Might and Magic info!

[tecnowraith]

Any fans of the Might and Magic series of both rts and rpg games, I have some questions? What makes this game so popular to gamers? Is it the stories, gameplay or the world in general? What is the difference between might and magic series and other fantasy games or worlds?

Thanks for any feedback.

 

[Andre]

Any fans of the Might and Magic series of both rts and rpg games, I have some questions? What makes this game so popular to gamers? Is it the stories, gameplay or the world in general? What is the difference between might and magic series and other fantasy games or worlds?

Thanks for any feedback.

Might and Magic RPG's

Might and Magic was a real revolution in crpg's when the first installment was released in the 1980's. It was color, had a world packed with things to do, a simple magic system, a ton of items, lots of puzzles, and a decent overall plot. It had a few flaws, such as limited saves (you could only save the game if you returned to an inn). It also had the annoying trait that monsters always respawned - you could never completely clear an area. Still, it changed how many crpg's were made.

Might and Magic II was very derivative of the first game. It added the "feature" of filling out your party with hirelings, which fortunately was dropped in the next few games. Otherwise, it was just a higher-powered version of the first.

Might and Magic III introduced a new graphics engine. Still 2D, it improved the game noticeably. It also changed the way items were used by characters, increasing the number of items you could use and carry. This was the first Might and Magic game I didn't feel the need to map every square to figure things out.

Might and Magic IV and V were separate games that could be combined into one master game called World of Xeen. This is still my second favorite version of the game. The graphics were improved from MM3, the quests were (IMO) more interesting, and moving between the two worlds created some interesting situations. One thing it does suffer from is the "lawnmower" effect, where you can clear out every square on the map by moving over it and defeating the encounter. The designer specifically mentions this in the notes for the next three games, as he wanted to eliminate that aspect of the game.

Might and Magic VI saw the introduction of yet another new graphic engine. The spell and skill systems were overhauled, party makeup was changed - essentially a completely new game, with just a few elements from the standard MM games. This is also the first MM game that allows real-time combat, though the option of going turn-based is just a spacebar away. I enjoyed this one, but it seemed a bit aimless to me. Also, previous MM games adjusted the difficulty of encounters by where you were in the world - there were relatively safe, low-level areas, and very dangerous areas. MM6 began a trend toward mixing things up, so a dungeon right outside of the starting town would be far too powerful for your starting party. Many MM players consider this their favorite of the series.

Might and Magic VII is my favorite. The classes and skills were tweaked a bit, but mostly the plot hangs together much better, IMO. An interesting option in this game comes in the middle-game: you can choose to play on the good side or the evil side. Base on your choice, your quests change, the interface differs (light for good, dark for evil), and you get a different ending when the game is finished. Personally, I think it's more difficult to finish the game as evil, but it's also kind of fun to take on archangels and the like.

Might and Magic VIII. The graphic engine from MM6 begins to show its age by the time this one was released. Also, for some reason the designer chose to return to the idea of hirelings in this game. You start with just one character and everyone else is hired. That's not so bad, until you realize that much better npc's can be found later. So you end up with no connection to the other party members - in fact, too many times they just seem like so much dead weight. Another questionable choice, IMO, is that non-human races do not choose a class - all dark elves have the same class abilities, all vampires have the same, and so on. OTOH, you do get to recruit dragons, vampires, trolls, and dark elves, which can be fun. I still give this one some of my time every now and then.

Might and Magic IX introduced a new "3D" graphic engine. This game was obviously rushed out the door just weeks before 3DO sold the property, and it shows. Boring play. A plot I never did figure out. Too many problems with the game engine (I lost count how many times the party got stuck on an obstacle and I had to reload). Avoid, avoid, avoid.

Might and Magic X. I've heard rumors that this is being worked on, but I have no info. I'm hoping the new developers put in the time and effort to take the series back to its roots and do it right, but we'll just have to wait and see (fingers crossed).

If you've never played MM, I would recommend starting with MM7 or MM6. Both games can be a bit tricky to run on XP, so you'll want to check out this thread for help on that.

http://www.ntcompatible.com/thread.php?id=25973

If you like these, you might give the others a try, especially World of Xeen. It will be a throw-back to 1980's gaming, in terms of graphics and gameplay, but I still boot it up now and then just for that reason.

Here's a site that will give you some overviews and hints/tips/tricks for each game:

http://www.the-spoiler.com/titles.html#M

 

[Andre]

Any fans of the Might and Magic series of both rts and rpg games, I have some questions? What makes this game so popular to gamers? Is it the stories, gameplay or the world in general? What is the difference between might and magic series and other fantasy games or worlds?

Thanks for any feedback.

Heroes of Might and Magic

HOMM got it's start as an update to the old dos game King's Bounty. KB was quite a bit of fun, but had only one "scenario". Once youi learned the proper tactics, winning was pretty much guaranteed. HOMM I expanded on the ideas in KB, added more than a dash of Warlords, and created a real classic. HOMM II and III were improvements on the basic system created in HOMM I. HOMM IV was a significant departure - in fact, the designers deliberately moved the game more in the direction of other such turn-based strategy games, such as Warlords and Age of Wonders. HOMM IV was just as rushed as MM9, released just weeks before 3DO sold the franchise. While HOMM IV has its supporters, most players see it as the worst of the series. HOMM V is in production now, but it's too early to tell if it will be worth getting.

All HOMM games include a scenario builder (except HOMM I?), and HOMM 3 also has a campaign editor (you can link several scenarios, deciding what forces are carried over from one to the next). HOMM II and HOMM III have a couple of expansions each.

HOMM V website:

http://www.mightandmagicgame.com/teaser/uk/index.php

Most common differences in HOMM from other similar strategy games:
*Heroes do not participate directly on the battlefield. They can cast spells in combat, and they boost the attack and defense skills of troops in their armies. You cannot attack a hero directly - you can only defeat a hero by defeating his/her army.
*You do not build "units", you recruit creatures. Heroes can hold a limited number of different creatures (IIRC, 6 in HOMM I, 7 in HOMM II and III). But a hero can theoretically recruit an unlimited number of any particular creature type. For instance, the hero might have an army consisting of 12 archers, 6 marksmen, 22 pikemen, and 4 royal griffons. Or he might have an army of 100 archangels.
*Creatures can not move on their own - a hero must add them to his army, then move to a new location. This sometimes results in one main hero fighting the enemy, and several secondary heroes doing nothing but recruiting and transporting troops.
*Armies do not cost upkeep. Most similar strategy games charge the player a per turn cost for each existing unit. HOMM only charges to recruit the creatures, not to maintain them. Creature costs can include not just gold, but also other resources, such as gems, crystal, sulfur, etc.
*Resources. Most other such games have two resources: gold and mana. HOMM uses several other resources, which are necessary to develop towns and recruit creatures. Mana is hero-specific. Each hero has a certain amount of mana, which is regained slowly each day, and can be completely replenished in certain situations.

In my opinion, HOMM I - III have been so popular for a couple key reasons. One, the mix of resource management, heroes, spells, armies, and towns creates complex, challenging play. Some lessons are quickly learned, others take much longer. But no matter how good a player, you can always find yourself challenged by a new scenario or situation. Two, the AI is quite good. You can change the AI setting when beginning a scenario,which adjusts both the intelligence of the computer opponents, and the resrouces they receive. In HOMM 3, I've found that playing on Hard difficulty usually leads to a challenging, exciting game, as I rush from point to point, fending off the computer opponents.

I would recommend HOMM III (with all expansions). If that's not available, find HOMM II (with Price of Glory expansion). Both are outstanding games. Unfortunately, they're out of print, so you'll probably have to try eBay or a similar site. BTW - there are some on eBay who sell the Complete HOMM III game for significant bucks ($50+). Keep looking - you can find it cheaper, if you're willing to be patient.

Here's a link to strategy guides for the first three HOMM games.

http://www.the-spoiler.com/titles.html#H

Enjoy!

 

[tecnowraith]

Andre, this is very good and what I was looking for. Thank you.

 

[stevelabny]

i still remember taking 60 bucks to toys r us when i was a kid , plopping down 50 bucks for some nintendo game called Legacy of the Wizard (i think) and 10 bucks for the discounted Might and Magic for the computer.

Legacy of the Wizard was one of the worst games I ever played. As much as I wanted to like it, and kept trying to figure out how to get further into the game in search of fun.. I just couldn't.

Then I put Might and Magic into my floppy drive... and I think it was weeks before I left the computer. At the time, it was the closest to d&d a game had come. Turn based combat, magic items, 6 person party, full overworld with numerous cities and dungeons. Great stuff.

As the series continued, the games added new things. One of my favorite additions was mm3 (i think) that had solo quests for each character class and certain thing that you could only do with characters of a certain GENDER. after constantly playing with the same 6 characters, the idea of having to do some stuff solo was scary. and the city I had to navigate with only the girls in my party? Well, I'm just happy that my original 6 were actually 3 female and 3 male and I wasn't a sexist like all the other little boys

When i first put MM6 into a computer and saw the 3d engine, I was ecstatic. While it isn't the best looking game, to me it was a perfect 3d version of the old 2d look. And I absolutely loved FLYING.

MM8 was a little tedious and when my hard drive crashed halfway through, I never finished it. And MM9 got so universally destroyed I never played it.

But MM1-7 are some of my favorite games ever. Yay turn-based combat. :-D

 

[silvermane]

HOMM II and HOMM III have a couple of expansions each.

That's not true. HoMM II had one expansion (Price of Loyalty) and HoMM III had two (or three if you count the fan-made Wake of the Gods, last updated Nov 2004).

 

[stevelabny]

tecno... i meant to ask in my original reply... WHY are you asking? thinking about playing them? played one and hated it? developing a new game and getting M&M comparisons in your feedback?

 

[tecnowraith]

tecno... i meant to ask in my original reply... WHY are you asking? thinking about playing them? played one and hated it? developing a new game and getting M&M comparisons in your feedback?

Just getting some ideas for the new Heroes of Might & Magic game coming out. Wondering about some things.