My Vintage Story

 

Sunset

My Plant and Flower Collection

"Fox Lake"

My "Fortified Windmill" Base

The View from My "Summer Hut" Porch

The Backside of the Mountain in the Previous Picture

Looking Up

A Hero's Return

Might and Magic is a series of ten mainline CRPGs that ran from 1986 to 2014.  The setting for each game was a fairly generic fantasy world.  So much so the "Might" and "Magic" could be replaced with "Dungeons" and "Dragons" without having to change much else.  Overall, the games have been compared to Bard's Tale and Ultima in terms of design.  A number of franchise spin-offs also exist.  These include both third and first-person action-RPGs with titles like Crusaders/Warriors/Legends of Might and Magic, as well as an RTS entitled Might and Magic: Hero Kingdoms.  There's even a fan-made-turned-official game called Might and Magic: Darkside of Xeen.

The big spin-off franchise, when it comes to the Might and Magic series though has to be Heroes of Might and Magic.  They are (collectively speaking) turn-based strategy games that feature tactical combat, base building and some light RPG elements.  The origin of the Heroes games can be traced back to a little-known title called King's Bounty (released in 1990).  Trivia aside, the series properly began in 1995 and has spanned seven mainline titles.  My person favorite is Heroes II (the last one to come out by the now-defunct New World Computing), but the general consensus seems to be that the franchise peaked with Heroes IV (the last one to be made by 3DO before they too went under).  Once Ubisoft acquired the license, Heroes went into a steady decline in terms of quality.  The one bright spot being Capybara Games' puzzle-based offshoot - Clash of Heroes.  Having briefly gone over the history of the IP, I now finally come to a recently released (early access) successor of sorts.  It is Songs of Conquest.

Published by Coffee Stain Studios, the same company the brought us Satisfactory, Songs of Conquest is a Heroes of Might and Magic game in all but name.  That said, it doesn't simply copy the formula.  Instead,  the developers have made a concerted effort to improve on (or otherwise refine) a number of core gameplay elements.  To give some examples, battlefields now feature  terrain elevation along with the various advantages and disadvantages that sort of thing typically confers.  Range units now have three different attack distances, melee, a nearby "killing zone" radius that inflicts high damage, and a long range attack radius that is far-reaching but weaker than closer attacks.  Battlefield magic works a bit different than what one might expect in that heroes accrue different kinds of magic points at the start of the battle and each time one of the units in their army gets a turn.  These points can then be spent to cast spells.  Obviously, as battles progress into their second or third rounds the types of effects that can be trigger grow in strength.  The way settlements function has also been changed in interesting ways.  Structures are now built on the overworld map with a limited mix of small, medium and large foundations providing a variety of construction options.  Generally speaking, no settlement can have it all, but some have more potential than others.  As of the posting of this blog only two of the four factions in the game currently have campaigns available to play.  The first of these is of the classic medieval high-fantasy variety.  Things start off slow, which is good for me since it took a little while to familiarize myself with the iconography used on the overworld map.  Lumber mills, and stone or gold mines (as well as their associated resource piles were) are easy enough to identify.  However, other things like tents, huts, cairns, orchards, and so on took a little bit longer to decipher.  In a unique (albeit kind of cheesy twist) the interludes between missions feature mini-ballads summarizing recent events.

One point of criticism I do have is the UI for sentiments.  It could use some tidying up.  Another minor complaint I have is there not being a a way to dispose of (recycle?) redundant or outclassed hero equipment.  As is, it simply ends up taking up inventory space.  Hopefully they'll get those issues sorted out before leaving early access.  Quibbles aside, Songs of Conquest shows a great deal of promise.  I look forward to seeing how it shapes up in the not-too-distant future.               

Way of the Cube

Max Brooks (son of the famous comedian Mel Brooks) dabbled in acting, like his father, but ultimately settled into being a writer.  His most famous work is arguably "World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War".  While technically the film of the same name is supposed to be a movie adaptation, it has next to nothing to do the plot/characters of the book.  The audiobook, on the other hand, is a very faithful (albeit distilled) version of the novel.  Aside from some comic books, other works by Max Brooks include the "Zombie Survival Guide" (a tongue-in-cheek handbook on how to get through your typical undead apocalypse), as well as another horror novel featuring sasquatches entitled "Devolution".  The Max Brook's book I want to go over in this blogpost though is "Minecraft: The Island".

It might come as a surprise to some, but this was the first official novel to be released in a Minecraft setting.  Even more surprising is the fact that it isn't necessarily written for children.  The point of entry for the reader is the classic everyman-finds-themselves-unexpecidly-transported-to-another-world premise.  Details of the protagonist's life are left vague in no small part due to the fact that they cannot recall much from beforehand in detail.  The amnesia thing is a bit cliché and the entire concept feels a bit silly, but in a weird way Max Brooks makes it work by playing the situation completely straight (literally the first page reads "The following is based on true events").  Having no foreknowledge of their current predicament, the protagonist of "The Island" finds themselves in a rather difficult survival situation as they try to unravel the often twisted logic of how things work in Minecraft.  Examples include basics like punching wood and floating blocks to eternally burning torches and the classic newcomer mistake of trying to water crops directly with a bucket.  Struggling to learn the myriad of Minecraft recipes on a 2-by-2 or 3-by-3 grid is also covered in significant detail...it's a strange story, but one that is very true to the source material.

Each chapter of the book is short and centered around the protagonist learning something important - pearls (or perhaps I should say "cubes") of wisdom that the reader might find meaningful beyond the scope of Minecraft.  Overall, the vibe I got from "The Island" was a Robinson Caruso self-help book in the style of Andy Weir's "The Martian".  In more general terms, it's a memoir about enduring against the odds. 

Alternatives

Normally I tend to frown on trend-chasers in the gaming industry.  Copycats of the Dark Souls formula, battle royal clones, and a whole slew of open-world games are just a few examples.  Having said that, I kind of have a soft spot for Vintage Story.  Calling it a Minecraft knockoff would be an understatement.  The game has the same block building and 3-by-3 crafting system.  I suppose this shouldn't come as a surprise considering that developers made mods for Minecraft before they began work on their own game.  Where Vintage Story differs though is in how it approaches the survival genre.  

Overall, Vintage Story is less eclectic than Minecraft.  This is especially obvious in the visuals which have a more grounded look to them.  It also focuses more on sub-systems.  For example making stone tools involves a mini-puzzle game wherein the player has to chip off tiny blocks from a slab of rock in order to form the shape needed for the tool they want to create.  A similar mechanic exists for blacksmithing and pottery making.  Smelting ore requires the player to take note of melting point temperatures for specific materials and feed the fire with a suitable fuel source (whether it be wood, peat, charcoal or coal).  In this way the game creates a much more well defined progression from stone to copper to bronze, and finally iron.  

There is a wide variety of ways to prepare food.  The game also keeps track of the kinds of things the player's character eats.  Maintaining a balanced diet can increase the maximum HP the player has.  Food will also spoil eventually, though there are a number of ways the player can increase shelf-life (based on factors like the method of preparation and where the food is stored).  Growing crops is a bit different too, in that soil can become depleted.  This, in turn, necessitates crop rotation or fertilization from time to time.  Some of these features might sound like busywork.  Indeed, when I first heard about them I was a bit turned off.  However, in practice, they enhance the experience by giving the player an in-game incentive to do a wide variety of things such as building a cellar, rearranging their crop fields and stockpile food for winter (yes, there are seasons and yes, they affect food availability).  Later in the game, it's possible to automate a number of processes by constructing windmills and simple machinery.  

Wildlife is somewhat similar to Minecraft, but again there's more going on.  Fauna have more complex behavioral patterns.  Hunting is a much more challenging proposition in that animals will fight back or run when attacked.  As Paul Sores Jr. (of Youtube fame) found out, intrusive rabbits can cause considerable damage to a vegetable garden.  Domesticating a particular species requires raising several generations in captivity.  Instead of skeletons, zombies, creepers and spiders, there are several kinds of "Drifters", unfriendly demi-humans who live in caves and tend to appear out on the surface only at night...or during storms.  Honestly, they remind me a lot of the Morlocks from H.G. Wells' "The Time Machine", but I digress...

Vintage Story also has a sanity mechanic that is still under development, but seems to be leaning toward supernatural horror.  Where the devs end up going with the story is anyone's guess.  Let's hope it's something memorable.  

Rekindling the Flame

What comes next after Elden Ring?  It's a question I've been asking myself ever since I finished the game.  The answer is "DLC...probably."  Obvious replies aside, it seems like Elden Ring sold quite well.  Hopefully that will give From Software the breathing room they need to take some creative risks in the future.  Specifically, I feel like the fundamental mechanics of their third-person action-RPGs (which began with Demon's Souls roughly 15 years ago) have more or less run their course.  Granted, Bloodborne and Sekiro did make some changes to the formula.  However, I don't think there's enough mechanical depth to make a sequel for either of those games and keep it feeling fresh throughout.  Capcom ran into a similar problem with Resident Evil awhile back.  Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis were all critically acclaimed successes with each selling better than the last.  Resident Evil Zero and Code Veronica, on the other hand, were a bit stale while the first-person shooter spin-offs Survivor, Gaiden, Dead Aim and Outbreak were simply not good.  Thankfully, the franchise got a major overhaul in the form of Resident Evil 4.  Even though their games are still of a superior quality, I think From Software would be wise to take a similar approach in this regard.  Now is also a good time to make the transition because of the jump in capabilities that comes with next-gen hardware (PS5/Xbox One X).  At the very least replacing their current (and rather old) engine would allow From Software to integrate facial animations in their motion capture process, as well as address long-stating camera control issues.

Setting-wise, I think the mastermind behind From Software, Hidetaka Miyazaki, is at his best when working on a new IP...which is why I'm going to bring up my idea of doing something in a sci-fi setting again.  Not necessarily hard science fiction...more like something along the lines of "Enemy Mine", "Forbidden Planet", or "Dune".  If you think of Bloodborne as Miyazaki's take on the Castlevania series, then imagine what his interpretation of Metroid would be like.  When you think about it, Elden Ring already has things like teleporters, time travel and elevators.  Swap out magic for psionics and monsters for hostile xeno-organisms and you're halfway there.  Of course, art direction and level design at From Software continue to be some of the best in the industry.  So, no need to fix what isn't broken.  That said, any new game coming out of that studio (regardless of setting) would benefit greatly from major changes to the way it plays.

The oddly named Youtuber "DJ Peach Cobbler" claims that while Elden Ring is a great game, it feels like an ending rather than a new beginning.  Another (more blandly named) Youtuber, Noah Caldwell-Gervais, echoed this sentiment in his lengthy retrospective on the Dark Souls trilogy by pointing out that making sequels to a game that is all about how clinging to the past invites disaster feels like a misstep in principle.  Every fire eventually fades.  Miyazaki and his talented team of game developers have linked the first flame that began with King's Field many times now.  The question is when will they let that fire burn out and usher in a new age?