Might and Magic Might & Magic X Pre-Release Thread

Wizardry 8 had a similar (but shorter, 9 years) delay between 7 and 8 and it was arguably an incline or at least on the level of 7, most people would agree. But then again, it was still published and developed by Sir-Tech, not a huge conglomerate like MMX is.

On another similar note, Wiz 8 was the last game Sir-Tech ever developed or published.

But yeah, the recent X-Com game is the only similar example I can think of, and even that was pretty inferior to the original. I'd argue Deus Ex: Human Revolution was a great delayed sequel to the first DE, too.

I'm still just astonished that Ubisoft gave the go-ahead to a game of this type in 2013. It would be like EA putting out an Infocom text adventure. What/when was the last big-budget grid-based CRPG? It had to have been early 90s.

 

Probably because Grimrock and the KS craze proved there's an audience and a profit to be made from these type of games.

 

Sail the seas, my friend. Sail the seas. Although even if you don't, how much trouble is a one-time online activation, really? Uplay may be annoying to have on your computer, but at least it's not always-on DRM at this point.

 

If it comes to it, I'm not sure I see him using the phrase "really modern action FPS RPG" without spitting at least once, either.

 

I have always been one to take to the high seas, but Wasteland 2 was one of the first games I paid for in a LONG time, and that was just a pledge to show that people want these kinds of games.

Regardless of Uplay shit, if Might & Magic X turns out to be a good game, I am absolutely buying it. We need to support this shit, guys. I have no regret about finding Bioshock Infinite on a pirate ship, but fuck the AAA industry. Please, for the love of fuck, buy this game if it turns out to be a worthy MM game. It's really the only way to fight the decline.

 

If I have to bypass a buggy, malware-infested client in order to play a computer game, I'm not paying the publisher one cent.

I'll snail mail $60 in an envelope directly to Limbic Entertainment's offices, but that's about it.

 

I think Ubisoft's corporate masters have no idea they're making the game. If they do, this Julien Pirou probably pulled a jedi mind trick and convinced them this is a cellphone game or something.

Another thing that strikes me as odd, is this hardcore return to step based blobber. There is not a M&M forum on the whole internet, with a poll where World of Xeen has more votes than MM6 or MM7, codex included. In fact, I find it interesting that World of Xeen is actually two games counted as one, so fans don't have to argue which one is better and can instead dump their votes into the WoX construct. On the other hand, MM6 vs MM7 is an ongoing debate (usually - better dungeons vs stronghold and slightly more complicated skill system).
Now, MM6 and MM7 are basicly the same game, from an engine and gameplay perspective. One could argue, that if the two Xeen games can be counted as one for the purposes of a poll, then MM6 & MM7 could be counted together as well for the purposes of the same poll. In this case, it would become clear that there are way, way more free roam fags than step based fags, even on the codex.

This observation of mine is not rocket science and I'm sure Ubisoft's marketing team would have spotted it as well. So why the "hardcore" return to grid-based ?

1. They really are hardcore and want a return to roots. Not likely.
2. They have no idea they're making the game. Funny, but still unlikely.
3. They want to invest as little as possible, literally the minimum amount needed to make a game resembling M&M and what ? Test the waters ? Test the waters for what ? Cash in on whatever smidgen of notoriety the franchise has left ? Appeal to the niche market of blobber lovers ? Sell it to anime fags ?

My guess is that a turn-based grimrock will have the same amount of sales as grimrock, no matter what title you slap on to it.
In other words, if you test the waters with the cheapest bait possible you're not gonna' catch a lot of fish.

 

I'm no expert at all, but it seems to me like going grid/turn-based is a lot cheaper and easier.

I doubt at all that Ubisoft has no idea about the project. They were prominently displayed at PAX East alongside their Assassin's Creed and other huge games.

And damn, you think Grimrock did poorly? They were a small (like, 5 full time members I think?) team and raked in something like 500,000 in copies sold. I really doubt Ubisoft expects the game to sell like their triple AAA titles, or even close. For MMX, 500,000 at probably $20-25 a pop is probably a huge profit considering how little they seem to have invested in it.

 

In terms of how much a game made compared to what it cost, Grimrock is probably among the top games last year.

 

Because the lead designer's favorite game is World of Xeen?

 

If you go back and play MM6+ now they look fucking awful and like plodding proto-3D games; if you go back and play MM3-5 they look like the best and most charming representatives of the whole lost tradition of TB grid-blobbers.

 

MM6 is charming in its own way. The sprites, interface, and character portraits, anyway. The 3D environments are pretty shit.

 

Actually the MMX announcement caught me in the middle of a MM6 replay and I can tell you I have no problems with how it looks. The grayface patch even adds mouse look and cycling quicksave slots and fixes all bugs.

Back to original argument.

Grimrock made a very good profit but MMX will cost more. The end result will be similar though. Then there's UPlay. Then there's the fact that people will not pirate grimrock out of principle because of indie sympathy and fighting the good fight mentality. No one will have a problem pirating MMX because Ubisoft is "evil" and uplay.

 

That's something I've repeated often. Might & Magic 3-5 looked fucking amazing considering the time they came out. Wizardry 6 came out in 1990, M&M3 came out in 1991. There is a world of difference in everything from visuals to the UI itself. Wiz6 has the exactly same grey tileset for the entire dungeon, and MM3 features an open world with variety and vibrant colors and still looks good today.

Then we get to Might & Magic 6 which looks like a bad surrealist painting done by an autistic person on acid. It's one of the ugliest and clunkiest CRPGs ever, especially compared to the masterpiece of MM5 before it.

 

MM3-5 looks great and has a very good UI, but both Wizardry 6 and MM6-7 have superior and more challenging gameplay.

 

I guess I'm (almost) the only one who likes MM6's graphics.

 

I like it too. It doesn't have quite the cartoony charm of MM3-5 and HoMM 1-2, but I definitely don't dislike it.

 

pfft, you can't even walk backwards in Wizardry 6.

 

I like it and MM7 as well. I started a new MM7 playthrough recently and I think it still looks pretty decent. Dated? Sure, it looked dated when it was released, but I wouldn't say it looks significantly worse than most games from that era.

 

Are you trying to use Steam on a Tandy 1000?