D1 Middle Earth Mod

[Lanthanide]

This is the only D1 mod I ever played. I only ever actually played a Rogue in it, because the Warrior and Sorc were just too hard (Sorc has max str of 5!).

Here's a direct download link for it:
http://bk.angrenost.org/DOWNLOAD/me.zip

The rest of page, unfortunately in Polish, has some screenshots from the game:
http://bk.angrenost.org/diablome/info.php

Note that I haven't actually played D1, or D1ME in years, I'm just hanging around his forum 'cause I like talking about them. I wish I could play but D1 in particular gives me really bad RSI (aka carpal tunnel syndrome).

So anyway, this thread is for people who want to play that mod and discuss it.

[HegemonKhan]

is this only for hellfire also? or can it work with classic diablo 1 ?

[Lanthanide]

It's classic D1 only.

I believe you need version 1.07 at the latest, so you'll need to find a patch for that somewhere too. Hopefully it'll be somewhere on the net.

[HegemonKhan]

ooo that's perfect !!! i got 1.09 (so no worries..unless it doesn't work with it)

(i don't have hellfire!!)

(i was disapointed to find out the dark mod is only for hellfire)
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do u know how good this mod is ?

better or worse than dark mod ?

(the 5 max str for a sorc scares me a bit...)

is it still very playable, but jsut challenging, or does it have lots of bugs that make it not really playable or its impossibly hard ?
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err, could you explain how i am to install this correctly, i'm not too savvy with comps and comp stuff..

i'm trying on my own...and it seems like i don't have to install/replace it over the diablo files...it seems like it contains the diablo exe itself already ?

right or wrong ?

[Lanthanide]

I believe it'll only work with 1.07, although I've just downloaded the file myself and opened it up, and it looks like someone has just zipped up their entire Diablo directory and it's ready-to-go, and the patch notes say 1.09 on it.

As for how to install, just install a clean copy of Diablo somewhere (or if you have an untouched one already, just use that). Then copy and paste the entire Diablo directory (it'll only be a few megs - most of the content is on the CD) and make a copy of it, and rename the new directory to something like Diablo-ME. Then extract the things in the ZIP file into this new directory, overwriting any of the files that are present. I'm not familiar with the way this particular copy has been packaged - it looks like it is someone's Diablo directory zipped up, so you might be able to simply unzip it somewhere else and play it without making your own copy first.


As for how good the mod is - far more fun than regular Diablo and Hellfire. I haven't played The Dark, though, so I can't really compare it for style or difficulty. It doesn't have any notable bugs that I'm aware of. It's all very Tolkien themed, so if you're a fan that makes it better. Normal difficulty itself is fairly similar to Diablo in terms of difficulty I think, up until the Hell levels anyway, then it gets tricky. But the items in general are much better, too. As a rogue you should look to use Crossbow type weapons as they fire extremely quickly, so you can easily stun lock enemies - this is why I think they're the easiest character in D1ME, and pretty much the only class I ever really played in it. Warriors have to get up to close and can be easily swarmed, and Sorcs can't stunlock things like Rogues can and have problems with triple immunes (of which I believe there are some in Normal difficulty...).

Watch out for Saruman (Lazarus) - he is VERY difficult, the first time you go up against him you better have telekinesis ready to loot your corpse from a distance, because he will likely kill you. Have a watch of the youtube video linked on that polish page. Morgoth (Diablo) has a pet dragon, who can also be seen in that video, who is also very difficult - fires continuous high-damage inferno while attacking at a very fast speed.

[HegemonKhan]

hehe, i know tolkien (LotR) well, loves fantasy. but to paraphrase quote some critic who reviewed the book series Wheel of Time (by robert jordan. just died pretty recently. cries), "tolkien created the door to the world of fantasy, but Robert Jordan and his wheel of time series IS that entire monstrous fantasy world on the other side of the door".
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if all the game or quest script is polish...i'll have a problem reading it...only knows american english.
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i figured how to install it on own.

it is a complete install, u do NOT have to make a copy and than install/replace over files. it comes with the diablo .exe and other needed files. it's all ready to go and done for u.
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i choose to do single player (SP) char/game and the danadan (warrior) (named him aragorn for rp/theme).

the town's people been renamed and moved all into the center of town. no adria clear to the east of town and out of the way (the building is still there but she isn't) or wirt over to the west and out of the way. gullum (wirt) is hidden slightly behind or in the shadow of ogden's building on its west side (i think). galadia (or something like that) (adria) is where gillian used to be. gillian is next to ogden.

everything seems the same otherwise, no new quests so far and the npc dialogue seems unchanged.

the items ARE new and different. both town shops and dungeon items

monsters are renamed and possibly altered monster stats

so far (at dlvl 2 only) haven't encountered any monsters that remove total hp or total mp or stats (str, mag, dex, vit).

only encountered 1 shrine so far called holy. i have not touched it yet. due to not having the normal diablo 1 shrines memorized, i don't know if this is a new named shrine or not. also cuz i haven't touched it i don't know what it does (i could since i'm doing sp with save n load function but not gonna do it now)

books stat reqs might be altered. not sure about the spells though as i can't use cuz i don't have any spells and don't have the mag to read any of the books. so far the books and their spells i have found use the same names.

new pottery graphics and monster graphics

possibly new sound effects

as far as i know, doesn't seem to have any new functions like run or highlighting items on ground.

not sure if this is a new feature or not, but as u hit monsters and u have cursor on them, u can see their life stat dropping.

gold exceeds 11.5k (11,500) per 1x1 space !!!! woot! (have yet to find out its limit)

the town portal (tp) also is in the middle of town.

axe weapons seem to have longer reach.
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danadan (warrior):

starting stats and stuff:

30 strength (str), 0 magic (mag), 20 dexterity (dex), 30 vitality (vit), 80 life/health/hp, 0 mana/mp. 100 gold (g), 60% to hit, ? armor class (ac), 1 character level (clvl), 0% fire resist (FR), 0% lightning resist (LR), 0% magic resist (MR), ? damage (dam/dmg), long knife (1x3), club (1x3), buckler (2x2), 2 life potions (l), 0 experience (exp)

per clvl:

+2 hp, +1 mp

per (1) stat point:

mag gives 1 mp, vit gives 2 hp

spells:

none, except for the weapon repair unique warrior skill.
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items:

01. shirt (body/chest/torso armor) (2x2. NOT typo. it is NOT 3x2)
02. club (mace weapon) (1h) (1x3)
03. warrior's starting long knife (sword weapon) (2h) (1x3. NOT typo. it is NOT 1x2)
04. staff (staff weapon) (2h) (2x3)
05. cloak (body/chest/torso armor) (2x3)
06. book (spell book) (2x2)
07. long knife (sword weapon) (1h) (1x2. NOT typo. it is NOT 1x3)
08. leather cap (hat) (2x2)
09. woodsman axe (axe weapon) (2h) (2x3)
10. small shield (shield) (2x3)
11. buckler (shield) (2x2)
12. cape (body/chest/torso armor) (2x3)
13. hatchet (axe weapon) (2h) (2x3)
14. robe (body/chest/torso armor) (2x3)
15. leather armor (body/chest/torso armor) (2x3)
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quests:

1. poison water well quest, 2 dungeon level (dlvl), gives a new unique ring.
2. magic rock quest
3. garbad the weak (4 dlvl) quest is the same
4. snotspill/tavern sign quest gives a new item, an unique sword weapon, from barlimod (ogden) and snotspill dropped a magical item.
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monsters:

1. hill trolls (4 dlvl) are heavy hitters and have knockback

[Lanthanide]

Looks like you're definitely getting into the swing of it!

All the monster stats are different, and you'll start to see more and more divergence from standard Diablo as you get further in, particularly starting in the cats.

There are no new quests, but evidently the quest rewards have been changed. I never actually played the mod in single player.

All of the bad shrines that permanently affect your character negatively have been removed, as have any monsters that permanently affect you. So you can use random shrines with impunity, and don't be scared of any of the monsters (well, other than them outright killing you...).

There is a search spell, taken from Hellfire. There are quite a few enemies, particularly in the Hell levels, that are taken from Hellfire and use new sounds as well. The Hell levels in particular have a much much wider range of enemies and combinations than were possible in regular Diablo, which can make Hell sometimes a complete cakewalk and other times very very difficult (especially if your character is only just starting to be able to do Hell at all).

The gold can stack up to 65,000 in one slot, and the highlighting of monsters HP is a new feature. Note that monsters heal, and now you can see it! They always healed in Diablo, as well, actually, but the heal rate is quite bumped up in D1ME, and some monsters have life stealing and can go over their original maximum (see the youtube movie on the polish page linked in my first post).

[HegemonKhan]

yes, i am getting into it. it's a definate improvement from classic diablo 1!!!

i'm only just cleared 4 dlvl, but so far the progress is really smooth and enjoyable. there's much much much more chests and weapon/armor drops. this flood of gear really helps u progress without any stalls. very fluid so far. as i've read cat, caves, hell might be another matter, but the game is made very well so far.

i definately recommend this mod for anyone who has the classic diablo 1. it's perfect and flawless so far. very fluid and well balanced that really keeps u moving through the game and keeps u interested. lots of gear is dropping to perfectly help u out with the harder monsters. very well synchronized for smooth and fast and enjoyable game play.

(and the non-negative shrines and monsters is awesome to hear about!!!)

i give it a 10/10 so far :D

ty, lycanthanide and whoever made this mod !!!! it's awesome! new game for me and plays well without any of the flaws of the very old diablo 1 classic ! it feels like a modern/recent/2009 (somewhat, of course) game.

[Lanthanide]

Varaya & Khan are (were?) the authors, and it is generally considered by many people to be the best D1 mod, although others prefer The Dark, but that requires Hellfire.

[Flux]

looking for the hellfire verison of their ME Mod (I remember some very fun stuff in the crypt levels, once they added bosses and chests and other features lacking in regulation HF), and I found this interview (http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:6tl-QBlMeysJ:www.lurkerlounge.com/index2.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26do_pdf%3D1%26i d%3D745+hellfire+mod+varaya+khan&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us) in the google cache. It's by Bolty of the old Lurker Lounge, from about 2000, and has interesting stuff about mod making, how they set up their mods, design goals, etc.


Varaya: The main problem with the Hellfire mod was that while the mod was available for everybody to download, and with a lot of players who *had* downloaded the mod and *were* playing it with characters they valued, we were still
experimenting around with the game, finding out new things, and putting in small "improvements" suggested by Crystalion. It was around this point of time that Crystalion first contacted us (I think he played the mod and suggested some small improvement), and for several months we had regular mail contact. He obviously liked Hellfire and the idea of modifying it. He spent a lot of time digging through the code, finding out how to fix bugs or small problems, but also inventing new things - the problem IMHO was, though, that he (and also we ourselves) at that point of time did not think that much about game balance. Also, Hellfire had some inherent problems, e.g. the routing for determining what Gris had to offer. The whole game was really "overpowered" - you could get Godly Full Plates from Wirt, but then the game would be too easy, so we made the monsters harder. But what if you did not get a Godly Plate from Wirt? The monsters still were hard, and so it was unplayable for you. The whole game became one big "shopping tour," because the best items were available for buying! After the first excitement of playing our own mod, it quickly became boring, and we were annoyed because of the many problems we ourselves had built into the mod, because we found out many "modmaking rules" only after we already had done it wrong and after many players already were playing the mod.

Initially, after the Hellfire mod, we were already in a "not again a new one" - phase, but the 1.07 patch brought some interesting changes to the original game, e.g. the bow swiftness. So we decided to do a new Diablo 1.07 mod and to thereby avoid the known problems, e.g. item morphing, weird monster distribution, etc. An added incentive was that we then would have a good mod without the Hellfire buying routine crap. I was not totally happy with the way the 1.07 mod ended up, though, because we once again fell into the "it can be done, so let's put it in" - routine. E.g. item restrictions (items can only be used by one class - it never worked properly, but it was in nevertheless), items with built-in abilities you could not see (because they did not show on screen, you had to read the readme to find out), monsters which were insanely hard, etc. In the end I nearly withdrew from participating in the modmaking - Khan had much more time to work on the mod than I had, so he did many things by himself, and I have to say that I really do not know what is in the latest versions of the 1.07 mod, because I never played it myself. :-) I thought it to be too hard, too restrictive on classes and I did not like some features.

[Flux]

Another quote from the same interview. It made me laugh:


In a way, Sierra's Hellfire can be considered a professional mod. Do you try to emulate the job they did with the expansion?

Khan: Ehm, I am sure Sierra wouldn't like what I'll say now, but in fact I think that with Hellfire they did a pretty bad job. The graphics are comiclike, unfitting, and in some instances badly drawn (the Liches for example are very badly colored; you can see each pixel, whereas the original Diablo graphics are very smooth - with 8bit, mind you!). Hellfire features even more bugs than original Diablo. It may sound a bit arrogant but I think we and many other modmakers would have created a better add-on, if given the knowledge of the programs inner workings. But since we all were starving for some new features in Diablo, I can also say the money we spent on Hellfire was more than worth it :)

Varaya: Hehe, yes, Hellfire was pretty bad. Some of the monsters are pretty laughable (I mean, an army of hunchback gravediggers - that's pretty weird even for a fantasy game, isn't it?) and some of the features look as if one of the designers had thought "nobody plays that game through more than once, so let's make it as easy as possible for them so that they really can buy at least one Godly Plate when they play." And yes, some of the graphics have a weird dithering problem, e.g. the shots of those "flying eyes." And the new classes are not correctly balanced. And there are bugs, e.g. vanishing parts of the "torn note." They did not really understand the "feeling" of the Diablo world and they wanted to create a game for Joe Random Player who does not want to play the same character over and over again for months. I guess what one famous DSF regular said is pretty true: Hellfire is Diablo with integrated cheating

[Flux]

the old V&K hellfire mod page, courtesy of archive.org.
http://web.archive.org/web/20021220104049/www.planetdiablo.com/vkmods/tolkien.html

here's a link I dug up to their hellfire mod, and a link to diablo v1.07.
http://www.guardiansofjustice.com/diablo/Download/Mods/hfmodv3.zip
http://diablo.svatopluk.com/download/drtl107.zip

And then... I can't play it. I get an error, "unable to create character" when I try. But i'm getting the same thing in regulation hellfire now, oddly. maybe I need to uninstall everything and put it back into some kind of root folder; hellfire was always testy about installing into a /SIERRA right on the C: drive...

[Devil Squid]

Im going to try.

[Lanthanide]

Their website used to have a whole section on mod-making for D1, where hex offsets were and everything.

Probably pretty hard to find that stuff around the place now. I can't be bothered looking in the way back machine, but knowing that the information exists is half the battle with these sorts of things.

I think Dr Zed had a good page too.

[Lanthanide]

there's not much out there, except for getting the mods. i can't remember if the dark mod (for hellfire) had a "run" feature or not. or if u can find some "run" feature mod.

if u got diablo 1 classic (no-xpac, aka no hellfire) u can get the ME (middle earth mod) mod. it places all the town stuff (shop people) all in the center of town, so u don't have to walk across town (like for wirt or adria). there are more special monsters or better and more dropped gear too, which is perfectly done. the game really flows smoothly (fast), though when you get to caves/hell, there's some surprises waiting for u...tougher monsters...

the middle earth mod as far as i can tell is perfectly done. i 100% recommend it, if you aren't using hellfire and got diablo 1 classic.

i have an addiction to plug/advocate middle earth mod whenever possible....it's that good !!!

See, it's great!


I actually only ever really played as a Noldo (Rogue) because I found the Istar (Sorc) just too hard, because he's limitd to 5 str and forced to play like a glass-cannon, while my favorite sorc play style was always as a battle mage wearing full plate mail. Dunadens (Warrior) simply doesn't interest me.

When playing as Noldo, definitely go for the crossbow weapons as they improve your killing speed, and stun-lock, dramatically.

[Treseler]

I just downloaded D1ME, and everytime I start it up, it freezes when I try to click past the Blizzard intro or if I try to just wait for the intro to finish.

Anyone know what the problem is? I really want to play this mod damit! :grrr:

[Lanthanide]

You probably don't have the graphics pack installed? The menu has got new (hideous) background art, and it might be freezing because it can't find it.

Make sure you download everything from that page and install it as per the instructions. I don't have time to write anything else up right now, I'm late for work as it is.