Mumbo Jumbo is creating this game. They're based in Irvine CA and are headed by Mark Dochtermann and Ron Dimant, formerly of Ritual Entertainment. The game is slated for a November 2001 release, which means it will have a tight development schedule. This is not a game that has been in development for months and is just now being announced.

What we want to know is if they're reusing the Myth 2 engine. Our guess is yes. What do you think?

Messageboards should be accessed more easily by a direct link on the news page, like all major newssites (stomped and shugashack) have it. This doesn't really work for me.

"Messageboards should be accessed more easily by a direct link on the news page, like all major newssites (stomped and shugashack) have it. This doesn't really work for me."

I did put a link on the front page. I usually have a brief delay of a minute or two between posting a story and getting the messageboard thread set up, so maybe you caught the site in that odd twilight zone time?

I just got this update from TSI about the Myth 3 engine.

"Myth III will be utilizing a new 3D engine that is, in turn, based on the Myth II engine. It will take advantage of all the latest 3D hardware to give Myth fans a visually stunning experience."

Hmmm, I guess I'm going to have to get used to it :)

I like you posting a lot here, there's just the two of you right? Do you both post this often?

As for Myth 3, based upon Myth 2 engine?
Doesn't sound good, hopefully those talented ex-Ritual people know what they're doing.

I post quite a bit. Tom does too, but probably not as much as me. We have a number of other people who post frequently also. We're small but growing. :)

We may get fancy and get our news set up with a database at some point and have that auto-threading that sites like Shugashack have. Right now I do it by hand, which is why not ever story has a link. Some just don't seem worth it. Blues has that autothreading too, but 90% of the topics never get posts.

As for Myth 3, I'm concerned. I'm one of the world's most devout Myth fans, and I'm just a little skeptical that someone other than Bungie is developing this game. Does anyone know if any ex-Bungie people are affiliated with the development? And how did G.O.D/Ritual get a hold of the license? Doesn't MS own Bungie now?

Yeah, there's some definite Bungie magic that may be hard to transfer.

Take 2 owned a chunk of Bungie, 19.9% as I recall, and when Uncle Bill decided to assimilate Bungie, the deal went down with Take 2 getting some cash, Oni, the Myth library, and the rights to future Myth games for their share. Take 2 also owns GOD, which explains their involvement. I would guess that GOD asked Ritual people to form a company to develop Myth 3, but this last is a good question, actually.

Hmm. Scary thoughts of 'Civ: Call To Power'come to mind :) It must make the Bungie guys sad to see their work in someone else's hands. IMO, Myth is the best PC game of all time.

I loved Myth. What was really amazing about it was that the single-player game and the multiplayer game were so different. They were really a completely different experience.

I bet it does make them a bit sad, but they're probably pretty excited about Halo.

I liked Myth, too, but the stupid Hanna Barbera cartoon cutscenes in the game were an insult to serious gamers.

"Here's our dark, bloody game.. WITH CUTSCENES FEATURING THAT LOVABLE DEPUTY DAWG!"

Cartoon zombies are sooo wrong.

wumpus http://www.gamebasement.com

I remember arguing about the cartoons. Some people really hated them. I didn't mind them at all. To me they were just animated cutscenes.

Mark,

Was wondering if you would remember that. ;) Hint to developers-- if you want to have a dark, brooding game with dark, brooding animated cutscenes, do it like Thief does, NOT like Myth does.

I know, it's a minor issue, but the first time I saw a Myth cutscene, I laughed out loud. It was so at odds with the rest of the game. What were they thinking? CARTOON ZOMBIES? Bungie usually doesn't make rookie mistakes like that; they're almost a mini-Blizzard.

wumpus http://www.gamebasement.com

Strange how different people can have completely different perceptions of the same thing. Like Mark, I just say them as animated (uh, that's animated, not "CARTOONS") cutscenes.

Actually, I remember the cutscenes as being dark and brooding. Monsters lurking under bridges and such. I have no idea where you're getting this Hanna Barbara thought from.

Mark,

InsideMacGames has an interview in which they explain how they got to starting development for Myth3:

http://www.insidemacgames.com/features/00/myth3/

In my mind, Myth is incredibly dark and brooding,
and I think the cutscenes worked very well. I
always got the right feeling for the missions in
Myth:TFL, the "this is the last chance for
humanity"-feel, mostly because of the great voice
who did the journal updates. For some reason I
never got this feeling for Myth II. A great game,
but it didn't seem as bleak at all.
I'll be skeptic to this project until they've
proven themselves, so I won't get too disappointed.

"I always got the right feeling for the missions in Myth:TFL, the "this is the last chance for humanity"-feel, mostly because of the great voice
who did the journal updates."

Yeah, those were some of the most minimal transitions between missions I've seen in a game, and yet some of the most effective.

Myth was clearly inspired, at least in part, by a series of novels by Glen Cook. The "Black Company" novels really are a good read if you're looking one.