Myth: The Fallen Lords on a modern PC

[Zboj Lamignat]

Yeah, I got all this info. The issue is I cannot install the game as either the setup won't run or it will but give me an error. Will need to fiddle with compatibility modes.

What error messages do you get? On Win 10 the installation worked for me. But I know the game has issues installing on some systems because it mistakes the OS for Windows NT, so Win 98 compatability should help.

I managed to do it by using compatibility settings and after applying latest patch it seems to work fine.

But on my current win10 machine it looked like this:

1. Whenever I tried .iso it would give me "this file is damaged" prompt and not even open/mount (installed Soulblighter from an .iso and it went butter smooth).
2. When I tried .bin then setup would either not run or give me an error message (don't remember what) about 20% in and close.

Didn't have the chance to test on win7 laptop but whatever, it works now.

 

[Ludwig von Eisenthal]

That's really strange. Maybe it has to do with the virtual cd drive software? I'm using Virtual CloneDrive. Anyway, glad to hear it works now.

 

[Great Deceiver]

Awesome thread, thanks. I have so many memories of Myth, it's one of my favourite games ever, bought it on release in 1997.

I'm trying to play the TFL levels with the new engine, but I'm getting a crash (black screen) when I finish the first mission. It generates a crash log (Myth Crashed: EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION). I've tried all rendering modes (including software) and it's the same result. Did anyone encounter the same problem?

 

[Ludwig von Eisenthal]

Awesome thread, thanks. I have so many memories of Myth, it's one of my favourite games ever, bought it on release in 1997.

I have only the fondest memories of this game. I still remember that long summer evening twenty-three years ago when I, after many crushing defeats, finally triumphed at the shores of the River Gjol. In my memory it's as if I was there, kneedeep in the mud.

I'm trying to play the TFL levels with the new engine, but I'm getting a black screen when I finish the first mission. Did anyone encounter the same problem?

Strange. Does the same thing happen if you use the cheat to end the mission (press alt, ctrl and + together)?

edit: What patch did you use for Myth 2? The latest community patch?

 

[Great Deceiver]

Awesome thread, thanks. I have so many memories of Myth, it's one of my favourite games ever, bought it on release in 1997.

I have only the fondest memories of this game. I still remember that long summer evening twenty-three years ago when I, after many crushing defeats, finally triumphed at the shores of the River Gjol. In my memory it's as if I was there, kneedeep in the mud.

I'm trying to play the TFL levels with the new engine, but I'm getting a black screen when I finish the first mission. Did anyone encounter the same problem?

Strange. Does the same thing happen if you use the cheat to end the mission (press alt, ctrl and + together)?

edit: What patch did you use for Myth 2? The latest community patch?

Yes, I'm using 1.8.3, the latest patch. I've isolated the issue to one of my plugins, as using nothing but the TFL plugin works just fine when finishing the mission. I've used the guide on the first page of this thread, so the mods are: HD terrain mod, HD sprites (MythHD total conversion 1.32), and TFL interface. I'll try adding one of them at a time and see where the problem lies.

 

[Ludwig von Eisenthal]

Great Deceiver Who needs these fancy HD plugins? I like my Myth lowres and gritty.
I tried them myself but it somehow changes the soul of the game, at least for me. That's why I still play the original TFL in its purest form.

edit: There is also the Detail Texture Megapack which just updates the environment textures.

 

[Great Deceiver]

Great Deceiver Who needs these fancy HD plugins? I like my Myth lowres and gritty.
I tried them myself but it somehow changes the soul of the game, at least for me. That's why I still play the original TFL in its purest form.

edit: There is also the Detail Texture Megapack which just updates the environment textures.

I'm also a purist and generally avoid these detail texture/hd packs (I actually prefer the low-res sprites compared to the remade ones), but as it's been over 20 years since I've played, I wanted to see what they've managed to do. It makes me very happy that this amazing game still has a fanbase and is still being actively supported by people who love it. It's such a shame that it has been forgotten (or perhaps not; it would certainly have been trivialized by now).

Also, it turns out the problem wasn't with any of the plugins - it was the OpenAL .dll that was giving me issues. All sorted now. Cheers!

 

[Ludwig von Eisenthal]

Great Deceiver Who needs these fancy HD plugins? I like my Myth lowres and gritty.
I tried them myself but it somehow changes the soul of the game, at least for me. That's why I still play the original TFL in its purest form.

edit: There is also the Detail Texture Megapack which just updates the environment textures.

I'm also a purist and generally avoid these detail texture/hd packs (I actually prefer the low-res sprites compared to the remade ones), but as it's been over 20 years since I've played, I wanted to see what they've managed to do. It makes me very happy that this amazing game still has a fanbase and is still being actively supported by people who love it. It's such a shame that it has been forgotten (or perhaps not; it would certainly have been trivialized by now).

Yes, it's great there still is a fanbase. It's not as active as it once was, but it's still here. The game still is rather unique in what it delivers, I never found anything like it. But thankfully there are many fantastic modifications, total conversions and campaigns.

Also, it turns out the problem wasn't with any of the plugins - it was the OpenAL .dll that was giving me issues. All sorted now. Cheers!

I'm glad you've found the problem. Good luck out there, and keep an extra eye on these dwarves!

 

[Great Deceiver]

Was scratching my head for a bit regarding the TFL cutscenes in Myth 2 - I was getting the briefing cutscenes but not the little animations like the soldiers at the bridge with the Fallen underwater, etc., even though I had downloaded the Quicktime files and placed them in the appropriate directory. Turns out you need to have some sort of QT plugin installed, I used QT Lite.

Now everything is working flawlessly. I'm getting some strange video stutter but it's a very minor issue. I'm looking forward to finishing TFL again and basking in nostalgia. Also despairing because games like these will never get made again.

edit: the video stutter was fixed by enforcing a 60fps cap with Rivatuner Statistics Server.

 

[Ludwig von Eisenthal]

I just decided to give TFL (patched to 1.3 and with nglide) my yearly run. My goal is - as every year - to finally achieve a playthrough on Legendary with zero casualties. I almost managed it last time, except for in "The Watcher".
By the way, one tiny visual detail I always liked in this game: There are right- and left-handed warriors. It has no gameplay value and is achieved by simply mirror the units, but it adds to theoverall atmosphere for me.

 

[Beowulf]

I just decided to give TFL (patched to 1.3 and with nglide) my yearly run. My goal is - as every year - to finally achieve a playthrough on Legendary with zero casualties. I almost managed it last time, except for in "The Watcher".
By the way, one tiny visual detail I always liked in this game: There are right- and left-handed warriors. It has no gameplay value and is achieved by simply mirror the units, but it adds to theoverall atmosphere for me.

Don't remember it that much really - you're sure that their weapon hand doesn't change when you switch view, so the sprites are mirrored?

 

[Ludwig von Eisenthal]

I just decided to give TFL (patched to 1.3 and with nglide) my yearly run. My goal is - as every year - to finally achieve a playthrough on Legendary with zero casualties. I almost managed it last time, except for in "The Watcher".
By the way, one tiny visual detail I always liked in this game: There are right- and left-handed warriors. It has no gameplay value and is achieved by simply mirror the units, but it adds to theoverall atmosphere for me.

Don't remember it that much really - you're sure that their weapon hand doesn't change when you switch view, so the sprites are mirrored?

I just checked it, the weaponhand doesn't change:

 

[gerey]

Also despairing because games like these will never get made again.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1174670/Nordic_Warriors/

 

[A horse of course]

Still boggles my mind how Bungie went from making Myth I and II to shit like Oni and Halo.

Oni was good, wtf

Oni was also unfinished. It was handed off to Take2 during the Microsoft takeover.

 

[Zboj Lamignat]

I tried no casualties run, but I'm not gud enough and it ended already in Bagrada. The trow always insisted on attacking with thrall and soulless and best I could do was letting him kick 2 warriors. It feels really good, getting back to this game.

 

[Ludwig von Eisenthal]

I tried no casualties run, but I'm not gud enough and it ended already in Bagrada. The trow always insisted on attacking with thrall and soulless and best I could do was letting him kick 2 warriors. It feels really good, getting back to this game.

Yeah, Bagrada is the first difficult one for no casulties. I needed many tries to get it right. I used all charges on one spot and tried to lure the big guy in it. It's a matter of absolute precision and took many many reloads but it hits him hard if done right. After that the berserks did the rest.

 

[Great Deceiver]

Also despairing because games like these will never get made again.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1174670/Nordic_Warriors/

Nah, Nordic Warriors doesn't hold a candle to Myth. It's not even in the same ballpark. Making great games is truly a lost craft.

 

[flabbyjack]

Also despairing because games like these will never get made again.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1174670/Nordic_Warriors/

Nah, Nordic Warriors doesn't hold a candle to Myth. It's not even in the same ballpark. Making great games is truly a lost craft.

Can we get a second opinion on this? For chrissakes just look at the gameplay and the book mission intros/outros.

 

[Lagi]

Can we get a second opinion on this? For chrissakes just look at the gameplay and the book mission intros/outros.

"we" - ducking jerkoff circle of hive mind drones.

 

[Ludwig von Eisenthal]

I don't know about this Nordic Warriors. Gameplay looks similar, sure. But I immediately miss the gritty, grainy, dirty, rough aesthetics of Myth 1 and 2 here. It looks a bit like Myth 3 - in other words: Too clean, too plastic-like, units seem to float over the surface, explosions and gore effects look unnatural. There is a grim satisfaction in watching a dozen of thrall bodies being shred to bloody pieces by exploding dwarf charges and their limbs and entrails flying in all directions, leaving stains of blood everywhere in the original Myth, something I can't see here at all.

 

[Zboj Lamignat]

Expecting someone to recreate the atmosphere and overall gameplay feel of Myth 1-2 today is a dictionary definition of fabulously optimistic.

 

[SerratedBiz]

video

I tried to watch this but like 10 minutes in and he's still blowing up his own troops, letting enemies come into melee against his archers. I had to close it.

 

[A horse of course]

Just wanted to let everyone know I'm covering Myth (1.5 version, not the Myth 2 port) for my next video!

Btw, if anyone has anyone information on the really early alpha/beta versions of Myth that featured different enemies/story elements, let me know. I've read all the old Bungie.org stuff on, for example, the vampires in forest heart (that were meant to turn into crows and stuff) but it would be nice to have better citations than "Bungie.org said so".

 

[Ludwig von Eisenthal]

Just wanted to let everyone know I'm covering Myth (1.5 version, not the Myth 2 port) for my next video!

Btw, if anyone has anyone information on the really early alpha/beta versions of Myth that featured different enemies/story elements, let me know. I've read all the old Bungie.org stuff on, for example, the vampires in forest heart (that became the shadow guys in Myth II) but it would be nice to have better citations than "Bungie.org said so".

Great to hear! Myth deserves some love! Personally I'd recommend playing the official 1.3 instead of 1.5. 1.5 has that terrible banding issue because it doesn't properly display the original 24bit graphics. As a result the game looks ugly compared to the original, much worse than it did back in '97. I always play Myth 1.3 with a glide wrapper (either NGlide or the rather ancient but well working Zeckensack's).

 

[A horse of course]

Just wanted to let everyone know I'm covering Myth (1.5 version, not the Myth 2 port) for my next video!

Btw, if anyone has anyone information on the really early alpha/beta versions of Myth that featured different enemies/story elements, let me know. I've read all the old Bungie.org stuff on, for example, the vampires in forest heart (that became the shadow guys in Myth II) but it would be nice to have better citations than "Bungie.org said so".

Great to hear! Myth deserves some love! Personally I'd recommend playing the official 1.3 instead of 1.5. 1.5 has that terrible banding issue because it doesn't properly display the original 24bit graphics. As a result the game looks ugly compared to the original, much worse than it did back in '97. I always play Myth 1.3 with a glide wrapper (either NGlide or the rather ancient but well working Zeckensack's).

Unfortunately I've never been able to get 1.3 running on Win 10 (even with the wrapper), despite spending several hours on it. It was either 1.5 or the Myth 2 port. Don't worry, I'm aware of many of the differences and I'll mention it in the video.