DiabloBackup FAQ: (by Kevin Lambert)

*****************************************
 LAST UPDATE - Friday, February 6, 1998 - Question #27, 28, 29, & 30
*****************************************

 Go to http://www.users.lith.com/~kevin/diablo/
 for the latest DiabloBackup FAQ.


Questions:
 1) What is DiabloBackup?
 2) Why develop DiabloBackup?
 3) Isn't DiabloBackup a cheat?
 4) What is the difference between version 1.1 and version 2.0?
 5) My DiabloBackup is expired... Where is the final version?
 6) When in the @$!#% is the version 2.0 final going to be released?
 7) Why do all the version 2.0 betas have an expiration date?
 8) Why is transferring characters so complicated?
 9) How can I tell which character is associated with "Character 0",etc..?
10) Will characters ever change "slots"?
11) I want to move character 2 to my other computer, but my other computer
    has characters 0,1,2,3, and 4 on it... What should I do?  I don't want
    to lose any of those characters.
12) I want to move character 2 from my Windows95 computer named "COMPA" to
    my WindowsNT computer at work which also happens to be named "COMPA".
    Which procedure should I use?
13) What is the difference between the different "Transferring characters"
    buttons in DiabloBackup?
14) What does the "Delete" button do?
15) Do I have to use a floppy disk when I transfer characters?
16) Can I change the backup directory to another computer on my network?
17) Please explain the "Single player <-> Multiplayer Transfer" option.
18) I want to transfer single player <-> multiplayer but I am using the
    the new Diablo patch... what can I do?
19) I transferred a character from single player to multiplayer, but some
    of the items are changed or gone... what's up with that?
20) I want to transfer my characters between 2 windows 95 computers but
    I am using the new Diablo patch... what can I do?
21) I went to play Diablo, and all of a sudden, my characters were all
    gone, and Diablo asked me to create a new character. What happened?
22) What does the "Quit" button do?
23) I got DiabloBackup v2.0b8 and when I run it, I get the following
    error: "Can't get registry settings". What's up?
24) Are you going to make a version of DiabloName that works with the new
    Diablo patch? (Diablo v1.02 and later)
25) OK, I heard that reinstalling Diablo v1.0 on my machine might cause
    my character to lose all his/her inventory.  What can I do about this?
26) I reinstalled Diablo from the CD to get version 1.0, but DiabloBackup
    says that I still need to get version 1.0.  What's the deal?
27) Hellfire support - what can it do?
28) Wow.  All those new Hellfire features.  How do I use them?
29) Hey!  I bought the Level Master IV CD and it says, "The included back-up
    player editor will allow you to bestow your character with God-like
    powers"  I don't see any support like that in DiabloBackup, and I don't
    see any character editor. What in the hell is going on here?
30) Holy moley!  I'm pipin' mad!  The only reason I bought Level Master IV
    was so I could stop cheaters by giving my character god-like powers.
    Those people who made Level Master IV really duped me!  What can I
    do about it?

 A) Gee, I really like DiabloBackup... How can I contribute to your
    neverending struggle to be rich and famous?
 B) Who is Kevin Lambert, and why didn't he put a huge picture of himself
    in the about-box of DiabloBackup?
 C) So writing and playing games is cool & stuff, and no offense, but
    other than that, you're just a computer geek with no life then, right?
 D) What's your nickname on battle.net, and how can I find you otherwise?
 E) Geez man, do you think there is any way possible that you offer more
    useless information about yourself that I could care less to know?
 F) I was kidding.


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1) What is DiabloBackup?
   - DiabloBackup is a program made to allow users to backup multiplayer
     characters, restore multiplayer characters, and transfer multiplayer
     characters from one machine to another machine all without losing
     any equipment, items, or diablo dots (on battle.net)

2) Why develop DiabloBackup?
   - In order for players not to have to worry about losing hours, days,
     weeks, etc... of playtime due to a system crash or similar, and to
     allow players to take their characters with them when they want to
     play Diablo on a different machine.

3) But DiabloBackup lets you backup/restore characters... That's cheating
isn't it?
   - Well, yes and no.  There are two ways of viewing DiabloBackup as a
     cheating tool. One is that it allows your to duplicate items. The
     second is that it gives a virtual save-game option where Blizzard
     did not create one.  To address the first issue, Blizzard released
     a patch for Diablo on February 26, 1997 that upgraded Diablo to
     version 1.02.  In this version, duplicated items are destroyed
     when they are detected.  This in effect controls and limits the
     lifetime of duplicated items.  Therefore use of DiabloBackup in
     conjunction with Diablo 1.02 or later should not be considered
     as cheating.  To address the second issue, since I didn't really
     design DiabloBackup to be used to get all your stuff back when
     you die, I can't say much about people who use it for this or
     for similar reasons. So to that effect, certain people have a point.

4) What is the difference between DiabloBackup version 1.1 and
version 2.0?
   - Version 1.1 is simply a backup/restore tool. If you use version 1.1
     on one and only one machine, you can backup and restore your
     multiplayer characters without losing any items, diablo dots (on
     battle.net), etc... Version 2.0 adds the ability to transfer
     multiplayer characters from one machine to another (among a few other
     features.)

5) When I run DiabloBackup, I get a message saying that it has expired,
and to get the final version from your web page. But I only see another
BETA version on your web page... What's up?
   - First, the latest version expires at the end of March. If you
     downloaded the latest version, and you are getting an expired
     message, then the date on your computer is set incorrectly.
     Second, until I finish the final version, I will release
     another beta that will give a longer expiration date.  You should
     download and use the latest version that is on my web page now.

6) When in the @$!#% is the version 2.0 final going to be released?
   - GOOD NEWS!!!  I have the Win95 to Win95 machine transfer problem
     solved! Not only that, but the transfer procedure for ALL machines
     will be the same, any only 2 steps instead of 75 steps. :-)  Keep an
     eye out for the next beta, (which might even be the final version).
     As soon as I get some free time, I will release the next version.

7) Why do all the DiabloBackup version 2.0 betas have an expiration date?
   - This is my way of maintaining version control.  If I fix a bug in
     version 2.0 beta 5, I don't want to be receiving e-mail 6 months
     later asking me why people are experiencing that bug in version 2.0
     beta 4 or eariler...

8) Why is the procedure for transferring characters from one machine to
another so darn complicated?!
   - Well, at first I automated as much of the procedure as I could... 
     Then I realized that if anything went wrong, your computer's name
     could remain changed without you knowing it, which could lead to
     very bad results... Rather than explain how to fix a problem that
     might occur, I figured I would feel safer if I walked users through
     the procedure, so that they know exactly what is going on in case
     of a problem.

9) Character 0,1,2... dlinfo_0,1,2... what the heck do those mean? I made
a rogue named Xena, how am I supposed to know which character she is?
Can't you just show the names of the characters?
   - The reason that DiabloBackup works where most other cheats,
     trainers, and other backup programs fail is that DiabloBackup does
     not ever read or write ANY of Diablo's memory.  Since DiabloBackup
     does not read memory, and does not decrypt the save files, there is
     no way for DiabloBackup to know the name of the character associated
     with a particular file...Sorry about that... :-(  If you want to know
     which character Xena is, then just play her in any type of multiplayer
     game.  Then quit the game, but look at the date and time on your
     COMPUTER when you quit.  Then run DiabloBackup and click all the
     "Info" buttons next to each character number.  Look for a "Modified"
     date and time that matches the date and time when you quit the game.
     When you find a match, you have found which character number Xena is.

10) Hrmm.. so now I know that Xena is character 2. Will that ever change?
   - As long as you simply backup and restore characters on that machine,
     characters will never change "slots".

11) Ok, so now I want to move Xena (character 2) to my other computer.  My
other computer has characters 0,1,2,3, and 4 on it... What should I do?  I
don't want to lose any of those characters.
   - When you transfer a character to another machine using the proper
     procedure, DiabloBackup will automatically place your character into
     the first available "slot" on the destination machine. (If there are
     no available "slots" on the destination machine, DiabloBackup will
     tell you before any characters get transferred. In this case all you
     need to do is follow the transferring characters to another computer
     procedure, and Xena will end up as character 5 on the destination
     machine. :-)

12) Ok, check this out: I want to move Xena (character 2) from my
Windows95 computer named "COMPA" to my WindowsNT computer at work which
also happens to be named "COMPA".  Which procedure should I use?
   - If two machines have the same name, you ALWAYS want to use the
     "Transferring characters between two machines with the same name"
     procedure, no matter what operating system they are running.


13) What is the difference between the "Transfer to other..." buttons and
the "Transferring characters to another computer" button?
   - The "Transferring characters to another computer" button gives you
     instructions on how to transfer characters from one computer to
     another using DiabloBackup.  The "Transfer to other..." buttons
     should only be used when you are following these instructions.
     (Hence the warning message that comes up when you click them) :-)

14) What does the "Delete" button do? (Flatter me)
   - Well, delete will remove selected characters from Diablo without you
     having to start diablo and manually delete each character.

15) All the instructions in the transferring characters from one computer
to another talk about transferring to and from a floppy disk or other
removable drive.  Do I have to use these?
   - Nope.  DiabloBackup will always backup to and restore from the
     current backup directory.  It's easier to use a floppy disk, but
     feel free to use some shared directory on some computer somewhere in
     the universe. :-)

16) Can I change the backup directory to another computer on my network?
   - Yes, but you will have to map a drive to it.  For example, if you
     want to change the backup directory to "\test" on a computer called
     "somecomputer", you can use "h:\test" (where h: is the mapped drive
     to "somecomputer", but you cannot use "\\somecomputer\test".

17) I don't understand this "Single player <-> Multiplayer Transfer" deal.
What's up with that?
   - Well, this feature may end up getting the axe soon, but for now, and
     assuming that you are running the original version of Diablo, here's
     the deal... What you are going to do is transfer a character from a
     Windows95 machine to another Windows95 machine... Yes they are the
     same machine, and yes they have the same name, but for this case, you
     MUST follow the instructions for "FROM a Windows95 machine" and "TO
     a Windows95 machine"... I hope that sheds more light on the subject.

18) I want to transfer single player <-> multiplayer but I am using the
new Diablo patch. DiabloBackup says that this feature doesn't work with
Diablo v1.02. What can I do?
   - See the answer to question 20. (just kidding)
     Since a couple of features of DiabloBackup are not yet working with
     the new Diablo patch, the only way to use them presently is to
     reinstall Diablo from the CD (Diablo v1.0), use the feature, then
     re-upgrade to v1.02 by running the patch. Everything should work
     fine in this case.

19) I transferred a character from single player to multiplayer, but some
of the items are changed or gone... what's up with that?
   - The way Diablo stores items in a single player game is different
     from how it stores items in a multiplayer game.  Because of that
     difference, you will experience strange changes in some of your
     items when you transfer a single player character to multiplayer or
     vice versa.  There is nothing that can be done about it... Some
     single player items don't even exist in a multiplayer game.  It is
     perfectly normal to be wearing a sword on your head for example when
     you transfer a single player character to a multiplayer character...
     Well, I guess not TOTALLY normal, but please don't freak out if it
     happens. :-)

20) I want to transfer my characters between 2 windows 95 computers but I
am using the new Diablo patch and DiabloBackup says that this feature does
not work with Diablo v1.02. What can I do?
   - See the answer to question 18.

21) I went to play Diablo, and all of a sudden, my characters were all
gone, and Diablo asked me to create a new character. I am positive that I
had characters on this machine, and they just disappeared. What happened?
   - The only way your characters can "disappear" from Diablo is if your
     computer name changes. Maybe you installed new net software,
     reinstalled Windows95, reformatted your hard drive, whatever. The
     fact is that somehow, your computer name got changed. You have 2
     options at this point. You can change your computer name back to
     what it was (if you remember it) by going to
     Control Panel/Network/Identification.  If you don't know what your
     computer name was before you lost your characters, then I'm afraid 
     the only way you can be helped is if you used DiabloBackup v2.0b7 (or
     later) to backup your characters before your computer name got
     changed, or if you have a backup of your Windows registry somewhere.
     If you have a backup of your characters from DiabloBackup v2.0b7 or
     later, then you can use DiabloBackup v2.0b9 (or later) to get them
     back. Simply follow the "Transferring characters to another computer"
     procedure in v2.0b9 (or later) BUT MAKE SURE THAT YOU SKIP PART 1
     AND START WITH PART 2... Part 1 involves backing up your characters
     which you already have done... you have characters that need to be
     restored, so follow the procedure beginning with part 2. Basically
     you are transferring the characters from your old computer name to
     your new computer name. DiabloBackup will handle all of this for you,
     and you don't need to know your old or new computer name. (Sound
     good?) :-) If you do not have a DiabloBackup 2.0b7 or later save
     file, and do not have a backup of your Windows registry, then
     unfortunately, I cannot help you. :-(

22) What does the "Quit" button do?
   - OK, so nobody ever asked this... I'm just seeing if anyone is still
     paying attention.  :-)

23) I ran the latest version of DiabloBackup and I get the following
error: "Can't get registry settings".  What's up?
   - Oops... a small bug in the first beta 8 I put on my website... Get
     Beta 8 from my website again (even if you alread had it) and run the
     following from the command line: DiabloBackup -fix
     That should fix the problem.

24) Are you going to make a version of DiabloName that works with the new
Diablo patch? (Diablo v1.02 and later)
   - I don't think so. If you want to change your character's name,
     reinstall Diablo from your CD (this will get you Diablo v1.0), then
     run DiabloName and change your character's name, then re-upgrade
     Diablo by logging on to battle.net or running the patch.

25) OK, I heard that reinstalling Diablo v1.0 on my machine might cause
my character to lose all his/her inventory.  What can I do about this?
   - Well, with the latest version of DiabloBackup (v2.0b9 and later),
     the only reason you would ever need to reinstall Diablo v1.0 on your
     machine is to transfer a single player character to a multiplayer
     character (or vice-versa).  Sometimes, when you reinstall Diablo v1.0
     on your machine to perform a multiplayer to single player transfer,
     your multiplayer character will lose all his/her inventory.  This
     is due to new character file formats between the different versions
     of Diablo and there is really nothing you can do about it.  Look at
     it this way, at least you can transfer your character, and sometimes
     he/she will keep the inventory, and sometimes not.  The good news is
     that if you keep a backup of your multiplayer character, you can
     restore him/her after you re-upgrade Diablo and all his/her inventory
     will be back.  So to sum this all up, when you transfer a multiplayer
     character to single player mode, you might end up with a naked single
     player character, but just make sure you have a backup of your
     multiplayer character, and you'll be ok.  (Confused yet? I am.) :-)

26) I reinstalled Diablo from the CD to get version 1.0, but DiabloBackup
says that I still need to get version 1.0.  What's the deal?
   - Blizzard has released CDs that come with Diablo v1.02 or 1.03 on them.
     If you have one of these CDs but need to get Diablo v1.0, then the only
     thing you can do is try to find a friend with a version 1.0 CD. (Sorry)

27) Sheesh.  You finally got around to adding Hellfire support you bastard.
It sure did take you long enough.  You don't know how long I've been waiting
for that.  All those lonely nights sitting here at home with nothing to do
because I couldn't backup or restore my damn Hellfire characters!  I think
I'm gonna go postal!  But on the off chance that I don't, please tell me
what I can do with this Hellfire support.
   - Wow. The anger. :-)  I literally received hundreds of e-mails asking me
     to add Hellfire support to DB, so one Saturday I finally decided to do
     it. (Mind you, I had to miss the the Smurfs that mor... er.. nevermind)
     So anyway, here's what you can do with the Hellfire support:
     1) Backup & restore multiplayer Hellfire characters.
     2) Transfer multiplayer Hellfire characters from one computer to another.
     3) Transfer Diablo single player characters to Hellfire.
     4) Transfer Diablo multiplayer characters to Hellfire.
     5) Transfer Hellfire single player characters to Diablo.
     NOTE) Currently I have disabled transferring Hellfire multiplayer
           characters to Diablo because it causes Diablo to crash.  I will
           enable this feature if it ever becomes safe.

28) Wow.  All those new Hellfire features.  How do I use them?
   - Gee, I think I'll add features to the program with ABSOLUTELY NO
     INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO USE THEM! (yeah, right)  The instructions
     for every feature can be found in DiabloBackup.  So please, read
     the instructions included in DiabloBackup before you mail me
     with questions. :-)

29) Hey!  I bought the Level Master IV CD and it says, "The included back-up
player editor will allow you to bestow your character with God-like powers"
I don't see any support like that in DiabloBackup, and I don't see any
character editor. What in the hell is going on here?
   - *sigh*  I can't believe that the Level Master IV people actaully put
     that on their box as a description of DiabloBackup. DiabloBackup only
     says that it is not a character editor EVERYWHERE IN THE PROGRAM. Not
     only that, but they told me that the whole reason that they wanted to
     include it was because it wasn't designed to help people cheat, but
     rather because it was an extremely useful tool. Way to know your own
     products people! And way to go MacMillan Digital Publishing marketing
     department. Oh yes...good move on calling DiabloBackup a
     "back-up player editor"... that will certainly give the correct
     impression to consumers. What a bunch of idiots. (Yes, this is a clear
     cut case of false advertising over which I had NO control.. and yes,
     I am a bit angry about the whole thing because I keep receiving mail
     from angry people asking me where the player editor is in the
     Level Master IV package... I already voiced my concerns to the company
     and they said, "Oops, sorry about that... We'll change the box."
     Doesn't look like they ever did) Sorry... just had to point the finger
     at the appropriate guilty party... :-) 

30) Holy moley!  I'm pipin' mad!  The only reason I bought Level Master IV
was so I could stop cheaters by giving my character god-like powers.  Those
people who made Level Master IV really duped me!  What can I do about it?
   - Well, now that you know the facts, you are probably as angry as I am.
     You probably wasted your money on that product, and I am still getting
     angry e-mails.  All that you can really do at this point is try to
     return the product for your money back.  Even if you succeed in
     returning it, if you are unsatisfied, I urge you to contact
     Macmillan Digital Publishing to let them know how you feel.
     The contact at Macmillan Digital Publishing is:
     Chris Gregory
     I believe the number for Macmillan Digital Publishing is:
     (317) 271-8423

 A) Gee, I really like DiabloBackup... How can I contribute to your
neverending struggle to be rich and famous?
   - Hmm... I'm glad you asked. :-)  DiabloBackup is and will always
     be freeware... However, if liked DiabloBackup, and you want to
     contribute any form of monetary donation, etc... feel free to send
     anything you deem appropriate to:
     
     Kevin Lambert
     4315 Lake Washington Blvd. NE #3106
     Kirkland, WA. 98033

     Anyone who actually does send a donation can look forward to being
     first to hear about and try any Diablo (or other game) utilities I
     release (or even don't release). THANKS!! :-)  Since being famous is
     also up there on the priority list, if anyone wants to promote
     DiabloBackup by posting it on their website, adding a link to my
     page, or doing a biographical essay on the mystery that is: Kevin
     Lambert, that would be great also. :-)

 B) Who is Kevin Lambert, and why didn't he put a huge picture of himself
in the about-box of DiabloBackup? :-)
   - I am a game programmer working for Monolith Productions Inc.
     (http://www.lith.com).  I love to play great games such as Diablo,
     and I will do anything I can do to create great games, and to make
     already great games like Diablo even more enjoyable.  And, the reason
     I didn't put my picture in the DiabloBackup about-box is because... 
     ummmm... er...uh... well, we just won't talk about that one. :-)
     (Just jokin around there...) 

 C) So writing and playing games is cool & stuff, and no offense, but
other than that, you're just a computer geek with no life then, right?
   - Actually, no. I am very competitive in many sports.  I played soccer
     for 14 years as a child, was ranked in the state of Texas in tennis
     in highschool, I snowski twice a year at Whistler (Canada) or Aspen
     (Colorado) I have competed in numerous 2-man sand volleyball
     tournaments, I have won several racquetball tournaments, I play
     "hackey-sack", I play table-tennis, I have been a member of the Texas
     all-region and all-state choirs, I presently drive a red 1995 Chevy
     Camaro (it's automatic...shaddup), I rollerblade at least 3 times a
     week, I play competition air-hockey, I compose music on the
     keyboard/piano, I was a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi social
     fraternity at the University of Texas at Austin, I have been to
     Germany, Switzerland, and Cyprus (near Greece), I go to Las Vegas
     once every two or so years, and up until just recently, I had a
     girlfriend that I had been dating for almost 2 years, and that puts
     me where I am now at the age of 24, having a blast in Seattle,
     working for the coolest game company in the world... Monolith
     Productions Inc.!!! (Not to mention that I just wrote what must be
     the longest run-on sentence in existence) :-)

 D) What's your nickname on battle.net, and how can I find you otherwise?
   - My nickname on battle.net is Hologram and I usually hang out in the
     "open technical support" channel.  I have never seen another
     Hologram on battle.net, but just in case, you may want to verify
     that I am indeed me.  I have a permanent connection to the net at
     work, and I am always running ICQ, so if I'm at work, you can
     probably ICQ me.  My ICQ nickname is Hologram, and my ICQ number is
     1916401.  My nickname on IRC is |GPFault| (yes, with the vertical
     pipes on the ends), my e-mail address is kevin@lith.com, and my
     home phone number is (206)95...er... nevermind...

 E) Geez man, do you think there is any way possible that you offer more
useless information about yourself that I could care less to know?
   - Well to be honest... yes! :-)  To see what I'm doing these days in
     game design and game programming at Monolith, check out my plan file
     at http://plans.lith.com/ (Look for Kevin Lambert)

 F) I was kidding.
   - Oh.

Thanks for reading... if you have a question that isn't on here, just 
e-mail it to me, and I'll reply (and possibly add it to the FAQ).

Ciao.
