Skip to content

Instantly share code, notes, and snippets.

@Gcenx
Forked from whipowill/install_diablo2_on_mac.md
Created February 1, 2020 14:49
Show Gist options
  • Save Gcenx/091e245308bbf600f5a8a5d4d7554a6e to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.
Save Gcenx/091e245308bbf600f5a8a5d4d7554a6e to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.
Install Diablo II on Mac OSX

It appears that as of October 2019 Wine does not work at all on Mac OSX Catalina. This is due to an inability of the OS to run 32-bit applications. In order for this document to work you'll have to get Wine working, and for that you'll have to downgrade your machine to Mojave and you'll have to manually install Wine via the installer instead of using Homebrew. After you've successfully installed Wine you'll have to symlink the tools so they are available in your Terminal:

sudo ln -s /Applications/Wine\ Stable.app/Contents/Resources/wine/bin/wine /usr/local/bin/wine
sudo ln -s /Applications/Wine\ Stable.app/Contents/Resources/wine/bin/winecfg /usr/local/bin/winecfg
sudo ln -s /Applications/Wine\ Stable.app/Contents/Resources/wine/bin/msiexec /usr/local/bin/msiexec

Install Diablo II on Mac OSX

These are the instructions for using Terminal to install the Windows version of the game onto your machine. You can then easily copy the game multiple times for different mods you might want to play.

In this guide you'll end up with:

  • A version of the unadulterated game
  • A single-player install w/ PlugY
  • A multi-player install w/ Path of Diablo

Install Wine + Winetricks

  • Use Homebrew to install Wine and Winetricks:
$ brew install xquartz
$ brew install wine
$ brew install winetricks

Install Diablo II

  • Create a fresh Wine directory and choose WinXP:
$ WINEARCH=win32 WINEPREFIX=~/.wine_d2 winecfg
$ cd ~/.wine_d2/drive_c
$ mkdir games
$ cd games
$ open .
  • Run the EXE files to install the game:
$ WINEPREFIX=~/.wine_d2 wine d2/installer.exe
$ WINEPREFIX=~/.wine_d2 wine d2lod/installer.exe
$ WINEPREFIX=~/.wine_d2 wine patch.exe
  • If you have problems with registry entries, run regedit to find and remove them:
$ WINEPREFIX=~/.wine_d2 wine regedit
  • Install the glide wrapper for improved graphics (use the latest, it doesn't have to match your D2 version):
$ cd ~/.wine_d2/drive_c/games/diablo\ ii
$ WINEPREFIX=~/.wine_d2 wine glide-init.exe

- Switch to English
- Turn off all settings options except "desktop resolution"
- Turn off all rendering options except "no gamma"
- Turn off all extensions options except "MGL_EXT_swap_control" (this prevents mouse lag)
  • Make an alias to run the game from Terminal w/ a simple command:
$ vim .bashrc
> alias d2="cd ~/.wine_d2/drive_c/games/diablo\ ii && WINEPREFIX=~/.wine_d2 wine game.exe -w -3dfx -nofixaspect"
  • Reload your Terminal and play the game:
$ d2

Install PlugY

  • Copy your base D2 install:
$ ditto ~/.wine_d2 ~/.wine_d2plugy
  • Download PlugY and run the install:
$ cd ~/.wine_d2plugy/drive_c/games
$ open .
$ WINEPREFIX=~/.wine_d2plugy wine plugy.exe
  • Make an alias to run the game from Terminal w/ a simple command:
$ vim .bashrc
> alias d2plugy="cd ~/.wine_d2plugy/drive_c/games/diablo\ ii/mod\ plugy && WINEPREFIX=~/.wine_d2plugy wine plugy.exe -w -3dfx -nofixaspect -direct -txt"
  • Reload your Terminal and play the game:
$ d2plugy

Install Path of Diablo

  • Copy your base D2 install:
$ ditto ~/.wine_d2 ~/.wine_d2pod
  • Install dotnet45:
$ WINEPREFIX=~/.wine_d2pod winetricks dotnet45
$ cd ~/.wine_d2pod/drive_c/games
$ open .
$ WINEPREFIX=~/.wine_d2pod wine msiexec /i pod.msi
  • Make an alias to run the game from Terminal w/ a simple command:
$ vim .bashrc
> alias d2pod="cd ~/.wine_d2pod/drive_c/games/diablo\ ii/path\ of\ diablo && WINEPREFIX=~/.wine_d2pod wine path\ of\ diablo\ launcher.exe"
  • Reload your Terminal and play the game:
$ d2pod
Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment