I don't know about you, but I was really surprised when Blizzard rolled out a new patch for Diablo 2 last month. The game is 16 years old, after all, and it was the first update the game had seen since 2011. But whatever the studio had in mind apparently didn't get done, because another update has just been released.
As the 1.14b name suggests, it's really more of an update to the update that fixes some relatively minor issues that slipped through the last time. According to the “Early patch notes” posted in the Diablo 3 subreddit, it makes the following changes:
- Glide Wrapper will now load properly on PC by adding -3dfx to the end of the game shortcut.
- Mercenaries will no longer become “An Evil Force”
- Fixed Mac client crash on “Save & Exit”
- Capped the frame rate to 200 to save batteries, spare system load, and prevent hot lap syndrome
- Created new German installers to fix localization issues in Act V (Will require a fresh install to fix the missing dialogue data)
“While we’d like every release to be bug free, you—our stalwart community—discovered, reported, and communicated methods to replicate the issues so we could fix them as quickly as possible,” Blizzard wrote in the Battle.net forums. “We couldn’t ask for better partners in this endeavor and we appreciate your understanding and patience as we get Diablo II into a state we’re all happy with.”
As to exactly why Blizzard is updating these old games (it did the same with the nearly-as-decrepit Warcraft 3), the only hint I've seen so far came late last year, shortly after a job listing for a “Senior Software Engineer, Classic Games" went up. “We have a history of maintaining our games for many years,” it said at the time. “Our earlier games are still played and enjoyed today, so we want to continue to maintain them for those communities.”
And it sounds like there may be more to come: “Keep offering feedback while beating back the minions of the Burning Hells,” Blizzard wrote in the patch announcement, “and we’ll keep upholding our part.”
