Estoniatldr: Best tcp/ip load time possible is 8.3 seconds and it can be reached consistently every time by not using more than 11 squares of items.
Since our timer doesn't pause during TCP/IP loads I've been recently looking into how to go through it as fast as possible, because the 15 second loading times have been miserable.
Diablo 2 has a hardcoded 250 frames wait during TCP/IP loading (source PhrozenKeep). This has been fixed with mods like BaseMod that reduce the wait to 0 frames.
I don't think bypassing the 250 frames is possible, but we can eliminate other lag that happens during the load.
Menu runs at 30 fps which means 250 frames is 8.3 seconds. When you use TCP/IP with a character that has no items you can reach 8.3 seconds already super consistently. 8.3 seconds is the fastest possible load time due to hardcoded limitations.
Idea was to find a limit of items at which point it's longer than 8.3 seconds. It appears to be 11 squares. When more than 11 squares of items are used the load time goes to 10 seconds already. The more items you have the longer the load time is. It can go over 30 seconds when you fill the character up.
Doesn't matter if you fill the 11 squares in inventory/stash or belt but having a belt equipped does matter. If an item is 3 squares it doesn't seem to use up 3 squares. I think it might be related to the way Diablo stores items starting and ending square. More research is needed here.
Level, skills, stats, gold doesn't seem to impact the load time. Classic or various video settings didn't impact loading times.
8 seconds load time compared to 15 seconds gives you couple more chances each run. With 15 second load times I could maybe pull off 4-5 resets before it was too hopeless, but with the 8 second loads I felt like I could pull off 10 sometimes. Also it feels less frustrating when it goes by twice as fast.
Some TCP/IP research rambling video
There's a common black screen crash that happens. Would a run with this crash also get rejected?
Like this for example:
The General's Tan Do Li Ga is pretty common and I would like to figure out science for when it happens to drop. It can save a ton of time at boss fights.
What would be the best way to apply the slow on classes that don't have melee skills during the run. Anything better to do than just using regular attack?
Thought it might be a good idea to combine some of the classic ideas I've seen from various runners to advance them further together.
P8/Px barb definitely faster with classic, but there's potential there for Players 1 as well.
Main problem in the players 1 category is leveling to 30. I've had most success with Choking Potions and Concentrate with Savage Polearm recipe. Bender recently proved you can start getting experience in classic nightmare from level 21 already and it works really good.
One thing to pay attention to when going to nightmare at level 21 is that you might want to stock up with big potions in normal act 4 first, because you'll be too low level to buy them in nightmare. Need to be at least 26.
Current route for the barbarian with classic strategy should be something like this: Honestly I'm uncertain about normal leveling and skill strategy. Need help working this out. Some kind of hybrid Double Swing/Concentrate with double mastery might work. There are many options and they need testing.
Savage Polearm and concentrate is enough to slay normal bosses with ease. Jail/Beetleburst/Flayer Jungle/Ruined Temple leveling always works. Need to reach at least level 21 in normal, but might be worth it on the barbarian to go a little higher to handle nightmare with a higher level Savage Polearm.
Level up to 30 in nightmare Cold Plains/Stony Field using choking potions and concentrate (Savage Polearm recipe gives good enough weapon if nothing drops). I had better success with 2h weapon and conc, but with the right 1h weapons I can see double swing/frenzy working a lot better. The 1h weapons are difficult to get compared to a Savage Polearm.
Once level 30 I feel like using another respec for whirlwind is not needed. Just spec into whirlwind already as you should have polearm mastery from using the Savage Polearm. Respec once you find your crushing blow setup.
Once level 30 the same Savage Polearm is strong enough to kill Andariel for Bonesnap. Humongous Giant Axe or Goblin Toes also work well enough. Bonesnap chances from nightmare Andariel are really good, but it's still going to be an annoying part of the run if it doesn't drop fast enough.
Classic drops a ton of low sets that are super useful when combined. I even had a lot of success using Cathan ring+amulet for the 15-20 fire damage. It may seem like a low amount, but classic Whirlwind makes even 20 fire damage look good.
Build a magic find helm with the best topazes you can find. There are no socketed armors in classic so don't waste time looking for one. A lot of low sets give easy magic find. It's also worth shopping magic find gloves/boots.
Once Bonesnap/Humongous/Goblins drop from Andariel it's time to push forward. I would go all the way to Hell Diablo. In players 1 you can handle Hell Diablo at level 30 already, but if you stick to whirling through the minions on the way you'll reach at least level 40.
After killing Hell Diablo it's time to convert. First you should shop a teleport charges staff. Nightmare Drognan at the gate probably best. Unfortunately need to hover all staves since too high level.
I tried upgrading Bonesnap to a War Club (Ral, Sol, PEmerald) and it appears to be better at getting the levels from Eldritch than War Cry. Whirlwind much more mana efficient so don't need to worry about that. It does take a good amount of repairs however, but I didn't find that to be much of a problem.
I wouldn't even Whirlwind Eldritch without Shael and upgraded Bonesnap. Just respec to War Cry if you don't want to test your luck with nm Countess. Can always grab the Ral from act 5 Barbarians. Normal/Nm Hellforges may be a good idea. Even more so if you still need the perfect emerald.
Some important items to save in classic for when you convert: The General's Tan Do Li Ga Flail to apply slow against Baal. Makes the fight a lot faster and safer. Rattlecage for easy crushing blow on the mercenary. Twitchthroe for attack speed on the merc (applies CB faster with Strength) Perfect Emerald to upgrade Bonesnap to exceptional (Ral, Sol, Pemerald) War Club Bonesnap requires 125 strength
Looking forward to your classic science
Been working on Jail route for BNS sorc, but wondering if I can include classic or not. Rules here say it's banned still.
Happened to visit speedrun.com and noticed lack of fresh Diablo runs. Only one sorceress run in the past 2 months and overall less activity. Is it because of the rule changes or why have you guys been running less?
I guess I'll start with why I stopped running. It's mostly due to classic. I don't agree with the ban of it and it made me lose interest.
I was also unhappy about old runs not getting retimed. I spent a month in Jail grinding out the run. After rule changes I was able to beat it in couple days just because of in-game timer. For me the magic was gone after that.
Nothing wrong with in-game timer, but I think grandfathered runs should've been treated better.
Are you guys happy with the rule changes? Would you like to see anything changed after seeing them in action for 3 months?
Adding -ns to target line improves load times by a lot. Generally it takes 2-6 seconds after save & exit. Using -ns improves it to 1-2 seconds.
In one minute alone having -ns enabled can make the sorceress run an extra jail.
Currently only a thing for normal sorceress, but I can imagine it won't be like that for long and it will take over other categories as well.
I'm here to ask if we're cool with this, because I'm concerned about future diablo 2 records having no audio on any of them. It will be something you have to do if you're aiming for record times.
Hey!
My brother and I built a new character viewer. Here's what it looks like: https://diablo.run/indrek
It also has the ability to link to specific characters. For example here's the character from my normal sorceress pb: https://diablo.run/indrek/suckless1498
It's available for everyone and you can set it up here using the latest Diablo Interface (v0.5.2): https://diablo.run/setup
After the setup you get your own link that you can share in chat.
Let me know if you have any issues with the setup on Discord. Enjoy!
https://github.com/Zutatensuppe/DiabloInterface/releases/tag/v0.5.0
New version of Diablo Interface is here with bug fixes and stuff. I'd like to use it during my runs, but just want to make sure that it will be allowed since current rules specify version 0.4.
At first I used this town because I liked the waypoint and town exit positions, but as time went on tpscrollbot discovered act 1 generation patterns and an interesting connection in act 4. Since then it has advanced a little further and I feel like a lot more is to come.
I'm going to attempt to write down all the knowledge I have about this and hope together we can make more discoveries.
Patterns in Act 1: Act 1 starting areas have fixed exit positions all the way to Outer Cloister waypoint based on town exit and turns in Blood Moor/Cold Plains.
I believe the fastest one to be top exit town with right turn Blood Moor and right turn Cold Plains. This is the map most of my records use.
Helpful images: https://imgur.com/a/qUp6tIi » Right turn Blood Moor gives a quick entrance to Cold Plains (no bridge). » Cold Plains has to turn right for this setup to work. Luckily it seems to be the most common one. I reset if I don't get this.
Rest is always the same: » Passage always spawns as a hole in the middle. This setup is faster compared to a wall hole spawn. » Dark wood has a fast exit to Black Marsh. » Black Marsh never has a bridge in the middle. Exit spawns bottom right. » Outer Cloister waypoint is a nice short walk away from Black Marsh. » Outer Cloister waypoint always in the same position.
Confirmed Connections in other acts: » Kurast Bazaar entrance is always in the left corner. (Thanks, BloodRaven!) » Quick right corner Plains of Despair entrance seems very common, but just keep going straight if it didn't spawn there. » Plains of Despair entrance never spawns on the left side.
Connection with Outer Steppes and Arreat Plateau (Thanks, BokserKabaty!) » Quick right exit to Outer Steppes in Plains of Despair always gives top right oriented Arreat Plateau » Straight exit to Outer Steppes always gives top left oriented Arreat Plateau
Unconfirmed, but plausible » Top left and top right Arcane Sanctuary appears to be much more common than bottom Arcanes.
