Might and Magic The Might and Magic Discussion Thread

[Darth Canoli]

2. I loved MM6 and MM7 when they came out. Since then I've dabbled in World of Xeen, but never got past the first city even though I was enjoying it. It's just that it's old and clunky, nothing more than that. Should I stick with it? How much nostalgia is required to really enjoy WoX?

I also agree with the codex hivemind, it's well worth it, M&M III being even better but arguably lacking some QoL improvements but from where you're coming, you wouldn't see the difference.
You'll get used to the UI, it's not too bad aside from the inventory but even then, just write down the keyboard shortcuts and keep the note close.

Implosion only does 500 damage.

My bad, M&M III implosion does 1K damage.

Yeah, the MM2 MegaDragon is a beast. I think there is a cheese but mostly the tactic you're trying is what most do. I'd like to think there was a clue but damn... that's a long time ago.

Funny, I think its the toughest version of all:

DON'T READ AS ITS A SPOILER -- possibly only SNES related

HEROES 4

& Da MegaDragon King

I didn't know HoMM IV had a mega dragon, i could never get really far in this one, maybe it's worth enduring the pixel hunt and terrible color palette choices (monsters barely visible on the map and such).

 

[jackofshadows]

I didn't know HoMM IV had a mega dragon, i could never get really far in this one, maybe it's worth enduring the pixel hunt and terrible color palette choices (monsters barely visible on the map and such).

HoMM IV is an awesome game (seriously). I don't like campains much but love to play scenarios once in a while, with my favorite the only XL vanilla map where I making 1-2 rogues which are scout around and eventually becoming stand-alone assassins and the other 1-2 heroes slowly clearing the map with the army, King of Bounty game-style.

The music is fantastic, and the gameplay is addicting as much as in previous games.

And speaking of dragons, aforementioned assasin at some point could kill one black dragon per hit which is... cool.

 

[Desiderius]

I didn't know HoMM IV had a mega dragon, i could never get really far in this one, maybe it's worth enduring the pixel hunt and terrible color palette choices (monsters barely visible on the map and such).

HoMM IV is an awesome game (seriously). I don't like campains much but love to play scenarios once in a while, with my favorite the only XL vanilla map where I making 1-2 rogues which are scout around and eventually becoming stand-alone assassins and the other 1-2 heroes slowly clearing the map with the army, King of Bounty game-style.

The music is fantastic, and the gameplay is addicting as much as in previous games.

And speaking of dragons, aforementioned assasin at some point could kill one black dragon per hit which is... cool.

There was a Lords of Magic scenario where you start out as a lowly lvl one Thief who can barely kill a fly that I still remember as unbelievably epic.

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

I didn't know HoMM IV had a mega dragon, i could never get really far in this one, maybe it's worth enduring the pixel hunt and terrible color palette choices (monsters barely visible on the map and such).

The Megadragon is from one of the expansions, probably why you don't remember it. The game is really fun, if you don't mind the strategy focusing on heroes instead of the creatures

There was a Lords of Magic scenario where you start out as a lowly lvl one Thief who can barely kill a fly that I still remember as unbelievably epic.

That's the Earth quest, which I remember being annoyed to start off because early on you need to get enough of a certain resource in order to prevent some dwarves you pick up along the way from leaving. Without them, the early section is insanely difficult, if not impossible. Same issue with the Fire quest.

 

[Dungeon Lord]

I have killed everybody at Castle Ironfist with some Armageddon spell.
Then I paid approx. 1000 gold at the temple and now I am a respectable citizen.

 

[Darth Canoli]

The Megadragon is from one of the expansions, probably why you don't remember it. The game is really fun, if you don't mind the strategy focusing on heroes instead of the creatures

Oh, i don't mind, the problem is your enemies don't mind it either, just the opposite, they love it so much they just gang on your hero and kill him and then it's game over...
Maybe that's on me used to play on higher difficulties and to take on strong opposition.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Lasagna42 said: ↑
1. Is Might & Magic X worth having to download that UBISoft player? I'm pretty gunshy with that stuff. I've got Steam, because duh, and I've got GOG, because they sold (cheap!) the games of my youth when nobody else would. But these other things - when I downloaded RDR2 they made me install and agree to so much shit I was worried I'd accidentally given away my house.

I never had an issue but I get tired of extra stuff running in the background. If you love achievements then its fine. I hated the price on the dev kit (which is what the entire unity program?)? Supposedly, the game can be modded and I was really hoping someone had modded 3 & Xeen and maybe some other games.

Did someone say they converted Xeen to PnP play? I swore I saw that (now to reread 200+ pages)

 

[Sceptic]

The Devil Kings (magic immune (?) and with 5000 HP each) proved too tough for lvl 48 characters. I had to retreat after defeating 4-5 of them. Probably doable with lots of patience, which I had run out of at that point.
The Mega Dragon has 64,000 HP, is immune to physical attacks, and the only spells that seems to have a remote chance of working are non-elemental ones. So it sounds like a project that could take several hours and then you realize you have run out of spell points...

I only did the Devil Kings once and I remember it being more an exercise in patience than skill. Never did manage the Megadragon (I never tried very hard), though I know that it is possible.

1. Is Might & Magic X worth having to download that UBISoft player? I'm pretty gunshy with that stuff. I've got Steam, because duh, and I've got GOG, because they sold (cheap!) the games of my youth when nobody else would. But these other things - when I downloaded RDR2 they made me install and agree to so much shit I was worried I'd accidentally given away my house.

I did install Uplay for MMX, and TBH I didn't find it as onerous as something like Origin personally. I think that if you buy the game through Steam you don't have to give Ubisoft any of your financial info. IIRC you will need both launchers on to play though, which can be annoying.

Sorry, that was boring. But is the game worth it? I read really upbeat reviews and others that cautioned that the combat didn't work quite as intended. What does everyone think?

Read my review and you'll have my answer

2. I loved MM6 and MM7 when they came out. Since then I've dabbled in World of Xeen, but never got past the first city even though I was enjoying it. It's just that it's old and clunky, nothing more than that. Should I stick with it? How much nostalgia is required to really enjoy WoX?

I played it when it was new, but I don't really believe in the nostalgia argument anyway. Judging by the number of people I've seen who started on the old M&M games in the past few years and loved them I'd say zero nostalgia is required. Then again I find MM3-5 to be so less clunky than anything made in the past 10 years.

 

[Desiderius]

Link to review?

 

[CryptRat]

https://rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=9390

 

[Darth Canoli]

Sceptic
No offense, i recognize your knowledge about cRPG but like most Codex Reviews, it feels like an essay on the Might & Magic Legacy and your summary don't tell much about the main features either.
There's something to be told about concision and a good pros/cons summary.

Lasagna42
Aside from that, that's the little things that make the game tedious as hell, the movement never cease to remind you it's square based.
From M&M III, movement have been lightning fast, here, it marks every fucking tile, i find it infuriating.
Navigating the cities is tedious, it only gets worse each time you get to a new one because their layout associated with loading times and the delay when moving makes it a pain.
Constant backtracking, JRPG-like, every fucking dungeon has an area you unlock later...
M&M VI improved the Lloyd's beacon spell allowing 6/8 spots where to teleport, it'd would have been particularly smart to implement it that way in M&M X due to the clunky movement, navigation, loading and complicated layout all over the place but of course they didn't.

So, they discarded everything that made M&M III, IV, V, Swords, VI, VII & VIII successful (fast combat, fast travel, lightning fast gameplay, UI, inventory) and added JRPG gated areas.
The only change i can get behind, to a certain point is the combat but really, it gets old and it's not that good.

So, it's a Miss, they used the franchise but failed or refused to acknowledge its strength and got the reception they deserved, not a complete failure but not a huge success either, an average reception for an average game with retarded flaws, seriously, the movement/travel issues are too retarded.

If the devs were advocates and performed that badly, they'd be disbarred!

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Swords was pretty cool. While I liked WOX better SOX was cool for being sort of a fan-made thing.

Might and Magic: Swords of Xeen was a modification of the Might and Magic V engine by Catware. It was officially published by New World Computing as a bonus scenario in their compilation releases of Might and Magic III, Might and Magic IV, and Might and Magic V.

The game takes place on a new world that is under attack from The Source, which claims to be the mastermind behind Alamar, the primary villain of Might and Magic V.

Hmmmm... Catware... that sounds familiar.

Catware, Inc.

Games
Shattered Light (1999)
Star General (1996)
Might and Magic Trilogy (1995)

lol... Gamespy still exists

 

[Darth Canoli]

So, i just did a full ironman run of Swords of Xeen.
BPRoCDS.
It was fun.

Spoiler

Until i met my very first monster in the very first city.
There was a gate, danger was written on it but, you know, the pre-gen party starts at level 9 and customized characters start at level 8 so i wasn't afraid.
He OS the party though, fastest ironman ever.

There was a hint on the other portcullis :

Spoiler

Beware of the Dragon

Thanks for nothing dude.

Well, i don't play no ironman, saved right before the gate, i'm going back in!

 

[Darth Canoli]

So, update on Dosbos-X + the early M&M tetralogy.

• Isles of Terra > Perfect sound config without anything to do.
• WoX > Everything is good but the Close combat hits (metallic sound, not to high pinched though)
• Swords of Xeen > Well, the SE are pretty awful here, at least, without editing the ini file to find the right numbers.

 

[Desiderius]

That's a helluva review, Sceptic.

If only we had ethics in game journalism we could look forward to the like for every game. Although even among the classics that one would stand out.

Why no love for M&M IX?

 

[Invictus]

So, update on Dosbos-X + the early M&M tetralogy.

• Isles of Terra > Perfect sound config without anything to do.
• WoX > Everything is good but the Close combat hits (metallic sound, not to high pinched though)
• Swords of Xeen > Well, the SE are pretty awful here, at least, without editing the ini file to find the right numbers.

Did you get the Roland MIDI music for Might and Magic 3?

The first time I played it way back in 1991 I had PC speakers and all in all it was ok... as with most early PC games sound effects and music were limited to beeps and boops while the Mega Drive was delivering superb music scores like in Revenge of Shinobi so I basically felt I wasn’t very interested in PC music and sound effects

Second time was around 1998 with a proper Soundblaster Pro and the difference was quite striking especially for the intro music and the digital speech and it overall made the gameworld feel more alive

Third time was in a laptop with the GOG Dosbox version and I switched the music to Roland MIDI and it was simply superb, the different audio channels gave the music such a rich dimension... games like Darklands, Might and Magic and Ultima 7 gained such depth that I can barely remember the early beeps and boops

 

[Dungeon Lord]

So, i just did a full ironman run of Swords of Xeen.

Full ironman?
What does that mean?
Maybe I should have been playing Chiyolate 'fun' MM6 mod this way, the mod is extremely easy. I am half-way(?) and level 121.

 

[Darth Canoli]

Full ironman?
What does that mean?
Maybe I should have been playing Chiyolate 'fun' MM6 mod this way, the mod is extremely easy. I am half-way(?) and level 121.

It was a joke, i rarely play ironman runs and as my party died right after character creation...

Did you get the Roland MIDI music for Might and Magic 3?

The first time I played it way back in 1991 I had PC speakers and all in all it was ok... as with most early PC games sound effects and music were limited to beeps and boops while the Mega Drive was delivering superb music scores like in Revenge of Shinobi so I basically felt I wasn’t very interested in PC music and sound effects

Second time was around 1998 with a proper Soundblaster Pro and the difference was quite striking especially for the intro music and the digital speech and it overall made the gameworld feel more alive

Third time was in a laptop with the GOG Dosbox version and I switched the music to Roland MIDI and it was simply superb, the different audio channels gave the music such a rich dimension... games like Darklands, Might and Magic and Ultima 7 gained such depth that I can barely remember the early beeps and boops

Nothing beats a run with a retro computer from the 90'S and a physical soundblaster card, that's how i played it the first time, same for Xeen.

Dosbox-X has Rolland midi integrated.
But really, what needs to be fine tuned is the Sound Effects, i've played with both Rolland music and without it and i'm not sure which one i prefer (same for Dark Sun but in this case, i think i prefer the music without it)

Well, after trying Swords, Xeen and Isles of Terra, i choose to go with the latter, cleared Fountainhead already, its surroundings and ready to go below Baywatch now...

 

[Dungeon Lord]

Chiyolate Fun and Balanced MM6 mod

I'd rather call it Very easy Adventuring MM6 mod.

Surprisingly in the beginning I have found some overpowered weapon and armor. +44 spear, +550 endurance leather armor etc, but I never found a better spear after that.
I am level 160 and my master dark magic skill is 50.
I went to the dreaded Darkmoor Castle but it was a cakewalk.
So I recommend this mod for whose he want adventuring with filler combat.

 

[Lasagna42]

These are all great replies - thanks guys! I actually couldn't get the Whatever launcher to work - actually I couldn't find a User name that wasn't taken by someone else AND didn't contain a swear word - so I started another run at Pathfinder: Kingmaker (now turn-based!). I'll give MMXL a go once the shame of re-buying a game I just returned wears off. Next week, then. Kind of excited for it, actually. Maybe I should download it tonight - I finished Pathfinder back when it was released.

 

[Jvegi]

I'm playing M&M7 with a party I made some time ago. I picked it up recently, the party was at the very beginning of the game.

Now they're level 3 and I've notice most of my guys have accuracy of 9-10. My knight has 9 and my rouge has 13, the highest in the party. I figure it's pretty low. Does it merit a restart, or should I push forward? Can I increase my ability scores significantly later on?

 

[CryptRat]

I doubt any stat is worth restarting in those games. The stats will be temporarily or permanently increased enough that the difference between 10 or 20 in the beginning won't matter.

 

[Darth Canoli]

Now they're level 3 and I've notice most of my guys have accuracy of 9-10. My knight has 9 and my thief has 13, the highest in the party. I figure it's pretty low. Does it merit a restart, or should I push forward? Can I increase my ability scores significantly later on?

I always start with 15+ for the fighter types and a decent score for the others too (11+).
Probably not worth doing the short dungeon all over again, there's plenty of barrels to increase different stats in harmondale and some in the troglodytes cave.
Later on it's not an issue anymore.

Still, -2 to hit for a starting knight is pretty lame.

 

[Jvegi]

Is the whole game about going from one hub to another? Are all town mostly populated with guilds and merchants? Is there no verisimilitude?

I guess there are secrets and caves, and even some quests, but the whole guild silliness makes me wish for a text based UI to handle skill and gear acquisition.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

Might and Magic... Is there no verisimilitude?