I'm drowning in a sea, her name be ATMA...HELP!

[diablo loves donutz]

I'm drowning in a sea, her name be ATMA...HELP!

Ok, well..,cut the chit chat, I'm currently enrolled at the ATMA crash coarse...I NEED HELP. Ok let me put it do everyone as simple as I can. I have never used ATMA, nor knew what it ever did or how to use it. Dark sword was able to explain stuff to me, but I'm still really lost and I'd really appreciate if someone could help as well. Unforunately, the FAQ and guide on the ATMA website wasn't designed for newcomers and it's very complicated. Her are some basic questions that are in my head.

Uhhhh what is this program designed to do?

Where do I go to do things? I just love FAQ's and explanations that go step by step, yet my comp loves to not follow with those steps

How do I open/save or anything of the sort with my D2 chars? I'm getting a little frustrated that I haven't even seen my D2 screen yet, and that I have no clue what to do.

How in the world does all this organsization work?

These are just a few of the millions of questions I have. If anyone has any help to give, what so ever, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks again guys.

 

[Dark Sword]

i'll answere question 1

Help you keep items so if you find a set of Eth Titan's on you Sorc you can move the item on to your LA/CS zon.

To open just do what i told you and it auto-saves when you close the char window.

 

[FrostBurn]

Alright, let me see if I can do a step by step to help you.

First, click on the ATMA icon to open the program. You will reach a 'Windows-looking' screen. The designer, Doc, made it like that for easier use.

On the top left you will see a row of commands. The first one is File. Click on that, and you will see a list of Load ____ file. We are only concerned with the Load (.d2s) file and the Load (.d2x) file.

The Load (.d2s) file is to open up your char file. I'll call your barb Baba. So, you click on Load (.d2s) file and a small window opens up. Go to the directory which contains your char save files. If you installed D2 by the default path, you char save file will be in the save folder of the Diablo 2 folder. In the save folder, you will find Baba.d2s. All files with the .d2s extension are the char save files (the one with your inventory, gear, stash, stats, etc).

Double-click on Baba.d2s, and a screen will open with Baba's stuff, just like when you're in-game. Now, moving your pointer to any item will highlight the specifics of that item. To move items, click on an item and drag it along (i.e. click and hold). Note: do not leave items in the 'buffer section'! If you leave it there, that item will disappear on you. That's the basics on loading and using your .d2s file.

The Load (.d2x) file is to open up your ATMA stash. Files with the .d2x extension are ATMA stashes. Since you only just downloaded it, you have none at present. You need to create a new stash. To do that, click on Utility in the top left hand corner, and click on New Stash. Try to name stashes in an organised way. Also, set the path where you want the stash to be saved. By default, it saves to your ATMA folder.

For example, I prefer to set the path to My Documents. Basically, what I've done is create a main folder called ATMA Stash in My Documents, and in the main folder I have subfolders e.g. Amulets folder, Gems folder, Uniques folder, etc. Under Uniques folder, I have a Weapons stash, Armour stash, Helm stash, Belt stash, etc.

So, if you want to store Metalgrid, create a stash called Amulets, set the save path to where you want it to be (e.g. in ATMA Stash) and then click on ok. A small window opens, and this is your Amulets stash. If Baba has an Angelic Wings ammy to stash, you open up Baba's .d2s file, click and drag Angelic Wings into your Amulets stash, and let go. The Angelic ammy will now be stored in your Amulets stash.

Going back to the top left corner of the main screen, click on Option, and make sure Auto Backup and Auto Save are ticked. When you click on the red X button of your .d2s and .d2x files, this will ensure that you close your char and stashes and save them.

For future use, you will see tabs in the top left corner. They are D2S, D2I, D2X, DUP. Again, we are only interested in D2S and D2X. These are basically short-cuts to the Load ____ file section. Click on the D2S or D2X tabs, and it will show you all the .d2s and .d2x files you have opened thus far. Any new chars and new stashes will have to be opened in the way I described above.

You can also transfer items from char to char and stash to stash, as well as stash to char and char to stash this way. That is the basics of ATMA. Another reason to be organised is that although a stash is unlimited, loading time really becomes long when a stash has more than 500 items. A general Gems stash can easily have 200 different gems in it, whereas if you have sub-stashes, like PerfectGems, FlawlessGems, ChippedGems, etc, it will keep your stashes smaller, more manageable, and easier to locate.

Lastly, for the love of Mary, make sure you make regular back-ups of your stashes (.d2x) and characters (.d2s) files. You never know if your PC will pack up on you.

 

[Cattleya]

You may want to look at the responses both Frostburn and I posted in the giveaway thread. (Apparantly, we both missed this thread.) ATMA questions should be asked in the ATMA sticky, so if Frostburn and my posts don't help you, ask your further questions in that thread. I'm going to close this one now.

Edit: Frostburn moved his post here, so it is easier to find. I'll add mine in here and clean up the giveaway thread.

I see what your saying, but I don't even know how to transfer items and what not, or make chars with ATMA

Here is a guide that was being worked on. It should help you out with the basics:

http://www.purediablo.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4268549&postcount=570

As for the mod stuff, until you get comfortable with the terms and what they mean, stick to trading, MP, and receiving items from Vanilla (unmodded) players. If you hang around long enough, you'll understand the complicated world of mods and the SPF better, and you can decide what you want to do.