Key Takeaways
- The Diablo franchise dates back to 1997, pioneering the action RPG genre with evolving sequels, adaptations, and expansions.
- The copy of Level Master 4 found in a fan’s closet is an old Diablo third-party software guide crucial for playing online.
- The software included in Level Master 4 allowed players to use IPX networking emulators to connect, improving multiplayer experience.
A Diablo fan 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 veteran Diablo fans about what it was like to play the game in its earliest days.
The Diablo franchise 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 credit Diablo with 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.
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However, one fan that goes by CarverSindile10 on Reddit made a curious find while going through their closet: a copy of Level Master 4. The software is an unofficial strategy guide and third-party software program for the original Diablo game, though it is no longer compatible with current version of Diablo available via Battle.Net.
Diablo Fan Finds Old Unofficial Diablo Guide and Online Software
Published by Macmillan Digital Publishing, Level Master 4 was 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’s Diablo guide pages or hosted on a player or developer-maintained wiki, like lists of armor, weapons, spells, and quest solutions. Level Master 4 also included software designed to help players play Diablo on 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 like Level Master 4 popular 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 original Diablo online. Though it seems almost inconceivable in an age when Diablo 4 seasons come 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 translate Diablo‘s local networking packets into the current TCP/IP internet protocol, allowing gamers to play with each other over the wider internet and bringing the Diablo experience much closer to how it is enjoyed now.
Diablo
- Creation Year
- 1997
- Developer(s)
- Blizzard Entertainment , NetEase Games
- Publisher(s)
- Blizzard Entertainment , Sierra Entertainment