Online Multiplay Complete guide getting The Dark running (originally created by Brzelius, here adapted for the latest version)  Print this page To be able to play The Dark from Harddisk (HD) you neither have to have Diablo nor Hellfire installed. If you prefer to use Diablo or Hellfire parallel to The Dark, you don't have to de-install them, but you still need all the files (see below) in your The Dark-folder if you want to play from HD; if you however want to play from CD (e.g. small HD), just download HLFDRKD51.zip, extract it to your Hellfire directory and start the HLFDRK51.exe. Should you be using other Mods, you may have to copy the original patch_rt.mpq that is created when patching your Diablo version (e.g. to 1.09) to your The Dark-folder and then install the Mod that changes the patch_rt.mpq, otherwise you could get errors indicating the Hellfrui.dll be corrupted. Well, for the cleanest way, just follow this step-by-step guide: 1. Create the folder where you want your "The Dark" copy to be (example: "c:\program files\the dark") 2. Copy the following file from your original Diablo CD to your "The Dark" folder:    - DIABDAT.MPG (505.373 Kb) 3. Copy the following files from your original Hellfire CD to your "The Dark" folder:    - hellfire.mpq (63.968 Kb)    - hfvoice.mpq (36.859 Kb)    - hfmonk.mpq (36.776 Kb)    - hfmusic.mpq (33.574 Kb)    - Standard.snp (88 Kb)    - Smackw32.dll (65 Kb) 4. Download HLFDRKD51.zip (986 Kb) from the download section of this site. 5. Extract from the zip file into your "The Dark" folder:    - HLFDRK51.exe (839 Kb)    - TD50.MPQ (824 Kb)    - THEDARKUI.DLL (240 Kb) 6. Download these files and copy them to your "The Dark" folder    - STORM.DLL (135 Kb) modified to support playing from HD Now The Dark will run without any CD necessary. Optionally, if you want the intro of The Dark to be expanded with sound, you can 7. Create the subdirectory GENDATA in your "The Dark" folder (example: "c:\program files\the dark\gendata") 8. Download DOOM.ZIP (1.665 Kb) from the download section. 9. Extract from this zip file into the GENDATA folder:    - DOOM.SMK (1.671 Kb) You can now start the game by executing the HLFDRK51.EXE (or a link to it) and create and play single player (SP) characters or multi player (MP) characters. In SP, you get various quests and nice quest rewards for solving them, but you will never be able to play MP with a single player char. In MP, you can play via IPX in your local area network (LAN) with a maximum of 4 players per game, via Modem with another player or via direct cable connection with another player or *alone*. Yes, you can just create a MP char, chose direct cable connection, create a new game and play alone. This way you could bring your MP char to a decent level before playing "real" MP or you can continue developping your char even if you temporarily do not have the possibility to play with others. You do not have to download the Hellfire 1.01 patch, since it only - patches the hellfire.exe (which we don't need to play The Dark) - patches the Hellfrui.dll (which we also don't need to play) - copies some .txt-files to your hellfire directory (that you don't need at all). To play The Dark via Internet and really get in touch with the community, you will have to use Kali, a program that makes games believe you are playing on IPX network while really playing over the TCP/IP protocol. Just surf to www.kali.net, download the latest version and register. Free registrations are available, but with limitations (such as not being able to create your own games, only join those of others). Install Kali, start the program and enter your registration codes and any information it requires. Now start Kali and on the left (under Kali II Resources) right-click on "Game Resources". in the pop-up menu, select "Add custom game". Now enter what is needed (game name and path to the program HLFDRK51.exe) and leave the other settings alone. The game name should be "The Dark 5.1", since this is established standard and if you name it e.g. "The Dark" instead, everyone wanting to join your games will always have to configure their game name, since Kali complains if it's not exactly the same. Then switch to the tab "Game Defaults", set Max Players to 4 and check "Leave open for others to join after game starts". Now click "OK". You may have to correct some of these settings every time you start Kali new and launch the first game, partially because of Kali adopting "wrong" settings from games you join. Now you can either launch a game yourself by right-clicking the entry you just created ("The Dark 5.1") in the Game Resources and selecting "Launch A Game" or by clicking on Games in the menu bar and clicking "Launch A Game" there in the pull-down menu and then selecting "The Dark 5.1". A Windows opens ("The Dark 5.1"> the game box) where other players are supposed to join before starting the game. Under "Launch" (in the menu bar) > "Configuration" you should write a description into the field "Comment" to let others know where or how you want to play (e.g. "New characters" or "Nightmare Catacombs"). You can now wait for some people to gather if you don't want to start alone or instantly launch the game and play till someone joins it. To start it, you can click the shortcut with the green round and white arrow, select "Launch > Start the game" or press Ctrl+S. Now The Dark starts; you just select Multiplayer, chose your Hero or create a new one, select Local Area Network (IPX) and create a new game. Joining an open game works by selecting "Game Lobbies" in Kali and looking for an open "The Dark 5.1" game. Normally one should find a description of the difficulty (and perhaps area) the game creator wants to play in under, well, "Description" (the leftmost row in the Game Lobby). If you find one you want to join, just doubleclick it; this will either open the so-called "game box" where you can chat with the players that are already there until the creator starts the game or directly launch The Dark if the crusade against evil is already in progress. The game the creator opened should now be selectable in the Multiplayer > LAN (IPX) menu where you can join it... and enjoy the experience :-) Have fun, Brzelius