Gamecenter Myth II Articles - [Ferrex] - 9:05 pm BDT

Gamecenter has posted two articles (here and here) that bring up some interesting points and information regarding Myth II's storyline. It seems more and more likely that there will be alliances between the player and Soulblighter, and that a third party will be involved. Will it be the Myrkridia? Perhaps, but it seems a bit to blatantly obvious to come from Bungie... then again, maybe it is so obvious that it is obvious... or are they trying to fool us... double reverse psychology-- ack...

[Ferrex is no longer responding. Please check your network connection and try again later after his brain has cooled down.]

News Digest - May 31, 1998

• Keep Updates - Malory has put up even more interesting stuff at the Keep-- looking for some Myth II debate and intrigue? Stop looking and go... goto it.
• Myth II Rant - The guys at Nontoxic have posted a brief rant on Myth II, regarding the implementation of real bridges... goto it.
• Myth II Repository - Breaker has started up another new (and good looking) Myth II site... goto it.

Actual "Screen" Shots from E3 - [Ferrex] - 11:55 pm BDT

Ok, so they were taken with a digital camera and are bit fuzzy-- but they're still screenshots! ;)

Kudos a plenty to Roofus and Joram, who got these camera shots of Myth II while visiting the Bungie booth at E3. Among other things, they show glimpses of Myth II's interface, which has a more metallic and clean look to it, but the same sort of layout. You can thumb through the images here-- there are about 15 of them, and they average in size around 50k, so check them out.

More Myth II Shots - [Ferrex] - 11:55 pm BDT

Kudos to Twrch and The Seeker, who both let me know about several more Myth II shots and concept art pictures. They can be viewed here, along with some older shots, but there are some real gems in here, including some sweet shots of the models Bungie is using to create Myth II's units.

Some of these shots show the Stygian Knight unit, which is indeed the "wooden warrior" unit, and it is wingless. On top of that, I have been informed by YSD that my Greek is indeed rusty, and that I got my myths mixed up... heh. ;)

E3 Part II - The Wrath of Soulblighter - [Samurai Cat!] - 10:30 am BDT

Whew! Trade shows can be exhausting. Anyhow, no new screen shots I fear (but may get some soon), but some juicy info was to be had. Check out Part II of my E3 report.

Another E3 Report - [Ferrex] - 9:00 pm BDT

Freewill, who had the good fortune to not only make it to E3 but also to play a few games, sent an E3 report to several sites, and here is the Myth II related excerpt from his letter:

Back to Myth II. Some new characters that immediately come to mind... Maul: a huge orc like character. However, it's damage potential is not that significant, and Jason Jones says it will be scaled down to size later. Then there is a Mage like character whose attack is a unit seeking fireball. Very cool. The regular cast, as you've no doubt seen in the preview shots, has also gotten a new wardrobe. And one other change, archers walk as fast as the warriors. Yikes! Jason also mentioned that the game was much faster than Myth I and to expect it slower and more in line with Myth I. I don't know, I kinda liked it. As an aside, I told him it would be a nice option to enable this as a 'processor handicapped' option for those players out there with 100 mhz PII/PPC machines. For solo games only of course. We chuckled. My immediate impression of the game... the AI is a hell of a lot smarter. Now enemy warriors will engage your most dangerous units first, dwarves and archers! Protect them! The 3D objects, as the Codex has mentioned in their excellent preview, is now practically seamless with the mesh. Blood sticks prominently to walls (one of the Jasons, I forget which, called this Myth's new "Abstract Art" feature! ). Some unit behaivours still need tweaking, as JJ was often stating. And the fire feature dramatically changes the way you will engage the enemy. All in all though, it's shaping up to be one kick ass game.

Be sure to check out Samurai Cat's report, which sheds light on a few aspects of this letter. In addition to this report, Stryder also sent in a report of his own; here's an excerpt from it:

Anyway, think of Myth as a public beta of Myth II. Here is what I have seen and gathered:

1. The rendering is 4x better. More plants to kill. Random wild-life moving about. More destructible/movable objects.
2. Net play improved. How you ask? Pretty much everything that people wanted to see on Bungie.net (searches etc) is supposedly supported. Did I mention that you can actually ally with another player and cover their back?
3. It appears that nothing is final on the units yet. The ogre guys are cool, but they have traded speed and attack power for hit-points. They were talking about shrinking them or tinkering with the stats. The fireball is cool, but balanced by it being slow. It looks like there is a samurai unit called a heron too.
4. Fire is cool, and dangerous. Dwarven brews seem to have more roll on marble floors too. :)
5. Maps. What can I say? Bezerkers hacking some poor sap to pieces on a persian rug, archers hiding behind large pillars. Nice marble floors.

Some nifty stuff... Regarding the ability to team up in combat, I expect that Bungie will make this an option, like enabling Teams, so that we won't have problems with people gangbeating others. And in the unlikely event that this does someday become a problem, remember, you heard the term "gangbeating" here first. ;)

Wooden Warriors Winged? - [Ferrex] - 9:00 pm BDT

Actov Godd (nifty name ;) sent in a blown up image of the "wooden warrior" unit, wondering if the things on their backs might actually be wings.

• Winged Wooden Warriors?

For those of you familiar with Greek mythology, one of the tasks of Heracles (Hercules) dealt with something Stygian-- I'm a bit rusty, but I believe it was the Birds of the Stygian marsh, which were metal feathered and pretty bad ass. If indeed these units are the Stygian Knights, then wings and armor might make good sense...

Back from E3! (Sorry, couldn't resist) - [Samurai Cat!] - 7:00 pm BDT

Check out the latest and greatest on Myth II in my report!

Off to E3! - [Samurai Cat!] - 10:30 am BDT

I'm about to head out the door, and head down to E3 - watch this page later this afternoon/evening for news/updates. I'll try and update the page occasionally during my foray into toyland, but that'll depend on connectivity.

E3 Report - [Ferrex] - 8:00 pm BDT

Bonus points to Azathoth, who heeded my desperate cry for E3 reports and sent in this letter:

Secondly, MJ, Zaus and I spent the day at E3 and aside from seeing John Romero, getting Douglas Adams' autograph, and scoring about 30 pounds of misc. crap, MJ and I got to play Myth II! Let me be the first to tell you that it blows Myth away. The mesh is much more detailed, you can set things on fire, indoor scenarios, animals run and fly around all over the place, and there are some pretty nifty new characters with _much_ smoother animation. There was only one playable netgame, but that was all that was needed to check things out. The archer now have the ability to fire _one_ flaming arrow as a secondary attack. There is also this new character that resembles a mage. He has a secondary horizontal status bar that measures the amount of magic? he has left. His attack consists of firing a ball of fire that travels horizontally until it hits something, then explodes with incredible force. MJ fired directly into the wall of a building the first game and took out most of his army :0. The other new character was a sort of Ogre with a club. He was about the size of a good sized house. Can't say much for him, I still like Trow better... The playable netgame was sort of a town scenario, with a small hamlet in the center surrounded by a stream. Pretty cool to say the least. The interface graphics were incredibly slick looking and I hope they don't change them... The only downside to the demo was that unit selection and AI was a little off, but that will be fixed. The other game they were previewing was called 'Oni' and it looked like a kind of 'Resident Evil' game where you kick alot of ass hand-to-hand. Too bad they weren't handing out t-shirts or anything, so I couldn't score you guys some loot :(... Can't wait to get back there on Sat. to play some more!

Not only first hand coverage of Myth II, but finally a name for the Toaster Emulator: Oni! Hmm, I wonder if that's a working name... anyways, please keep the reports coming, as I am all too happy to post them, and I truly appreciate the effort!

OGR Coverage Revelations - [Ferrex] - 8:00 pm BDT

Kudos a plenty to Quicksilver, who pointed out an Online Gaming Review report on Myth II at E3.

There are actually two articles on Myth II, the first one focussing on a few new features. These include better looking units (and a few new ones), vastly improved formations, and units that actually run in battle. It is not clear whether or not they always run, or if they have a walking and running phase...

The second article is perhaps even more interesting, due to the presence of two new screenshots:

• Netgame scene - features two previously unseen units: a mage like unit (kinda looks like a vampire...), and a boarlike beast unit that looks to be about halfway to a trow in terms of power...
• Windmill scene - features a better look at the "wooden warrior", possibly the Stygian Knight unit mentioned in the first article

Must see stuff-- check out OGR's site for more details, and expect to see more there in the next few days.

Blast from the Past - [Ferrex] - 1:10 pm BDT

Kudos galore to Twrch, who sent in this item dredged up from Myth I's very early days, and might foretell the future of Myth II:

Perhaps this is old news, but I ran across Eidos' web site describing Myth (http://www.mythcodex.com/).

It's obviously old (pre-release) information, but that's what makes it interesting, as it reflects an early stage of the development of Myth (and possibly some features which could be implemented in Myth II?). Here's some tidbits:

STORY:

The myth of the story centres around a deity which appears in this world in cycles of a thousand years, at the arrival of a comet. During one cycle the deity will appear as a Saviour; in the next, as a Destroyer. At the beginning of Myth, The Fallen Lords, the Dark deity has returned in the guise of "Ashfear" The Leveler. This Destroyer has brought with him six others who became known as the "Fallen Lords", a group of resurrected and powerful generals. Three of the Fallen Lords were from the distant past, Soulblighter, The Voiceless One and Bahl'al and the others, Bonespliter, The Deceiver and the Faceless Man were turned from The Light by Ashfear."

UNITS:

Light:

• Balloon - Used for scouting, transport and occasionally air support.
• Ents - Giant wooden dwellers of the forest heart. Can only be completely destroyed by fire.
• Skroel - Dwellers of the deep marshes, the Skroel are indispensable in this terrain. Fierce fighters and excellent slingers.
• Griffins - Intelligent flying predators. Do not usually get involved with the affairs of land dwellers but are ties to the fir'Bolg, who can call them to battle with horns. Will attack Vampyrs remorselessly and with no fear for their own lives.
• Journeymen (Herons) - Fighters of the Eastern desert, Ferocious but few.

Dark:

• Undid Dirigible - Balloons with baskets suspended below made out of the buoyant, bloated corpses of dead men, animated by the evil will of a shade.
• Vampyrs - Unable to resist their insatiable appetite for human flesh, the Vampyrs can be called in to battle by the Ghol shamans.

POWER-UPS:

"There are numerous pick-ups throughout the missions that give the finder specific power:

• Fever Stone - A ward against sickness
• Speed Token
• Aconite - A poison for arrow tips
• Deep Fen boots - Allows walking over water or marsh.
• Gleaming wand - Forces the Mahir (Shadow Warriors) to become corporeal.
• Heaven Stones - Protect from malign influences and wicked spirits.
• Mandrake - Narcotic with healing effect.
• Nepenthe - Effects death and hence drives away care and thoughts of trouble.
• Tarnkappe - A cape that renders the wearer almost invisible.
• Tathlam - These are the severed heads of enemies, made by the Ents. Explode violently when thrown.
• Wards- Various talismans fashioned by fir'Bolg wise men as protection against physical blows.

Warriors, Berserks, Avatara and Shades can also use magic swords with extra powers that have become enchanted by their association with heroes. There are also enchanted Quivers that can be found and used by Archers and cause great damage."

Probably some of these things were better left out of Myth (though the idea of "Wards" to make fir'Bolg more sturdy is certainly nice), but it's interesting to read.

It's very old news indeed-- so old, that most of us had forgotten about it. Obviously, much has changed, but it still answers some questions, such as the identities of the other Fallen Lords. There's no telling what might be implemented in Myth II, but perhaps this gives an idea of what Bungie was shooting for in the original, and what they might attempt in the sequel.

Myrkridia = Spiders? - [Ferrex] - 1:10 pm BDT

Lately, there has been some speculation, particularily at Malory's site, The Keep, that the Myrkridia may have been turned into spiders (explaining their absence). Interesting, but I'm not so sure-- there was never any mention of such a conversion, and spiders might've been hard pressed to build that skull platform. In addition to that, giant spiders are spoken of in dwarven legends (according to their flavour text) as being the natural denizens of subterranean areas...

Something to think about nonetheless.

News Digest - May 28, 1998

• New Site - Hazel has started up a new Myth II site, entitled Guardians of the Future... goto it.

Of Zerks and Warriors - [Ferrex] - 9:15 pm BDT

Something is wrong with the new screenshot-- can you tell what it is? If not, let me tell you then-- the zerks! Such a minor thing, it would seem, but I find it immensely disturbing that the berserkers now weild their claymore in one hand!

It seemingly goes against the assumed berserker edict, "If you can hold a sword in one hand, then you need a bigger sword". I personally hope that Bungie brings back the two handed stance-- it looked so much more macho. As nice as it is to have a free hand, perhaps for punching and generally fighting dirty, they look a little odd running around with a free hand like that...

Alright, alright, I'll stop complaining. The warriors do look pretty good, though I do prefer the longer shields, and the archers are also looking a bit better too (their old outfits showed too much leg... those trashy fir'bolgs have no self-respect... ;). In addition to these changes, there has been much fuss about the identity of the warrior type unit in the first screenshot, the so called "wooden warrior"... hmm, so much intrigue, so much stuff! Stay tuned for more as it comes...

Of Soulblighter and the Myrkridia - [Ferrex] - 9:15 pm BDT

Ramses II sent in a letter packed full of interesting hypotheses (sp?) regarding Myth II's storyline. Of particular significance, considering much of the debate regarding the Myrkridia, was this section of the letter:

SoulBlighter as ally makes more sense than him allying with the Myrkridia, it does specifically say that 'a man not yet born' will release the Myrks and SB has quite clearly been alive for some time. Also, if he is already called 'Twice Born' in Myth I then he'd have to be 'Thrice Born' to become the guy who ressurects the Myrkridia. That's another interesting point, the entry in the Total Codex say that the Myrkridia will be 'released,' or 'brought back' by a man not yet born, but the Tain is destroyed shortly after the Codex is recovered. Perhaps the Myrkridia were not just imprisoned in the Tain, but also held in some other manner? Thus some farmer could stumble across an item from the destroyed Tain and release the Myrks...

Makes sense, really-- something must also have contained the Myrkridia when the Tain was destroyed. That or they were all dead or were simply trapped in that alternate dimension, and Soulblighter doesn't seem to fit the description of the releaser (recall that the narrator read all about this man's life, but did not mention that it was Soulblighter, which he most likely would have if it was).

Those of you who have followed Marathon's evolution know that Bungie does not make mistakes like this, and that these things tend to be very deliberate... who knows, perhaps there might be a Myth III in the future that features this storyline...

An Interesting Possibility - [Ferrex] - 9:15 pm BDT

Looking at the list of Myth II's planned features, I happened upon the one that promised "twice as many frames of animation", and I got to thinking about that. As nice as fluid movement is, I find that I would prefer more rotational frames for the units (ie. sixteen different angles as opposed to the current eight). This, one would think, would be a much greater improvement when in motion and orbiting the units, as the switch between sprites would be less noticeable.

Something to hope for, I guess-- what do you think of it? As always, if you have something to add, let me know!

Be Quiet in the Library - [Case] - 11:00 am BDT

Bungie has posted a second screenshot at their Myth II Site. The new warriors are featured and it takes place inside a library. Go. View. Return.

15 Seconds of Myth II - [Case] - 1:00 am BDT

The second part of my tour of Bungie has been published in the Exclusive Section. Among other things, it includes my 15 second glimpse of Myth II. Bungie, you'd better slap a non-disclosure agreement on me fast, cause I have my teeth into this one...muhahahahahaaa

YAM2S - [Case] - 1:00 am BDT

No, I'm not talking about the Year 2000 Bug, I'm talking about Mythology's new Myth II Site. Go. View. Return.

E3 Video - [Case] - 1:00 am BDT

Alright, I have heard a rumor that an unfinished copy of the E3 Video has gotten loose, and I want it! If you have any information about this pirated copy, Send it to me.

Two New Myth Sites - [Ferrex] - 8:00 pm BDT

Following the newest current trend, Mythics and Legolas, from the Gates of Covenant, have started up a pair of excellent new Myth II sites:

• The Soulblighter Scriptures - Mythic's new Myth II site, or rather subsection. Familiar design, and will hopefully benefit from the website infrastructure that Vlad and Kith have built up with Mythics.
• The Twice Born - Legolas' new Myth II site, which, like the Mythics site, borrows from the successful Gates of Covenant site in general design and quality content.

VR's Myth II Rant - [Ferrex] - 8:00 pm BDT

Well, I just had a chance to read Kelstek's Myth II rant at VR's, and I must say that it raises excellent points and is deliciously controversial. Mostly, it focuses on the fact that Myth II is thought not to be expanding much on the current game engine, and that some promises have been forgotten. A must read for anyone following Myth II, as it is good to see things from the other side of the fence sometimes.

Improved Foreign Player Support? - [Ferrex] - 3:20 am BDT

Thanks to the guys at Nontoxic, who reminded me to check my old email account and read the Bungie newsletter than came out tonight. Though a member of an infrequent breed, the newsletter had some very interesting Myth II material on it.

First off, blood will be an option that users can toggle on and off. Good news for the squeamish and faint of heart, but perhaps even better news for German and some non-North American players. If blood is an option that can be turned on and off, it might be possible to hard code it off for foreign versions of Myth but allow them to retain their compatability, allowing foreign players the chance to play against those of us using an uncensored version of Myth. Indeed, I think Bungie might have this in mind, so hopefully those German Myth addicts out there will no longer have to tinker with system settings and the like to play on b.net.

Secondly, foreign players will be ranked alongside domestic players on the Leader Board (in whatever new form it may take). This seems to sugguest that Bungie is working on bringing the two together, which is even better news for foreign players. This time around, it may be easier for them to find games among their peers, and perhaps I might find an opportunity to polish up on my Deutsch whilst I'm in a game. ;)

The Keep Online - [Ferrex] - 12:50 am BDT

Fellow BoT member Malory has started up a site dedicated to Myth II, The Keep, which I'm sure will be the first of many in days to come. It is a exceptionally good looking site, though people lacking my sense of minimalist aesthetics may disagree. Direct, clean, and too the point-- definitely worth stopping by.

Choke the Chicken? - [Ferrex] - 12:50 am BDT

Yes, that's right. The day after Myth II is released, and controversy is already flaring... just what is "Choke the Chicken"?

Along with "Assassin", which I suspect might be similar to the Wight Hunt variant, Choke the Chicken is a new, promised netgame for Myth II. And almost nobody knows just what the hell it is. Currently, two theories are dominant:

• Theory 1 - Smart/Moving Ball - In this theoretical game, the Ball or Chicken even would move around of its own will. Kinda like Bacon, but with a ball that won't stay where you want it unless you herd it. Similarly, we might see a Herd the Chickens and a Chicken Hunt variant if this is the case-- A tantilizing possibility, which promises for some very fun games!

• Theory 2 - Slaughterama! - In this theoretical game, the object of it would be to slaughter as many chickens as you can. Dear lord, this would be a hilarious game, especially if you were actually going after the chickens. Much more frenzied than Body Count, but with the same willy nilly lack of widely recognized strategies.

Personally, I would love to see both of these netgames introduced, along with others. I think both would be quite fun and hilarious, though the prior would be more playable than the second. More info as it arrives, and I hope to have some confirmation soon.

Myth II Site Up - [Ferrex] - 4:00 am BDT

Conspicuously absent from this page was a link to Bungie's official Myth II page, so here it is. It looks good, and already has some good content on it.

Among that content is a list of planned features, which I will blatantly copy and paste here:

• Animated 3D models such as working windmills, gates and drawbridges.
• 4x finer terrain mesh for smooth, incredibly detailed terrain.
• New organic lighting model for colored lights and shadows.
• Ambient life like birds, squirrels and chickens... that explode!
• 3D fire that burns the landscape and damages troops. Don't let your enemy's flaming arrows divide your army!
• Frighteningly powerful new spells like fireball and cloudkill.
• Indoor environments and fortifications let you storm the castle... and take it!
• Greatly improved pathfinding, AI and game controls.
• Fearsome new units and challenging new terrains.
• Twice as many frames of animation and multiple attack moves
• CD-quality, context-sensitive in-game music.
• True 3D sound lets you hear explosions behind you and arrows sailing overhead!
• Worldwide individual and team rankings and leader boards.
• Map actions, like reinforcements, in multiplayer games.
• Make and break in-game alliances.
• Challenging new net maps and net games like Assassin and Choke The Chicken.

If you can imagine so indignified a sight, envision drool running down my chin. While some things that I would love to see are not on the list, like fog and mist environment effects, and I am personally a little worried how this will all fit on one CD, the future looks bright indeed!

Alric Lives! - [Case] - 4:00 am BDT

Robert McMillon pointed out that OGR has put up a Myth page. Most of the information is direct quotes, but they quote bungie saying:

Though the land of Myth is rid of Balor and his fearsome legions, all is not right in the new order. As foretold in the first game, King Alric's peace is threatened by an unexpected enemy with a boundless appetite for destruction and this time it will take more than throwing a head in a hole to stop them.

Notice that Alric is referred to as if he is alive and ruling a nation, so perhaps he did not die under a swarm of Myrmidon as we originally thought.

The Third Announcement - [Case] - 12:00 am BDT

We at the Codex are never content to follow in the footsteps of others, we are constantly striving to penetrate areas where no Myth enthusiast has gone before. This drive lead me to found my first web site, the Myth Grimoire. It lead Ferrex to create his legendary news site, Myth Unlimited. This ceaseless pursuit of excellence brought me to gamestats, and later provided the basis for the union of our sites. It was the reason we expanded our efforts and included more people, like Samurai Cat and Khayman. It showed us that we should host worthy sites, like Tournament Central and the 40oz Film site. This drive got us to where we are today, and last week, this drive propelled me into a frightning, forbidding place. A place where no reporter has dared step foot. A place that all watch from the outside, but never enter and explore. My commitment to bringing you, our readers, the best content I could provide, drove me into the maw of the beast itself, into the dark hallways of bungie HQ.

With nothing but a digital camera and a shiny new notebook to protect me, I explored the uncharted depths of Total Audio and bungie HQ, and returned to tell the tale. I have recounted the first half of my trip in a new Codex Exclusive, and will relate the rest of the story in a few days in a second part. Before you read it though, I must tell you. I saw Myth II, for a few brief moments, and I must say...You Are Not Ready!

Anything to add to the our sprawling megalopoly? Be sure to fill out your waivers and send it on in. After all, resistance is futile, no? Brought to you by those webmaster guys. You know the ones. And the guys at Gamestats too. Make sure you ask before borrowing any images or HTML, lest we sic Case on you. And you don't want that, do you?