Very different. Hard to compare. I really like and enjoy both for different reasons. Gameplay is quite different though both have story and quests.
Why would anyone want to go through all that? As I said above just use Grayface patch. It already includes official patch, Mok`s patch any many useful additional fixes to run the game on modern systems. There were still many bugs present after Mok`s patch and Grayface fixed most of themHere's the workaround page for all the M&M's over at Celestial Heavens. Looks like for VII all you need to do is some tweaking of the sound in dxdiag:
http://www.celestialheavens.com/viewpage.php?id=383
I had no trouble running it in XP(except that Arcomage crashes, but it crashed orginally, too. Just save before you enter the Inn), but I'm pretty sure I used the above page, since I always check there. (I don't think you need to worry with the Windows compatability toolkit thingie for VII)
GrayFace MM7 Patch v1.4
This patch includes official patches and Mok's patch.
([+] - feature, [-] - fixed bug, [*] - other)
New in version 1.4:
[+] Now monsters are colored properly in Direct3D, no more tinting. d3dsprite.hwl isn't used anymore.
[+] Monster contours are taken into account in Direct3D when you click on them.
[+] "NoBitmapsHwl" enables textures to be taken from bitmaps.lod instead of d3dbitmap.hwl in Direct3D. This leads to better quality of textures, but too much sharpness in the distance. Default is 1 (enabled).
[+] Limit on sprites count is extended.
[+] Now Delphi memory manager is used. The limit on amount of allocated memory is removed.
[+] Door state switching command extended. Now modders can pass 3 instead of 2 to switch door state even if it's moving.
[-] Attacking big monsters in melee in Direct3D was a problem before. Players tended to shoot in them.
[-] Lich jars not appearing in The Walls of Mist bug fixed.
[-] Credits speed is now limited.
[-] Party generation screen animation speed is now limited.
[-] 'Invalid ID reached!' that was spamming the ErrorLog.txt is now ignored.
[-] Fixed a couple of index-out-of-bounds errors.
Other changes:
[+] Multiple Quick Saves. (see below for details)
[+] F2 toggles Double Speed mode. DoubleSpeedKey option controls the key.
[+] TurnSpeedNormal and TurnSpeedDouble options control speed of smooth turning. Default is 100% for normal speed and 120% for double speed.
[+] PlayMP3 option lets you play MP3 files instead of CDAudio. Default is 0 (disabled). (see below for details)
[+] MusicLoopsCount option controls loops count of music. Set it to 0 for infinite loop.
[+] InventoryKey option lets you open character's inventory screen by pressing 'I' instead of clicking a character portrait. Set it to 0 to disable.
[+] ToggleCharacterScreenKey opens or closes character screen. The default key is '~'. Set it to 0 to disable.
[+] FreeTabInInventory lets you select dead characters by Tab key while in character screen. Default is 1 (enabled).
[+] Recovery Time value is displayed in Attack and Shoot descriptions.
[+] No Death Movie option. Default is 0 (disabled).
[+] NoCD option. Default is 1 (enabled).
[+] NoIntro option disables logo movies and displays the intro when a new game starts. Default is 0 (disabled).
[+] HardenArtifacts options lets you use Harden Item on artifacts. Default is 1 (enabled).
[+] Harden Item, Recharge Item and other similar potions don't disappear when you try to use them on improper items.
[+] NoVideoDelays disables delays before and after a video is shown. Default is 1 (enabled).
[+] ReputationNumber shows numerical reputation value together with category name. Default is 1 (enabled).
[+] HorsemanSpeakTime and BoatmanSpeakTime options control time needed for horseman or boatman to say "Let's go" before new map starts loading.
[+] Extracted files from events.lod are loaded from DataFiles folder. Useful for modders. (see below for details)
[+] Loads all .dll files from ExeMods directory (this is used by MMExtension and you can use it to add your patch).
[+] Improved errors reporting. (see below)
[+] BlasterRecovery option controls minimal blasdter recovery time. Default is 5. Game default was 0.
[-] Mok's patch bug: there were glitches of smack animation in houses and even crashes sometimes.
[-] You could drink from fountains multiple times if all party members are inactive.
[-] You could attack with inactive party members.
[-] Town Portal pauses the game now.
[-] Now you can have gaps between save slots. Save and Load would target the same slot anyway.
[-] Walk Sound disappearing problem fixed.
[-] No need to set compatibility on Win XP anymore.
[-] Inactive characters could use scrolls.
[-] Items bonuses to weapon skills were ignored in recovery time calculation (Ania Selving artifact is the only such item).
[-] Protection from Magic didn't protect from Poison.
[-] 'of Feather Faling' enchantment didn't work (and Hermes' Sandals too).
[-] Dagger in second hand used to do triple damage even on Expert level.
[-] Daggers had 10% chance to do triple damage no matter what Dagger skill you have. ProgressiveDaggerTrippleDamage option makes daggers do triple damage with probability equal to skill. Default is 1 (enabled).
[-] Haste didn't work when some members are dead and weak at the same time.
[-] Buggy autosave file name localization removed.
[-] Now items that didn't fit into a chest appear in it when you free space for them and reopen the chest. (FixChests option)
[-] Return button in game menu didn't work correctly.
[-] DirectDraw errors reporting is disabled. It was leading to numerous problems on some computers.
Changes of Mok's patch:
- fixed Psychic Shock spell (damage 12 + 1-12 instead of 12 + 1).
- better 3D hardware support (Win2k/XP)
- better sound & video support (more recent Bink, Smacker and Miles Sound System libraries)
- removed buggy hard drive free space check
- fixed Hour of Power spell (Haste part wasn’t working). Thanks to Mike Kienenberger for the fix.
- fixed a saving game message in the Arena.
- fixed a bug which caused inventory corruption if you used Recharge spell on a wand with no charges. Now it will simply fail on such wands.
- the game will no longer generate wands with max number of charges = 0. It will be minimum 1 charge. Existing wands won't be upgraded.
- fixed a bug in Paralyze spell. It will not work on dead opponents anymore.
- you can toggle running mode by pressing caps lock key. This is controlled by CapsLockToggleRun option since GrayFace Patch. Default is 0 (disabled).
Changes of official patch 1.1 are listed in Readme.txt
All options are controlled by mm7.ini. It is created when the game is run the first time.
Some localization options are kept in mm7lang.ini. You can change them or translate to your language. If you create the same options in mm7.ini they will override those from mm7lang.ini.
————————————————————————————————————————
Quick Saves:
Press F11 to use quick save. You will see "Game saved!" message. "QuickSavesKey" option in mm7.ini controls the key used to save the game.
Option QuickSavesCount controls the number of quick saves.
Option QuickSavesName controls names of quick saves. Default is "Quicksave".
SpaceBeforeQuicksaveDigit controls whether there should be a space between "Quicksave" and the number of quick save.
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How to use MP3 Music:
Create "Music" folder in the game directory and place there files from "2.mp3" to "20.mp3" corresponding to CD tracks. Set "PlayMP3" to 1. Unlike CD music, MP3 music volume is affected by Sound Volume you set in Settings menu, so it's a good idea to keep it at maximum.
Brand new boxed MM VII is pricey. Ebay looks like my best bet.
Recruiting your party was actually my biggest complaint against MM8. I thought it put a double-headed axe right thru the soul of the character development, which was always the high point of the M&M series.I agree completely with Corwin. MM8 is a fairly good game, and while both dragons and liches are overpowered, the game itself is quite fun. I like the various factions, and I also enjoyed the "wow" effect of recruiting some of the most powerful NPCs, the ones you had to really work to get (i.e the best lich comes fully equipped with every possible spell and grand master of all magic).
Yep, Caneghem wasn't part of the MM9 team, and it showed. Add in that the team wanted to "modernize" the series (after all the complaints about MM8 being a poor helping of more-of-the-same), and you've got a recipe for disaster. You set out to blow up a successful formula and you don't have the guy that just might be able to navigate you thru such a treacherous journey...MM9 is the result of costs being cut (not enough developers or development time). From what I know, Caneghem himself was not even involved (or at least not as much as he used to).
My sentiments exactly. IIRC(I only spent ten minutes with the game, and ditto with 9 so I kind of get them confused) you couldn't roll but one of your party, and had to recruit the rest from inns all premade. Took the fun out of it all for me.Recruiting your party was actually my biggest complaint against MM8. I thought it put a double-headed axe right thru the soul of the character development, which was always the high point of the M&M series.