Master of Magic remake from Thea developers and Slitherine

[Lacrymas]

I doubt they'll fuck it up in the gameplay department if all they do is copy MoM with a few balance and QoL changes here and there. What I don't like are the graphics. The Wizards are also too edgy for me.

 

[passerby]

Artstyle is bland but not offensive, if only mechanics and ai were decent these graphics would be a non issue.

I doubt it'll be any better than the new MoO.

 

[Blake00]

Dev diary 2 is here!
http://muhagames.com/mom-dev-diary-2-august-2021/

MoM Dev Diary #2 August 2021

Events
There are several different types of events in Master of Magic, and they will all make a comeback in the remake:

1. Map locations

All events have the option of accepting the default state, or using the ‘choices’ button to see if there are alternative options available.
The map of Master of Magic is filled with various locations that can be explored by the player. These include things like fallen temples, ruins or mysterious caves where both treasure and challenge may await. There are also three power nodes, Sorcery, Nature and Chaos, and the magic towers that serve as portals between Arcanus and Myrror. All of those locations have an event attached to them, so that the appropriate path will trigger – combat if there are defenders, or loot if it is abandoned. Those events are fairly straight forward and apart from some extra fluff here or there, they will remain unchanged.

2. Random events

This is how a ‘module’ looks like inside the event editor – a tool that will be available for players as well.

All of the random events from the original MoM are returning, but they are slightly modified. In the remake, we want to give the wizard a chance to react to some of those events, instead of them being a simple notification of what occurred. You will always have the option to simply accept the default result, but in some cases, you will be able to either alter or even avoid the consequences. This will typically be achieved by offering a payment via mana/gold or other means that an event may respond to.

In the classic Benefactor event, you have the added option of giving up the gold to gain some fame instead.

Some events will of course remain choice free, as they are pretty straight forward. But, the event editor allows for easy modifications if needs be.

These events have varied triggers, that include turn counter, specific prerequisite (like x amount of fame/gold/mana etc) or simply chance. All of the events also have a cooldown counter, to ensure they do not pop up one after another.

We are also planning to add an event pack to the game, which will bring in additional and new content. But, as in the original, those events will be optional (using something like an on/off toggle).

This WIP event is from the new pack, and has some additional options to change the outcome of an otherwise negative occurrence.

Spoiler

3. Traders and recruitment


The last category of events is the recruitment and/or item sales. These events are not yet implemented, but they too will return to Master of Magic. Based on your Fame, units, heroes, champions or items will be offered to you for sale/recruitment.

Art Show of the month – Wizards
And we will end today’s dev diary with a show of some Wizards and their evolution. As with the original, there are 14 Wizards to choose from. The Wizards will have their preset traits (formerly known as retorts) and magic books, but you will be able to change this as you wish, thus creating your own, custom versions. The preset Wizards also have a short backstory or flavour text to show their character.

First, the ones that remained mostly unchanged:

Rjak remains mysterious as ever. In their new reincarnation, you don’t even see the eyes, making them an even more unsettling character.

Tlaloc is the master of rain and storm, some call him an Aztec priest, some believe him to be the rain god incarnate. He seems to be in a darker mood these days.
Some have grown older and wiser:

Lo Pan is a Wushen master who specialises in Chaos and Sorcery magic. The years may have whitened his mane, but Lo Pan’s wisdom remains steadfast.
And here are some that were reinterpreted:

Sharee is an accomplished voodoo priestess and despite her deceptively young visage, she’s said to have cheated death many times over. She now wears more clothes…

Sss’ra is a draconian warlock who specialises in both Chaos and Life magic. Sss’ra has clearly become more ferocious over the years…

Events editor sounds cool.. didn't even know sharee was topless in the original as I never played as her, thats kind of funny they went that way back in the day, but yes I guess it's best altered in todays world lol.

As someone who always uses Rjak's face in MoM and in any spin off game he's copied into (eg AoW) I gotta say it's a big disappointment about Rjak eyes.. only seeing the red eyes in the darkness was awesome and spooky.. I think you'd be hard pressed to find any MoM fans that think the glowing eyes were a minor feature that could be dropped but oh well.. I guess he shall now be known as... "CLOTH FACE" lol!

.

 

[Lacrymas]

The wizards are too edgy in the new artstyle. Why is Lo Pan old and grey now? Is this some kind of sequel and many years have gone past? The text certainly implies that.

 

[HeroMarine]

Why is Lo Pan old and grey now?

 

[Alex]

The wizards are too edgy in the new artstyle. Why is Lo Pan old and grey now? Is this some kind of sequel and many years have gone past? The text certainly implies that.

I thought every MoM wizard was somehow unaging; given they all lived for several generations of whatever people they ruled.

 

[mondblut]

The wizards are too edgy in the new artstyle. Why is Lo Pan old and grey now? Is this some kind of sequel and many years have gone past? The text certainly implies that.

They covered the negress' tits. The game is officially shit.

 

[mondblut]

As someone who always uses Rjak's face in MoM and in any spin off game he's copied into (eg AoW) I gotta say it's a big disappointment about Rjak eyes.. only seeing the red eyes in the darkness was awesome and spooky.. I think you'd be hard pressed to find any MoM fans that think the glowing eyes were a minor feature that could be dropped but oh well.. I guess he shall now be known as... "CLOTH FACE" lol!.

The cucks refer to him as "they", lmao. Anybody with a functional pair of eyes can see that there is a moustached man's face beneath the cowl.

Here, brightened it a little bit:

"They" my ass!

Instead they did what, a human-shaped toadstool colony? I bet "they" introduce "their" pronouns when you first meet.

 

[dacencora]

Pretty telling that the only people ITT who said this looks good also said "never played the original" lmao.

 

[Alex]

As someone who always uses Rjak's face in MoM and in any spin off game he's copied into (eg AoW) I gotta say it's a big disappointment about Rjak eyes.. only seeing the red eyes in the darkness was awesome and spooky.. I think you'd be hard pressed to find any MoM fans that think the glowing eyes were a minor feature that could be dropped but oh well.. I guess he shall now be known as... "CLOTH FACE" lol!.

The cucks refer to him as "they", lmao. Anybody with a functional pair of eyes can see that there is a moustached man's face beneath the cowl.

Here, brightened it a little bit:

"They" my ass!

Instead they did what, a human-shaped toadstool colony? I bet "they" introduce "their" pronouns when you first meet.

All these years and I thought he was just a shadow...

 

[Blake00]

Yeah someone on discord asked me "what's wrong with gazing into darkness" presumably defending the lack of eyes, to which I replied that any owner of a dog or cat will tell you that glowing eyes in the darkness are always scarier than just darkness. The amount of times my animals have scared the living sh*t out of me when I'm just going to bathroom in the middle of the night

But there's nothing wrong with darkness either.. but I don't even see that on the new Rjak.. as it's covered by a cloth (hence Mr CLOTH FACE!).. and like every other new wizard there's lots jewelry (what's that all about?).. or maybe those things are actually wind chimes on the cloth. As when your face is made of infinite darkness it probably has a nice breeze running through it, so I'm sure he makes a lovely tune as he floats about.

Jokes aside yeah the original Rjak does indeed have a face. Just gotta up the brightness a bit and there it is.

 

[mondblut]

Here, brightened it a little bit:

All these years and I thought he was just a shadow...

A shadow he might be, but it's a shadow of Edgar Allen Poe.

 

[Blake00]

oh and btw mondblut I recognize your profile pic. Celtic Tales - Balor of the Evil Eye is such an underrated fantasy strategy game that not enough people know about. My love of Master of Magic is probably what attracted me to Celtic Tales in the first place but it's of course it's own different beast. I replay it every few years!

 

[dacencora]

Also, why must we always have hexes on turn-based strategy games these days? The original MoM used a square grid. Bring it back!

 

[mondblut]

Also, why must we always have hexes on turn-based strategy games these days? The original MoM used a square grid. Bring it back!

Autists successfully convinced the world that moving in 6 directions is better than moving in 8, and walking in zigzags in 2 out of 4 cardinal directions is totally hip.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Hexmaps have always looked cooler:

Map from Outdoor Survival (1972) by Avalon Hill; in the upper-right corner of the photograph can be seen a copy of original Dungeons & Dragons, which suggested using this map for "off-hand adventures in the wilderness".

 

[Blake00]

Dev diary 3 is here:
https://muhagames.com/mom-dev-diary-3-september-2021/

Spoiler

MoM Dev Diary #3 September 2021

Some of the many mercenaries returning to MoM.
Mercenaries
In this month’s spotlight, we’ll talk about the brave mercenaries who may decide to join our cause, the heroes and champions of Master of Magic. So first things first, all 35 are coming back and as with everything else, we are attempting to recreate all their skills and special abilities faithfully.

Types of mercenaries:

There are two types of mercenaries in Master of Magic, Heroes and Champions. Heroes are the more common hired hands, while Champions are the more unique characters. Every mercenary in Master of Magic has their own, short backstory and fun flavour to explore. In terms of mechanics then, the Champions tend to have more abilities and higher stats than heroes, as well as higher prerequisites needed for them to be interested in serving you.

Some of the extra, non-canon events we’ve added may have specific mercenaries join the wizard as a reward, or some events may have a special path unlocked when a particular type of mercenary is present.

Brax the Dwarf, also known by the name of Brax the Berserker. A dwarven warrior with an insatiable lust for combat.

Some say Deth Stryke was a lord once, or even a prince, but he lost to some epic duel and his eye patch now remains as the only proof of such a past.
Recruitment:

Mercenaries are attracted to wizards with high Fame. Some Champions also require a specific alignment (Mortu for example, requires 40 Fame and at least 1 Death spellbook).

When you have the right Fame you have a certain chance that a recruitment event will be triggered and you will then be able to hire the mercenary that happens to be interested in joining you.

You can also find and rescue Heroes from random locations on the map (note that you cannot find Champion this way, they are too good to be caught by some random bandits!) There is also one Champion, Torin, who can only be summoned by the Incarnation spell, from the Life book.

Recruitment also comes at a cost. Mercenaries will often require an initial payment (unless you have rescued them) and then upkeep in gold. If you lack the gold to pay your mercenary, they will leave you.

Gunther the Barbarian is a warrior of great renown. He boasts the ability to single-handedly turn a huge grain wheel if needed.

Fang the Draconian is a formidable warrior of imposing stature. Descended from dragons, Fang is an intimidating foe.

B’Shan is a dervish monk, devoted to his duty and service. His Noble intentions mean you get his service free of upkeep!
Abilities and stats:

Mercenaries tend to have some preset abilities, ones that support their flavour, plus some have additional, random abilities, so that even the same mercenary can play a little differently each time you recruit them.

Example abilities:

• The Noble ability is great, as a noble mercenary does not charge you any upkeep for their service
• Caster ability allows the hero/champion to cast their own spells in battle, independent of the wizard
• Legendary champions give their wizard additional Fame, because they are so cool

Mercenaries, like all units in Master of Magic, can have melee, ranged or magic attacks, and some heroes and champions will have a combination of those.
Stats can also be improved by Artifacts.

Artifacts:

A look at the WIP artifact screen, where you can assign equipment to your mercenaries.
Artifacts are powerful objects that you can either find or conjure up. They give bonuses to your mercenaries. We’ve recreated all of the equipment from the original (there are 250 artifacts ready to go), and as of now, only the ‘invisibility’ skill is still work in progress.

Each character will have three slots that can be equipped and depending on the type of mercenary they are, they may have slots for melee, ranged or magical weapons, armour, shields and jewellery.

There are no restrictions for building artifacts, although we may implement one where you cannot apply a spell/skill that is not from your magic school. And so, in our remake, the items from the ‘forbidden item list’ that can be found on the original wiki, are no longer a stuff of mere dreams.

Fun fact – there was a skill for artifacts in Master of Magic – Power Drain, that reportedly did not always work as it should have, but we made it work (alright, it isn’t so much fun, but we’re excited about it…)

Aerie the Illusionist a trickster, specialising in mind magic and deception. She appears as a mere child, and often wears masks and costumes.
Losing mercenaries:

Most of your mercenaries will simply die like any other unit, but you can research spells that allow you to resurrect the fallen. If you recruit a mercenary that previously died in your service, they cannot remember what they achieved before, or perhaps the trauma of death set them back, but either way, they begin at the starting level again.

You can also dismiss a mercenary at any given time.

Grayfairer the Druid cultivates the age-old traditions of nature warship. He is devoted to his study of the mystical ways of nature.
That is all for now, but we will leave you with a look at a couple more new wizard portraits. Don’t forget to join us on Discord for a discussion of this month’s dev diary.

Raven, the master of both nature and sorcery magic and powerful shaman on a journey of spiritual discovery – and ultimate power, of course…

Horus remains the young, seemingly carefree lad he once was, although I think he does have better hair now

Btw I don't think Raven's head gear is big enough so I fixed it

 

[Lacrymas]

Mmm, I still think a lot of the charm of the original is gone. The reimagining of the champions follows the same kind of streamlined/generic trend as the wizards. Some of them look like completely different people.

 

[Alex]

Dev diary 3 is here:
https://muhagames.com/mom-dev-diary-3-september-2021/

Btw I don't think Raven's head gear is big enough so I fixed it

I wish we had a "moo" button.

 

[Inconceivable]

Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes released a big 3.0 update a few days ago. Anybody check it out?

 

[dacencora]

Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes released a big 3.0 update a few days ago. Anybody check it out?

Why are you asking about Fallen Enchantress in the Master of Magic remake thread?

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads...chantress-released.77252/page-16#post-7481644

 

[mastroego]

Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes released a big 3.0 update a few days ago. Anybody check it out?

Why are you asking about Fallen Enchantress in the Master of Magic remake thread?

This is the Codex.

@Inconceivable
I wanted to check it out, but I used to play with that XTra mod, I'm afraid it won't work anymore. Not sure though.
Also it seems it introduced some new issues, so it's probably necessary to wait for hotfixes.

 

[vonAchdorf]

The wizards are too edgy in the new artstyle. Why is Lo Pan old and grey now? Is this some kind of sequel and many years have gone past? The text certainly implies that.

And where's the color? Everything looks dull, generic and boring.

 

[Inconceivable]

Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes released a big 3.0 update a few days ago. Anybody check it out?

Why are you asking about Fallen Enchantress in the Master of Magic remake thread?

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads...chantress-released.77252/page-16#post-7481644

Because FE was touted as a spiritual successor to MoM and the games have obvious similarities. But I wanted a MoM and FE didn't quite scratch the same itch, so I was wondering how the MoM fans feel about the latest update to FE.

You savvy?

 

[Lacrymas]

Every single fantasy 4X has claimed to be a MoM spiritual successor and none of them are that. There's something special in MoM that is a bit hard to pinpoint.