Might and Magic The Might and Magic Discussion Thread

[Darth Canoli]

It's a fucking mess, Terra sounds better but it might be because i allowed more memory (sound settings) increasing from 16Mb to 64 (i think i've read somewhere Terra don't benefit from more but i might have add more nontheless)

For WoX and Swords, it's another story, i'll have to do more extensive search through another search engine (duckduckgo can only get you this far ... )

 

[newtmonkey]

How did you configure WoX? Do you have MUNT installed separate from DOSBOX? (There are some DOSBOX builds that have MUNT built-in).

If you are using MUNT, be sure to find the CM-32L/64 ROM, as WoX uses the expanded sound effects that those ROMs provide.

To get MUNT working, you need to do either 1 of 2 things:

1) Set MUNT as your primary MIDI device in Windows (might be tricky in Win 7/8/10)
2) Set MUNT as the MIDI device in the DOSBOX config for each game

Assuming you've got MUNT up and running, you just need to run install.exe in WoX directory and select Roland LAPC-1/MT-32 for music/fx.

 

[Darth Canoli]

newtmonkey

Wow, it actually worked, followed this video tutorial too except i used your trick (xeen install in swords folder).

I had to reinstall Swords to get back the config file where it belong first.

It changed the music output, still didn't affect the sounds effects, did i do something wrong ?
Picked MT-32 for the music but didn't have that option for sounds effects so i picked sb 16.

 

[newtmonkey]

Good to hear Darth Canoli !

I am pretty certain that some sound effects are played by the MT-32 and other by the sound blaster (mostly voices and digitized sounds). If you open a door you should hear it creaking open; if so, that's the MT-32 playing it.

 

[Darth Canoli]

Yeah, sounds that way.

Apparently, setting oplrate to 49716 gives a more authentic sound, as that was the internal sampling rate for the OPL chips and other rates can affect the instruments relying on feedback effects (like percussion). You can still set the mixer rate at something lower to keep the downsampled output without affecting the FM synthesis.

This number occurs 3 times in the settings, i think, how would you suggest setting it in the other two occurrences, if you remember any of this ?

 

[Diggfinger]

If anyone is in doubt: Creature Quest is an awesome mobile game! I've played ever since release in Jan 2017 (except a 4-month rage-quit period due to not getting a creature I wanted).

I'm at level 227 now (out of 500 or 600 I believe) and there's still tons of stuff to do: new creatures/strategies, new game modes etc.

JVC, genious that he is, mastered this format and boiled down brilliant game design from previous games into a new and addictive package!

 

[Luzur]

So, i tried Swords of Xeen.
First thoughts, it really looks like Xeen, which is nice but also a shame because i prefer Isles of Terra color palette.
Still, it's solid, after an hour of gameplay or so (most of it rolling new chars), i reached the "first" real city and realized it sounds differently than my Xeen and Terra configurations, the arrows don't have the metallic impact i had on those. (and i can't find the config ini : gog version ^^' )

On the other hand, the CC impact does, which is probably worse.

I found this list of MT-32 compatible dos games and Sword of Xeen isn't there.

So i decided to get back Terra first.

I'll be trying to configure munt 2.3 amd64 i downloaded weeks earlier to play Isles of Terra and i will check this thread thoroughly for any links but in the meantime, if you have some configuration hints / links on hand, please send them my way.

Thing is though, SoX is a fan game made under time pressure, so in reality it is missing alot of stuff that where supposed to be in it (more animated cut-scenes/endscenes, more NPC's, more quests etc etc) so i wouldnt be surprised if it have bugs in it, i know when i finished it years agot here are two major bugs which can occur later on and stop your game (i think one of the keys to the pyramids you need to enter to get something for the end doesnt spawn in the loot due to a bug in the loot calculations), but luckily they didnt show up for me.

 

[Pope Amole II]

JVC, genious that he is, mastered this format and boiled down brilliant game design from previous games into a new and addictive package!

Hi, John! I really hope you'll stop this mobile bullshit and return to HoMM business soon somehow.

 

[Eggs is eggs]

I played Creature Quest for a bit maybe a year or two ago. It felt like a Puzzles and Dragons clone with a bit of HoMM and JVC's humour thrown in. But otherwise seemed to be an unimpressive mobile game.

 

[Diggfinger]

JVC, genious that he is, mastered this format and boiled down brilliant game design from previous games into a new and addictive package!

Hi, John Jon! I really hope you'll stop this mobile bullshit and return to HoMM business soon somehow.

I played Creature Quest for a bit maybe a year or two ago. It felt like a Puzzles and Dragons clone with a bit of HoMM and JVC's humour thrown in. But otherwise seemed to be an unimpressive mobile game.

You need to play the game alot, that's the problem. The first hours are just easy/every team can win every battle.
But the quests gets insane at higher levels, where strategy and combining creature skills is essential to progression.

 

[Barbalos]

I'm still playing through the MM6-7-8 merge, a decent way into MM6, it is great! Very few bugs that I've noticed, the only one really that was a problem was with Kilburn's Shield and Twillen's statuettes in Blackshire, which I was able to resolve by opening their chests in a different order (Shield chest by Werewolf Lair first, then Twillen's chest).

Only other problem I had was that I tried to update from an older version of the merge to the newest, and it reset my Reputation and Fame. This was too annoying for me, so I reverted it. I read the developer did change the Fame system, so I guess that result was not unexpected.

Overall I highly recommend it. I've never played this far into MM6, it's fantastic, and this is a great way to play it.

 

[TheGameSquid]

Has anyone else tried out the MM6-7-8 Merge yet besides Barbalos? I'm itching to give MM6 another go. It's such a huge game, and I've never been able to finish it in all these years, and I'm looking for the optimal way to play it today (either vanilla with Grayface or MM Merge). Merge has a much nicer UI and larger viewport, the crisper hardware renderer (the software renderer in MM6 can be an eyesore IMO) and most importantly the improved mapping system (seeing the location of teachers and your own notes on the map makes things so much more enjoyable).

I do fear using the Merge a bit because of potential bugs, incorrect mechanics and if the game is actually balanced towards a five-man party. Just by looking at the author's bug-tracker (in the form of Google Doc ) it would seem that quite a lot of items, skills and mechanics don't work properly yet. It also doesn't seem to have a way to display which hirelings are tagging along, which seems kind of annoying.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[Elwro]

Still, opinions regarding the Merge from those who actually tried it would be most welcome!


Bonus if anyone tried it on Linux, too...

 

[Darth Canoli]

As the mod isn't complete and not even bug-free, i doubt many people played it, the best way to find some is probably the celestial heavens thread : https://www.celestialheavens.com/forum/10/16657

Just checked the task tracker for the merge project, it's 11 pages long.

 

[Fowyr]

if you dont burn many hours seeking teachers in free heaven, it is not a proper mm6 experience

I even made map for Free Haven that used on regular playthroughs.

 

[TheGameSquid]

if you dont burn many hours seeking teachers in free heaven, it is not a proper mm6 experience

Mind you, I don't have a problem with making my own maps and notes. I just prefer it when I'm given the tools to do it in-game.

Bonus if anyone tried it on Linux, too...

Considering that MM8 with the GrayFace patches installed worked just fine in Wine last time I tried, I'm going to assume it'll probably run without too many problems on Linux. This mod just seems to use GrayFace's MMExtensions.

 

[Barbalos]

One thing about the merge, you can't hire hirelings (not sure if you knew that). There is a small tab on the right side of the screen that will show you people you have tagging along, such as people you are rescuing for a quest.

I choose the merge due to a reputation bug I was having when I started MM6 regular, where my rep would continuously go down spontaneously from the very beginning of the game. The better viewport is also nice, but I would have played the regular version if I could have. Also, I've heard someone say that GM water is not working/implemented correctly in MM6 in the merge...

 

[Elwro]

Doesn't reputation in MM6 gravitate towards neutral over time by design? And any positive change on your part will be slowly overcome by the passage of time?

 

[Darth Canoli]

reputation bug I was having when I started MM6 regular, where my rep would continuously go down spontaneously

I've read it comes from leaving stores without buying anything but i don't remember having it when i played the game back in the days (or maybe i was always buying/selling stuff when checking stores )

 

[Barbalos]

Doesn't reputation in MM6 gravitate towards neutral over time by design? And any positive change on your part will be slowly overcome by the passage of time?

I believe that is how it is supposed to work, but for me it was just happening from 0 rep at the start. I was at -20 within 2 minutes without doing anything, lol.

I've read it comes from leaving stores without buying anything but i don't remember having it when i played the game back in the days (or maybe i was always buying/selling stuff when checking stores )

Hmm, maybe that's it? I can't recall if I entered any stores before it started dropping. That was a little while ago, since I've just been playing the merge for a bit now. I know it does not do that in the merge, however.

 

[Pope Amole II]

Doesn't reputation in MM6 gravitate towards neutral over time by design? And any positive change on your part will be slowly overcome by the passage of time?

Yeah but you have to be really, really slow for this system to truly work out.

[
I believe that is how it is supposed to work, but for me it was just happening from 0 rep at the start. I was at -20 within 2 minutes without doing anything, lol.

You've entered shops without buying anything - those vendors don't get angry at you for lulz, you lose rep that way.

 

[Barbalos]

You've entered shops without buying anything - those vendors don't get angry at you for lulz, you lose rep that way.

Well damn. I'm glad to have an answer for what was happening there at least, even if I am too far into the merged MM6 to want to restart in vanilla MM6 at this point.

 

[TheGameSquid]

Well, that finally wraps things up after 20 years!

Was sick at home for the past weeks, so I had a little TOO much time on my hands to finally finish this beast. I think I may have overdone it a little
As far as I know, I more or less did everything relevant in the game, did all quests, all dungeons, cleared most of the known land of foul beasts, ect.

I did have a strong urge to stop playing at two particular points:
Castle Alamos - Just a pretty boring dungeon filled to the brim with useless enemy fodder and those annoying Warlocks that turn everyone insane.
Castle Darkmoor - I had no idea where to go in this huge dungeon, and you constantly had these fucking beholder-like things dispelling you. Absolutely loathed this part.

One the other hand, I do often hear people talking shit about the Tomb of VARN, but I think I actually enjoyed it. It wasn't nearly as long as confusing as I've heard some folks say. The parts where you're supposed to input the code was a little iffy though, I thought I had broken my game, took my 30+ minutes to figure out why one of the pools didn't allow me to input the last Star Trek code.

The end-sequence with the Queen is also a huge clusterfuck, but I wasn't really expecting much anyway, so not really disappointed there.

Anyway, great game, I'm glad I finally finished it!

 

[Storyfag]

Castle Darkmoor - I had no idea where to go in this huge dungeon, and you constantly had these fucking beholder-like things dispelling you.

Darkmoor is love