Summary
ADiablofan digging through their closet found an interesting and obsolete piece of software for the original PC version of the game. The find sparked discussions among veteranDiablofans about what it was like to play the game in its earliest days.
TheDiablofranchise is an original classic of gaming, with the very first game in the series launching way back in 1997 on the PC. Since then, the franchise has had multiple sequels, expansions, and ports on several console generations, all the while evolving along the way. Many people creditDiablowith beginning the action RPG genre, and elements of its gameplay are hugely influential to this day. Even now, fans can play the current game,Diablo 4, which has leaned into persistent online features and a live-service environment for its community.
However, one fan that goes by CarverSindile10 on Reddit made a curious find while going through their closet: a copy ofLevel Master 4. The software is an unofficial strategy guide and third-party software program for the originalDiablogame, though it is no longer compatible with current version ofDiabloavailable via Battle.Net.
Diablo Fan Finds Old Unofficial Diablo Guide and Online Software
Published by Macmillan Digital Publishing,Level Master 4was one of many “unofficial” strategy guides published for PC and console games predating widespread internet adoption. Such guides included information that might be found in today’sDiabloguide pagesor hosted on a player or developer-maintained wiki, like lists of armor, weapons, spells, and quest solutions.Level Master 4also included software designed to help players playDiabloon the internet, like a copy of AT&T’s WorldNet and the now-defunct Netscape Navigator web browser, as well as a copy of Kali, a network emulator program. Interestingly, the packaging also trumpets a partnership between Macmillan and Happy Puppy, an online game news and guide publication that was once the most popular game site in the mid to late 1990s. Happy Puppy shut down in 2006.
As one older player in the comments explained, not only were guides likeLevel Master 4popular among players at a time when internet access was less widespread and modern platforms and publishing hadn’t taken over, but the software included was critical for getting the originalDiabloonline. Though it seems almost inconceivable in an age whenDiablo 4seasonscome and go for the entire community, the original game could only play multiplayer on a local network. IPX networking emulators like Kali were needed to translateDiablo’s local networking packets into the current TCP/IP internet protocol, allowing gamers to play with each other over the wider internet and bringing theDiabloexperience much closer to how it is enjoyed now.
