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

[DaveHer]

I will not be able to get the phones to day. But hopefully in the next two days.
David

Phones? I didn't order any phones!

I meant photos. Silly It's a type O.
David

[DaveHer]

@Templayer
The photos are ready. Here is the link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1usT5- ... mMns43YU8n
David Hernandez

[Templayer]

@Templayer
The photos are ready. Here is the link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1usT5- ... mMns43YU8n
David Hernandez

Nice. I'll probably add it to the Tracker at week's end.
The Woman pictures need to be redone however. They seem to have a partial grey layer over them. At least that is how it looks on my end. The other ones are more or less fine.

EDIT: Also if you are done with those completely, could you send me the link to the files so that I can add them to the implementation queue (by that I mean the actual files for the Merge)?

[DaveHer]

@Templayer
The photos are ready. Here is the link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1usT5- ... mMns43YU8n
David Hernandez

Nice. I'll probably add it to the Tracker at week's end.
The Woman pictures need to be redone however. They seem to have a partial grey layer over them. At least that is how it looks on my end. The other ones are more or less fine.

EDIT: Also if you are done with those completely, could you send me the link to the files so that I can add them to the implementation queue (by that I mean the actual files for the Merge)?

Give a little more time. I am doing MM7 belts and all i need to do is to position a few belts and they will be done also. I will upload the files to the same link as above. They are the image files go into icon.lod and the "complex.item.pictures.txt' goes in tables folder and the rnditems.txt that goes into the EnglishT.lod file. Use the evt.GiveItem{330,0,1702}. Then just change the item number for the next four belt (1703, 1704, 1705, and 1706)This is for MM6. MM7 first belt evt.GiveItem{181,0,902} then (903, 904, 905, and 906). Also, there is a big difference when you see the belts in the game.
David

[Templayer]

I would like to take a post here in order to thank Andrey Boytsov for reporting whole pages of bugs into the Bug Tracker, and ALSO compiling the 10 worst glitches that should be fixed ASAP. It's in the Bug Tracker as a new section called WORST GLITCHES LIST.

Awesome job, Andrey!

Thy list hath been compiled, m'lord.

[Templayer]

Since Andrey isn't very talkative in the forum, I decided to compile a current list of bugs that he reported (and that could be classified as a shi-tton of bugs):

Code: Select all

Reported by: Andrey » Jul 30 2019 00:02
Cannot put anything to chests in software 3D mode. Game crashes.
Load, let's say, a save in Jadame -> Press escape -> New game -> will start in Jadame without asking the continent
Jake the n/u joined me in Ravenshore training hall
Talk to Jadame Oracle -> “I lost it” -> Will tell that he won’t travel with such inexperienced group

Reported by: Andrey » Aug 6 2019, 00:49
For an MM6 Serena character voice reaction does not match the events.
Just did master wizard quest. Expert teachers in Blackshire suggest path of light/dark to me, but whatever I type ("Yes", "yes", "Y", "y", pressing close instead of enter, etc.) nothing happens. Travelled to Paradise Valley, MS teacher does the same. Templayer: From the discussion on the thread - using yes multiple times eventually does it. 
Corlagon’s estate: some specters were stuck in the walls. Invisible, but still can hit you when passing by. Same happened with some rats in Goblinwatch\
Sometimes when trading: “usually sell for 600, but you drive a hard bargain. Will sell for 612” (Not sure what reputation was at that moment)

Reported by: Andrey » Aug 6 2019, 18:55
Master Necromancer cannot equip Blade of Mercy.
Lich picked up at the training center/tavern does not look like a lich

Reported by: Andrey » Aug 6 2019, 21:42
Some amethysts are called “Amythest”
Old bug, not sure if still there. Got some suspicious hits recently, but might be wrong.
Monsters fight 2 vs 1.
Two dealing a killing blow simultaneously.
One hit goes to kill a monster, another goes to you, including bad effects.
Seems to happen when you are the next target of the monsters. Can be very annoying in solo play, when kiting, reanimation, summoning etc. are useful (and your only character can get paralyzed, stoned, killed, etc.). Examples: luring ancient wyverns from Baa temple to water elementals in AvLee, they fight while you watch, and suddenly you get killed by ancient wyvern, when it is not around. Another example: kite cyclops in Ironsand to get artifact, run away, get paralyzed because cyclops started fighting troll guards. And many more. The bug was there from the beginning of time, and I definitely saw it in 2018.

Reported by: Andrey » Aug 6 2019, 22:39
A door to the teleporter in Free Haven sewers can now be opened from the outside. Is it a bug or a new feature? In MM6 you needed to visit Hermit’s Isle and teleport from there first, AFAIR. UPD: door is openable, but teleporter is off.
Entrance and exists in the Free Haven sewers do not match. Enter at Richard Harp’s -> exit immediately -> get to Amber Praetor’s. Definitely existed back in old MM6. Feature or a bug? Looks more and more like a bug. Enter at Amber Praetor’s -> exit -> still at Amber Praetor’s (like expected).
Some doors now have “invisible force fields”. Very difficult to get through, like navigating around invisible obstacle. Examples: 1) door (last of many) to the room with a hole in Goblinwatch. 2) Door close to the entrance of the Hive.
In the magic shop when there is a wand in the lower part and a small amulet right above it, it is really difficult to click on the amulet (even impossible at times). The wand just obscures it completely.
When switching continents obelisk riddles become a mess: some disappear, some get overwritten. However, when I collected all Jadame obelisk and then “lost” some records after switching continents, the Unicorn King still appeared. Perhaps, only representation is a problem, it seems to work internally.
Some chests that contained loot & quest items now contain quest items only. E.g. Prophecies of the Snake, Old Scroll (same location), Soul Jars in Mad Necromancer Lab, and definitely more. Started noticing in MM8 with one of the latest patches.
Like in old MM6, when NPC talks about wands, (s)he says “they can never be recharged”
When walking down from the main entrance of Temple of the Snake on Dagger Wound Islands at the foot of the ladder the characters suddenly get hurt. Fixed by feather fall, so it seems one tiny step from stairs to land counted like falling from height for some reason.
“Sudden death syndrome” in Abandoned Temple in New Sorpigal. Happened only in MM6 and only at that place, but many times. Just walking randomly on early levels and getting death all of a sudden with no visible reason in sight. Once (AFAIR) instead of death got hurt really bad. Cannot reproduce steadily, but seems to happen when close to the walls. Another falling from height by mistake?

Reported by: Andrey » Aug 7 2019, 20:43:
It is still possible to get fly book in Jadame before reaching Regna. I got one by making item from ore. Not sure if it is possible to find one in magic shops or in treasure chests.
I got divine intervention book as a reward for statuettes quest back in MM6. I guess, it should be blocked too. Not sure if that bug exists in the merge.
Bounty monsters can spawn in New Sorpigal (and maybe other places, I don't know) and start killing peasants. Description early in the doc says it should not happen. BTW should this new bounty hunting feature be turnable off? I know that without it doing bounty hunting for non-teleporting parties over 3 continents is nearly impossible. On another hand, like that it is just too easy. Maybe, limit the bounties to monsters found on the continent? That way it would be just as easy/hard as in original games (and quest for 10000 bounties was very manageable even w/o town portal or gate master). Templayer: Other people had problems with bounty monsters spawning in towns, so Rodril eventually said that he fixed that. So that might actually be a bug.
Some monsters should be casting non-projectile spells (e.g. mass distortion for greater earth elemental or implosion greater air elemental). They don't. This bug should have been fixed in one of latest MM8 patches, but in the merge the bug is still there even if the patch is applied (did not check if fix worked in original MM8, though).
When a monster and a guard are separated by small fence (e.g. a goblin and a guard in New Sorpighal), they will just stay on opposite sides of the fence and stare at each other. It seems, the bug was there from the very start, just MM6 did not have guards or monsters fighting each other, and MM7&8 did not have waist-high fences.
Multi-looting. Many people like to use it, so perhaps it is better to make it turnable off rather than remove completely.
Spider queen in Abandoned Temple is just called a huge spider now. AFAIR it had its own name "Spider Queen" before.
Templayer: This has been the case for all such "boss" monsters, but after fixing it, the Spider Queen might have slipped through the cracks / was forgotten about….

Reported by: Andrey » Aug 10 2019, 22:54
Pull sword from the stone in Castle Ironfist. A sword in my hand and a sword is still in the stone. Cannot pull it back second time, so it seems it is only an image problem.
Bow of carnage does not work in some narrow corridors. Seems to be hitting, but does no damage. Have a save if necessary.
In some places: open the door, see the monsters clearly, but they do not attack unless you hit them. Definitely unlike MM6 (monster behind the door did see you if you are in direct line of sight AFAIR). Seems to be related to "invisible obstacle" problem I mentioned before.
In many doors screen goes black in some "sweet spots" when passing through. Examples are too many, but can get a save if needed.
Teleporter in shadow guild takes 5 food. Not sure if it was like that in MM6 or if it is intended. Moreover, it gives “blessing” animation and chimes for a second character, even if that character is empty.
Fell down through the textures in Goblinwatch, in corridor with coded doors.
Rogue Leader is now a simple rogue. Seems to  be related to Spider Queen bug. Longfang Witherhide - same thing. Ethric the mad - same thing. I know there was a fix for that. Was the fix added to the release?
Mist -2457, 8944. Fruit tree still has apples after I picked them. One of neighboring fruit trees have the same problem.
NPCs are still talking about dark containment.
Usually even normal-looking unidentified artifacts & relics are named "Artifact" and "Relic". But "Lightning Crossbow" is "Crossbow". Need to check for all MM8 artifacts (such naming is MM8 thing AFAIR). UPDATE: Yes, seems to be for all MM8 artifacts. Anyway, very minor thing.
When fighting skeletons in temple of Baa on the main floor, they often blink for a second or few, kind of shift in and out of existence. Happens even if they are right near you. 
Have a workaround for that? Appeared suddenly. Enter any house with Free Haven Sewers entrance -> MMExtPlaceholder (2 times, instead of "Enter"). Everywhere. Ignored on pressing. Cannot enter free haven sewers at all (hence, no teleport to Hermit's isle either, luckily I already caught prince of thieves). That's very annoying one, and can be game-breaking if happens earlier. Have a save if necessary.
Save: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xsMoE3tMWUe15JuyPJg203aBfbVk7kkS/view
After exiting the game and reloading I see those 2 weird menu entries, but there is also a third entry "Enter", and it works. Not that game breaking any more. It might be a workaround, if it is really exiting the game that did it.
Save: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xsMoE3tMWUe15JuyPJg203aBfbVk7kkS/view
After exiting the game and reloading I see those 2 weird menu entries, but there is also a third entry "Enter", and it works. Not that game breaking any more. It might be a workaround, if it is really exiting the game that did it.

Reported by: Andrey » Aug 12 2019, 00:42
Memory crystals no longer make specific sound.
Is there a new room with 2 switches in Dragoon Caverns? Not far from the entrance, and switches seem to be opening the doors (and reverting the function of other switches, that you previously had to fight in order to reach). Looks like a piece of debug code that made it into release. Also, I don't see barrels in Dragoon Caverns any longer.
Some telepathy scrolls are doing mind blast instead. I definitely saw reports of that on the forum and saw the bug myself, but surprisingly I don't see it in bug tracker yet.
Created relic Hera from the best ore (Erathia + ore from Eofol). Should it be possible? I guess, no.
Walking on snow does not make any sound.
Golem appears at Harmondale when assembled, even before visiting Bracada to animate it. Bug from original MM7.
Golem takes some gold, as if it was a hireling: "Your followers took ..."
In Harmondale bounty gargoyle appeared right behind me, near town hall. Troll in Tularean Forest spawned right under the city.
Pure body resistance did not appear a single time in Blackshire. Is it just my bad luck? Or can it be generated there at all? If such potion even exists.
UPD: In Balthazar's Lair potion of body resistance is generated normally. And it still never generated in Blackshire. Is there any off-by-one error that prevents it from generation in Blachshire?
Destroy Undead got some area of effect. If another undead goes in the spot where previous undead was killed, it gets killed too. Bug from original MM7.
Dragon towers fire at you even if you are invisible.
Becoming a Baa follower does not lower your reputation any longer. Feature?
Looks like new genie lamps give you mediocre items if your luck is high and skill points if it is not. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Or was it just my IRL luck? IMHO skill points are extremely valuable, way more valuable than good unenchanted bow or smth.
Drinking cauldrons does not produce any sound.
Shrine at Eel Infested Waters still says "Poison resistance"
Castle Alamos: 105, 16577. Worst case of "invisible obstacle". Cannot enter the room.
Found faerie key twice in hall under the hill. First in dragonfly, then in the middle of "Stonehenge" (just pressed space to collect other stuff).
Cleared up dragon cave in Garrote Gorge -> later took dragon alliance -> respawn -> dragons in the cave are hostile. Is it how it is supposed to be?
Expert armsmaster in Enroth does not tell you where the master is
Archibald contacts you when you visit Land of Giants for the first time, even if you did not get devils quest yet, and even if you did not choose light/dark yet. Bug is there in MM7.
Hearts of elements give experience only when you leave the plane. Result: take heart of air (in the castle), get out by GM Town Portal, no experience. Same thing for castle of fire. Have to enter a plane again, leave the plane, and only then experience is given. The bug was there back in MM8.
Templayer: Fuck, I didn't even KNOW they gave experience upon leaving the map in a non-teleporting way! :D
Andrey: They give a lot, 100K AFAIR. Planes of water and earth are OK as they are. You leave the PLANE, that’s what counts. It seems, the rule says “leave the plane & have the heart is in your inventory”. If you teleport from castle, formally speaking the event of leaving the plane never happens.

Reported by: Andrey » Aug 14 2019, 21:35:
Tomb or VARN instead of captain's code just asks "Answer?"
Releasing Archibald does not drop your reputation.
Faerie pipes and Tanir's Bell no longer make a sound. They just say "cannot be used that way".
If you teleported from oracle, next time you enter the curtain will drop upon entering, rather than rise. Fixed by moving back and entering while curtain rises. Very minor thing, but dates back to old MM6.
MM6 death animation does not speak.
Rescuing Cauri et al. did not consume stone to flesh scrolls (first time I saw that).

Reported by: Andrey » Aug 15 2019, 11:56:
Blasters no longer work on oozes. Merge bug, it definitely worked in MM6 (never tried in MM7).
Percival explodes only on successful hit. Definitely worked fine in MM6 & other bows of carnage seem to be working normally right now.
Triton crusader, water creature, casts sparks (and VERY powerful ones, ~300 damage even under heavy day of protection + ring of planes + pure air resistance). Should it be casting something else? Maybe, something of water magic like acid burst, very high level poison spray or ice blast?
More of a nerdy nitpick rather than a bug: dimension door to Tularean Forest shows a picture of Hall Under the Hill, which is not in Tularean Forest.
When joining Volog Sandwind (troll leader), he speaks like a minotaur (Mosul does not object etc.)
Dragon hunter pets drop artifacts.Their loot was way more moderate back in MM8. 
Percival has “Speed +40”, but does not say it in description
Promotion to Minotaur Lord quest disappeared: Dadeross’ option to talk about Balthazar disappeared right on my click, and  Tessalar had no “Quest” topic. Luckily, after I got the axe, things returned to normal: Dadeross signed it, and Tessalar got “Quest” talking point back. It might be related to me draining the lair before alliance quest. Or to the fact that MM8 main was already finished by that time.
2 chests in temple of Tsantsa are connected.
In Dark Dwarf Compound pressing again on the opened blades-trapped door causes another shoot of the blades. Was like that in MM8.
Killing reactor no longer teleports you to the middle of the room & remove all spells. Feature? Makes the Hive way easier, actually.
Verdant congratulates me for completing MM6 for the third time and gives rings each time (just gave 2). Seems, it is happening every in-game hour or smth. Can she already stop?
Upd: stopped after third time.
After completing the hive, went back to take stuff I had to leave behind. Collected items, teleported away, and then suddenly saw another victory movie.
Lost expert leather, and got level 5 instead of 4. Not sure even when that happened. Definitely saw something like that on forum or here, but can’t find the bug record. Should definitely go to top 10 list. Also it seems I lost master meditation in the same way - now it is expert (but skill level did not change).
Templayer: I found the other reports. I'll add this to the Worst Glitches List for sure, check it there! (currently 6.)
Default bolstered low-level monsters get crazily fast. Was it supposed to be like that?
Templayer: Check the Suggestion Tracker on Bolster Monter Modification - the guy there explains why the current system is retarded. For example the amount of defense gain calculation through bolster monter is best described as broken.
In MM8 some promotion quest items are not taken, unless there is a class in the team. E.g. prophecies of the sun are not taken if there is no cleric (but the group will still receive promotion), Ebonest will not be taken if there is no knight, etc. Luckily, some items (e.g. book of Khel or coffin of Korbu) are taken no matter what. It was a bug from original MM8.
Templayer: I did all the promotion quests in MM8 vanilla (i.e. original) and even though I had a party I made up from start to finish, what you are describing didn't occur.
Andrey: Let me check, will get back to you soon…
Andrey: Just checked. Single master wizard in the party, Ebonest NOT taken on champion promotion. 
Templayer: I mean in vanilla, not in the Merge. You said it was a bug in the original MM8 (i.e. vanilla), I said I it didn't occur when I've played last.
Andrey: Well, that is the bug I remember well. That’s why I was looking specifically whether it was fixed. Maybe there are additional conditions for it to appear. But for me it appeared every time. So, you say that you, for example, had no cleric in the team, submitted prophecies of the sun, and the book was taken from your inventory? For me it happened only when running a solo cleric AFAIR. Otherwise the quest is accepted, but the book stays in the inventory anyway.
Templayer: Incidentally, I think I had all of the mentioned classes so far. I had a cleric and a knight. Then a dark elf, necromancer and a dragon. You can check it here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL632B834BA66627C6
Andrey: So you DID have corresponding class in the team? I highlighted important condition.
Templayer: Yeah, I have read that the first time. So are you saying that incidentaly the classes I have selected were those with the bug, and those I didn't have didn't have the bug? That would be quite lucky then. But possible.
Andrey: As I see, it happens only for clerics and knights promotion. Most people have both knight and cleric in the team. I  usually ran the game solo, that’s why I noticed it back in old times. No knight in the team - Ebonest stays, no cleric in the team - book stays  Trying to remember if it happens for dragon.
Templayer: Well, that is another class that people usually do have in their team. :D
Andrey: :-) Actually, sword for dragon promotion also stays in the inventory. I am not sure if it is taken by dragon leader, if you have a dragon in the party.
Templayer: Nope, stays, I used it for my knight. :D
Andrey: OK, then for dragon there is no bug. And I am sure that necromancer and vampire take quest items even if you don’t have the class (for vampire everyone would have noticed immediately).
Andrey: Just checked for the Prophecies of the Sun. Bug stayed.
Teachers tell wrong locations. Expert Meditation in Jadame tells that master is in Murmurwoods (correct - Alvar), master sword tells that grandmaster is in Garrote Gorge (correct - Regna). It is a bug from old MM8, I remember scouring GG for that grandmaster.
A LOT of connected chests in Warlord’s Fortress. Nearly half represent the same chest.
Description of stats is MM8-specific. For example, it says that intellect influences spell points for necromancers and dark elves. Sorcerers? Druids? Thiefs? Archers? Hunters? It seems, it was copied from MM8 without modification.
A star of rocks in Murmurwoods. In old MM8 each rock was marked as “rock”, and one rock was not marked, and that rock was a place for a hidden Lloyd’s Beacon scroll. Now none of the rocks are marked, finding the easter egg scroll is way more difficult.
Sometimes inventory becomes a mess - things on top of each other, things duplicated. Previously it was difficult to reproduce, but now I am pretty sure it happens  right after guys in houses brew black potions for you in Jadame. If you can’t reproduce, I have a save.
Quisinarts no longer cast spells, became much easier to defeat.
Loretta Fleisse had several talking options - Money, Ceremony of the Sun, and Ankh. I clicked Ceremony of the Sun by mistake, and Ankh disappeared (Ceremony of th eMoon appeared instead). Unable to submit that quest at all. I guess, that belongs to the worst glitches list, if I don’t manage to get rid of it.
Upd: Anthony Stone accepted the Ankh, also the words are different than I remember (he is no longer angry with Loretta). As if it was possible to bring ankh to him directly. Was it originally possible to show ankh to Anthony stone first and bypass showing it to Loretta Fleisse? Anyway, looks like a bug.
Templayer: Added to the worst glitches list.
In prison of water lord I found two Wallace artifacts in the same chest (and one more Wallace earlier in the game). Should there be some limit on how many artifacts of certain type are there?
Defender of VARN in hall of the fire lord (BTW should be called “Fallen Defender” AFAIR) is immune to all magic. Is it intentional? Similar defenders in tomb of VARN are  definitely not immune to dark.
Suddenly the tree in Murmurwoods (that trades gems for stuff) started giving me horseshoes even aftter I spent all my diamonds. I guess, it will continue to do it indefinitely. Save: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nQeBmTM8HPOpC7tEqKpvH9WVaK9cjnDD/view?usp=sharing  Just try to click more than twice.
Reanimation spell description says the monster gets 10 HP per point of skill. However, further in description “Normal - 20HP/point, Expert - 30HP/point”, etc. So when is it 10HP/point? Contradiction in description?

Quite prolific. An avid player indeed.

Here's the current version of the WORST GLITCHES LIST (quite a few of them should be solved ASAP... if we only had Rodril with us):

Code: Select all

1. The input parser seems to be broken for a lot of things. Like in the Breach, answering riddles, etc. usually entered answers are not accepted, and it takes 20+ attempts to break through it.

2. Invisible blockers. Sometimes in the dungeon you cannot enter the room, as if you are blocked by invisible obstacle. Happens (almost?) exclusively at the doors, examples are scattered through the bug tracker.
Piottor: Castle Alamos: Works mostly as intended, didnt notice anything way off, except one passage (into a room with large water pool in middle) having sort of "invisible" wall, luckily there was one more entrance to the room so its reachable, but kinda messes progression inside as you gotta go around.
Andrey: Same thing still happens in a lot of places: Castle Kriegspire, Temple of Baa at Castle Ironfist, etc.
Templayer: Also doors produce invisible blockers.

Possibly related bug: In some places: open the door, see the monsters clearly, but they do not attack unless you hit them. Definitely unlike MM6 (monster behind the door did see you if you are in direct line of sight AFAIR). Seems to be related to "invisible obstacle" problem I mentioned before.

3. Making a working download that is not broken. Just unpack and play. I DO NOT MEAN making an installer like we have been talking about, that can be done later. Also please do not make the mistake that Rodril did by having some base version that you have to update to get to the newest version, some of us have no trouble downloading just the newest version if it has everything, so such download should exist. (I can download 1 GB in under a minute, depending on the site...)

4. pheYonyx: Occasionally, my game stops responding to me pressing hotkeys (or a keyboard input in general).
Things that still work — Enter for turn-based toggle, cursors for moving and Escape for menu options.
Things that stopped working — every shortcut like R for rest, S for quickspell, Space for using object, naming the save or typing the text into a custom waypoint on the map.
Only saving grace — close the game and restart using the application in the folder. It almost never happens on a first launch during the same day.
Andrey: never saw it myself, but it seems important.

5. There are some stairs in the Breach that aren't working, thus breaking the progress for parties that cannot fly and do not go there with a scroll of flight. (I remember there being quite a few people running a whole bunch of knights… :D )
Reported by: Thonkerton » Aug 6 2019, 17:55
From the thread: The issue isn't that one couldn't prepare one for the breach, it's that once you get there the first time, you have no idea what's going on, if you don't happen to have the scroll on your main character and the character is unable to cast fly/jump AND your spellcaster with the fly/jump is in the castle, you're pretty much stuck to just reloading save, which I think is not really a great thing to happen. I think the original cause for this issue is that the stairway that is supposed to lead you to the top level of the castle has some minor flaw or a missing step. Possible fixes for this is to modify the map to make the stairs work, have the character find a fly/jump scroll or have the character split make sure that the spellcaster isn't on the castle.

6. Andrey: Lost expert leather, and got level 5 instead of 4. Not sure even when that happened. Definitely saw something like that on forum or here, but can’t find the bug record. Should definitely go to top 10 list. Also it seems I lost master meditation in the same way - now it is expert (but skill level did not change).
Templayer: I found the other reports. 
Reported by: Anerag » Mar 3 2019, 11:10 when using the february 19th version
Skill reset - I had 3 characters with leather level 4 expert. Sometime later I noticed they were level 5 normal. Highly doubt I loaded a save before getting expert and accidentally leveled up leather on each character.
Reported by: Piottor » Mar 13 2019, 21:42
Also a bug hit me on my way to Harmondale from Emerald Isle - all skills in armors were reduced by one mastery tier - my Champion went from GM Plate to Master, my Hero went from Master Plate to Expert, my Master wizzard went from Expert Leather to normal, my Master archer went from GM Chain to Master and my High Priest went from Expert Chain to normal...Shield mastery tiers were not changed…

7. The bug from very old times. Especially annoying in solo play, but can cause problems for any party too.
Monsters fight 2 vs 1.
Two dealing a killing blow simultaneously.
One hit goes to kill a monster, another goes to you, including bad effects.
Seems to happen when you are the next target of the monsters. Can be very annoying in solo play, when kiting, reanimation, summoning etc. are useful (and your only character can get paralyzed, stoned, killed, etc.). Examples: luring ancient wyverns from Baa temple to water elementals in AvLee, they fight while you watch, and suddenly you get killed by ancient wyvern, when it is not around. Another example: kite cyclops in Ironsand to get artifact, run away, get paralyzed because cyclops started fighting troll guards. And many more. The bug was there from the beginning of time, and I definitely saw it in 2018.

Upd: bug is still there.
Templayer: I can imagine that can be quite annoying if you are in the air, since it doesn't take distance into account as long as one of your characters is the closest entity…
Andrey: True. Also, some strategies for solo play, like reanimation or mind magic, are now available in MM6. E.g. soloing lair of the wolf in MM6 was very tough, with MM7-style reanimation and invisibility is definitely more fun. But this bug limits new strategies severely, and takes extra unnecessary caution. 
Templayer: And I just realized how much this screws the usefulness of the Reanimate spell. :D
Andrey: Without this bug Reanimate will shine in dangerous dungeons. 
Templayer: 
Andrey: Actually, MM8 gave some true necromancer gameplay - enter (preferably with invisibility), kill first few with dark magic firepower, then stay behind the lines and keep reanimating. In MM7 reanimate arrived just too late, and in MM6 it worked differently. The merge allows to play like that in all MM6,7,8. 

8. When switching continents obelisk riddles become a mess: some disappear (and you cannot get them again in MM8), some get overwritten. However, when I collected all Jadame obelisk and then “lost” some records after switching continents, the Unicorn King still appeared. Perhaps, only representation is a problem, it seems to work internally.

9. MM6 monsters lost their unique names: Spider Queen, Rogue Leader, Longfang Witherhide, etc.  A bit annoying in Lair of the Wolf, for example, otherwise manageable, but looks bad.
Andrey: in Lair of the Wolf reanimating greater werewolves was most useful, but when werewolf leader is one of them, and you don’t know which one, it gets tricky. Just thought: reanimated monster loses the loot. What happens to quest items?
Templayer: They either do not exist anymore, or if the coder was smart, they will be lootable anyway. So probably the first option. :D
Andrey: Will try to check when I have the chance. Might be a good addition to the bug list.
Templayer: Together with the special entity name bug (i.e. this point on the list), it is quite game-progress breaking.
Andrey: confirmed - reanimated monsters do NOT lose quest items after re-kill and looting. Tried in Ogre Fortress, but I assume it is like that everywhere.

10. Some chests that contained loot & quest items now contain quest items only. E.g. Prophecies of the Snake, Old Scroll (same location), Soul Jars in Mad Necromancer Lab, and definitely many more. Started noticing in MM8 with one of the latest patches.

11. Andrey: putting it to the end of the list only because I saw it once. But it can be quite unpleasant. Once I lost the ability to enter Free Haven sewers. Out of a sudden the “Enter” menu was replaced by 2 useless menu items MMMergePlaceholder. Visiting the place is mandatory for game progress, and also it contains teleported to another mandatory place, so losing a chance to enter is unpleasant. Eventually, after exiting the game, “Enter” menu point has returned, but MMExtPlaceholder talk options stayed forever around “Join” hirelings in taverns or training halls, and around “Enter” Free Haven sewers.
Save: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xsMoE3tMWUe15JuyPJg203aBfbVk7kkS/view

12. Promotion to Minotaur Lord quest disappeared: Dadeross’ option to talk about Balthazar disappeared right on my click, and  Tessalar had no “Quest” topic. Luckily, after I got the axe, things returned to normal: Dadeross signed it, and Tessalar got “Quest” talking point back. It might be related to me draining the lair before alliance quest. Or to the fact that MM8 main was already finished by that time.

13. Loretta Fleisse had several talking options - Money, Ceremony of the Sun, and Ankh. I clicked Ceremony of the Sun by mistake, and Ankh disappeared (Ceremony of th eMoon appeared instead). Unable to submit that quest at all. I guess, that belongs to worst glitches list, if I don’t manage to get rid of it.
Upd: Anthony Stone accepted the Ankh, also the words are different than I remember (he is no longer angry with Loretta). As if it was possible to bring ankh to him directly. Was it originally possible to show ankh to Anthony stone first and bypass showing it to Loretta Fleisse? Anyway, looks like a bug.

14. A crapload of interconnected chests (Warlord's Fortress, etc.)

[DaveHer]

@Templayer Check the link above again.
I have uploaded the image files that go into icon.lod and the "complex.item.pictures.txt' that goes in tables folder and the rnditems.txt that goes into the EnglishT.lod file. I had a problem with one belt for the troll. A belt from MM7. Belt number two (image name is 7item101v4). The game did put a belt number two but not the one I made for the troll. Belts one, three, four, and five that I made were placed on the troll. But not two. GrayFace needs to look into this. Also all the MM7 belts for women are from the original game. I did not changed any thing.
David Hernandez

[andrey]

Thanks for mentioning and thanks for the merge game! Took this one for a thorough testing, while I have some time :-)

[Templayer]

@Templayer Check the link above again.
I have uploaded the image files that go into icon.lod and the "complex.item.pictures.txt' that goes in tables folder and the rnditems.txt that goes into the EnglishT.lod file. I had a problem with one belt for the troll. A belt from MM7. Belt number two (image name is 7item101v4). The game did put a belt number two but not the one I made for the troll. Belts one, three, four, and five that I made were placed on the troll. But not two. GrayFace needs to look into this. Also all the MM7 belts for women are from the original game. I did not changed any thing.
David Hernandez

So, I got some time finally, so I decided to add the pictures to the tracker.
I found out that you still haven't removed the grey overlay from the female paperdoll showcase image, so I am not going to add that one in until you fix it.


For the Paint Tracker, I need pictures of characters wearing them. I see only MM6 for that. So the MM7 ones won't be added to the Paint Tracker until I get those.

As for the implementation queue - please put all the files that are for the game into a separate folder from the preview pictures.

[NotABroom]

Just an idea: would it be possible to have difficulty levels? Like in Heroes 3 and 2. 5 different levels but all they would do is allowing you to play with anything in between 1-5 playable characters. So the highest difficulty level would allow you only 1 character, the easiest 5.

[Templayer]

@Templayer Check the link above again.
I have uploaded the image files that go into icon.lod and the "complex.item.pictures.txt' that goes in tables folder and the rnditems.txt that goes into the EnglishT.lod file. I had a problem with one belt for the troll. A belt from MM7. Belt number two (image name is 7item101v4). The game did put a belt number two but not the one I made for the troll. Belts one, three, four, and five that I made were placed on the troll. But not two. GrayFace needs to look into this. Also all the MM7 belts for women are from the original game. I did not changed any thing.
David Hernandez

So, I got some time finally, so I decided to add the pictures to the tracker.
I found out that you still haven't removed the grey overlay from the female paperdoll showcase image, so I am not going to add that one in until you fix it.


For the Paint Tracker, I need pictures of characters wearing them. I see only MM6 for that. So the MM7 ones won't be added to the Paint Tracker until I get those.

As for the implementation queue - please put all the files that are for the game into a separate folder from the preview pictures.

Upon further inspection, I do not think I will add those onto the tracker yet.

The quality seems questionable. The belt on the left is extremely blurry, and the belt on the right has a crudton of rogue pixels.
When manipulating game images you have to take into account that the game doesn't do partial transparency. Due to the colour used to denote transparency being warped during whatever modification you did, the shade of the transparency was changed, thus the game no longer identifies it as transparency, resulting in those rogue pixels around the belt. If you want to know a way around that, contact SpectralDragon here on the forum.

DaveHer here seems to have the same problems you once did. (scaling down filters + rogue pixels) Since you have mastered the craft, you could do a tutorial on how to get around that.

Just an idea: would it be possible to have difficulty levels? Like in Heroes 3 and 2. 5 different levels but all they would do is allowing you to play with anything in between 1-5 playable characters. So the highest difficulty level would allow you only 1 character, the easiest 5.

But... why? Makes no sense to me. Currently you can make the game as hard as you wish. Just try finishing the game with a solo lvl 1 peasant.

[andrey]

@ALL:

How exactly can I get to the breach? Verdant explains what it is, but never tells how to get there. I tried different town portals and dimension doors from various locations, but nothing seems to work. Is it supposed to be like that?

P.S. OK, I see this is a known bug, part of the text disappears. How should the full text look like?

[Xfing]

These belts look pretty sweet! Great job there

[raekuul]

Just an idea: would it be possible to have difficulty levels? Like in Heroes 3 and 2. 5 different levels but all they would do is allowing you to play with anything in between 1-5 playable characters. So the highest difficulty level would allow you only 1 character, the easiest 5.

You can play with as many or as few characters as you wish, with the caveat that you still need Dyson Leland in order to resolve the Cleric/Necromancer war in Jadame.

As for variable difficulty, the Merge mod has a "bolster monsters" option. It's tuned too strongly for my tastes at the moment and the maximum setting is obscenely difficult and the whole thing is in review for an overhaul, but it's there.

[Maslyonok]

@ALL:

How exactly can I get to the breach? Verdant explains what it is, but never tells how to get there. I tried different town portals and dimension doors from various locations, but nothing seems to work. Is it supposed to be like that?

P.S. OK, I see this is a known bug, part of the text disappears. How should the full text look like?

Just look in LocTables file, Verdant talk smth about Escaton Krystall.

[andrey]

Just look in LocTables file, Verdant talk smth about Escaton Krystall.

Thanks! To you and to @Thonkerton (who replied in a message).

I see. Am I right that this file is read line-by-line, and out of those many lines only the first one is counted as a part of NPCText 2158? I merged the lines, and the text is just fine now (although not separated into paragraphs).

BTW is the breach now unwinnable because of the riddles bug? Or riddles are not essential, and I can just proceed? Common workaround for text input bug - repeat until accepted - does not seem to work (or I was not patient enough, maybe).

[DaveHer]

@Templayer
The belts for the woman have been redone. Check the link again.
Check this link for the files to install the belts into the merge: https://drive.google.com/open?id=12eOZ1 ... yV-9CTKyPZ
Install the belts in your copy of the merge and see for your self how they look. Check the previous post for instructions on how to bring them into the game. In the mean time, I will be preparing the images for MM7 belts for the tracker.
David

[Templayer]

@Templayer
The belts for the woman have been redone. Check the link again.
Check this link for the files to install the belts into the merge: https://drive.google.com/open?id=12eOZ1 ... yV-9CTKyPZ
Install the belts in your copy of the merge and see for your self how they look. Check the previous post for instructions on how to bring them into the game. In the mean time, I will be preparing the images for MM7 belts for the tracker.
David

What about the rogue pixels and blur? Did you read that reply?

[DaveHer]

@Templayer
The belts for the woman have been redone. Check the link again.
Check this link for the files to install the belts into the merge: https://drive.google.com/open?id=12eOZ1 ... yV-9CTKyPZ
Install the belts in your copy of the merge and see for your self how they look. Check the previous post for instructions on how to bring them into the game. In the mean time, I will be preparing the images for MM7 belts for the tracker.
David

What about the rogue pixels and blur? Did you read that reply?

Yes. :)They have been redone. Like I said bring them into the game and see for your self.

[Maslyonok]

Just look in LocTables file, Verdant talk smth about Escaton Krystall.

Thanks! To you and to @Thonkerton (who replied in a message).

I see. Am I right that this file is read line-by-line, and out of those many lines only the first one is counted as a part of NPCText 2158? I merged the lines, and the text is just fine now (although not separated into paragraphs).

BTW is the breach now unwinnable because of the riddles bug? Or riddles are not essential, and I can just proceed? Common workaround for text input bug - repeat until accepted - does not seem to work (or I was not patient enough, maybe).

First, you can remove paragraph division by clicking "delete" button and add %some% number of gaps between paragraphs instead (clicking space button several times). This will force the game to wrap text on another line, simulating a paragraph. Thus, you'll see all the text in game, but divided into paragraphs, as expected. (I used this method when I was translating the new storyline's text)

Second, riddles are essential, yes. I had to answer riddles many, MANY (~100) tmes until Runaway Chaos appeared. You can try to sleep after answering several riddles, you can try load the game e.t.c. ...and you'll succeed. Indeed, a lot patience is needed.