Might and Magic The Might and Magic Discussion Thread

[Watser]

Thread made me want to replay Book I.
Got time this past week-end so I threw Crag the Hack and his friends in the action.
Discovered a gem I didn't know until then : Grid Cartographer Pro, best software ever.

Spoiler

ps: book I was damn good for its time. I remember I really liked book II but the first one is actually not that far from it.
nota bene : yeah i know i fucked up the mapping of D1. Like always.

Use the parchment theme!
Been using GC since I started on my trip through MM I-X some years ago. It is a great software, there is a thread here on the codex about it, David updates it regularly and version 4 is shaping up to be really great.
Finished M&M III yesterday. Only took about 7 months.

Book I is still my favourite. Book II bloated everything so it made combat feel more like a chore than a challenge and all the quests were unmemorable at best. While the quests in Book I weren't much better by themselves (fetch this, go there, quests from the Lord's) there are atleast some I really liked like the Clerics of the South.
I think the exploration was better in M&M III, quests as well, but the combat was so mindblowingly dull the moment you got a few levels under your belt that I'd rate it above Book II.

EDIT: World map and final score

Spoiler

 

[CptMace]

I don't know about the parchment theme. It sure looks better than all the others but I find the default one clearer somehow.
Maybe when I'm done mapping the layout, I'll take care of how it looks, your map of Terra looks great actually.

 

[Watser]

So I am encounterinng some autistic issues regarding World of Xeen.
I found Orothin's Bone Whistle before I talked to Orothin himself to get the quest to fetch me his whistle. The problem now is that when I go to Orothin he will jump directly to the "O thank thee brave adventurers" speech instead of offering me the quest details first.
In WoX quest items now have their own inventory tab which seems to be bound to the save game, meaning I cannot simply trade it to a party member and then leave him in the inn before talking to Orothin.
This is an issue for me because when I map I write down what the NPCs have to say.

Is there any way to work around this?

 

[Fowyr]

So I am encounterinng some autistic issues regarding World of Xeen.
I found Orothin's Bone Whistle before I talked to Orothin himself to get the quest to fetch me his whistle. The problem now is that when I go to Orothin he will jump directly to the "O thank thee brave adventurers" speech instead of offering me the quest details first.
In WoX quest items now have their own inventory tab which seems to be bound to the save game, meaning I cannot simply trade it to a party member and then leave him in the inn before talking to Orothin.
This is an issue for me because when I map I write down what the NPCs have to say.

Is there any way to work around this?

Hex edit. Find where quest items are saved and then find this whistle. I described in length somewhere simple method of finding proper byte with fc /b and hex editor.
http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/yendorian-tales-series.36045

 

[Luzur]

Kinda funny how the fans still cling to the idea that Ubisoft will make a new MM game even though they like came out and said MMX didnt make enough cash to earn a follow-up.

Its sad, in a way.

 

[Snorkack]

wow, in the first half, the guy nails exactly why I didn't like MMX, then he proceeds describing the worst idea I ever heard about how a MM should look like.

I still believe that one day JVC will have earned enough money from crappy mobile games to have the freedom going back to his roots and make another true MM successor.

 

[SausageInYourFace]

If Ubisoft didn't make enough cash with M&MX they might as well sell the IP to someone else.

 

[Kutulu]

If Ubisoft didn't make enough cash with M&MX they might as well sell the IP to someone else.

But that never happens.....
Thats why there are no new: Bloods, Hexens, Heretics etc

 

[Charles-cgr]

If Ubisoft didn't make enough cash with M&MX they might as well sell the IP to someone else.

Are they not selling or is no one out there willing to buy? I'm guessing its close ties with the Heroes franchise makes it a problem for them to part with the MM ip.

 

[octavius]

Maybe it would have sold more enough if it was available on GOG?

 

[Archibald]

I doubt, GoG was even smaller back then than it is now.

 

[Alchemist]

I still believe that one day JVC will have earned enough money from crappy mobile games to have the freedom going back to his roots and make another true MM successor.

I hope for that too, though the prospects of it happening seem dim. I'm not sure JVC still has the passion for the style of old-school CRPGs he pioneered.

If he does, he ought to buy the MM RPG license from Ubisoft, after he makes millions from the crappy mobile games. What an epic comeback that would be, for him to release a new CRPG with the Might & Magic name. One can dream...

 

[Gangrelrumbler]

It's not like there is anything wprthwhile in M&M franchise that cannot be outright stolen. Anyone could make a first person fantasy adventure with sci-fi elements. Even iconic characters can be outright copied with changed names because you can't copyright Death and horned helmets. The reason we didn't get a M&M-like game is probably because nobody with enough money wants to make games like that any more.

 

[Archibald]

Most likely that is the reason why Ubi went retardo (like every other publisher) with "revamping" the setting so its harder to "steal now, as if anyone would want that.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

If Ubisoft didn't make enough cash with M&MX they might as well sell the IP to someone else.

Are they not selling or is no one out there willing to buy? I'm guessing its close ties with the Heroes franchise makes it a problem for them to part with the MM ip.

They're not selling because they see potential profit in the franchise.

Not for themselves, mind you. Just potential profit, waiting for someone who can come and claim it by making a good game based on the franchise.

And if that someone isn't claiming that profit for UbiSoft...then no one gets to claim any profit from it.

Denying others profit is a perfectly acceptable tactic in modern-day corporate competition.

 

[Gangrelrumbler]

Most likely that is the reason why Ubi went retardo (like every other publisher) with "revamping" the setting so its harder to "steal now, as if anyone would want that.

Isn't that just a generic setting with dragons-gods or something? I don't think that it has a faction or even an unit that cannot be just stolen by anyone. At least DnD has Ilithids and Baholders which can be and are copyrighted.

 

[Archibald]

Well I can't say for sure since I haven't played anything post HoMM5, but thats the impression I got while reading stuff about resources, like their names: Dragonblood crystal, Starsilver, Shadowsteel, Dragonsteel. It seams deliberate attempt to make setting more "unique" when older HoMM games had simple names like mercury.

 

[Snorkack]

If he does, he ought to buy the MM RPG license from Ubisoft

He doesn't even need the IP, it's not that Might&Magic has such strong lore and characters that it wouldn't be the same without the IP, like, say, Star Wars. JVC should just make a blobber in the vein of 2 or 6 and name it Strength&Spells, or Vigor&Voodoo, or Brawn&Bewitchment or whatever. That's actually the single biggest wish I have considering the whole gaming industry.

I'm not sure JVC still has the passion for the style of old-school CRPGs he pioneered.

I think his last project was some blobber/monsterhunter-like iOs game. Just a crappy mobile cashgrab, sure. But I take that as a sign that he still has it in him. And this is just an attempt to create a bankroll foundation for the real thing. Might be just wishful thinking, of course.

 

[baturinsky]

Well I can't say for sure since I haven't played anything post HoMM5, but thats the impression I got while reading stuff about resources, like their names: Dragonblood crystal, Starsilver, Shadowsteel, Dragonsteel. It seams deliberate attempt to make setting more "unique" when older HoMM games had simple names like mercury.

Dragonmercury, Dragongems, Dragonore and Dragonwood

 

[Cyberarmy]

Well I can't say for sure since I haven't played anything post HoMM5, but thats the impression I got while reading stuff about resources, like their names: Dragonblood crystal, Starsilver, Shadowsteel, Dragonsteel. It seams deliberate attempt to make setting more "unique" when older HoMM games had simple names like mercury.

They're just trying too hard.

 

[Jaesun]

If the Hero's of Might and Magic were NOT returning a profit at all, they would have dropped the series and sold the rights long ago...... Think about that....

 

[Archibald]

Nobody sells rights these days regardless of how shit IP is doing. Fact that we are unlikely to ever get another M&M should indicate that they didn't do that well for Ubi and HoMM seems to be going in downwards spiral as far as quality/sales go to.

 

[cvv]

Not following the business side of things that closely but it does seem the only cases where rights change hands these days are bankruptcy proceedings. Then rights are obtained by some obscure hedge fund from Cyprus and never see the light of day ever. Pretty frustrating.

 

[MilesBeyond]

It's not like there is anything wprthwhile in M&M franchise that cannot be outright stolen. Anyone could make a first person fantasy adventure with sci-fi elements. Even iconic characters can be outright copied with changed names because you can't copyright Death and horned helmets. The reason we didn't get a M&M-like game is probably because nobody with enough money wants to make games like that any more.

Yeah, to me, this is the big thing. I love the M&M games, but they are a bit weird. Particularly the later ones. Combat is a clickfest, but too slow-paced to really be an action-RPG. First person party-based games are, frankly, counter-intuitive and a little clunky - especially when there's no tactical positioning. They're a bit too casual to be an easy sell to hardcore RPGers, and a bit too hardcore to be an easy sell to casual RPGers.

My history prof had a saying: Your greatest strength is almost always your greatest weakness, and I think that applies to M&M in spades. What I love about the M&M games is that they're a little bit of everything, and at their best, they hit this sweet spot of awseome exploration, interesting character building, and oodles of personality all the while being something simple enough that I can jump into for half an hour to an hour and then get on with my day. But having a little bit of everything also necessarily entails lacking a little bit of everything, and that's where the series suffers. Particularly in today's market, where AAA RPGs seem generally stick to either talking simulators, open sandboxes, or action-oriented, games that try to take more of a middle ground seem like a bit of a gamble.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

Tried playing M&M III for the first time, can't do it. The movement scheme confuses the shit out of me. I can never tell if I am turning 180 or 90 degrees, or what I am looking at, and I just wound up walking back and forth along the starting town's main street. Is this just me? I've played some similar old games and never had this particular issue before.