Diablo 2 + LoD Tutorial

[cb951303]

UPDATE: With newer Wine versions running Diablo 2 + LoD on linux is much more simpler, here is how I do it...

Requirements

• Wine 0.9.39 ( Website here )
• Working OpenGL drivers (Nvidia/Ati)
• Diablo 2 and/or LoD (I used a pirate copy, but hey I have my original cd keys)
• Latest LoD or Diablo 2 patch (1.11b)
• D2Loader for 1.11b (Website here) EDIT: It looks like Blizzard started to ban D2Loader users ...

Step 1

1. Put the INSTALL cd and run the "INSTALL.EXE". (It's a good idea to choose FULL INSTALL)
   Problem 1: A very common problem here is that the progress window blocks the CD swap dialog so you think that it doesn't install anything. A quick fix is to selecet "Emulate a virtual desktop" from winecfg.
   Problem 2: Here you may have an other little problem. If you run "INSTALL.EXE" form a bash command when the setup asks for you to change the disc, you won't be able to eject it because bash is making the cdrom busy. Here there is 2 solutions. Weather you type "wine eject" in the console or you just run "INSTALL.EXE" by double clicking it and choosing "wine" as the appropriate application.
2. (Optional) Now that the setup is over you put the expansion disc (LoD) and install it just like before.
3. Copy all the missing *.mpq files from cds to your Diablo 2 directory.
4. Apply the latest patches according to your install. (Use just one patch, Diablo 2 or LoD)
   Problem 3: Patch should work flawlessly but if you're using a pirate copy, after upgrade, it will ask for the expansion cd no matter what you put in. Don't worry, just hit the cancel to complete the upgrade process. (It may say that patching is unsuccessful. It's not important)
5. Unzip the D2Loader to the Diablo 2 directory.

Step 2

1. Run "D2VidTst.exe". It will find the installed drivers. Choose Direct 3D.
2. Run "winecfg" and create a new application profile.
   
   • Add Application -> Choose "D2Loader-1.11b.exe"
   • Windows Version -> Windows 2000 or Windows XP
   • Audio -> Select just ALSA
   • Graphics -> Unselect "Allow the window manager to control the windows"
     We do that to be able to press Alt/Shift and mouse buttons at the same time while playing. It's a must-do for Diablo
   • Leave anything else unchanged (I assume you already set the "Drives" properly)
3. Run "D2Loader-1.11b.exe" and enjoy
   Problem 4: You may get an error while connecting BNET saying that your exe is unrecognized. It's simply because you run it from outside of Diablo 2 directory.
   Here is how my desktop entry looks...
   

   [Desktop Entry]
   Version=1.0
   Encoding=UTF-8
   Name=Diablo II - Lord of Destruction
   Exec=env WINEPREFIX="/home/cosku/.wine" wine "C:\\Program Files\\Diablo II\\D2Loader-1.11b.exe" -sleepy -skiptobnet
   Type=Application
   Path=/home/cosku/.wine/dosdevices/c:/Program Files/Diablo II
   Icon=/home/cosku/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/Diablo II/d2x.ico
   GenericName[en_US]=

UPDATE: If you want to run D2 in resolutions higher than 800x600, try this mod: http://www.moddb.com/games/diablo-2/news/d2multires

[Sqwishy]

(I smells windozz yeah)

EIIWW! windows smellz nasty!
Thanks for the guide, for troubleshooting you can go to the wine app db http://appdb.winehq.org/

[JensenDied]

Anyone know of blizzards policy on using this no-cd on bnet?

(Doesn't matter much since wine works fine with the cd)

[cb951303]

Anyone know of bli22ards policy on using this no-cd on bnet?
(sorry about the misspelling there, but i have a broken key on my laptop)

i don't think they still bother banning diablo II cd keys, but that's just an assumption
it's been said that if you use a no-cd crack for the first time, you're banned for 1 month if it's the second time then you're gone for good. I think I read it on battle.net/diabloexp

[cb951303]

Anyone know of bli22ards policy on using this no-cd on bnet?
(sorry about the misspelling there, but i have a broken key on my laptop)

You can also use D2Loader which is not a cracked diablo exe. It's a third party exe which let you play diablo 2 without a cd.
Quote from http://d2loader.blizzsector.net/

Q. Will I get banned for using D2Loader / is D2Loader detectable?

A. Ask Blizzard. So far to my knowledge, no one has ever been banned for using D2Loader by itself. However, it is a 3rd party modification and thus against the EULA to use. D2Loader is trivial for Blizzard to detect with their new hack detection system in v1.11 (Warden), so they could very easily detect and ban anyone using it. It's really up to them, I have no idea. You take a risk as with any 3rd party hacks. I assume no responsibility for any lost accounts, cdkeys, etc.

It's good enough for me also it works great with wine

[le_vainqueur]

The link to the glide wrapper does not work for me. Is there somewhere else I can get this?

[le_vainqueur]

The link to the glide wrapper does not work for me. Is there somewhere else I can get this?

Nevermind...the site worked today.

[le_vainqueur]

I experienced an error when trying to run the loader. The error said:

No useful pixelformat found! Please check your graphiccard-driver

There ar two things in the guide that I am unsure as to whether or not I completed correctly:

Working OpenGL drivers (Nvidia/Ati)

I assumed I had the correct drivers running since I have had no problems thus far. In the hardware section of my system setting I am set to the driver "nv" for my graphics. Is this appropriate.

Secondly, I have never used wine before so the portion of the guide that says:

I assume you already set the "Drives" properly

is confusing to me. If I have it configured incorrectly, what do I need to do to configure it?

Additionally, I am in Kubuntu. I don't know if that affects anything or not. It seems to me that it should not, but I don't know for sure.

[disturbedite]

i just thought i'd mention a few things here... (i'm on kubuntu feisty herd 5 and this applies to wine 0.9.31+)

i don't have to use a glide wrapper cuz d2/lod runs at full framerate/speed without the glide wrapper and i have a crappy integrated intel 845g video chip!

and i don't know whether anyone else has experienced this, since no one has confirmed it on the wine appdb, but it appears that there was a change of some kind with wine 0.9.31 that b0rked wine's alsa support for blizzard games. the audio lags and echoes. it works almost flawlessly with the oss driver tho. this still is not fixed with wine 0.9.32.

oh, and a tip that might help!:

(i have an actual copy with my own cd key, not a pirated copy). i didn't install d2/lod for a while cuz whenever i'd stick the install disc in it would just keep asking me to insert the disc, even while my drives were properly configured AND i was using an actual copy! this made me really frustrated for a while. then i tried it again and i finally realized the problem: apparently, with that version of wine at least, the little window that pops up asking you to insert the next disc was invisible, it DIDN'T show up, visually that is, its actually there. (i didn't realize this for that all those times before). i had also forgotten that when you stick the install disc in and start the install, it pretty quickly asks you to insert the next (i believe play) disc, and i thought it was asking me to put the install disc in cuz i couldn't see the window that was actually asking for the play disc.

so i posted this in case it might help someone.

[Vexed Arcanist]

A further expansion on the tip about CD drive funkyness and such...

I had the "hidden" CD swap prompts once too. The "trick" I used to alleviate this was to run winecfg and set it to emulate a window (any size is fine, 640x480 is the default).