Might & Magic VI - The Mandate of Heaven

Thursday April 30, 8:34 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
3DO Announces the Highly Anticipated Release of Might and Magic VI
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 30, 1998--3DO today announced the retail availability of the epic new addition to New World Computing's Might and Magic series.
Might and Magic(R) VI The Mandate of Heaven comes from the same group of developers at New World Computing led by Jon Van Caneghem who redefined the genre with Might and Magic I through V. Unveiled to rave reviews at last year's E3 Show in Atlanta, gamers will finally feast their eyes on stunningly new technology and a brand new gameplay engine combining unique first person movement with both real-time and classic turn-based play.
``This is the best Might and Magic that I have ever made,'' said Jon Van Caneghem, President, New World Computing. ``It is by far the largest and most ambitious game in the history of role playing games (RPG) taking it to a level that has never been seen before with the combination of real-time and turn-based play. The game is literally huge and remains challenging all the way through the very end which is a testament to how the game design came together as we readied the product for retail.''
THE HISTORY
The Might and Magic series began with its first installment ten years ago and established itself as the most heralded RPG series of all time with an incredible story line and addictive game play model that kept its audience playing for literally hundreds of hours. The same team of developers has continued with this successful series, upping the ante in terms of fun and technologic advancement with every installment. Having sold over 3.5 million units, the series has won countless awards including garnering ``Game of the Year'' honors for each installment. Might and Magic VI The Mandate of Heaven is poised to follow this successful legacy and bring the PC gaming world once again to its knees.
THE TECHNOLOGY
Might and Magic VI takes computer role-playing into uncharted territory. Never before has a RPG had both a smooth-scrolling real-time engine and the ability to seamlessly switch between turn-based and real-time gameplay on the fly. The Labyrinth, and Horizon engines allow players full six degrees of freedom, including flight, in a 16-bit, high color world. This graphically rich environment will allow players to become fully immersed in the Might and Magic universe.
THE GAME
The Might and Magic VI world is huge, ten times larger than any of its predecessors with more than 1000 miles of virtual terrain, dozens of dungeons, caverns, crypts, and castles to explore. And, the world is alive through an integral time clock that allows for multiple plot lines to evolve simultaneously in real-time. In traditional Might and Magic style, players will explore a medieval world rife with intrigue, deceit, and surprise as they uncover the secret of what set them on this epic adventure. Might and Magic VI's living world allows players to interact with more than 500 non-player-characters, combat 200 monsters, and engage in hundreds of quests.
Another advancement in the RPG category is the ability of the player to control an entire party of adventurers. Each player has the chance to create a unique party of four adventurers composed of definite individuals with the free form character development system. The six character classes provide thousands of character possibilities and combined with the countless number of authentic weapons, armor, items, and robust spell schools make the replay value of this game infinite.
THE STORY
Since the mysterious disappearance of Good King Roland, the dynasty of child Prince Nicolai Ironfist I totters on the brink of ruin. Calamities, natural and otherwise, wrack the country while an ineffectual High Council and Regent concern themselves only with lining their pockets and winning petty power struggles. A doomsday cult has formed, pointing to the disappearance of Roland, the floods, the earthquakes, and an invasion of demons from the sky as evidence that the end of the world draws nigh. The people have begun to whisper that the Ironfists have lost the Mandate of Heaven -- the divine right to rule. Can you put right what is wrong, or will the Ironfist lose its grip?
RETAIL AVAILABILITY
New World Computing proves once again that they have not lost their ``divine right to rule'' this category with the introduction of Might and Magic VI. The series has been a crowd-pleaser since it was first published in 1986 and since then has sold over 3.5 million copies worldwide. Might and Magic VI The Mandate of Heaven is now available with an expected retail price of $49.95 or $64.95 for the limited edition that includes a collector's edition CD, cloth map, and exclusive strategy guide. More information can be found on the Internet through the game's website located at http://www.3do.com/mm6. It is also available through 3DO direct sales at 1-800-336-3506 or online at the 3DO website at http://www.3do.com.
This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the Company's ability to develop and ship future products, market demand and acceptance for the Company's current and future software products, and the consequences of competitive factors in the marketplace. Further information on potential factors which could affect these forward looking statements and the Company's financial results are included in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 1997 and the Company's Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 1998.
New World Computing, a division of the 3DO Company, is a worldwide designer, developer, and publisher of entertainment software. Founded in 1984, New World Computing is renowned for its technologically advanced products, offering the highest level of graphics and audio presentation to enhance the gaming experience.
The 3DO Company, headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., develops, publishes and distributes interactive entertainment software for personal computers, the Internet, and advanced entertainment systems such as the PlayStation. 3DO markets and publishes its products worldwide under multiple brand names including New World Computing, Cyclone Studios, and Team .366. More information about 3DO products and the full text of certain press releases can be found on the Internet at http://www.3do.com.
Note to Editors: 3DO, Might and Magic, Heroes of Might and Magic, New World Computing, Team .366, Cyclone Studios, and their respective logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of The 3DO Company.

Contact:
The 3DO Company
Tuesday Uhland, 650/261-3142

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1. Introduction

1.1 What is Might and Magic VI?
-Might and Magic VI is the next chapter in the Might and Magic series for computers. Might and Magic is the third oldest on going computer role playing game series. Only Wizardry and Ultima are older.

1.2 When will Might and Magic VI be released?
-The game WAS on track for a November 1997 release. Now the release date is just early 1998.

1.3 What are the system requirements?
-On New World Computing's Might and Magic VI web page it says "Pentium 90, 16 MB Ram, 80 MB hard drive space, Windows 95, 1MB VRAM, mouse and keyboard."

With that being said, it depends on what mode you play. Turn base movement and combat may run fine on a Pentium 75. On the other end of the scale, a Pentium II or K6 running at 266mhz might be required for real time movement and real time combat. I have no idea what would be requred for the Mac version. Sources at the 3DO game day have said that the frame rate was low. Now, 3D cards and MMX could help out.

1.4 Will it support 3D cards and MMX?
-Right now, the engines do not support either 3D cards or MMX. However, the designers hope to add support for both before the November release. It is rumored that support of the Rendition chipset or MMX are more likely than 3DFX since M&M6 relies on a lot of 2D animation to occur at the same time as 3D animation.

1.5 Will Might and Magic VI have network play?
-Maybe. 3DO is creating an online game similar to Ultima Online based on Might and Magic. 3DO, NWC's owners, is very excited about Might and Magic. They are planning the fore mentioned online game, and two more additional games using the Might and Magic engine set in the same world. Characters created in Might and Magic 6 will be transferable to Might and Magic Online.

2. Game play

2.1 Is Might and Magic VI going to be like every other Might and Magic?
-Yes and No. Yes it will be a rpg where you control a party of characters, hacking and slashing through the country side, solving puzzles and collecting treasure. However it will have a 3d world instead of a title based one, the plot will evolve independant of you instead of because of you, and NPCs will have a mind of their own.

2.2 Isn't using a Quake-like engine going to make to world seem rather bare?
-The game world is being designed by an architect. So houses will have realistic furniture situated in a realistic fashion. Towns will also have a real layouts with thought out traffic flow and buildings made out of local resources. In short, if they are going through all this effort, odds are they have a Quake-like engine that can show off these fancy design.

2.3 Does Might and Magic VI sound a lot like Daggerfall?
-The two games have similarities. In my personal opinion, they are not that similar. Daggerfall is a Doom like game with RPG elements added and MM6 is a role playing game with a Quake like enviroment. In truth we will not know for sure until MM6 is released.

2.4 What is the story line going to be like?
-Random House, the publisher of the Might and Magic books, has stated that Might and Magic 6 will be based on their series. Which means one of the heroes could be Jassed Attqua, of Lune, a member of the Arc, and the villian could either be Dubiel or Shadowsmith. In the Next Generation online preview, they mention the story line revolves around the dissappearance of the good King Roland and the misfortunes befallen his kingdom. NWC M&M6 page goes on to say that the child Prince Nicolai Ironfist has lost is Mandate from Heaven to rule and its up to your party to restore it. As quoted in PC Gamer, "The plot promises to be anything but linear, with lots of possible branches to follow and more than one way to reach a given goal. That's especially important, since the game is always in motion. The favorite example of Mark Caldwell, lead programmer and head designer of MMVI, is this: If you find out that some duke's daughter has been kidnapped, you can choose whether or not to rescue her. Save her, and you might have her father as an ally. If she were later to marry some other duke, then you'd have both dukes as allies. If, however, you decide not to rescue her, you might make two enemies. That may not be a bad thing, though -- being on those two dukes' bad side may make you a friend to a third duke, someone you might not have had access to if you were already allied with the first two. "

2.5 Is Might and Magic 6 a turkey? and Does Might and Magic 6 suck?
-The game isn't out yet. No one knows.

2.6 So why are people saying Might and Magic 6 is going to suck?
-My only guess is that the lack of good RPGs have made gamers bitter.
3. General questions

3.1 When I called NWC a while back, they said there wasn't going to be another Might and Magic. What gives?
-They changed their minds.

3.2 What is character generation going to be like?
-Character generation is going to be point based. The player will be given an allotment of points which he or she can distribute to any number of skills. If you want to have a strong but dumb fighter or a weak but smart wizard, you can build them rather just hitting the re-roll button hundreds of times until you get a character that you like.

3.3 Could you tell me more about the two engines Might and Magic 6 will use?
-Both engines will support 16 bit color at 640x480 resolution. The Horizon engine looks pretty much like Magic Carpet 2 with a greater number of sprites. The Labyrinth engine for indoors is a cross between Quake and Build engines. The world and object are true 3D but most of the creatures are sprites. Some areas, such as a church, shop, or some NPCs will be rendered pictures that will pop up. The engines will feature some dynamic lighting and pixel smoothing will help keep sprites looking good even close up. The outdoor engine has the ability to show accurate weather, time passage in the way of day and night and seasons. There is actually a third 2d engine that runs the automapper. The automapper shows the world in full color and marks the location of all objects and people.

3.4 What are the NPCs like?
-There will be many generic shop owners, monsters, and townspeople. Might and Magic has always been a hack and slash adventure game and the sixth installment promises to be no different. However, besides those, there will be around 300 detailed NPC that "think" for themselves and effect the plot or are effected by the plot. You will be able to hirer two NPCs into your party.

3.5 What are the quest like?
-The quest will be constantly evolving. Some will twist and turn, some will just naturally change. Dungeons will repopulate themselves slowly over time. NPCs may decide that the quest you are on isn't more important than their quest. And so on. NWC is stressing that "FedEx" missions will be kept to a minimum.

3.6 What is the combat system like?
-You have two option, Turn based and Real Time. The "preferred" combat system will be real time. However real time combat in MM6 isn't the same as real time combat in a game like DOOM. Actually its a fast paced turn based combat system simular to the one found in the Final Fantasy rpg series. In turn based mode, the combat engine waits for you to supply input.

3.7 How is the magic system?
-Its the same as in previous M&M games but with a few changes. The need for gems has been dropped and magic is devided up into nine catagories instead of two.

3.8 Do you character have a reputation?
-Yes. Desslock explains, " Your party's reputation is very dynamic. There are two types, perceived and actual. If you kill someone, and then kill all the witnesses before they can spread what they know, your preceived reputation will be higher than your actual reputation."

3.9 Will 3DO have public beta testing for M&M6?
-I have asked them and the answer I got said that all beta testing would be done internally.

3.10 What ever happen to Jon Van Caneghem?
-He still runs New World Computing and is currently working on Might and Magic 6.

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Zakhary said:

Yeap. I'm having a kick-ass experience.
I'm starting to think that the sixth one is even better than my favourite so far
- mm3.

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dteowner said:

I'm a bit jealous. Outside of Wiz8, I haven't really had that all-encompassing feeling of joy and addiction that playing M&M gave me back in the day, and is now giving you.

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magerette said:

I agree--Zakhary's getting one of those bar-setting experiences. I'm enjoying this playthrough, of course, but the first time was just a gaming epiphany I called in sick to work, had a notebook full of lists and plans, and generally lived on coffee and junk food while my family ordered pizzas for dinner.

Good times.

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Then I take a look here:

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JDR13 said:

Thinking about getting the MIGHT AND MAGIC PLATINUM EDITION.

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