Might and Magic 6, 7, 8 merge based on mm8 engine. [upd. 22.02.2019]

[majaczek]

in Jadame there is "high magic presence" somewhere on daggerwound islands
I didn't found it in murmurwoods so I guess it changed between versions

[DarthVadre]

I continue to absolutely love this project, though have a minor complaint. In Murmurwoods, the priests used to drop an insane amount of gold (somewhere around ~1200), and I took it to be lore friendly, implying they're super corrupt. Now they only drop around ~65

[StormyG7]

Well majaczeck, I found no "high magic presence on Daggerwound Island, but the one in Murmurwoods is located in the center of the Stonehenge. I jumped the gun in saying that it is bugged. I haven't played these games in so long I forgot that Master Water Magic only allows town portal when no hostile creatures are nearby.

As for editing transport, I don't know how to add new destinations and I'd rather not change current destinations.

[lightbringer23]

In case anyone else runs into the weird "trillions of xp" issue, the command to set a new xp value is:

Party[0].Experience = 000000

(substitute 000000 with your actual desired exp value, and 0 in brackets for 1, 2, 3, 4 for the other party members)

There are no asterisks around the new xp value.

As Rodril said, press ctrl-F1 to bring up the console, and ctrl-enter to execute a command.

[majaczek]

well stormy it's on one of lakes on starting island (you need waterwalk)
sorry for beeing spoilerish for those who wants find it themselves

[lightbringer23]

@Rodril
I ran into an odd issue with Bolstering. It has all been working well (really enjoying it, btw) in Jadame and Antagarich. When I hopped back to Enroth -- my starting continent -- no monsters were bolstered.

I am level 36, and goblins still had standard hp. I tried leaving the map (New Sorpigal) and re-entering, but there was no change. I also tried entering a dungeon I had not previously entered (Silver Helm Outpost on Misty Islands). Guard type monsters had standard HP as well.

Any idea what I can do to fix this? Returning to Enroth will be my last stop, so I will be quite high level. I was looking forward to those 200hp goblins

[lightbringer23]

@Stormy @Majaczek
Regarding "High Magic Presence" not working right...

An issue I've run into is wholly of my own doing. The stonehenge location in the Murmurwoods doesn't work for me. I suspect it's because I swapped the games.lod maps for MM8 from the Merge for the ones that Echo created with new monster spawn camps.

I'm guessing that doing so removed or altered some scripting that Rodril set up to allow for that travel. I can still time travel with D-Door scrolls, and the High Magic locations in the other continents work just fine. Giving a heads up in case anyone else tampers with the games.lod files

[lightbringer23]

Edit:
It looks like the issues with Monk, Staves, and Armsmaster involve Greyface's patch and are resolved with the latest 2.1 patch. Time for me to update!

[Xfing]

I continue to absolutely love this project, though have a minor complaint. In Murmurwoods, the priests used to drop an insane amount of gold (somewhere around ~1200), and I took it to be lore friendly, implying they're super corrupt. Now they only drop around ~65

I second this. The merge's clerics must all be in the same category now - the "inside the Temple" one, those didn't carry such amounts of money on them.

On a somewhat unrelated note - what do you think about improving the cohesion of the merge by having some monsters cross-appear? I'm not saying everywhere and every time, because some monsters being found only in specific areas is part of the fun. But for example MM7 Sun clerics could also cameo in the MM8 Temple of the Sun. MM8 Wyverns could mingle with MM7 Wyverns. I can think of several more examples like this, but I believe you catch my drift

[giant008]

Hi Guys,

Could you pls someone post a command/script how to change a reputation status? (Neutral, Notorious, Saintly)...

Thank you very much.

[GrayFace]

Also, there should be a file that determines the inventory size of game items.

There isn't. Actual picture dimensions determine that.

Ive got a question though. Im playing with my Jadamean party and decided to get into the vault of time quite early. Is it still possible to spawn the Unicorn King without touching all the obelisks? I went to murmurwoods on June 24th 9 am, but he doesnt seem to be there. Does he spawn in the same place as in the original game (near the well in the middle of the map)?

No, I've fixed it in my latest patch release (the game code leaves no doubt it was a bug). Add FixObelisks=0 to INI to disable the fix.

[linuxrocks123]

Something I noticed:

In MM7 it's possible for GM Enchant Item to create items of up to +17 Unarmed or +17 Dodging. After extensive testing, it looks like GM Enchant Item in the merged project is no longer capable of creating these items since Unarmed and Dodging were removed from MM8. I'm guessing these items are also no longer generated as random treasure, and this is unfortunate since Monks depend heavily on Unarmed/Dodging skill boosts in MM7 for their fighting skill.

Is it possible to fix this so these items can be generated with Enchant Item and as random treasure?

[Mortis]

Something I noticed:

In MM7 it's possible for GM Enchant Item to create items of up to +17 Unarmed or +17 Dodging. After extensive testing, it looks like GM Enchant Item in the merged project is no longer capable of creating these items since Unarmed and Dodging were removed from MM8. I'm guessing these items are also no longer generated as random treasure, and this is unfortunate since Monks depend heavily on Unarmed/Dodging skill boosts in MM7 for their fighting skill.

Is it possible to fix this so these items can be generated with Enchant Item and as random treasure?

Yes, it is and more, you can do it yourself. You just need to edit STDITEMS.TXT and change row with dodging and unarmed skills from default value 0 to any you want. You also decide which items can be generated with bonuses to these two skills. For example, you can set only belts, capes and gloves to be items with bonus, without rings, amulets or boots.

[lightbringer23]

Something I noticed:

In MM7 it's possible for GM Enchant Item to create items of up to +17 Unarmed or +17 Dodging. After extensive testing, it looks like GM Enchant Item in the merged project is no longer capable of creating these items since Unarmed and Dodging were removed from MM8. I'm guessing these items are also no longer generated as random treasure, and this is unfortunate since Monks depend heavily on Unarmed/Dodging skill boosts in MM7 for their fighting skill.

Is it possible to fix this so these items can be generated with Enchant Item and as random treasure?

I second this -- don't know why they were removed. The entries are there in stditems.txt for them to appear as treasure, just zeroed out to have no chance of appearing. Monks are viable characters in the Merge, and one can gain up to GM unarmed and dodging in Antagarich. I just did.

Until/unless it's fixed in the basic merge, I can tell you how I put them back in the game. It takes a little work, but it's not hard.
1. Acquire MMArchive. It's a program that allows you to extract the .txt files from the .lod archives.
2. Use it to open up EnglishT.lod from the merge's Data directory. Backup your EnglishT.lod, first!
3. Extract STDITEMS.txt and open it up in a text editor.
4. Look for the lines near the bottom that reference Unarmed Skill and Dodging Skill. See the zeros that extend to the right of those lines. Those zeroes are what need to be changed. For reference, I have the data from MM7's STDITEMS.txt reproduced below. Make sure you line up the numbers correctly. They are tab separated and indicate what body slots can receive the enchantment. For example, you won't find a helm "of the Fist" or "of Dodging".

Dodge skill of Dodging 0 0 0 15 10 5 10 5 5
Unarmed skill of the Fist 0 0 0 5 5 20 10 5 5

5. Save your text file, then use MMArchive to Add it back in to EnglishT.lod.

6. Go kick butt with awesome boots and gloves!

[lightbringer23]

@Mortis
You must have taken the dark path, that was quite the Ninja move

@linux
Mortis is absolutely right. In my own version, I adjusted the values on rings and amulets up, as well as changing some of them to 40 -- mirroring BDJ's mods. I think I added in another body slot too, forget which one.

[lightbringer23]

Got a question about upgrading to the Greyface 2.1 patch.

The Merge comes with the Greyface MM8 patch. Therefore I upgraded to the MM8 2.1 patch. However, I looked at the patch notes and saw that his MM7 patch fixes things that his MM8 patch does not, because of the difference in the games. However, those things are very relevant to the Merge.

Should I install BOTH patches, one on top of the other? Incidentally, my Merge no longer launches -- hangs right before 3D0 logo.

Edit: Going to try a reinstall from scratch to try and fix startup hang.
Edit2: Heh, apparently the "hang" was just the "long first time startup" as advertised on main page. I didn't realize I would have to wait again after updating from the patch links. Oh well, now I know xD

[Rodril]

Hello. Patch link have been updated - only minor fixes this time (dimension doors will work with any .odm files now).

Should I install BOTH patches, one on top of the other?

No, only MM8 one. Some issues does not present in mm8, other were already fixed, i think.

You just need to edit STDITEMS.TXT and change row with dodging and unarmed skills from default value 0 to any you want.

Thanks, did not notice it. Added in today's update.

Could you pls someone post a command/script how to change a reputation status? (Neutral, Notorious, Saintly)...

I thought it was "Party.Reputation = 1000". Title depends on number. But just noticed reputation always stays 0, i am not able to check original game right now.

When I hopped back to Enroth -- my starting continent -- no monsters were bolstered.

It is intentional at the moment, monsters of first continent have normal power, until you finish it's story. You can change it by setting bolstering value to 105%.

I stumbled over my old CDs for MM6, MM7 and MM8, and slowly begun the work of using them to localize the Merge to Spanish (my native tongue).

Thank you, i'll add link to first post.

Also, one more comment, my first characters inventory seems bugged a bit - he's got a couple of empty slots, but claims he's got no room left when i pick anything up with him.

What is total amount of items in his inventory? This original bug can happen if you have a lot of 1x1 items: Player have 126 slots, but engine's limit is 100 items per inventory.

If editing the game as you have it is anything like editing it as it was, I should be capable of doing some 2D edits to the armor from MM6 and 7 to make them fit.

Do it if possible, i'll add new items, there's video-explanation in first post how item-editing works now (https://youtu.be/lipriutf3SI).

[lightbringer23]

Should I install BOTH patches, one on top of the other?

No, only MM8 one. Some issues does not present in mm8, other were already fixed, i think.

In particular, I am interested in the fix to the interaction between Armsmaster and GM Staff. As it is, when Staff reaches GM -- and it works with unarmed -- both Armsmaster and the "of the Fist" enchantment cease to provide bonuses to damage. Armsmaster should begin to, as now the Monk is using a weapon, and "of the Fist" should continue to. Unfortunately, neither is the case.

Greyface discovered the cause is that upon reaching GM staff, the game ceased to count the Staff as a weapon, and instead as a simple bonus to unarmed damage. Greyface fixed it in his 2.1 MM7 patch, but did not do so for his MM8 patch, as MM8 GM Staff doesn't work that way. In the Merge, however, GM Staff once again works with Unarmed. I can confirm that -- at least of the Merge build from a month ago -- the old issue with GM Staff still existed. I'm still in the process of rebuilding my Merge with the newest patches.

When I hopped back to Enroth -- my starting continent -- no monsters were bolstered.

It is intentional at the moment, monsters of first continent have normal power, until you finish it's story. You can change it by setting bolstering value to 105%.

Interesting! I can see the rationale for it in a more standard game. In my case, I created an all-druid party in Enroth, did minimum leveling to acquire Master of Air and Water, and promotion to Arch Druid, then hopped over to Jadame for "the real thing". Enroth was intended to be my endgame. Glad to hear that I can adjust it back.

So cool that there are so many different ways to play through all the continents!

[Xfing]

Yeah, I second the incorporation of MM7 Staff + Unarmed mechanics into MM8 for the public release. It might be a bit tricky to do, and perhaps overpowered if we still keep the Staff's MM8 GM bonus of skill increasing damage. But oh well, gotta have it!

[lightbringer23]

Yeah, I second the incorporation of MM7 Staff + Unarmed mechanics into MM8 for the public release. It might be a bit tricky to do, and perhaps overpowered if we still keep the Staff's MM8 GM bonus of skill increasing damage. But oh well, gotta have it!

Personally, I'm not concerned about being overpowered. Of course, I'm not the only one playing the mod With bolstered monsters, we can adjust the difficulty ourselves to compensate. One of the wonderful things about modded games is that we can all create the balance level we like. I've been following your discussions with Greyface about it on his patch page.

Here's something overpowered. I gave Druids the HP of Knights and GM access to all (non-racial) skills. Completely ridiculous, but I'm absolutely loving it.

I have Echo's maps for MM8 giving swarms of many different kinds of monsters all over the place, now all bolstered. For example, there are Fire Elementals all over Ironsand, a swarm of Efreet around the obelisk, hoards of Regan pirates and Archmagi in the hills, and scads of Salamaders around the tomb. All with about double the spawn rate of her normal mod because I didn't use her mapstat.txt. I need to be overpowered for this nonsense!

So motion seconded by Xfing (thanks!), but will the motion carry?