Diablo

Null-modem cable: A specifictype of serial (9 or 25 pin) cablethat connects two computersthrough their serial (COM) ports.A null-modem adaptor can also beattached to a serial cable to createa null-modem cable. Due to signalstrength loss, do not use a nullmodemcable that is over 30' inlength.Spaw ning Dia bloDiablo includes the ability to “spawn” a shareware copy ofitself onto other systems for playing without the Diablo CD.Spawned copies of Diablo allow you to play multi playergames using the warrior class, including games overBattle.net. Only spawned versions of Diablo can play againsteach other; a normal installation and a spawned installationwill not “see” each other in multi player games. Note: Aspawned copy of Diablo takes up considerably more diskspace than a normal installation, as the game’s data files mustbe stored on the computer’s hard drive.Connection MethodsIt is important to note that any multi player game is limitedby the quality of the connection of all of the systems involved.Heavy network traffic, poor cabling, line noise, latency, andother environmental effects can greatly detract from thereliability and performance of a multi player game.Direct ConnectionSupports: 1-4 playersRequires: 2 or more computers connectedvia their serial ports with a null-modem cable.One player needs to select “Create Game”to start up the game. Once the game isstarted, work down the chain of computersIf a player does not automatically join, select“Retry Connection” to attempt to join thegame again.Troubleshooting: Check the cable to insure that it is a nullmodemcable, and double-check the connections. If a nullmodemadaptor is being used, make sure that no more thanone adaptor is being used. The cable needs to connect tothe serial, or COM ports, on each computer, not the parallel(printer) ports. A terminal program, such as Hyperterminalin Windows 95, can be used to confirm the connection. Makesure that there are no conflicts between the COM ports thatare being used for the null-modem connection and any otherdevices on either system.24