Game News Hell is freezing over: Ubisoft's Might & Magic X is actually a blobber

[Darth Roxor]

Not to be confused with the far superior Heroes Of Might & Magic games, the Might & Magic series was an increasingly terrible run of first-person RPGs, set in the blandly generic fantasy worlds, always somehow managing to feel about five years behind the rest of the industry.

JOHN WALKEEEEEEEEEEEER

 

[norolim]

Just woke up after a night out, turned on my Internet, saw this news and was ready to go back to sleep 'cause, obviously, I was still hammered. Turns out I wasn't.
Just read the whole 14 plages of your fuckery, so the initial shock has steamed out, but this shit sure caught me off guard. I mean TB blobber greenlit by Ubisoft? This alone is of such significance, that I'm all but expecting apocalypse starting any day.

As for the game itself: if it's at least haf good, it may start a very interesting trend. So I hope that Ubi and the developers don't screw this up completely.

 

[Captain Shrek]

Not to be confused with the far superior Heroes Of Might & Magic games, the Might & Magic series was an increasingly terrible run of first-person RPGs, set in the blandly generic fantasy worlds, always somehow managing to feel about five years behind the rest of the industry.

 

[Scroo]

HAVE... TO... RESIST... THE HYPE!

WILL... SURELY... BE... DISAPPOINTED AGAIN!

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHR, CAN'T FUCKING RESIST GODDAMNIT!

 

[Gozma]

M&M3 came out in fucking 1991, I had a double take when I saw that copyright date. 1-3 at least were cutting edge, and 4-5 was still ahead of its time as a same-engine sequel.

 

[uaciaut]

edit: darn it seems i can't embed timed videos :<

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZzFtQmsHfI&feature=youtu.be&t=34s

Anyway i'm excited for this, p sure my expectations will be shat upon but i think people are entitled to being optimistic if projects like this get supported without the actual use of kickstarter

 

[JarlFrank]

However, I feel I may be too old for these games. I don't have as much time as I had in school/inversity days and these take a lot of time. It was the same with Heroes VI. It was a decent iteration, but I did not have as much time for it as I had for HoMM III in its days, so it kind of faded away.

Aye, this is the challenge not just for the scope of the game but also the mechanics of the gameplay. Most of the people growing up playing titles like this will have jobs and families that massively restrict their game time - not just in terms of game world and story length but also in terms of 'adjustment' time to settle into any differences in gameplay. That was one of the charms of Grimrock for me - I knew how many floors there were and knew I had enough time to complete the game within my free time, while the gameplay mechanics were intuitive enough that I didn't have to 'waste' my precious gaming time learning how things worked.

Well, I don't have that much gaming time either - well, right now I do cause I have semester break, but during the semester I just have too much shit to do - but I love it when a game lasts me for weeks or even months. I just don't understand the "I have work to do so I want my games to be quick and simple" point of view. I like my games to be long and complex so they can last me a long, long time. If I can only put in a couple of hours per week and the game takes months to complete, it's great!

 

[commie]

However, I feel I may be too old for these games. I don't have as much time as I had in school/inversity days and these take a lot of time. It was the same with Heroes VI. It was a decent iteration, but I did not have as much time for it as I had for HoMM III in its days, so it kind of faded away.

If you don't have the time to play old school games anymore cause you're getting old, better call Doctor Kevorkian. Your fault for trying to have a life...loser...





Sigh. I know the feeling bro, I face the same grind of life and family so I just don't get to enjoy such games anymore. Which is a shame as I look on my shelves and see all the IE games and M&M's, all my flight sims and wargames tempting me, but I just can't dare myself to even start as I know I'll have to take breaks all the time and it just would get too frustrating.

Well, I don't have that much gaming time either - well, right now I do cause I have semester break, but during the semester I just have too much shit to do - but I love it when a game lasts me for weeks or even months. I just don't understand the "I have work to do so I want my games to be quick and simple" point of view. I like my games to be long and complex so they can last me a long, long time. If I can only put in a couple of hours per week and the game takes months to complete, it's great!

The problem with that is that you find that you can't remember where you are up to or what you were doing after a while. For me, it's not the length itself that is the problem but the constant interruption to my gaming. Don't know how many times I restarted Baldur's Gate and I STILL haven't finished the fucking thing! I keep getting far then having to do real life shit for ages and then I just forget where I've been, what I've cleared etc.

 

[Avantre]

M&M3 came out in fucking 1991, I had a double take when I saw that copyright date. 1-3 at least were cutting edge, and 4-5 was still ahead of its time as a same-engine sequel.

Yes, I remember playing 3 on my 8086 computer back around then and being impressed by the voice used in the introduction (mainly because it used the normal pc sound output - my pc didn't have a sound card so it was the first time I'd played a pc game that managed to do voices, no matter how awfully digitised.)

 

[Wizfall]

I only played MM3 and MM6.
I don't remember very well both of them, especially MM3.
I know i liked much more the Wiizardry games because i found the setting and character development much better.
I know i enjoyed more MM3 but i was younger then.
The thing i absolutely dislike in MM6 was the huge amount +stat increase because it made the character creation meaningless (i remember rolling character stat in MM6 for a long time and quite soon finding a +50 stat barrel...). I did not remember such things about MM3 but i may be wrong.
Was not found of MM6 character development too (training, ect...) and the graphics (MM3 graphics "style "was better).
Don't know about the depth of character/combat mechanics of MM10.
But graphics and monster animation in the teaser are very nice, and i don't mean "good for what it is".
So I don't care if it's come from an old cheap engine, the result is maybe a bit cheesy but beautiful IMO.
The only thing i would change (graphic/animation wise) is the character portraits which are not so good (just average) and doesn't seem to be animated.
W8 animated characters portrait were really nice and added a lot (it's true they had VO though).

 

[Gozma]

The thing i absolutely dislike in MM6 was the huge amount +stat increase because it made the character creation meaningless (i remember rolling character stat in MM6 for a long time and quite soon finding a +50 stat barrel...). I did not remember such things about MM3 but i may be wrong.

Yeah, it is just like that in M&M3 also. Character creation hardly matters at all in M&M, aside from class choices (and even then, not much). This kinda shit is why I like it; you learn shit in the game to increase in powah (like the perfect beacon/teleport/recall chain of fountain power-ups) not by sperging in character creation.

Whoever noticed that the "level up!" notification in the video means there isn't going to be training... that is indeed a bad sign. A nice effect of the M&M training system is that you tend to keep going with a given level as long as you can until it stops working and you have to go back to town and train; this creates a natural reverse means of "level scaling" the game.

 

[IDtenT]

The problem with that is that you find that you can't remember where you are up to or what you were doing after a while. For me, it's not the length itself that is the problem but the constant interruption to my gaming. Don't know how many times I restarted Baldur's Gate and I STILL haven't finished the fucking thing! I keep getting far then having to do real life shit for ages and then I just forget where I've been, what I've cleared etc.

My biggest problem with RPGs and ironically something that Bethesda has been addressing with Skyrim (You can literally pick up and play) - which is fucking decline!

 

[IDtenT]

A nice effect of the M&M training system is that you tend to keep going with a given level as long as you can until it stops working and you have to go back to town and train; this creates a natural reverse means of "level scaling" the game.

 

[Mother Russia]

It has to AT LEAST at a bare minimum have a Skill and Magic System that is equal to the original, that was what made the game a blast to play. I'm afraid "NEW RULES" == streamlined, minimal skill and magic system.

cautiously fapping...

Did we play the same M&M games? M&M always had the most bland magic system possible. The only somewhat unique thing was you sometimes needed gems to case the most powerful spells. Otherwise it was bland as shit.

And there was no skill system to speak off. The skills you did get you didn't choose at level up, but trained or found in wells. And they were quite weak and mostly useless (or incredibly essential like swimming, without which your entire party drowned in a puddle of spittle on the ground)

Anything different from the above would be a major incline TBH. And hopefully they will do away with stupid shit like those fucking wells.

 

[MicoSelva]

Well, I don't have that much gaming time either - well, right now I do cause I have semester break, but during the semester I just have too much shit to do - but I love it when a game lasts me for weeks or even months. I just don't understand the "I have work to do so I want my games to be quick and simple" point of view. I like my games to be long and complex so they can last me a long, long time. If I can only put in a couple of hours per week and the game takes months to complete, it's great!

What You write is true for me too, but for great games only. I mean, the cream of the crop.

This problem has a lot to do with my OCD tendencies.
Not only I tend to play games very slowly (usually double the time that is considered average for a game), but I really dislike not finishing games. This means if I start a game and it proves to be decent (but not great) and long I am stuck with it for a long time, while having this frustrating feeling of wasting time, while I could be playing something better. Usually it ends with a mental hangover when I abandon a game without completing it despite investing 30+ hours in it (hello, Divinity 2).

Also, what commie wrote. These really long and complex games are not designed to play them one hour at a time every three or four days. They require frequent attention and longer sessions to keep the player immersed (for a lack of a better word) and properly enjoy them. At least I feel it that way.

 

[commie]

However, I feel I may be too old for these games. I don't have as much time as I had in school/inversity days and these take a lot of time. It was the same with Heroes VI. It was a decent iteration, but I did not have as much time for it as I had for HoMM III in its days, so it kind of faded away.

Aye, this is the challenge not just for the scope of the game but also the mechanics of the gameplay. Most of the people growing up playing titles like this will have jobs and families that massively restrict their game time - not just in terms of game world and story length but also in terms of 'adjustment' time to settle into any differences in gameplay. That was one of the charms of Grimrock for me - I knew how many floors there were and knew I had enough time to complete the game within my free time, while the gameplay mechanics were intuitive enough that I didn't have to 'waste' my precious gaming time learning how things worked.

Yeah those types of crawlers are a special case as they are limited to one geographical area that you tend to clear step by step. No traipsing around the countryside, looking for shit in the middle of nowhere or many different but similar cities to visit to find NPC X. I'm actually playing a similar one on the DS. They are doable in small chunks because each area is self contained.

The problem with that is that you find that you can't remember where you are up to or what you were doing after a while. For me, it's not the length itself that is the problem but the constant interruption to my gaming. Don't know how many times I restarted Baldur's Gate and I STILL haven't finished the fucking thing! I keep getting far then having to do real life shit for ages and then I just forget where I've been, what I've cleared etc.

My biggest problem with RPGs and ironically something that Bethesda has been addressing with Skyrim (You can literally pick up and play) - which is fucking decline!

You know this is probably the biggest reason I have actually finished games like FO3 and DA:O even though for all intents and purposes they are every bit as long as those classic games: they have this 'linear' design(even if they appear to be open world) that just makes them easier to play without getting 'lost' or trying to work out where you've been or where up to the story you are. You pretty much proceed from one simple and short area to another: like this it's easy to clear a pitiful 'dungeon', get whatever it is you need then close the game in the knowledge that when you turn it on again in the future you know exactly where you are and what you've done. It's a far cry from the multiple level dungeons full of traps and beasts that would fuck you up which really required a lot of time and effort to work out in pretty much one long sitting.

This problem has a lot to do with my OCD tendencies.
Not only I tend to play games very slowly (usually double the time that is considered average for a game), but I really dislike not finishing games. This means if I start a game and it proves to be decent (but not great) and long I am stuck with it for a long time, while having this frustrating feeling of wasting time, while I could be playing something better. Usually it ends with a mental hangover when I abandon a game without completing it despite investing 30+ hours in it (hello, Divinity 2).

Yep. Though I'm worse in that I actually FINISH even the turds if I can! That's why I pretty much explored every square inch of FO3 just cause I COULD unlike with better games these days! I think though that with all this talk about M&M, I will fire up my MM1 game and try to go through it to completion. Hell, I've been dabbling with Etrian Odyssey on the handheld for the last few days and it's really given me a hunger for the crawler. I think I'd better finish this one first though otherwise the same old problem will resurface.

 

[Mortmal]

That walker guy is full of shit, is he paid to write that ?
i played rpgs since the beggining of computer gaming and luckily i am blessed with an exceptional memory . Might and magic brand was far from lagging behind. I fetched here an old french magazine( a serious and honest one , dead by now) article of Might and magic 3, its compared to bard's tale but better as you can see monsters coming to you with elements from dungeon master with an fantastic interface and graphics. The only drawback ? it was one of the first rare games requiring a 386 game pc with a big hardrive , like ultima 6.

I remember very well that was true, i diddnt have a pc, a 386 was around 2000 euros , such frustration! might and magic 2 was on amiga but the 3 no !

I am linking the article, theres probalby only charles and me able to read it, but whatever, this is evidence 18/20 is not exactly mediocre:

 

[Sceptic]

I'm disgusted at the way bros like Sceptic, Jaesun and the rest are now falling over themselves, sucking each others' and UbiSHIT's dick(s) in ecstasy

My only post about the game itself in this thread contains the following:

I refuse to get excited about this until more details surface. MM9 was also a Might and Magic true blobber and look how that turned out.

And as commie outlined in the other thread, it may be a turn-based blobber, but that alone doesn't ensure it is M&M.

Yeah, it sure feels like sucking Ubi's dick.

My other post was just making fun of skyway.

And you have Bro Forum access so you can see my post there isn't any more gushing praise.

C'mon commie. I'm every bit as sceptical of this as I should be to justify why I picked this username in the first place. But "look at this shitty engine?" I don't care. They can use Gamebryo for all I care if they're still creating a turn-based open-world exploration-focused blobber. And if they exactly that but fail to capture the elusive M&M feeling I'll enjoy it for what it is and bash them for picking that name. And if they fail to even do that, well, Ubisoft. Then I can go back to my abandoned QFG2 thief playthrough.

Yes it is Ubisoft. Yes they published that abomination HOMM6 (sorry: M&M:H6). They also published HOMM5, which stuck to many of the elements that made HOMM3 so good, actually managed to improve on some (the skill system), fucked up others (the campaigns - but those in TOTE were much better, and original HOMM3 campaigns were crap before expansions anyway), and was all in all a true HOMM. Do I think they can pull it off again and make a true M&M? I don't know. But until they reveal actual details (today!) I'm not going to BASHBASHBASH just for the sake of being skyway.

Also, in an older thread I said I'd buy a fucking CONSOLE if someone released a true M&M on it. How desperate do you think I am? Of course I'm going to want to believe.

 

[commie]

I'm disgusted at the way bros like Sceptic, Jaesun and the rest are now falling over themselves, sucking each others' and UbiSHIT's dick(s) in ecstasy

My only post about the game itself in this thread contains the following:

I refuse to get excited about this until more details surface. MM9 was also a Might and Magic true blobber and look how that turned out.

And as commie outlined in the other thread, it may be a turn-based blobber, but that alone doesn't ensure it is M&M.

Yeah, it sure feels like sucking Ubi's dick.

My other post was just making fun of skyway.

And you have Bro Forum access so you can see my post there isn't any more gushing praise.

C'mon commie. I'm every bit as sceptical of this as I should be to justify why I picked this username in the first place. But "look at this shitty engine?" I don't care. They can use Gamebryo for all I care if they're still creating a turn-based open-world exploration-focused blobber. And if they exactly that but fail to capture the elusive M&M feeling I'll enjoy it for what it is and bash them for picking that name. And if they fail to even do that, well, Ubisoft. Then I can go back to my abandoned QFG2 thief playthrough.

Yes it is Ubisoft. Yes they published that abomination HOMM6 (sorry: M&M:H6). They also published HOMM5, which stuck to many of the elements that made HOMM3 so good, actually managed to improve on some (the skill system), fucked up others (the campaigns - but those in TOTE were much better, and original HOMM3 campaigns were crap before expansions anyway), and was all in all a true HOMM. Do I think they can pull it off again and make a true M&M? I don't know. But until they reveal actual details (today!) I'm not going to BASHBASHBASH just for the sake of being skyway.

Also, in an older thread I said I'd buy a fucking CONSOLE if someone released a true M&M on it. How desperate do you think I am? Of course I'm going to want to believe.

Sorry bro, I skimmed over the 'furiously fapping when noone is looking bit' and it made me see red.You're right of course.

And I have BRO forum access? Where? I've grown to believe that was a lie no matter how much I've been slaving to earn my 1000 brofists....

Oh and speaking of consoles, I got a PSP with NES/Snes emulation so I play the old M&M's on the road. Now to get the PSP dosbox working and try those versions...With the handheld controls being so intuitive and the small screen the games really look better than they did at anytime since ye olde days on those 13 inch monitors.

 

[Hobz]

Mortmal Is that PC Direct ?

 

[commie]

That walker guy is full of shit, is he paid to write that ?
i played rpgs since the beggining of computer gaming and luckily i am blessed with an exceptional memory . Might and magic brand was far from lagging behind. I fetched here an old french magazine( a serious and honest one , dead by now) article of Might and magic 3, its compared to bard's tale but better as you can see monsters coming to you with elements from dungeon master with an fantastic interface and graphics. The only drawback ? it was one of the first rare games requiring a 386 game pc with a big hardrive , like ultima 6.

I remember very well that was true, i diddnt have a pc, a 386 was around 2000 euros , such frustration! might and magic 2 was on amiga but the 3 no !

I am linking the article, theres probalby only charles and me able to read it, but whatever, this is evidence 18/20 is not exactly mediocre:

Fuck I love M&M III. It wasn't my first love (Dark Designs was, followed by Pool of Radiance), but FUCK ME did it just blow me away with it's beautiful 256 colour graphics, interface, sound and gameplay. Nothing else came close. Oh and the review is crap about one thing: you didn't need a 386. I had a 10mhz Turbo XT with a 40 meg HDD(game was just a few megs so it's not like it needed a lot of space), and it ran perfectly for the most part. Only slowdown was in the final 'movie' sequence which was a bit of a slideshow.

 

[Jaesun]

And the Music and special sound effects that you can only hear on a higher end Roland MT-32 is awesome.

 

[tuluse]

Might and Magic doesn't have Emotional Engagement™ like The Walking Dead, so it's not a real RPG.

 

[Jaesun]

And you have Bro Forum access so you can see my post there isn't any more gushing praise.

*cough* I'm pretty sure that doesn't exists.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

Looks much better than the latest Might and Magic games.