Impossible; chickens, camels, bats, ect are client-side only and therefor interaction with the latter will have no impact on gameplay as the server is not aware of such objects.so if you chase the chicken out from act 1 in hell to the burial grounds and kill it via killing blood raven it will drop the charm that way.
There is no correlation between the location of the portal and monster experience; the reason it's "No Name" is due to a bug caused by the portal being spawned on significant game boundary that exists between the town and the field (the portal is offset into an invalid region)For a better cow moo expirience it is bette to try and make the No name level. You do this bye making the cow portal on the edge of the gate where blood moor and the camp connect. If you get the portal exactly on the line you will make the No name level and the cows reward much more expirience and I belive theres more of them.
Utter fluff.Lots of people insist that making the Cow portal either next to Akara or next to the Stash yields the most cows. They even get violent about it if you make it somewhere else.
It does nothing, nada, zip. The affects of triggering the gem are contained purely within the gem's graphical display state and thus have no consequence on the game whatsoever.It's "working as intended," they say. It's featured on the official Diablo III website. It's settled itself cozily between the chat and game list areas in Diablo II's GUI for nearly a decade. But what does it do?
The lack of a known purpose has led to, among some, a religious fanaticism for a number of things:
- Getting the Perfect Gem Activated state improves gem drops.
- Getting the Perfect Gem Activated state improves chances of finding a Gem Shrine.
- Activating the Mooooo! state increases the number of Hell Bovines or the drops of monsters in the Secret Cow Level.
- Garners better drops from bosses when the Perfect Gem Activated state occurs.
Although I will continue to keep my eye out for any anomalies that may arise in relation to the gem
--
In regards to MF, noone can really say for certain as even though we have a copy of the game server built into the client which is for the most part a carbon copy of those used on Battle.net, there's no way to know what differences there could be on the Battle.net versions (although it does provide insight to contraints).
So yes, all those wild claims for increasing your item chances cannot be proved one way or the other.
One thing is certain though; after 100% MF, significant diminishing returns kicks in.
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Firstly I'd like to commend you Kevin on creating this fantastic website; I know you'll be reading this.
As for me, I've been a sporadic Battle.net user since 1998 and a Diablo II player since about 2001. I've had a persistant affinity with Diablo -- it's great game -- and one of few that has kept my interest over the years and will do so into the near forseeable future.
In my parallel life I work as a system's programmer of which often manifests itself in the game's I play; if you've ever used the BnetDiagTool, D2Guard, or WC3Admin then you know who to thank.
Some day I'll have a grand surprise for all you Diablo II faithfuls ... one day.
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In regards to your specific issue, the bulk of the file is static except for the stats section and the items. The stats section is very straight-forward to parse; each entry begins with a 9-bit identifier followed by the value (of which's length can be gleamed from d2_patch.mpq/global/excel/ItemStatCost.txt)
Below is taken from a project of mine that you may find helpful.
/* * D2SDecode.cpp * ============= * Version: 1.0 * Author: Matt.J * * * Description: * Provides an interface for dealing with Diablo II save-files (.D2S) * * *********************************************************************************************************************/ #include "D2SDecode.h" using namespace D2S; ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // Internal Functions ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Dword STDCALL ReadBits(Void* pStream, Dword dwOffset, Dword dwSize); /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // // General Routines // /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Void FASTCALL D2S::Decode(Game::Player* pPlayer, Byte* pD2S) { Dword dwOffset = 0; Dword dwStatId; Dword dwStatVal; // Save class. pPlayer->Character.wClass = ((D2SBase*) pD2S)->Class; pPlayer->Character.wLevel = ((D2SBase*) pD2S)->Level; // Traverse to the start of player stats. pD2S += sizeof(D2SBase); pD2S += ((D2SQuest*) pD2S)->wSize; pD2S += sizeof(D2SWaypoints); pD2S += ((D2SNPC*) pD2S)->wSize; pD2S += 2; // Skip 'gf' // Reset total stat count. pPlayer->Character.wStatsUsed = 0; // Decode stats and store in the given Player. while((dwStatId = ReadBits(pD2S, dwOffset, 9)) != 511) { // Read the stat value. dwStatVal = ReadBits(pD2S, (dwOffset += 9), SIT[dwStatId].Size); dwOffset += SIT[dwStatId].Size; // Adjust for Diablo II's bullshit. dwStatVal = (SIT[dwStatId].Div ? (dwStatVal / SIT[dwStatId].Div) : dwStatVal); // Save. switch(dwStatId) { case 0: pPlayer->Character.wStr = (Word) dwStatVal; break; case 1: pPlayer->Character.wNrg = (Word) dwStatVal; break; case 2: pPlayer->Character.wDex = (Word) dwStatVal; break; case 3: pPlayer->Character.wVit = (Word) dwStatVal; break; case 4: pPlayer->Character.wStats = (Word) dwStatVal; break; case 5: pPlayer->Character.wSkills = (Word) dwStatVal; break; case 6: pPlayer->Character.dwCurLife = dwStatVal; break; case 7: pPlayer->Character.dwMaxLife = dwStatVal; break; case 8: pPlayer->Character.dwCurMana = dwStatVal; break; case 9: pPlayer->Character.dwMaxMana = dwStatVal; break; } // Total stat counter. if(dwStatId < 4) pPlayer->Character.wStatsUsed += ((Word) dwStatVal); } dwOffset += 9; // Traverse to skills, stats assumed to be padded to the next byte. pD2S += (dwOffset / 8) + ((dwOffset % 8) ? 1 : 0); // Verify header integrity. if(((D2SSkills*) pD2S)->strTag[0] != 'i' || ((D2SSkills*) pD2S)->strTag[1] != 'f') { // ERROR: Out("[ERROR] Failed to find 'if' header."); return; } // Count total skill points used. pPlayer->Character.wSkillsUsed = 0; pPlayer->Character.wHighestSkill = 0; for(Int i = 0; i < 30; i++) { pPlayer->Character.wSkillsUsed += ((D2SSkills*) pD2S)->Level[i]; pPlayer->Character.wHighestSkill = (((D2SSkills*) pD2S)->Level[i] > pPlayer->Character.wHighestSkill ? ((D2SSkills*) pD2S)->Level[i] : pPlayer->Character.wHighestSkill); } // Offset based on class. dwOffset = (BST[pPlayer->Character.wClass].Str + BST[pPlayer->Character.wClass].Dex + BST[pPlayer->Character.wClass].Vit + BST[pPlayer->Character.wClass].Nrg); pPlayer->Character.wStatsUsed = (Word) (pPlayer->Character.wStatsUsed > dwOffset ? (pPlayer->Character.wStatsUsed - dwOffset) : 0); } /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // // Helper Functions // /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// NAKED Dword STDCALL ReadBits(Void* pStream, Dword dwOffset, Dword dwSize) { __asm { // PROLOGUE: push ebx // Calculate the bytewise offset, and remainder. mov eax, [esp+8] mov edx, [esp+12] mov ecx, 7 and ecx, edx shr edx, 3 // Read in the containing dword. mov ebx, [eax + edx] // Compensate for the offset. shr ebx, cl // Generate a mask for the significant bits of the desired sequence. mov ecx, [esp+16] mov eax, 1 shl eax, cl sub eax, 1 // Extract the result. and eax, ebx // EPILOGUE: pop ebx ret 12 } }/* * D2SDecode.h * =========== * Version: 1.0 * Author: Matt.J * * * Description: * D2SDecode module interface. * * *********************************************************************************************************************/ #ifndef D2SDECODE_H #define D2SDECODE_H #include "Master.h" ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // D2SDecode Module ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// namespace D2S { ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // D2S Structures ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// struct D2SBase { Dword dwTag; /* 0x55AA55AA */ Dword dwVersion; Dword dwSize; Dword dwCRC; Dword dwWeaponSet; Char strName[16]; Byte Type; Byte Title; Word wUnknown1; Byte Class; Word wUnknown2; Byte Level; Dword dwUnknown3; Dword dwTimeStamp; Dword dwUnknown4; Dword dwHotkey[16]; Dword dwLeftSkill1; Dword dwRightSkill1; Dword dwLeftSkill2; Dword dwRightSkill2; Byte Outfit[16]; Byte Colors[16]; Byte NTown; Byte MTown; Byte HTown; Dword dwMapSeed; Word wUnknown5; Byte bDeadMerc; Byte Unknown6; Dword dwMercSeed; Word wMercName; Word wMercClass; Dword dwMercExp; Byte Unknown[0x90]; }; struct D2SQuest { Char strTag[4]; /* Woo! */ Dword dwActs; Word wSize; }; struct D2SWaypoints { Char strTag[2]; /* WS */ Byte Unknown[6]; Dword dwData[3*6]; }; struct D2SNPC { Char strTag[2]; /* w4 */ Word wSize; }; struct D2SSkills { Char strTag[2]; /* if */ Byte Level[30]; }; struct D2SItems { Char strTag[2]; /* JM */ Word wItems; }; ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // Stat Information Table ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// CONST struct { Byte Size; Word Div; Char* pstrName; } SIT[] = { 10, 0, "Str", 10, 0, "Nrg", 10, 0, "Dex", 10, 0, "Vit", 10, 0, "Stat Points", 8, 0, "Skill Points", 21, 256, "CurLife", 21, 256, "MaxLife", 21, 256, "CurMana", 21, 256, "MaxMana", 21, 256, "CurStamina", 21, 256, "MaxStamina", 7, 0, "Level", 32, 0, "Experience", 25, 0, "Invo Gold", 25, 0, "Stash Gold", }; ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // Base Stat Table ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// CONST struct _BST { Char* pstrClass; Byte Str; Byte Dex; Byte Vit; Byte Nrg; Byte Life; Byte Mana; Byte LifePerLvl; Byte ManaPerLvl; Byte LifePerVit; Byte ManaPerNrg; } BST[] = { /* Ama */ "Amazon", 20, 25, 20, 15, 50, 15, 8, 6, 12, 6, /* Sor */ "Sorceress", 10, 25, 10, 35, 40, 35, 4, 8, 8, 8, /* Nec */ "Necromancer", 15, 25, 15, 25, 45, 25, 6, 8, 8, 8, /* Pal */ "Paladin", 25, 20, 25, 15, 55, 15, 8, 6, 12, 6, /* Bar */ "Barbarian", 30, 20, 25, 10, 55, 10, 8, 2, 16, 4, /* Dru */ "Druid", 15, 20, 25, 20, 55, 20, 6, 8, 8, 8, /* Ass */ "Assassin", 20, 20, 20, 25, 50, 25, 8, 6, 12, 7, }; ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // Exposed Routines ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// EXTERN Void FASTCALL Decode(Game::Player* pPlayer, Byte* pD2S); } #endif0
I think the saddest part of all is the motivation these people have for using Linux; frankly, in most cases it just seems like a vain attempt to be perceived as technically adapt by their peers which is derived from their ignorance about computers in general, lending to their perception that undertaking a convoluted (relative to an average user) task to render the same results somehow promotes them in the IT foodchain.
Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:
Exhibit C:
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I think the saddest part of all is the motivation these people have for using Linux; frankly, in most cases it just seems like a vain attempt to be perceived as technically adapt by their peers which is derived from their ignorance about computers in general, lending to their perception that undertaking a convoluted (relative to an average user) task to render the same results somehow promotes them in the IT foodchain.
Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:
Exhibit C:
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