Yes, that original
When I got the chance to sit in with a few of the producers of Diablo II Resurrected, one of the first things that was asked was how the team was going to avoid the sins of Warcraft III Reforged. Much like the original Warcraft III, Diablo II has a huge legacy to uphold, so it was an important thing to get out of the way first.
Although they ducked the direct Reforged comparisons, they explained that this was not only going to be the same Diablo II, fundamentally, underneath the skin; but it was also not going to replace the original in any way. That’s a huge deal, in the sense that the original game isn’t getting overwritten or erased.
Going even further, the new re-release will evidently allow players to import their old save files. Yes, those old ones, the save files you likely abandoned years ago. Speaking to IGN Middle East, producer Matthew Cederquist confirms that they will work, and to “keep” your old saves.
Explaining the process, Cederquist says it was basically a fluke: “back when we were working on [Resurrected], we wondered if the old save files would work and we kind of shoved it in and it worked! And we were like, ‘okay, that’s the best feature ever.”
It…kind of is? So far so good, at least. This seems like the polar opposite of how Reforged was handled, and hopefully it’ll launch when it’s ready. With a multiplayer stress test alpha on the way sometime this year, things are looking up in terms of them getting a handle on login issues early.
What It Takes to Remaster a Cult Classic Like Diablo II [IGN Middle East]
