11-02-2003, 12:56 AM
As I'm sure a fair number of you remember, I used to have a mod, then called "Dark Tower", for Diablo II LoD 1.09d. It went into dormancy for a LONG time, until several months back it was resurrected for the 1.10 Beta. After a very short period of time, this too went into dormancy. Now, with 1.10 having been released, I thought it would be high time to dust off the old modding gloves and take a crack at it once more.
As such, I bring you the latest version of my "balance" mod: Balance of Power 2.00 Alpha, for Diablo II LoD 1.10. I changed the name not only because I felt the original was somewhat inappropriate, but also because it reflects the actual nature of the mod to a much greater degree. Some of you with a keen eye and memory may note that the version number, too, has changed considerably. This is only indicative of it being applied to a new patch, and NOT due to massive changes (as I'm sure the old mod's version.txt will clearly show ;)). I did this to help avoid confusion between D2 LoD versions and my mod. As for the "alpha" bit, that's only there because the current build is still in the earliest stages of development, and as such is really only open to myself for (internal) testing. However, as started to do a little while ago, I decided to start throwing up my latest stable, "alpha" builds as they came about, for anyone who cared to try out the latest (turbulent) build. "Beta" builds are just that - a public beta test for any who care to try out the mod and give feedback (feedback is of course welcome at any point, but "Alphas" change very rapidly, so feedback can become outdated very quickly ;)). Once I feel that a build has gone through enough testing, I finalize it and release it as just a plain old build, i.e. Balance of Power 2.00. None of this, of course, has much of any interest to anyone other than myself (and even then, only for organizational purposes), but I thought I'd bore you all to tears with the backgroung information anyway. ;)
Now, to get to the heart of the matter. This build is, unfortunately, a very weak build in comparison to what was last created in Dark Tower 1.10 / 1.11 Beta. That's because SO MUCH has changed in the file structure for Diablo II that converting from 1.09d to 1.10 is a long and difficult process. Some things convert very easily, while others are amazingly complex. Combine this with the actual content / gameplay changes present in 1.10, and you have a recipe for a boatload of work. So, unfortunately, there exist only a few changes made to the game in this version. Eventually I will get everything converted, but the bigger things (like skill and item balances) will have to wait until I get a chance to extensively test 1.10 vanilla - and that could be a LONG time from now. So don't hold your breath. ;) OTOH, some of the more popular changes (magic item mods, increased stash size, no exp penalty upon death, etc.) did make it into the mod, as well as a slew of new (but no less important) changes, such as:
As such, I bring you the latest version of my "balance" mod: Balance of Power 2.00 Alpha, for Diablo II LoD 1.10. I changed the name not only because I felt the original was somewhat inappropriate, but also because it reflects the actual nature of the mod to a much greater degree. Some of you with a keen eye and memory may note that the version number, too, has changed considerably. This is only indicative of it being applied to a new patch, and NOT due to massive changes (as I'm sure the old mod's version.txt will clearly show ;)). I did this to help avoid confusion between D2 LoD versions and my mod. As for the "alpha" bit, that's only there because the current build is still in the earliest stages of development, and as such is really only open to myself for (internal) testing. However, as started to do a little while ago, I decided to start throwing up my latest stable, "alpha" builds as they came about, for anyone who cared to try out the latest (turbulent) build. "Beta" builds are just that - a public beta test for any who care to try out the mod and give feedback (feedback is of course welcome at any point, but "Alphas" change very rapidly, so feedback can become outdated very quickly ;)). Once I feel that a build has gone through enough testing, I finalize it and release it as just a plain old build, i.e. Balance of Power 2.00. None of this, of course, has much of any interest to anyone other than myself (and even then, only for organizational purposes), but I thought I'd bore you all to tears with the backgroung information anyway. ;)
Now, to get to the heart of the matter. This build is, unfortunately, a very weak build in comparison to what was last created in Dark Tower 1.10 / 1.11 Beta. That's because SO MUCH has changed in the file structure for Diablo II that converting from 1.09d to 1.10 is a long and difficult process. Some things convert very easily, while others are amazingly complex. Combine this with the actual content / gameplay changes present in 1.10, and you have a recipe for a boatload of work. So, unfortunately, there exist only a few changes made to the game in this version. Eventually I will get everything converted, but the bigger things (like skill and item balances) will have to wait until I get a chance to extensively test 1.10 vanilla - and that could be a LONG time from now. So don't hold your breath. ;) OTOH, some of the more popular changes (magic item mods, increased stash size, no exp penalty upon death, etc.) did make it into the mod, as well as a slew of new (but no less important) changes, such as:
- no monster health regeneration
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- greater monster randomization
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- improved Rune drop probabilities
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- "Anti-Rush" implementation removed<>
[st]
among others. A small mod, compared to older versions, but it still presents some significant changes, and it should take the (irritating) edge off of 1.10. Any and all feedback is welcome, of course, and I encourage anyone who's already sick of 1.10, or who is a fan of older versions of my mod, to try it out. Of course, any newcomers to the mod are ALSO welcome, but that goes without saying. ;)
Enjoy the mod, and give me any feedback you want. Just don't expect a new version (non-finalized or finalized) out until probably after Christmas.
Roland *The Gunslinger*