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

[eilacomeva]

A few more pics at https://ulozto.net/tam/_3BVpU2iA4sP4
the only one that's important is that Verdant's dialogues are sometimes chopped (even having only one player or switching software/hardware); the bug is already reported, it's just to remind myself that this ulozto works with multiple images.

[eilacomeva]

Fwiw I'm also unable to reproduce the thief promotion bug - it worked in my 1st game and the vase is there in the provided savegame

[Templayer]

Btw, I believe sometimes adult NPCs have the dialogue meant for children - eg with https://1fichier.com/?3cu5v2l3heqkm9a18y2v ("believe" because it's not a human, but iirc it also happened in some other city, I just forgot to take a screenshot)

please use imgur or ulozto.net for those printscreens next time...

Added to the Bug Tracker and as a GitLab Issue: Adults sometimes have dialogue for children

Thank you, I didn't know a file host that let me upload images without yet another account.
Test https://ulozto.net/file/0v7iR0ZuaZ67/quotes-png

You can post stuff on both of those anonymously. I do.

[Templayer]

I made an GitLab Issue for this: Different dragons from Tor via new egg types

Thanks!

That is not something special, that is common until given specific names - you have variants A, B and C per monster.
It wasn't meant as a NWC Dungeon inclusion, I am afraid.

Interesting. So then "A" is like the base monster while "C" is the strongest variant of it?

Either that or the other way around, I cannot remember.

[Templayer]

btw, maybe I'm not such an idiot after all... I tried to just hire random peasants on the streets and I couldn't find anyone to join - all the hunters etc were now useless NPCs instead of being available to join my team, while after, you know, you finish the game and choose a certain option, I quickly started to find peasants (or even "grand" peasants )

Added to the Bug Tracker and to GitLab Issues: No usable NPCs on the first iteration of game / continent

No, wait, not like that - most of my explanation never went from my brain to the keyboard I'm afraid
What I meant is that I tried grabbing a random peasant in a game where I already had the needed promotions and I couldn't,
while when you start (even the 1st iteration) you can find them, I tried both mm6/mm7 and I felt super stupid that you could just hire strangers without having to check all training sites

Please tell me what to put inside the Issue and how to call it (a name for the issue). I am way too tired.

[Templayer]

Fwiw I'm also unable to reproduce the thief promotion bug - it worked in my 1st game and the vase is there in the provided savegame

Maybe it is triggered by a factor that we do not know anything about.

Or some version shennanigans.

Oh how I hate the base merge + patches method instead of having one solid download with the latest version. I did cry about it, but nobody listened...

[joanthedark]

We love and appreciate Templayer's hard work and dedication!

Make this a GitLab issue as well: "Templayer is too good for us, praise him ASAP!"

[Templayer]

We love and appreciate Templayer's hard work and dedication!

Make this a GitLab issue as well: "Templayer is too good for us, praise him ASAP!"

Done. We love and appreciate Templayer's hard work and dedication!

I am however not actively developing the Merge, instead I'm sort of an manager / maintainer.
Andrey helps out. So does GDSpectra (and she also does graphics).
cthscr (smaller features and bugfixing), Rodril (big features) and GrayFace (low level coding) are doing most of the coding stuff now.
I'm however spending many hours a week doing "the stuff around" that appears not to take a lot of time at the first glance (unless that first glance are my walls of posts xD xD xD ).
And hey, if anybody wants to support me with money, I do have a Patreon. (a rather empty one at the moment)
https://www.patreon.com/Templayer

[eilacomeva]

Added to the Bug Tracker and to GitLab Issues: No usable NPCs on the first iteration of game / continent

No, wait, not like that - most of my explanation never went from my brain to the keyboard I'm afraid
What I meant is that I tried grabbing a random peasant in a game where I already had the needed promotions and I couldn't,
while when you start (even the 1st iteration) you can find them, I tried both mm6/mm7 and I felt super stupid that you could just hire strangers without having to check all training sites

Please tell me what to put inside the Issue and how to call it (a name for the issue). I am way too tired.

Title: NPCs can be hired as mercenaries at the beginning of the game, but later they morph into useless NPC

Description: you can hire NPCs as part of your team if you find them in gyms/taverns, IF you find them; after a certain level/milestone they no longer appear.
You can also hire walking NPCs *as part of your team* if they are "useless" NPCs (ie, they no longer grant you a bonus, unlike eg scholars, healers etc), BUT after a certain level they switch their appearance (from faces you could select for your characters to generic NPC faces) AND behavior (you can no longer ask them to join as level 1 peasants, only chat).
This means that reproducing some bugs ("there's a bug in the 2nd promotion for someclassorother in Enroth") becomes more painful because you can't just take a game where you're at a decent level, hire a peasant, make him the right class and do the quest wasting minimal amount of time.
To reproduce: hire a peasant right after starting the game, even on 2nd iteration of the game, notice that it works; try repeating late enough, you can't hire them.

Anyone - feel free to improve the description!

[eilacomeva]

Fwiw I'm also unable to reproduce the thief promotion bug - it worked in my 1st game and the vase is there in the provided savegame

Maybe it is triggered by a factor that we do not know anything about.

Or some version shennanigans.

Oh how I hate the base merge + patches method instead of having one solid download with the latest version. I did cry about it, but nobody listened...

Provide both? not sure if anyone here comes from places where connection speed is atrocious, but I've seen a few people with numbered GB per month (mostly elderly to be honest)

PS
Sorry for all those silly images, I had been collecting a few savegames to signal bugs and when I checked all of them had been reported already

[eilacomeva]

Hello.
I'm pleasantly surprised, people are still interested in this topic, thank you.
Last time i posted here, i've mentioned pathfinding implementation for monsters, i was obsessed with that idea, and finally i have something to test.
This weekend I hope to prepare .zip file with scripts requiring testing, along with some old bugfixes.
Short demo: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fco50wdhcwaqn ... g.mp4?dl=0
I have not read recent posts, yet, but i saw there are some community fixes and gitlab page. Thank you for contributing.

YAAAY.

Made into a GitLab Issue: Implement and test Rodril's new AI!

Currently externally-blocked until we got the zips to test it.
Should be made (toggleable) within the community branch as soon as possible!
I'm excited for this, can you tell?!?

I thought this was hardcoded in the engine, can it actually be done in lua? Anyway: WOW!!! it's the 2nd most awesome to happen last week (after Tyson Fury)

[cthscr]

I thought this was hardcoded in the engine, can it actually be done in lua?

mem.asmpatch, mem.hook etc.

[Templayer]

No, wait, not like that - most of my explanation never went from my brain to the keyboard I'm afraid
What I meant is that I tried grabbing a random peasant in a game where I already had the needed promotions and I couldn't,
while when you start (even the 1st iteration) you can find them, I tried both mm6/mm7 and I felt super stupid that you could just hire strangers without having to check all training sites

Please tell me what to put inside the Issue and how to call it (a name for the issue). I am way too tired.

Title: NPCs can be hired as mercenaries at the beginning of the game, but later they morph into useless NPC

Description: you can hire NPCs as part of your team if you find them in gyms/taverns, IF you find them; after a certain level/milestone they no longer appear.
You can also hire walking NPCs *as part of your team* if they are "useless" NPCs (ie, they no longer grant you a bonus, unlike eg scholars, healers etc), BUT after a certain level they switch their appearance (from faces you could select for your characters to generic NPC faces) AND behavior (you can no longer ask them to join as level 1 peasants, only chat).
This means that reproducing some bugs ("there's a bug in the 2nd promotion for someclassorother in Enroth") becomes more painful because you can't just take a game where you're at a decent level, hire a peasant, make him the right class and do the quest wasting minimal amount of time.
To reproduce: hire a peasant right after starting the game, even on 2nd iteration of the game, notice that it works; try repeating late enough, you can't hire them.

Anyone - feel free to improve the description!

Thanks, that is EXACTLY what I needed! Now it makes sense to my head.

NPCs can be hired as mercenaries at the beginning of the game, but later they morph into useless NPC

[Templayer]

Fwiw I'm also unable to reproduce the thief promotion bug - it worked in my 1st game and the vase is there in the provided savegame

Maybe it is triggered by a factor that we do not know anything about.

Or some version shennanigans.

Oh how I hate the base merge + patches method instead of having one solid download with the latest version. I did cry about it, but nobody listened...

Provide both? not sure if anyone here comes from places where connection speed is atrocious, but I've seen a few people with numbered GB per month (mostly elderly to be honest)

Well, I don't live in 'Murica, so we actually get a decent connection here. I once uploaded about 3.5 TB (yes, TB) in a matter of three weeks. Oh how I love synchronous upload speeds.

The hotfix for ulozto's file manager next day had a hilarious line in the changelog: "Upload speed cap for people with seemingly infinite upload speeds." (you can probably still read that, it was version 1.9.x or something like that ) I almost died laughing my as.s off!

[Templayer]

I thought this was hardcoded in the engine, can it actually be done in lua?

mem.asmpatch, mem.hook etc.

@eilacomeva - What cthscr is trying to say, that changing hardcoded things in the engine / game is exactly what GrayFace made possible, with Rodril doing a lot of reverse engineering himself as well.

The reason why you don't really see this that much in gaming is that reverse engineering can take YEARS.
And needs a lot of skill and low-level programming (for anyone that doesn't know - the lower the level of programming the higher the skill needed. I've spent 2.5 years as a professional backend programmer, and I cannot do low-level programming at all, so I feel a lot of respect to people who can)

[Templayer]

Also cthscr made quite a few non-Community Branch related Issues for the Merge, so I am bumping them here, just in case of anyone wanting to check them out. I do not remember if he put them in here or not.

Some skills (base + bonus) cycles on 64 regarding recovery time and attack modifiers

GrayFace's MouseLook has unexpected interaction with Town Portal

Global events 876, 879, 883, 886 are broken due to fifth party member

Possible memory problem (showed by) with QBits

Sharry Carnegy is stuck in hirelings after rescue

[toreadorlelder]

Templayer: I was actually unfamiliar with the GitLab version. I see it now.

[Templayer]

Allied minion's projectiles don't get stopped by other allies' bodies or pass right through enemies of a matching type

Sibernethy was added to the Bug Catchers' section on the Credits Tracker. Even though this is a vanilla bug and might actually have to be solved by GrayFace.

[Templayer]

Templayer: I was actually unfamiliar with the GitLab version. I see it now.

I just did some text correction on the wiki documentation made by cthscr. Check it out:

https://gitlab.com/templayer/mmmerge/-/wikis/home

[Templayer]

Final section of the Merge has a lot of interactables that you have to click with a mouse, space bar doesn't seem to trigger most of them

Astro has been added to the Credits Tracker as a Bug Catcher.