Marzhin Moving On

[Pol]

@Erwinner
Not trailer, my mistake then. Because it's from game, sure it was prepped much sooner. So, nothing from there.

From no exact reason, I like more posters/art in SS2. This is, perhaps, underestimated part of gaming. PR in game for another game, ingenious. Could be.

I'm gonna curious when they will admit it. Silence, after some time, is also a confirmation.

[Panda Tar]

have you referred to that canceled game of the Watchdogs I posted down HC here mate lol

Was cancelled already, was it?
Figures.

[Marzhin]

have you referred to that canceled game of the Watchdogs I posted down HC here mate lol

That's quite an assumption you're making here. Just saying.

[Erwinner]

That's quite an assumption you're making here. Just saying.

don't just say by all means mate, feel free to correct my source's claim if you dispute them lol

my source hasn't been wrong yet though, they don't like that kind of teasing BS lol

I rather you respond to my other more germane post though please if you could, basically I'm curious if you have any kind of answer up the sleeve to all those obstacles which mean future Ubisoft or Vivendi MM games are unlikely to be worth a damn lol

[Marzhin]

don't just say by all means mate, feel free to correct my source's claim if you dispute them lol

my source hasn't been wrong yet though, they don't like that kind of teasing BS lol

I don't know what your "source" believe they know. What I do know with 100% certainty is that whatever this "Showdown" thing is, it has nothing to do with the cancelled game I was working on last year.

[Erwinner]

I don't know what your "source" believe they know. What I do know with 100% certainty is that whatever this "Showdown" thing is, it has nothing to do with the cancelled game I was working on last year.

wouldn't know what you were working on to be able to guess whether it does or doesn't to be honest mate, if you have a name of that game I can always pass on a comment to the source or ask a question lol

I'm sad that you're again tackling petty bits of the posts but totally ignoring the other, earnest chat actually trying to get into about the future of the series, I want that to be tackled, it only proves my point if there is no answer to these things to ever realistically get a decent MM game again, that's not something I would take any joy in being right about but it certainly looks like the way wind is blowing lol

[Marzhin]

I'm sad that you're again tackling petty bits of the posts but totally ignoring the other, earnest chat actually trying to get into about the future of the series, I want that to be tackled, it only proves my point if there is no answer to these things to ever realistically get a decent MM game again, that's not something I would take any joy in being right about but it certainly looks like the way wind is blowing lol

I don't comment on that because I'm not a far-seer or a diviner, and I don't know what the bosses plan to do, so I don't really see the point in discussing guesses or assumptions. I consider my opinion on these matters wholly irrelevant.
If I was the one taking these decisions Might & Magic XI would already be in development :p But you know very well that I don't have this kind of power or position within Ubisoft. What I do know is that sometimes things align properly, the mood is right and opportunities arise: after all, even MMXL was not supposed to happen and it did. I also know there are still a lot of people who believe in Might & Magic in Ubi and will keep up proposing ideas and projects around it.
So I believe the franchise is not dead, even if right now it's clearly not high on Ubi's priority list (arguably it was always seen as only a "niche" franchise, but so does Rayman for instance and he's the company's mascot). But if/when new games are announced, it's also quite possible they won't be aimed at the older fans. Again, I don't know what the future will be. I've always had a rather zen philosophy regarding all of this : "things will happen when the time is right".
That's really all I have to say on that topic.

wouldn't know what you were working on to be able to guess whether it does or doesn't to be honest mate, if you have a name of that game I can always pass on a comment to the source or ask a question lol

Come on man, you're just being dishonest now: you're the one who referred to your post "down HC" above. I went to check to know what you were talking about, and on that forum you were pretty clear about what you believe I was working on, and what this Watch Dogs tease is about

[Panda Tar]

Marzhin, on a side note (rather off-topic), I lost the name of the app/page thing in which you made that Map you posted on the MM Blog months ago (with the name of towns, pictures etc.), and I cannot recall the name of the thing anymore. Could you please refresh my mind?

[Marzhin]

Marzhin, on a side note (rather off-topic), I lost the name of the app/page thing in which you made that Map you posted on the MM Blog months ago (with the name of towns, pictures etc.), and I cannot recall the name of the thing anymore. Could you please refresh my mind?

It was called Mashupforge, but it closed in August unfortunately.
As it didn't want it to go to waste I re-created the map on my own website. I'll have to make it look better eventually as some of the icons are currently deformed, but all the data is the same (with a couple of small updates related to H7).

[Panda Tar]

Awn Thanks for the heads up.
I was hoping to use that tool to make a skill-tree scheme. Now I'll have to find something equivalent.

[Erwinner]

I don't comment on that because I'm not a far-seer or a diviner, and I don't know what the bosses plan to do, so I don't really see the point in discussing guesses or assumptions. I consider my opinion on these matters wholly irrelevant.
If I was the one taking these decisions Might & Magic XI would already be in development :p But you know very well that I don't have this kind of power or position within Ubisoft. What I do know is that sometimes things align properly, the mood is right and opportunities arise: after all, even MMXL was not supposed to happen and it did. I also know there are still a lot of people who believe in Might & Magic in Ubi and will keep up proposing ideas and projects around it.
So I believe the franchise is not dead, even if right now it's clearly not high on Ubi's priority list (arguably it was always seen as only a "niche" franchise, but so does Rayman for instance and he's the company's mascot). But if/when new games are announced, it's also quite possible they won't be aimed at the older fans. Again, I don't know what the future will be. I've always had a rather zen philosophy regarding all of this : "things will happen when the time is right".
That's really all I have to say on that topic.

fair enough mate thanks for saying what you can on it,
like when any franchise goes out of production and has a bad outlook, I just think it is good and wise for someone to make sure the fans' expectations are in check not to expect any miracles, indeed not even to expect anything for the future (and even if something even happens that it will probably not be something interested in pleasing them), basically to solidify everyone's reasonable suspicions and not leave anyone hanging in vain lol

it is best when that person is not a mere fan (even if that fan has reliable sources to tell him what Ubisoft can/will not) so this is why I (albeit a bit rudely sorry lol) encouraged a "final word" from you lol

Come on man, you're just being dishonest now: you're the one who referred to your post "down HC" above. I went to check to know what you were talking about, and on that forum you were pretty clear about ‪what I was working on‬, and ‪what this Watch Dogs tease is about‬

oh right I see cheers, sorry already forgot you worked on that, too many cancelled crap to keep track,
no my source never conflated it was that Polish dark messiah 2 you are confirming, that was the Freudian slip of me lol

[Angelspit]

like when any franchise goes out of production and has a bad outlook, I just think it is good and wise for someone to make sure the fans' expectations are in check not to expect any miracles, indeed not even to expect anything for the future (and even if something even happens that it will probably not be something interested in pleasing them), basically to solidify everyone's reasonable suspicions and not leave anyone hanging in vain lol

Do you see anyone do that in the movie industry? What about bands that break up? Or writers of science-fiction series? Do they hold a big "That's all folks!" sign to ensure fans might not spend their free time dreaming about that new movie/record/book?
I think we should just enjoy the games for what they are, and when it's all done we move on to other things. Life is too short to develop a fascination with any subject of interest.

[Erwinner]

Do you see anyone do that in the movie industry? What about bands that break up? Or writers of science-fiction series? Do they hold a big "That's all folks!" sign to ensure fans might not spend their free time dreaming about that new movie/record/book?

that may be a bit of a trick question but my honest answer is that of course a lot of franchises and things either end or get a bit of closure in cancellation mate, the point isn't to kill off fan activity but just to keep people's expectations realistic lol

it basically did happen already when Arnaud announced Limbic was dropped, but he hedged the bet a bit saying "we are looking forward to seeing you again in Ashan" when we all know that is neither happening nor even desired in the foreseeable future, so good to correct that with a second opinion if we can lol

I think we should just enjoy the games for what they are, and when it's all done we move on to other things. Life is too short to develop a fascination with any subject of interest.

that's not for my sake mind you, I am the last guy to beg that Ubisoft keeps MM in production, for me I could already see the Might and Magic had no real future after I played Heroes 6,
since then I am just having fun with the community and making the case for neutral consumers not to throw away their money, and was thanked and vindicated many times by such people during this Heroes 7 fiasco (many who were entrenched supporters of Team Erwin at one point or another) lol

it's still bittersweet, like anyone I wanted an excellent Heroes 6 and Heroes 7, I would much rather have good games and good vibes than bad games and bad vibes, but at the end of the day Ubisoft only has itself to blame there (certainly H7 should never even have entered production because I think like MM9 it has permanently harmed the franchise and maybe even the genre a bit) lol

also it's funny stuff topically speaking, when Yves Guillemot is droning on about Ubisoft being this great beacon of creativity, developer freedom, love for the consumer, polished projects and risk taking, when they just put out Heroes 7, a game that debunks all of that rhetoric completely lol

so pretty much just asking if there's a valid reason to get excited for the series future of mild curiosity, and to have a quote for any random person who might come in wondering what is the situation lol

[Antalyan]

I don't know what your "source" believe they know. What I do know with 100% certainty is that whatever this "Showdown" thing is, it has nothing to do with the cancelled game I was working on last year.

That's actually one of the most optimistic things I have heard regarding MM franchise during the recent months, even if it can mean nothing.7

Btw. Thanks for your good work on H7. May I ask which two main game campaigns scripts you worked on?

[Marzhin]

May I ask which two main game campaigns scripts you worked on?

I wrote Stronghold and Sylvan, and the general synopsis of Dungeon (although not the actual scriptwriting for that one).
I also wrote the campaigns of Trial by Fire (based on and expanded upon my story pitch had Fortress been voted for the base game), as well as the Tear of the Old One map (which was originally supposed to be a sort of short interlude during the campaign but was so disconnected from the rest it was turned into a scenario map).

[Karmakeld]

So when you say campaign scripts, I assume it includes landscape description, dialogues, map objectives etc. (similar to the way Terry Ray wrote campaign scripts)??

[Marzhin]

So when you say campaign scripts, I assume it includes landscape description, dialogues, map objectives etc. (similar to the way Terry Ray wrote campaign scripts)??

Yes, and a lot of drawings and mock-ups as well.

[Quantomas]

I assume you mean mock-ups of the landscape.

May I ask what tools you use for this?

On a different note, it is such a pity that your Lota 2 was not completed, because your first part was such an outstanding achievement. As I understand it, the team working on Lota 2 had already most of the work on the maps done, they only needed a scripter. I couldn't volunteer because I lack the time. But I felt abashed to hear that the project was abandonded, because scripting isn't all that hard to learn. The heroes community has all the documents needed neatly organized in a central place, including a tutorial.

I am not sure whether it is possible to resurrect this project, but maybe a well worded statement from you is all it needs. There is no hurry. I don't think Heroes V has seen its peak yet.

I wish to thank Marzhin for the efforts he made. On some reason i believe most of the most positive moments with or within the last MM titles to originate from him. Good luck with whatever you are going to do next!

I can only agree with this sentiment. Thank you.

I wouldn't worry about Vivendi taking control of Ubisoft, although I don't believe it is there intent. They simply do not know what to do with all the cash they have at hand. Besides, Vivendi was the most off-hand publisher ever at the time of Sierra. This off-hand approach was what made Blizzard possible in the first place.

[Antalyan]

May I ask which two main game campaigns scripts you worked on?

I wrote Stronghold and Sylvan, and the general synopsis of Dungeon (although not the actual scriptwriting for that one).
I also wrote the campaigns of Trial by Fire (based on and expanded upon my story pitch had Fortress been voted for the base game), as well as the Tear of the Old One map (which was originally supposed to be a sort of short interlude during the campaign but was so disconnected from the rest it was turned into a scenario map).

Stronghold campaign is my favourite one in the game, along with Academy one
Haven't finished Fortress yet so I cannot judge it.

Just two more personal questions to you: What do you think about H6 and H7? Do you think they're good (just curious about your personal opinion as a player)? Are you able to enjoy them at all when you were working on them?

[Marzhin]

I assume you mean mock-ups of the landscape.

May I ask what tools you use for this?

Photoshop (back when I had a licence for it), or even simply PowerPoint.

If someone wants to take over Legends of the Ancients and finish it, they have my blessing. As I said, the whole story has been available for a while now. I don't think I have the files for the new maps though.