same as saying that they spent the $500 the other player cashed out in? Are online gamers going to be taxed for progress they make in their hobby now?

As far as the IRS is concerned, if it is real cash that covers an "expense", then it counts as "income". I had this problem with scholarships for college; evidently I was too smart, got to many scholarships that made school free for me....and then I had to pay taxes on it. :\

However, it's real cash that goes towards expenses in the store, so all of it should be taxable. The idea of real cash on an AH in an MMO is a very bad idea; enough people get addicted to these games...dragging real money into a system when you lose track of how much you're spending will cause some serious personal problems.

[Seventh]

I'm looking forward to Torchlight II.

[Aurora1979]

could only watch about 5 mins of that video, the game tester was proper annoying looks good though.

Ill probably give it a go. could do with another game to play along side DDO, not got a great interest in this game atm so an alt would be kool.

[NaturalHazard]

Is it ova 9000!! though?

[LeslieWest_GuitarGod]

It is earned income, so it is all taxable. Staying far away from this mess. After 10 years of vaporware, sworn/broken promises, its at best a 'one day' rental.

PS: We will see the IRS, as well as state governments, continue to address ways to tax online income thats considered earned income. Since its lost revenue for the states, I have no doubt that within 3 years we will have a more streamlined IRS thats fully capable of collecting these monies owed. If you dont think its possible, just ask knowledgeable Ebay sellers. They have to file now.

[Bodic]

sorry to derail this into an american tax law discussion. As I said it will be funny the under 18 crowd screwing up their mom & dads taxes because they didn't know their child was earning a taxable income. What I don't get is why this has not been brought up much if at all.

[Aphion]

i was looking forward too playing this game.

but i noticed he was useing click too move like in nwn... and i hate that.. is Turbine the only company with enough brains too use mouse look ? it s so easy hit W and move around wow what a no brainer.. that click stuff sucks !

I agree I have never liked the whole clickity click aspect of some games but that didnt keep me from playing the good ones like Baldurs Gate I&II and some strategy games that also use it. Also in case you werent aware you can use WASD in Neverwinter Nights I & II. I made use of it myself and just clicked on enemies to start battles.

Back on topic:

Ughh the guy making comments on that video was very annoying. There were some health potions shown there in the store and apparently in his stash.

[Cam_Neely]

so is what you buy in the AH considered a loss then? Could I put myself in a lower income bracket by going in and buying a bunch of stuff? If I was self employed and incorporated myself, could I offset my income with a capital gains loss from the AH? Its gonna be messy, but the IRS loves messy, only reason they have a job.

[smatt]

sorry to derail this into an american tax law discussion. As I said it will be funny the under 18 crowd screwing up their mom & dads taxes because they didn't know their child was earning a taxable income. What I don't get is why this has not been brought up much if at all.

Someone told me about this real money auction thing this very morning in game in DDO.....

Oh the problems this is going to cause... I bet it's not out 2 months before the fireworks start... A HUGE mistake this is.... Mark my words this cash transaction thing is going to be a mess... Blizzard is asking for it on this one...

[Desonde]

The RL Money issue also opens a plethora of problems when you deal with international tax laws and the laws of every country you give access too.