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by Ununpentium » 17 Mar 2013 22:51
Ubisoft has launched a teaser site for what is obviously a new title in the Might and Magic franchise, that will be revealed at PAX East (March 22-24), and going from the big X in the teaser, it looks like it's going to be a new mainline Might and Magic title, the first since Might and Magic IX in 2002.
by rockman » 21 Mar 2013 20:44
UBISOFT ANNOUNCES MIGHT & MAGIC X LEGACY
London, UK — March 21, 2013 — Today, Ubisoft announced Might & Magic® X Legacy. Developed by Limbic Entertainment, a team of devoted Might & Magic fans, Might & Magic® X Legacy brings a new chapter to the Might & Magic RPG series, with both the unique core formula and a new set of improved and fine-tuned features.
In the wake of the spectacular events in Might & Magic® Heroes® VI, you will play in a party of four adventurers entangled in intrigue and political machinations unfolding in and around Karthal. The city, on the verge of secession, is prey to competing factions vying for its control. Your actions will determine the fate of the city. Might & Magic X Legacy is an authentic solo experience in the classic first-person RPG genre. Create and lead your group into an exciting world and battle powerful mythical creatures while collecting ancient magical treasures. Through a turn-based gameplay system, defeat creatures and bosses to accomplish unique quests and make your way through dangerous dungeons, cities and labyrinths full of traps. Dive into vintage Might & Magic and play old school, new rules!
About Limbic Entertainment
Limbic Entertainment is an independent game development studio based in Germany. Limbic’s core competencies are game design, programming, hosting and maintaining games. Since Limbic was founded, the company has released more than 60 products published in more than a dozen languages. Limbic has been a third party developer for Ubisoft for about four years now. Their latest work with Ubisoft was on Might & Magic® Heroes® VI Danse Macabre - DLC and Gold Edition. For more information, please visit http://www.limbic-entertainment.de.
About Ubisoft
Ubisoft is a leading producer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment products worldwide and has grown considerably through a strong and diversified line-up of products and partnerships. Ubisoft has offices in 29 countries and has sales in more than 55 countries around the globe. It is committed to delivering high-quality, cutting-edge video game titles to consumers. For the 2011-12 fiscal year Ubisoft generated sales of €1.061 billion. To learn more, please visit http://www.ubisoftgroup.com.
by Dolt » 20 Apr 2013 00:13
Ubisoft is the first AAA publisher to venture into old school RPGs. What motivated this move, and how long has Might & Magic X Legacy been in development? To what extent did the Kickstarter-driven "old-school renaissance" and the success of such titles as Legend of Grimrock influence your decision to make the game?
Might & Magic X - Legacy has been in development for almost 7 months. To be honest, this title was in our minds for a long time... It was hard for us to be sure there was an audience for such titles, but many Kickstarter successes (all those old-school IPs and genres) and also the triumph of games like Legend of Grimrock (kudos to Almost Human guys, and thanks for this great title!) have proved the audience IS there.
Back in 2009, M&M Community Developer Xhane stated on the Ubisoft forums that, even if there were to be another RPG in the franchise, it wouldn't be called "Might & Magic X" due to the new branding policy (prefixed titles over suffixed). How did it happen that Ubisoft changed their minds and decided to continue the main series with Might & Magic X? Who came up with the idea?
Well, as Ralph W. Emerson famously stated, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds”. : ) At that time we were convinced we would never release a game called "Might & Magic X". Since then though, a lot has happened, and as we’re doing a game that is truthful to the legacy of the series, in the vein of Might & Magic IV and V, we think Might & Magic X is the right name. For sure, we argued about it, asking ourselves what people would expect from such a title but we decided to go for it, as it makes sense to us!
To you, what are the essential features of a Might & Magic game that you aim to preserve in Legacy? What about the series attracts you personally, and which of the Might & Magic games influence the new game the most?
To us, Might & Magic RPGs are about a party of adventurers exploring a large world in first-person view, meeting a variety of characters, visiting cities, and of course exploring dungeons and fighting monsters in turn-based combat. The specifics may vary from one game to the next (for instance Might & Magic 6 introduced free movement while the earlier games were grid-based), but these basic ingredients were always there and they are still at the core of Might & Magic X - Legacy.
Since there have been several "eras" as far as the gameplay of the series is concerned, we had to think hard about the kind of game we wanted to make. Several pitches were made, more or less faithful to the original games, but we finally decided to go for a gameplay similar to the World of Xeen episodes. We still kept some ideas of the later games, notably our skill system is similar (though not identical) to the skill system featured in Might & Magic 6-7.
To build on the previous question, are there any aspects of the older Might & Magic titles that you believe have not aged well? Apart from the updated graphical presentation, what are the modern conventions and "upgrades" that you intend to introduce to Might & Magic X's mechanics and gameplay?
One of the strengths of the Might & Magic RPG series is the fact the previous games always aimed for greater accessibility. MM2 introduced the automap feature, MM3 had one of the very first questlogs – maybe even THE first one. The series quickly embraced mouse control, icons and colors to make the information clearer, etc. Thanks to that, a game like World of Xeen remains very playable today and has aged better than other RPGs of its time (not speaking of the technical side of course).
For Might & Magic X - Legacy, we tried to maintain this tradition of accessibility. Accessibility, by the way, is not to be confused with simplification. Accessibility is not about making the game less complex, but making it easier to use and understand. So Might & Magic X has detailed tooltips, clear signs and feedback, drag-and-drop interface, quick-action bar, etc. Nothing extraordinary, but important features players are used to finding in modern RPGs.
One thing we didn’t keep from the older games is the need to "validate" your level-up by spending gold in a training center. This seemed a little too old-school and in a grid-based game would have meant a tedious amount of backtracking.
Might & Magic games have always been open-world and not just corridor-based, which distinguished them from other first person RPGs such as Wizardry or The Bard's Tale. How open-world will Legacy be compared to the previous titles, and how big will the world itself be? Will the game have level scaling of any sort, i.e., will it scale the power or number of enemies in an area to your level (like Might & Magic II did)?
Might & Magic X starts with a smaller area. This is the "tutorial" area, which we call "Act I". Here you’ll explore your first town, get your first quests, complete your first dungeons, learning how to play along the way. When Act I is over, the rest of the world opens and what you do next is really up to you. If you want to go to that mountain over there despite the fact it’s notoriously full of angry Cyclopes, nothing will stop you.
There will be no scaling of the monsters depending on your level. We feel it’s one of the great pleasures in RPGs to become a demi-god and then return to those Cyclopes and teach them a lesson. However as you progress through the main story some new creatures and monsters may appear in some areas.
While it’s too early to talk the specifics of the game’s world, we can already say it’s bigger than the world of Clouds of Xeen for instance.
In one of the previews from PAX East, it was said that the game will take around 25 hours to complete. Is that just the main quest estimate? Are there going to be any optional dungeons and side quests, and what will they be like?
We’ll have a clearer view on the game’s actual length once we have implemented all quests and all dungeons. But considering we have more than 20 dungeons of various sizes and complexity, and a whole outside world to explore, we’re confident there will be a lot to do in Might & Magic X: Legacy.
Again, in a PAX preview it was mentioned that, in contrast to the older Might & Magic titles, there won't be any sci-fi elements in Might & Magic X. Is that true, and what prompted that decision? Aren't you afraid this might lessen the series' charm, especially in the eyes of old-time Might & Magic fans?
This PAX preview is right: There won’t be any sci-fi elements in Might & Magic X - Legacy. More accurately, you won't explore spaceships, fight killer robots or wield blasters. This decision is directly tied to the new world (called Ashan) we created since Might & Magic Heroes V, as those elements are definitely not part of the lore of this world. But it doesn’t mean there's no connection to the older games of the series. Actually, if you know the "ancient universe" you should keep your eyes open while exploring the world of Might & Magic X...
What does the character development system currently look like? What classes, races and skills (including non-combat skills such as swimming) are there?
Legacy will feature 12 basic classes, 3 per race. Each of these classes will also have a promotion quest, allowing, for instance, your Freemage to become Archmage.
As mentioned before, the skill system is close to the system seen in MM6-7, with skill points and Expert-Master-Grandmaster tiers. There are more than 20 skills, and of course, for any specific skill, depending on the character’s class, he might not be able to become a master or grandmaster – or learn the skill at all.
But we’ll get back to the topics of classes and skills in more detail in the coming months. : )
Can you tell us more about the three-classes-per-race restriction? Is it that there are three archetypes (warrior, mage, rogue) tailored to different races and characteristics? What is the reasoning behind this design choice?
This is basically linked to the "game design laws" of the world of Ashan. While in the previous games you could have an Orc ninja or a barbarian Elf, in Ashan the associations between races and classes are a bit more "rational".
Each race has access to one Might class, one Magic class and what we call a Hybrid class – a class that has access to both Might and Magic skills in "balanced" proportions. Of course, all classes have access to different skills, so for instance, the Human Magic class is different from the Elf Magic class.
Could you elaborate on how training for skills is going to work in Might & Magic X? When will you need to look for a trainer and when will you not?
While, as mentioned earlier, you don’t have to train just to level-up and gain your skill points, we did keep the idea of teachers that can allow you to reach the next tier for your skills.
You start as a Novice, and then you can become Expert, Master and finally Grandmaster by locating the appropriate teacher. Of course Expert teachers are fairly common, while there’s only one Grandmaster teacher per skill and they can be pretty hard to find. And when you do find them, you never know what they’re going to ask you to do before they grant you the title. : )
Are there going to be random encounters, or can you spot enemy groups in advance? What will the maximum number of enemies in a group be? (After all, it could get really huge in some of the Might & Magic games!)
There are no random encounters in Legacy. Like in World of Xeen, you can have up to 3 monsters on the same tile. The number of monsters you’ll face will depend on the area and the level design. We have dungeons where monsters are not that numerous but very tough, and others where you will find yourself surrounded and blocked by melee enemies while their companions use ranged attacks against you.
As the Kickstarter craze has shown, most old-school PC gamers are particularly averse to all forms of online and social elements in single player games, as well as to any kinds of DRM or always-online copy protection schemes. Will Might & Magic X have any of that? Also, is there any chance it might be available on GOG.com in addition to Uplay and Steam?
No, there will not be "always-online" copy protection! Buy, download, play, that’s it.
However, implementing Uplay is a Ubisoft corporate policy and Might & Magic X - Legacy will not be different from any other Ubisoft title. So yes, Uplay will be in and you’ll need to be online for ONE time activation.
As the game will be based on Uplay, the chances of it being available on GoG are fairly slim, as their policy is no DRM at all (if we’re wrong and GoG is happy to distribute the game, please contact us! : ) )
Not so long ago, old-school RPGs were an almost extinct genre and the exclusive domain of indie, tablet, and handheld developers. Do you think other big publishers may follow your lead in turning new attention to niche PC markets, such as that for old school PC RPGs? Do you believe this kind of model, which wouldn't involve spending millions of dollars on marketing and PR, can prove to be sustainable?
Well, it’s difficult to say about other publishers... We’re working (only) for Ubisoft! :p
As far as we’re concerned, we definitely think niche PC markets, not only old-school PC RPGs, but also other genres such as rogue-like (thinking about Faster Than Light of course) are interesting and could lead to success.
The difficult part for big publishers targeting those niche markets is to change their communications strategies and adapt them to their audience. For our particular project, spending millions of dollars on Marketing and PR is not the way to go in our opinion... You have to make sure every dollar is used the proper way, targeting the right audience.
Thank you for your time!
by prfirm » 15 Jul 2013 10:26
Hey everyone,
since you have voted for the ruins tileset in the previous vote for our player-created dungeon, we thought you’d probably like to know how the dungeon art has been created. The concept art for the ruins that you can see below has been created by Ryan Gibson, Lead Concept Artist at Liquid Development.
First there is a general idea of what this dungeon should look like:
Centuries ago, a great civilization appeared on the shores of the Jade Ocean: the Shantiri Empire, that is the Ashan equivalent of Atlantis. The Shantiris were a gathering of various Elder Races, mostly Humans, Dwarves, Nagas and Elves. They spread across the face of the world, building titanic cities and temples.
Then came the Elder Wars. Angels and Faceless, children of Light and Darkness respectively, consumed their hatred in a genocidal war. In a single night, most inhabitants of the Shantiri Empire vanished and their magnificent cities were cast down.
Now, the Agyn Peninsula harbours many Shantiri ruins, attracting all kinds of treasure-hunters and lore-keepers who hope to unlock their secrets, while ignoring the persistant rumours claiming the ruins are haunted – or worse…
The Shantiri dungeon tileset is inspired by the antique Mediterranean civilizations (Greece, Rome, Egypt). It will be used for Shantiri themed dungeons, but could also be used to build a home for a Wizard or Necromancer.
Inspired by this, the artist creates some drafts. For the outside:
… and for the inside of the dungeon:
The whole process is accompanied by lots of feedback, edits, feedback, edits … there are many things that need to be considered when creating such an art concept. Just a few examples:
- Everything needs to be modular, have the right size, fit together
- The dungeon needs to have a certain atmosphere (“make it slightly more Greek”, “I like the buried under vegetation feel, it creates an impression that the ruins have been abandoned for a long time!”)
- It needs to be functional. For example, creatures need a plane area to stand on.
- The Shantiri relied on magic, so no mechanical devices such as gears, cogs et cetera ought to appear
- The tileset needs to allow fountains and gardens
Modularity
Different elements are created, such as walls …
... bridges (am I the only one who thinks 'Balrog' here?) ...
... and, of course, doors:
Also, there are the so-called mood paintings, which are supposed to show the atmosphere of the dungeon from the inside …
... and from the outside:
So that’s it for today. We’re curios what you have to say about this little graphic arts WIP documentation, so leave your feedback in the comments if you like. Thanks for your attention! :)
