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Where to begin; we have actually been working on this game for the past couple of years, and because it is a slow process, we have not released any information. Believe me when I say that it has been very hard coming to these message boards and resisting the urge to post something up about it. You never know what is going to happen, or who is going to do what. This game actually got underway when browsing the MM files and the discovery of unreleased material. With that, we found a way to put the material in the game. Long story short, our experiment brought about us designing a new game. Our concept is to create Might and Magic X, and pick up where Might and Magic VIII left off. Being that we want the game to fully resemble the environment of MM6-MM8, we will be using that particular engine. Though quite outdated, it is what makes those Might and Magic games so entertaining. Keep in mind there is that 1.5% chance that Ubisoft could say that they are developing Might and Magic X, but that is unlikely, so we are creating it for you, and have been for quite some time. Now that a tentative release date can be easily accessed, we would like to provide a little background on us and inform you of the game.

ABOUT US:

I am the lead designer, and my day job is, ironically, a Product Design Engineer; so I am the one in charge of creating the new icons package, bitmaps package, and other related images. I have much experience in the field, and creating these new packages has been very fun. With that, I also do some odds and ends, such as text and testing. Another team member is in charge of creating unique text for NPC’s, weapons, armor, and other various items, along with quests and, to a limited extent, the general storyline. Also, they will be in charge of creating and maintaining the website. They will be strictly in charge of the website once up and running, so we will be looking for recruitment in that area if possible. Our last team member is quality control; they run through the game and test for bugs and problems. For example, if we put new items in the game, they see if it is possible to obtain the item. We are looking for a couple of others to join our team, but we will get to that in a bit.

THE GAME:

The general layout of this game is exactly like its’ predecessors. You will still have that wonderful paper-doll layout, with that fantastic inventory interface. As stated, the game engine is that of MM6-MM8, so graphics are dated, but we don’t think dated graphics much bother us if we still surf the MM boards. Might and Magic X is no different than the previous releases in that you will get a great game with hours upon hours of enjoyment. The day of release is fast approaching, and we would very much like to meet that deadline; we have scheduled a future Friday date, that way fans can have the weekend to start the new game.

Much of the storyline is still in development, so we will not divulge too much information. We have bits and pieces, but need to get everything to flow nicely. Our storyline picks up where Might and Magic VIII left off. Before Escaton the Destroyer passed, he sent a message telling the ancients he failed; this in turn will present a set of problems that a new group of adventurers will have to rectify. There will be a sequence of main events that must be completed as well as a number of side quests that your party can complete upon their discretion. This game will be quite extensive, probably as lengthy as MM6 or MM7.

The continent of Might and Magic X will be set on the world of Enroth on the archipelago of islands between the continents of Jadame and Enroth. There will be one major island surrounded by other smaller ones with the climate ranging from tropical to desert along with a volcanic region. There will be newly designed tropical villages, desert towns, and perhaps a sunken city (our underwater region is still in discussion). We would like to have a snow covered region, but have not found a way to incorporate that as of yet, and may just discard the idea. Once our website is up, screenshots of potential regions will be viewable along with numerous other aspects of the game. We will post one teaser screenshot along with this thread so you can get an idea of what we are doing.

Travel on Might and Magic X will be dominant by ship, but on the main island, there will be stables. Travel becomes even more interesting when ships refuse to go to particular islands due to the danger involved. Travel can also be accomplished by teleportation and underground tunnels to select islands; this is usually reserved for high level parties being that those locations are not for the weak. You will still have the arena and the ability to travel there from a select location.

There will be new sprites, and we will incorporate many of the classics such as dragons, titans, genies, pirates, etc. Some sorely missed creatures will be back, such as thunder lizards, death knights, wyrms, etc. Most creatures will be imported from previous MM’s in order to give our game that classic feel, much of what we can not get in a game today.

There will be new character classes and races, but we will not get into that at the moment until we decide exactly what we are doing as certain character classes present potential problems. For example, if we were to incorporate dwarfs and humans, we would need two sets of X & Y coordinates for item placement on your character.

All new items! This is surprisingly the most complicated and time consuming part of making the game. For example, if we needed to make a sword, we would start from scratch and use Photoshop and Paint in order to render our new 2d creation; this would often take more than two days of work for us to be fully satisfied with our model. Attribute that with the hundreds of bitmap files within the ‘icons’ LOD file and you are looking at more than a couple years work. Everything will be newly rendered which means new characters, weapons, armor, books, quest items, etc. For example, there will be a complete new set of Artifacts and Relics which have already been completed:

•A total of 61 brand new Artifacts & Relics
•Designed in the tradition of MM6 MM7 & MM8
•All new graphic designs never before seen including:
-Completely new creations
-Previously unreleased MM material
-Highly modified material from MM6, MM7, & MM8
•32 Set Artifacts & Relics including:
-Quest Rewards (Much like Mordred in MM6)
-All new Obelisk treasure
-All new Archomage treasure
-Artifacts & Relics from boss kills (Much like mega-dragon in MM7)
-Select chests throughout the land
•29 Random Artifacts & Relics
•Two grandeur items unlike anything before!
•Most Artifacts & Relics ever offered in a MM game!

There are however some things that will remain the usual, but they are never-changing in the first place. Spells for example will remain unchanged for the most part.

CURRENT STATUS:

Obviously there is still much to do. Imaging and texturing should be done in about 5 months with newly compiled LOD files pertaining to bitmaps; this area took years to complete, so a five month outlook is very good. Landmass is only 25% complete; we have fully textured the new regions, but only have copies of landmass from a previous Might and Magic game. We need to be able to modify our landmass, but we will get to that in a bit. Event language, questing, and text are just about to get under way, so not much completed in that area. We are aware that some things seem impossible to do, but if it was done before in the originals, it can be done again, so we will not use the word ‘impossible.’ We will just say it is rather hard to do. If there are some situations that deem to be too hard for us to accomplish, we will work around it. Being that we have the majority of imaging complete, and will hopefully be recruiting help on areas not fully understood by us, a tentative release date has been provided in the FAQ below.

HELP:

We would like to involve the Might and Magic Community in our game, so if there are ideas or suggestions, please leave a post on this thread and we will surely read it. Also, the game has progressed enough in order to recruit a couple of people as we are in need of individuals with certain skills. Keep in mind that we need people who are serious and not going to abandon the group after a couple months. We are looking for about four people, two of which need to be highly knowledgeable of all Might and Magic history in order provide accurate information and to continue the ongoing storyline originally started by previous Might and Magics (excluding IX). We want the game to be firm in knowledge so that what happens in this game can become permanent Might and Magic history. We need one individual who can modify event language easily; we can, but are not very skilled, and it would delay release. Lastly, our biggest potential problem is creating new 3d landmass, or to be able to at least modify existing landmass; we have new textures applied to the associated regions, but the landmass, as well as buildings, need to be at least modifiable. We know some members here are very familiar with event language and some have even dabbled in the ability to modify landmass; it would be great if they were to hop on board. Also, it would not hurt if we had a couple of individuals to simulate text; for example, if your party were to walk into a house or talk to an individual, there would be topics to discuss. You would need good grammar and know how to spell; basically just type up potential discussion topics. We will inherently trust any individual who hops on board, so please keep any information provided to you under wraps so that the game is not spoiled.

FAQ:

What if Ubisoft releases a MMX?
We doubt it, not to mention Ubisoft abandoned the original storyline; we are fast approaching a decade since any news of a MMX. We will worry about it if that day ever comes, but not likely.

When is this game going to be released?
That is usually the first question on everybody’s mind. We are looking at a potential release date of May 22, 2009. Be aware that this is a tentative date, and it can change.

Is this a mod?
Absolutely not. A mod is a modification to a current game, this is all new material and an all new game. The only link to the upcoming Might and Magic X to its’ predecessors is the fact that we duplicated file formats from the originals to provide a foundation for our game; the information from those files was erased and replaced with our own for the most part.

What computer specs will I need?
The same you used for MM6-MM8; nothing more.

How much will this game cost?
Absolutely nothing, it’s free! This game will be freeware as Ubisoft technically owns the rights to the Might and Magic label.

Do we need to own a Might and Magic game in order to play it?
Yes! This game will require that you own one pertaining to either MM6-MM8, though we have not decided as to which yet. If not, you would be getting Might and Magic material without at least paying for the original. It would be illegal for us not to do so.

How will we get the game once it’s released?
It will be downloadable via our webpage or another site willing to host the project.

Will the game be easy to install?
No worries; this game will come with its’ own installation program, so you can sit back and relax while it installs into the proper directory.

Will this game fully function on Windows XP?
Yes it will; the download file will already contain the files needed to run on XP. Install it and play.

How can you create a new LOD file?
We didn’t, we used an existing LOD file, wiped out the original content and replaced it with our own content.

Why ignore Might and Magic IX?
I do not know if this particular question needs to be answered, but we were not a fan. Granted, some loved it, but putting a Might and Magic label on it was a let down.

How long will this game be?
A lot of time was and will be put into this game, and we are not rushing it out the door to make money obviously. We would like something as in depth as MM6, but we will be satisfied if it is on par with MM7; no less than that.

Will Might and Magic X be available in multiple languages?
It will be available in English only. If someone wants to translate the game in the coming months, then they would need to contact me.

Who is involved with this project right now?
Since the beginning, it has only been the three of us mentioned above, but we are looking for others to join.

Can we help?
Yes you can, we would like to involve the Might and Magic community in our project. If you have suggestions, requests on game content, or skills in any specific area, please leave a post. We have a high need for the individuals mentioned above. We will be constantly checking this thread, so you won’t go unanswered.

Can I be a beta tester?
The game will be tested thoroughly among the group and selected individuals before distribution. However, there is still much that needs to be accomplished before we worry about beta testing.

Upon this games completion, will there be Might and Magic XI?
The outlook is good, but we will not say for sure.

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