Randomization Appreciation!

Hello all,

I must first confess something: I hadn't played PoE a lot in a while. I didn't want to 'play myself out' before the third Act hit. But recently I couldn't keep myself from PoE any longer, and I sunk a fair few hours into 0.9.12x.


And I am amazed (again) at just how much progress PoE has made since my last visit (which was around 0.9.11). Voice acting, over-all polish, and even the combat feels a good bit more fluid now. And one thing that really stood out for me was just how much better randomization works. It may not be as frequently discussed as Evasion, builds and pants, but it's one of the major aspects for me whether or not I will continue to play a Diablo-like.


Many maps feel much more randomized now (and thus 'fresh' in subsequent visits), while still retaining the overall feel of that particular zone. I found it quite amusing that I criticized Diablo 3 for its lacklustre randomization, including that 'the tiles used are not even being rotated'.
This method clearly is being utilized in PoE (very visible in 'pertinent' assets of the maps, like Fairgrave's spawning point), and it works great. By the way, I really enjoy Fairgrave's voice-acting... "Namely, you." indeed.


Anyway, thank you for improving not only the loudly-clamoured-for aspects of the game, but also those that rarely get mentioned (at least in fora).


In closing, I'd like to point out that between Diablo 3, Torchlight 2 and PoE, I have seen POE growing from an ambitious project into the best of those three. I have played them, and only PoE has managed to hold my interest for more than a few weeks. Honestly, I am somewhat proud to have seen this game from its humble beginnings to its current shape.


GGG, you guys seriously rock!


...Well that's that off my chest ;-)

Welcome back :)

Great hearing how far the game has come from someone who hasn't played in a while. It really puts into perspective how much work GGG are putting into the game. It's harder to see that kind of 'big picture' progress if you're a daily player and get a drip feed of incremental updates.