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Blizzard's games were usually ported by the company Future Point. However in 2000 they bought the company and made them their internal Mac team. This didn't cause much public attention, which is why an unsuspecting forum user provoked a funny response from Blizzard's Tony Tribelli, when mentioning Future Point on 27.07.2000 (take this date with a grain of salt, there are some inconsistencies in the preserved copy).

I couldn't help noticing the similarities in appearance between the
Diablo II and Starcraft engines - the isometric viewpoint and terrain
generation seem to be very similar, and I think the movement as
well (interesting to see how Diablo II requires more than twice the
horsepower). I was just wondering how much of the code base
is the same - maybe the Future Point guys in the forum care to talk
about it a little bit.

Anyway, I was wondering what would cause the increase in
computing power - I would bet it is either the 16-bit color, larger
sprites, or the more complex sound. Would the differences in AI
matter? It seems that Starcraft would have more AI trouble with
several hundred units running around at once. Or is there huge
under the hood changes that apply to Diablo II?

Tyler

tyler.cheung@yale.edu wrote:

> I couldn't help noticing the similarities in appearance between the
> Diablo II and Starcraft engines - the isometric viewpoint and terrain
> generation seem to be very similar, and I think the movement as
> well (interesting to see how Diablo II requires more than twice the
> horsepower). I was just wondering how much of the code base
> is the same ...

The Diablo II engine was not derived from the Starcraft engine. Bits and
pieces may have the same or similar code, for example where the same
tools generated art for both games.

> ... maybe the Future Point guys in the forum care to talk

> about it a little bit.

Future Point? What "Future Point"? There's no such thing anymore. Didn't
you hear:

1. The Diablo II porting contract with Future Point was canceled by
Blizzard and no replacement vendor was sought.
2. Blizzard employees were seen leaving Future Point's office with
sledgehammers.
3. Soon thereafter Future Point ceased operations and their office
closed.

While the above is entirely true I guess it does give the wrong
impression. Contrary to USENET tradition I'll rephrase things to avoid
incorrect interpretations:

1. Blizzard bought out Future Point, and all Future Point employees
joined Blizzard and comprise Blizzard's internal Mac development
team.
2. Future Point's receptionist counter was too big to fit in the
elevator. It took four of us to get it up the stairs. Since it
was no longer needed it was "disassembled" to fit into the
elevator and the trash dumpster.
3. Blizzard's newly formed Mac development team is located at
headquarter and works along side various other development teams.

Tony
------------------
Tony Tribelli
adtribelli@acm.org