Myth (game series)

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Myth - The Fallen Lords
MythLogo.jpg
Studio Bungie software
Publisher Bungie Software, Eidos Interactive , GT Interactive , Loki Software
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 1997
platform Mac OS , Windows
genre Real time tactical game
Game mode Single player , multiplayer
control Mouse , keyboard
system advantages
preconditions		 Power Macintosh or Windows 95 with DirectX  5.0, 90 MHz CPU, 16 MB RAM, 4x CD-ROM, 51 MB hard disk space
medium CD-ROM
language German , English, French, Japanese
Current version 1.5
Age rating
USK approved from 16
Myth II - Soulblighter
MythII-logo crop.jpg
Studio Bungie software
Publisher Bungie
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 November 1998
platform Linux , Mac OS , Windows
genre Real time tactical game
Game mode Single player , multiplayer
control Mouse , keyboard
system advantages
preconditions		 Linux 2.0 or Mac OS 8.6 with CarbonLib or Mac OS X 10.1 or Windows 95, 133 MHz Pentium or 120 MHz PowerPC CPU, 32 MB RAM, 100 MB free hard disk space.
medium CD-ROM
language German , English, French, Japanese
Current version 1.8
Age rating
USK approved from 16
Myth III - The Wolf Age
Myth3-logo-crop.jpg
Studio MumboJumbo
Publisher GodGames / Take 2 Interactive
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 2001
platform Mac OS , Windows
genre Real time tactical game
Game mode Single player , multiplayer
control Mouse , keyboard
system advantages
preconditions		 Mac OS 9.0 or Windows 95, 400 MHz CPU, 64 MB RAM, 250 MB hard disk space.
medium CD-ROM
language German , English, French, Japanese
Current version 1.3.1
Age rating
USK approved from 16

Myth (. English myth , legend ) is a series of fantasy - computer strategy games , produced by the company Bungie Software from the end of 1990 was developed years. The rights to the games became the property of Take 2 Interactive in 2000 .

chronology

So far, the following games have appeared in the series:

  • 1997: Myth: The Fallen Lords , German Crusade into the Unknown ( Mac OS , Windows )
  • 1998: Myth II: Soulblighter ( Linux , Mac OS, Windows)
    • 1999: Myth II: Chimera (free plug-in for Myth II)
  • 1999: The Total Codex (contains Myth and Myth II as well as numerous plugins for Myth II)
  • 2001: Myth III: The Wolf Age , dt. Time of the Wolf (Mac OS, Windows)
    • 2001: Myth II: Worlds (numerous plugins for Myth II)

Development history

The fantasy book series The Black Company by Glen Cook was identified by some reviewers as a source of inspiration for the Myth computer games .

The first two parts were developed by Bungie Software and distributed by various publishers. Since Bungie was originally a Mac development house, good Mac ports were a high priority. Another focus of development was a strong community orientation, which was expressed in the provision of a flexible plug-in system and the programs supplied with the game (e.g. Fear and Loathing for Myth II ) for creating your own game worlds. This enabled the players to almost completely change the game, both graphically and technically ( modding ). The first part, The Fallen Lords , was sold in high numbers in the year of publication, Myth II fell a little commercially, but is the most popular part of the series and is still played online by many fans today.

Myth series falls on Take 2

Myth III was no longer developed by Bungie because, as part of the acquisition by Microsoft, the rights to the series fell to Take 2 Interactive , as they owned a large share of Bungie. Microsoft brought a complete reorientation for Bungie, with the focus on an exclusive Xbox further development of the Halo series , i.e. without the support of the competing platforms PlayStation or Mac.

Take 2 commissioned the start-up company Mumbo Jumbo, which was founded by former employees of Ritual Entertainment , to develop the successor Myth III based on Bungie's Myth engine and artwork . The existing engine was significantly expanded towards 3D, higher-resolution artwork was created and a completely new storyline was developed. However, Myth III came onto the market with some errors due to strong publication pressure from Take 2, and this was criticized in the mostly positive reviews of the trade press. Take 2 also fired the entire Myth III development team from MumboJumbo during the release period and thus discontinued support without having fixed all remaining problems.

Community support

After the official technical support of the Myth series was effectively ended, the Myth fan community tried to find ways to take over the support themselves. Around 2001, Take 2 granted a group of hobby developers called MythDevelopers exclusive access to the source code of the Myth games. In addition, in 2002 Bungie released the Myth II server source under an open source license after shutting down their multiplayer servers for Myth. This enabled the fan community to work on the constant further development, troubleshooting and porting of the Myth series to new platforms (e.g. Linux ).

In January 2003, MythDevelopers split into two groups, "Flying Flip" and "ProjectMagma", due to internal disputes. After FlyingFlip has not been active since 2007, the task of further developing Projekt Magma has now taken over and is still doing it today (status: October 2013).

Game mechanics

Game idea

The games in the Myth series were all developed according to a similar concept: the player is in command of smaller associations and individual units, while elements such as construction, research and resource management are hidden. As a consequence, Myth clearly shaped the genre of real-time tactical games in the 1990s. Also in the foreground is a physics engine that is very realistic compared to other strategy games , which significantly influences the course of the game.

Myth can be played offline or online , the latter both cooperatively and against each other.

In the battles, the player is usually dramatically outnumbered and can only win if he skillfully exploits the different strengths and formations of his units. Used correctly in this game, an outnumbered army can defeat a much stronger force with little or no casualties. This is partly due to the fact that all units have certain special abilities and distinct strengths and weaknesses: For example, artillery (in this case dwarves who throw explosive charges) has an advantage over melee units, melee units counter archers, and archers counter artillery. There are, however, exceptions to this rule.

Formations play an important role in this game. To fight really effectively, your units must always face the enemy, and you must position ranged fighters so that they cannot shoot your melee fighters in the back, but can retreat behind them at any time when the enemy approaches. Flank attacks are also very important as the enemy must first regroup their units and take damage before they can even defend themselves. Since healing is a rare skill in this game, units do not regenerate health, and there is no way to selectively request new units during battle, every point of damage done in this way is important. As a result, surprise attacks and ambushes are extremely effective.

Furthermore, the skillful use of the terrain and the environment is a central aspect of the game. Archers or other ranged fighters on hills or mountains have a greater range and can thus act more effectively. Steep stairs or narrow passes form an aisle in which only the front ranks of a force can fight. If, on the other hand, there is heavy rain, arrows go out and the range of ranged fighters is limited. Snow or water can also wipe out the fuses of bombs, putting the artillery out of action. In addition, swamps or fords, for example, slow down the movement speed of troops. Certain “undead” units, on the other hand, can even move below the surface of the water.

The unusually realistic physics has an enormous impact on the course of the game: arrows do not always hit and can be deflected by the wind or obstacles or even hit your own units. Thrown explosive charges roll down hills, become duds, or set off explosive chain reactions when detonated near other explosive charges. Even body parts, branches or stones can be thrown up by explosions and thus wounded units. Fire spreads across meadows, burning trees and bushes, injuring units and detonating explosive charges, but extinguishing quickly on rocky or wet ground.

Each unit in Myth has its own name and gains experience by killing enemy units. After each game won, the surviving units are automatically carried over to the next mission. Protecting such veteran units is important as they are more effective than inexperienced units and cannot be retrieved after they die. In Myth II, an experience point cap was added to reduce the strength of veteran units a little. In the multiplayer game you can allow or forbid veteran units.

Game modes

Single player

In the single player mode, the player is always on the side of good and follows the story of the epic battle of the free armies of the West, led by nine powerful wizards , the Avatars, against the dark ruler Balor and his six fallen princes, sorcerers corrupted by him. The player is mostly outnumbered against Balor's undead hordes and has to achieve certain goals through tactical skill. "Kill-all-enemies" missions are rarely in myth.

Multiplayer

In multiplayer game, players start with a self-selected army, which usually consists of units of light and shadow, and must ever be reached in game type other objectives: from simple deathmatch to " capture the flag " to the hunting contest, there are a total of thirteen different multiplayer modes, which one of the main reasons for this is that it is still played by gamers online today.

Web links

Official sites
Community development websites
  • Project Magma - Community for the further development of Myth II (English)
  • Gate of Storms - Community-powered online service for Myth II (English)
  • Mariusnet - Community-operated online service for the Myth series (English)
information

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ melkor: Myth II 1.8.0 and Dtex Megapack Released! ( English ) Project Magma. June 12, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2013: " Myth II version 1.8 is the latest installment in Project Magma's series of updates to Myth II, bringing many performance improvements, numerous bug fixes and various new features to the game. "
  2. ↑ Myth III 1.3.1 Patch (PC) ( Memento from January 8, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), The Tain (English, archived)
  3. ↑ a b IGN Staff: Microsoft Buys Bungie, Take Two Buys Oni, PS2 Situation Unchanged - There will be Oni, but there will be no Halo on PlayStation2 - analysis inside. ( English ) IGN. June 19, 2000. Retrieved December 22, 2012: “ Take Two, in return for their 19.9% ​​stake in Bungie (which will become Microsoft's), is acquiring the complete rights to Bungie's Myth and Oni franchises; the games, their associated universes, trademarks, the lot. "
  4. ^ Reuben Poling: Review: The Black Company (Books of the North) ( English ) www.dorkadia.com. December 24, 2012. Retrieved April 8, 2013: “ It is worth noting that Myth: the Fallen Lords (probably my favorite PC game of all time, and the subject of an upcoming review) drew a great deal of influence from these books "
  5. ↑ a b Howard Wen: Keeping the Myths Alive ( English ) linuxdevcenter.com. June 10, 2004. Retrieved December 22, 2012: “ […] fans of the Myth trilogy have taken this idea a step further: they have official access to the source code for the Myth games. Organized under the name MythDevelopers, this all-volunteer group of programmers, artists, and other talented people devote their time to improving and supporting further development of the Myth game series. "
  6. ^ Rob Crossley: Steve Jobs 'raged at Microsoft' over game studio sale (English) . In: Develop , October 26, 2010. Archived from the original on December 14, 2011 Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved December 8, 2011. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.develop-online.net 
  7. ↑ Gamespot.com, accessed May 15, 2012
  8. ↑ IGN.com accessed May 15, 2012
  9. ↑ Sean Smith: Myth III Team Axed; Mac version Spared ( English insidemacgames.com). November 19, 2001. Retrieved on December 22, 2012: " Andrew Meggs, formerly of Myth III developer Mumbo Jumbo, wrote that the Myth III development team had been laid off two weeks earlier:" The entire Myth III team was terminated on November 2, 2001. [...] " "
  10. ↑ MythDev.com ( English ) Archived from the original on December 2, 2003. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  11. ↑ Myth Game Server Open Source ( English ) www.bungie.net. February 7, 2002. Archived from the original on August 4, 2002. Retrieved on May 24, 2012.
  12. ↑ Sam Parker: Myth III unofficial patch - Nearly 18 months after the game's release, a volunteer effort has produced an update for Gathering's sequel to the Bungie strategy series. ( English ) Gamespot. April 11, 2003. Retrieved on January 19, 2014: " MythDevelopers, a volunteer group of programmers and artists, has released a version 1.1 update for Myth III [...] The patch is said to fix more than 40 gameplay and stability issues, and It includes two bonus maps to make them more generally available. "
  13. ↑ Alexei Svitkine: Postmortem: Project Magma's Myth II 1.5 and 1.5.1 ( English ) gamasutra.com. August 23, 2005. Retrieved December 22, 2012: “ Myth II versions 1.5 and 1.5.1 are two evolutionary, completely volunteer-based updates to the 7-year old real-time strategy title Myth II: Soulblighter, originally released by Bungie Studios on December 31, 1998. Thus, this is a somewhat unconventional postmortem, since it consists of a voluntary, fan-based update to a long-released title. "
  14. ↑ Alexei Svitkine: Postmortem: Project Magma's Myth II 1.5 and 1.5.1 ( English ) Gamasutra . August 23, 2005. Retrieved October 19, 2013: "While many good things came out of MythDevelopers, it decided to disband in December of 2003, leaving Project Magma to handle updates to Myth II and the other games in the Myth series."
  15. ↑ "What is Myth?" Introduction to the game and Project Magma
  16. ↑ Flying flip most recent news ( English ) FlyingFlip. July 29, 2007. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved October 20, 2013.