Subject: The Unofficial Might & Magic 6 FAQ version 3.02 From: robertm@jagunet.com (Rob Merritt) Date: Wed, 06 May 1998 02:20:41 GMT Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg FAQ version 3.02 by Robert Merritt Last updated May 4th, 1998 1. Terms 2. Introduction 3. Tehnical Questions 4. Game Play 5. Characters 6. Bugs 7. Misc Questions 8. Zakna Potion Mixing List 9. Other Stuff ** = New * = Updated 1 Terms 1.0 3DO: New World Computing's parent company. 1.1 Hack: A modification of the program released by someone else besides the company that created the program. 1.2 Hi Color: A 16 bit color SVGA color mode. It displays between 32k and 65k colors depending on your video card. 1.3 MM6: Might and Magic 6 1.4 MMO: Might and Magic Online 1.5 MMX: A set of instructions available on the Pentium MMX, AMD K6, and Cyrix M2 chips in enhance multimedia sound and video in games and other applications. 1.6 NWC: New World Computing - The creators of HOMM II, Might & Magic 6, and the entire Might and Magic line. 1.7 NPC: Non playing character. A computer controlled person or animal. 1.8 Patch: A modification of the program released by the company that created the program. 1.9 RPG: Role playing game 1.10 VI: Roman numeral symbol for 6 1.11 FMV: Full Motion Video 2.Introduction 2.1 What is Might and Magic VI? -Might and Magic VI is the next chapter in the Might and Magic series for computers. Might and Magic is the third oldest on going computer role playing game series. Only Wizardry and Ultima are older. 2.2 When was Might and Magic VI released? -It was released April 30th 1998 in the US. 2.3 What is the Limited edition? -MM6 is shipped in two forms. The Standard edition which is be shipped with the game MM6 CD and a cloth map. The Limited Edition, which BTW cost $10-$15 more, includes the MM6 game and all other Might and Magic games on CD, a strategy guide, and a cloth map. 2.4 Will Might and Magic VI have network play? -No. 3DO was creating an online game similar to Ultima Online based on Might and Magic. Characters created in MM6 were suppose to be transferable to Might and Magic Online. However, MMO has been canceled. 2.5 How many CDs with Might and Magic VI ship with? -The Standard edition and Limited Edition come with two CD. 2.6 What is the story like? -You are adventuring in the world of Enroth. In the Next Generation online preview, they mention the story line revolves around the dissappearance of the good King Roland and the misfortunes befallen his kingdom. NWC M&M6 page goes on to say that the child Prince Nicolai Ironfist has lost is Mandate from Heaven to rule and its up to your party to restore it. As quoted in PC Gamer, "The plot promises to be anything but linear, with lots of possible branches to follow and more than one way to reach a given goal. That's especially important, since the game is always in motion. The favorite example of Mark Caldwell, lead programmer and head designer of MMVI, is this: If you find out that some duke's daughter has been kidnapped, you can choose whether or not to rescue her. Save her, and you might have her father as an ally. If she were later to marry some other duke, then you'd have both dukes as allies. If, however, you decide not to rescue her, you might make two enemies. That may not be a bad thing, though -- being on those two dukes' bad side may make you a friend to a third duke, someone you might not have had access to if you were already allied with the first two. " 2.7 How long will it take to complete a game? -It should take anywhere from 100 to 150 hours. 2.8 How much FMV is in the game? -The official word was that there is no FMV. However, the intro is FMV. Guess NWC doesn't count that as part of the game. 2.9 Is there a demo? At the moment, no. Its unknown if there will be one. 3DO seems to be not producing game demos at the moment. 3 Tehnical Questions 3.1 What are the system requirements? -Might and Magic VI will run on any Pentium class chip. It also runs on AMD K5 and K6 chips. There is a work around for Cyrix chips Computer System: IBM PC and 100% compatibles Operating system: Windows 95/NT CPU: Pentium 90 (166+ recommended) Ram: 16MB RAM (32MB recommended) Video card: PCI, 1MB VRAM, supports DirectX CDrom: 4X Speed Hard Disk: 170 MB free Hard Drive Space Sound card: All major sound cards, supports DirectX 3.1 Is there MMX support? - No. MM6 will still run on a chip with MMX but it will not use any enhancements. 3.2 Will here be a Mac version? - No. 3.3 What about a DVD version? -NWC is looking into a DVD version of MM6 but hasn't decided anything. If a DVD version comes about, it will probably include full voice for all the actors instead of text messages that are a part of the CD version. 3.4 Why doesn't MM6 support 3D cards when NWC said they would? - Yes NWC said it was going to support them but it turn out to be a bad idea. I'll let the MM6 team explain: "SOME games do run better w/ custom API or D3D programming support, BUT NOT ALL GAMES. And not Might and Magic VI. Actually 3d acceleration support adversely affects gameplay in MM6. It hurts the graphical level of detail, the frame rate, and the information flow we have built into our software. How much memory is on the standard 3D accelerated video card now days? 4MB, half of which can be used for texture caching. That's 2MB of textures a card can hold at any given time. In order for us to take advantage of the video cards acceleration we'd have to have our textures loaded into the cards texture cache. i.e.. 2MB of textures at any one time max. Our software engine utilizes over 10MB of textures per level, all of which can be viewable at any given time. This means three things - more variety in our graphics: more detailed environments, buildings, dungeons, caverns, etc; more vivid colors - true 16 bit graphics, w/ no limitation to the number of colors in any given environment - there is no such thing as a monotone area in MM6 - can other games make that claim? (check the screen shots in the downloads area); this all helps to create a more natural, realistic environment. Lighting - you've all heard about 'point light sourcing' and how this can enhance the feeling of play. Well, that's true, it does and it's what we use in MM6 for awesome effects, without hardware specific code. The 3D cards on the market right now use 'vertex lighting', in order to "fake" point light sourcing we would have to implement "2 pass lighting". This means that you have to render the scene twice to get the same lighting effects we're getting from a single render pass. This costs frame rate. However, we feel this effect is GREAT, it allows a flame arrow to have a glowing wake, allows a fireball to explode in a circumference and have streamers trail off, allows for a more natural realistic environment. That's why we programmed the engine from the beginning to use 'point light sourcing', not 'vertex lighting'. If we switched over to hardware code we'd lose some really cool lighting effects OR take a hit on our frame rate. That = bad. Information - All 3d cards have a max Z-buffer of 16bit. Our software engine utilizes a 32bit Z-buffer. We're passing, actively, information to you at all times as you interact w/ the world, be it a simple "right click" for information, or a live hit point status of the 20 monsters on the screen. You NEED to know, and you GET to know." [Rob Note: The Matrox G200 card is the first card that gets by the above limitations but its unknow when that card will be release and would it be worth it to do a patch for just that one card?] 4 Game Play 4.1 Is Might and Magic VI like every other Might and Magic? -MM6 is very similar to the other Might and Magic games. Yes it will be a rpg where you control a party of characters, hacking and slashing through the country side, solving puzzles and collecting treasure. Also story line is a continuation of past games. There will be differences. Most of the obvious differences are mostly just enhancements to bring the Might and Magic series up to the standards that late 1990 game players expect. The game takes place in a 3d living world instead of a barren title based one. Some of the plot elements will evolve independant of you, and a few NPCs will have a mind of their own. 4.2 I heard that Might and Magic VI was using the Quake engine, is that right? - No. MM6 actually uses three engines. First there is the Labyrinth engine which is very Quake like. Its used for rendering the indoor areas of the game. The second engine is Horizon. It looks a lot like a Magic Carpert and Daggerfall like engines. The third engine drives the auto mapper. The auto mapper engine shows the world in full color and marks the location of all objects and people. The world and object are true 3D but all of the creatures are sprites created with Autodesk's 3Dmax. Some areas, such as a church, shop, and some NPCs are rendered pictures that will pop up. The engines will feature some dynamic lighting and pixel smoothing will help keep sprites looking good even close up. The Horizon engine has the ability to show accurate weather, time passage in the way of day and night and seasons. All three engines support 16 bit color at 640x480 resolution. 4.3 What are the quests like? -The quest are constantly evolving. Some will twist and turn, some will just naturally change, and a few are heard as rumors and the NPC just get it wrong.. Time will be a major factor in quests.. NWC is stressing that "FedEx" missions will be kept to a minimum. There are around 12 main quests and and 20 side quests. 4.4 What is the combat system like? -You have two option, Turn based and Real Time. The "preferred" combat system is real time. In turn based mode, the combat engine waits for you to supply input. 4.5 What is movement like? -This post was from the MM6team on the MM6 web board on the offical site: "Movement is based on your system. A computer with a P-166 will have (real time) free movement and 65k colors. A computer with a P-90 will have turn based (and 65k colors) with 16 directions of movement." 4.6 How can I stay in turn base mode and how can I move forward in turn based combat? -You can't. 4.7 Will all the character classes return? -No, just 6. Knight, paladin, archer, cleric, sorcerer, and druid. 4.8 How is the magic system? -Its similar to the previous M&M games but there are changes. The need for gems has been dropped and magic is divided up into nine catagories instead of two. They are fire, water, air, earth, spirit, mind, body, light, and dark. There are a total of 99 spells and they have many unqie graphic effects. 4.9 What is the control like? -Controls on Might and Magic 6 are a lot like previous Might & Magic games with a much more flexiable mouse interface. Unfortunatly, you can not customize the controls. For more details, MM6team once again comes through with giving us some insight. "The interface for MM6 is designed to be used with both mouse and keyboard. The keyboard controls movement, interaction with people and locations, options screens, character screens, autonotes, automap, and combat. The mouse controls interactions with items, information (Right-clicking), and also combat, interaction with people and locations, options screens, character screens, autonotes, and the automap. The point of the interface is to make interacting with the world easier, not harder. Though not exactly the same as the older Might and Magic controls, the Might and Magic VI interface was designed to make sense both to someone that has played other Might and Magic games (specifically MM3-5), and to someone that has never played a CRPG before." 4.10 Why does the game runs choppy? - Try going to the option menu and turning the detail level to low. 4.11 Why does sometimes when I talk to a man, I hear a voice of a woman, and vice versa? -You hear the voice of the party member you have selected. NPCs have no voices. 4.12 If the intro movie says you are trained, why are you starting at level one? -You have been trained to level one. Just assume you knew nothing before training. 4.13 Why can't I abort the intro movie? -You only have to watch it once. Upon replays, you will be able to hit escape to skip. *4.14 What potions can I mix? - Best thing to do is try different combinations yourself, and save often. 5. Characters 5.1 What is character generation and building like? -Character generation is stat based. The player is given an allotment of 50 points which he or she can distribute to any stat amoung the four player characters. You also get to select skills. The MM6team has provided even more detail. "The focus of character development in Might and Magic VI is the skill system. To briefly summarize, each character class has access to some of the 30+ skills. As the character goes up levels, he receives points to increase skills, which can be places in whichever skill(s) are desired. The skills themselves can be ‘upgraded' to Expert or Master ability with the proper teacher. Each skill has two ratings- the rank of the skill, expressed by a number, and then if you have the skill at Normal, Expert, or Master level. The rank of the skill gives your chance to successfully complete a task, and the level of the skill (N, E, M) gives extra bonuses or allows you to use the skill on a wider range of objects. Going from Normal to Expert to Master does not change your rank in the skill (you don't LOSE experience becoming Expert or Master in any skill). As a hypothetical example- the Repair skill allows you to repair basic equipment at Normal level. The higher the skill rank, the better the chance for success. At Expert and Master levels, however, you can repair more complicated or powerful items. If Character A has Normal Repair skill of 20, he has a better chance to repair a normal set of chainmail than Character B with Master Repair skill of 15. Character A, however, cannot even attempt to repair an artifact or similarly powerful item, whereas Character B can. The cost to improve skills increases each time you raise the rank in a skill. At the higher ends of the skills you must decide if you really want Sword to rank 25-30, or three or four different weapons to rank 17-20. The effectiveness of spells is not based on your character's experience level, but on the appropriate spell skill. Fireball is based on the Fire skill rank, Lightning Bolt on the Air skill rank, etc. Do you want your Sorcerer or Cleric to specialize in one group of spells, or generalize over all of them? Being promoted within your class, say from Sorcerer to Wizard, allows you to learn slightly different skills, which might allow you access to new spell skills, and will give you a bonus to your hit points and spell points. The flexibility and complexity of this system allows you greater control in developing your characters. Your choices to generalize or specialize, and which skills you choose to develop will greatly impact your experience in the game" For more detail on the skills available, check out question 4.4. 5.2 Why are there only human player characters? - The offical reason from NWC is that different races didn't fit with the story. You are playing humans from a human towns. The unoffical reasons range from it was a cost cutting measure to different races didn't work with the skill point system.Humans will be different colors, genders and ethic backgrounds and different non-human races will exist as NPC. 5.3 -Do you characters have a reputation? Yes. Desslock explains, " Your party's reputation is very dynamic. There are two types, perceived and actual. If you kill someone, and then kill all the witnesses before they can spread what they know, your preceived reputation will be higher than your actual reputation." 5.4 What skills will there be? -There are 30 skills in all. Here is a list from the November 97 issue of Computer gaming Strategy Plus (no.84): Air Magic: Defensive and informational in nature including spells having to do with accuracy and flight. Expert and master rankings permit access to greater spell-versions Axe: Although rather slow on the attack, axes do a lot of damage when they hit. Expert axe fighters gain a little more speed on their attacks while master axe fighters can deliver extra damage Bodybuilding: Adds hit points directly to your character's hit point totals. Multiply the level of this skill by the character's base class bonus to get the total. Expert ranking doubles this total and master triples it Body Magic: Concerned with spells of healing and enhancement. Spells to heal, wound, and cure disease and poison are all included/ Expert and master rankings permit access to greater spell-versions Bow: Both bow and crossbow usage. Expert archers gain a speed increase with their weapon, while master archers can fire two arrows with every attack Chain: Medium armor, it provides more protection than leather and less than plate. Expert and master rankings both reduce the amount the armor slows you Dagger: Less damaging than a sword or axe, they are very quick, sometimes enabling two for one attacks. Expert dagger fighters can wield a dagger in their left hand while using another weapon in their right. Master dagger fighters have a chance of killing a surprised opponent in a single blow Dark Magic: A component of some of the strongest spells in the game, usually with some unwanted side effects. Usable only by Clerics and Sorcerers, it cannot be chosen before starting the game Dark magic must be learned and mastered during your travels Diplomacy: Reduces the resentment caused when you bribe, threaten or beg a character for any reason. Expert and master diplomacy further reduce resentment and increase the effect of your negotiations Earth Magic: Defensive in nature and includes spells that protect, bind and strengthen. Expert and master rankings permit access to greater spell-versions Fire Magic: A good source of offensive spells including spells having to do with speed and pain. Expert and master rankings permit access to greater spell-versions Identify: Identifies an item if your character's skill is high enough. Certain items require your character to be an expert or master in this skill to properly identify them Leather: Lightest armor a character can wear, less protective than chain or plate, it slows the character down the least. Expert and master rankings both reduce the amount the armor slows you Learning: Directly increases the experience your character receives. Every point of skill is a percent of awarded experience that is given as a bonus. Five skill points would turn a 100 experience point award into a 105 experience point - this percentage adds up when expert doubles and master triples this bonus Light Magic: A component of some of the strongest spells in the game. Usable only by Clerics and Sorcerers, it cannot be chosen before starting the game Light magic must be learned and mastered during your travels Mace: All kinds of blunt trauma weapons ranging from batons to flails. Expert mace swingers do extra damage, while master ranking gives a chance to stun opponents Meditation: Adds spell points directly to your character's spell point totals. Multiply the level of this skill by the character's base class bonus to get the total. Expert ranking doubles this total and master triples it Merchant: Reduces the resentment you create when haggling over the price of items and equipment. Expert and master merchants further improves your initial bargaining position Mind Magic: Offensive and informational in nature, including charm, confusion, and telepathy. Expert and master rankings permit access to greater spell-versions Perception: Increases your chance of noticing a trap as it goes off and reducing or avoiding the damage it would cause. Higher skill allows you to escape stronger traps and expert and master rankings allow you to notice and escape different types of traps Pick Locks: Gives a chance to open a locked door based on your skill versus the difficulty of the lock. Expert skill lets you pick more varieties, and master lets you take on all kinds of locks Plate: The heaviest armor type providing the most protection. Expert and master rankings both reduce the amount the armor slows you Repair: Allows your characters to repair broken equipment. Expert and master skill rankings allow you to repair complex items and artifacts Shield: Directly improves armor class. Expert and master ranking in the shield increase the defensive bonus Spear: All kinds of pole weapons with blades attached to the business end Expert ranking in the spear will increase your armor class and master ranking will boost damage Spirit Magic: Concentrates on spells involving life and death, including spells to raise the dead, spells that affect the Undead and spells that influence aging. Expert and master rankings permit access to greater spell-versions Staff: A two handed pole equally good on offense and defense. Expert ranking in the staff will increase your armor class and master ranking will allow you to occasionally stun your opponents Steal: Gives a chance to steal and item from a merchant without his or her noticing. Expert and master ranking allow you to steal from more watchful merchants. Continual use of this skill will increase merchant suspicion, making consecutive thefts more difficult Sword: The sword skill covers mostly types of blades longer than a knife. Expert Swordsmen gain a quicker attack while master swordsmen may use any one-handed sword in their left hand and another weapon in their right Water Magic: Equally offensive and defensive and concentrates on spells that move or change things. Expert and master rankings permit access to greater spell-versions 5.5 What are the NPCs like? -There are many generic shop owners, monsters, and townspeople. There are a few more in depth NPCs. Might and Magic has always been a hack and slash adventure game and the sixth installment promises to be no different. However, besides those, there will be around 100+ detailed NPC that "think" for themselves and effect the plot or are effected by the plot. You will be able to hirer two NPCs into your party. 5.6 Is dying bad? -Not really. You just end up outside, minus all your gold and very weak. You characters don't lose any stats, skills, experence, skills, or equipment. 6. Bugs 6.1 I have a Cyrix chip and I get a page fault when I start MM6. There are two work arounds. The first one comes from Marie T. "I am writing to let you know that there is an easier way to fix the problem with older Cyrix chips when using Might & Magic VI. If you go into the registry using regedit and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ENUM\ROOT\*PNP0C01\OOOO. Then look for the CPU name and modify the description to Pentium instead of 80486. Reboot your system. Now you can play Might & Magic VI without having to load the 686_p.exe each time. I hope this helps visitors to your website because it certainly helped me." The second comes from NWC 4/30/98: Cyrix chip problem identified We've identified a problem running Might and Magic VI on PC's that have older versions of the Cyrix 686 chip. Older Cyrix chips do not have the code that identifies them as Pentium-compatible processors. As a result, Might and Magic VI can't identify your processor as a Pentium processor, and Might and Magic VI crashes upon launch of the program. To identify whether your machine has one of these older Cyrix processors, do the following: 1) Open up the 'Program Files' folder on your hard drive. Once there, open the 'directx' folder, and then the 'setup' folder. 2) Locate the program called 'dxinfo.exe', and double click to run it. Once it's finished running, look in the left-hand panel and look at the line that begins with 'CPU'. If the line contains the number '80486', you're machine is being identified as a 486 and not a Pentium. In turn, you will experience the crash problem. [Note: 'dxinfo.exe' is also available on the Might and Magic VI Install disc, in the '_setup\directx' folder.] To workaround the problem: 1) There is a utility that lets software programs recognize that they are running on a Pentium machine. Download the file called '686_p.exe' from the following location: http://www.egate.net/~huang/cyrix/files/ 2) Once it is downloaded to your system, double click the file to run the program. Once you have done this, you should be able to launch Might and Magic VI normally. If you experience further problems, read the FAQ below. Note: You will need to run this utility each time prior to running Might and Magic VI. We are looking into a more permanent fix. 6.2 When prompt to put in the second CD, it doesn't start. -You have another program grabing the CD. Try running MM6 without other programs running or just start MM6 with disk 2. 6.3 The CD music only plays once and doesn't play again until I enter a new area. -Not a bug, MM6 does that by design. 6.4 The pointer leave trash on the screen. -Try going into your system setting for your video card under the Win95 control panel and turn hardware acceleration all the way down. If that doesn't work, set your cursor icons in win95 to standard. **6.5 The game just crashes and I don't have a Cyrix! -Well, each system is different and tracking the problem down could be hard. Here are some tips that may get MM6 up and running: Do a small install Turn off Win95 autorun Using the default 2D Windows cursors Set your desktop to 16-bit before you start the game Make sure all your drivers are DirectX certified Don't install MM6 on a removable drive 7. Misc questions 7.1 When I called NWC a while back, they said there wasn't going to be another Might and Magic. What gives? - Two stories have arisen. The older one was they simply changed their minds. The news one is NWC was waiting for technology to catch up to what they wanted to do. My personaly guess is that NWC just like Origin and SirTech got tied of pumping out a new chaper every other year of the same game and needed a break. 7.2 What ever happen to Jon Van Caneghem? -He still runs New World Computing and just finish working on Might and Magic 6. **8 Zakna Potion Mixing List Blue (Magic Potion) = Rhina Root + Empty Bottle Restore 10 spell points Red (Cure Wounds) = Widoweep Berries + Empty Bottle Restores 10 hit points Yellow (Energy) = Poppysnaps + Empty Bottle Adds 10 to primary statistics temporarily Green (Resistance) = Yellow + Blue Adds 10 to resistances temporarily Orange (Protection) = Yellow + Red Adds 10 to armor class temporarily Purple (Cure Poison) = Blue + Red Cure poison White (Bless) = Purple + Blue Grants bless for 6 hours White (Extreme Energy) = Orange + Yellow Adds 20 to primary statistics temporarily White (Haste) = Green + Yellow Grants haste for 6 hours White (Heroism) = Orange + Red Grants heroism for 6 hours White (Restoration) = Purple + Green Cure all conditions except dead and stoned White (Stone Skin) = Orange + Blue Grants stone skin for 6 hours White (Super Resistance) = Green + Blue Adds 20 to resistances temporarily White (Supreme Protection) = Orange + Green Adds 20 to armor class temporarily Black (Divine Cure) = Restoration + Orange Adds 100 hit points if at or below maximum and adds 1 year to age Black (Divine Magic) = Super Resistance + Green Adds 100 spell points if at or below maximum and adds 1 year to age Black (Divine Power) = Extreme Energy + Purple Adds 20 levels temporarily and adds 1 year to age Black (Essense of Accuracy) = Bless + Yellow Adds 15 to accuracy and subracts 5 from luck permanently Black (Essense of Endurance) = Supreme Protection + Yellow Adds 15 to endurance and subratcts 1 from all other statistics permanently Black (Essense of Intellect) = Stone Skin + Blue Adds 15 to intellect and subtracts 5 from might permanently Black (Essense of Luck) = Super Resistance + Purple Adds 15 to luck and subracts 5 from accuracy Black (Essense of Might) = Heroism + Red Adds 15 to might and subtracts 5 from intellect permanently Black (Essense of Personality) = Restoration + Blue Adds 15 to personality and subracts 5 from speed permanently Black (Essense of Speed) = Haste + Red Adds 15 to speed and subtracts 5 from personality permanently Black (Rejuvenate) = Extreme Energy + Green Remove all magical aging affects and subracts 1 from all 7 primary statistics Compiled by Zakna (zakna@shaw.wave.ca) 9. Other stuff 9.1 I would like to thank the following for their help in making this FAQ Ben John Christiansen Desslock from GamePen (www.gamepen.com) Fruitcine@aol.com Guardian Chris Kern Robking69 Daniel Lemire Lisaw James Martin Jason Pichette Roe George Ruof MM6team Peter Ryu Rob King Rich Wong Marie T. Thrasher Jeff Jones FidelDahan Vu Will Cunningham Zakna Chris Jay Eric Hayward Ray VanSyckle Cnet's Game Center Computer Gaming Strategy Plus Computer Gaming World Online Next Generation Online PC Gamer Online 9.2 Disclaimer: This FAQ was created in an effort the provide information on the game by New World Computing, Might and Magic VI. The answers provided here are at the moment, my best guess. I, Rob Merritt, am not affiliated with New World Computing, or 3DO nor are any of my family members. I have gather information from press releases, magazine articles, e-mail from several New World Computing employees, and rumors. 9.3 Might and Magic, Might and Magic II, Might and Magic VI, and New World Computing are trademarks of The 3DO Company. 9.4 This FAQ will be available at Rob's might and Magic page at http://www.jagunet.com/~robertm/homm.html Copyright 1996-1998 (C) Robert Merritt. Rob Merritt My Might and Magic page:http://www.jagunet.com/~robertm/homm.html My Toy page starring Micronauts and LegoBlocks:http://www.jagunet.com/~robertm/micro.html