All old school mac fans have something in common, they know others games beside Halo that was made by Bungie. Those two games are Marathon and Myth. Now you may remember Myth as one of the best RTS you have ever played and perhaps you would like to play again? Fear not! the community is still alive with about 1000 active players! Here's a copy paste from Doctor7 of a myth forum.
What the balls is Myth?
Myth and Myth II are real-time strategy games developed by Bungie back in their pro-Macintosh days set in a fantasy medieval time period. Myth was created by four programmers and three artists over two years. While Myth II was created with two programmers, four artists and two level designers over nine months (very impressive if you ask me). The Myth series focuses entirely on squad management rather than resource gathering as like other RTS games. Each mission you are given a finite amount of units, sometimes you are reinforced in certain missions, which you need to use as effectively as possible to succeed. Squad formation is essential to victory as well as using terrain (eg. get archers to high ground to provide a tactical advantage).
Why the balls would I want to play a game that's over 10 years old?
I know a few of us want to try out classic games, myself included so I think a few of us would really enjoy Myth. It was ground-breaking during its release as it was the first 3D RTS ever. On Metacritic Myth: The Fallen Lords has an overall score of 91/100 and it's sequel has a score of 88/100. Plus it's by Bungie so you can count on it having a great story and setting, Bungie style humor, the ability to save every game as a film for you (and others) to rewatch and killer multiplayer including, and probably most important of all, it features co-op single player. That's right, you can play through every single mission with a buddy. A co-op RTS, that's just bananas! Plus almost every computer ever can run it, including me on my old 400mHz iMac!
Is there a demo I can try out?
Absolutely. There is a Myth II demo available for Mac and for Windows to see how you like it. Here's another link to screenshots and demo. http://www.projectmagma.net/what/
Where can I get a copy of Myth II?
You can buy a copy brand new copy here but I'd suggest going on eBay and simply getting a used copy of Myth II Worlds there for cheap. GameTap also has it available for download, under Goon Recommendations as well, but then you can't play with anyone that doesn't have a GameTap version. Alternatively you can luck out like me and find a used copy at a video game store for $10.
OK so I have Myth II and that's great but I want to play the original Myth!
Project Magma, the group that also keeps Myth updated, has converted the entire Myth single player campaign to Myth II's engine and it is available on their website as a Myth II plugin.
So I've done all that, now how the crap do I play over the illustrious internet machine?
After Bungie.net stopped supporting Myth games a few Myth multiplayer servers popped up due to Bungie providing people with the Myth server source code (because Bungie is awesome). Currently the place to play Myth online is on www.Mariusnet.com, so register an account and we can get some games going.
Where can I get every Myth, Myth II and Myth III file ever?
Project Magma also provides the Myth file archive called The Tain which now houses tons of 3rd party maps and mods.
Any suggestions for map and mod downloads?
Chimera is Bungie's official expansion for Myth II which has additional single-player and multi-player stuff. Project Magma release of the entire Myth: TFL campaign is essential but you'll also want their converted Myth's multi-player maps into Myth II as Myth TFL Multiplayer Mappack. Mazzarin's Demise VI is also a popular mod that requires near perfect teamwork to complete. Aside from that, it's really up to you.
General gameplay tips:
- F1 and F2 control gameplay speed. When things get hairy you can slow gameplay down to 1/4 normal speed to give you a lot more control over issuing orders to everyone at once. Conversely you can save time by speeding up the game, useful for getting different groups into formation and you don't want to wait a full 2 minutes.
- Assign groups by selecting the appropriate units and then pressing and holding ALT + (1-9) on the keyboard. It will shortly give you a confirmation message, from then on simply tap ALT + (1-9) to quickly select those units.
- Use formations by pressing 1-9 after selecting units. Get your archers in a long line to whittle away at enemy troops, get your melee fighters on either side of your archers to mop up what's left when they move in too close for archers.
- Molotov cocktail tossing dwarfs are great for taking down groups but the blast radius can damage your own units too. Use dwarfs wisely, one can take down tens of thrall if you use a toss and run tactic repeatedly.
- Keep your units alive! After each kill a unit gains experience which continues throughout the singleplayer campaign! More experienced units attack faster and with greater accuracy, so keep this in mind if you need a sacrificial lamb.
- Keep combat on your terms. Lure out enemies into your traps and avoid confrontation where possible.
Help Myth and Myth II are both hard! I need specific help on the campaigns!
I have uploaded PDF strategy guides that were included in the Total Codex for both Myth: The Fallen Lords and Myth II: Soulblighter. Unlike the GameFAQs guides they have text walkthroughs as well as detailed maps which provide visual reference to the suggest path you talk to complete the level as well as enemy positions. They also provide some excellent beginner information, such as unit abilities, strengths and weaknesses. They're both extremely helpful and informative.
Anything else I might want to know?
Installing Myth 2 off the cd on Windows XP requires you to run the setup.exe in compatibility mode for 98/ME. Otherwise you get an error at the end of the installation and nothing is actually installed.
If, for whatever reason, you want to look at manuals for either Myth or Myth II they are now online at The Tain, uploaded by yours truly. Myth: The Fallen Lords manual and Myth II: Soulblighter manual.
Handy Myth Websites:
Myth WikipediaEntry has a lot more information about Myth including specific unit information, multiplayer gametypes, backstory, etc.
Mariusnetis the place to go for multiplayer Myth and Myth II play.
Project Magma continues to update Myth and has a number of great maps and mods.
The Tain holds hundreds of Myth files. Including total conversions for Myth II in WWII and Civil War settings!
Myth World Cup 2008The myth world cup is still being played to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the game!
If you have any questions, my name on Myth is Zeph and I am part of Project Magma.
