Diablo 2: Resurrected Graphics Options and New Gameplays
Today, Blizzard launched the tech alpha of Diablo II: Resurrected, which brought details of the game's available graphical settings and a lot of gameplay footage.
- Tech alpha of Diablo II: Resurrected has begun;
- We learned about the range of graphics options that the remaster of Blizzard's iconic hack'n'slash will offer, including dynamic resolution scaling;
- New gameplays have also been released, showing us the new Diablo II in all its glory.
The premiere of Diablo II: Resurrected is getting closer. After the disaster, which turned out to be Warcraft III: Reforged, Blizzard does not intend to repeat the mistakes of the past and refines every aspect of the upcoming remaster - including its technical side. The day before yesterday we informed about the alpha tests of the refreshed 2000 hack'n'slash, which will take place over the weekend. Today they began in earnest, providing us with a glimpseat the title's graphics settings, as well as a handful of new gameplays.
As befits a true modern remaster, Diablo II: Resurrected will offer 4K graphics. When announcing the game, Blizzard assured us that we won't be condemned to a single modern style - the game will enable us to switch between modern and old graphics with just one key. Fans of the classics will not be harmed.
This is where we'll change the visuals from new to old. Source: PC Gamer.
There will be a lot of differences in the visuals. In addition to new textures, shadows and aesthetically pleasing transparency, which you can check out in the gameplay, there will also be various anti-aliasing modes (including FXAA and SMAA) and ambient occlusion. However, if for some reason the graphical improvements implemented by the developers do not appeal to you, you will be able to switch to the settings from the original. Every player should find something for themselves in Diablo II: Resurrected.
Graphics options from Diablo 2: Resurrected. Source: PC Gamer.
For the sake of the latter, Blizzard added resolution scaling options, including dynamic scaling, to the refreshed visuals. This is interesting in that it adjusts the rendering resolution (not to be confused with the screen resolution) on the fly if the frame rate starts to drop and the GPU needs a boost. This seems like a very cool and practical solution if we want to chop demons on slightly weaker hardware.
The gameplay has also lived to see some small, but important changes for players. We can finally activate the automatic gold pickup. Another option enables us to change the original spacing between objects dropped by enemies, which provides better visibility on the map. There is also an option to customize keyboard shortcuts, the automap and the interface to our liking. There's also the modern standard, i.e. color blind mode.
We must admit that the visuals of Diablo II: Resurrected look very good. The game also seems to be well optimized - testers report that a GPU comparable to RTX 2070 Super enables us to pull up to 90-100 fps in 1440p on new settings, and even up to 200 in classic mode (which is the limit at the moment). The presence of the latter makes me particularly happy, as I'm eager to remember what it all looked like two decades ago... though I feel I won't find it in me to turn off all the bells and whistles brought by the remaster. It's a shame we can't see the re-created cutscenes at the moment, but I suppose that time will come. For now, I'm calm - this time it seems like Blizzard knows what they're doing.
