www.BlackViper.com: Diablo 2 Mule How 2 Page 8

Options FAQ:

Q: How about using the "players 8" command in V1.09:

A: I took a new character out to Blood Moor and killed one zombie using the command and also having 8 LAN players in the game. The results? 148 EXP in "players 8" or "not in party" and "in party."

Scroll through the various screen shots and view the description below them...Note: I know that "some" of the names are spelled wrong...they just DIDN'T fit! :)

The EXP given is the SAME as having 8 players in or out of your party on a LAN. The pictures show that fact.

Tested configurations:

• Using 8 computers in and out of party
• Using "players x" with 1, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64 options
• Used "players 8" with 2 people in Blood Moor (EXP = 99)
• Used 8 computers in party with 2 people in Blood Moor (EXP=99)

Looks to me that this is a great options IF you do not need the extra storage, nor have the need to play on Battle.net AND you have no feelings about cheating!

Needless to say, I have been enjoying this feature for awhile and not just with v1.09. The other grace? I can say that ALL of what I do is "supported" by Blizzard... :)

Not supported? Well, I believe that this "feature" is a crack, cheat, etc...
Why? After you use "players x," you can hit "P" for your "Party" screen and it pops up blank. If you also use the command line option, for example, "diabloii.exe -players 8," you will ALSO be able to hit "P" for your "Party" screen, but it does NOT add the experience as the chat box version does. Also, neither version works on Battle.net.
If you created a "normal" game, "P" for the party screen would NOT appear...
If Blizzard "meant" to have this as a VALID play option, even as a single player game, they would have:

• Placed the information in the "readme" file
• Placed the information in the "patch" fixes
• Posted the updated information on the Summit
• AND made a GUI (idiot box, check box, drop down menu, what ever) for this option IN GAME!!! Create game, select "players" amount, start...

Since NONE of these were actually done, and it "just" appeared, I have concluded that this is NOT how it was intended. The command is a DEVELOPERS option for working on the game and NOT intended for the end user...

Updated 09NOV2001:

A reader informed me that I should reread the patch.txt that came with v1.09. In doing so, I did find this little tidbit:

- Typing "players X," where X is a number between the current number of players and the maximum (8), in the message box will now set the effective number of players in the game (in single player, open Battle.net and TCP/IP games only).

After finding out about this information, I stand corrected on the "undocumented" reference in regards to this cheat. "Wait a minute" you say, "don't you think this is REALLY not a cheat after all?" Well, no. It is still a development option that is placed in the game to be able to test certain functions without having 8 people actually in the game. The other is that the patch.txt states that "maximum (8)," of which is not true. You may use (I believe) up to 255! Now, if someone uses "players 8," is that considered cheating, but "players 16" is, since it is NOT supported in the patch.txt? Give it up. You cannot use it on Battle.net, the "secure" servers run by Blizzard, It is a cheat.

Furthermore, since "players x" is a CHEAT CODE, it is discounted as a viable option for me. Period.

Updated 18MAR2002:

Upon further investigation, I have discovered that it "appears" that only the experience points that are gained by using this cheat are actually multiplied, NOT the item drops and bonus's that occur when their is additional people in the game AND in the same party... In fact, it does not seem to me that the item drops are any better than with only one person. It is a fact, though, that upon completion of certain quests, the more people you have in the party, the better your drops (soul stone/gem drop is a good one). This is not the case with players x. It does NOT drop more gems if using this cheat, but acts as though you only have 1 person in game (probably to avoid the "massive" drops that would occur with "players 254"). Thus, I will stick with my 8 computer configuration since I DO get a bit of a benefit from it.

Options that I have not checked out, due to various reasons and other questions are:

Q: "Do I need to even complete THAT many items in the quests?"

A: It is not really that many, so, sure, why not?

Q: "I don't have cable/DSL. Can I do this?"

A: Sure. The bandwidth that the Mules use while in town is minimal and should have little, if any, impact on your play experience.

Q: "Can I make CDR's of one Diablo 2 disk and use that on all of the computers?"

A: The short answer, No. The long answer, maybe. Battle.net does use the CD Key from whatever version you are running, whether it is the Expansion or original Diablo 2. Does it work locally (LAN)? Don't know... don't care.

Q: "Can I use a copy of Diablo 2 disk, install on all of the computers, and buy 8 copies of the expansion and save a boat load of money?"

A: Don't know. Don't care! I am for supporting Blizzard in their efforts in funding this piece of work that has consumed MANY hours of my time (as well as my roommate) over the last year. I neither recommend pirating software, nor condone it. Go to your local software store and buy the copies, build a box pyramid of your own, and enjoy the fruits of having many Mules available at a moments notice, it only hurts for a little while, the first Diablo 2 boxes I purchased had no stickers on them, then I got one with "one million sold." The latest was "3 million sold." Maybe when all the geeks find out about this, many more will be sold? I also got funny looks at the local software store purchasing many copies of LOD, "Hosting a LAN party?" "No, just for me."

Q: "Isn't this "cheating?""

A: Depends. I consider cheating, well, the definition changes for any given circumstance. Using "outside" help to get ahead could be construed as cheating. Example: A modification to the .exe code to allow 8 players to be in game with one computer. I am not modifying any code in any way, cracking, taking advantage of a "loophole" or "backdoor," nor copying software to violate the EULA. I have done nothing that is not available right out of the box from Blizzard. Is this cheating? Not in my opinion, and if you think it is, I am happy for you. If you would rather use the "players x" developers hack explained above, more power to you...

Q: "Mods can do most of this already, why spend the money?"

A: I hate mods. I believe that there is great people in the world that try to help others in everyway possible, but there is also others that do not give a damn and try to destroy what people build up as a way of "having fun." All installed mods, whether it be a "trainer," or modification of game code itself, have the potential of creating a "backdoor" for crackers to enter your system, steal information, make a very stable game unstable or generally create havoc. I try not to make it easy for this to happen. Not to say that there may be some GREAT mods out there, but they are just not for me, so don't ask.

Q: "How about Hardcore?"

A: YEAH! Like, why not? Many times, before I transferred my "older" equipment to the Mule, I would die. Plenty of colorful words would then be spoken. You could even go as far as giving permission to your Mules to loot your dead corps. Not a wise idea if you just died with a bunch of monsters around. But if you die via barrel or trap, this could be an option. Then again, if you die by barrel, you may wish to choose not to play hardcore.

Q: "Does Blizzard know about this?"

A: I am sure they soon will. They have yet to "Nerf" the Mule scene, nor squish the "eBay" situation. I have thought that the very FIRST patch would have made SOME sort of level requirements. As of v1.09, there is none. Needless to say, I am hoping that if there ever is a "Nerf" of the level requirements, existing characters will not be affected. I have plenty already, anyway.

Q: "Can I copy my "old" high level characters and convert them as Mules? LAN? Battle.net?"

A: Yes, and No. You can only have ONE character at a time with any given name in any given game. And don't forget that the server Mule must be a new character when starting up a "New" game, Battle.net has no way of transferring characters from one account to another, but you may make a character on one account, finish the game, make a new account, and have the old character come in. But if you are anything like I am, those "old" characters still carry plenty of stuff that is too good to sell, that eats up space available for new junk!

Q: "Do you backup your characters?"

A: YES. Every so often, I back up my LAN characters to avoid having to REDO quests or lose any items. Another good idea is to backup your characters BEFORE converting them to the expansion. Is this cheating? Sure, maybe not, don't know, don't care, but if you lost 70 Mules and plenty of high level items/characters in a power outage/hard drive crash/nuclear blast, you would not care much if it was considered "cheating" by the casual gamer. Trust me, you will thank me for your backups if/when it happens.

Q: "Do you use your LAN backups to "dupe" items and such?"

A: No. I am firmly against that kind of "cheating" in any regard.

Q: "Do you move "used" items from your good characters to your new ones?"

A: I choose not to answer this. Actually, for the most part, no. When I start new, the slate is totally clean. This kind of brings up the point of having Mules to begin with!

Q: "Why have Mules if you are not going to use the damn items anyway?!?"

A: Well, the experience was the number one reason for me. I have transferred items from characters I will not play again, to a new one to help "boost" the character and ease the difficulty (8 people games remember!). Is this a habit? No. Try to think of it this way, you are "trading" with yourself!!! That's not cheating, is it?!?

Q: "Do you sell any of my items on eBay?"

A: Not anymore. I did raise extra cash to help pay for the additional game CD's (can you believe it? Diablo 2 paid for ITSELF!!!) Did I make enough for all of the games? No. Not even close.

Q: "Why no more selling on eBay?"

A: The main reason is that I purchased a house in an area that is obviously ANTI DSL/cable. Even though modems (even only one) is sufficient for your Battle.net bandwidth needs, it still is frustrating. LAN=zero lag. I like it that way, and its tough to find a buyer for "open" items. With all of the cracks on Battle.net, there is little "value" for "legit" items anymore...

Q: "Does this method work with other games?"

A: Sure, why not? But, for all of you EverCrack addicts, do you want to pay money for 7 ADDITIONAL accounts?!? If so, you are THE hardest of hard core, especially when there is no REAL benefit (IE experience points) from doing so, just a monthly pocket book drain.

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