Diablo 4 dev update details character customisation and more

Make your mark.

A new Diablo 4 developer update has taken a closer look at the game’s art style, including character customisation and more.

“Art is a critical part of what makes Diablo, well… Diablo. Our signature randomized dungeons would not feel like Diablo without the ominous lighting setting the mood as players uncover horrifying details around every dark corner,” the update begins. “Combat only feels visceral thanks to carefully crafted animations and visual effects that make spells and abilities sing. And while stats might make or break an item, we often can’t wait to get our hands on a piece of gear purely because of how incredible it looks.”

Characters will be able to customise their characters as part of an expanded dye system, Lead Character Artist Arnaud Kotelnikoff detailed.

“Our dye system allows you to change the color palette of your armor pieces, such as changing silver to gold or replacing a white cloth for a black cloth,” Kotelnikoff said. “Each part of the armor can be dyed, including the helmet, chest, gloves, legs, and boots. You can dye each piece with a different color palette if you choose, or apply the same palette to all of them.

“This system was challenging to implement because materials such as metal do not allow themselves to be dyed with inappropriate colors when they follow PBR rules. To address this, we added data to our armor that identifies specific material types and tells the dye system what color goes on what material, such as leather, fabric, metal, and other specific surfaces. The result is armor that is dyable in a range of colors that still feeling grounded and realistic in the world we’re building for Diablo IV.”

The update also goes into great detail on the game’s camera, armor sets, visual design and much more.

Diablo 4 is expected in 2022.