I just watched a great gameplay video of Torchlight II from Pax East. The Torchlight II programmer who was doing the play by play said that release date was very close, and it was possible to release before or after D3. I think Runic would sell way more games if Torchlight II was released before D3. The loyal Torchlight fans are going to purchase the game no matter when it is released. But There are many other gamers who are foaming at the mouth for D3, and would love to sink their teeth into a game that plays fairly the same way. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I hope Runic Games does not pass it up.

They aren't going to release it first if it's not done, and it's not going to be done before Diablo 3. Chances are, it'll be finished right around when Diablo 3 is released, which is why they'll give it a month or so to let the Diablo rush pass by to release. It's not a game that is meant to hold you over until a different but somewhat similar game is released.

agreed i would rather wait plus then all my time making my mod wont be in vain (want to get at least a few ppl to play it :P

I don't think you'll have to worry much akindain, TL2 might not make it to the U.S. in boxed form for a while. There will still be Steam and direct downloads from Runic, but there are some gamers that don't buy stuff online (like myself). I'll still play Torchlight anyway, even when I get TL2. Torchlight still has a lot of mod potential. I've taken a gander at your big mod you're working on and it looks like a good work in progress.

In general, it would have been ideal to release before D3 just gain the upper hand and some momentum. That is no longer possible though. I think it is a great idea to release a month or so after D3 though. A lot of Diablo fans are still very skeptical, and you never know, Runic might get some Blizzard deserters (fan-wise). I've talked to several people in person and on facebook about the D3 demo, and I gotta tell you all: a lot of people are not impressed. General chatter on several other gamesites (chats, not forums sadly) show a similar vein of disdain for Blizzard and disinterest for D3. I've talked to a lot of people about TL2 and many are either eagerly awaiting it or interested by the modding aspect. Keep your fingers crossed!

Oh and Blizzard is in the midst of a lawsuit too. Another game developing company is suing over an aspect of Blizzard's Peer-2-Peer use, citing infringement. Saw it on X-Play today (the episode is a little old though, but still within the last month).

I drooled at the TL2 berserker skills tree, it was freakin epic, something you jsut dont get with d3 skills. Torchlight 2 is SO well done

to be honest, and in my opinion, I don't even think it matters all that much.