I'm quite certain most people here would set other priorities, however I've always been annoyed by the fact that D3 was a step back to it's predecessors when it comes to usability. I mean, why ruin a perfectly working demo and automap system that was ahead of it's time in 1995? The D3 automap looks good but panning is slow as hell and worst of all the Full Map powerup does not colour unvisited parts of the mine differently.

Also, who the hell came up with the idea of not letting us skip those skripted level intro cutscenes with ESC? Makes as much sense to me as those annoying user prohibitions on DVDs. And if your engine can't animate bipedal Stormtroopers properly just stick to bots without limbs! Oh yes, and make screenshot naming always increment the highest number rather than replacing lower numbers that have been deleted. Moon's Descendarium - THE single-player guide to D1-3
Maintainer of the 'Official' D3 FAQ
DXX-Rebirth: Play D1/D2 on modern PCs

I wouldn't say it was a step backwards, just a step forwards in the wrong direction.

I'll agree with the slow panning and automap problem, but the rest of it's fine. Perhaps a wireframe option could be turned on, eliminating the textures in D4?

Intro cutscenes? You mean when the camera takes a swing around the pyro for seemingly no reason? You can skip them by pressing just about any key but escape.

Actually I thought the stormtroopers were alright, except when they got hit with some kind of weapon that caused them to run like mad to the other side of the room. Cracks me up every time. I'd like to see future versions use more squad-like tactics now that AI has advanced. Crouching, throwing grenades (correct me if I'm wrong, but they were originally going to "throw" impact morters right?), strafing, multiple reactions to the same outcome, reactions when hit, etc. Oh, and I'd like to see them fall down sometimes when I throw a missile their way.

I don't see the point of screenshots saving in TGA format, but barring that I've never taken enough to encounter the problems you're talking of. A massive thank you to EA for:
- Producing great quality games time and time again
- Providing excellent technical support
- Never destroying any highly acclaimed studios for profit
- Never ripping people off
- Never wasting people's time

Well, I'm a little fixated on consistency so I think it's stupid to be able to skip movies and exit menus with escape but not skripted scenes. Moon's Descendarium - THE single-player guide to D1-3
Maintainer of the 'Official' D3 FAQ
DXX-Rebirth: Play D1/D2 on modern PCs

I agree that it's stupid you can't skip them with escape, but I thought you meant you can't skip them at all.

Then again, it's easier to exit the game as you only have to press escape once. A massive thank you to EA for:
- Producing great quality games time and time again
- Providing excellent technical support
- Never destroying any highly acclaimed studios for profit
- Never ripping people off
- Never wasting people's time

I know i posted this somewhere already but the only big thing i really hated is the demo recording is very buggy. I love recording me and my friends 1 on 1 but half of the time either it won't play, the power-ups are doubled up, and the ships aren't displayed properly.

I've had a demo where all the robots were destroyed in about five hits regardless of weapon choice, except for bosses. There'd be periods where I'd frantically dogfight thin air. A massive thank you to EA for:
- Producing great quality games time and time again
- Providing excellent technical support
- Never destroying any highly acclaimed studios for profit
- Never ripping people off
- Never wasting people's time

The ships were way too small for the environment.

The mass driver was a game breaker that ruined the game

far too many one shot = kill weapons (1 = too many)

The ship didn't fly well with a keyboard as it did in D1-D2

just remember, gamesas wasn't invovled SYSTEM SPECS:
+DELL DIMENSION 4600 (!LOADED!)
+CPU: Intel Pentium 4 (2.66 Ghz)
+RAM: 1Gb (PC3200)
+GRAPHICS: ATI Radeon X1600 (512Mb)

I second the Mass Driver as being a problem.

The map was annoying to use. Hard to find things on it sometimes. Not sure how it could be better though.

I'd like better support for keyboard + mouse. This is just a guess but I'd say people aren't using joysticks as much as they used to.

Trichording is something I'm not sure about. It felt right doing it, but that's probably because the environments were so large. I'd rather have a faster afterburner for travel purposes. Maybe disable it when you're shooting or something.

This could be my imagination but at higher difficulties robots didn't seem to dodge my shots but rather they were 'repelled' away from them automatically. Generally the AI in D3 was great just this annoyed me. Do any of you know the tale of how cornmeal came to be?
Neither did the miller when he left his house that morning!

Thirded. And I've never played online.



I thought it was alright, except for the often mentioned auto-map problem.



Never had one, never used one, not planning to get one any time soon.



I never understood it. Sure you're getting three thrusters pushing you along, but the rear ones do more thrust than the side ones and up and down ones (realistically speaking), meaning that the increase in speed wouldn't be so high. Meh, if it works in game I'll still use it.



That's just the computer cheating because of a lack of decent AI. What is does is detect the partical moving towards its target and any robot in the line of fire is told to move out of the way. Hence, why the mass driver has to go. Stupid hitscan weapons... A massive thank you to EA for:
- Producing great quality games time and time again
- Providing excellent technical support
- Never destroying any highly acclaimed studios for profit
- Never ripping people off
- Never wasting people's time

What was wrong with the mass driver? Its a sniper cannon. Nothing game breaking there. Learn to use it and dodge it and your all good.

Ok for the people who didn't play online the mass driver is completely different than to those who did. The mass driver is a weapon of skill and finesse. It is not a game breaker,it is a utility weapon that allowed for many a great match on larger and small levels. So in my opinion if you didn't take advantage of the best part of the game (online play) you might want to rethink your opinion. As for tri-chording it is a skill that seperates the pros from the average gamer. Descent wasn't meant to be easy, it was meant to be mind altering and a challenge. If you don't like not learning a skill used in the game to augment subtle movement and game play I recommend you go play a regular shooter cause this is not the game for you.

The mass driver is impossible to dodge as it is a hitscan weapon. All you have to do is have your reticule over the target when you fire. That means it only has two disadvantages; low ammo and slow reload rate. A massive thank you to EA for:
- Producing great quality games time and time again
- Providing excellent technical support
- Never destroying any highly acclaimed studios for profit
- Never ripping people off
- Never wasting people's time

Well, the point of the target is to try and stay out of the reticule which is achieved by constant erratic movement. Besides, as gamehost you can always disallow items you don't like, no need to deprive fans of this weapon - like myself though I'm less skilled in it's usage - from enjoying another tactical weapon. Moon's Descendarium - THE single-player guide to D1-3
Maintainer of the 'Official' D3 FAQ
DXX-Rebirth: Play D1/D2 on modern PCs

I think the Mass driver is great. The way i see it is if you don't like it just don't use it. It's not like you HAVE to have it enabled in the online levels.

Meh... the MD is fine as a sniper weapon. I wasn't keen on how it was just as (more?) effective without even zooming the thing in.



That is correct. However I'd rather have skills separated by things like dodging, positioning, weapon choice, etc, than a movement trick. Sure it's useful and shows skill but for some (like me) it was annoying to have to do it everywhere. Never was keen on strafe-running in ground shooters either. Surely there's better ways to show you're a pro!



There's no need for that. These are just people's opinions after all. Do any of you know the tale of how cornmeal came to be?
Neither did the miller when he left his house that morning!

The mass driver is impossible to dodge as it is a hitscan weapon. All you have to do is have your reticule over the target when you fire. That means it only has two disadvantages; low ammo and slow reload rate.
Its dodgable because its just as hard to aim the damn thing. ships zooming around don't make for easy targets.

That is correct. However I'd rather have skills separated by things like dodging, positioning, weapon choice, etc, than a movement trick. Sure it's useful and shows skill but for some (like me) it was annoying to have to do it everywhere. Never was keen on strafe-running in ground shooters either. Surely there's better ways to show you're a pro!



There's no need for that. These are just people's opinions after all.
Its a legitamit skill that if you can pull it off, well, then you cant pull it off. The more things there are to get an advantage over someone the better the gameplay is. Means you have more to look out for and whatnot.

Also, dodging is also a movement trick.

I'd like to point out that I have no multiplayer experience whatsoever, and as such my knowledge comes solely from the singleplayer aspect. I made the point above because on higher difficulties the bots automatically move out of the way of your projectile path; can't do that with a hitscan weapon.

As for tri-chording; keep it in. If you don't like using it then try the afterburner. However, this skill is only useful really for either getting from A to B fast or evading missiles. On another note, the afterburner should be a powerup. A massive thank you to EA for:
- Producing great quality games time and time again
- Providing excellent technical support
- Never destroying any highly acclaimed studios for profit
- Never ripping people off
- Never wasting people's time

tri-chording while after burning in short bursts gives you a HUGE boost in speed. It is essential in game play. Like capture the flag, and multi player dog fights. As for the mass driver, the more skilled players you play with the harder it gets to use. I just wish the ships where slightly more customizable.