Might and Magic The Might and Magic Discussion Thread

[Average Manatee]

i just got the first 6(7?) games from GoG.com. Mostly because I'm getting bored and i want something slow in between game-making.

Which is a good starting point? If you have "beginner's guides" I'd be ever so grateful!

All of the M&M games are fine to start out in in that there's no game that is super difficult or relies on plot/import from previous games. 1/2, 3/4/5, and 6/7/8 are where the engine changes and mechanics added/removed. 1/2 are your fairly standard Wizardry-likes with an open world, 3 removes random encounters and has enemies on the map with ranged attacks and stuff, 6 goes full 3d, removes tiles and makes a RT/TB hybrid gameplay. I'd recommend starting with 3 for the fairly comfortable modern-ish UI if that's something you want, otherwise 1 is perfectly fine.

 

[Maggot]

i just got the first 6(7?) games from GoG.com. Mostly because I'm getting bored and i want something slow in between game-making.

Which is a good starting point? If you have "beginner's guides" I'd be ever so grateful!

Read the M&M tips section in https://pastebin.com/6G9B1cMA

 

[Wayward Son]

i just got the first 6(7?) games from GoG.com. Mostly because I'm getting bored and i want something slow in between game-making.

Which is a good starting point? If you have "beginner's guides" I'd be ever so grateful!

All of the M&M games are fine to start out in in that there's no game that is super difficult or relies on plot/import from previous games. 1/2, 3/4/5, and 6/7/8 are where the engine changes and mechanics added/removed. 1/2 are your fairly standard Wizardry-likes with an open world, 3 removes random encounters and has enemies on the map with ranged attacks and stuff, 6 goes full 3d, removes tiles and makes a RT/TB hybrid gameplay. I'd recommend starting with 3 for the fairly comfortable modern-ish UI if that's something you want, otherwise 1 is perfectly fine.

Only addendum to that, 2 is built around import from 1, and its beginning is difficult even starting at level 7, so I personally don't recommend that you start there. Also, 4/5 are sold as the combined version only in the Limited Edition 6-pack.
Edit: My recommendation was primarily for two reasons:
A) It's my favorite and personally I think it is the best.
B) It might be hard to get into if you start later than that and I want everyone to experience the gloriousness of the first game.

 

[Average Manatee]

Only addendum to that, 2 is built around import from 1, and its beginning is difficult even starting at level 7, so I personally don't recommend that you start there. Also, 4/5 are sold as the combined version only in the Limited Edition 6-pack.
Edit: My recommendation was primarily for two reasons:
A) It's my favorite and personally I think it is the best.
B) It might be hard to get into if you start later than that and I want everyone to experience the gloriousness of the first game.

2 is fine without import IMO. There's certainly some grinding but my main point is that its not like Wizardry where 2/3 said fuck you if you didn't have an importable party, 4 had puzzles uncompletable without prior knowledge (nevermind the difficulty level), and later games gave huge incentive to play in order. M&M2 is an alright starting point if you wanted to play 1 but don't want to make your own map and want a more... plot-filled experience (M&M1 is a LOT of aimless wandering).

I don't think it's at all hard to get into earlier games just because you've played later ones. If anything playing M&M3+ adds more incentive to play M&M1/2. I actually did 3->4->5->1->2 because the RT/3D aspect of 6 was so weird for me and put me off way more than 1 did.

 

[Wayward Son]

But there's always the risk that 3/4/5 being so much easier and being used to that will put one off from the earlier ones. Trust me, I know from experience(but with a different series).

 

[Wayward Son]

Elder Scrolls *shudders*
Fallout *cringes*
Though in both cases it only took some effort to get into them. Now I can't really play the new ones.

 

[Wayward Son]

So anyway, my recommendation still goes to Might and Magic Book I: Secrets of he Inner Sanctum.

 

[Wayward Son]

Okay!

Fair word of warning, though. The first few hours of the game is a bit of a grind, but it's worth it for the rest of the game. It's recommended that you hang in Sorpigal and its dungeon until you gain Fly (level 7, iirc). Then, the game gets a lot better. The sheer size and feeling of the overworld impressed me on my first time (not too long ago). Just remember to use the map that came in the extras folder of the game download (you got it from GOG, right?) for the area designations and paths between areas. Also, the manual staying open in a separate window for spells is good practice. Hope you have fun with it.

 

[Average Manatee]

IIRC there was a repeatable quest started in the Sorpigal dungeon that involved visiting two other cities that was really good for powerleveling. If you figure it out early and keep to the roads you can do it at low level to advance incredibly quickly and once you get fly it literally takes seconds to hop back and forth and get a few more levels (XP to level scaling means it eventually becomes a waste of time)

Also protip: Search the square after battle to find treasure.

 

[Eggs is eggs]

If you want an open world Wizardry, I recommend 2. For the turn based era, I recommend 3 and for the 3D era I'd recommend 6. M&M is so much better than Wizardry though, unless you love grinding, combat and map puzzles.

 

[Alex]

Elder Scrolls *shudders*
Fallout *cringes*
Though in both cases it only took some effort to get into them. Now I can't really play the new ones.

It gladens me to see people take these old games anew. You are doing a good job and I want to tell you to...

 

[Haplo]

(/snip) and for the 3D era I'd recommend 6.

Nah, just skip 6-9 and pretend they never existed. I do that. Play X if you want a more modern and tactical experience.

 

[octavius]

I notice that Wayward Son is now studying to be a hero of Might&Magic.

 

[Wayward Son]

I notice that Wayward Son is now studying to be a hero of Might&Magic.

Jinkies! I've been caught!
Edit: PS: Did you enjoy the alerts?

 

[Luzur]

I've written this tool [MMCL] to provide better compatibility for Might & Magic VII (and in the future, VIII) with modern kernels by emulating the old DirectX APIs the game uses, solving a few common issues (e.g, "flickering", performance, ect) and better compatibility with tools such as screen-capture software and video card vendor (e.g, Nvidia) tools.

Additionally,included is preliminary support for enabling arbitrary display resolutions (screenshot: http://i.imgur.com/ikK8BTg.png -- 1680x1050, note that the UI overlay is simply scaled)

Be aware that that is an alpha release and so there are still quite a few bugs (particularly with non-native game resolutions). That being said, I'd appreciate it if you report any bugs/issues you discover, including the following information in your post:

• Your OS version (e.g, "Windows 8")
• Your log file ("mmcl.log")
• Your crash-dump (if the game crashed)
• A screen-shot (if relevant)
• Any other relevant information.

Download: http://laserblue.org/mmcl.zip

To install:

• Extract/copy ddraw.dll and mmcl.ini to your installation folder (it should be alongside mm7.exe and the like)
• Enable by running MM7Setup.exe and selecting Might & Magic Compatibility Layer (screenshot:http://i.imgur.com/dYEPGD6.png)

There's a few settings you can configure via mmcl.ini

Notes

• Requires Windows Vista or later
• Tested against 1.1 (filever: 1.0.0.1) and GrayFace (filever: 1.2.1.0) binaries.
• A small bug in the engine's UI rendering at larger resolutions has unfortunately required patching the game itself (this is done only at runtime, thus not persistent)
• Disable any compatibility-mode settings

Known Issues

• Texture filtering not working with GrayFace's game version (http://i.imgur.com/I1GCZo9.png)
• Incorrect rendering of monsters info. display when right-clicking

 

[Kahr]

Somehow i feel klike WOlrd of Xeen was a step down from MM3. MM3 had mroe love in it.
It aws far to easy. I liked being kickedd my ass onn MM3.

 

[aweigh]

so i just tonight decided to begin a new game, and settles on MMX:L. this will be my very first evah MM. spent 10 mins walking around the town trying to enter the wall so i could test out the combat system (i've seen footage on YT and therefore already know that's where the game's first encounters are, and i just wanted to go kill sumthin); alas i was not able to enter said well so i walked around and made dutiful annotations on the map about the stores/etc.

entered the garrison accepted quest and just as i was gonna start exploring down there BSOD, oops, my overclock is too high. Oh well. i recorded the whole thing in a thrilling 10 minute video, of course. i'm'a resume play later and go whack some spiders. my party is:

- human / paladin
(med armor) (hev armor) - (longsword) - (bow) - (celestial armor spell)

- elf / ranger
(med armor) - (dodge ability) - (dagger) - (dual wielding because, legolas, DUHHH) - (bow)

- dwarf / defender
(axe) (hev armor) (med armor) (endurance ability) (bow)

- orc / shaman
(entangle spell) - (and another, I think gust of wind, can't remember) - (dodge ability)

stats distribution:

human-pally = everything into vitality (or whatever the fuck it's called here)
elf-ranger = everything into vitality (or whatever the fuck it's called here)
dwarf-defender = half the pts into VIT, half into STR (or whatever the fuck they're called here)
orc-shaman = everything into the one stat that raises Mana amount (i.e. more spells rite. rite? rite??)

i was, TBH, bit disappointed about how bare-bones the char-gen is and how casual the skill trees all look. hopefully as i continue onwards the itemezation and enemy encounter design will prove the game's worth!

(obviously i created my party without any advance knowledge nor am i interested in seeking it out, whole point was to go in completely blind and just pick whatever was "kewl")

 

[aweigh]

ok i just owned some arachnids. you know what? this game ain't half bad.

am using bows to snipe 'em before they get in melee range, just like in Wiz 8. Heh.

the one thing i'm dreading is that the game won't have many good dungeons and instead will be more like Grimrock 2 (huge open areas with zero intelligent design) connecting point A to point B. (seriously, grimrock 2 devs literally fucking forgot to put the dungeon in their dungeon crawler).

already saw i need to hire a fucking horse (ugh). at least the combat has the skeleton of a good system, from what i experienced stomping bugs in the well. i've read MM's can get quite combat-crazy and that's exactly what i'm looking for.

 

[Maggot]

Please get OBS aweigh it's free and doesn't force a shitty logo on your videos. It works for recording and streaming.

 

[Excidium II]

so i just tonight decided to begin a new game, and settles on MMX:L. this will be my very first evah MM.

why.jpg

 

[aweigh]

sure thing Maggot!

i'll GET RIGHT ON THAT! I'll stop playing the game which i'm currently enjoying a lot geting owned at the lighthouse just so i can have the privilege of doing exactly what you want me to do.

I can only imagine how much better i'll feel while playing after I install OBS, a bloated piece of software that while serviceable is much more unwieldy to use for someone who only needs a tool that will automatically start recording everything-on-screen, i.e. a tool that is better than 1-click, and allows afterwards for major compression so as to make it easier to upload.

on the other hand though! OBS man! it has like SO MANY FUCKING FEATURES. IT DOES EVERYTHING!!!!!! GODDAMNIT man!

why didn't you order me to download it before tonight Maggot! WHY! WITHOUT OBS I CAN'T BE A REAL BOYYYY

 

[Average Manatee]

so i just tonight decided to begin a new game, and settles on MMX:L. this will be my very first evah MM.

No it won't.

It's not really much of a M&M game, but it's not bad so w/e.

 

[aweigh]

why.jpg

well, believe it or not, i am currently fresh plum out of Wiz-clones to play, jap or otherwise. needed a blobber turn-base fix and i've had MMXL in its box (got it for free long ago) for ages. Two keystone beers and that was that, time to play it.

currently enjoying it quite a bit. am in lighthouse. i've seen footage of the non-turn based MM's and those do not interest me (although watching some dude finish MM 6, i think it was 6, making OP potions and floating and shit in 2 hours was quite lulzy).

What other MMs (turn based pls) would interest me, since i apparently am now enjoying MMXL's combat?

 

[Excidium II]

MMXL is largely based on the gameplay of MM3-5 but generally worse at every level.

 

[pippin]

you could have gone back to mm1, it's a pretty fun game and without automap.

Also you can play m&m with turn based combat, you just have to activate it. People tend to keep it real time because it's over faster.