Might & Magic 10; been in development for years + teaser

[Talin_Trollbane]

Well the first releasedate was planned on March, but that isn't really reliable, so just keep it on "it's done when it's done".

well as long as you dont go the Might & Magic Tribute or Duke Nukem Forever way and hold it for 15+ years it will all be ok

[vladimir-maestro]

I understand and do not show her...maybe yet...

[Big Daddy Jim]

Vladimir,

Oh, come on, show her .... give an old man something to dream about!!



BDJ

[Macros the Black]

show her in another thread though..

I was thinking, and I have - yet another - suggestion for the game... Regarding Disarm Trap and Perception..

I think both should be "treasure finding" skills primarily. And they should stand on their own.

First, Disarm Trap. This skill has three problems:
1. Reloading. The traps in chests are quite random in the amount of damage they do. Often you can just keep reloading until none of your characters have died from the trap. Combine this with regeneration skill (on your healers) and as long as no one dies and one character stays conscious you have successfully opened the chest.
2. Perception: Perception grants a chance to dodge out of the way from traps. Now, this is only really useful in MM6 where every character can master the skill, but still...
3. Telekenises: speaks for itself, right? In a strange twist of irony, if you use Telekenises on a chest the character with the highest skill in Disarm Trap (regardless of who casts Telekenises) actually still tries to disarm the trap.. Even though it is totally not needed.

These problems make it so that the Disarm Trap skill becomes pretty useless. Even if you're going to bother with it, you'll still stop putting points in as soon as you get Telekenises.

So here's my proposed way of fixing it: change it into the skill "Lockpicking". Lockpicking works just like Disarm Trap, except there's no trap and if you fail at lockpicking the chest just.doesn't.open. No matter what. Either it works or it doesn't. No use reloading. Perception doesn't help. If you use Telekenises, you still need high enough skill in Lockpicking to open the chest. Better yet, this could be needed for doors as well.

Okay, now for Perception..
It should still reduce damage taken from traps, but traps should no longer be considered a real challenge (because you can reload). Instead, they should just become random annoyances within dungeons that this skill helps against.
The secret passages that Perception helps you notice, should be made unopenable if you don't have the skill high enough. So not only does it help you notice it, it helps you open it. That way, it works just like the Lockpicking skill in that it allows you to get to treasure you otherwise couldn't get to (at all). It either works or it doesn't.

If these two skills work like that, you can calculate effectively how much treasure should be hidden in chests/behind locked doors or in secret passages. The amount of skill directly influences which places you can and can't get to (as I've noticed the skills don't work with % chance but with fixed numbers).

So, you guys can look at it and say "well, if you spend this much points in Disarm Trap or Perception, this is the amount of reward you should get, and considering only about 2/3rd of the game is visited in a playthrough, this is how many treasures I should put in a secret passage or behind a locked door or chest".

Lastly, since Perception also helps against traps, I suppose the amount of treasure gotten from an equal level in Perception and Lockpicking should be a bit lower for Perception.

Oh! And I have a question: how easy will gold be to come by? Will it be like the previous games where there's already plenty of gold and if you need more you can just use merchant and enchant item to get it? Because the Stealing ability is totally useless if you can just buy everything
A suggestion is to not have a penalty for failing to steal something. It's already a skill that you need to up, and if there's a penalty you either 1) don't bother, or 2) reload. So it should just be, you can try to steal something and it either works or not. Then Stealing could become a more important skill..

[darknessfood]

Well the first releasedate was planned on March, but that isn't really reliable, so just keep it on "it's done when it's done".

well as long as you dont go the Might & Magic Tribute or Duke Nukem Forever way and hold it for 15+ years it will all be ok

As far as I know, that will not be the case !

[Vector]

They use the same items from MM7 (i guess so from screens).
That why it could be difficult to create correct sprite of the paper doll of the minotaurus and correct position of the armors on the doll.

That why I think that only human-kind races could be done.

Vladimir is correct, we are creating our game files using the information from MM7, and in turn have to follow their item coordinate rules.

We do have a way to work around this though, and more than likely we will be doing the minotaur race as they will fit with the story line.

[Deyja]

Hmm M&M X rules

[DarthVadre]

Marcos, I disagree with the locking idea. The way I see it, the game shouldn't be forced to be difficult, but can be according to the way you play. For example, if you restrain yourself from from reloading in front of a chest, etc.

I just happened to read the Might and Magic VI manual yesterday, and got an interesting idea. What if some shops had people in them to talk to as well, similar to what you'll find in an inn? For example, in a weapons shop there's the merchant and his apprentice...

BTW My brother beat Might and Magic VI with his level 1 party today.

[Deyja]

Marcos, I disagree with the locking idea. The way I see it, the game shouldn't be forced to be difficult, but can be according to the way you play. For example, if you restrain yourself from from reloading in front of a chest, etc.

I just happened to read the Might and Magic VI manual yesterday, and got an interesting idea. What if some shops had people in them to talk to as well, similar to what you'll find in an inn? For example, in a weapons shop there's the merchant and his apprentice...

BTW My brother beat Might and Magic VI with his level 1 party today.

hmm sound like a rumour button again


------blacksmith-------
buy weapons
buy special weapons
repair
identify
rumour
Leave

click on rumour
Party: did you have heard any rumours yet
Blacksmith: Yes but not tell anyone ok?.
I heard in the inn some time ago that
The pirates of .... lost a special map that shows the location of a black metal object that probably was before the Silence
Also i know that my great grandfather protected it some 100 years ago
before slain by tho's evil RATS !!!

They accused me that my grandfathers ghost have stole it too somewhere save
buts just a rumour..

Just a little example.

[darknessfood]

Hey, not really an update. More like a question. Will people be interested in some easter eggs? I have one sidequest thought and it needs to be written out. And 1 easter egg written into a promotion quest. So once again, do you want some easter eggs in game?

[Big Daddy Jim]

Darknessfood,

Yeah, I'd like to see several Easter Eggs in the game. They just seem to add a touch of 'class' and 'flavor' that can 'lighten up' a serious adventure and put a smile on ones face.

My vote?

Go For It!!!

BDJ

[DarthVadre]

Yeah, and references to Star Trek as well. Especially if VARN is involved...

[Deyja]

Yeah, and references to Star Trek as well. Especially if VARN is involved...

lol did you stole my mind???
i agree with DarthVadre nice idea

[darknessfood]

Well, my Star Trek knowlegde is kinda zero, but I'll see if I can work it out . Any other suggestions?

[DarthVadre]

Well, at the least you could include names. For example in the VARN place (can't remember what it's called) the passwords are names of USS Enterprise NCC-1701 characters.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_St ... characters you can use that for names in easter eggs/ mystical stuff (ie Ancients)

[Macros the Black]

Marcos, I disagree with the locking idea. The way I see it, the game shouldn't be forced to be difficult, but can be according to the way you play. For example, if you restrain yourself from from reloading in front of a chest, etc.

I just happened to read the Might and Magic VI manual yesterday, and got an interesting idea. What if some shops had people in them to talk to as well, similar to what you'll find in an inn? For example, in a weapons shop there's the merchant and his apprentice...

BTW My brother beat Might and Magic VI with his level 1 party today.

Well the point is that the disarm trap skill is useless as it is now.. I'm not saying I reload everytime (although sometimes yes, I do, because it's just bothersome to die from a chest), but it's one of the reasons why the skill is useless. My suggestion is simply aimed at those skills being useful, AND to make them more controllable for the gamedesigners.
If they make the skill lockpicking, no traps go off, just you can do it or you can't depending on your skill level, then the gamedesigners can adjust the rewards you get directly to the amount of skillpoints you spent, thus solidifying the amount of money received during a playthrough. This will help adjust the economy of the game, and keep the challenge at needed level.. wether that is hard or not.
I have no problem with leaving a chest unopened.. That is, if I know that I cannot open it no matter what I do, and there's no important quest item inside.
I think doing it like this allows the player more freedom in the end.. Freedom to choose nót to get disarm trap without getting screwed over.. but just miss a bunch of money and items that would've been beneficial but not nescesary.
Well.. that's the point of any skill in MM6 my opinion.. You can get it and receive it's bonus, or you can leave it alone and not get it's bonusses.
Right now, for disarm trap, it's:
a) waste skillpoints to avoid annoyance early on
b) not get it, and face some annoyance until the skill isn't needed anymore anyway
That's not much of a choice, see?

I'm sure there was an easier way of making my point, but meh

@Darknessfood: yes to easter eggs. Wouldn't be an MM game if it didn't have them

Pop culture, fantasy, SF.. Probably would be useful to ask some Americans for inspiration in regards to pop culture references

[darknessfood]

Well, then I suppose we are going to work on some Easter Eggs as well.

[Deyja]

Well, then I suppose we are going to work on some Easter Eggs as well.

yeah

[Stryfer]

Yes to easter eggs! Another idea could be references to the staff behind the making of the game, thats always fun Returning characters are always hit too, even if it's just for an easter egg.

I have to agree with Darth on the disam trap issue. If you ask me, the world of MM was made so that any party can get at least 90-95% clearence. This means almost all the treasures collected and almost all the areas explored (key word - almost). Changing it to lockpick would force poeple to choose the skill if they want at least 50% of the treasure. Disarm trap is there to make it less annoying (so you dont have to run all the way to town everytime a trap blows at your face, but if you dont mind doing that, then dont take the skill by all means)

Perception should stay as is. If you add the perception requirement to opening a secret door, the world will suddenly become more systematic rather than open. Also, again, you will have to take perception if you want access to 50% or more of the games secret areas. It's a skill to help you and make the game less annoying, not to give you access to places.

MM gave me the feel of an actual world open for exploration rather than just another RPG based on high and well placed numbers.
Also it has a reputation for rewarding brave, clever and suicidal players with items beyond their level.
"If you can find/avoid the secret/trap we set, then you deserve the reward." NOT "You can't get this because your characters are too low of a level/you didnt pick the skill"

Maybe some won't agree with me, but I would advise you to be careful when limiting access to places or objects. Might and Magic is an extremely open and flexible game and it should stay that way.

P.S. I always put points in disarm trap and perception. I belive that save/load tactics and walkthroughs that tell you where secrets are just ruin the actual gaming experience.

[Variol]

..and I think this would also aid in my earlier comment about the thief. I would be harder to get money and items, so "stealing" may actually come into play. Right now, it's a wasted skill.

Now, is it possible to make the above changes in the new games?