Might and Magic 6, 7, 8 merge based on mm8 engine. [upd. 05.11.2023]

[jmaster]

Hello and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!
For now I haven't tried to remade any remaining graphics, maybe after the New Year I'll have some time for it. But for now I'd want to make genie paperdoll fully armored, so for all available armors I made pictures for her. Not all of them look good, but at least it is something. I had to cut all of the armors near belt, everything looks bad on that swirly thing. The only one armor that I put over it - swimsuit. All of the experiments with half-cut suit failed, so I made it completely fitting. Looks like funny, but not that bad One question - how to make suit picture over hand with equipped weapon? Problem can be seen on the screenshot.
Screenshots of armors are following(is it possible to make spoiler tag to shorten post?):
MM8 Leather armor

MM8 Chain armor

MM8 Plate armor

MM7 Leather armor

MM7 Chain armor

MM7 Plate armor

MM7 Swimsuit

MM6 Armors


All of the armors use female paperdoll coordinates, except for some mm6 armors
47 1677 Majestic Chain Mail 43 81 52 93 45 110 41 98 49 112
50 1680 Golden Plate Armor 28 83 58 94 44 112 40 101 48 116
51 2026 Galahad 43 81 52 93 45 110 41 98 49 112
53 2041 Apollo 43 81 61 96 45 110 41 98 49 112
54 2042 Zeus 28 83 58 94 44 112 40 101 48 116

Download link here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GaLA40 ... jIvo249rzk

[cthscr]

I thought that I wouldn't have time until the end of the holidays, but I had some free evenings. And because we all have some holidays now, so this is my present to all of the community You asked for it and I succeeded to do this. Not without problems, but now we have boots from mm6 and mm7 to mm8! Some of them highly unperfect(especially mm6 for dwarfs and trolls look like a socks more than a boots, that's because of the completely different angle), but for now it is the best I could do. Maybe someone could fix them(or even remade completely). As a bonus I modified last of the belts - titan's belt - to be used for mm8 paperdolls too.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you!!!

Pushed, thank you very much. Happy New Year!

Minotaur's helmets: 'Data/Tables/Character doll types.txt', 4th line (starts with '2'), change 4th field from '-' to 'x'.
(Just in case: helmets were pushed already.)

That´s why I told you to push the fixed sprites into the mod: it has the fixed version of this bloody pixel-vomit belt. That˙s for Rodril too.

I've figured it out. But those are sprites, which are different from icons. I don't know them yet and can't tell when I'll get them. I hope you understand my trying not to change things I don't know [almost] completely.

[SpectralDragon]

That´s why I told you to push the fixed sprites into the mod: it has the fixed version of this bloody pixel-vomit belt. That˙s for Rodril too.

I've figured it out. But those are sprites, which are different from icons. I don't know them yet and can't tell when I'll get them. I hope you understand my trying not to change things I don't know [almost] completely.

No worries, I do. I think both Rodril and GrayFace know more about this thing, I´d suggest asking them for help on this. As for customized sprites, those are all in your (and others´) hands to use.

Happy New Year!

[Pol]

Stickied!
& Happy New Year too

[adamaxis]

If you guys are going for QoL improvements for the game - one thing that really bugs me from the player POV is the enchant item spell. Water skill should increase the probability of getting high end enchantments. There's almost no point in investing in enchant item outside of using it to make money, as the chance of getting specific high quality enchantments like carnage and of the dragon are virtually nil.

[NotABroom]

When I'm trying to sell things in New Sorpigal, the merchants will give me only 1 gold for everything. No matter what my merchant skill is or what the item is. At the same time they'll charge 200+ gold for every item to identify, again, no matter what kind of item.

Edit: Figured it out by myself already. It turned out that doing the quest for the Baa guy in the inn got me the reputation "hated", which explains why nobody wanted to give me gold anymore. Cool feature! And sorry about this useless post. ^^

[darkdill]

One thing I'd like to suggest for this merge project is to adjust how stat scaling works. Back in original MM6/7/8, items that give your character bonus Strength, Intellect, etc., don't improve their stats all that much. For instance, even if your character has a huge amount of Endurance, it only grants them a few extra HP, making it feel like bolstering such a stat results in very little payoff, and you'd be better off with an item that gives a flat increase in HP instead. Same goes for MP; even if you get an artifact or relic with +100 Personality, it won't result in that much of an increase to your Cleric's MP.

I've seen one or two mods for MM6/MM7/MM8 individually (not for the merge project) that modify stat scaling, such that having 150+ Strength gives a large increase in melee damage, high Accuracy results in a large increase in Attack Bonus, and so forth. If something like this were done for the merge project, I think it'd be beneficial. Yes, it could result in some pretty overpowered characters when you're using Day of the Gods, but if your character has over 200 Strength, they really should hit like a train.

I say this because I used Cheat Editor to give my five party members all of the Pure stat potions, as well as a Potion of the Gods, and the stat increases were rather underwhelming.

[darkdill]

Remember, character's not always get EXP, like when they are unconscious or dead, etc. Also was he missing for a quest with some big EXP reward?

I will either make or won't make an Issue based on how you answer that.

The Monks are my toughest characters, they aren't down that often relative to the rest of the group. I've kept my party unchanged. I've dropped the Priest briefly just to make room for Overdune Snapfinger to bring him to Alvar.

The group also doesn't have access to Eofol yet. So the level/xp discrepancy can't be due to wishing well use either.

Screen Quick Ref. sheet:
https://ibb.co/WV5p05k

The Learning skill doesn't behave correctly

This one is still ongoing, yes? Well, I think I've figured out what the problem is: the effect of Expert/Master/Grandmaster for Learning isn't working. I tested this using Cheat Engine by giving my party all 60 GM Learning, then changing one of them to have 60 Master, one to having 60 Expert, and one with 60 Basic. I then went and killed some enemies. All of them gained the same amount of experience. Then, I tried removing Learning from one of them. That character got less than the others.

So while the base effect of Learning is working, the multiplier from Expert/Master/Grandmaster isn't.

One thing I want to try while you guys are working on a fix is editing the amount of experience that creatures give when you kill them, but I can't find any file for that in the Data folder. EDIT: Figured it out.

[cthscr]

The Learning skill doesn't behave correctly

This one is still ongoing, yes? Well, I think I've figured out what the problem is: the effect of Expert/Master/Grandmaster for Learning isn't working. I tested this using Cheat Engine by giving my party all 60 GM Learning, then changing one of them to have 60 Master, one to having 60 Expert, and one with 60 Basic. I then went and killed some enemies. All of them gained the same amount of experience.

That's not true for Comm Merge. Results with Learning 0/20,N/20,E/20,M/20,G - 260/330/382/434/538.
BTW, I guess Cheat Engine wouldn't work for Comm Merge. Unless it uses MMExtension's JoinSkill() function.

Code: Select all

Party[0].Skills[const.Skills.Learning]=JoinSkill(20,4)
Party[1].Skills[const.Skills.Learning]=JoinSkill(20,3)
Party[2].Skills[const.Skills.Learning]=JoinSkill(20,2)
Party[3].Skills[const.Skills.Learning]=JoinSkill(20,1)

[cthscr]

Comm Merge master branch latest changes (since 2020-12-11):

* Added Light, Dark, Physical and Energy player resistances (#733)
* Fixed spellscrolls and temple donation spell skill values (#736)
* Fixed monster 'Poison Spray' shots amount
* Fixed monster Sparks amount
* Fixed monster Shrapmetal fragments amount (numbers adjusted - #742)
* Fixed monster 'Meteor Shower' meteors amount (numbers adjusted - #742)
* Enabled monster 'Deadly Swarm' spell
* Fixed MM6 paperdolls rogue pixels (#406) by GDSpectra
* Fixed Bless target type selection (#744)
* Fixed MONSTERS.txt spells recognition (#716)
* Fixed player Energy resistance wasn't checked against Damage Type 12
* Fixed monster spell damage type (#739)
* Fixed monster Shrapmetal projectiles trajectory (#739)
* Added armor and cloak icons by jmaster (#747)
* Use their own cloak icons for Minotaurs and Trolls (#747)
* Added Pendragon and Atlas bonuses
* Used "Artifact/Relic/Special Type" non-identified name for items (#299,#636)
* Converted RepGuards and RepShops continent settings into numbers (#748,#746)
* Set Enroth RepGuards into 200
* Enabled monster 'Flying Fist' spell
* Replaced monster 'Day of the Gods' spell with 'Day of Protection'
* Fixed Cyclops Projectile object (#750)
* Fixed monster Rock and FireAr missile attack (#750)
* Added MM7 helmets icons by jmaster (#755)
* Added effects of Taledon's Helm, Scholar's Cap, Phynaxian Crown and Twilight
* Added Minotaur icons for MM8 helms (#361) by GDSpectra and DavidHer
* Added alignment requirements for artifacts (#575)
* Fixed Lich and Greater Lich 'Dispel Magic' spell recognition
* Fixed MM6 monsters Magic attack type (#224)
* Fixed MM6 monsters attack bonus "Affraid" (#756)
* Fixed PlayerHasItem function (#760)
* Reduced gc calls amount in ExtraArtifacts.lua
* Added MM6/MM7 boots and Titan Belt by jmaster (#763)
* Added effects of Seven League Boots, Titan's Belt, Lucius and Hermes
* Restricted Fly vertical movement in turn-base mode (#694)

(Changelog, Changelog of 2020)

[darkdill]

The Learning skill doesn't behave correctly

This one is still ongoing, yes? Well, I think I've figured out what the problem is: the effect of Expert/Master/Grandmaster for Learning isn't working. I tested this using Cheat Engine by giving my party all 60 GM Learning, then changing one of them to have 60 Master, one to having 60 Expert, and one with 60 Basic. I then went and killed some enemies. All of them gained the same amount of experience.

That's not true for Comm Merge. Results with Learning 0/20,N/20,E/20,M/20,G - 260/330/382/434/538.
BTW, I guess Cheat Engine wouldn't work for Comm Merge. Unless it uses MMExtension's JoinSkill() function.

Code: Select all

Party[0].Skills[const.Skills.Learning]=JoinSkill(20,4)
Party[1].Skills[const.Skills.Learning]=JoinSkill(20,3)
Party[2].Skills[const.Skills.Learning]=JoinSkill(20,2)
Party[3].Skills[const.Skills.Learning]=JoinSkill(20,1)

Ahh, I see. I didn't download the Community Merge patch. I thought it was part of the link in the opening post. Thanks for letting me know it's distinct from the original.

And yeah, the Cheat Engine table I'm using isn't quite correct for the Community Merge patch, but it's close.
https://fearlessrevolution.com/viewtopic.php?t=9058

Maybe someone could provide an up-to-date table for the Community Merge version.

[darkdill]

Something I'm trying with the Bolster mechanic that I wanted some opinions on. What I did was I took the MONSTERS.txt file and changed all enemies to be counted as level 1 enemies. This way, every enemy scales via the Bolster mechanic no matter what level you are, so no more instances of Rats being stronger than Dragons when you're only level 50.

However, trying to tweak the Bolster formulas to work with such a change is... tricky.

If you were to modify the Bolster formulas to work with the idea of every enemy being counted as Level 1, how would you alter them? A .txt file would be nice.

In my personal opinion, though, the Bolster mechanic should focus most of its buffing effect on making the monsters deal more damage, not making them damage sponges. Make them able to kill you quickly but not take enormous amounts of damage to kill.

[cthscr]

If you were to modify the Bolster formulas to work with the idea of every enemy being counted as Level 1, how would you alter them?

So what if you simply replace 'MonsterLevel' with '1'?

[darkdill]

If you were to modify the Bolster formulas to work with the idea of every enemy being counted as Level 1, how would you alter them?

So what if you simply replace 'MonsterLevel' with '1'?

That's basically what I do, but that causes the early game balance to get really wonky. For instance, MM6 Rogues with 900 HP when you're at level 15? Ouch.

[SpectralDragon]

* Fixed MM6 monsters attack bonus "Affraid" (#756)

I honest to Ancients hope that˙s not how the game sees the Afraid condition.

That aside, thank you so much!

[cthscr]

* Fixed MM6 monsters attack bonus "Affraid" (#756)

I honest to Ancients hope that˙s not how the game sees the Afraid condition.

That's how Creators called it during MM6 time.

[cthscr]

If you were to modify the Bolster formulas to work with the idea of every enemy being counted as Level 1, how would you alter them?

So what if you simply replace 'MonsterLevel' with '1'?

That's basically what I do, but that causes the early game balance to get really wonky. For instance, MM6 Rogues with 900 HP when you're at level 15? Ouch.

Then you have to say clearly what you want (with numbers). Including rats and dragons, for example.

[darkdill]

So what if you simply replace 'MonsterLevel' with '1'?

That's basically what I do, but that causes the early game balance to get really wonky. For instance, MM6 Rogues with 900 HP when you're at level 15? Ouch.

Then you have to say clearly what you want (with numbers). Including rats and dragons, for example.

I guess what I wanted was for the game to be less aggressive with the scaling early.

I've since reverted things back to the Fanasilver's baselines, as well as reverted enemy levels back to normal. I just couldn't strike a good balance. However, I have drastically increased the amount of EXP I get from killing enemies, so I gain levels very rapidly. This way, the Bolster effect kicks in sooner.

To be honest, though, I can think of a few things on how the Bolster mechanic could be improved.

1. There needs to be more than one "Bolster Multiplier" value. Right now the same multiplier is used both for increasing enemy HP and increasing enemy damage. It'd be better if there were two separate multipliers; one for HP, one for damage. This way, you could further customize how you want the enemies to scale. If you want them able to kill you easily but not also be damage sponges, that option would be yours.

2. There needs to be some way to introduce a hard cap on how much the Bolster mechanic can improve an enemy. Right now, enemies will just keep getting stronger and stronger as you level up, with no defined limit. Being able to define limits would help ensure the Bolster effect doesn't go out of control when you start hitting levels above 100. I'm not sure if such limits already exist, so if they do, I didn't know.

[Xfing]

Yeah, I'm not sure if it's because my savegame is old or the bolster mechanics are weird, but dark elf peasants in Ravenshore have 30k hp for me. Definitely not how I would envision it hahaha

[cthscr]

First stop is 'Scripts/General/AdaptiveMonstersStats.lua'. When someone talk about bolster changes he should study this file well. For instance, what different const.Bolster.Types do.