Thought this was funny

[Obi2Kenobi]

And Blizzard doesn't consider it a cheat either. 

Exactly what I was going to say. That is the reason it isn't a cheat. :D

[HeWhoBabbles]

While I don't consider the DII accelerator a cheat, many would. Why? Because it gives an unfair advantage to those who have it, just like MapHack. If you didn't run the accelerator, then you would be at a disadvantage, because you would have a slower response. You could say that maphack is just eliminating exrtraneous monster IDing, instead of extraneous weather, which might have been part of the game.

[Occhidiangela]

Maphack: do you know how many features there are to that utility?

The accelerator was aimed at preventing the game from freezing up on old machines and graphics cards, due to fundamental flaws in game enging programming. It allows those with old machines to play roughly the same game as anyone with a mid to high end machine.

It adds no new information to the player, rather, it prevents the game from freezing the display while playing. It allows the game to be played at 25 FPS, rather than 8.

Maphack deliberately goes into the game, finds information not meant for the character to see by design, and displays it, giving the monster even less of an advantage.

And that is why Blizzard has come out against map hack, since it is cheating, and not bothered the accelerator, which is aimed at correcting technical screw ups, not game play options.

Now, why did I bother with all that?

[Rhydderch Hael]

One who runs the game on a low-end, old machine that only meets the box-listed requirements is at a disadvantage to everyone running a brand new, four-figure price computer rig. D2 accelerator is not all that needed for a fast, powerful rig, but will aid the low-end user in actually remaining viable.

[ShadowHM]

I use FoxBat's Accelerator. I have an old computer that is past the 'upgradeable' stage. Due to the financial pressures of RL, including four growing children whose needs are more important than my pleasures, it will be some time before a new computer is in my hands.

With the Accelerator in use, I can occasionally run at 15 fps. I average around 10-12 fps.

Since tripping over bunnies and getting stuck in the mud when it rains are not part of the game play, I don't believe I am getting any extra benefit from the lack of critters and weather in my games. The Accelerator removes the pretty graphics (eye candy) that delight the hearts of the very young among us, but it confers no benefit in terms of game play.

The clincher is that Blizzard agrees with me on this. :D

[WarBlade]

While I don't consider the DII accelerator a cheat, many would.  Why?  Because it gives an unfair advantage to those who have it, just like MapHack.

What unfair advantage? How is it just like Map Hack? :huh:

If you didn't run the accelerator, then you would be at a disadvantage, because you would have a slower response.

I don't run the accelerator. I occasionally team up with Shadow. Shadow runs the accelerator and is still operating at a lower frame rate than I and yet you claim it is me who is at the disadvantage. :huh: You make absolutely no sense.

You could say that maphack is just eliminating exrtraneous monster IDing, instead of extraneous weather, which might have been part of the game.

Well no, I'd hardly call that extraneous noster ID'ing at all. Downloading a hack to give your perspective a kind of 'god vision' is an entirely different entity to simply 'reducing the lightshow' for system performance reasons.

[Archon_Wing]

While I don't consider the DII accelerator a cheat, many would.  Why?  Because it gives an unfair advantage to those who have it, just like MapHack.  If you didn't run the accelerator, then you would be at a disadvantage, because you would have a slower response.  You could say that maphack is just eliminating exrtraneous monster IDing, instead of extraneous weather, which might have been part of the game.

Hi, I just bought a new video card and upgraded the processor. This allows me to react faster than I would have without the upgrades. That puts me at an advantage over people with lower end systems. I am a dirty cheating scum now. :huh:

[Fragbait]

Does it make the game faster and therefore give you an advantage over other players even if you have a high-end computer?
So far only points have been made wherein it was stated that it helps people with weaker pcs.
That does not necessarily classify it as a cheat, especially if Blizzard says 'nay'.
But: If it truly helps people regardless how powerful their machines are, say to pick up stuff under several casted blizzards and meteors, then it is a cheat. A cheat that is a hack, to be precise.
I would appreciate further input.

Greetings, Fragbait

PS: I didn't think of HeWhoBabbles' post as mindless babbling. Parts of it hit the nail on the head.

[ak404]

While I don't consider the DII accelerator a cheat, many would.  Why?  Because it gives an unfair advantage to those who have it, just like MapHack.  If you didn't run the accelerator, then you would be at a disadvantage, because you would have a slower response.  You could say that maphack is just eliminating exrtraneous monster IDing, instead of extraneous weather, which might have been part of the game.

Fallacious argument, nd here's why.

While I don't consider the DII accelerator a cheat, many would. Why? Because it gives an unfair advantage to those who have it, just like MapHack. If you didn't run the accelerator, then you would be at a disadvantage, because you would have a slower response.

The disadvantage is caused by the age of the computer, the accelerator gets past the inherent disadvantage by reducing certain elements of the game that contribute absolutely nothing to the gameplay itself. The experience of playing the game, however, remains unchanged: the game is still the game, though it may look different. The "advantage" it gives - faster loading time, clearer game play - has a significant trade-off - namely, eye candy. You are paying a significant price to play the game at a more barebones level.

Think of the Accelerator as a pair of eyeglasses. If two people are racing to see who can speed read an eyechart the fastest, it isn't cheating if one player who is naturally myopic wears a pair of corrective lenses that allows him to see normally. It is, however, cheating if the other player with perfectly normal vision is reading the results of the eyechart off the palm of his hand.

You could say that maphack is just eliminating exrtraneous monster IDing, instead of extraneous weather, which might have been part of the game.

Also fallacious. IDing a monster, quickly reading over treasure text, or preparing for monster ambushes are skills that the player is supposed to develop for himself much in the same way a character slowly gains experience in the game, the player gains experience at the game. Maphack renders the learning process of learning how to, er...speed read in a lightly stressful situation absolutely unnecessary, thus taking away the challenge to the player. It's like learning how to hit a baseball; the accelerator takes away all that is extraneous and simply focuses on the object of practice (bat and ball), but maphack simply writes down "home run" after every attempt, even if you've never practiced with a bat and ball in your life.

Anything that is meant to cut corners on the player's learning experience, not his playing experience, then, is a cheat. After all, a player who uses Foxbat's Accelerator is not crippled when he plays on a computer that is fully capable of playing the game without it; the same cannot be said for a player who habitually uses maphack and encounters a D2-capable computer that doesn't have it loaded. If it was not meant to be used by the people who make the rules for the game, and you cannot play the game under a varying set of conditions without it, it is not an aid. It is a cheat.

[WarBlade]

Does it make the game faster and therefore give you an advantage over other players even if you have a high-end computer?

No it doesn't.

Basically, if a player runs the game happily at 25 FPS without the accelerator and then installs the accelerator, the game will still be running happily at 25 FPS (minus the odd squashed rabbit or rain shower).

Only a system that struggles when rendering the graphics will observe any improvement.

[Occhidiangela]

1. If you bother to know about each item in a bit of detail, then you can understand how Blizzard arrived at their stance.

2. The Babbler did not bother to do a little research into what each program does, or did, and hence his post was indeed Babbling, as it missed the screw he was trying to hit with a hammer. Were I to wax poetic about quantum physics, about which I know little, I'd be babbling as well.

However, I am glad the subject came up, since the various answers did help, I hope, lift the cloud of misinformation from the subject. Spreading accurate info is what the Lounge is all about. :D

[HeWhoBabbles]

Wait, wait wait.

I know Blizzard's stance, and I agree with it. I was just trying to point out that, on two similar "low-end" machines, one who run FoxBat's Accelerator would be at an advantage over the person who was not using it.

On your second point, I do know what both programs do, and even if I did not, simply reading the thread(s) [I'm including the one from battle.net] would give me all the information I needed to know.

[Occhidiangela]

No, you obviously did not comprehend the posts in this thread. The accelerator is aimed at removing a game engine based disadvantage for the minority who have min spec machines, not adding an advantage to any player regardless of machine per Map Hack.

Do you understand the difference?

[HeWhoBabbles]

I do understand the difference.

As I stated in my first post, I do not consider the Accelerator cheating or anything close to it. I in fact, used it before I bought my new computer.

I also used MapHack on my old computer (this was around August 2001), and I realize that that was cheating. It did give me an unfair advantage. But maybe one who uses maphack on a low-end computer is still at a disadvantage? Or maybe not. I'm not sure since I used MapHack for the creature reading ability. Still makes me a dirty rotten cheater. <_<

[Rhydderch Hael]

I wonder if whomever that was that said maphack makes things more realistic (because in real life you can sight an approaching enemy much farther away than what the screen depicts) would maintain that stance if the maphack also disabled the casting of magical spells, the formation of town portals, or the use of waypoints for instantaneous transportation.

After all, without those, the game would be just as realistic. Just more upsetting to game balance and practicality of play. <_<

Exactly as disruptive as maphack is to the established rules and concepts of the game.