Myth is a series of real-time tactics video games for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. There are three main games in the series: Myth: The Fallen Lords (1997), Myth II: Soulblighter (1998), and Myth III: The Wolf Age (2001). The Fallen Lords was developed by Bungie, and published by Bungie in North America and Eidos Interactive in Europe. Soulblighter was also developed by Bungie, and was published by Bungie in North America and GT Interactive in Europe. The Wolf Age was developed by MumboJumbo, and co-published by Take-Two Interactive and Gathering of Developers for Windows and by Take-Two and MacSoft for Mac.

All three games received generally positive reviews. The Fallen Lords was especially lauded, and is credited as a defining title in the fledgling real-time tactics genre. Reviewers praised its plot, graphics, gameplay, level design, online multiplayer mode, and differentiation from traditional real-time strategy games. It went on to win multiple awards from publications such as PC Gamer, Computer Gaming World, Computer Games Strategy Plus, and Macworld. It was also a commercial success, selling over 350,000 units worldwide. Soulblighter was praised for improving on virtually every aspect of The Fallen Lords, with critics citing more detailed graphics, enhanced sound effects, more varied gameplay, better AI, and a more intricate level design. It also sold very well, considerably outselling the original. The Wolf Age was seen as inferior to the two previous games, although it still garnered positive reviews. Reviewers praised the storyline, graphics, and general gameplay. Major points of criticism included the many bugs in the Windows version, and a poorly implemented online multiplayer mode. Some critics felt the game was rushed to release, with several speculating the development team had not been given enough time to complete it satisfactorily.

The Myth series as a whole, and Soulblighter in particular, supported an active online community for over a decade after the official servers went offline. The first formally organized group of volunteer-programmers was MythDevelopers, who initially formed with the purpose of fixing the bug-ridden Windows version of The Wolf Age. MythDevelopers were given access to the source code of both the first games by Bungie and The Wolf Age by Take-Two. The most recently active Myth development group is Project Magma, an offshoot of MythDevelopers. These groups have worked to provide ongoing technical support for the games, update them to newer operating systems, fix bugs, release unofficial patches, create mods, and maintain online servers for multiplayer gaming. As of 2017, the IP is owned by Take-Two Interactive (which owned 20% of Bungie before Microsoft's acquisition), but the trademark registration expired in 2021.

Games

  • Myth: The Fallen Lords was developed by Bungie for Microsoft Windows and the Classic Mac OS. Published by Bungie in North America and by Eidos Interactive in Europe, it was released in North America for both Windows and Mac on November 25, 1997.
  • Myth II: Soulblighter was also developed by Bungie for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. Published by Bungie in North America and by GT Interactive in Europe, it was released in North America for both Windows and Mac on December 28, 1998. It was later ported to Linux by Loki Entertainment. On November 15, 1999, Bungie released a special edition called Myth: The Total Codex, which included The Fallen Lords, Soulblighter, the Soulblighter expansion pack Myth II: Chimera, and official Strategies and Secrets guides for both of the main games. In 2001, Soulblighter was also re-released twice by Take-Two Interactive. Firstly, included with Green Berets: Powered by Myth II, a fan made total conversion set in the Vietnam War, which was released on July 31, and secondly as Myth II: Worlds, a three-disk set published by Take-Two subsidiary Gathering of Developers, containing Soulblighter and two disks of fan-created single-player campaigns, multiplayer maps, and gameplay mods, which was released on October 2.
  • Myth III: The Wolf Age was developed by MumboJumbo for Windows, Classic Mac OS and Mac OS X. Co-published by Take-Two and Gathering of Developers for Windows, and by Take-Two and MacSoft for Mac, the Windows version was released in North America on November 2, 2001.

Gameplay

All three Myth games are real-time tactics games. Unlike in real-time strategy gameplay, the player does not engage in resource micromanagement or economic macromanagement, does not construct a base or buildings, and does not gradually build up their army by acquiring resources and researching new technologies. Instead, each level begins with the player's army already assembled and ready for combat. During the game, the player controls forces of various sizes made up of different units, each possessing their own strengths and weaknesses. In single-player mode, only Light units are playable, but in online multiplayer mode, the player can control both Light and Dark units.

thumb|left|250px|Screenshot of [[gameplay in The Fallen Lords, showing the selection of multiple units. The player has selected five Berserks (units on the left surrounded by yellow rectangles). The image also shows unselected archers and dwarfs. At the top of the screen is the Status Bar. The mini-map of the battlefield is just below on the right.]]

Basic gameplay in all three games consists of the player selecting and commanding units. The player clicks a unit to select it. A selected unit is marked by a surrounding yellow rectangle, beside which is a health meter, which diminishes as the unit takes damage. In Soulblighter and The Wolf Age, units capable of using magic also have a mana meter, which diminishes through magic use and slowly regenerates over time. Units do not regenerate health, and there is no way to construct new units (although in some single-player missions, reinforcements are automatically received at predetermined points). When the player double-clicks on any unit, all nearby units of the same type are also selected. To select multiple units of different types, the player can either "shift click" (hold down the shift key while clicking individual units) or use "band-selection" (click and drag the cursor across the screen, selecting all units within the inscribed rectangle). All units on screen, irrespective of type, can be selected by pressing the enter key. The player can also assign manually selected groups of units to a specific key on the keyboard; pressing that key then instantly selects the units in the desired group. In The Wolf Age, the HUD also includes a "Unit Grouping Bar" which allows the player to select their group by clicking on the corresponding number rather than using the keyboard. Units with projectile weapons, such as archers and dwarves can also be ordered to attack a specific spot on the ground, rather than an enemy. It is also important that the player have their units facing in the correct direction. In The Fallen Lords, this is accomplished by "gesture clicking": using the mouse to indicate which way the units will face when they reach their destination. Facing the correct direction is especially relevant when using formations. After selecting a group of units, the player must press the corresponding formation button on the keyboard, and then click on the ground where they want the units to form. The player can also order all selected units to scatter and to retreat. In Soulblighter and The Wolf Age, all formations—as well as commands such as stopping, guarding, scattering, retreating, and reversing direction—are also available via a single click in the Control Bar at the bottom of the screen.

thumb|250px|Screenshot of Soulblighter, showing the selection of a single unit—a bowman named Hadrian, as indicated by the Status Bar at the top of the screen.

When a single unit is selected, information about that unit appears in the "Status Bar" at the top of the HUD: the unit's name, biography, number of kills, number of battles survived, and (if he is capable of carrying items) inventory. When multiple units are selected, only the names, types, and quantity of units appear. The HUD also features a transparent overhead mini-map, which displays information about the current battlefield—the player's field of vision is indicated by a yellow trapezoid, enemy units appear as red dots, friendly non-playable units as blue dots, and the player's army as green dots. The player can click anywhere on the mini-map to instantly jump to that location. However, the mini-map does not initially display the entire battlefield; the player must explore the area for it to become fully mapped. In Soulblighter, the player can also order troops to move to any location on the mapped area of the battlefield by right-clicking on that area in the mini-map.

The player has full control over the camera throughout the game, and can move, orbit, pan, and zoom the camera via the keyboard. In The Fallen Lords, the mouse can be used to move the camera forwards, backwards, left, and right by moving the cursor to the top, bottom, left, or right of the screen, respectively. In Soulblighter and The Wolf Age, the player can also select preferences to enable rotation and orbiting via the mouse by moving the cursor to the top and bottom corners of the screen, respectively.

Selecting and commanding units only forms the basic interactions of the Myth games. Battles are more complex than simply commanding units to attack the enemy—strategy, battlefield conditions, and even weather all play important roles. For example, due to the game's physics engine, objects collide with each another and the terrain. This can manifest itself simply in a severed head bouncing off one of the player's units and changing direction, but it can also have more serious consequences, such as friendly fire. For instance, archers firing at enemies engaged in melee combat risk hitting allied units, causing the same amount of damage. Also, projectiles are not guaranteed to hit; they are merely propelled in the direction instructed by the physics engine. Arrows may miss their intended target due to a small degree of simulated aiming error that becomes more significant at long range, or the target may move out of the way or behind cover. and in The Wolf Age, strong wind can cause problems for archers in hitting their targets. It is also much easier for projectile units to hit enemies below them rather than above them, and as such, positioning of the player's units is an important aspect of the game.

Single-player

In each of the three games' single-player campaigns, the player starts each mission with a group of soldiers and must use that group to accomplish a specific goal or set of goals. These goals can involve killing a certain number of enemies, defending a location, reaching a certain point on the map, escorting a unit safely to a certain area, or destroying a specific object or enemy. The focus of the single-player campaign is on a smaller force defeating a much larger enemy force; in every mission, the Light units are outnumbered by enemies, often vastly, and so the player must use the terrain, employ the specific skills of their individual units, and gradually decrease the enemy force, or attempt to avoid it altogether. Units in the single-player campaign acquire experience with each kill. Experience increases attack rate, accuracy, and defence, and any unit that survives a battle will carry over to the next battle with their accumulated experience (assuming the next battle features units of that type). whilst The Wolf Age could be played on GameSpy, or via a LAN on PC or AppleTalk on Mac. In multiplayer, the player starts with an army, and can customize it by trading units with other players, using point values that approximate the value of the units being traded.

All three games have similar, but not identical, multiplayer modes. The following modes are common to each of the three games:

  • "King of the Hill" – A hill on the map is marked with a flag. The hill becomes "captured" when one or more of a team's units move within a certain range of the flag and eliminate any enemy units in the same area. The winner is the team who controls the hill for the longest amount of time.
  • "Steal the Bacon" – Somewhere on the battlefield is a ball; the objective is to get the ball and keep it away from the opponents, with the winner being the last team to touch the ball.
  • "Balls on Parade" – Each team has a ball; the objective is to capture as many of the opponents' balls as possible, with winner being the team in possession of the most balls at the end of the game.
  • "Flag Rally" – Multiple flags are on the battlefield, with the winner being the first player to touch them all.
  • "Capture the Flag" – Each team begins the game with one flag, with the winner being the first team to capture the other team's flag.
  • "Scavenger Hunt" – Multiple balls are on the battlefield, with the winner being the first player to touch them all.
  • "Captures" – Multiple balls are on the battlefield, with the winner being the player who is in possession of the most balls at the end of the match.
  • "Body Count" – Team deathmatch.
  • "Last Man on the Hill" – Whichever player "owns" the hill when time runs out is the winner.

Unique to Soulblighter and The Wolf Age are the following modes:

  • "Assassin" – Each team has a "target unit", with the winner being the team who kills the opponents' target first.
  • "Hunting" – Each team must kill as much wildlife as possible; each animal has a point value, and the winner is the team with the most points at the end of the game.
  • "Stampede!" – Each team starts with a herd of animals and a number of flags; the object is to shepherd the herd to the enemy flags, with each successfully herded animal earning the team one point. The winner is the team with the most points at the end of the game.

Unique to Soulblighter is "Choke the Chicken" (identical to Assassin, except the target unit assigned to each team is a non-playable chicken). Unique to The Wolf Age is "Assault" (teams alternative defending a flag from their opponent; the attacking team scores a point if they touch the flag, the defending team score a point if they prevent the flag being touched. The winner is the team with the most points after both teams have attacked and defended).

History

Development

The Fallen Lords

thumb|right|190px|[[Jason Jones (programmer)|Jason Jones conceived of Myth as an alternative to Bungie developing another first-person shooter.]]

Myth: The Fallen Lords was originally conceived by Jason Jones as Bungie was nearing the end of development of Marathon Infinity in late 1995. They had planned to do another first-person shooter as their next game. However, when Jones saw the first screenshots from id Software's Quake, he became concerned that Bungie's new game would be too similar. As such, he approached his colleagues with the question: "What do you think about having this world with 100 guys fighting 100 other guys in 3D?" The team agreed their new shooter was developing along lines too similar to Quake, and, as such, they abandoned the project, and switched focus to what ultimately became Myth. He was also eager to differentiate the game from standard RTS games:

By November 1996, Bungie had a demo with rudimentary gameplay in place. In an effort to create media buzz, they took the demo to several gaming magazines. Speaking in 2000, Doug Zartman explained the physics engine was a major factor in the game even at this early stage: