On this day, my age equals the magical number of 42! (Therefore, not only will I know the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything, but I will also *be* the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything! LOL)

BTW ICYMI You can now pre-order this.

I'm not sure about a physical edition. If you click the "pre-purchase" button, you'll see it's on XBox X/S & One, PS4 & 5, Switch, and PC. My only option is PC (Master Race!). From what little I just read, it isn't cross-play, but it's being advertised as cross-progression. It seems that means that you can continue your game no matter which platform you play it on.

Cool! I remember at least one time when Jon entered my Diablo 3 game. :)

I found out about the "Prime Evil Upgrade" and since it's confusing, I thought I'd share the info. Basically the "upgrade" means it will adjust the price according to what parts of it you own. So instead of paying $60 for all of it, you'll pay less, because what you already own will be subtracted. I hope this helps. https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/blizzard/t/diablo-prime-evil-collection-upgrade-is-priced-incorrectly/15145/4

I have all of it, so I got the "upgrade" for the same price as the Diablo 2 content. I'm thinking about buying the Warcraft games (the RTS ones) soon, too. I've played the first two many years ago, but never the third. I'm looking forward to playing Diablo 2 and I get to start on my 42nd birthday. :)

I've already pre-ordered. That was about the first thing I did this month. Bad press doesn't influence my video game purchases. I may not like what's going on in some of these companies, but I still want to play the games.

I even recently bought WarCraft and WarCraft II, but they were from GOG. I'm planning to buy WarCraft III probably soon.

Since I'm talking here....I wanted to mention that if you're craving some Diablo-like game play before D2 comes out, you should check out Torchlight. I like it, though I only recently started playing it for the second time, but stopped. I barely played it the first time I tried it, though I think that first time might have been Torchlight 2. I'll probably go back to it eventually, I got them for free on the Epic Game store (all the games I own there were free).

Jon must have replied when I wrote mine. I agree with him. I, too, have the D2 battle chest. I got it at K-Mart for $2. I tried to play it, but it's so ugly, I have to have this remaster to play it. I wish they'd remaster the original WarCraft, too. I started playing it and it's ugly, too. WarCraft II seemed decent enough. I'll get back to those games later.

LOL I read "egregious" and thought "he said my name!" LOL Good thing I don't fit the definition.

I just wanted to add that I have boycotted things. I remember boycotting BP, because of the oil spill, though I never really bought gas from them in the first place and I still don't, because I've found a much more convenient source that I *love* (that's a hint). I also used to avoid Wal-Mart like the plague, for their own practices and for my own personal reasons (like wanting to avoid the possibility of seeing particular people). But, I go to Wal-Mart about once a week now. I also almost boycotted my local McDonald's and Burger King, because of the horrible channel they showed on their TVs.

I'm like Jon, I won't think less of anyone who decides not to purchase products from a company with this stuff going on. I understand not wanting to give money to seemingly support it.

Honestly, this is a good question, Will_Ball. Let us know what you decide to do and know that no matter what you decide, we support you. :)

Let's not forget "gregarious," which I'm not sure if it applies to me, I'm a proud loner.

Agreed and that's something I always hated about employment, many companies don't seem to care about employees. It's profits over people. It's why people work for minimum wage (sometimes less) while CEOS have private jets and get way, way too much more money that they don't need. Fortunately, there are actually some good companies out there.

I like Amazon probably because of the quick, easy, and good service(s) it provides, but also because every customer service rep. that I've worked with was extremely nice, respectful, and helpful. I've worked with customers before and I know how crappy they can be. I find that most customer service reps. are quite respectful, but I think it's mostly customer complaints that are heard instead of positive feedback. That is why I make it a point to always provide positive customer feedback. It's almost always deserved, I'd have to actually think very hard about when or if I've had a bad experience.

Right, I've heard about that. Some companies outsource their employees for cheaper labor. Nike was incredibly guilty of this back in the day, though I don't know if it's still true.

I will be.

What do you mean "out of pocket Thursday night and that whole weekend?" Did you mean that you're going to be poor those days or unavailable? The latter seems to be the case, but when I see or hear "out of pocket" it has to do with paying for something. Perhaps that's an auto-correct mistake?....je ne sais pas

Ah, ok, that covered both meanings, the one Jon meant and the one I knew of. Man, I must be seriously out of the loop on all these catch phrases. Well, considering I'm just now socializing more than I have in a few years, I guess that makes sense. I've been isolated, but I'm starting to come out of my shell, at least temporarily to get a sense of what's around, I may end up going back in my shell, as I did years ago. It reminds me of how everyone one says something "drops" instead of something is "released" or "comes out" or similar. I'm seriously not hip, but if it comes to dying your hair black, you could call me a hipster, because I did it in high school when no one else was doing it. Now everyone's dying their hair (well mostly girls/ladies/women). LOL

Well it looks like things are heating up for Activison Blizzard, the SEC has gotten involved: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/sec-launches-investigation-into-activision-blizzard-over-handling-of-sexual-harassment-discrimination-allegations/1100-6496364/

Sounds like he's "out of" a time "pocket" or maybe I am, which I could agree with.

Just FYI, if you want to add me, my user name is GregoPeck#1971. 1979 would be more accurate (my birth year), but I didn't get to choose that number.

Whoa, Raiden was Highlander! I've never seen the movie, but knew of it. Seeing Sean Connery reminded me of the SNL skits I watched with Travis. "Buckfutter!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T89fA1Whank

Awesome, glad to be connected to you! Thanks also for letting me know it can be pre-loaded. I didn't know so I'm doing it now.

I can't stop watching the SNL channel on YouTube because of my previous comment. This stuff is hilarious! LOL

FYI I just found out that it seems we can start playing at 8 AM PDT. For those of us here on the east coast, it's 11 AM.

Same maybe late afternoon nearly evening.

Check out these awesome launch trailers featuring two actors from our favorite MCU films:
Winston Duke was M'Baku in Black Panther, End Game, and Infinity War https://youtu.be/u5AWehOMLFQ
Simu Liu was Shang-Chi https://youtu.be/ogI5vhg6Nc4

Interesting, I didn't run into any problems other than subtitles and trying to figure how to disable them (I looked it up and figured it out). I was playing at 11AM, because I got woken up too early and I noticed Jon was playing, too.

I'm using the "Very High" settings and I thought it was interesting that with these settings my GPU temp was 10c higher than when I switched to "classic" graphics. Also, those "classic" graphics pretty much required less than 10% of my GPU usage.

I recently played Torchlight some and I noticed how similar it is to this game. The theme is different, but a lot of the game play is very similar.

So when I got back on just now it said my character couldn't be found on the server, so I created a new one. No biggie. During my first try, it took forever to save, but this time it didn't. I still haven't found that first cave we're supposed to go into. LOL I hate the Fallen, too, they keep running away!

I later got disconnected, but the timing was good, because I had just gone back to camp. I'm most frustrated with the limited inventory space. The Internet taught me some tricks, like using the second weapon set to store extra weapons. A video I saw was pretty much emphasizing "look up a build," but I'm just checking it out, doing what I want to do. If it gets too difficult, maybe I'll do that. Is anyone else going for specific builds? I just think it's a bit deeper than I want to get into at the moment.

I'm mostly playing w/ new graphics, but sometimes I switch real quick just to see what it used to look like, which makes me more impressed w/ the new. Playing this kind of makes me want to play D3 again, but I played it so much that I don't know if I want to do that.

Oh I'm also a Barb, "Gojira." Oh and I wanted to say, yesterday I was probably more "out of pocket" than Jon LOL.

My character was gone again, but it seems to be back now. I logged out even from Blizzard.net and it was still missing, but I waited again a little longer and it seems to be back. So beware, but it may take patience. I found a long thread on the official forum, check there if you need help and see if you can find anything that helps you, if this happens to you, too. Someone posted the same issue "about 1 minute ago," so I'm apparently not the only one. And now "creating game" isn't working....ugh...

Mine disappears sometimes, probably the same thing, they don't always follow. I know the difference between this and death, I learned how to resurrect them.

I've learned about the potions in the belt (press SHIFT and left-click to transfer them out of inventory onto belt). Actually, I've been looking things up, an act map is handy!

I'm in the Ancient Sanctuary in Act 2 and I keep dying. :( I'm starting to wonder if I should look up a build and go by that, which would probably mean restarting w/ a new character. Or, creating a new character and try out the Paladin class, since I'm already using 1-hand axe and a shield and it sounds like they have some healing ability(ies). I don't remember what level I am, but I keep getting stronger every time I level up. I'm trying to figh as few enemies as possible at a time, because I get overwhelmed and killed. I'm already out of extra health potions (I had lots in my stash).

You're welcome! I learned about it, but it took a little playing w/ to figure out. You also have a second weapon set ("W"). You can see the two tabs above your weapon slots. You can store items there, instead of in your inventory, whether you want to use them or not, it's a great place to store extra stuff gear, even if just to sell. I had an inventory problem, until I learned what's not worth picking up. Still, it's hard to decide which charms I should just put away. The stash is great, too, you can even deposit gold (in each tab, too, I believe). I went ahead and made a Paladin, but I was able to give him all my gear, so he's a bit better off now than my Barb was at the same place. I killed The Smith! You can just run by him and grab the quest item, though, that's how I did it the first time.

I've hit a couple road blocks and I'm either learning about the game or that I suck. I'm now trying out a Paladin build. Anyone else feel like this? Anyone else trying a build? Let me know! One video I watched said a build is imperative in this game. I didn't care much about builds in D3, I played my own way and it was great. This one is making me think I need to play differently than I'm used to or want to.

I'm trying out Zeal Paladin. I wasn't using my Barb's skills, I put those points into axe mastery, since that's what I was using along w/ a shield. With my first Paladin I was going for Prayer, but it drained my mana always and it made me actually need to carry mana potions. With this Zeal Paladin, I haven't really been using non-passive skills yet, but I've only started him. I had one last night, but recreated, though I've done this many times already. LOL

BTW, don't forget to buy a Tome of Town Portal and a Tome of Identify. They hold 20 scrolls. You can buy them in Act I from Akara.

I was going to say, if anyone has been "out of pocket" this whole time, it's you, Travis. LOL I like the game, though I've hit some bumps and have been trying to learn more. Builds seem to be important and there are other tips, like the belt + potions, and the need to recognize what loot not to get due to limited inventory space.

Yeah, I loved D3, because I could do whatever I wanted with my character and I was still a badass and enjoyed it. Now I feel like I have to learn how to use and create a build if I want to survive. It kind of takes the fun out of it. I understand how I'm supposed to allot my character/stat points, but when it comes to skill points, I have to stop what I'm doing to check a website or video to see where I need to spend those points. I also haven't been using active skills, I prefer the passive ones. I don't really want to use them, but maybe I'd enjoy them and get used to them if I put forth more effort into that. I'm still not sure I'm doing it right.

I actually got bored of gaming (uncommon for me) before this came out, so I spent more time doing other things like reading. I was ready for this and I'm still enjoying it, yet always wondering when I'm going to hit the next road block.

I'm finding it occurring more frequently lately. I stopped playing D2, because I reached a point of difficulty and didn't feel like putting forth a greater effort to get better. It's a good thing there are still other things to do. LOL

That's cool! I made it to the end of Act 2. I don't remember what level my Paladin was, but I'm sure my Barb was 21.

What skills are you using, Will_Ball? I was working towards Zeal, but it felt like I hadn't made enough progress in the skill tree to be effective, or I just suck at the game and don't know what I'm dong regarding builds.

Sounds nice! I wanted to do something passive, but it wasn't working out. I've recently played my Torchlight character in the same way, but it's working out just fine with him. The games are different, sure, and Torchlight may be more simplistic, but I still wish D2 would feel more generally relaxed in that doing whatever you wanted to do was enough, especially on the "normal" difficulty. D3 was an odd one in that even with the very difficult-sounding choices we were given, the higher ones really weren't all that difficult and I really enjoyed that. It made me feel better as a player. D2 just makes me feel worse and I've chosen to step away from a game that I begin feeling negatively about instead of letting it build up to where I'm completely pissed off. I may come back to it eventually, but for now I'm taking a break. I am still willing to discuss the game. I'm very interested in how others are playing it and what I can do to improve my experience. Thanks for sharing!

No, I don't remember you playing D2. Stamina meant nothing to me, I really don't see how or why it matters at all. Sure, it meant I couldn't run all the time, but I wasn't in the first place.

As for death, when you die, exit the game and get back into it and your body w/ all your stuff will be there where you spawn. You don't have to completely exit the game, just the instance on the server you're playing on.

I stopped playing it, because the difficulty was too much for me. I don't mind grinding, but the whole system is just odd for me. It seemed a specific build was necessary, which meant going at it naturally and the way you want to isn't going to work and that was greatly disappointing. I had to try to figure out which skills to level and how many points to put in them. I also didn't want to use skills, but it seems that in order to be successful I needed to do that more.

I think and hope D4 is going to be much more like D3. I very much enjoyed D3, but my enjoyment of D2 was short lived as I found some issues and difficulty. I tried to make it work, but eventually decided I didn't want put all that seemingly necessary effort into it. D3 required no specific build. I played it exactly how I wanted to and was very successful and thus enjoyed it very much. Unfortunately, I've played it so much that I don't have much interest in doing it again. So, here I am waiting on D4, which I'm sure to get ASAP.

Damn, what are you dong to make it so easy?

Did you follow a build guide? I feel like that's where I went wrong and I hate that I felt like I had to have a certain build in order to be successful.

Awesome! So, how did you allot your skill points?

I was putting stat points into attack, defense and health, balancing them as I often do. Later, I learned a tip that said to get your dexterity up to where your shield block is 75%. I tried different skills. One I think was a health one, but it always drained my mana, I never had any. I tried following a build guide that put skill points into a lot of things leading towards certain skills (I can't remember what they are). It just wasn't working out. Plus, I was overwhelmed with charms. I had so many that I wanted to use and so I had almost no inventory space free. What charms do you use? I remember my companion dying often and I finally couldn't afford to resurrect her. I kept dying, too, so I quit.

Wow. Well maybe I'll return some day.

BTW don't forget you don't have to carry around a lot of scrolls. There are two "tomes" you can buy that contain can hold multiple scrolls. You can buy them from Akara in the Rogue Encampment in Act I, but really from any "magic" vendor. If you want more info, look up "Tome of Identity" and "Tome of Town Portal."

Good point!

Would you like to detail your Paladin for me, Jon? Will_Ball, you can fill me in on yours, too, if you want to give specifics. I had a Barb first, but switched to Paladin and I liked it, but I don't think I my game play matched to a successful build. Kind of hard to explain, I guess, but I just got the sense that you absolutely must play with a certain build or else you'll suck and I didn't like being tied down like that.

Yeah, I found out about the belt potion tip. I did find one that had 12 slots.

Did you use any of the offensive skills?

Journey mode lets you replicate items. You have to research them first. Usually you'll need 100 of them to unlock the ability to replicate (like 100 ore). You can even replicate coins and be rich! This means you only have to mine a obtain a certain amount of materials before you can replicate it for free. This helps other people get access to those same resources, so that they can replicate, too. You can also replicate accessories, which usually only takes one to research. So check out the spawn area for chests and if you need something take it, research it, replicate 2 of them, and put one back in the box for someone else. Sharing is caring! I think this will be extremely helpful, especially in Hard Mode an the ores are more rare. To open the "power menu" click on the rabbit head wearing a yellow hard hat in the lower left hand corner below your open inventory).

You can get more info about Journey mode from Chippy's video at https://youtu.be/M01jQ2XRqfE or the Journey Mode guide at https://forums.terraria.org/index.php?threads/with-great-power-comes-great-accessibility-introducing-terrarias-new-journey-mode.88233/

Be sure to check the chests at the starting point for all kinds of goodies! Take as many of an item you need to research it, replicate it for you, and replicate it again to put back in the chest for someone else. We love duping!

Chippy has a good 1.4 tips video: https://youtu.be/SBYGN9TDvUw

I'm not sure, but I do recommend looking at the wiki (https://terraria.gamepedia.com/Terraria_Wiki) for anything and everything you want to know about in the game. I use it every time I play. You could also look at a couple of YouTube channels, namely ChippyGaming (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdImtrRS4UewEbPdnF8R4qw) and Re-Logic (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq3QzpKNapKhCl4jpgQB44w).

Yeah, that's about it, but it's a 2D side-scroller with bosses and a lot more things. There's a gradual path of progression. You may want to start with wooden armor, if you haven't found any metal yet. Keep looking around for ore, mine it, smelt it, make better weapons, armor, tools, and repeat. The wiki has a page showing off all the game's armor (https://terraria.gamepedia.com/Armor). I usually go for higher defense, but there are different ways to play, not just melee, so get what you want or what you can until you can get what you want. Eventually the Eye of Cthulu will find you and attack you, so prepare to fight it off. Eventually you'll find items that allow you to summon it, so you can kick its ass. You can also look in the jungle for the Queen Bee. Your world will be "corrupted" w/ crimson or corruption and you'll need to fight the associated boss as well. If you want in the dungeon, you'll have to fight another boss (ask the guy at the entrance at night). Eventually, make your way to hell (the bottom of the map) and be get prepared to fight the Wall of Flesh and turn your world into "hard mode." That's pretty much it. You can find different NPCs that have various utilities (https://terraria.gamepedia.com/NPCs). For instance, you can talk to the angler and go fishing. There are also a variety of accessories, some of which can be combined by the Tinkerer's Workshop (https://terraria.gamepedia.com/Tinkerer%27s_Workshop). Ultimately, you want to make your way to crafting a PDA that has very many features.

I was solidly team Nintendo at the time, so I largely missed the Sega systems during my youth. That's a pretty long list of games though, and it looks like several of the big franchises are on there. Is anyone planning on picking this up when it comes out?