UPDATE: Now with paragraphs! (Thank you for feedback everyone!)
Ok guys, let's talk about this shields update... In the TWAB you make a statement that "the number of bespoke combatant shields has become more difficult to maintain as we’ve significantly expanded the number of enemy combatants in the game."... yep, that is how it works...
Just saying that you are trying to make your job of designing quality in game elements easier by in fact reducing the visual quality of the game is NOT A SOLUTION. If it is too much work to keep up with, THEN HIRE MORE HEADCOUNT. This is a AAA title that we pay handsomely for, and then some, you can afford to do this right.
If you are telling me that you actually think the 2nd video you showed looks in any where near as good as the first example, then you are not the same creative geniuses that made D2 what it is, and please put them on the phone... Not having a 3D vex grid around a minotaur, or the spherical cabal shield around a centurion, etc, is just going to be a disappointing departure from the polished, visually stunning experience that we have come to love and expect from D2.
Forget the fact that you are downgrading a visual element that we have already paid for, but to say that all enemy shields are going to just have a similar, flat, Duke Nukem style shield graphic is quite frankly heartbreaking and an unacceptable downgrade of our current D2 experience, period. As for the visual accessibility element, you could always just add a little elemental icon that appears next to enemy shield bars to help identify them, optional in menu of course.
Make no mistake, we do not accept that you are essentially cutting costs, cutting quality, but still charging the same amount, and you need to walk this back. We already paid for this expansion, many of us have paid for the whole year, and cutting the quality of our game only a quarter of the way in is at best questionable business ethics, certainly morally appalling, and potentially even a refundable offense, regardless of what your EULA states.
I think we both know you are benefiting from regulations that are behind the times for SAAS and we would appreciate it if you would not abuse that freedom so blatantly with your loyal user base. So please, pretty please, with sugar on top, walk this back.
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Lmao classic Bungie only got 5 junior devs working on the game. Why couldn't the shields be a toggleable option between "Triple A quality shields" and "Indie game made by 1 guy in his spare time shield?" Its not like its even easier to tell what the color is since it doesn't cast any light like the previous shields and just looks amateur. Honestly though its been pushed by someone at Bungie that needs to justify their "accessibility" job by making changes to the game that affects everyone when around 1% of the playerbase is actually "helped" by it.