Character classes aren't the only area of expansion; in fact the entire Diablo stage has expanded. Rather than one town, one population, your travels will progress you through four towns that make up Diablo II's world. Huge is the word here. Each town will introduce a virtually all-new population and unique environmental 'theme' such as jungle and desert (possibly in a Horadrum town) with a few resident sorcerers.

The fall of Tristram - Act I

The first Act will be set in a fertile terrain, similar to Tristram, which unfortunately now is a shadow of its former self. Raised to the ground by Diablo's minions it has been left as a burnt out shell inhabited by roaming tortured zombies. A few familiar faces escaped the massacre though, Cain the Elder and that pesky peddler Wirt.

More attention has been paid to the finer details of towns this time round with livestock running around, rivers flowing, leaves bristling in the breeze and NPC's leaving their stores going about their daily business. Bags of realism.

Living, breathing world

Matt Householder, producer confirmed that "The world is more active than Diablo I. NPCs can walk around a bit, giving the
perception of a more living, breathing world." Bill Roper has also added "NPCs will walk the streets, come up to you and initiate quests and basically be much more alive. Tristram was very static and we want to make the towns and settlements in DII alive."

The original Rogues will also make an appearance, as patrolling guards around Act I. Situated at the edge of town, just before the woods, is a makeshift encampment where these Rogues have setup home. This is also where your adventures begin.

Requested to death has been the ability to enter structures in the towns. Well in the nick of time, before we all went blue in the face this has been officially confirmed. We will be able to enter structures such as inns and various trader's establishments. Once entering the walls to the foreground will become transparent (much like Diablo).

Improved transparency

Another realism-check has resulted in the addition of night. When I first saw Diablo II change from day to night, torches dotted around the Rogue Encampment ignited automatically, soaking the immediate area with soft hues of orange. Now, with the addition of 3Dfx it looks even more splendid. There will also be atmospheric effects such as rain, fog and maybe even sandstorms.

Act II

The setting for the second Act will be to the east in the bustling metropolis of Lut Gholein which sits on the outskirts of a parched desert.

The city has a sea port as well as land based trade. It will also be inhabited by a totally new cast of townsfolk. Your quests will take you out of the city and into the surrounding desert inhabited by a whole horde of beasts. You will also find treasure buried here.

This is the first Act where I saw the new elevated terrain feature. Steps cut into the rock-face of mountains.

At the moment we are not sure where else we will see this feature. Steps up the sides of buildings to rooftops?

Act III & IV

Not a whole lot is known about the towns for Act III and IV other than the former will be set in rainforest setting, with Mayan/Inca type ruins. The forth set? Well the clever money is on a snowy environment (quite fitting for a company called Blizzard) but it is promised to be three times the size of all of Diablo!