Diablo 2 patched after five years!

[Plok 321]

This is the result of Blizzard hiring senior software engineers for classic games.

 

http://us.battle.net/en/forum/topic/20742864181

 

 

It’s been a long time coming, but today we’re releasing 1.14a for Diablo II.

This update focuses on system glitches introduced by modern operating systems. In related news, you can finally retire those old Mac PowerPCs. Included with the update is a shiny new installer for OSX.

We’ve also begun working to improve our cheat-detection and hack-prevention capabilities. There’s still work to be done, but we’re making improvements every day.

There is still a large Diablo II community around the world, and we thank you for continuing to play and slay with us. This journey starts by making Diablo II run on modern platforms, but it does not end there. See you in Sanctuary, adventurers.

 

 

Official changelog:

 

Diablo II v1.14a Patch Notes

Specific Changes & Improvements
- No need to run in XP mode anymore, Windows 7, 8.1, and 10 compatibility complete
- Mac installer and compatibility for 10.10 and 10.11 has arrived
- First client run will migrate saved characters to avoid issues from Windows system
admin changes

Known Issues
- Mac 10.9 and earlier are not supported

 

However, updated installers are not yet done (you can only patch from within the game for now).

 

 

Hats off to you, Blizzard.

[Nmenth 290]

I really wasn't surprised when I first heard about this. I think patch 1.13 already proved Blizzard wasn't going to stop supporting it.

 

It is a shame that most companies will only toss out a couple patches immediately after a release and then abandon it to be patched by fans.

[Plok 321]

I was getting the impression Blizzard was following suit. For instance, many of their classics were reported to have weird colour issues on certain systems, requiring ddwrapper for Diablo 1/Hellfire, a ddraw copy for WarCraft II BNE/CE and Chaos Launcher for StarCraft 1/Brood War. Most of these issues emerging in Windows 7, which was very much in common usage when Blizzard made their last patches for D2 and SC1. It's not something Blizzard couldn't fix since they have the actual source code, which worried me when I saw no new version numbers in their patch archive page that becomes increasingly harder to navigate to with each Battle.net redesign...

Edited March 11, 2016 by Plokite_Wolf

[Ravendark 46]

You could fix the colour issues by just disabling win explorer before launching the games, then renabling it after iirc.

But idd hats of to a gamecompany providing support so many years after release.

[PurpleGaga27 39]

Too bad EA will never do that to older C&C games.

 

And yes, I am back after a week-long issue with my ISP.

[Plok 321]

The standalone patch installers are here: https://us.battle.net/support/en/article/classic-game-patches

For those who have the game linked on Battle.net, there are also PC/Mac full installers here (necessary for Mac OSX 10.10 and 10.11): https://us.battle.net/account/management/download/?show=classic

 

The patch installers are the second iteration - if you downloaded them yesterday, reinstall - as the original had an issue with claiming serial keys were in use by someone else when they, well, weren't

[PurpleGaga27 39]

Rumors of a Warcraft III latest patch have surfaced as well.

[Plok 321]

WarCraft III got a patch on 14 March as well, didn't notice until today (when Mojo Stormstout's official community page was updated)

 

The changes appear to be the same, and they also managed to dig out a bug with a very common spell

 

 

Specific Changes & Improvements
- Throw away that old PowerPC Mac in the closet, we’ve created a new installer to support Mac 10.10 and 10.11
- Improved compatibility with Windows 7, 8.1, and 10
- Fixed a crash caused by Chain Lightning

Known Issues
- Windows 8.1 and 10 saved games are still stored in a location that requires running as system admin
- Some graphical issues with the cinematics are still occurring
- Changes to gamma settings will not take effect in windowed mode
- Cyrillic characters are still not displaying
- Disabled ambient sound while a MIDI issue is being resolved
- Mac 10.9 and earlier are not supported
- Mac build does not support the editor

Reign of Chaos: http://ftp.blizzard.com/pub/war3/patches/pc/War3ROC_127a_English.exe

The Frozen Throne: http://ftp.blizzard.com/pub/war3x/patches/pc/War3TFT_127a_English.exe

 

 

Why can't others do this, ffs? All it took was one or two specially hired guys.

Edited March 24, 2016 by Plokite_Wolf