I must have watched that video preview now about 200 times or more. (Literally)
The dang video is worth a trillion words. I have it downloaded to my computer so I can watch it nice and big and have even paused on every mouse over he did and read it more times than I care to count.

{{ EDIT: Link to the video as requested.
http://us.blizzard.com/diablo3/media/#movies
Its the gameplay trailer. You can also stream it from the main page. }}

I realize so much will change from that video to release, and I even realize much has changed since that video to now, but I wanted to throw these thoughts out there and see what everyone thought.

1) OK, this first one isn't so important, but I wanted to talk about it. In the video when the Barb talks to Deckard Cain I notice that the characters just go through random chat animations and do not follow what is being said at all.

So...
Is it out of the realm of possibility that we will see lip sync and different movements based upon the scene itself? Wouldn't it be kind of odd if Deckard Cain was telling the Barbarian that he was having a heart attack and yet he was standing there stroking his beard in thought? ;)
If the story is to be largely told via this method I think it would be great if there was more scripting involved here.

2) I notice that no matter the skill that was being used or the manner in which it was used, hotkey or mouse, that the icons never show their use. I know this one isn’t to important either,

but nonetheless...
Is it out of the realm of possibility for the skill icons to animate when used? It would be sweet if they burst into flames when you used them or something to that effect.

3) The mana orb looks so friggin sweet in the video but I am not equally impressed with the HP orb at all.

So...
Is it out of the realm of possibility that the HP orb gets another once over to make it look just as sweet?
[ If you guys touch the mana orb even a little I am going to get nerdragous up in here. ;) ]

4) The henchmen are like dolls still. They walk around and attack and then assume a "Stand at attention soldier" pose after being idle. I notice that when the wall caved in the one guy screams, "What in the hell is that?". However, his scream certainly doesn't register in his body movements. ;)

So...
Is it out of the realm of possibility that henchmen and other npc's have a little more lifelike movement to them?

5) I notice and love the fact that the menus, like the inventory pane, are still panels that come from the sides. However, I always felt that this was a bit cumbersome at some points in play.

So...
Would it be out of the realm of possibility that we get the ability to pop out a bag from that inventory screen and have it displayable on screen at all times. Something we could move around where we like and leave up even during battle? I am one of those people that like to micro manage my inventory all the time while playing, and in Diablo, an item filled game, it would be cool if I could compare stats on stuff and right click it right away without ever opening up that pane.

I have more, but this is getting long and I will bring them up at a later time.

Though just one more question.

If I buy Starcraft 2 and use the editor to make Diablo "The Starcraft Edition" where players can play as a Ghost, a Hydralisk that summons Banelings, and a Zealot for Melee and add in a whole story/backstory for the game and make it last about 40 hours of gameplay, would that guarantee me a Diablo 3 beta key? ;)
I am just joking, I have no such skills, but it would be rockin if someone did that.

Thanks for reading.

That video is rull old.

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Q u o t e:
Is it out of the realm of possibility that we will see lip sync and different movements based upon the scene itself? Wouldn't it be kind of odd if Deckard Cain was telling the Barbarian that he was having a heart attack and yet he was standing there stroking his beard in thought? ;)
If the story is to be largely told via this method I think it would be great if there was more scripting involved here.

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We don't use those dialogue windows any more. We sort of do a slight zoom now, but it's all in the works still. You wouldn't notice any lip syncing even if we had it.

There's also a much wider range of animations for characters now, and I suspect it will expand even further before release if the quest designers get their way.

---

Q u o t e:
3) The mana orb looks so friggin sweet in the video but I am not equally impressed with the HP orb at all.

So...
Is it out of the realm of possibility that the HP orb gets another once over to make it look just as sweet?
[ If you guys touch the mana orb even a little I am going to get nerdragous up in here. ;)

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Cue nerd rage - we don't have mana orbs any more. Mana orbs would only apply to the witch doctor anyway (since he's the only one using mana) and he has other regen mechanics.

We do have some pretty sweet new health globes though that nobody's seen yet. They're a bit less "here's a hovering item" and a bit more 'spell effecty'.

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Q u o t e:
5) I notice and love the fact that the menus, like the inventory pane, are still panels that come from the sides. However, I always felt that this was a bit cumbersome at some points in play.

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Yeah, that's something that some people don't like. Especially as games move toward less and less UI. But we feel like it's something that's iconic to the game, and that changing it would mean changing how many of the other systems function.

Also, I wouldn't say it's intentional, or maybe even something that the designers like, but *I* think that deciding when and where to open your UI is an interesting part of the game.

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Q u o t e:
Would it be out of the realm of possibility that we get the ability to pop out a bag from that inventory screen and have it displayable on screen at all times.

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If a monster wanders underneath a piece of floating inventory UI you wouldn't be able to attack it. Doesn't sound like a good idea.

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Q u o t e:
If I buy Starcraft 2 and use the editor to make Diablo "The Starcraft Edition" where players can play as a Ghost, a Hydralisk that summons Banelings, and a Zealot for Melee and add in a whole story/backstory for the game and make it last about 40 hours of gameplay, would that guarantee me a Diablo 3 beta key? ;)

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Too late.

http://www.diablo3warcraft.com/