Racketboy

Presented by: Mozgus, Ivo, and Racketboy
New To Together Retro? Check out the introduction to the club

What’s The Deal With This “Special Weekend Edition”?

Motivated by Blizzard’s announcement of Diablo 3 (and the rather enticing gameplay video), forum regular Mozgus suggested a revival of playing Diablo 2 on Battle.net (most likely, playing with the expansion, Lord of Destruction which noticeably improves the original). Also, Blizzard recently released patch 1.12, which conveniently lets you play without the CDs (you obviously still need to have legit CD-keys!)

The idea was basically to play with other members of our community rather than with unknown people. Anyone interested in this is welcome to join channel “racketboy” on Battle.net’s US East. Other members will hopefully gather in that channel before / between games, or try directly joining games named “racketboy”, (or, if there’s need for it “racketboy1″ etc), with password “retro”.

Although anyone is obviously free to join whenever and create their “racketboy” games, without set times and dates it is relatively unlikely that many people will be online to play together - for this reason we decided to make this blog post to give the idea more notoriety, and also to suggest weekend “official” sessions, which I decided dub with a silly name to help people remember it: ORDERS (”Official” Racketboy Diablo 2 East Revival Sessions).

The Goal

The idea is to play D2+LoD from start to finish with the same party of seven players, one with each class (details: normal difficulty only, Ladder characters on Battle.net’s realm US East. Those characters are meant to only be used in the group sessions, until it is finished when you can then use them for anything else)

When To Play

I’m counting on two Sundays. I want to start on the Sunday 13th, and conclude on Sunday 20th (we might have to play a bit more to complete Act 5 on the 20th).

Starting Time of First Session

9:30 EST = 15:30 BST = 14:30 GMT

(then after finishing Act 1 on the session 1 (13th) we decide together how much time we need for a break and reconvene for Act 2;
the session 3 (20th) starts again at 9:30 EST, and we decide how much time until we reconvene for Act 4, and Act 5.
Depending on how long each Act takes us, we don’t need to be too strict in this other than everyone showing up on the STARTING TIME)

Further Details

This concept was kinda a spontaneous idea, so not all the information has been finalized for this post.  Check these forum threads for more discussion of times, teams, and other details…

• Diablo 2 Weekly Weekend Get-Together Thread
• Diablo 2 “7 Player Team” Thread

Obtaining Diablo II from Blizzard

Mozgus writes, “I suggest also mentioning that people with legit keys can register them at http://blizzard.com/store/, after registering for an account. This lists the game as legally owned and gives you access to the new digital download version of Diablo 2 and Lord of Destruction. This disc-less installer is much more modern and slick, installs much faster thanks to it not asking you to swap multiple discs during the process, and it also installs pre-patched to 1.12, which obviously will never ask you for a disc. When you register your CDkey, there will be a link that says Show Key, which actually shows a new 26 digit key, which replaces your old 16 digit CDkey.

I followed this process with Warcraft 3, Frozen Throne, StarCraft, and Brood War. All 6 games nicely fit on one DVD-R, if you remove the Direct X installers. You can always use the 300KB DX web update exe from Microsoft. Some installers will mention the DX portion is missing, but just proceed anyway.
Another tip: All my machines run Diablo 2 poorly in Direct3D mode, so run the Vid Test from the Start menu, then select DirectDraw instead. Runs much better, and looks the same aside from D3D’s “perspective” mode being enabled, which just makes me go cross-eyed anyway.”

Finding Diablo II In Retail

Even though the game has been around for a while, you should be able to find it in just about any major retailer that sells games.  This includes the likes of Wal-Mart, Target, and GameStop.  You will probably be most likely to find the Diablo II Battle Chest.

How To Play Diablo II

Instead of spending too much time trying to explain the games, check out these guides at the useful StrategyWiki

• Diablo II
• Diablo II: Lord of Destruction

Note from racketboy:  You can definitely tell when Fastbilly1 is passionate about a topic…. This time he shares his thoughts and research of an oft-overlooked component of the Nintendo Entertainment Systems, the Select Button.

Often it is shoved to the side, disregarded, or the target of outright hatred.  Many gamers do not believe it is useful and many more have never cared to think about it.  That little button, often right in the middle of the controller, called select always gets a “bad rap.”  Well being that I am currently on a NES kick I decided I would attempt to dispel some of the misguided hate toward this controller oddity.  The following is a list of games in which I have found that the select button is used (be it in the Menu or in the game).  It is not a complete list but I think it is enough to finally put to rest the statement that the button is completely useless.   Whether or not it still need’s to be on controllers apart from the NES is a whole other topic altogether.

I would like to remind everyone that this is not a definitive list and may possibly have factually inaccuracies.  If you have any comments or wish to add or correct, please comment.  This is mostly US NES games, if you have information for Japanese or European only releases I would love to hear them.   A large chunk of the information was obtained from the files hosted by the good folks at ReproductionDocs.com.  If you ever need an old manual, they are the best source for them in the world.

In-Game Use:

• A Boy and His Blob - Change Jelly Bean Types (Jelly Beans are used to transform the blob)
• A Nightmare on Elm Street - Change between Dreamwarriors (as the teenagers it is not used)
• Adventures of Lolo 1-3 - Used to start room over
• Airwolf - Decrease your speed
• Alien 3 - Select Weapon
• Alpha Mission - Select Weapon
• Amagon - To transform into Megagon (if you have the Mega-Key)
• Metroid - Selects missiles
• Batman -Pause (start cycles weapons)
• Captain American and the Avengers - Pause (start cycles through characters)
• Captain Comic - Allows you to teleport (only if you have the Magic Wand)
• Captain Skyhawk - Used in conjunction with left or right to barrel roll
• Castlevania II: Simons Quest - Hard pause (start brings up your inventory)
• Castlevania III - Menu use and to transform into a Spirit
• Caveman Games - Restarts event (only when already paused)
• Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers - Display stats
• Cobra Command - Display Subscreen
• Cobra Triangle - Activates flashing powerup
• Crystalis - Display Subscreen
• Cybernoid - Weapon select
• Darkwing Duck - Select Special Gas
• Days of Thunder - Pauses game (start button is unused)
• Dick Tracy - Get out of car and cycle weapons
• Double Dragon III - Change Weapons/Fighters
• Dr Chaos - Cycle Weapons while in the Warp Zones and Hallways
• Dragons Lair - Used on Menu and to pause
• Dynowarz - Satellite Attack (screen clearer)
• Elite - Activate Powerup
• Family Feud - Buzzes In
• Faxanadu - Displays the Item Screen
• Final Fantasy - Displays the Character Order screen
• Flight of the Intruder - When in the map, will allow you to skip waypoints
• Flying Dragon - Skip dialogue
• Friday the 13th - Select option while exploring
• Gauntlet II - Pauses the game (Start also pauses)
• Home Alone 2 - Select weapon
• Jack Nicklaus Greatest 18 holes - To check the money chart in a skins game
• Jurassic Park - Change Dart Types
• Kart Fighter - Switches buttons from punches to kicks (and vice versa)
• Kickle Cubicle - Kills stuck character and Menu Use
• Kid Icarus - Switch weapons
• Kings Knight - Used in conjunction with the reset button to enable Continue mode
• Kirby’s Adventure - Exhale enemy ability
• Legacy of the Wizard - Item select
• Maniac Mansion - Every thing
• Metal Gear - Brings up the Mode Selection menu and Menu Use
• Metroid - Activate missiles
• Mike Tyson’s Punchout/Punchout - Faster shoulder rub (recover health between rounds)
• Monopoly - Bring up Main Menu (start pauses)
• M.U.L.E. - Pauses Game
• NFL Football - Scrolls down lists
• Nightshade - Brings up Icon Menu
• Operation Wolf - Speed of cursor (in controller mode)
• PinBot - Bumps the cabinet to the right
• Puzzle - Toggles Music and Helpfile
• Pyramid - Toggles Music
• Rygar - Pauses Game (start brings up menu)
• Shadowgate - Displays hints
• Shingen the Ruler - Change parameters for the condition of the territory
• Solstice - Brings up select menu
• Strider - Changes “tricks”
• Super Glove Ball - Hold Down to clear a wall.  Hit to fire bullets
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Switch weapons
• Tetris (Nintendo) - Hides next block
• The Addams Family - To control Thing
• The Black Bass - Take the fish off the hook
• The Blue Marlin - To see Menu
• The Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout - Pauses the game (start also pauses)
• The Flintstones - Use special items
• The Goonies II - Pauses the game (start switches to the auxiliary scene)
• The Legend of Zelda - Menu use and hard pause (start brought up the item screen)
• The Mafat Conspiracy - Menu use and to skip dialogues
• The Punisher - Select functions
• The Simpsons: Bart vs the Space Mutants - Switch items
• The Simpsons: Bart vs the World - Exit Minigame
• Wayne Gretzky Hockey - Menu use and to change players
• Wizard and Warriors - Use items or magic
• Wolverine - Extend Claws and/or Call Havoc
• Wrath of the Black Manta - Display Ninpo attacks
• Zen Intergalactic Ninja - Use health item

Menu Use:

• 1942
• 3d World Runner - Enable 3d mode
• 8 Eyes
• Adventures of Tom Sawyer
• Bad Dudes
• Balloon Fight
• Bases Loaded 1-4
• Battletoads
• Burgertime
• Castlevania
• Championship Rally - Brings up Password Menu
• Contra
• Double Dragon
• Dr Mario
• Duck Hunt
• Excitebike
• Ghost N Goblins
• Gradius
• Golf
• Gyromite
• Heavy Barrel
• Hook
• Ice Climber
• Ice Hockey
• KungFu
• Mach Rider
• Marble Madness
• Mario Bros.
• Mikey Mousecapades - Used with Dpad for level select
• Mission Impossible
• Pictionary
• P.O.W.
• Pro Wrestling
• Qix
• Rad Racer - Enable 3d Mode
• Raid on Bungeling Bay
• RBI Baseball
• Renegade
• Ring King
• Robocop
• Rolling Thunder
• Stealth ATF
• Super Mario Bros
• Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt
• Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt/World Class Track Meet
• Super Mario Bros 3
• Tetris (Tengen)
• Tetris 2
• The Legend of Zelda II: Adventures of Link
• The New Zealand Story
• Thundercade
• Track and Field
• Volleyball
• WrestleMania: Steel Cage Challenge - Used to go to Next Menu
• Xevious
• Yoshi
• Zombie Nation - Select Difficulty (start actually starts the game)

Just because we have a DS doesn’t mean we don’t want to play some older portable Nintendo games.  While we could play the original Gameboy cartridges on our Gameboy Advances, the Nintendo DS doesn’t afford us that luxury.  However, with a little emulation power, we can resolve that issue and make your portable gaming life even better.

What Is The Best Gameboy/Gameboy Color Emulator?

While GNUboy DS (aka DS_GBC / DSBoy) was the first Gameboy emulator for the DS that had sound support (there was also the GBA-based Gooba Color), Lameboy quickly rose to victory as the superior emulator for the classic Nintendo portables.   Lameboy is constantly being updated (last update as of this writing was just a few months ago) and has excellent compatibility, sound emulation, and save state support that its competition can not boast of.    There is still some slight room for improvement, but I think you will be pleased by how polished Lameboy actually is. Along with nesDS, it is on the top of the Nintendo DS Emulation family.

Easy Installation

After some of my frustrating experiences getting some of my GP2X emulators to run, I was very happy with the simplicity of the Lameboy installation. Assuming your homebrew cart doesn’t require patching, all you do is download the executable file and put it in a folder with some Gameboy ROMs. (Actually, you don’t need folders, and your ROMs can be elsewhere, but folders usually help keep things organized)

For my CycloDS Evolution cartridge, I just copied over a folder (named “GB”) that had the executable and my ROMs on to MicroSD card, popped it in my DS Lite, and I was good to go. No configuration is required to get things up and running.  If you have an older homebrew solution, you may need to patch the executable before use.
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Video Tour of Lameboy

To get a better feel for how Lameboy handles, I’ve recorded a quick video that walks through some of the menus and shows a few games in action.

Lameboy’s Best Features

• High compatibility
• Full speed for most games
• Support for large games greater than 2 MB in size
• Zipped ROM support for games smaller than 2 MB
• “Fast Mode” with L-trigger
• Auto save on exit to menu
• Pseudo bilinear upscaling mode
• Super Game Boy borders and coloring support
• Rumble emulation with slot 2 devices with rumble
• Green color scheme option emulating original Game Boy color palette (green to very light green)
• Configurable X/Y Keys
• Save states

Complaints & Limitations

• I can’t seem to exit out of Lameboy and go back to my CycloDS menu (like I can with regular games)
• Some games like Shantae have some minor audio processing issues (see video above for Shantae example)
• Would be cool to have a rewind feature like nesds

Download

• The Official Lameboy Site

Note: Special thanks to Ivo for helping me explore all of the emulators for the DS — you should see more of these posts from us in the future.