Balance of Power 2.00 Alpha.

[Roland]

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and give feedback (feedback is of course welcome at any point, but "Alphas" change very rapidly, so feedback can become outdated very quickly ;)).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:

• 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.

[Mavfin]

My main feedback on this is thanks, Roland, for not using custom dll's on this mod, so that I can at least play it. I wanted to try your Dark Tower mod, but since I'm on the Mac (Carbon) version, I can't use the custom dll. The version that just modifies the patch mpq is very usable. I just rename it to Diablo II Patch (Carbon), save the original, and play....

Now I think I'll download it and try it.

[Roland]

That may or may not be a thing of the past. Don't thank me, though - thank Peter Hu. It was his deep involvement with the modding community that the Phrozen Keep that brought about a motherload of changes geared entirely towards mod-makers (as noted in the patch.txt). Many of those changes brought what's known as "hardcoded" modifications into the realm of "softcoded", making .dll editing MUCH less necessary. Things like adjusting Gambling odds, skill swapping, etc. that used to need extensive .dll editing can now be edited directly via the text files, greatly improving not only the customizability of the game, but also the ease of modding for old vets and newbies alike.

The modding community is constantly hard at work trying to figure out all the new changes that came about from 1.10 (over the beta version, and even over 1.09d), but so far it's looking pretty incredible. 1.10 may not have been a boon for everyone, but it delivered one thing as promised: features for modders. :D

The old versions of the mod, both with and without the .dll edits, do not require the .dll's to be used with the mod in order to play it. You will, of course, have some notably missing features and/or bug fixes due to a lack of modified .dll files, but the mod is still entirely playable, at least on a PC (I would assume it's no different than on a Mac). Most of what the .dll's did, in the past, was Gambling odds and annoying bugfixes, but there were some significant improvements (as noted in the version.txt file of the old mod versions). Again, though, it was completely playable - whether you could live with the losses or not, though, was up to you. ;)

I'm actually working on converting some more 1.09d modding into the 1.10 version. I have completed a few small changes, most notably (and the one I JUST now finished) being the complete rehaul that Hirelings got. Hirelings are no longer a super powerhouse. Being of equal level, with equal equipment, your merc will perform just as good (or bad) as you do. This leveled the playing field significantly in 1.09d, but as for any far-reaching effects it will have in 1.10, I cannot say just yet. SO MUCH has changed in 1.10 that a good deal of the old changes are virtually worthless, and thus would be a waste of effort to convert (most notably Skills changes - combined with entirely modified skills and monsters, as well as the addition of Synergies, not to mention that the old skill-related files are now composed of 3 seperate files, it's just too much work and hassle for almost zero gain). However, such is not the case for all (not nearly so), and even those old changes that will be left behind won't be forgotten completely - they'll just be reborn from scratch in the new version, after I get a better feel for 1.10's overall "balance", etc. Skills were such a huge focus in the old mod that it's very painful for me to have to start all over, since I spent (literally) years fine-tweaking all the old skills. However, with the dawn of a new patch comes a new chance to play around, and the inclusion of Synergies gives me one more feature to toy with (most likely it will remain, but it's not 100% certain). Plus, skills are much more flexible and customizable now, so from the ashes of great loss rises the birth of great gain.

I'm going to continue working on the mod for at least a little while longer tonight, and then I'll probably shelf it for awhile. I'm toying with the idea of converting over the old Crafting recipes, or at least a portion of them, but I may hold off for awhile. Rune Words most certainly will not make it over yet, if at all, since so much has changed it would probably be easier to start anew. Likewise for a few other things. One big change that people will really feel is the loss of Elites. For now, I plan to keep this change to see how it works out. However, I may just end up re-enabling them and working around them. I would prefer to keep only Normals and Exceptionals, as I found them to be MUCH more balanced than Elites, but it may prove more work trying to balance the game around Elites than to balance Elites within the game. We shall see. In fact, I think I may just re-enable Elites for now, and just let it sit at that for awhile. My guess is the game would be too difficult without them, lack of monster regen or no. We'll see.

One thing's for certain: this mod is far from dead. I'll probably put up a new version of the mod tonight, but it's not guaranteed. It's looking hopeful, though. Try out the mod, and tell me what you think. Obviously most things are going to be way out of whack, but I have to start somewhere, so that is what I am doing. I look forward to your feedback.

[Roland]

New version up. I'm tired, it's late, and I have work, so I'm going to bed. Enjoy the latest changes.