RGB Classic Games Forum

Feel free to rate and discuss this game.

BTW don't forget the pre-release preview version though it's hard to locate in its original, unadulterated form

I never really liked Diablo, probably because I'm generally not too much into the genre. I have fond memories of playing it collectively with friends though (we played on a single computer, hot-seat style, i.e. taking turns who would control the player character ).

leilei wrote:BTW don't forget the pre-release preview version though it's hard to locate in its original, unadulterated form

Does the demo or the preview version have any unique content not found in the full game, as it was customary with Blizzard games until recently?

I remember visiting the Diablo Evolution website some time ago, when I was interested in the development of Starcraft (I followed the link from Starcraft Evolution), but it was difficult to appreciate the details without good knowledge of the game.

MrFlibble wrote:

leilei wrote:BTW don't forget the pre-release preview version though it's hard to locate in its original, unadulterated form

Does the demo or the preview version have any unique content not found in the full game, as it was customary with Blizzard games until recently?

It's mostly full of broken things and the interface is different.

Ahh, I see. The description here says that the two first catacomb levels are available in the demo. Are they the same as in the full version? At least, the quests, since the levels are randomly generated?

The quest is to learn how to play the game.

DOSGuy wrote:The quest is to learn how to play the game.

What about randomly generated levels? Does the demo allow all character classes to play? What's the character's level-up cap (if any)?

Apparently, you can get the pre-release demo (it was released officially) here. Dunno if it's the tampered version or the original one though.

The problem with the prerelease is that it's always in EXE form and it wasn't an installer... so the timestamp is lost

IIRC, You only play Fighter.

Only the Warrior class is playable in the pre-release demo and shareware versions. The dungeons are randomly generated. There doesn't seem to be a limit to the level you can achieve, but I was only able able to get to Level 6 before I ran out of bad guys to kill (you're limited to the first two floors).

DOSGuy wrote:There doesn't seem to be a limit to the level you can achieve, but I was only able able to get to Level 6 before I ran out of bad guys to kill (you're limited to the first two floors).

Umm, I though that at least some monsters on a level would respawn upon re-entry... Guess I was wrong, but that's not surprising considering how little I've played the game

leilei wrote:The problem with the prerelease is that it's always in EXE form and it wasn't an installer... so the timestamp is lost

Nope

leilei wrote:BTW don't forget the pre-release preview version though it's hard to locate in its original, unadulterated form

aaand nope.

There were 3 releases of the demo. The first one is the famous "mpq version" from mid august 1996, which is not a standalone exe. The second is the standalone version from late august. The third is a rerelease of the second release in early september 1996.

They had a directx with them and the first one is hardest to find.
The timestamp is usally preserved pretty well, typically only changed by timezines:
http://www.kultcds.com/Catalog/index.ph ... dn=&descr=

The readmes have identical sizes, but differnt timestamps:
http://www.kultcds.com/Catalog/index.ph ... dn=&descr=

Like the readme, the directx folder was often removed, thus, the number of complete versions is pretty limited:
http://www.kultcds.com/Catalog/index.ph ... dn=&descr=

The earliest version can be found scattered through the catalog and often incomplete:
http://www.kultcds.com/Catalog/index.ph ... 09643&o=da
http://www.kultcds.com/Catalog/index.ph ... 81378&o=da
http://www.kultcds.com/Catalog/index.ph ... s$2FDiablo

Even if the timestamps weren't preserved, we'd still have the PE timestamps, which are reliable in case of the diablo pr demos (but not in general).
Ddesc.rtf seems to be official, though added late, probably by a confused PR department.
The version found on Adventure 95 has the earliest known save state of the demo, dated to Sep 03, 1996. It might be official or from the editors who put it on the CD, but in any case it is old.

Hallfiry wrote:Like the readme, the directx folder was often removed, thus, the number of complete versions is pretty limited:

There was an official distribution without the DirectX folder, it has a different readme with an earlier modify date of 1996-08-23. At least it seems official? (here)

Litude wrote:

Hallfiry wrote:Like the readme, the directx folder was often removed, thus, the number of complete versions is pretty limited:

There was an official distribution without the DirectX folder, it has a different readme with an earlier modify date of 1996-08-23. At least it seems official? (here)

You're right! I added the Win95 Games Sampler 2 so recently that I hadn't covered it in earlier searches. Admittedly I was lazy when I posted and didn't check if any additional versions popped up since I last checked. The readme does not mention a dx folder, indicating that the release is complete (but we can't be 100% sure).

So I have to correct myself and say. there are 4 releases, the fourth being the Microsoft Windows 95 Games Sampler 2 variant with yet another readme dated to August 23, but the exe still being late august.

These are now all readmes:

Aug 23:

WHAT DIABLO WANTS YOU TO KNOW

1. There are no backwards messages in my game.

2. If my game runs slowly on your system, you can increase performance
by copying Diablo to your hard drive. To do this with Windows Explorer,
select the Diablo folder icon and drag it to your hard drive.

3. You can also increase performance by turning off music in the main
menu, which you access via the Escape key (unlike my domain, from
which there is no escape).

4. This is a prerelease demo. There will be no patches or updates to this
demo, nor will Blizzard Entertainment offer technical support.

5. Diablo requires DirectX 2.0 or later to run properly.

6. !olbaiD gniyalp flesruoy yojnE

Aug 28:

WHAT DIABLO WANTS YOU TO KNOW

1. There are no backwards messages in my game.

2. If my game runs slowly on your system, you can increase performance
by copying Diablo to your hard drive. To do this with Windows Explorer,
select the Diablo folder icon and drag it to your hard drive.

3. You can also increase performance by turning off music in the main
menu, which you access via the Escape key (unlike my domain, from
which there is no escape).

4. This is a prerelease demo. There will be no patches or updates to this
demo, nor will Blizzard Entertainment offer technical support.

5. Diablo requires DirectX 2.0 or later to run properly. If you do not have
DirectX 2.0 or are unsure which version you have, you can find a copy of
it in the DX directory of this CD.

6. !olbaiD gniyalp flesruoy yojnE

Sep 03:

WHAT DIABLO WANTS YOU TO KNOW

1. There are no backwards messages in my game.

2. If my game runs slowly on your system, you can increase performance
by copying Diablo to your hard drive. To do this with Windows Explorer,
select the Diablo folder icon and drag it to your hard drive.

3. You can also increase performance by turning off music in the main
menu, which you access via the Escape key (unlike my domain, from
which there is no escape).

4. This is a prerelease demo. There will be no patches or updates to this
demo, nor will Blizzard Entertainment offer technical support.

5. Diablo requires DirectX 2.0 or later to run properly. If you do not
have DirectX or are unsure which version you have, you will find
DirectX 2.0 in the \DX subdirectory on this CD.

6. !olbaiD gniyalp flesruoy yojnE