Author Topic: The Thread of Extreme Happiness  (Read 26147 times)

Bobbias

  • #1 Poster
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7210
  • 404 Avatar not found.
    • View Profile
    • Magnetic Architect
Re: The Thread of Extreme Happiness
« Reply #30 on: February 20, 2021, 08:36:49 PM »
I haven't had a chance to compare the 325s to comment on that, but yeah, I personally feel like the 125s are just better 80s, very similar profile overall just, better.

I don't have an amp, or a DAC or anything, which is something I'd like to fix at some point, but given my current situation I'm holding off any bigger purchases. I'm planning on quitting my job and going back to college for programming.
This is going in my sig. :)

BANNED FOR BAD PUNS X_x

Spectere

  • \m/ (-_-) \m/
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5716
  • printf("%s\n", "Hi!");
    • View Profile
    • spectere.net
Re: The Thread of Extreme Happiness
« Reply #31 on: February 20, 2021, 09:55:19 PM »
If you plan to stick with the Grados for the foreseeable future, I'd say that an amp would be wasted on them. Based on both personal experience as well as other anecdotal reports it doesn't seem to do much for them, if anything.

That said, if you're looking for a DAC/amp to get around a noisy analog jack (which stillseems to be a common issue with laptops for some stupid fucking reason), I'd recommend one of FiiO's offerings. I used one their E10K when I was still physically going to work and it seemed to do a pretty solid job. I only drove IEMs with it personally, but I've heard that it can handle HD600s with no problem. Not bad for US$76 (looks to be $100 in maple leaf bucks?).
"This is a machine for making cows."

Bobbias

  • #1 Poster
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7210
  • 404 Avatar not found.
    • View Profile
    • Magnetic Architect
Re: The Thread of Extreme Happiness
« Reply #32 on: February 21, 2021, 04:06:19 AM »
Well like with keyboards, I'd like to branch out in the future when I can afford it. I haven't had much chance to listen to other decent quality cans. The only other pair I have is these RHA MA390's, which I use with my phone. I will say they weren't as bad sounding as I expected, but that was a pretty low bar.
This is going in my sig. :)

BANNED FOR BAD PUNS X_x

Spectere

  • \m/ (-_-) \m/
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5716
  • printf("%s\n", "Hi!");
    • View Profile
    • spectere.net
Re: The Thread of Extreme Happiness
« Reply #33 on: February 21, 2021, 01:22:55 PM »
Yep, definitely makes sense. I guess one bit of silver lining here is that there are a decent number of good cans that can be driven with anything.

As far as your earbuds go, it helps that they support aptX/AAC. Not sure if you've ever had the "pleasure" of hearing SBC, but it's godawful. Nonexistent highs, muddy lows, and compressed mids. Blargh. I'm sure they also sound better than the ATH-M50x (seriously, I prefer my Apple buds over those).
"This is a machine for making cows."

vladgd

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 635
    • View Profile
Re: The Thread of Extreme Happiness
« Reply #34 on: February 22, 2021, 08:32:04 PM »
So like Blizzard is kind of bad now a days, but I just can't NOT be excited for a diablo 2 remaster. I may have reinstalled d2 and completed normal difficulty already...

Just dont fuck it up this time blizzard, we remember war3.

Spectere

  • \m/ (-_-) \m/
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5716
  • printf("%s\n", "Hi!");
    • View Profile
    • spectere.net
Re: The Thread of Extreme Happiness
« Reply #35 on: February 22, 2021, 10:22:27 PM »
It looks promising so far, but we'll see...fingers crossed and stuff.
"This is a machine for making cows."

vladgd

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 635
    • View Profile
Re: The Thread of Extreme Happiness
« Reply #36 on: February 23, 2021, 03:33:31 PM »
Worst case scenario is at least better than Warcraft 3.

One of the issues I have gameplay wise, I have probably played a vast majority of my diablo 2, single player offline. There exists very powerful runewords in the game that are LADDER ONLY, not for normal battle.net characters OR for single player characters. I understand locking them behind ladder ONLINE, but offline, that's just straight horseshit. Even more that they doubled down on keeping them ladder only in resurrected to "incentivize" people to play ladder. Which the main incentive to play ladder is to start fresh with everyone online, not to make that runeword or two to play with for a few months before season ends...

(I feel a need to explain why singleplayer and not b.net. Battle.net characters are deleted after 90 days of not logging, I can go years without playing this game so thats one nope. Ladder lasts 6 months afiak, then you're booted to nonladder, so that character you worked so hard to gear, no longer has ladder gear, NOPE number 2. Mueling gear between characters requires trusting other players, so that's nope number 3)

But uhh since they aren't killing the original diablo 2, I found this here mod which is going to make me play even more diablo 2 than I intended. I rarely play mods, but this is more of a QoL update to the base game if anything. Single player only, can craft ladder runewords offline, infinite stash space, a shared stash between characters that is also infinite, amongst other QoL things. So you can play offline, magic find with a character...and transfer those items to other characters that can use that gear...without exiting the game and using an external file reading tool to drag and drop items between characters. IT IS AWESOME HOWED I NOT KNOW IT EXISTED EARLIER.

They also talked about being mod friendly, so theres a possibility that this thing could be ported over to d2r. But even if it can't be ported, the vanilla game aint going anywhere. So if the single player is like vanilla d2, and can't be modded to have ladder stuff, I may just play d2r for multiplayer only, and play this plugY mod on vanilla d2 for my offline characters.
« Last Edit: February 23, 2021, 06:56:19 PM by vladgd »

Spectere

  • \m/ (-_-) \m/
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5716
  • printf("%s\n", "Hi!");
    • View Profile
    • spectere.net
Re: The Thread of Extreme Happiness
« Reply #37 on: February 24, 2021, 11:44:57 AM »
Yeah, that was my other point of concern. I already have my Diablo II/LoD installer backed up (along with the latest patches) just in case, as well as still owning a copy on CD, just to be on the safe side. Assuming they follow through with those promises, I'm glad they actually learned a lesson from that debacle.

In generally it sort of feels like they're promising less than they were with W3:R, which is probably a good thing in this case. They promised a lot of improvements with W3:R and wound up delivered a product that was inferior to the classic game. With D2:R (getting some real DDR Extreme vibes up in this bitch) it feels like they're advertising it as the original with prettier, upscaled graphics (no small feat given that it's all sprite-based!) and the odd, LCD-unfriendly 25fps cap removed. This may seem like an odd sentiment, but I also like that the upscaled (might be more fair to call them "uprezzed," seeing as it doesn't seem to just be run through a filter) UI graphics are sort of ugly when you look at them from a contemporary lens but they perfectly fit the late-90s/2000 style of D2.

If they make the online system more similar to Diablo 3, I might actually partake in it. I diddled around with D2's Battle.net stuff and...ugh. What a pain. It's still not great that some runewords are online-only, but if they can be modded into the single player game it's not really too much of an issue, I suppose. I'm also kind of curious as to whether D2:R is going to retain the direct TCP/IP multiplayer option of the original. That's becoming less relevant as time goes on, I suppose, but it would be nice to see a LAN-party friendly game come out for a change.

It's a little annoying that it's not coming to macOS, at least not initially, but since they're supposedly still using the original engine that's probably not too surprising (macOS has been pure 64-bit since Catalina and I'm sure the engine still has a lot of little bitness-specific gotchas baked in). I'm sure it'll probably run fine under my Windows 10 VM, but it would have been nice to have a native port.

Also, thanks to the link to plugY! I'll have to check that out later.

I think whether or not plugY will work with D2:R depends on what sort of mods D2:R is meant to work with. PlugY hooks into Diablo 2's internals, so if D2:R changes too much or adds some sort of anti-tamper solution into the mix (and given that we're talking about Activision, I wouldn't be surprised) it's going to make things difficult, if not impossible. It's more likely that their goal is to support stuff like Median XL, which, IIRC, only touches the MPQ files.

The problem is that the term "mod-friendly" is pretty vague. It's just as likely that they're explicitly adding in mod support (like a loader that would allow you to have multiple gameplay mods installed and switch between them) as it is that they're leaving things as-is so as not to break existing gameplay mods. I guess we'll find out more as it gets closer to release.

I did sign up for the technical alpha, so if I get picked (and there isn't an NDA on the whole shebang) I might be able to offer more info later. I do have a history of actually submitting bug reports instead of just treating it as an early demo (especially during the Cataclysm beta cycle) so I guess we'll see!
"This is a machine for making cows."

vladgd

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 635
    • View Profile
Re: The Thread of Extreme Happiness
« Reply #38 on: February 24, 2021, 08:59:28 PM »
I'm also kind of curious as to whether D2:R is going to retain the direct TCP/IP multiplayer option of the original. That's becoming less relevant as time goes on, I suppose, but it would be nice to see a LAN-party friendly game come out for a change.

I'm going to have to guess "probably but not guaranteed" on that one. I clearly heard it mentioned in the Q and A, but wasn't 100% sure how serious the guy was.

Tell me what you think of plugY after you got a few hours into it. I've leveled at least...40-50 characters, maybe more over level 50 in diablo 2 over the years, and having a mod that let's me just do things is nice. I was playing a sorceress a1 normal using charged bolt, wasn't having a good time...just reset my skillpoints in the UI and went fireball instead, much better. Ohh a piece of gear that is a big upgrade, 50 strength, I only have 20...lemme take some points out of vit, dump into str, GOOD TO GO. Fire staff I was using on my assassin that I no longer need, dumped it into the shared stash easy access for my sorceress to pick up when she hit 19.

Cheating? yeah sure, but who cares, it's single player, I played enough d2 as is, it's just fun. In like 2 days I have a 14 necro, 20 sorc, and 51 assassin...they don't make em like they used to.

Spectere

  • \m/ (-_-) \m/
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5716
  • printf("%s\n", "Hi!");
    • View Profile
    • spectere.net
Re: The Thread of Extreme Happiness
« Reply #39 on: February 25, 2021, 02:56:45 PM »
Will do! Kinda looking forward to it, honestly. I never really spent much time in classic b.net, so being able to do lag-free, single-player uber hunting and rune word tomfoolery sounds pretty awesome.

And hey, no shame in respeccing. I was thrilled when Blizz patched respecs into D2 and bummed when I saw how limited they were. I'd argue that one of the things that Blizzard really nailed with Diablo 3 was the experimentation aspect (though they went and fucked that up by introducing grossly overpowered sets that demand specific builds).

Besides, we're (sort of) adults now. We don't really have time to scrap an endgame character just because we realized that they weren't tuned well in the middle of a Hell run.
"This is a machine for making cows."

vladgd

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 635
    • View Profile
Re: The Thread of Extreme Happiness
« Reply #40 on: March 02, 2021, 12:20:45 PM »
Thinking I might be done with my Diablo 2 romp till remaster comes out. Got 3 characters into nightmare, and not going to bother with hell, because yknow, hell, is hell. I may have only cleared normal-hell one single time solo across the entire 20 years I have played diablo 2...

Did learn a few new things though, there are a few cheap very good runewords that are great for normal. Stealth is pretty much good on every character in normal, and leaf is good for any character who is using fire, ESPECIALLY sorceress. Faster hit recovery is a goat stat that I thought was useless up till recently, and melee classes are pretty much trash don't play untwinked.

Still not entirely sure what class I want to play ONLINE, because there are aspects of online play that dont apply to single player. Maps are random every game, so to magic find, you kinda need an enigma or a sorceress. I do not like the sorceress class, but they can get into nightmare mephisto and aquire wealth without needing any gear, so it's hard not to want one. Hammerdin is great but has some gear requirement, assassin traps is very good solo but boss killing is slow, kicking is very fast for bosses but needs mid/high end runewords. Necro is the slowest class in the game, but can solo everything without gear...then I seen with gear they are a top 2-3 boss killer in the game for speed? DIABLO 2 MAKES NO SENSE.

Now if I am not lazy and dig up my old d2 saves off my old HDD somewhere...could make a thread showing off the wealth I aquired single player without plugy (though with ATMA for mueling), because I got a lot of good stuff, including a nearly fully decked out level 90 hammerdin I used for magic finding(THOUSANDS of hell meph runs), minus good runewords because lol no ladder runewords single player.

Did I mention that Diablo 2 is one of my favorite games of all time ever? Because it COMFORTABLY sits in my top 2. Playing it again helped me cement this fact.
« Last Edit: March 02, 2021, 12:35:48 PM by vladgd »

Spectere

  • \m/ (-_-) \m/
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5716
  • printf("%s\n", "Hi!");
    • View Profile
    • spectere.net
Re: The Thread of Extreme Happiness
« Reply #41 on: March 02, 2021, 12:36:36 PM »
Oh hey, speaking of D2, I played around with PlugY a bit (not a whole lot...just went through act 1 normal with a fire sorceress). Gotta say, I really like the way they implemented a bunch of stuff. It doesn't cause any issues with the Glide wrapper I'm using (I didn't think it would, but you never know...), and, best of all, it doesn't mess with the standard character files! It seems to save all of its extended data in a file alongside the character file, so you could feasibly bring the character back to the vanilla version of the game if you wanted to. I assume you'd probably have to drop the items you want to save into your character's inventory in order to bring it with you, but that's to be expected.

There are a few things that are a bit on the inconvenient side, like the way you have to page through your bank and such, but given the way it works that probably couldn't be helped. These sort of hot patches are miraculous enough, and I'd say that, overall, my expectations were exceeded.

I'm kinda thinking that I should, y'know, actually try a different class. I don't think I've ever played a necro, weirdly enough. Most of my time in Diablo II was spent as a sorc, barb, or druid.
"This is a machine for making cows."

vladgd

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 635
    • View Profile
Re: The Thread of Extreme Happiness
« Reply #42 on: March 02, 2021, 03:24:39 PM »
You never know what you're going to like until you roll a few of em. I really dig assassin right now, and the reason I started playing them because at the time was my least explored class. But diablo isn't the biggest time invetment for leveling characters, so doesn't hurt to give it a go. Necro is a great class for playing without impressive gear, and the build is extremely easy. Str for gear, no dex, rest in vit, no energy. Max skeletons first, then skeleton mastery, get 1 point in amp damage, 1 point decrepify, 1 point summon resistances, start maxing corpse explosion when you reach hell.

Ohh so I lied, i dug out a few cables, opened up the pc, sifting through my old HDD's....I found em...



I wish I could make the resolution higher, but it's 2021, and diablo 2 is old. Now to sink my teeth into my old saves, I salivate.

*edit*

Make it TWO times I have taken a character from normal to hell solo.



While this guy was my most powerful character and the reason I had amassed the wealth I have, hell is still hell, and going through areas even with a minmax build, even with gear, is still very hard. The necromancer was easier BY FAR, but the hammerdin damage is insane. I forgot how fun paladin was, even with hammerdin you got an aura for everything. Vigor to run fast, cleanse to remove curses/poison faster, concentrate for damage boost/can't be interrupted as much, redemption to eat corpses for mana/health (and prevent enemies from reviving them). Found myself swapping to different auras multiple times a combat, diablo 3 crusader didn't have this much interaction. Also how the fuck do you get through the game with single element? Hammers are "magic" damage, which is the best type because only like 2 things in the game are immune to it, but the tomb reaver wave of baals minions are totally 100% immune to blessed hammer damage...google told me to just use holy bolt because its cold damage and happens to be boosted by hammer skillpoints so the damage isnt horrible, but what if I was another class like my lightning trapsin? Or like any sorceress? Funny diablo 3 needed to add more difficulty settings as the power creep went up, but d2 just needed hell, it still wasn't easy getting to the end of the game solo with an overpowered character.
« Last Edit: March 02, 2021, 06:25:26 PM by vladgd »

Spectere

  • \m/ (-_-) \m/
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5716
  • printf("%s\n", "Hi!");
    • View Profile
    • spectere.net
Re: The Thread of Extreme Happiness
« Reply #43 on: March 02, 2021, 10:02:02 PM »
Thanks for the tip! I'll probably give the necro a shot soon (maybe tonight? I pretty much both IIDX'd and VR'd myself out by this point). I remember why I never tried it: my friend always played necro, and we didn't see the point in rolling two of the same class. Guess I just sort of stuck with that mentality long after high school, haha.

The main reason Diablo 3 needed to ratchet up the difficulty the way they did is because every last ounce of gear synergy in that game was artificial. The way they implemented sets is completely fucking busted, and basically forces you to build your character a certain way in order for them to be even remotely effective. The damage scaling is so out of whack that simply attaining the 6-set Firebird's Finery wizard set is enough to bring you from having a rough time with T4 to annihilating T8, and a few more pieces will easily push you immediately to T10 and beyond. I guess it's kind of entertaining in a mindless sort of way, but it kind of took away any freedom of choice and staying power. Whenever you check the ladder, the top 200+ people all have the exact same gear and skills. I hate it.

It's not to say that Diablo 3 was great at launch. They tried to stick with D2-style progression, but their RMAH-supporting overly random loot system and drastically reduced level of gear customization absolutely wrecked the game (much the same way as how removing grenades killed a major strategic aspect of TeamFortress, IMO). Their fix for that was basically copying WoW's itemization model, which...doesn't really fit ARPGs.

In Diablo 2, it doesn't feel like they even attempted to force synergy, and if they did they did a damned good job of hiding it. It almost feels like they took the sandbox approach, threw a bunch of toys in the sand, and let people play around with them to their heart's content as god intended. Sure, it's a little clunky and rough in places, but the general approach that they took was a reasonable one. There's randomness, sure, but it's far less prominent. D3 has always been ruled by gear, while D2 is more about what you do with what you pick up, and given the success of PoE, GD, and the fact that Diablo 2 still has a decent player base, that's definitely the approach that people prefer.

Hopefully Diablo 4 ends up landing somewhere in the middle. From what I've seen they're putting more of a focus on action-based movement, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. Diablo 3 sort of tried to do that in a sense but it wasn't bold enough to go all the way, and every instance of it attempting any sort of difficulty always proved to be more of a gear check than a skill check (*cough cough* fucking Inferno *cough* Torment 13 *cough cough*). If D4 rolls back itemization and allows people to actually build their own characters again rather than railroading them down a set path, it might very well be something I get into. We'll see, I suppose.

Edit: Started my necro and managed to find a wand that gave me +2 skeleton mastery within the first five minutes. Not too shabby! Gotta admit, it felt pretty awesome to just sit back, relax, and watch 5 skeletons tear Blood Raven to shreds.
« Last Edit: March 03, 2021, 12:33:46 AM by Spectere »
"This is a machine for making cows."

Zephlar

  • Banned
  • Sr. Member
  • *
  • Posts: 341
  • Genuine Bullshitter
    • View Profile
    • Ranalli Photography & Design, LLC
Re: The Thread of Extreme Happiness
« Reply #44 on: March 08, 2021, 01:40:29 PM »
Sold out in the first 5 hours. I was one of the lucky few. Wife bday gift. Got The Cheat vinyl slipmat too.