This is slightly off topic even in this section but in case there are any members that played the Diablo, Diablo II or the expansion pack Lord of Destruction. Today marks the 10th anniversary of the game's release (June 29th 2000) and it still has an active global user base of 30 or 40 thousand people at any given time. Pretty remarkable for a PC game.
I don't see how this is off topic since the description for this board simply states "For computing and gaming discussion (incl. batracer)".
I'm a veteran of both Diablo and Diablo II. Though I felt that the Diablo II singleplayer was better than the original, I think I had more fun with the original's multiplayer. However, that's a bit unfair considering how exactly I entertained myself with the multiplayer. People "hacking" the hell out of the original game basically ruined it, when trying to play it properly, since every single solitary player (or pretty close thereto) was "hacked" into godliness and there was absolutely no point in playing. The actual fun came from the shareware version (even though I actually had the full retail version), because many players were still unhacked.
At first, before buying the full game, I tried playing legitimately in the shareware online, but I started getting killed by unseen forces which turned out to be players who modified their characters such that they don't show up, visually or otherwise, and had powerful stats as well as the ability to attack in town where there's supposed to be no combat. I got tired of getting killed by hacked players all the time, so I joined in on the action. At first I just had low-end modifications, but gradually I became more godly. I stopped playing the game as intended and started hunting other players, and tormenting them. I would stalk them in town where they're supposed to be safe, them unaware that I'm right there in front of them, and I suddenly kill them, resurrect them, kill them again, over and over. They might be there pacing back and forth "duping" an item (hopefully most will remember how this worked) and I will stroll up unseen and take the item that one was trying to replicate for the other, and then they get mad at each other blaming the other for taking the item. I set the whole town on fire with dozens of fire walls that last for several minutes or place a town portal at the bottom of the stairs into the dungeon so that after they went through the loading screen they have to sit through another when the town portal warps them back to town, only to again wait through a loading screen to return to the dungeon. The list goes on.
At first I kept a list of all the players I butchered, but the list got so long that I gave up. The big clan at the time was The TMP ("TMP" standing for "The Merciless PKs, "PKs" in turn standing for "Player-Killers", so basically they were "The The Merciless Player-Killers", complete with a redundant "the"). They were feared but I started hunting them down, and eventually had killed all but just a few. The one I really wanted was Helena, who was their leader, but he/she lurked in the chat room where I could do nothing or would go into private games where I could not enter, and then talked crap on the boards about how I was allegedly the coward that just lurked in chat rooms and private games. They put a huge bounty on my head, but nobody was able to collect it. They later merged with another clan and formed "PKx". I think me making fun of their redundant "the" encouraged the name change as much as the merger did.
When Ultima Online was on the horizon, I joined a guild of players wanting to play UO legit and to keep the game that way, but when word spread through Diablo where many PKx members were also anticipating UO, their UO guild declared war on mine before the game was even out. My guild started joining forces with other guilds, and they started doing the same. An all-out war in UO was brewing before the game had ever hit store shelves. Unfortunately, my computer and internet connection weren't sufficient so I never got the game and the whole war thing fell apart.
Wow, I didn't intend to go into all that. So, anyway... I can't wait for Diablo III.
