Work in Progress - Might and Magic Universe

tom2050

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Might and Magic Universe
- Development Thread
Title.jpg


Intro_Screen.jpg


** “It must be done eventually, and sooner is better than later, but later is better than being chained to an altar and sacrificed by the High Priest of the Dark in one of their bloody rituals." --Resurectra

CONCEPT:
Might and Magic Universe (MMU) is being created to be playable as an Epic random-map total modification. It is currently in early development.

PROGRESS (as of 1-4-13):
New Units Completed: 29% (92 out of approx 319)
Interface: 35%
Terrain: 12%

INTERFACE:
Started with a blank screen, I am building an interface from the ground up. Almost every single file will be replaced. This interface mimics the original, yet is built using prebuilt layers, blending effects, masks, and filters, etc. So although any additional changes and modifications can be made, creating a completely new interface only requires copying the background images that are wished to be used. These Photoshop PSD files can be made available eventually.

Sample Interface Files Shown Below:
Spoiler :

x_pref_background.jpg


X_ESPIONAGEbkg.jpg


background.jpg




TERRAIN:
New terrain is being created also that will be rendered. The aim of this is to create a very realistic looking terrain; and to create files that can also be easily modified for other users to render new terrains as well.



** “…you better act like snipers if you expect to defeat the Titans. A toe to toe...or should I say head to knee fight won't go well for you." --Steagal Snick


UNITS:
Many new units are being updated and created to fill the voids in which I need. Alot of units have already been created; and I will give occasional previews of them here. The base number of ground units right now is about 319. They are all units that have been used throughout the Might and Magic game series. This is with the 12 planned civs at the moment (will increase). There will be more civs eventually. Each civ should have about 30-35 ground units.

Spectral_Dragon_Preview.gif
Greater_Basilisk_Preview.gif

Trog_Soldier.gif


SPELLS:
There will be 9 schools of magic. Each civilization will have access to only certain magic schools. Each school of magic will have strengths associated with it that correspond to it's main focus.


ERAS:
This mod will not use separate eras as CoMM3 did. It will follow a structured era progression. Each era will play out a part of the Might and Magic history.

ERA 1: Guardian Sheltem
He was a S.H.E.L.T.E.M. unit Guardian who was designed by the Ancients to act as the overseer and "Supreme Law" of the seeded world of Terra, but poorly-implemented directives and logical faculties caused him to turn renegade: resolutely convinced that the Ancients were working against his goal to protect Terra, he launched an interplanetary campaign against his creators, driving worlds into their suns and disrupting the destinies of numerous projects. Sheltem is powerful and must be defeated.
** "I am Sheltem, Guardian of Terra. Twice now you have defeated my tests, thinking yourself worthy of invading my world. Walk carefully then through this third challenge, and take heed your final decision is truly what you desire - for the course of destiny cannot be turned once set in motion..." --Sheltem

ERA 2: Enroth
This era brings Heroes and the Grail into play. Also important is armageddon's blade and Escaton. This era ultimately ends when the sword of frost and armageddons blade clash and destroy the world. Luckily portals open bringing the survivors to the new world of Axeoth.

ERA 3: Axeoth
This new world is a time of rebuilding and starting anew from the problems that plagued the world of Enroth. But have things really changed? Difficult wars and conflicts, and maintaince and rebuilding will take a toll on those whom are not prepared.

ERA 4: Ashan
Planet Ashan, the location of Heroes of Might and Magic 5, 6, and Dark Messiah, this era will incorporate various aspects of these latest games.



** "Having chosen the path of Light, you are not suited to become Liches. The Ritual would reject you, and you would die a real death. If that is what you want, you certainly don't need my help…" --Halfgild Wynac

Credit_Back.jpg
 
Another thing I'll beta-test and report over obsessively. Tell me about the boxes!

Oh and tom2050… one more thing… good luck!
 
Thanks all..!

Looks very nice, i could help with some statics if you need them.

Thank you for the offer. Since I will only be using 5 cultures (5 cities), I believe I have it narrowed down to the following types:
A Magic oriented city.
A Warrior Might oriented city.
An Evil oriented city.
A nature/elemental oriented city.
A neutral generic oriented city.

My plan was to have them sized a bit larger than normal civ 3 cities, pretty much like how you make all yours anyways. And since they will be used for a variety of factions, they don't need to be very specific, but imagination can definitely be used here. The more fantasically fantasy the better!


Another thing I'll beta-test and report over obsessively. Tell me about the boxes!

The boxes? And yes-sir, you will be more than welcome to!

That interface you made is just gorgeous :drool: Very nice work with this and all the rest. Keep it up!

Thanks, I will release the Make-your-own-Interface files when the mod is out.

All the blending and shadows is done using the graphics programs' tools, so it's really a matter of pasting the background graphics in to make a completely new interface. Alot of work initially to put together, but the end result should let the community easily make some really awesome stuff, and it is all easily tweakable.

Even the popheads on the advisor screens will be easy to make new. All the selections for their locations are saved, so you can e.g. just copy over the backgrounds to the advisor_tab file, and the saved blending information will automatically do the work for you. Here is example:

Popheads.jpg


So you can see in the "Layers" there are "Effects" that are applied. These are used to automatically make all the effects happen on the screen, and have been stylized to match the civ 3 screens. So if you copy a new pophead over, it places the shadow for you. If you copy the background portion over, it will add the shadow and lighting, and colorize it blue on the right side for you.

This way you have pre-set styles, and someone can tweak them if they choose, or go with it and just change certain graphics.

So I will definitely put the time into a GIMP version to maximize usefulness for everyone (hopefully GIMP has the blending tools needed to do so! Although I imagine it does).
 
Thanks, I will release the Make-your-own-Interface files when the mod is out.

...

This way you have pre-set styles, and someone can tweak them if they choose, or go with it and just change certain graphics.

So I will definitely put the time into a GIMP version to maximize usefulness for everyone (hopefully GIMP has the blending tools needed to do so! Although I imagine it does).

That's very good news and I will try it for sure :) Thanks for doing this mate.
 
Another thing I'll beta-test and report over obsessively. Tell me about the boxes!

Oh and tom2050… one more thing… good luck!
It's a quote related to the first picture from the right on the third row (the castle) ;).
 
You spoil us, sir! Looks like another fantastic mod! :goodjob::)
 
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