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Myth II Updated

Bullseye writes "Today, MythDev and Project Magma are releasing their first update to Myth II: Soulblighter, created by Bungie Software. This update brings the game to version 1.3.2, and patches noticeable bugs in Windows XP/2000, as well adding native support for Mac OS X. Coinciding with this release, the group is also announcing Myth II 1.4, to be released May 15th, which is a major update to Myth II that contains over 100 enhancements, including: graphical and interface improvements, OpenGL support for Windows and Mac OS X, gameplay bug fixes and improved AI, and the addition of vTFL, allowing virtual play of Myth: The Fallen Lords in Myth II. The Myth II 1.3.2 update can be downloaded here. New players may also sign up for Myth II's free community-provided online gaming services, playmyth.net and mariusnet. An update to the Linux version of Myth II has been rumored, though not confirmed as of yet." Update: 03/14 23:02 GMT by M : See also MythDev's site about the game.

19 of 153 comments (clear)

  1. Linux version. by termos · · Score: 3, Interesting

    They managed to port it for MacOSX, it shouldn't be too hard doing a Linux port as well, since OpenGL is not platform dependent. I really hope the rumors are true. :-)

    --
    Note to self: get smarter troll to guard door.
    1. Re:Linux version. by Christianfreak · · Score: 5, Informative

      There already is a Linux Port you can buy it here

  2. Great news! by The+Evil+Couch · · Score: 3, Funny

    I think the big question is, will they include fun with the 1.4 patch?

  3. Bad time to be the FNG by Badmovies · · Score: 3, Funny

    Myth would be one of the worst games to be the FNG. I don't know how many times a wight has managed to get too close for comfort, despite my archers. Quickly picking out somebody with no battle honors, the veterans tell him to, "Go kill that thing, be a man." Then they duck, because big chunks of exploding wight and a red splatter (that used to be the new guy) are inbound.

    --


    Andrew Borntreger
    Champion of cinematic disasters
  4. Re:What the hell? by Junks+Jerzey · · Score: 4, Funny

    Since when does slashdot post game updates?

    Especially updates of games released in 1998!

  5. Good to see this... by daeley · · Score: 4, Funny

    Maybe we can expect to see Halo finally! Go Bungie!

    Disclaimer: This post suffers from Rose Colored Glasses Syndrome (RCGS), a sometimes deadly disorder associated with blind devotion to particular software companies beyond all evidence to the contrary. Please give as much as you can afford to the RCGS support outlet near you. With your help, we can eradicate this dread disease.

    --
    I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
    1. Re:Good to see this... by hc00jw · · Score: 4, Insightful

      1) It wasn't Bungie that ported this is Mac OS X / Win XP, as the game was sold to Godgames

      2) It wasn't even Godgames who done it, it was a bunch of volunteers who operate outside the company. No, this does not mean that Myth is open source, but that a select few can get to it (as far as I can tell... there is little to no information on all the relevant sites)

      3) Bungie also isn't porting Halo. Peter Tamte (sp?), who used to work for Bungie, has set up a company (the name escapes me) which is porting the game.

      4) If you wipe out Microsoft, you take Bungie with them. Game over man!

    2. Re:Good to see this... by daeley · · Score: 3, Interesting

      How many games has Bungie brought out since 1999 when Oni and Halo were announced?

      One and a half: Halo for Xbox and Oni (through Take Two/GoD).

      How many new games have been announced since 1999?

      One: the sequel to Halo.

      Is the first Halo on Mac or PC four years after they were announced? Nope, and it may be five years before they do.

      How exactly are they starting revolutions any more?

      --
      I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
  6. Re:What the hell? by Xzzy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    > Since when does slashdot post game updates?

    My guess is because it's such an odd story.

    The people who created this patch aren't being paid for it, it's done entirely by fans of the game (who they are I can't tell, because the mythdev site doesn't have a list available..), they're doing it for free, and apparently doing it without support of the people who actually own the Myth francise (godgames).

    Very few details have been released about what sort of deal transpired that convinced a publishing house to permit a bunch of random people all over the world to extend and enhance a game.. without trying to cash in on the deal.

    It's not the updating of Myth that's important, but how it came to be.

    Plus Myth is one of the best games ever so it does deserve the attention anyways. ;)

  7. Re:What the hell? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Myth II was released in 1998, and it's amazing that after 5 years the game is still alive: there's enough active players to get online games going at any time of the day, and now you see there is still third party development for it. Think of it as "gaming history that hasn't died yet", which is a refeshing contrast to the usual "trash that game that you bought 3 months ago, here's a new one that requires a better graphics card".

  8. Helm's Deep recreation on Myth. by Angelwrath · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'll bet the Myth engine could do an awesome recreation of Helm's Deep. It features rain, lightning, ambient sounds, could create the same effects. Just needs sound, Aragorn, Lego and Gimli (with an axe, not satchels) and a host of Orcs, Archers, Elves, men.

    I'd love to see a mod file that did this, and the video to watch it.

  9. Re:Gaming by Erwos · · Score: 4, Informative

    Insightful? I think not. Ignorant, yes.

    If you read about Loki's demise in detail, you'd understand that their upper management was raiding the company's coffers while they were trying to desperately keep afloat. There's no indication that they could not have pulled themselves out of the hole - the staff certainly seemed willing to go through with everything until the bitter end.

    Don't get me wrong - the lack of huge numbers of sales also contributed, but to say that was the only reason, or even the primary reason, is just not true. This was a real case of bad management.

    -Erwos

    --
    Plausible conjecture should not be misrepresented as proof positive.
  10. It stands up by ianscot · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Myth II is maybe the best game I ever played, bar none. The solo game, the multiplayer, just everything about the look and feel, the soundtrack, the level design... It has to rank up there with the original Civ for time-sucking potential. I didn't even love the fantasy setting, personally, but it's the best.

    Maybe I could RTFM/A, but not here: does the updated version support old films? Films, for example, with the various mod packs, like WWII, Civil War, or Lego Land? The films from this game were so watchable, just great.

    (If someone had recast MOO II in a similar way, it'd rate a /. story. This is just as cool a game, or moreso.)

    --
    "Fundamentalism" isn't about divine morality. It's about human authority.
  11. Style by 5n3ak3rp1mp · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I don't know what it is about the Myth series that hooked me. Perhaps it was the way the dwarf said "Buuuurrrrnnn!!" as he lobbed a molotov dessert to a pack of life-force-challenged, body parts flying... and other battlefield physics. Maybe it was the tension inherent in one of your archers dying... for the rest of the level. Maybe it was the enhancement that allowed really good characters that stayed alive and kicked ass, to appear in the next level (with their improved skill) and even allowed you to name them.

    All in all, it was definitely a polished, atmospheric game, with interesting constraints and levels. Not an FPS, and not an RTS.

    One thing's for sure - if you never tried the multiplayer or the level packs which basically redesigned most of the game (fighting Lego characters? World War II armaments?), you missed out on at least half of the fun!

  12. Re:What is Myth? by Bullseye_blam · · Score: 3, Informative

    Myth II product page on Bungie's web site.

  13. Yeah great... but what IS this? by hoggoth · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Forgive my ignorance, but I never played Myth the first time around.
    The article and web site doesn't say what this download IS! Is it a freely downloadable version of the game Myth or do I need to already have the game and this provides some kind of patch to the game?

    --
    - For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat /dev/random (may take some time)
  14. For the record... by telbij · · Score: 4, Informative

    For eveyone who thinks either:

    a) it's awesome to see a game developer supporting a 5 year old game

    or

    b) why is /. posting a game update

    This game is NOT being supported by the developers. The game was originally played on bungie.net which is no defunct (after M$ shut it down).

    This is a community led support project. Probably the best example I've seen because not only have they updated the code, they've also recreated a free on-line gaming service. I'd say that is a major success story for an aging game community.

    Also, for those of you not familiar with Myth (or Bungie games in general), this game is the most revolutionary RTS game as much today as it was in November 1997 when first released. I still haven't seen RTS game that comes close to the user interface and visceral intensity of this game. Although at first glance it appears similar to other games, don't be fooled. An expert Myth player can control a large army with a frightening amount of micro-management. The unit balance offers a WIDE variety of strategies and tactics to be effective, and in general the whole thing is so well designed that subtleties of the game continue d to emerge for years after it was developed.

    My only regret is that the community has been reduced to a small pool of expert players and a slightly larger pool of rank-whoring players who only play one game type (generally one of the most boring). To me this game is dead, but I can never forget the greatness of Myth II in its prime. Check out Myth World Cup '99 for some of the best films ever.

  15. bungie.net Game Server... by Bullseye_blam · · Score: 3, Informative

    Well, there's a difference between 'bungie.net' and www.bungie.net. The latter is still running; it's Bungie's community page (mostly). The former, bungie.net, was Bungie's game metaserver which provided support for Myth:TFL and Myth II. That server ran for about eight months after Bungie moved to Redmond, and then was taken down.

  16. Re:Walls? by tjwhaynes · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Could it handle the destructible and climbable walls, though? Also, I'm not sure it'd scale to quite that many troops. The Total War [totalwar.com] series also has an engine with most of the right components to do a Helm's Deep simulation, but as far as I know, it still would be unable to handle troops on the walls, or ladders for climbing the walls.

    There are plenty of Myth II levels where you need the mortar-wielding dwarves to blow holes in wall to proceed through the level. So that part is going to be fine.

    As to siege ladders, I don't think I've seen that happen. But then again, it's definitely time to dust off the Total Codex and go Mything in Action.

    Cheers,

    Toby Haynes

    --
    Anything I post is strictly my own thoughts and doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the opinions of IBM.