Might and Magic X: Project Update November 1st, 2012

[MMXAlamar]

Might and Magic X
Press Release: November 1st, 2012

Might and Magic X: Children of the Void

Project Update: November 1st, 2012

November is going to be an absolutely great month. We’re all back into our daily routines and hard at work on Might and Magic X. Although we continue to struggle with things like producing assets, managing staff members, and recruiting new developers, this project is sticking it through ‘til the end and staying true to our purpose of making the next chapter to the Might and Magic RPG series. Be on the lookout for new developments on the horizon, because we won’t stop until Might and Magic X is a finished product for you guys to explore, live your fantasies, and relive your nostalgia for the series!

Production Schedule (Q4 2012 through Q1 2013)
• MMX Game Editor – Completed October 2012
• MMX Developer Build Thjorgard 0.1.0 – Completed October 2012
• Tutorial Dungeon Level – Due January 2013
• Tutorial Outdoor Level – Due February 2013
• Tutorial Release – Due March 2013

New Game Design Feature

In October 2012 we have determined that Might and Magic X: Children of the Void will be using the 2d interior screens that appear when you enter shops and houses, as done in MM6-8. This will require extra art assets and possibly some 3d modeling if we choose to animate the interior screens in the future. Using the interior windows greatly reduces the amount of 3d modeling we’ll need, and the level design staff has strongly urged the use of interior windows. So, it is said!

MMX Mission Statement and Purpose

The current mission of this organization is to develop and produce Might and Magic X: Children of the Void, the next and final chapter of the Might and Magic RPG series, independently, on behalf of Ubisoft (not officially), and release it at no cost to the public, furthermore, it will be one of the greatest free games ever made. The purpose of our organization is to create a community and network for gamers and game developers alike, with a primary focus on the Might and Magic Series games, as well as other popular RPGs and game types. Whether you are an amateur or already a professional game developer, Might and Magic X has made its purpose to allow you the opportunity to design and/or play a game that is being made with the finest technology, care, and professionalism.

Department Updates

Art Department

Our artists are currently working heavily on environment, architecture, character, and creature design. Many of our finished and work-in-progress concepts have been released to the MMX Facebook Page for display, and we have many more concepts in the works. At this point, we are still looking for new artists because many of our current art staff members are finding themselves short on time with their many personal obligations. For this reason, we’ve published a 2d Ad on Concept Art Jobs, a very professional and resourceful website for networking with aspiring artists. You can check out our latest advertisement from October. In other art news, we are continuing to Livestream a group event called the MMX Sketch Jam, which occurs every weekend. If you’re interested in watching our team in action, be on the lookout for our Sketch Jams which will be advertised on Facebook and Twitter.

Audio Department

We have both musicians and sound effects designers on our audio department, and they are hard at work on brainstorming and composing the game’s soundtracks and effects, especially those which we’ll be featuring in the tutorial. As we progress in the audio department, we are first going to tighten up the leadership and team moral so that we have better communication between our sound designers. The next steps will include cataloguing the sound effects and compositions we need, assigning tasks to audio department staff members, and creating a review process, followed by the mixing and mastering and finalization of each individual audio clip. You should be hearing a lot more of our soundtracks on YouTube in the near future, but until then, check out the MMX YouTube Channel. Subscribe to us for future uploads and updates if you wish!

Level Design Department

Our level designers are extremely essential to this project, as they have in their hands the power to create the game’s visual presence and overall presentation. We are currently looking for more 3d modelers, texture artists, and animators to join the MMX project so that we can speed up development and make more rapid progress on creating playable areas in the game. The level design department has many responsibilities, some of which include architectural design, environment and landmass design, creature design and animation, and static and dynamic object design, among various others. Easily one of the most core essential aspects of making an RPG is the level design, and our plan at MMX to increase our capacity for asset generation is to increase our 3d modeling staff. We will execute this plan by releasing a highly visual advertisement for 3d modelers early in the month of November 2012. The 3d ad is almost finished and we are just waiting on several more 3d models to be finished so that we can showcase as many visuals as possible in the 3d ad. It will be posted on many different websites and should be able to target a wide audience. We hope this effort will reap many rewards!

Programming Department

The programming department has a professional quality staff and excellent leadership. They are the behind the scene guys who make it possible for us to assemble the game. A game editor and a pre-alpha internal release of the tutorial have been completed in October 2012, and we highly look forward to several more game features implemented each month from now on. Always in need of extra service, our programming staff is about to release an ad, much like the 2d and 3d ads to acquire a larger team, and therefore optimize development.

Writing Department

The writers of MMX have been relatively silent for the past few months after finishing the majority of written lore, quests, and dialogues for the tutorial. Coming this December 2012, all that is about to change. The writing department is going to begin building the continent of Iranese and adding to the already-established world of Axeoth. We call this process worldbuilding. What worldbuilding involves is creating the geography, culture, and societies using the world map and attributing unique, real world characteristics to each individual region on the continent. The worldbuilding process will include expanding on the MMX Lore Bible, creating a regional atlas of all map areas, cataloguing preexisting lore from past Might and Magic games, especially Might and Magic IX and Heroes IV, creating unique kingdoms and unique characters, and tons more. This part is all about the ideas, which we believe are the most essential part of making a successful game. Not just successful Might and Magic games, but any successful game greatly benefits from a thoughtful and immersive storyline experience.

I thank you greatly for supporting us. We will not let you down!

Sincerely,

MMXAlamar
President of Might and Magic X
mmxalamar@gmail.com

[vladimir-maestro]

Might and Magic X

New Game Design Feature

In October 2012 we have determined that Might and Magic X: Children of the Void will be using the 2d interior screens that appear when you enter shops and houses, as done in MM6-8. This will require extra art assets and possibly some 3d modeling if we choose to animate the interior screens in the future. Using the interior windows greatly reduces the amount of 3d modeling we’ll need, and the level design staff has strongly urged the use of interior windows. So, it is said!

why you decided so?
you know - it is the hardest way! in mm8,5 we have no choice so we MUST do this indoor screens...but you can go another way.

the main advantage we have - game resolution! mm8 have no change resolution options so we made static screens... but if mm10 will have - you'll have to solve +1 new problem.

no offence but if i were you - i'll prefer to go the easiest way: using fully 3d interiors. yes, maybe they will look similar to mm9 but it will be much more easier to relise and make by your 3d artists.
otherhand you got better engine and can affort better 3d graphic indoors that won't affect productivity of the entire engine.

i made ondoor animation and the hardest one require about a week of working: creating a concept, creating models, fitting stuff, creating action figures, clothes for them if it is required, riggiding, animating, light works, effects, and finally rendering (the most time requiring thing, not less than a day for 460*344 resolution!!)...not to forget about future composing, sound effects.
via unity you can simply create fully-possible house with interior, putting opening script for the door and you got it! unity can import many file formats and understand textures with them like 3ds max or similar. i liked it for the 3s max support file format, was easy for me to work in my favorite program and afterthat import it into unity with collisions and other ingame usefull options.

just my oppinion.

for information:
dead city tavern:

http://youtu.be/-imIVUNLCO8
size: 460*344
framecount: 460 frames
render engine: 3ds max' simple mental ray
lights: 1 omni, 1 for shadows, 1 for volume light
character animation: 4 people, mutual time about 2 days
scene: almost 95% of material was premaded and i created only small amount of hooka? (eastern smoking jar). so if i had to create entire scene by myself - hard to imagine how long would it take!!! study the arcitecture, clothes...etc.
render time: about 25 hours (intel core i5, 4gb ram, 1gb video).
so if you will use better resolution like 800*600 or bigger - this video could take about 80 hours to be rendered!

[Lord13]

The interior screens could be 2d artwork (I mean hand work, with any editing later if nesecery, dunno details at such a work). I do not know if your team has any 2d artists, but would give a nice and warm feeling, just a thought

[MMXAlamar]

Hi Vlad!

You do pose a very good point about the interior screens, especially about the animations, which if I'm correct are the most consuming process, second being the 3d modeling. On the other hand, the render you made of the dead city tavern is freaking awesome, so why wouldn't we want to do the interiors screens! According to my 3d designers they think it's more favorable to do the interior screens because it requires much fewer models. The tradeoff is certainly the animations and cinematics taking awhile longer. Sound effects and rendering probably won't be a problem. I know the rendering might take days, but all you need to do is make sure your computer stays on.

@Lord13 - Yes to start off we will have 2d interior screens! We actually have 11 artists on our staff at the moment, but many of them are not regularly submitting finished concepts. The Lead Artist and I are going to discuss this issue this weekend. Some of the already finished concept art is currently being used as placeholder items for the interior screens.

Thanks for your feedback guys!