Might & Magic 6 mod: MAW; Monsters, Arts & Wonders [30/7/23 update]

[Malekitsu]

Hey, fellow adventurers of Celestial Heavens!

After an entire year of dedicated work we are thrilled to present to you MAW Nightmare, the most immersive and game-changing mod for Might and Magic 6. Brace yourself for an experience that will redefine your perception of this legendary RPG. This is the mod you've been waiting for!

MAW Nightmare brings forth a plethora of features that will revolutionize your gameplay experience. Here's what you can expect:

1 Rebalanced Combat: Prepare for an improved melee experience as melee characters become as formidable as casters. Say goodbye to imbalanced battles and embrace a level playing field where your choice of combat style truly matters.

2 Uncharted Depths: Embark on thrilling adventures with the addition of two new dungeons. Explore these treacherous depths, overcome deadly challenges, and reap rich rewards.

3 Legendary Bosses: Face off against a legion of tough bosses scattered throughout the world. Engage in meticulously scripted encounters that will test your skills to the limit. Victory over these formidable foes will grant you unparalleled rewards and glory.

4 Witness a dramatic shift in player statistics. Enjoy much stronger characters with unlimited breakpoints and additional bonuses. Unleash your true potential and watch as your power soars to new heights.

5 Enchanted Arsenal: Discover the true power of items as they can now possess up to three enchantments. Customize your gear to suit your playstyle and create the ultimate arsenal to dominate your enemies. Items also come in varying rarities, including rare, epic, ancient, and primordial, offering increasingly stronger bonuses and effects.

6 The Journey Continues: Embark on a new, epic quest chain that leads to the fabled New Game Plus mode. Push your strength to its limits and unlock untold secrets as you venture into uncharted territory.

To dive into the world of MAW Nightmare, simply head over to https://github.com/Malekitsu/MM6-Nightm ... llation.md and follow the hassle-free installation instructions. Let the transformation of your gaming experience begin!

For a detailed overview of all the changes, improvements, and additional features, check out the full changelog at https://github.com/Malekitsu/MM6-Nightm ... /README.md.

For those of you who enjoy an experience closer to the original game, a more 'classic' version of the mod can be found here (https://github.com/Malekitsu/MM6-MAW-Mo ... nd-Wonders). It contains many changes to mechanics and balance but doesn't alter the monsters you encounter, making only the necessary adjustments to player and monster stats for improved gameplay."

Additionally, we are excited to announce that MAW Nightmare also has a compatible version for the Chaos Conspiracy. You can find the compatible version of the mod here: (https://github.com/Malekitsu/MM6-MAW-TCC-Version).

We invite you to share your thoughts, experiences, and captivating screenshots with us below. We value your feedback and are excited to hear about your thrilling adventures with MAW Nightmare.

Discord Link down below:
https://discord.gg/wnzZyg7bGS

[Tomsod]

So, it's basically Skill Emphasis 2.0, or did you remove something? Looks very promising either way! How polished would you say the mod is now? All these changes must've been a nightmare to balance. I'm tempted to try it, if I can find the time. I'm guessing you still need playtester feedback.

[Malekitsu]

The base code is indeed from skill emphasis (and here special thanks to Tnevolin).
We revised all the old stuff, added a lot of new features and the team got larger.
Balancing that was indeed a nightmare:
The amount of math, statistic and discussions necessary to balance every single spell school and skill while keeping every single of them unique and satisfying was absurd.
In fact even by working actively in 5 people took almost half a year to release.
We internally playtested from start to finish many times with different party setups, it's going to be fun and challenging from start to finish
Of course feedback is always super appreciated, but most of all, enjoy it!

[RawSugar]

we've done extensive testing and theorycrafting, as well as the occasional betatester. I'd say it's very polished but there's a few combatskills and spells we still have our eyes on and may change if feedback points in that direction. It's a singleplayer game so convenience (like needing to cast a spell in very specific circumstances) has a much higher premium than if we were balancing for raw power.

We smoothed out the start compared to skem, and once you're familiar with the gameplay it's easy/medium for the most part, but it still takes a while getting used to being careful in a game that became a bit of a snoozefest once you got the hang of it.
There is a DifficultyModifier switch in the MM6.ini , a simple switch which is multiplied with damage monsters do. I'd suggest setting it to 0.5-0.7 the first few hours you play MAW.

And any feedback is appreciated, We've talked over every change, but there is still room for tweaking here and there.

Oh and one thing thing; after New Sorpigal it's recommended to go to Mist and clear the dungeon there, you CAN go temple of baa/sewers/hideout/bootleg bay instead but will find it a little tough going

[raekuul]

I would like to say that it was overall fun working on this. Expect a number of variants of this in the future - one of the things we did with this was make it double as a framework for future mods to build off of (though we did get carried away with the rebalancing aspect of things).

[Kaltenberg]

It looks like a huge job, congratulations! A few questions/observations came to mind:

- With a skill point of 50 on plate expert, does the character become immune to physical damage? Or is there a maximum limit?

- mods of low cost spells is great

- I think the new recovery cap calculation is a really awesome idea!

- Meteor, Psychic Shock and some other spells seem too strong, especially with low monster resistances

- First Aid, I like it, time saver

- homing ranged attack is also very nice

-every 5 attribute points grants +1 effect also very good idea

- won't the game be too easy with the modifications? Because maybe it seems that way at first reading, of course we should see this in practice. Monsters have 2× HP, but at the same time the base damage of weapons increases, damage comes from skills, and from classes as well. And resistances are maxed at 120, immunity taken out. To me, it doesn't seem any harder than the original, but much easier, especially with the very strong spells.

[RawSugar]

plate reduction is calculated as 0.98^rank, so 50 reduces to 36% damage taken which is close to what 50 ranks in Day of Protection would give
monster hitpoint is doubled, meteor shower and some other AOE spells have been doubled to keep up.
spells have been balanced fairly closely to deal cost^0.7 damage pr rank, and magic damage is increased by 50% to make up for how common magic damage resistance is. on average psychic shock still deals less damage than most spells but vs some monsters its quite good.

Its only magic resistance that has been lowered, and you run out of mana fast trying to kill with spells like Finger of Death, they are viable now but not stronger than the many other spells.
Monsters deal up to +575% damage. supreme titans deal about 1000 every hit. Even with some defensive skills (the day of protection nerf is significant) making you a bit tougher you still die fast.

But yeah give it a spin, we are working on a hardcore mode for those who weant the challenge

[Kaltenberg]

Ok, I see now, so it's not so easy

That part I didn't understand at the time only in relation to the armour:
So for a skill of 50 --> 0.98 ^ 50 = 36%
on 40 for example = 45%
?

For chain 0.99 ^ 50 = 61%
and 0.99 ^ 40 = 69%
?

Because in README it is:
"each point of skill reduces meele damage taken by 2%"
"each point of skill reduces meele damage taken by 1%"

[Malekitsu]

Ok, I see now, so it's not so easy

That part I didn't understand at the time only in relation to the armour:
So for a skill of 50 --> 0.98 ^ 50 = 36%
on 40 for example = 45%
?

For chain 0.99 ^ 50 = 61%
and 0.99 ^ 40 = 69%
?

Because in README it is:
"each point of skill reduces meele damage taken by 2%"
"each point of skill reduces meele damage taken by 1%"

so:
Plate 50=36%
Plate 40=45%
Chains 50=61%
Chains 40=67%

If you think it relatively it's not wrong:
If you take 100 damage, adding 1 point of plate will always decrease it to 98 damage, whatever your plate skill is currently.
Same thing with shield.
I understand it might be misunderstanded, will probably update the guide (and maybe tooltip) to make it clear.

[Kaltenberg]

Okay, by the way, I like your ideas

[Malekitsu]

Okay, by the way, I like your ideas

Thanks
I Hope many people enjoy this and make it the new "standard MM6".
I personally can't go back to vanilla MM6.

[Malekitsu]

#UPDATE 1
Released TCC compatible version.
Some monster will not get the new stats (mostly bosses). Early/mid game should be unnoticeable.
Fix will be coming

Note:
If you set for the highest difficulty you will have a super hardcore mode.
So far I've got up to midgame, but you will have to use any possible trick you know to get there.

[Tomsod]

I think I'd like to play this mod with TCC if possible! I never finished it IIRC. Is part 2 supported? Also, the readme says nothing about at which point to install TCC (although it probably doesn't matter).

[raekuul]

Full TCC support is theoretical at this point: while the mod will not prevent you from completing TCC, because of how we handled the monster overrides we aren't technically compatible with TCC as it is intended (see below). We will be working on a proper "TCC-ready" version that uses TCC monsters as a base rather than vanilla, so keep your ears open for that.

The main problem with MAW as it currently is is that scripts occur last in the mod sequence and MAW is done almost entirely via scripts, so monsters that were changed in both TCC and MAW will have their MAW overrides instead of having specific tweaks for TCC. A good example of this will be the Priests of Baa no longer using their TCC names/stats. This is largely because we tested and balanced based on a Vanilla base rather than TCC.

We do want and have always intended MAW to be compatible with TCC, it just needs extra steps compared to vanilla. But you can certainly "beat the game" as things are now.

As for installation: if your TCC already has a current version of MMExt added to it, then you should be able to just add our scripts and go from there.

edit: oh so that's where you put the TCC-Compatible version

[Malekitsu]

Added a switch to disable homing projectiles.
This is mostly intended for people who play real time.
To disable it:
-Download latest version
-Run the game once
-Go to mm6.ini and set HomingProjectiles to false (on the bottom).
-Enjoy

[RawSugar]

Added the optional "adaptive" mode that rearranges monsters randomly and gives them levels appropriate to fight the party. Now you can fight level 5 dragons and get torn apart by level 100 rats!
You can use this mode to choose your own path without using random monsters, however the full potential is unleashed by also activating "RandomizeMapClusters" which randomly spawns monsters, meaning goblin watch might be populated with minotaurs or archers or any other monster, and will have their stats changed to be a reasonable challenge to the party at their current potential level.

The mode also supports playing past level 100.

The new stats will be based on the vanilla stats, so monsters that in vanilla are weak for their level will also be weak at their adapted level - and same goes for uncommonly strong monsters. If you run into Terminator units before you activate the Free Haven temple consider finding other enemies.

Also don't hesitate to use the new DifficultyModifier which is a simple switch that is multiplied by monster damage done, if you roll somewhat too challenging foes.

https://i.imgur.com/KQCzewA.png

[Tomsod]

Okay, I finally started playing MAW+TCC. It's fun! Some observations so far:

* Banker + Factor are very strong in the early game, as together they now give +28% to all gold, which is very welcome while you're still buying spells and equipment. And unlike in vanilla, the upfront cost is just 300 gold! Feels almost like cheating.
* Increased monster speed adds some challenge to outdoor maps, but you can still shoot everything from range, just gotta be a bit smart about it.
* The TCC-compatible fork does not yet have the druid/sorcerer dual-wield crash fix, had to patch it myself.
* The game sometimes crashes when a PC is hit in melee, dunno if it's MAW or TCC, though. EDIT: actually I think it only crashes when the monster has a stealing attack. Check out if it works correctly!
* Would be nice for the shared skills to be refreshed whenever you buy a new skill, or perhaps on a game reload. As it is now, if you missed on shared skill points because you didn't have the other skill learned yet, you have to put more points in the higher skill to sync them, which isn't always desirable (SP are precious!)
* Day of Gods nerf took me by surprise, as it's not documented anywhere I can see. Also, isn't it a bit harsh? Now you need twice as high Light skill to match the constituent Self buffs, which means four times as much skill points. Investing in the three Self schools instead is actually cheaper in this regard now!
* The central room of the Free Haven sewers is now deadly to linger in, as the formerly aimless poison clouds home in on the party. Ouch!
* What do the green numbers after slashes in the Attack and Shoot stat values mean? I don't remember it being explained anywhere. You could e.g. put the explanation in the RMB hint.
* This isn't a mod observation, but wow I forgot how cool MM6 music is! Need to add it to my playlist later.

Overall a pretty good spin on the classic game. MM6 did need something like this, especially the spell rebalance, as a lot of spells were borderline useless in vanilla. Can't say anything about weapon balance yet, as I'm still using whatever is handy without even Expert (magic takes priority).

[raekuul]

If you can, please open an issue on Github for the steal effect crash - we worked around it for non-TCC by outright disabling the special for Thief and Cutpurse type monsters.

wrt light/dark magic - one of the goals was to make schools that aren't light/dark more viable; casting the separate components should give a higher yield than the Day Of spells or Hour of Power.

[Malekitsu]

Okay, I finally started playing MAW+TCC. It's fun! Some observations so far:

* Banker + Factor are very strong in the early game, as together they now give +28% to all gold, which is very welcome while you're still buying spells and equipment. And unlike in vanilla, the upfront cost is just 300 gold! Feels almost like cheating.
* Increased monster speed adds some challenge to outdoor maps, but you can still shoot everything from range, just gotta be a bit smart about it.
* The TCC-compatible fork does not yet have the druid/sorcerer dual-wield crash fix, had to patch it myself.
* The game sometimes crashes when a PC is hit in melee, dunno if it's MAW or TCC, though. EDIT: actually I think it only crashes when the monster has a stealing attack. Check out if it works correctly!
* Would be nice for the shared skills to be refreshed whenever you buy a new skill, or perhaps on a game reload. As it is now, if you missed on shared skill points because you didn't have the other skill learned yet, you have to put more points in the higher skill to sync them, which isn't always desirable (SP are precious!)
* Day of Gods nerf took me by surprise, as it's not documented anywhere I can see. Also, isn't it a bit harsh? Now you need twice as high Light skill to match the constituent Self buffs, which means four times as much skill points. Investing in the three Self schools instead is actually cheaper in this regard now!
* The central room of the Free Haven sewers is now deadly to linger in, as the formerly aimless poison clouds home in on the party. Ouch!
* What do the green numbers after slashes in the Attack and Shoot stat values mean? I don't remember it being explained anywhere. You could e.g. put the explanation in the RMB hint.
* This isn't a mod observation, but wow I forgot how cool MM6 music is! Need to add it to my playlist later.

Overall a pretty good spin on the classic game. MM6 did need something like this, especially the spell rebalance, as a lot of spells were borderline useless in vanilla. Can't say anything about weapon balance yet, as I'm still using whatever is handy without even Expert (magic takes priority).

Thanks for playing the mod!
As I'm abroad I'm not able to update latest changes to TCC, but will do for sure! (around 12th january) and will go on with programming/balancing the content mod.
That said:
-Banker+factor is strong indeed, but also double merchant is really strong.
It is something we discussed for a while but as it is not game breaking you will eventually want to swap to spell Master or armsmaster one once you will be ok with Gold.
We have some idea about making followers quest related in the future mod.

-(Monster speed) If doing so require to use brain then I guess it is fine

-(TCC) will fix asap.

-(shared skill) I agree it is ideal, but might be hard to implement, will give a look

-Day of gods was supposed to have a similiar strenght as leveling the other 3 single spells.
As it was a change in the early stage of the mod it was overlooked in the changelist (will be added);
We will take the chance to double check the math to see if it's still valuable and eventually fix it.

-(Free haven) there will be many traps harder/impossibile to dodge, poison protection will be helpful there.
Hope it was funny and not too frustrating, can give a look on the damage done.

-green numbers show The damage per Second, considering only damage and Attack speed.
You will have to consider Attack and crit damage by Your own.

Weapons are actually the thing I enjoy the most from the mod, if you Like melee party I definitely recommend you trying it out.

What Team composition did you go for?

[Tomsod]

If you can, please open an issue on Github for the steal effect crash - we worked around it for non-TCC by outright disabling the special for Thief and Cutpurse type monsters.

Sure. Do you mean the main repo or the TCC one?

-Banker+factor is strong indeed, but also double merchant is really strong.

Do NPC bonuses stack now? I usually hire duper + merchant for shopping, could be two dupers then (although I buy and sell at cost either way). The thing is, you can swap between bankers and merchants easily now that they cost so little, depending on whether you're looting or buying. That's part of the cheese.

It is something we discussed for a while but as it is not game breaking you will eventually want to swap to spell Master or armsmaster one once you will be ok with Gold.

It does not affect late game, sure, as from the point when you don't need money bankers just waste a hireling slot, expensive or not, but early game is all about gold and I think cheap bankers make it much easier.

-(shared skill) I agree it is ideal, but might be hard to implement, will give a look

Syncing on game load would be easy enough, but buying a skill isn't hooked by MMExt (to my knowledge), so that would require effort (but it's the Proper Solution).

-Day of gods was supposed to have a similiar strenght as leveling the other 3 single spells.
As it was a change in the early stage of the mod it was overlooked in the changelist (will be added);
We will take the chance to double check the math to see if it's still valuable and eventually fix it.

It's currently slightly move expensive (45 vs. 39) AND less skill-point-effective than casting the spells separately -- as I noted, it's at a 3:4 disadvantage WRT skill advancement. I think doubling the price and increasing the skill multiplier to 1.3-1.5 would be fair. Same with Hour of Power (which also needs to be documented). Day of Protection is OK, as 2/3 efficiency still beats having to advance five schools.

-(Free haven) there will be many traps harder/impossibile to dodge, poison protection will be helpful there.
Hope it was funny and not too frustrating, can give a look on the damage done.

It was fun, yeah. Toxic clouds do much more damage than the monsters there, but it's reasonably easy to dodge them.

Weapons are actually the thing I enjoy the most from the mod, if you Like melee party I definitely recommend you trying it out.

What Team composition did you go for?

I went with the default party. In retrospect, giving that MAW is weapon-focused, TCC further boosts weapons and that Archers can learn Dark now, I should've taken PACA or even PAPA, but whatever. Seriously, apart from slightly higher magic pool, Sorcerers are now almost strictly worse than Archers! Also I wouldn't mind more hands for swords. The game practically showers you with good swords, I had to sell three top broadswords already and I've yet to see a single top axe, spear, dagger or staff.

Some more bugs:
* Using a Power Cure scroll on a PC without Body magic crashes the game. Do scrolls check skill level now?
* Curing Cursed after returning from the witches' bog cost me 0 gold (the PCs were healthy otherwise).
* TCC has a specitem "Right Hand Sword of Grish'nak" that crashes the game when equipped in the left hand. Is this intended? I wouldn't be surprised if it is, still weird though.