In context: It's been 21 years since Diablo 2 first arrived, and those of us old enough to remember playing it first time around can look forward to the remastered release on September 24. As with other recent revamps of classic games, Diablo 2: Resurrected takes advantage of modern hardware, but one thing it won't do is work on ultrawide monitors. According to Blizzard, true 21:9 support breaks the game.
The Diablo 2 technical alpha did support 21:9, but the beta scaled this maximum width down to 19:9. Blizzard writes that the problems became apparent during the former. "For example, the AI failed to sense the player and trigger attacks. Furthermore, players with 21:9 monitors were able to pull many more monsters into battle at a range limit beyond the original game's intention," the company explains.
"In a scenario where players (for example: playing a ranged class) were attacking monsters, players with 21:9 monitors could hit enemies with that extra screen space, but the monsters would not pull or react, but could still be defeated. Ultimately, the AI doesn't register getting hit from that additional distance a 21:9 monitor provides."
The change means that anyone playing Diablo 2: Resurrected on an ultrawide 21:9 screen or a super-ultrawide 32:9 like Samsung's Odyssey Neo G9 will see black bars down either side of their monitor. Blizzard added, "We'll continue to watch these discussions and explore possible solutions that don't change how the game is played."
Another feature removed by Blizzard, one that was present in the original and the technical alpha, is TCP / IP support. It allowed peer-to-peer connections in the 2000 version, as opposed to using the studio's servers, but Blizzard "learned that this functionality was enabling significant security-related issues to our game."
"We're aware that removing this feature adds a large hurdle for talented multiplayer modders in our community. Still, our priority is to keep this game's ecosystem as secure as possible for all of our players."
Blizzard stresses that forms of multiplayer modding will still be available, including the ability to modify specific files; you'll still be able to adjust values of skills, items, and more.
Diablo 2: Resurrected is the first major release from Blizzard since the sexual harassment and gender discrimination lawsuit against parent Activision Blizzard that led to several employees, including president J. Allen Brack, leaving the company. We recently heard that mobile spin-off Diablo Immortal has been delayed until the first half of 2022, while Diablo 4 isn't expected to land until next year at the earliest.
https://www.techspot.com/news/91167-blizzard-removed-ultrawide-monitor-support-diablo-2-because.html
