Myth II Beta Tester Chat Clan Plaid Hotline December 18, 1998 (Best viewed with a Monospace font, such as Monoco or Courier) --- Start Of Log WightMeat: Okay WightMeat: In a few moments, main chat will die Carch II: Nobody change your name, or you'll be banned WightMeat: No name changing, please WightMeat: And, Read the news WightMeat: Please PM the people with a in their names WightMeat: from ActiveX: question- how does M2 run on the TNT? :) WightMeat: To ActiveX - It should WightMeat: Look at the user list, the people with in their names WightMeat: Private Message questions to THEM WightMeat: not to people with in their names WightMeat: PM myth II questions to the admins with in their name WightMeat: Q - Does anyone actually know how Bungie is (or isn't) handling the international shipping? WightMeat: A - Those orders should have gone out today, preorders should be filled to very recently, the 15th I believe Hoder: Actually, a lot of preorders went out yesterday, hence people getting their copies today. Carch II: Krunch asks how much wildlife is in Myth II Carch II: Lots. Carch II: There are deer, sparrows, fish, hawks, Carch II: and killer squirrels. Hoder: There's deer, frogs... WightMeat: Q : How will the 3rd party maps be handled on Bungie.net2? WightMeat: A : Instead of .gor's, you have 'Plugins'. WightMeat: there is a in-game dialogue to load these Hoder: Pretty much the same way they're handled right now. WightMeat: also, you can 'legally' play tags-only maps on bnet2 Hoder: Order icons cannot be custom made WightMeat: From Koji: Can you tell me how many Netmaps there are? Also, How many are new and how many have just been ported from Myth1... Hoder: a lot of the maps that have been ported are new versions Hoder: Such as a fall version of Spiderweb/Grave WightMeat: Netmaps are in the range of 14-15 in myth II, to my current knowledge. WightMeat: Everyone's fave map, "If I had A Trow" and "The Desert Between your ears" is back. :D WightMeat: but "trow" is much more fun to play. Carch II: DBO asks: is OOS or Silent OOS a problem in Myth II? Carch II: And the answer is... Carch II: NO Carch II: I spent a LOT of time testing for OOS and SOOS Carch II: (Out Of Sync and Silent out Of Sync) Carch II: In fact, it's why I was chosen to test, cos I bitched about it so much Carch II: and I couldn't make OOS or Silent OOS happen at all, except on a debug version that had funky tags (and was sposed to go OOS) WightMeat: Q: how much slower will Myth II run on my machine? Will it run at the same speed as Myth: TFL? or does it now require an even faster machine to run as fast as MythTFL? WightMeat: The Myth II system requirements have gone up WightMeat: The same system that ran M:TFL will probably run Myth II: SB, but not as well. WightMeat: I'd reccomend RAM or a 3dfx card Hoder: You cannot download off of b.net, however, during the beta, there was the ability to download the latest update to b.net straight from b.net WightMeat: Cutscenes in myth II look better, and do help advance the plot in some places WightMeat: However, there aren't a ton of them WightMeat: Important events that cannot be portrayed in-game are in the cuts, along with the introductions to some of the enemy. WightMeat: related question - how many solo maps are there? WightMeat: 25, same as myth. Moof: Q: Do you guys have any idea when Myth II will hit stores in the US of A? Moof: A: should hit the stores by 12/31/98 Carch II: Another related question... Carch II: How hard are the solo maps? Carch II: Hard. Carch II: A lot harder than myth Carch II: In fact, the legendary difficulty is well near impossible on some maps Carch II: AND the legendary netgames are even harder than that!! Carch II: So be prepared for a challenge. Moof: but, at lower levels all the levels are beatable by anyone if they try hard enough Carch II: Also.. a followup to OOS Carch II: The OOS and Silent OOS fixes can not be retroactively applied to Myth:TFL Carch II: That's because the engine changes are what fixed OOS/SOOS Carch II: Sorry about that. Carch II: There are things that can be done to help, tho, and Bungie will be doing them. Mundy: Q: Is ball handling improved from Myth: TFL? or is the learning curve relatively steep? Mundy: The ball handling is pretty much the same as Myth: TFL, with the balls now rolling down hills and what not. Mundy: makes for a much better game of captures Hoder: I know that as a beta tester, or a player of any new game, it's hard not to be amazed by the new features of the game, but in retrospect, trying not to be influenced by the fact that Bungie is the coolest company out there, is there issues from Myth 1 that should have been addressed in the sequel, and weren't? Hoder: that's from iMazer Hoder: and the answer would have to be that, yes, in retrospect there are a lot of issues Hoder: But, over all you will be impressed, and they're not that big of a deal. Hoder: The mesh is much nicer to look at. Hoder: Its a lot cleaner of a game. WightMeat: Q: How much smoother is unit movement and animation? WightMeat: Much. The first time I played myth II, i could have sworn thrall had been on aerobics programs for all 60 years, because they seemed to be moving faster. However, i realized it was due to the increased smoothness of the animation and increased number of frames. Moof: Question: When someone said that preorders were filled at the 15th (or something like that), what did you mean? Cause a friend ordered via Bungie Store prior to the 15th. Moof: A: preorders are being filled first, many early orders that were overnight delivery have been received already. Moof: A: All current preorders will be out by the 31st Moof: 31st may not include overseas overs to my knowledge Hoder: Arikay asks: How much of a size increase will we see in plug-ins, the game its self? Hoder: Plugins are pretty much the same, the tags' formats are about the same size, and therefore your maps are going to be anywhere between 1 and 5 meg Hoder: Mostly depending on the size of your Color Map (texture map) Carch II: 3 quickies: Carch II: 1) Has contest range increased? Carch II: None of the beta testers know the answer to that, sorry ;) *** Hoder doesn't think so Moof: I believe fear can change that c Carch II: 2) Does the story take place in "the west" same as Myth TFL? Carch II: Yes. In fact, you'll recognize many places you've been before. Carch II: 3) Has the scoring system improved? Can people drop games an still have them count? Carch II: The scoring system is MUCH improved... and tho bugs will probably show up... Carch II: The beta testers tried hard to mess it up, found many problems, all fixed. Carch II: The "top dropping" problem is gone. Carch II: And variety in gameplay is rewarded by the new scoring system. WightMeat: Q: with the 3d map view in F&L being the same as in the game, is it possible to pull back enough to get a decent view of the ENTIRE map? or are you stuck looking at one small portion of the map? Moof: for f&l, loathing is the map editor, and you can zoom in and out in it, much like navigating a netmap Hoder: Gilligan: How difficult will the map Editor be?? Hoder: The map editor will have a bit of a learning curve Hoder: But, like any other program, it can be mastered, and its much easier than using MythTech and a variety of programs at once. WightMeat: Question: I was just wondering if any of the testers, to your knowledge, ran Myth 2 via Rage Pro technology rather than 3dfx, and if so, how drastic was the difference? WightMeat: Myth 2 runs under RAVE (ATI's Rage Chipset) along with the Myth:TFL accel WightMeat: generally, RAVE is slower than voodoo or voodoo 2 (3Dfx), but it is pretty much up to par Mundy: q: did anyone try the 3d sound? Mundy: 3D sound rules on M2, it was by far my favorite part WightMeat: Mormith: At a gut level what are the three most striking differences between Myth TFL and Myth II? WightMeat: Okay, testers, get out here WightMeat: I want a group answer. :D Hoder: heh Hoder: I'd have to say the finer mesh, very awesome. WightMeat: we'll ignore the map munkies, they loved the tools. ;) Hoder: and yes, the tools are awesome :P WightMeat: heh Mundy: Higher resolutions and better sound for me. WightMeat: finer mesh, tools, and better ai. WightMeat: even though bungie managed to leave the 'i' out of 'ai' in our beta builds, seemingly. :) Hoder: Ymir asks: Is the journal writer back in Myth II? And if so, any idea why he's still alive, or do people just live really long in the Myth world? Hoder: The journal writer from Myth: TFL is not back, but there is a new guy who writes entries Hoder: He finds the old journal writer's stuff buried and reads it. WightMeat: Also, you can reasonably infer the identity of the journal writer in myth II. WightMeat: Lovers of Myth Story related things, go wild Hoder: Personally, when I went back and played Myth: tfl, I missed the camera rotate hot spots WightMeat: I didn't hoder. The things made me lose all the time. ;) WightMeat: how much better IS the AI? WightMeat: The Myth II ai is much improved WightMeat: Basically, units are smarter when moving WightMeat: They go around trees instead of walking through them, same with walls. Carch II: likes the new AI a WHOLE lot WightMeat: dwarvish attack AI is better, he is much more cautious about blowing his own guys away, or himself Moof: there is an option to toggle ho spots on/off Blackbeard ¥: explain what hot spots are? Moof: hot spots, allow you to move your curser in the corner and rotate the camera Hoder: iMazer asks: Why did bungie end up scrapping the "mood music" they spent so much time initially hyping? Hoder: There wasn't enough room on the cd for the music, and in all of the betas, there was no music at all. Carch II: Someone asked if bungie is including some kind of texture editor for those who don't have photoshop. No. Bungie is a game developer, not a texture editor developer. Moof: Q: Are there still pus packets in Myth II? ;) Moof: heal a wight, find out WightMeat: Q from Teo: What spells do warlocks have? WightMeat: Warlocks have three main spells WightMeat: Fireball, Fire Ring, and Confusion WightMeat: Fireball is...well..a fireball. Moof: thats fireshield wm WightMeat: ring, shield. whatever WightMeat: either way, it's a circle of fire that surrounds the warlock and incinerates his attackers WightMeat: not long range, but enough to do some serious hurt to people that attack him WightMeat: confusion has been mostly pulled WightMeat: however, on some maps it exist. b Carch II: We should point out that the reason it was pulled is that it sucked. WightMeat: a unit under confusion is uncontrollable and will attack anyone Moof: Q: what is your favorite species of lemur? Moof: A: ring tailed Hoder: Mongull asks:How powerful are the trow in comparison to the Mykridia, how many mykridia will it take to win a trow? Hoder: The trow actually pale in comparison almost... Hoder: A few small myrks could take out a trow WightMeat: hoder, you jest WightMeat: if the krids are in a line, they're bait Moof: hoder depends on how they're set up WightMeat: but if they encircle the trow, he's gone. same as it was in Myth:TFL WightMeat: if you attack stupidly, you pay. Hoder: well, of course wight Moof: Q: is it possible to set up the interface so that it is the same as in Myth I Moof: A: pretty much ya, you can turn off rotating corners, etc and customize controls Carch II: I'd like to answer someone's concern about OOS play. WightMeat: Carch is the OOS man. Hoder: go for it carch Carch II: Someone has posted a screenshot of a solo game going OOS. Carch II: The only way I can think of that happening is if someone was playing a warez version of a beta version of Myth II. Carch II: If that goes OOS, you get what you deserve. Moof: Q: can you turn off rotating corners while maintaining scrolling sides? Moof: A: yes WightMeat: Q: Is there anything that might turn into a BC Trow of Myth II? WightMeat: Well, besides BC trow? :) WightMeat: Yes, there's a map called Proving Grounds WightMeat: We love to bug Case about the fact that he made the BC Trow of Myth II, a game/map he hates in Myth:TFL Carch II: I'm getting some flak over this single player OOS thing. Carch II: Let me explain. Carch II: there are 2 ways to get OOS on a single player level. Carch II: 1) playing a save game from a previous (beta) version Carch II: 2) corrupted install Carch II: so if someone sees that happen, they're doing 1 or 2 Moof: Q: Why no Forest Giants? Moof: A: they smelled funny WightMeat: Mormith: How much damage does "fire" do to units? Do you need to pull them out fast or do they have a bit of time to get out? Can there be so much fire that a unit can't get out and dies? WightMeat: Units that are in fire will walk out of it WightMeat: Some units are slow to respond, and some are immune completely. Units with low health (archers) have a good shot at being killed before they can get out WightMeat: especiially when the fire spreads quickly Hoder: Gilligan asks: are all of the characters from Myth:TFL returning??? Hoder: No, among the more popular not returning are the myrmidon, fir'bolg, and forest giant WightMeat: Q: how does fire spread? what burns "fast"? WightMeat: okay, some more explanation on fire WightMeat: grass will burn better than desert or rocky terrain WightMeat: why? well..grass is flammable.. Moof: desert and rock/wet terrain don't burn WightMeat: Fire cannot burn down structures Mundy: heh snow did WightMeat: or any scenery Moof: dry grass will burn faster WightMeat: remember the first Myth II shot? w/a tree on fire? WightMeat: Matchstick tree was apparently faked. WightMeat: Question: If you hit a dwarf with a fire arrow, will his satchels explode? WightMeat: after being in fire for so long, yes. WightMeat: There are no poison arrows Mundy: Q: Why did Bungie remove the right-mouse button deselect feature? Mundy: Who Knows....beg for the right mouse deselect for ver 1.1, Bungie wont let us down this time...I hope Hoder: Gilligan asks: How many of the net games have indoor battle? How many out?? Hoder: There's only one indoor battle map Hoder: One is inside a castle Hoder: there is a similar one... Hoder: inside catacombs, but more of a cave type map. Carch II: Actually there's a third map that's sorta indoors too. Carch II: But we won't explain that any further. Carch II: Can carch explain how proving grounds is the next BC Trow? Carch II: Ok... Carch II: BC Trow is popular because of its simple elegance. Carch II: A lot of space, a few very powerful units, and micromanagement very important, and lots of explosions Carch II: Proving Grounds is very similar. Carch II: Proving Grounds has very powerful units, large open spaces for combat, and is simple. Mundy: with 6 starts Carch II: Therefore, I believe that proving grounds will be very popular with the people who like BC Trow WightMeat: Small Note - Mortars shoot mortar shells. WightMeat: that was fer the person that asked how mortars worked WightMeat: Did Bungie use any ideas from the army of 3rd party map makers of myth 1 as ideas for maps in myth 2? WightMeat: yes WightMeat: Assasin, a myth 2 game type, was obvioulsy inspired by the scripted assassin made by fisj on his map "Wights of Passage". WightMeat: There are many completely new concepts in myth 2 netmaps, however Hoder: Question: is it true that badlands did the Myth II netmaps? Hoder: Badlands did quite a few of the Myth ii netmaps Hoder: However there are some made by Bungie WightMeat: heh WightMeat: the *good* ones. *** WightMeat snickers WightMeat: actually, badlands has surprised me and made good maps this time around. :D WightMeat: grats to them Carch II: Someone asks about mortars... Carch II: do they unbalance the game, and do they shoot farther than arrows Carch II: I believe the firing distance is the same, however... Carch II: a mortar dwarf will be able to take out a bowman one on one WightMeat: Usually. Carch II: they don't unbalance the game because they fire slowly WightMeat: Mortars aren't the most accurate unit in the world, either Carch II: Right Mundy: and they dont explode, so Trow can kick them WightMeat: mund WightMeat: don't tell em that! we still have an edge :D Moof: I believe morter range is slightly less than that of a bowmen, but close Carch II: Also... about the badlands maps... Carch II: You will be pleasantly surprised about the netmaps. Carch II: They rule. ALL of them are better than ALL the Myth I netmaps. Hoder: by badlands, no less :) WightMeat: i'm not giving up the LMOTH strat, so don't ask Carch II: Mongull asks about Proving Grounds... no... it's a new Myth 2 map, not one from Unity. WightMeat: Q:When Trow kick a dwarf, do their satchels still go off? WightMeat: Yes. mortars have no satchels, therefore they do not go off Carch II: Yes, but DWARVES still go off. WightMeat: Q : What are the bre'Unor, and what role do they play in the story? WightMeat: Target practice. ;) WightMeat: bre'Unor fight back, so watch out. Carch II: Actually, that's a good question about the bre'Unor. Their presence is not made very clear by the story line. Carch II: They sort of appear in one level and vanish off in the woods. Hoder: Mongull asks:Are there multiple levels, so can one person be on a bridge, and another under it? Hoder: No, its the same as it was in Myth1. WightMeat: We will accept 10 more questions, then end the chat. Hoder: Q: are there multiple media levels in Myth ii? Hoder: yes there are, and they're easy to implement WightMeat: moreover, they kick ass. ;) Hoder: or fairly easy :) Hoder: Make a water level map with different colors, and you've got yourself multiple media levels, you can do gradients to make it go down hill slightly. WightMeat: Q: how difficult will it be to add complete new units? WightMeat: Well, very difficult out of the box. WightMeat: Why? Fear doesn't allow for the importing of new sprites WightMeat: or exporting of existing ones WightMeat: however, some third party tools are being written to allow this Carch II: Q: How do zerks and myrkridia compare? Carch II: What sort of attack strength do the mercenaries have? Carch II: Myrkridia are much stronger than berserks. Carch II: In fact, one krid could probably take out 2-3 zerks. Carch II: The brigands are slightly more wimpy than warriors Carch II: However, I believe their attack is as strong. Moof: c, 2 zerka attacking at once should be able to take out a myrk if they attack right Hoder: No, Myth II will not be on the same server as Myth I. WightMeat: *** The floor is closed for new questions. WightMeat: Right now, each of the beta testers is going to say a few words on myth 2 : What they like, fave feature, etc. Hoder: Repeats himself: Finer mesh, very awesome. WightMeat: that's about as deep as a birdbath, hoder. :D Hoder: Fear and Loathing, the coolest... even though they can't import sprites. Hoder: There's a learning curve, albeit, but its not that steep. Hoder: I'm an idiot, I learned it second hand in a week or so :) WightMeat: Myth 2 is great, what else can I say? I'm so impressed with the solo maps. The storyline is top-notch, and some of the new units and attacks will take your breath away WightMeat: Alric is back, and he's still big handed, never fear. Hoder: There are a few things that should have been included in the story though, should have expounded on a few things. WightMeat: the tech. features are a good complement WightMeat: anyway, you will love the story WightMeat: and there's plenty of easter eggs to find Hoder: yes, very good story, better than Myth: TFL. Carch II: Hmm... I disagree. Carch II: As good. WightMeat: much better than Myth: TFL, with a lot of stuff thrown in Carch II: Not much much better. Carch II: Different. Hoder: hmm... WightMeat: i disagree.. Hoder: Welp, to an extent WightMeat: myth II has a more involving plot WightMeat: you feel more a part of the events than you did in Myth I Hoder: I still think the plot is better, even though Alric is extremely old and still kicking butt. Hoder: One of the cool things: when you first open up the game, the intro is very awesome. WightMeat: and you can kill ambient life! Hoder: it scared me :) WightMeat: And, with that, we end the myth II beta tester q and a Ramses II: Thank you all for coming, the Chat has ended :) WightMeat: we'd like to thank everyone for coming!@ Ramses II: And man are the Beta Testers ragged out. :) Infininight: *** Thank you for coming to the chat! Infininight: *** A chat log will be sent to all major Myth sites. WightMeat: Main chat will be reinstated soon. Also, CP would like to grat themselves for setting a new attendance record --- End Of Log