#1: A Regular Needs Our Help

Regular readers of this forum know me as a serious researcher into the arcane aspects of Diablo, with many technical posts, especially in the area of melee weapons.

So you should believe that if I am going to post on an "off topic" matter, I do so for a very good reason. Which is the case now.

I have just recently found out that a long-time regular of this forum, a recognized expert on bows, with multiple posts on the subject, really needs our help and support.

Mister X, who prefers not to divulge his name in open forum for reasons which will become obvious (he has, however, authorized me to release his identity, at my discretion, via e-mail), has been confined to the Federal Correctional Facility at Lompoc, California FOR PLAYING ON B.NET -- yes, that is correct, his crime consisted of joining a few public games on b.net with his rogue character {name deleted}, nothing else. This is an outrage!

Please join me in protesting this action carried out by order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit!

U.S. residents please contact your elected Federal Representatives (who, after all work for YOU); addresses may be obtained from:

http://dir.yahoo.com/Government/U_S__Government/Legislative_Branch/
Senate/Senators/

http://dir.yahoo.com/Government/U_S__Government/Legislative_Branch/
House_of_Representatives/Representatives/

Non-U.S. residents, who should also be allowed to express their opinion, should contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate; addresses may be obtained from:

http://dir.yahoo.com/Government/U_S__Government/Embassies_and_Consulates/

This is a clear violation of our basic human rights of freedom of expression and pursuit of happiness, as guaranteed by our Constitution.

The legalistic details, for those of you interested in such trivia, was that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found Mr. X in violation of some of the stipulations for his parole. Mr. X, a repeat sex-offender, was granted parole on the stipulated condition that he would abstain from wearing women's clothing and refrain from hanging around places frequented by young boys.

Sincerely,

Da O'Toth (trying to remember the significance of today's date...)

#2: Da O'Toth's Trainer and Guide

Da O'Toth's Trainer and Guide now available for download!

It is available in Windows 3.1 and Windows95 versions from:

http://www.brnet.com.br/paginas/Down/Download.htm

Just click on either Win 3.1 or Win 95, and follow the instructions.

I decided to release my "Da O'Toth Trainer and Interactive Cheater's Guide" in beta version, since I know that Jarulf and Finnan Haddie are working on their versions, and I wanted to beat them to it! ;-)

The DOTTICG is designed to run in the background while Diablo is active, and both the trainer and guide can be accessed with a few keystrokes.

The trainer is pretty straight-forward, but has many new, much desired, features, a few of which are given:

Instant destruct: Allows you to instantly destroy all the monsters on any level (and everything else) by a few simple keystrokes (this feature has been only partially implemented, it currently exits to Windows without the possibility to return to the same game; hence it requires the subsequent creation of new game).

Pause: Allows you to pause the game during combat. [Caveat: since this is still a beta version, the only way to un-pause is to re-start your computer (it may also be necessary to re-install windows to get everything working again).]

Item generation: Any possible combination of prefix, base, and suffix can be generated (minor bug still to be resolved: how to get that selected items to be offered by Wirt and Griz, and/or dropped in the dungeon).

Cauldron/goat shrine identification: On approaching any cauldron or goat shrine, a few simple keystrokes will bring the typical message intrinsic to the shrine (such as "New Strength is Forged Through Destruction") which readily permits you to identify the shrine. (Minor bug in the beta version: currently the id process causes the effects of the shrine to be implemented on the character.)

Instant win-game: Allows you to instantly go to the win-game cut-scene, without having to play the game at all, again by the use of a few simple keystrokes. Optionally, this will also un-install Diablo (you've beat it, right?).

The guide, accessible during game play, gives information on such diverse topics as:

Is it legit or not? -- Guidelines for spotting legit items, thus allowing you to eliminate them from your inventory.

Who not to pick as a target for pk. -- Explains why characters with "(BNM)" appended to their name should be avoided as targets for mk's/pk's.

Why some can spot you as a cheater. -- Goes into the disadvantages of displaying four dots during chat, of carrying plate armor while at character level 1, and of having 3,000 HP life balls.

High-level Chain Lightning. -- Explains the problems associated with level 74+ chain lightning (sprite limitations, etc.)

High-level Fire Wall. -- Explains the problems associated with level 65+ fire walls (duration).

Discussion of the advantages of the Demonspike Ring over the Demonspike Amulet. -- (You can dupe the ring and wear two of them, not so with the amulet.)

And many, many more......

So, what are you waiting for? Got get it -- it's free!

And remember: Instant gratification of your hedonistic impulses is always the way to go! Take the easy way! It's not whether you have fun or not, it's winning (by any means) that really counts....

Da O'Toth (still trying to determine the significance of today's date....)

#3: News - Diablo Subject to Litigation

Newsflash from Spain: An injunction was just filed at the Royal Civil Court in Madrid, against any further sales of Diablo. The suit was filed under the "protected religious icons" statute of Spanish Civil Law (based on the Codigo Romano of Caesar Augustus's time), which prohibits third-party commercial exploitation of religious icons. In essence the statute allows a religious group to "copyright" the names of religious icons. According to Spanish Magistrate Quijote de la Mancha, the term "Diablo" clearly falls under that category.

This injunction effectively stops all sales within the European Community; however, the effect may be more far reaching. As most of you know, Blizzard was recently purchased by the French multi-media conglomerate Premier Avril S.A. Since France is also a member of the European Community, if Premier Avril S.A. should be named as a co-defendant to the injunction, the ruling would then apply world-wide.

It is presently unclear who exactly is behind the suit. The local Vatican representative refused comment, but appeared surprisingly hostile. The representative, Archbishop Lazarus, was overheard muttering something to the effect of "They shall feel the wrath...."

Apparently Blizzard had some prior warning on the forthcoming litigation, as evidenced by the statement of Blizzard/Premier Avril spokesman DeCard-Kane: "This does not bode well, for it confirms my darkest fears."

In a related story, news from Bhutan indicate that a group of exiled Tibetan monks, members of the esoteric Na k'Rul (Fire of Hell) order are suing Sierra for similar reasons......

So it appears that today, 01 April 1999, was not a good date for Diablo.....

#4: Legit GPoW Does Exist

Legit GPoW can and DOES exist!

Yes, you read right - legitimate Godly Plate of the Whale can and does exist. [Wow, never thought I'd be writing this....] Let me explain....

Just a little while ago (a little after midnight my time) my rogue Xana_D'Arco went to visit Wirt to check out any possible bows on sale (hoping to better the stats on her Jade of Speed, or getting that long sought after Emerald of Heavens). Well she paid her gold, and Wirt told her what he had. First reaction was oh no, not godly crap of the whale again - but wait, this wasn't rags, or a cap, this was PLATE. And a quick check of the stats (AC 74, dur 90) confirmed it was full plate mail!

First thought was - man, no matter if I have to clear the whole dungeon, I just have to get the needed gold to buy that. Then I checked the price - 128 gp! She had that in inventory....

So I came, I saw, and I bought it!

Stats are: AC 74 +182%, +92 HP

Started thinking and came to the hypothesis that the cost (which should have been 369,619 gp according to OrkinMan's calculator http://www.angelsofhell.com/prices.html ) somehow rolled over to 128 gp due to an overflow condition......

I immediately ICQ'd Jarulf, good thing he was still awake; he just responded that a quick code read indicated that yes, for certain prices an overflow condition could occur.

He most likely will post more details on this later - if I know him well, he's already calculating just for what stats overflow can occur, and how many times you'd have to shop Wirt to have an GPoW offered to you.....

Will xfer the plate to my Warrior Da_O'Toth right away. Damn, I never thought I'd see the day one of my characters would prance around in a GPoW......

I guess I will remember today for a long time......

Da O'Toth [Stay legit - it's more fun on the long run.....]

P.S. Sorry Armin (just in case you're lurking :), I know this was one of you favorite posting topics. And yes, I know that a HP of precision, sorcery, or even AP of stars would have been better.......

#5: Pesky Politicians

Just found this news item which is of interest to Diablo b.net players:

Reuters, AP 01 April 2000

The Republican Party late yesterday filed an injunction at the 11th Federal District Court in Washington D.C. for Blizzard to immediately stop any further b.net play of Diablo.

The injunction states that the federal regulations establishing public nets clearly forbid their use for partisan political propaganda. This issue is especially sensitive since this is an election year in the US.

The alleged violation involves undue propaganda for the Democratic presidential candidate - specifically, the injunction points out the repeated use of the "of Gore" suffix in the game.

The injunction stipulates that Blizzard would have to stop all Diablo b.net play until the name of the suffix is changed.

Unconfirmed reports are circulating that the Republicans would be willing to drop the injunction as long as Blizzard would substitute the "King's" prefix with "Bush's".

[Note by me: Apparently the GOP has some Diablo players in its ranks that are aware that this would lead to such combinations as "Bush's Hammer of Gore", "Bush's Axe of Gore, "Bush's Maul of Gore" etc....... :)]

Da O'Toth [Stay legit - more fun in the long run.......]