Can someone help me find a beta (online) version of the old game: Diablo 1.

January 18, 2012 5:14 AM

Can someone help me find a beta (online) version of the old game: Diablo 1.

So I've re-installed Diablo 1 (a 1996 game made by Blizzard) in an emulator form on my computer and it works fine on the internet (using windows vista home edition). I've seen beta versions of the game online like the 'hell mod', which can be played online and such.

I know it's a long shot asking this question, but does anyone know how I could get a beta version?

posted by sockpim to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (5 answers total)

Probably not a good day to mention this but a torrent tracker, and all the dubious moral decisions that go along with their use, is the only place I can think of that would have this sort of thing, unless Blizzard has released their rights to Diablo 1, which I have no idea about.
posted by RolandOfEld at 5:59 AM on January 18, 2012

I don't think there was a widespread public beta of Diablo I, there usually wasn't for games in mid 90's, so I don't think you'll be able to find a beta version.

I'm curious as to why you want a copy of the beta version of a game that's been released for so many years though.
posted by atrazine at 6:02 AM on January 18, 2012

Best answer: The Hell Mod does not require the (non-public, likely unavailable) beta of Diablo. If you own the full game -- which is still sold at retail, incidentally -- you can download the mod here: http://www.moddb.com/mods/diablo-the-hell/downloads.

Can you say a bit more, OP, about why you want "beta versions" of this?
posted by ellF at 6:09 AM on January 18, 2012

Response by poster: I used to play Diablo 1 as a child and loved the game muchly. After getting so irritated with the bot spamming on the multi player (battle net) version of Diablo 2, I though I'd re-try playing D1 for some re-kindled memories and have since really enjoyed playing it online again. I've seen the beta versions of the game and read up a bit about them and they look like they have a couple of expansions added like more weapons and spells etc.

Thanks for the help and the link, I'll check it out.
posted by sockpim at 2:53 PM on January 18, 2012

I wonder if you're misunderstanding what "beta" means. A beta is a pre-release version of a game -- it's not what you can buy on the retail shelves. There were no expansions for the beta of Diablo; given when it came out, this was a game that had a small, private beta for the sole purpose of game balancing and bug squashing. Beta versions would not be playable online, would not have expansions, and would not have community support -- in fact, they would very likely have significantly less content, up to and including missing art and levels when compared to the release version. (More information on "beta" as a software term is here.)

Are you perhaps confusing "beta" with "unofficial patch" or "mods"? Those tend to be community-created content, and would very much add what you are describing.

Another idea that I think you might be pointing at -- and I apologize if this sounds like I'm being pedantic! -- is Hellfire This was an official expansion pack, but one that was created by Sierra Online rather than Blizzard. It added new classes and levels. You can read about it here.
posted by ellF at 7:17 AM on January 19, 2012