Last updated: 12/6/2013
Goodness, it's been four long years now since this thread was first posted. I discussed everything from begging Blizzard to virtual machines, but we finally found some convenient working solutions. Being the gentleman I am, I felt compelled to come back and update this thread once more to bring all the links and file attachments right here to the very first post for your convenience. You can grab them below, but first an important note or two before you try to hop into LAN games.
IPX Wrapper: Recommended. This fix is more reliable for being able to see and join games, and currently works as far as Windows 8. Just be aware that -every- computer trying to connect must use it in the game, or you won't see each other. Credits to zebluk for finding this solution.
UDP for Diablo & Hellfire: This fix replaces the option to connect to Battle.net with Local Area Network (UDP). It doesn't seem to work on Windows 8. I've also had some trouble with games not being visible to join unless they were very recently hosted, so if you use this everyone may need to join fast, and don't count on being able to rejoin for sure. It's a little moody but it works. Credits to the teams behind the mods The Awakening and The Hell for the UDP files for Diablo and Hellfire, respectively.
Lastly, if you're playing the original Hellfire v1.01 without modifications or updates you will find the Multiplayer option is disabled. To use these fixes with Hellfire v1.01, you need to download the updated hellfrui file attached below that re-enables it, or update to one of the unofficial Hellfire patches or mods that generally include fixes for bugs that remain in v1.01.
If the reason you're sticking with v1.01 is that you're not fond of mods that change a lot of stuff, I would personally recommend Marsh's Unofficial Hellfire Mod v1.02 (also available here in The Lounge), which consists mostly of pure fixes to enhance the original Hellfire experience. The few things that are questionable changes, it lets you easily disable if you didn't like them and can use a text editor to modify one of the files that comes with it. At the time I write this, Marsh hasn't been around for awhile, so I also posted an update to his mod with more fixes - but it's buried a few pages deep in his thread. Look for it if you're interested.
Below are the fixes to download. The Diablo and Hellfire UDP patches are in one file, but seperated into Diablo and Hellfire folders respectively. Just use the ones you need. You don't need the hellfrui file update UNLESS you are running plain Hellfire v1.01.
Download count that was erased when this was uploaded to first post:
UDP for Diablo: 318
UDP for Hellfire: 176
hellfrui update: 32
Get the latest version of IPX Wrapper:
http://www.solemnwarning.net/ipxwrapper/
Goodness, it's been four long years now since this thread was first posted. I discussed everything from begging Blizzard to virtual machines, but we finally found some convenient working solutions. Being the gentleman I am, I felt compelled to come back and update this thread once more to bring all the links and file attachments right here to the very first post for your convenience. You can grab them below, but first an important note or two before you try to hop into LAN games.
IPX Wrapper: Recommended. This fix is more reliable for being able to see and join games, and currently works as far as Windows 8. Just be aware that -every- computer trying to connect must use it in the game, or you won't see each other. Credits to zebluk for finding this solution.
UDP for Diablo & Hellfire: This fix replaces the option to connect to Battle.net with Local Area Network (UDP). It doesn't seem to work on Windows 8. I've also had some trouble with games not being visible to join unless they were very recently hosted, so if you use this everyone may need to join fast, and don't count on being able to rejoin for sure. It's a little moody but it works. Credits to the teams behind the mods The Awakening and The Hell for the UDP files for Diablo and Hellfire, respectively.
Lastly, if you're playing the original Hellfire v1.01 without modifications or updates you will find the Multiplayer option is disabled. To use these fixes with Hellfire v1.01, you need to download the updated hellfrui file attached below that re-enables it, or update to one of the unofficial Hellfire patches or mods that generally include fixes for bugs that remain in v1.01.
If the reason you're sticking with v1.01 is that you're not fond of mods that change a lot of stuff, I would personally recommend Marsh's Unofficial Hellfire Mod v1.02 (also available here in The Lounge), which consists mostly of pure fixes to enhance the original Hellfire experience. The few things that are questionable changes, it lets you easily disable if you didn't like them and can use a text editor to modify one of the files that comes with it. At the time I write this, Marsh hasn't been around for awhile, so I also posted an update to his mod with more fixes - but it's buried a few pages deep in his thread. Look for it if you're interested.
Below are the fixes to download. The Diablo and Hellfire UDP patches are in one file, but seperated into Diablo and Hellfire folders respectively. Just use the ones you need. You don't need the hellfrui file update UNLESS you are running plain Hellfire v1.01.
Download count that was erased when this was uploaded to first post:
UDP for Diablo: 318
UDP for Hellfire: 176
hellfrui update: 32
Get the latest version of IPX Wrapper:
http://www.solemnwarning.net/ipxwrapper/