Might and Magic Might & Magic III + Xeen + Spawn (Jeff's) Mod

[Darth Canoli]

Hi,

I'm replaying those with the spawn mod, i figured it could use some more difficulty and indeed, it works, more status effects and mobs respawning in hard dungeons (in the other ones too).

So far so good, still, i've read someone advising against playing with those mods, anyone want to share why ?

In Xeen, i've been able to clear Winterkill (no spawn tile in that city) but in Terra, i can't seem to get the award for clearing Baywatch, although i'm already in swamp town and soon, moving forward to the next (not that i've cleaned everything around towns though, i just need the spells ;-)
Any hints ?

Any insights on those mods ?

 

[octavius]

The combat in MM3 is extremely simplistic, so why even more of it?

I did try the mod, but didn't like it much, but it did work as advertised.
So if you like MM3 combat, go for it.

 

[Darth Canoli]

Oh, i'm already there.

Spoiler

And MM3 combat isn't as simplistic as people think it is, it's just fast, specially with easy encounters but when you're facing challenging opponents, finding the right spells to use isn't that easy, a lot of choices to make, except, of course for the knight and the barbarian ...

I like the mod so far, it means areas are never empty and it's never a problem due to travel options (town portal, loyd's beacon, magic mirrors, teleport, boats and other and various travelling means )

Any more insight ? Someone whom got through the whole game with it or just couldn't stand it for some reason ?

 

[Eggs is eggs]

You don't need re-spawning of monsters for exp or gold and it seems like all it would do is slow you down when you're travelling back through areas you already beat.

 

[Darth Canoli]

Eggs is eggs
Did you try it ?
It doesn't do just that http://jeffludwig.com/mm3/download.php

Besides, you don't walk that much in areas you already cleared (except cities) in M&M III -V, it's not M&M X
You just teleport.
One Loyd's beacon next to a MP source, one or two others for area(s) you're exploring.
Town portal, mirrors, teleport ...

And when you do, because you want to, it's much more interesting, it feels more lively.

 

[Strange Fellow]

I've yet to play an RPG in which the encounter rate was too low.

 

[Invictus]

The combat in MM3 is extremely simplistic, so why even more of it?

I did try the mod, but didn't like it much, but it did work as advertised.
So if you like MM3 combat, go for it.

Kind of one of the reasons I love Might & Magic 3 (as well as World of Xeen) is that the combat plays second fiddle to the exploration and pretty graphics... which hold surprisingly well given the are more than 25 years old
Yeah they are not as strategic as the Wizardry games but the simplicity made them so approachable and simply fun; most of my non D&D friends could enjoy the game along with some beers and music
I still remember those gaming sessions with World of Xeen, Eye of the Beholder 2, Lands of Lore and Heroes of Might and Magic...
Hell I feel old

 

[Darth Canoli]

Didn't finish that playthrough, well, my mistake was probably to play Isles of Terra and Xeen simultaneously, both with Jeff's mods.

What got to me, in the end is the sound effects, never got them right, when i got the CC sounds right, the arrows sounds were weird and the other way around, Munt didn't change much except getting the music weird.

If someone has a perfect settings for the sound effects to share (no weird windows piercing sounds), i'm all ears and i can offer my eternal gratitude.

 

[JarlFrank]

I hate respawns so I'll pass.

 

[azimovhaas8 (Moth)]

Ludmeister's Might and Magic 3 modification changes game in different directions, in addition to respawn change and increased difficulty of game: new monster types for different outdoor maps, fixed monster resistance bug, different Arena tweaks, power level of characters have different dynamic (starting from 50 and more in stats), spells and items more diverse and interesting to use (nerfed Heroism is something i can understand, but do not liked completely; here going to be more interesting stuff to use with chance for potential enhancement been quadrupled).
+ Game runs slightly faster on modern PC's - sometimes to a point, that characters with ranged weapons can fire multiple projectiles in place of just one. It also depends on DOS Box configuration, as well.

Monster spawns are not only part of modification, but if you really dislike constant fights (sometimes tedious af, sometimes actually pretty tough and close) - you better to pass. If you can tolerate constant respawns - Ludmeister's work have other things to offer.
I played it myself and liked for most part.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I need to try this. I played 3-Xeen so many times it might be fun.

 

[Endarire]

I started a Xeen Epic Remix mod playthrough many years ago and didn't finish it. I didn't like how non-casters were seemingly useless due to being so inaccurate, and spells being required to deal damage to most things. I liked some changes, but I preferred the faster pace of the original games.

This is largely for Darth Canoli.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Ah yes! I was on that page when looking for an older EXODUS hack. Funny I can find this one and the 2020 ones. There was another and a gfx hack. I never found a music hack for NES/Famicom Exodus.

 

[Luzur]

IIRC jeff was planning more mods when i talked to him, but i havent heard anything more since then.

 

[Darth Canoli]

I started a Xeen Epic Remix mod playthrough many years ago and didn't finish it. I didn't like how non-casters were seemingly useless due to being so inaccurate, and spells being required to deal damage to most things. I liked some changes, but I preferred the faster pace of the original games.

This is largely for Darth Canoli.

I agree but if you want to replay M&M III, it's a good option, respawn is only annoying in a few places, outside, you can just use teleport and also use other travel means.
But it makes some fights interesting and i disagree about melee fighters being useless but i usually only play 2 pure melee (Thief + Barb), for example, in one of the castles, i remember the mages being lethal unless i tricked them into melee and then boom, Blue Wizard was just hit by a truck an angry Barbarian...

But sure, it's not recommended for a first plathrough (to say the least) and not even if you played Isles of Terra such a long time ago you don't remember it.

IIRC jeff was planning more mods when i talked to him, but i havent heard anything more since then.

Mods for M&M III?

Ah yes! I was on that page when looking for an older EXODUS hack. Funny I can find this one and the 2020 ones. There was another and a gfx hack. I never found a music hack for NES/Famicom Exodus.

Same question, a gfx hack for the PC version of M&M III?

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Graphic hack for NES EXODUS. It was recoloring of the mobs, and changed your char icons stats screen. I think it was a little anime-like. I'll just have to retry these in case my memory is fuzzy.

 

[grimer]

abandoned my initial playthrough of xeen around 60% of the way through clouds due to finding it too easy even when avoiding rest spamming and stat buffs from fountains so i started a new playthrough with this mod. my party consists of the following:

• half-orc barbarian
• human paladin
• human ranger (wanted a character that can heal and cast lloyd's beacon)
• dwarf ninja
• gnome cleric
• elf sorcerer

ive cleared vertigo and the surrounding area as well as level 1 of the dwarf mines and here are my impressions so far:

• difficulty is increased in two ways: resource attrition from constant spawns (especially when playing with the same restrictions on resting and fountain buffs) and new enemies added to the encounter tables. my party died at level 2 of the dwarf mines because of the newly added beholder bat there which killed my party within a few rounds of aoe fire damage as it kept dodging my attacks
• another important thing to mention is that there are certain tiles that trigger a complete respawn of the area so you need to be careful not to step on them when running low on resources (use jump if necessary). sometimes its easier to have the party flee from combat as that will usually put them close to the entrance but you might also just run into another group of enemies which you cant flee from as youre already in the "flee" tile
• ranged weapons deal significantly more damage now (e.g. a longbow deals 5d8 damage) so it might be better to kite some enemies with jump spells instead of fighting them in melee

my plan right now is to continue exploring the areas near vertigo and gain a few more levels to help me survive in one of the nearby towns (rivercity or nightshadow) long enough to buy some spells and find the magic mirror to teleport back. i really need the buff spells for melee and teleport spell to avoid fights

 

[Konjad]

Spoiler

Holy crap, graphics really do look shit on an LCD. Certainly not like I remember them. I hope you're playing on a CRT.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

You know, With older games you’d think the gog/steam launcher would put up some options like LCD/CRT display. I know it is pretty hit or miss creating artificial scan lines though. Sometimes that looks even shittier (check emulators).

Wow last update: Last updated on November 28th, 2011. I didn’t realize it was that old.