Diablo 3 loves a Gamepad

Diablo 3 bought and installed!  And I must say it's an extremely well developed and polished game.  It's too bad network and server issues are still plaguing what is otherwise a fantastic game.  I've only been able to put in around 4-5 hours gametime, but I have been disconnected twice for server maintenance.  I'm not too concerned because I know things will get ironed out quickly.  But there is a small minority of people on the forums that haven't been able to play for more than 5 minutes, or not at all.  Unfortunately I believe these people to have network issues that made it impossible for Blizzard to be aware of.

I also believe that Diablo 3 uses an encrypted tunnel between the client and the server.  Any loss of packets will produce disconnections.  This helps prevent data mining and keeping the online environment pure, but considering that every person's network is just as unique as their computer, it was impossible for Blizzard to make sure that Diablo 3 would work on everything.  Of course, this is all speculation.

One thing that I'm testing if it's really the computer or the network that has issues playing the game.  I've installed the game on two computers now; my main computer; i7 Xeon 2.53 quad core / NVidia GTX 460, and my wife's computer; Core 2 Quad Q6600 / ATI 5770 and both computers work flawlessly.  The final test I have tonight is getting the game to work on an old laptop; Core 2 Duo T2700 2.16 / ATI FireGL V5200.  The video card is on the unsupported list but it should still be capable of running the game on everything low.

If the game works on all three machines with this variety of hardware, then the theory that the issues revolve around networks (Computers to ISP to Battle.net) instead of computer hardware seem to be valid.  I'll update when I've tested the old laptop.

But anyways, Diablo 3 loves a Gamepad.  Using the same script I used for Torchlight and binding the left stick to the dedicated move key in Diablo 3 works extremely well.  The only issue I had is that the dedicated move key overrides SHIFT to root your character.  I resolved this by having the L1 (SHIFT) button open a different set in XPadder where the left stick is unbound to any key, but the script still manages the ranged portion very well.

This whole setup makes maneuvering, combat, positioning, everything work so fluid that it's a wonder Blizzard didn't implement official gamepad support.  It's amazing how well this works.  It does take a little getting used to but not very long.  By the end of the beta content I was extremely content with the layout and functionality.

The whole point of getting it to work on the old laptop is to play on by 37" TV and surround sound from the comfort of my couch!

I'm only level 14 Wizard right now but the available skills already make it complex enough to make it a considerable decision about which skills / runes to use.  I died once, but it was because I got overconfident and the skill layout I chose was not the best for the impending situation.  Combat is getting fast and frenetic and it's just so much fun even exploring.  Maps and dungeons are regenerated every login, unlike D2 single-player.  But it makes sense considering not only dungeons and mobs are randomly generated but also certain events, like finding the black mushroom in the Cathedral level 1.

Anyways, loving the game, my only complaint is that I wish I could play it more :)