Cactus

By: Jonathan Vasquez (fearedbliss)

Build: 2021-09-10-0900

The Cactus Sanctuary - Diablo I & II Time Traveling Videos - (Original, Not Resurrected)

Main Menu (Example)

Download

Visit the Cactus (Core) repo to download the source code for the version switcher. The Cactus Bundle however is no longer available on GitHub but can be downloaded directly from my server (uptime is not guaranteed). 7-Zip must be used to extract the archive since I'm using high compression. All releases are hashed and PGP signed with the key: 34DA 858C 1447 509E C77A D49F FB85 90B7 C4CA 5279, which can be easily found at the link below.

Download Cactus

PGP Public Key

Latest Release Hash

Latest Release Hash Signature

Description / History

Cactus started out as just a simple application that allowed you to easily and efficiently Time Travel between every version of Diablo II that ever came out, while maximizing disk space and enabling full character isolation between versions. However, even though Cactus itself still is just that, the Cactus Repository has evolved to become a centralized and historical archive, that aims to preserve every single Diablo II version that exists (Official Retail and Official Beta Releases). Cactus is a complete rewrite from scratch of my previous application called: Bliss Version Switcher. However, since Cactus is written in C#, it behaves as a native Windows application and allows it to integrate natively with the system. On the other hand, Bliss Version Switcher was written in Java and thus there were many limitations that lead to the Cactus rewrite.

This repository also includes several other utilities that I have either created or collected, which can help you play Vanilla Diablo II better. All Cactus Platforms are Vanilla by default. The only fix I made to all Platforms below 1.12 is to remove the CD requirement, since modern computers no longer have a CD drive (Blizzard already did this exact thing for 1.12+). Other than that, the only other modifications I provide are through Singling, which only contains non-gameplay modifications, and Alpaca. Both are completely opt-in.

Furthermore, if you will be playing online, you should make a copy of the Vanilla Platform and use that one to connect to Battle.net (for example, copying the 1.14d platform and calling it something like 1.14d BNET). You can use your other platforms with the Singling changes for local play.

Lastly, the cnc-ddraw video renderer is provided to improve video compatibility for all versions between 1.00 - 1.13d. Blizzard removed DirectDraw support starting with 1.14, and thus Cactus will only provide video support for versions before that.

Cactus requires a purchased copy of Diablo II (Original, Not Resurrected) from Blizzard in order to have all of the game assets stored in the MPQs. Once you have these, they will be re-used for all Cactus Platforms.

For further information, please read the documentation below for anything you are interested in exploring.

Cactus Repository

The following opt-in modifications and utilities are available in this repository:

Singling

A collection of non-gameplay modifications and fixes in order to improve the Vanilla Diablo II Single Player & LAN Experience.

To use Singling, simply copy the Singling files for the version you want to play from the 2. Singling/1. Files folder, and replace the ones for the equivalent version in your Platforms directory. To revert, use the files in 2. Singling/2. Stock instead.

Alpaca

Alpaca is a Simple Stash Extension for Diablo II: 1.09b & 1.10f that was based off Yohann Nicolas' PlugY 11.02. It has been massively refactored, stabilized, has full support for Diablo II Classic, and is fully compatible with Necrolis' Native OpenGL Diablo II Driver: D2GFEx. All previous PlugY bugs that were related to Multiplayer / LAN have also been fixed.

Alpaca's primary focus is to provide more storage. Nothing else. Therefore, for the best experience, you should combine Alpaca with Singling.

As always, when using any type of mod (or just something good to do in general), make sure to always keep backups!

Alpaca Installation (Cactus)

1. Copy all the files in the 3. Alpaca folder for the version you want to play to the equivalent version in your Platforms folder.
2. Uncheck the Last Ran box for whatever entry is selected (if any).
3. Edit the entry for your target version and change the Path to point to Alpaca.exe.
4. Start up the target platform.

Renderers

Cactus includes and promotes the cnc-ddraw video renderer for Diablo II versions 1.00 - 1.13d, which can help you run the game on newer systems with a higher window resolution (not a higher internal resolution), and the ability to use shaders to upscale the quality of the graphics in the game. Since Blizzard removed DirectDraw support in 1.14+, you'll need to find an alternative video renderer for those versions.

Please read the README-RENDERERS for further explanation on this, for information on how to set it up, or for any known technical limitations. Definitely read the Recommendations section at least, or you will most likely encounter crashes if you've never played versions before 1.14 before. Blizzard has done major changes with how video configuration works starting in 1.14.

• cnc-ddraw - This renderer reimplements the DirectDraw API for GDI, OpenGL, and Direct3D to improve compatibility with Windows XP - 10, and Wine. This renderer also supports the use of custom shaders - which will allow you to upscale the game so it looks a lot better - and even provides hotkeys (such as [Alt] + [Enter]) to switch between full screen and window mode.

License

Released under the Apache License 2.0.

Requirements

• .NET Framework 4.6.1 +

Installation Instructions (Video)

Install Cactus And Prepare MPQs

This section will help you install Cactus to the correct location and also help you fix your MPQs so that they are compatible with the older versions of Diablo II.

Note: This fix is only needed if you want to play versions 1.08 - 1.13d, if you are not planning to play those versions, you don't need to fix your MPQs.

1. Copy all of the files in the 1. Files folder into your Diablo II root folder.
2. Run the FIX_MPQS_RUN_AS_ADMIN.bat inside the MpqFixer that you copied, as Administrator.

Adding/Running A Platform

1. Run Cactus.exe
2. Click Add
3. Type in the name of the Platform you want to run. This should match a folder in the Platforms folder. (Example: If you want to run 1.09b, type 1.09b).
4. Enter the path to the executable you want to launch in your Diablo II root folder. Cactus copies all of the files from the Platforms/[NAME] folder to the Diablo II root folder, so most of your entries will have identical paths (Example: D:\Games\Diablo II\Game.exe). Do not put something that points to an executable in the Platforms folder since that will not work and will give you an Object reference not set to an instance of an object error. The executable has to be in the root of the Diablo II folder as described above.
5. Enter the Flags you want (Example: -ns)
6. Make sure Expansion is selected (Unless you are playing 1.00-1.06b or didn't purchase Lord of Destruction).
7. Click Add.
8. Select your newly added Platform and press Launch.

The game should start. If you are having video issues, please make sure you have read the README-RENDERERS and ensure that it was configured properly.

Moving Cactus To A New Computer

If you want to move all of your Platforms, Characters, and Diablo II folder to another machine, you will need to:

1. Copy your entire Diablo II folder to your new machine.
2. Edit the Entries.json file and change the Path for all of your entries so that it now has the Path on your new machine.
   • The Base Directory for all Paths need to match. The exes can be different.
     • GOOD: D:\Games\Diablo II\Game.exe and D:\Games\Diablo II\Alpaca.exe.
     • BAD: D:\Games\Diablo II\Game.exe and D:\Diablo Immortal For PC\Game.exe.
3. Open Cactus and edit the Last Ran Platform.
4. Uncheck the Last Ran box and Click Edit.
5. Now Launch whatever Platform you want.

Unchecking the Last Ran box will cause Cactus to reconfigure itself (Including registry locations).

Updating Files In The Platforms folder

If you update any files in your Platforms folder, then uncheck the Last Ran box from the corresponding platform, and run it again. This will cause Cactus to re-install the files with the new ones.

OMAHGOD! My Characters Are Gone! Cactus Deleted Them!!!

Cactus comes with built in safety features specifically designed to protect critical directories and files, which includes the save directories. Thus it is impossible for Cactus to have deleted them. Cactus also only operates within the Diablo II root directory so it also wouldn't be possible for Cactus to delete saves that are in 1.14d+'s new save directory that is in your personal folder.

Since Cactus is a Version Switcher with Full Character and Version Isolation, it will update the registry location of where the game should look for the saves. For example, if you are playing a Platform called 1.09b (Chinchilla) (The files for this Platform would logically be located under Platforms/1.09b (Chinchilla)), then Cactus will save your characters in the Saves/1.09b (Chinchilla) directory located inside your Diablo II folder. So when the game starts, your characters are properly isolated and protected. If this is the first time you launched a game with Cactus, and you previously just had a regular Diablo II installation, then it would seem as if all your characters got deleted, or magically dissapeared. However, they are simply located in the original location that your computer saved them to. If you were playing 1.14d+, they most likely are located at:

%USERPROFILE%/Saved Games/Diablo II

If you were playing 1.13d or below, they are inside the Diablo II folder itself under a folder called save.

Lastly, always remember to keep backups when running Third Party Tools or Modifications.

Cactus switches versions but I don't see the Diablo II window and there are no errors either.

If switching versions with Cactus doesn't actually launch the game but you also don't notice any errors, this could be an indication that either your Video Settings are not correct, or that you may need to run Cactus in Admin Mode. I've noticed that if I have Diablo II installed on the C:\ drive (i.e C:\Games\Diablo II), I would need to run Cactus at least once in Admin Mode for it to work properly, but if I installed Diablo II on another drive (i.e D:\Games\Diablo II), it would work fine without Admin privileges. I'm pretty sure this is due to the C:\ drive generally being a protected drive.

Another thing to note is that I observed that I only needed to run Cactus once in Admin Mode for this to "stick" and continue working even if I opened Cactus in the future without Admin rights, although I haven't tested if this persists across reboots, but it possibly may. I've also noticed that even when there was a problem, some versions would work, and some wouldn't. Specifically versions 1.00 - 1.06b worked, but 1.07 - 1.13d didn't.

Lastly, make sure that there are no zombie Diablo II processes running in the background (Task Manager), that can cause the version switcher to either not switch away or something else. I know that the new telemetry executables added to 1.14d (i.e SystemSurvey.exe and BlizzardError.exe) are not needed for the game to actually function, and can lock the process for a bit after you close the game. The Cactus platforms do not contain these files since I've deleted them, however, if you are installing from a fresh copy of Diablo II from Battle.net, it will have them.

Screenshots