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Might & Magic Tribute Demo

Released: July 9th, 2003

Version Number: 0.1.142

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Dear M&M fan,

Thank you for downloading the Might & Magic
Tribute Demo. This file contains important
information regarding this release. I strongly
recommend that you read the entire document.

It is especially important that you please read
the copyright notice below.

I welcome your comments and suggestions.

Sir Felgar

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IMPORTANT: COPYRIGHT NOTICE

This software is NOT produced by, endorsed by,
connected with, supported by or even authorised
by 3DO or New World Computing in any way.

This software is only intended to be a tech
demo to illustrate to the M&M community the
possibility of producing a fan-made Might &
Magic tribute game.

Much of the media used in this demo is
copyright of 3DO / NWC and is used for
illustrative purposes only.

Might & Magic & New World Computing are
registered trademarks of the 3DO corporation.

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CONTENTS
  
  -  Background
  -  Features
  -  System Requirements
  -  Installation  
  -  Options
  -  Controls
  -  Missing Features & Known Issues 
  -  Feedback
  -  Credits
  -  Copyright notice
  -  Licence Agreement

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BACKGROUND

Back in the summer of 2002, Might and Magic fans
were starting to ask when (or if) Might and
Magic X would appear. 

The general consensus seemed to be that MMX was
either a long way off or would never happen.

A lot of fans also expressed their disappointment
about the move to the fully 3D Lithtech engine 
with MMIX. Many wished that NWC had continued with 
the same style of engine used in mm6-8. Especially 
if this could result in more time spent producing 
a more detailed game. After all it was the game 
that mattered not the graphics.

Many fans also seemed disappointed that the old
world had been left behind and that the storyline
with the ancients etc. had never been properly 
concluded. 

At one point, someone asked 'if MMX looks 
unlikely, and MMIX isn't what we expected, then 
why don't the fans make their own game?' 

This is the point at which I got interested (if 
only I hadn't read that post!). A programmer by 
trade, I took up the challenge.

I set myself the task of coding a tech demo for 
release in a couple of months. I would use the 
demo to see if anyone was interested in joining 
a team to produce a fan-made Might & Magic 
"tribute" game.

Well 2 months became 8 months and here we are. If 
I’d known what I was letting myself in for I would 
never have started, but finishing it became an 
obsession, and here we are today.

Finally this tech demo has been released, 
basically to see if anyone is interested in 
helping to produce ... ah, you know how it goes!

I'm not trying to cash in on JVC & NWC's hard 
work. This is purely a labour of love. Might & 
Magic has been part of my life for over twenty 
years now (ever since I played MM2 on the C64) 
and I want JVC & NWC to continue to produce 
these amazing games that have kept us all 
enthralled.

However, with 3DOs current plight and the 
uncertainty surrounding NWC, it seems to me 
that Might & Magic's future is looking 
perilous. One thing is certain however, 
without a surviving fan base it will have 
no future.

If the fans do get together and produce some 
kind of tribute game, expansion, remake, 
whatever, then it all helps to keep interest in
the series alive and helps (in a small way) to 
keep the Might and Magic name in the public eye. 

That's in my humble opinion anyway. 
Speech finished!

Enjoy.

Sir Felgar
July 2003

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FEATURES

It's important to remember that this software
is very much a Tech demo and not a full game.
There are many things missing that you would
expect to see in an actual game (even a demo
version).

Please see the MISSING FEATURES section to see
what is planned for future releases.  

So what is included?

This demo allows your party to explore an area
of outdoor wilderness and one dungeon area.

This map is intended to be only an example of
the kind of things that are possible and is not
a finished level for any game.

Because of this, only the terrain near the
coast has been developed. The rest of the map
is pretty much empty wilderness (but not
entirely - feel free to explore!).

The outdoor map is what I would describe as
medium sized. Outdoor areas can be bigger or
smaller than this if required.

The included dungeon is fairly small scale
(in the style of MM7/8). This is purely down
to the amount of work required to create a
larger level, Tomb of Varn sized dungeons
are technically possible if required.

There are a few basic quests to complete, again
these are only for demo purposes and are not
designed to be part of any final game.

There is no real end to the demo, but if you
wish to "finish" it, you should complete all
the tasks the Oracle sets you.

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SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

The software requirements for this demo have
not been fully tested.

I am especially interested in receiving feedback
as to how well (or not!) the demo runs on
particular PC configurations.

I've received acceptable framerates on a PII 450
Mhz PC with 128MB of RAM and a Voodoo 2 16Mb
graphics card. This was using the lowest level
of graphics detail.

I would therefore expect the minimum
requirements to be something along the lines
of:

 
Estimated Minimum system requirements:

1.  PII 400Mhz or equivalent processor.

2.  A minimum of 64MB of RAM.

3.  A minimum of 10 MB of hard disk space 
    for installation of the software.

4.  A DirectX7 compatible 3D graphics card with
    at least 16MB of memory.   

5.  Any DirectX 7 compliant Soundcard for sound
    effects and music.

6.  Microsoft DirectX 7 or higher.

7.  Microsoft Windows Operating System.

    Please Note: Windows NT and Windows 95 or
    earlier are NOT supported (because they 
    have no support for DirectX 7).


The minimum requirements may be lower than this.
They could also be higher. Until I receive some
feedback from users I simply cannot tell.

However as a guide, the following is the system
that the software was developed on and can
handle the maximum level of detail with ease.


Software Development system specs:

1.  Athlon 1800XP Processor (1.53Ghz)

2.  512 MB DDR RAM

3.  40 GB Hard Drive

4.  Nvidia Geforce 3 TI200 64MB    

5.  Soundblaster Audigy soundcard

6.  Microsoft DirectX 9.

7.  Windows XP home edition.

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INSTALLATION

Installation of the demo is straightforward.

Simply Unzip all files to a location of your
choice.

The MMT demo will not install any files 
outwith the demo directory, nor will it
enter any information in your registry.

Uninstalling the demo is easy - simply delete
all files within your install directory. No
other action is required.

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OPTIONS

From the Main menu screen there are a number
of options available.

Please note that these are only available
during start up. You cannot return to the
menu after starting the game.

Your setings will be remembered next time
you start the demo.

Selecting "Reset to default" on any screen
will reset all the options for that screen
back to the default settings.

The following options are available:


GRAPHIC OPTIONS 

RESOLUTION : Defaults to 800 x 600. If your
PC can handle it 1024 x 768 is also available.

SCREEN DEPTH: Defaults to 32 bit for the best
quality of graphics. If the demo is running too
slowly or your graphics card cannot handle 32
bit colour then reduce to 16 bit.

GRAPHICAL QUALITY: This determines how far 
the 3D engine can "see", i.e. the player's 
view distance. It also determines the 
maximum number of polygons that the engine 
will render in any scene.

This option will have a big effect on frame
rates so it is suggested you lower the
graphic quality if the demo is running too
slowly.

ANTIALIASING: This enables Full Screen
Antialiasing which will improve the quality
of the graphics and make everything look
"smoother".

This process may be very demanding on some
graphics cards and you may notice a big drop
in frame rates.

MIPMAP TEXTURES: Mipmapping makes textures
look smoother at a distance. This should 
only be disabled if you are having 
problems with the graphics.

TERRAIN SHADING: Recommended this is left on
to enhance the 3D look of the terrain. This
will be replaced with a different system in
future releases.

GAMMA LEVEL: Controls how bright the screen
looks. A Higher percentage gives a brighter
screen.

DETAIL TEXTURES: This turns on or off the 
detail textures layer. This should only be 
disabled if you are having problems with 
the graphics.

HARDWARE FOG: It is recommended this is left
on as hardware fog is used for fading objects
in the distance and underwater effects.

Some older cards don't fully support hardware
fog however, so if you are experiencing
problems feel free to disable it.

HARDWARE DITHERING: If you are running the
demo in 16-bit colour mode then enabling this
will improve the graphics. Not required for
32-bit colour mode. 

HARDWARE MULTITEXTURING: This should be left
on as it will improve performance. However it
may cause graphical problems on certain cards
that don't fully support it.

If you are experiencing graphical glitches
feel free to disable it to see if there is
any improvement.

SPRITE TINTING: Tints sprites with different
colours in the same way MM8 does. Note that
this has only been enabled for monsters for
now.


GAME OPTIONS

SOUND EFFECTS VOLUME: Sets the volume of all 
sound effects within the game. A value of 
zero will turn off all sound effects.

PLAY MUSIC: Turns on or off the musical
soundtrack. There is no volume control for
music, this will be implemented at a later
date.

FLIP ON EXIT: When enabled this will flip
the player viewpoint 180 degrees when exiting
buildings.

KEY TURN RATE: This controls the rate at
which the player viewpointt turns left or 
right. Higher numbers are quicker.


PLAY OPTIONS

SELECT ENVIRONMENT: This allows you to choose
from one of 4 environments to play in. 

Well it used to! I've removed all but the 
Woodland environment, as the other three 
didn't have much time spent on them and they
looked quite poor as a result.

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CONTROLS

At the moment there are no options to change
the key bindings. This will be implemented in
the future.

The following key controls are available:

Move Forward:          Up arrow
Move Back:             Down arrow
Turn Left:             Left arrow
Turn Right:            Right arrow

Select/Talk/Attack:    Left Mouse

Look up:               Page Down
Look down:             Delete
Centre view:           End

Toggle Torch Light:    L
Toggle Map Display:    M
Rest until dawn:       R

Toggle Tech Info:      F1
Screenshot:            F12

Quit Demo:             Esc

Toggle Rain            F4
(experimental)

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MISSING FEATURES & KNOWN ISSUES

Please remember that this is a tech demo and
not a finished game. As a result there are a
number of features that are not implemented yet
or that do not function correctly.

The following features have still to be
implemented and are planned to appear in
future releases:

 - Full GUI, Inventory screen, Map screen,
   journal, spellbook etc.
 - Combat system - both turnbased and realtime.
 - Character development & skill system.
 - NPCs and monsters that animate, move about
   attack etc.
 - Improve lighting system to allow sprites, 
   terrain and dungeons to be lit properly.
 - Improved dialog system that allows users
   to pick conversation topics, in a similar
   fashion to MMIX.
 - Particle System for spell effects, missile
   combat and weather effects.
 - Improved Physics system - at the moment
   you are pretty well glued to the terrain
   when outside. Need to properly implement
   gravity to allow flying, swimming, jumping, 
   missile combat, throwing of items etc.
 - Proper weather system so that we can have
   rain, snow, fog etc.
 - Implement code for 2D locations such as shops,
   taverns, temples, stables etc.
 - Create level editor and other editing tools
   to allow a full game to be produced and
   (possibly) custom levels to be created.

Phew! As you can see - still a very long way to
go!


The following are known issues that will be
addressed in future releases:

Q: The demo runs very slowly yet my PC exceeds 
   the minimum spec comfortably?

A: If you are using a Nvidia graphics card
   there is a problem with Detonator drivers
   numbered from 41.09 to 44.03(both inclusive).
   These drivers have errors with DirectDraw 
   handling which can result in extreme slowdown.

   It is recommended you reinstall version
   30.82 or earlier drivers until Nvidia fix this
   problem.

   If this does not help, or you are not using an
   Nvidia graphics card then try reducing the
   colour depth to 16-bit and setting the graphics
   quality to lowest setting.

   If nothing seems to be helping please contact
   the author (see FEEDBACK below).  

Q: Why does the lighting on 2D sprites look
   strange?

A: At the moment 2D sprites (NPCs, monsters,
   plants etc.) are not lit correctly at
   night when using the torchlight. I've not
   discovered the reason for this yet. This
   will be fixed when I convert the sprites to
   be custom built quad meshes (the trees are
   quad meshes - lighting works ok for them).

Q: Why do the sprites appear completely black?

A: I've experienced this problem when testing
   on a machine with a Voodoo 3 gfx card.
   Turning off the DX lighting seemed to solve 
   it, unfortunately I've not had time to
   implement an option to do this.
   
   If it's happening to you please email me
   and i'll see what I can do.

Q: Why doesn't the music play properly / at all?

A: To keep the size of the download small(ish)
   I've used Midi sound files instead of some
   of the more popular types (mp3 etc.). Midi
   sound files are notoriously unreliable
   with some sound cards. No fix at present
   other than to disable the music.

Q: Why have you done feature X this way or why
   is feature Y missing? etc. 

A: Remember this is just a tech demo to let
   people see the KIND of things that are
   possible. Nothing has to look or act the way
   it does. It can all be changed should any
   development start in earnest.

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FEEDBACK

The most important reason for releasing this
demo is to generate feedback from the fans
as to whether this project is worth
progressing.

I would be very grateful to receive feedback of
any kind - both good and bad. Is this a great
idea, am I wasting my time? Let me know!

I also wish to receive as much feedback as
possible about the performance of the demo 
on different PCs.

How well does it run and how good does it
look on your machine? Does it even run at all?
Please let me know.

For performance feedback it is vital you let me
know what processor you have, graphics card,
memory, version of DirectX and graphics card
drivers you are using. 

I welcome any comments or suggestions you may
have.

The author can be contacted at:

    sirfelgar@mmt.34sp.com

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CREDITS

The MMT demo was designed, coded, tested and 
distributed by Sir Felgar.

Many thanks to the following people for
additional code that was used in this demo:

 - Mike Keith for his single surface mesh
   code.

 - Seth Jeffery for his text handling routines.

 - Warren Skaalrud for his RGB conversion code.

 - Jonathan Nguyen for his rain code.

 - Lee Page for his DataPak routines.

Special thanks to all the incredible artists
past and present at 3DO & New World Computing
who produced a lot of the artwork and sound
effects used in this demo.

The remaining graphics and sound effects in
this demo were created by Sir Felgar or were
freely obtained from the internet.

Thanks to Mark Sibly, author of the wonderful
RAD programming language Blitz3D. Powerful,
flexible and above all else stable - what more
could you want!

Special thanks to Ogre from www.3dhangout.com
who created a number of the excellent 3D
models used in this demo.

The remaining models were created by Sir
Felgar or downloaded freely from the web.

Thanks to Bjorn Lynne who wrote the music
that was used in this demo. This was downloaded
from his excellent site, www.lynnemusic.com

Thanks to the makers of the following
software which was used to create this demo: 
Blitz3D, Paint Shop Pro 7, Milkshape, Anim8or, 
Total Terrain, Maplet, Decorator, DataPak, 
Heightland, MM7View, UnLOD & UPX.

Special thanks to Romi & Bruce for their
incredible patience during the development
of this software.

...and finally...special thanks to all those
loyal Might & Magic fans especially at TELPs
Tavern and the 3DO Community.

This is for you. ;-)

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COPYRIGHT NOTICE

This software is NOT produced by, endorsed by,
connected with, supported by or even authorised
by 3DO or New World Computing in any way.

This software is only intended to be a tech
demo to illustrate to the M&M community the
possibility of producing a fan-made Might &
Magic tribute game.

Much of the media used in this demo is
copyright of 3DO / NWC and is used for
illustrative purposes only.

Might & Magic & New World Computing are
registered trademarks of the 3DO corporation.

--------------------------------------------------

LICENSE AGREEMENT

NO FANCY LICENCE AGREEMENTS HERE I'M AFRAID.

YOU ARE HEREBY LICENSED TO DOWNLOAD THIS
SOFTWARE AND RUN IT ON YOUR PC!

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT ANY
KIND OF WARRANTY EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED.

PLEASE NOTE - I'VE TESTED CAREFULLY TO MAKE SURE
THIS DOWNLOAD IS VIRUS FREE AND THAT THE
SOFTWARE IS ERROR FREE.

HOWEVER INSTALLATION OR USE IS ENTIRELY AT 
YOUR OWN RISK AND I CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE
FOR ANY DAMAGE THAT MAY OCCUR.

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