An
interview with one of the developers
This Q&A taken from A
German MM9 Site. Posted on September 19, 2001:
Q1: The question surely most of the fans are interested in how far
is the development of Might and Magic IX and when will the game be
released?
We are coming along nicely right now and are on
schedule for a spring release.
Q2: As one could read M&M9 will play in Chedian the northern
region of the new continent Rysh. How is Rysh connected to Erathia and
will we nevertheless meet some "old friends" like Corak,
Sheltrem or the Ironfist family?
The continent of Rysh is on the planet
Axeoth,
which is an entire new world from MM6-8. Being that it's a new world,
it is extremely unlikely that the characters from previous games will
make an appearance in MM9, though it is not impossible.
Q3: The magic system should be overworked
completely. Could you
mention some of the spells that will appear the first time and the ones
that will fall apart? What is the most important modification about the
magic system?
We've changed the spell system
greatly. The most
drastic change being the elimination of the rigidity of the spell
schools. In previous games, the game had 12 spells in 8 schools. We've
changed the spell system to be more flexible so we don't have to put
in a useless spell just because the fire school had an empty slot. For
instance, we've replaced the "Create Food" spell with the
more useful "Magic Mine" which will make an item in your
inventory into a magical mine.
Q4: Just talking over the magic system: Will there be a seperation
of light and dark again?
The four spell schools are
Light, Dark, Elemental,
and Spirit. For the more powerful spells you may need skills in up to
three of these schools to be able to cast them.
Q5: A point of criticism of M&M7 and M&M8 had been that
the quest system and the dungeons were too easy and linear. Can we
expect more complex quests and greater dungeons again?
We're trying hard to please everyone
here. We're
spending more of our time making the dungeons we have cooler and more
interesting than longer. We'd rather see a small dungeon with a lot of
cool stuff than a giant empty one.
Q6: Where do you see the largest improvements in opposite to the
former games?
The largest improvement is definitely the
transition to the Lithtech Development System. Fans can expect the
best looking Might and Magic ever.
Q7: Many fans regret that there have been no level editor for
M&M to create own worlds. Can we expect this feature in the future?
To start of
with, we would love to release some
of our tools to the public. The mod community has done wonders to
increase the shelf life of many games, including Heroes of Might and
Magic. The biggest challenge we face in doing the same thing is
reducing the complexity of the tools to make them easier to use for
the fans. It is definitely a feature we will be continuing to look at
as we move forward.
Q8: Will there be again a game in the game like
Acromage?
There are no current plans to include a card type
game with MM9, although we do have plans to include games that the
player can participate in.
Q9: Could you perhaps give us first specifications of the hardware
that is needed?
Our current minimum spec is a
PII/400 or
equivalent with 64 megs of ram and a DirectX compatible video card
with 16 megs of ram.
Q10: And at last: What can we expect after M&M9? Are their any
plans about a follower and/or more other games from the M&M-universe?
We are already in the planning stages for Might
and Magic X.
From The
Gamers Press. Posted on Wednesday, September 19, 2001
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