Putting the 'role' back in role-playing games since 2002.
Donate to Codex
Good Old Games
  • Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.

    "This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.

Might and Magic The Might and Magic Discussion Thread

What is the best Might & Magic game in the series?

  • Might and Magic: Book I

    Votes: 17 2.3%
  • Might and Magic II: Gates to Another World

    Votes: 29 3.9%
  • Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra

    Votes: 59 7.9%
  • Might and Magic: World of Xeen

    Votes: 183 24.5%
  • Might and Magic: Swords of Xeen

    Votes: 5 0.7%
  • Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven

    Votes: 215 28.7%
  • Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor

    Votes: 130 17.4%
  • Might and Magic VIII: Day of the Destroyer

    Votes: 26 3.5%
  • Might and Magic IX

    Votes: 11 1.5%
  • Might and Magic X

    Votes: 73 9.8%

  • Total voters
    748

grimer

Learned
Joined
Feb 24, 2021
Messages
164
the previous games also didn't have a proper skill system which made character development really basic and boring
 

Impressive Organ

Educated
Joined
Mar 9, 2021
Messages
52
Started MM1 with the automap mod a few days ago. I like it a lot. All the elements of the later games are there, just in a much more primitive form. I really love this whole series.
 

UndeadHalfOrc

Educated
Joined
Nov 5, 2023
Messages
119
I came across the box set of the japanese PC Engine version of M&M3

42046--might-and-magic-iii-isles-of-terra.png
 

UndeadHalfOrc

Educated
Joined
Nov 5, 2023
Messages
119
I'm trying to make my own balance patches foir MM3-4-5, but with my non-existent reverse-engineering skills, all I'm good at is trying to find hardcoded constants hidden in the executables. Over the years I did that with some success in older PC games as well as a few NES and SNES roms.

In MM3, I'm using Jeff Ludwig's decompressed EXE and bug fix patch (but NOT his spawn mod)
https://www.jeffludwig.com/mm3/resources.php

I was looking for the offsets for the # of levels needed to get 1 extra attacks, for all classes.

I found the offsets by looking for the values, 0x0506060708, suspecting the classes
were ordered the same way they are in the character creation screen.

offset 0x1A328
Knight Paladin Archer Cleric Sorcerer Robber Ninja Barbarian Druid Ranger
5 6 6 7 8 6 5 4 7 6


I tried the same for World of Xeen, with no success.
I used Cedric Busch' Xeen utilities to decompress the CC files.
I looked for that sequence in the executable files, in the XEEN.dat file, and in the individual files inside the decompressed DARK.CC, with no success either in finding the same sequence or even just the first few numbers, 5 6 6 7
Cedric Busch' Xeen utilities:
http://games.playazlounge.net/#UserUtilities

I will likely have to learn to use the Dosbox debugger to find the file and data offset I'm looking for.

Unless someone here more skilled than me finds them first?
 

UndeadHalfOrc

Educated
Joined
Nov 5, 2023
Messages
119
Some new offsets for MM3, (again for Ludmeister uncompressed version)
Metal to-hit bonuses Ruby: 0x19E03 (you can easily find the other metals from there)
Metal damage bonuses Ruby: 0x19E1A (you can easily find the other metals from there)
 

UndeadHalfOrc

Educated
Joined
Nov 5, 2023
Messages
119
I'm currently working on a C++ balance semi-patch/utility that halves the effectiveness of Holy Bonus, Heroism & Bless for MM3, MM4-5 and Swords of Xeen.
Spellpower = (level / 2) + 4 instead of Spellpower = level. The +4 is to not punish low level parties too much.
I might just decide the copy the entire source code in here, so get your visual studio in order
 

Damned Registrations

Furry Weeaboo Nazi Nihilist
Joined
Feb 24, 2007
Messages
15,993
I'm currently working on a C++ balance semi-patch/utility that halves the effectiveness of Holy Bonus, Heroism & Bless for MM3, MM4-5 and Swords of Xeen.
Spellpower = (level / 2) + 4 instead of Spellpower = level. The +4 is to not punish low level parties too much.
I might just decide the copy the entire source code in here, so get your visual studio in order
Any plans for the wells? Plenty of those are egregiously overpowered, and seem to have had their numbers chosen because they're nice and even, rather than actually making any sense for where they are or their effect on the game as a whole.
 

UndeadHalfOrc

Educated
Joined
Nov 5, 2023
Messages
119
Nope, no idea how to do that. BUT my formula for halving levels for buffs take into account temporary level + real level.
I agree wells they are overpowered, the weakest one in MM3 gives +20 levels.
 

ColonelMace

Educated
Joined
Aug 7, 2023
Messages
210
Location
Tsarfat
Might & Magic: Book One is one the greatest games ever made.
True. Lord Alamar's quest still bugs me to this day as one of the most elegant example of how to handle narration via gameplay. This and the etched clues, the villain name reveal. JVC's very first game was already phenomenal.
 

KeighnMcDeath

RPG Codex Boomer
Joined
Nov 23, 2016
Messages
15,845
I was just thinking about the wizardry games and bestiaries then I thought about the ones for Might & Magic. While fandom is tolerable and there is rpgclassics 2.0, gamefaqs snd a few loose ones there is no ULTIMATE one imho. Well, there isn't one for Bard's tale, Wizardry or a few others either. The Ultima Codex gets close to a format I kind of like in a spreadsheet sort of way. But eh..

This + This maybe. I am always interested in the art used per different versions.

Anyway, I found a few Mac references that were interesting:

Diary of Planet Stranger (use translator)

LP ARCHIVE Might & Magic Book One: (MAC)
 

Rudra

Literate
Joined
May 22, 2024
Messages
28
i picked up Might and Magic 1 through 9 courtesy of GoG. Since i've never really played a blobber before, where do I start? any recommended mods for modern QoL?
 

behold_a_man

Educated
Joined
Nov 26, 2022
Messages
248
Since i've never really played a blobber before, where do I start?
And what do you enjoy? JVC was one of the few people who could reinvent the series with each entry. The Secret of the Inner Sanctum had maybe the best low-level adventure of any game, grueling combat, and is one of the few games with properly implemented randomized itemization; Gates to Another World had quite insane humor; Isles of Terra had the best puzzles; World of Xeen was the prettiest and the most polished one; Mandate of Heaven had the best dungeons and the most open world (in 3D); and For Blood & Honor was the most linear and coherent of them all, with some choices having dramatic consequences.

Note that since Mandate of Heaven, the series had a pretty modern interface, and the movement became continuous (and clunky) rather than discrete.
any recommended mods for modern QoL?
All games are playable without mods. Some tool for mapping might come in handy in the first four, especially the first two (I managed to play through Isles of Terra without a mapper; it might be possible in Gates too, since you are given a rudimentary map of each area).
 
Joined
Jan 7, 2012
Messages
15,439
I found MM3-5 to have a surprisingly comfortably modern interface actually, I think they are great starter points and generally speaking the easiest games of the series. Not that mastering MM3-5 will help you much at all when you try to play MM1-2 or 6-9, they are practically different genres of games.
 

Butter

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Oct 1, 2018
Messages
8,779
i picked up Might and Magic 1 through 9 courtesy of GoG. Since i've never really played a blobber before, where do I start? any recommended mods for modern QoL?
M&M9 is woefully incomplete, rushed out the door before it even reached alpha state. I'm sure there are mods to try and make it playable/enjoyable. World of Xeen is the best place to start.
 

Morpheus Kitami

Liturgist
Joined
May 14, 2020
Messages
2,713
i picked up Might and Magic 1 through 9 courtesy of GoG. Since i've never really played a blobber before, where do I start? any recommended mods for modern QoL?
1-2 are more Wizardry styled than the real-time/turn-based blobbers with combat taking place entirely in the game world.
3-5 are grid-based, but despite this, they're still very fun. Other people might know of mods that improve things, but I found it playable out of the box 10-15 years ago. Just remember, running away isn't cowardly, it might ensure you live another day. World adds in some QoL features that I don't remember, but I think they were of the variety that if you've used them, you'll notice them, but if you haven't, you won't.
6-8 are not grid-based, more like a FPS of the time, but as a RPG. Early on, you still want to be ready to flee a dangerous area if need be, but as time goes on, you quickly snowball into something killing dozens of enemies at a time. 6 is the hardest, and has some very tricky dungeons, 7 is middle of the pack, you need to kite enemies early on, and 8 is the easiest, and that's even without exploiting certain mechanics in the game.
9 is weird, its 6-8, but in true 3D, but its also quite broken, since the companies were running out of money and they rushed it out the door. AFAIK, nobody's fixed the issues, so its only of value to a MM fan.
 

TheDeveloperDude

MagicScreen Games
Developer
Joined
Jan 9, 2012
Messages
620
6 is the hardest, and has some very tricky dungeons, 7 is middle of the pack, you need to kite enemies early on, and 8 is the easiest, and that's even without exploiting certain mechanics in the game.
Hmmm. So should I start with 8 for my full real-time play? I would try to play without turn-based mode again.

When I first played 6 then in New Sorpigal it got dark on me in the town. And it was pitch black. I remember this because it was surprising.
But now I play again 6 and there is a light circle around the party. I have no Torchlight. And I can see the environment vaguely.
Why is this?
 

Storyfag

Perfidious Pole
Patron
Joined
Feb 17, 2011
Messages
18,056
Location
Stealth Orbital Nuke Control Centre
6 is the hardest, and has some very tricky dungeons, 7 is middle of the pack, you need to kite enemies early on, and 8 is the easiest, and that's even without exploiting certain mechanics in the game.
Hmmm. So should I start with 8 for my full real-time play? I would try to play without turn-based mode again.

When I first played 6 then in New Sorpigal it got dark on me in the town. And it was pitch black. I remember this because it was surprising.
But now I play again 6 and there is a light circle around the party. I have no Torchlight. And I can see the environment vaguely.
Why is this?
Better stick to playing chronologically and finishing 6*. 7 and 8 add some quality of life improvements, so starting from 8 would make going back to 6 somewhat jarring. I never encountered the total pitch blackness in town, so can't help you there.



*you could also install the Merge mod and play 6 and 7 in the engine of 8. It is really enjoyable.
 

TheDeveloperDude

MagicScreen Games
Developer
Joined
Jan 9, 2012
Messages
620
LOL, this real-time only play is somewhat crazy and fun. But it is maddening as well, because of the recovery times. I am smashing Attack/Shoot buttons like crazy and nothing happens.
 
Joined
Jan 7, 2012
Messages
15,439
LOL, this real-time only play is somewhat crazy and fun. But it is maddening as well, because of the recovery times. I am smashing Attack/Shoot buttons like crazy and nothing happens.

You probably have the run by default option on, which doubles recovery times. Hold the walk key to recover faster. With everyone using a bow you are practically a machine gun.
 

ColonelMace

Educated
Joined
Aug 7, 2023
Messages
210
Location
Tsarfat
It's a really strange gameplay but it'll grow on you eventually.
Shit gets particularly enjoyable when you learn how to cast fireballs, as per blobber tradition.
 

As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.
Back
Top Bottom