New Computer, Old Game
#1
I built a new computer about a week ago. At the rate these things are going, I will need a bigger apartment before my next heatsink purchase. That aside, building the hardware is a few hours, but getting the software back installed could be weeks. The new platform in Vista 64 bit (for now, anyways), and aside from barfing on one of my old sound cards it has worked quite well. Today I pulled out the old Diablo CD, cleaned off the barbeque sauce and whatnot, and popped in into the drive. Do I want to run the autoplay? Sure, as long as it's not Bioshock or some Sony CD... I clicked install and play, and selected a directory. I was going to time how long the install takes, but the game was already running. Doesn't look like any compatibility modes will be needed. Hmmm, the graphics card is running this full screen instead of maintaining 4:3 aspect. That is annoying, and yet it doesn't really look stretched. I always laugh at people who say old games look pixelated on today's large monitors... didn't they ever play an Atari 2600 or NES on a 27" TV?

After quitting and downloading the 1.09 patch, it was time for the ultimate test... killing the butcher! What glorious fun, hacking through skeletons and rats. They just don't make games like this any more. Finally the moment of truth, Butcher's chamber awaits. *Opens door*. *Whirrrr* *Whiirrrrr* *Whirrr* *Whirrr* *Whiirrrr* *Whiirrrr* Ow, clang, bang, clang, oooh, ouch, clang..... "Mmmmm, fresh meat!"

Looks like it's time to find one of them disk image thingies.
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#2
In the meantime, you could avoid that by leaving the music running. Music plays from the CD, so the CD will keep spinning as long as the music plays.

If you're on a multi-core system (and you probably are if it's a modern amd64 processor), you may be in for some trouble. I've seen claims that Diablo isn't properly thread safe, so true SMP boxes experience random crashes. You can work around it by changing Diablo's CPU affinity to keep all the threads on one CPU.
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#3
Quote:Kp' date='Feb 17 2008, 02:28 PM' post='143989']
In the meantime, you could avoid that by leaving the music running. Music plays from the CD, so the CD will keep spinning as long as the music plays.

If you're on a multi-core system (and you probably are if it's a modern amd64 processor), you may be in for some trouble. I've seen claims that Diablo isn't properly thread safe, so true SMP boxes experience random crashes. You can work around it by changing Diablo's CPU affinity to keep all the threads on one CPU.

Somewhere along the line about 8 years ago, that CD stopped spinning for most people even when the music is on. Maybe it's when we got new computers with DVD-rom drives or CD burners. The music just gets cached or loaded at the start of the level and that's that. It is a shame that Blizzard never included a full install option, but that was another era.

Thanks for the heads up on the other issue. I hope one core will be able to handle Diablo. :lol:
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#4
>They just don't make games like this any more.

After playing various games in a similar vein, that seems to be the case sadly. A few came close to having the same magic, but none so far imo duplicated it.

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#5
Hi,

I'm playing Hellfire & I must say all is well. Diablo's 1/2 brother is VISTA :P

CPU: Intel 3.0g
Mem: 1g
VC: Ati 9600XT Pro
OS: XP Pro
________________
Have a Great Quest,
Jim...aka King Jim

He can do more for Others, Who has done most with Himself.
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#6
Quote:>They just don't make games like this any more.

After playing various games in a similar vein, that seems to be the case sadly. A few came close to having the same magic, but none so far imo duplicated it.

I thought it might just be nostalgia from my dorm years that makes certain games special to me, but as I've been installing these games on the new computer, getting the patches and looking for support information and whatnot, I've come to realize that some of the games I consider special are indeed special enough that people are devoting hours to improve them 10 years after the fact.

I had some graphical issues in Baldur's Gate that I needed to fix. Not only did I find the correct workaround to play it on Geforce 8 graphics cards without mods, but I also found a world of Infinity Engine modders who are still at it in 2007 and 2008. One could play BG with TotSC in a native widescreen resolution now (although IMHO these games should played at or close to their original resolution since every higher resolution is "zooming out" and changing the perspective quite a bit). More impressively, one who owns both BG and BG2 can now play BG as a total conversion within the BG2 engine, or play the entire BG series as a semi-continuous game under the BG2 engine. Or for that matter, play BG2 itself with the stone UI look of BG. That's not to mention all of the custom mods and scripts for these games over the last 10 years.

There are source ports of the original Quake that I never knew existed, giving it real time shadows, dynamic lighting, bumpmapping, high res textures, etc. Quake has a metascore in the mid-90s, and there is apparently still an active multiplayer community bigger than Q2 or Q3A. I notice that every Id Software title back to Keen including expansions is available on Steam now, at prices that are almost reasonable. I'm not familiar enough with Steam yet to buy games that way, but maybe...

I wonder what games of today will get such attention, 10+ years from now?


At any rate, I've installed almost all of my Windows games by now, and they all appear to work with little or no glitches. Even a few games that were borked on the old rig seem to work better now. My 3 main issues with Vista that have made it take way too much work have been drivers, drivers, and drivers.
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#7
I'm still playing both Diablo & Hellfire and gotta say that thought played through x times it's always fun to give it another try.. sometimes with a different / harder variant.
It's a pity that ppl dont create such games anymore, rather focuses their view on better graphics in-games than gameplay..

Anyway, what I wanted to ask is, what (in general) do you require to create your own more or less "mod"?
I know that it has sth to do with programming, hexing n stuff but specifically ??
I've always wanted well, lets say my "own" mod for this beautiful game but never knew where to start.
I'm not speaking about using tools like the Ez Modmaker, though I believe that it's great I rather want to do it from scratch if you know what I mean.
Perhaps someone could give me some tips.. I really wanna learn.

Thanks in advance.
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#8
Quote:Anyway, what I wanted to ask is, what (in general) do you require to create your own more or less "mod"?
I know that it has sth to do with programming, hexing n stuff but specifically ??
I've always wanted well, lets say my "own" mod for this beautiful game but never knew where to start.
I'm not speaking about using tools like the Ez Modmaker, though I believe that it's great I rather want to do it from scratch if you know what I mean.
Perhaps someone could give me some tips.. I really wanna learn.

Mods are created through some combination of modifying the data tables to add/change/delete monsters/items and modifying the code to change game mechanics. EZModmaker knows the locations of the data tables. To change the code, you need to read and write assembly, and have a disassembler. Generally, most modders relied on one of a few high wizards to write the needed assembly.
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#9
I've never used EZ Modmaker, but from the features list it would appear to do virtually everything you would be capable of doing with a hex editor (without serious knowledge of low level programming). Doing things from scratch may be an interesting learning experience, but is not likely to give you any more flexibility or power in what you can do with your own mods now that modmaking tools have reached this point.

If you are still interested in learning to mod data with a hex editor, it looks like the best current workshop is at Zamal and Zenda's site, http://www.thedark5.com/ Much has been learned since the last time I tried to mod this game, so if you can read and understand the information at their workshop, you should be ahead of me. Modifying the data tables is not so hard once you can grasp the general concept, and the workshops have done the hard part by identifying what data is where, and also what offset is needed. Learning to modify the code sections is not worth it, unless you have much greater ambitions involving programming or reverse engineering than just modding an old video game.
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#10
I have the same situation.....new computer.....except......mine won't work. I install the Diablo I and then I ask it to play and it says ...... insert diablo CD ......and I cannot get it to recognize the CD. I just installed and havn't changed anything.....so.....why will it not recognize the cd and let me play......any Ideas out there...I will appreciate any help.....:angry:
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#11
Quote:I have the same situation.....new computer.....except......mine won't work. I install the Diablo I and then I ask it to play and it says ...... insert diablo CD ......and I cannot get it to recognize the CD. I just installed and havn't changed anything.....so.....why will it not recognize the cd and let me play......any Ideas out there...I will appreciate any help.....:angry:


Not sure about that one. I assume that you can play audio CDs or other games from this drive without any problem, and the Diablo CD is in good shape? Years ago, a certain virus actually caused people to have this problem. I really doubt that is still alive or even affects Windows XP systems, but running a virus scan is always a good idea. If you are running the game in any compatibility mode, you might try turning that off. Maybe Kp or someone else will have other ideas.

If all else fails, try making a disc image and playing off of a virtual drive.
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#12
Yes the machine will play other cd's and games. I am just wondering if the machine is more than the CD can handle.....it is a Intel Duel Core 3.2 with 4 gig of newer DDR2 ram. That seems to be the only difference between the other machines (2) that I have loaded the game on.......what do you guys think ? ?? ?;)
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#13
Quote:what do you guys think ? ?? ?

I'm running a pretty similar machine, and I have no problem, so I don't think that's it.
"What contemptible scoundrel stole the cork from my lunch?"

-W.C. Fields
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#14
Look for scratches on the CD or try to clean it a bit, helped me last time when I found my old CD:)

@Topic - No matter how much the technique grows, D1 stays one of the best RPG.
Still I hope Blizzard considers to put some effort into D1 again (what I think will never happen though)

Anyway, one question in-game :
First I have to say that I'm playing IM, often solo since there are only less people active.
I've recently reached dlvl 7 (with more or less awesome equip:)) but those #$%&ty spitters (the ones surrounding their lil boss) craps the out of me all the time. Ive met them once in lvl 5 or 6 and was lucky enough to take one after one out. Well, the second time I died though since they were clever enough always to travel in groups and I get an instant stunlock whenever I try to rush in (warrior, shield/sword). Waiting for them didn't really help me either, they still spit the #$%& out of me. Does anyone have a strategy against em?
Perhaps Im the unluckiest person since meeting two of these creatures in one game:P
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#15
Quote:Anyway, one question in-game :
First I have to say that I'm playing IM, often solo since there are only less people active.
I've recently reached dlvl 7 (with more or less awesome equip:)) but those #$%&ty spitters (the ones surrounding their lil boss) craps the out of me all the time. Ive met them once in lvl 5 or 6 and was lucky enough to take one after one out. Well, the second time I died though since they were clever enough always to travel in groups and I get an instant stunlock whenever I try to rush in (warrior, shield/sword). Waiting for them didn't really help me either, they still spit the #$%& out of me. Does anyone have a strategy against em?
Perhaps Im the unluckiest person since meeting two of these creatures in one game:P

There are 3 spitter bosses, on levels 6, 8, and 10. The two in the catacombs have a very limited range on their spit. It is short enough that even a warrior with 60 Dexterity can hit them with a bow from outside of the range of their spit. Now a normal spitter dog would chase after you, but these boss packs like to sit in one spot and keep spitting as fast as they can. Just make sure you can get them in a long straightaway where they have a clear line of fire to you and vice versa, and stay a square or two too far away for them to hit you, and take them out with a bow.

The spitter boss on level 10 can spit quite a ways. There is still a limit, but it is pretty far and can cause big problems for a warrior. The layout of the caves levels makes things even trickier. If you can get the clear shot with a bow (he will be off your screen but you can shoot in the direction that the spit is coming from), it is worth at least trying that approach. I suppose any DEX adders you may be lucky enough to have found will increase your bow range somewhat. Otherwise, you have to dance around walls, trying to get the pack to split up and chase you around corners. That is against their nature, and even if you can isolate one it will still do damage in a hurry. It is really bad news for a warrior facing this guy on 10. If you happened to have any magic resistance it would help, since the spit attack is so fast that you can't afford to be blocking or getting stunned by it.
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#16
I went mac.,.cant play any of my old games..COD or the big D..comp sees video wont recognize discs.and I bought a brand new diablo..any help out there?.
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#17
Hi.

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Quote:New Download Diablo 1 for mac Full Version Now! Full Version Today
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*SNIP*

EDIT: The LL does not encourage pirating software.
________________
Have a Great Quest,
Jim...aka King Jim

He can do more for Others, Who has done most with Himself.
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#18
Hi,

Maybe this would Help :D

Apple Introduces Boot Camp:

Public Beta Software Enables Intel-based Macs to Run�Windows XP

ps: Sorry about that...> The LL does not encourage pirating software.:blush:


Quote:I went mac.,.cant play any of my old games..COD or the big D..comp sees video wont recognize discs.and I bought a brand new diablo..any help out there?.
________________
Have a Great Quest,
Jim...aka King Jim

He can do more for Others, Who has done most with Himself.
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#19
Quote:Hi,

Maybe this would Help :D

Apple Introduces Boot Camp:

Public Beta Software Enables Intel-based Macs to Run�Windows XP

ps: Sorry about that...> The LL does not encourage pirating software.:blush:

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#20
well im not into pirating, It still pisses me off, I cannot play d anymore or even COD, cannot even get to diablo le forum to vist old friends, any advice?
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