HIVE

Maybe you will want to open a thread in our Computer Tech sub-forum, regarding the ups and downs of your PC?

7-zip (for example) includes a way to calculate the CRC-32, SHA-1 and SHA-256 for any file. It has already been mentioned many times on THW.
- https://www.7-zip.org/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SHA-1

I want to compare our files, and document any relevant change in the downloads.

My most recent downloads (excluding any DirectX or .app folder) are

for RoC en-US
- Installer.exe
SHA1: 842CD967E4137F6E2C3D0E484AEC569BE5A0CA6A
- Nom: Installer Tome.mpq
SHA1: 2B0B0276FBC0D606A5388CAC92C3C91FE93BEE6E
(all downloaded on 09/09/2020)

... and for TFT en-US:
- Nom: Installer.exe
SHA1: 4B2D6F9B26756C45219876C1C3F4C250376BEB3E
- Nom: Installer Tome.mpq
SHA1: FCBBB0736A0179D278A730007055BB3479CE610F
(all downloaded on 09/10/2020)

It is imho very important to install the digital version in a different folder than the default WC3 one. Also, it is important to not mix CD-ROM and download versions, as it may be a source of errors and weirdness (especially for Diablo 2, or so it seems).

For documentation, I am adding the SHA-1 for the downloaders:
- Downloader_Warcraft3_Reign_of_Chaos_enUS.exe
SHA1: A1FFD9492327C0761C8FC01A42402D0FB52CDABF
(downloaded on 09/09/2020)

- Downloader_Warcraft3_The_Frozen_Throne_enUS.exe
SHA1: 36C1DF2AC95127108806CD392969CC60970D092F
(downloaded on 09/09/2020)

Does everything match yours?

OK I figured out how to do the checksum, but is there any way to copy/paste the SHA1 string here? I really don't want to have to sit & type it out. xD

However my TFT one starts with "FAB..." so already it doesn't look the same as yours. (dl'ed 2020.09.08)

hold on I was doing the wrong one... TFT Installer Tome.mpq SHA1 looks to be the same as yours (upon cursory examination)

My Downloader (TFT) appears very different from yours, though

Regarding bringing back the old in-game menus, or anything else not related to 1.27a, is not the subject at hand.

It would be imho both fantastic and *fantasmatic* (hehe...) if Blizzard was to release installers for all the old versions of every single patch ranging from 1.28.0 to 1.32.8. But I personally would focus on only a few selected ones. This is to prevent fragmentation of the modding community as much as possible. The 'neutral' criteria could be OS and/or hardware compatibility, because it is gaming/modding agnostic as far as features and bugs go.

One of the problems with the current illegal uploads of backup installed files is, they tend to fragment the community because of their very existence. At some point, they were meant as a band-aid when 1.30.0 shipped, because Blizzard dropped MPQ for CASC, and I approved of this, because at that time modders were left without any tool to mod 1.30.0. But dammit this was several years ago, and band-aids should not last forever...

As for the *why* question, I have my own semi-educated theories. But first things first, and I may have good news for you.

So it seems that the downloaders may be updated quite often.

Because you said that your TFT Installer Tome.mpq SHA1 looks to be the same as mine because the digests match, I can now confirm this is the TFT 1.27a installer. I know, because I have just uninstalled my previously installed 1.27a version, and I have reinstalled RoC+TFT from scratch by using the files downloaded yesterday and the day before, for which I have provided you the digests for comparison purposes.

So please uninstall everything and try again. Both RoC and TFT US for PC should be 1.27.0.52240.

This also means that there is a full TFT 1.26a US digital download version ready somewhere on their servers, because it is a copy your downloader managed to get (very unexpectedly). Maybe Blizzard is preparing a nice surprise for us all?

For the copy-pasting thing, make sure the window has the focus by clicking on any blank space. Then use Ctrl+A to select all the text, Ctrl+C to copy it to the clipboard and Ctrl+V to copy said contents of the clipboard.

... but I think your issue with TFT magically fixed itself (thanks to Blizzard) by re-downloading the file(s). Therefore, no need to call any repairmen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGeT5cutXgU
;D

Hm-kay...

So to be clear "uninstall everything & try again": do you mean all the way back to the website (i.e. delete everything I've installed & downloaded & start from the top)? Or just delete the installation, using the installer I downloaded again?

Also, while I'm pretty sure this shouldn't matter I have to ask because again, not-entirely-savvy... I installed this into a separate folder from any other Wc3 installation, but that subfolder was among a number of *other* subfolders with Wc3 installations on them. It wouldn't be drawing any information from them to mess this process up, would it? (i.e. how separate of an installation do I need to make this; entirely separate drive?)

By "uninstall everything & try again", I meant uninstall your digital version of WC3 v1.27a by using Add/Remove Programs. If you do not do that, the next time you will run the installer, it will suggest you to play the game, and not to reinstall over it. Please note that you can also uninstall WC3 by using the TFT installer itself, but before that please read below.

I personally do not have *any* other version of the game installed on my Windows 10 PC, as I had uninstalled v1.31.1 previously. Should I need to downgrade v1.27a digital, I will look into third-party downgraders (soon to be evaluated)

Having many other versions of WC3 in other separate folders may lead to trouble, because the game fetches some information from the Registry. Because the official installer creates/updates said registry keys, I am therefore guessing v1.27a digital will have temporarily taken over most of those other versions that were already in other sub-folders.

imho the safest way to use several versions of the game on the same computer, is to create as many Virtual Machines (and virtual OSes) as needed. For the record, Blizzard has never supported more than one installed folder for the game for each computer, except when the other folder is for the PTR version.

So, have you successfully installed v1.27a digital by now?

Also, was your first download of TFT digital really a 1.26a version, or was it all because of how you have several folders with whatever version of WC3 in them (which is an unsupported way to set up things), and it all made things confusing?

Your feedback is still needed.

I have the intention to push for official full *100% legal* downloadable standalone installer versions of several previous game versions of WC3, all downloadable officially and legally from Blizzard's servers, to be officially made available by them.

Regarding your unsupported multiversion setup of the game, maybe I see something universal on the horizon.

I apologize for my silence; I have not been ignoring you, but I have been (as I often am) overcome by a great number of other things (both online & IRL) that demand my attention. I'll admit, I'm not technically in need of v1.27 at this very minute, but I want to try & support your noble goals.

I have kept a tab open to remind me to get back to you & try your suggestions; however, in the meantime, don't wait for me to begin your push. I can certainly find time to make a post of support when you do. : )

Thanks

For now, my greatest task is to make it clear to some that I want them to download and store any digital download version of whatever interests them from this Legacy Games download service, *and* to thank Blizzard for this. I do not want Blizzard to decommission these servers because of a lack of download traffic, or because it does not bring them any worthwhile return on investment (like improving their public image etc.)

I think it is in their best interest (as well as ours) to create other full offline downloadable installer versions of WC3 in the same way v1.27a already is. For some more recent previous versions, people are currently relying on pre-installed archived versions from their HDD, uploaded illegally on unreliable hosts.

The problem is, it gives Blizzard an excuse to not offer any official, reliable, legal and trusted downloadable solution for those who want versions of WC3 ranging from 1.28.0 to 1.31.1. I think a few can be created by Blizzard, and made available thanks to the Legacy Downloader service. But it looks like some are (surprisingly) resisting the idea.

Should you want to risk losing your faith in humanity, you can visit Ralle's profile, I have opened and am still having a loooong ongoing discussion there (still haven't managed to read the posts from the last few days, not enough time myself for everything...). Be careful, if you decide to post a comment there, then your alert'ometer may explode.
X|

As long as none of any of these official downloaders for any version of the game ranging from 1.28.0 to 1.31.1 exist, it is imho as if Blizzard refuses to acknowledge the existence of any modern WC3 modding community imho.

Hm. So how do we "thank Blizzard" for this? I mean I can't send an e-mail to Activision's CEO, right?

Who is resistant to that idea??

You will discover it by reading the discussion. And after that, you may be in dire need of professional help.
XD

It must be a collective effort, and THW as a modding site must stand up and take action. A pro-Blizzard move to acknowledge in a positive way the existence and availability of those digital versions, will encourage Blizzard to create more, especially the ones the gaming/modding WC3 community needs the most.

A documentation project which goal is the preservation of several key versions of Blizzard's IP, can help Blizzard decide to create at least one of the versions the community needs the most. Unfortunately, no such thing exists imho. What exists and is pinned is not motivated by historical / research / preservation motives, nor aimed at scholars and gaming historians imho. Sigh!...