Editing Myth (video game series) (section)

====''The Wolf Age''====
In 1999, Bungie sold 19.9% of their [[Share (finance)|shares]] to [[Take-Two Interactive]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.bungie.net/Inside/CustomPage.aspx?section=History&subsection=Main&page=5 | title=Inside Bungie: Oni! | publisher=[[Bungie]] | access-date=May 7, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061202191332/http://www.bungie.net/Inside/CustomPage.aspx?section=History&subsection=Main&page=5 | archive-date=December 2, 2006}}</ref> In June 2000, Bungie was purchased outright by [[Microsoft]], with Take-Two acquiring the ''[[Oni (video game)|Oni]]'' and ''Myth'' [[intellectual property|intellectual properties]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://ie.ign.com/articles/2000/06/20/microsoft-buys-bungie-take-two-buys-oni-ps2-situation-unchanged | title=Microsoft Buys Bungie, Take Two Buys Oni, PS2 Situation Unchanged | website=[[IGN]] | date=June 19, 2000 | access-date=May 7, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://ie.ign.com/articles/2000/06/20/microsoft-acquires-bungie | title=Microsoft Acquires Bungie | website=[[IGN]] | date=June 19, 2000 | access-date=May 7, 2016}}</ref> ''[[Myth III: The Wolf Age]]'' was announced by Take-Two subsidiary [[Gathering of Developers]] in January 2001, when they revealed [[MumboJumbo]] were developing the game for Windows and Mac OS.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://ie.ign.com/articles/2001/01/10/more-details-on-myth-iii-the-wolf-age | title=More Details on Myth III: The Wolf Age | website=[[IGN]] | date=January 9, 2001 | access-date=May 7, 2016}}</ref> ''The Wolf Age'' would be MumboJumbo's first game.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ritual-splits/1100-2673059/ | title=Ritual Splits | website=[[GameSpot]] | last=Walker | first=Tray | date=January 9, 2001 | access-date=May 7, 2016}}</ref>

Addressing the issue of remaining faithful to the two previous games whilst still introducing new elements to the franchise, MumboJumbo president Mark Dochtermann explained the developers did not intend to reinvent the series' basic gameplay, although they were keen to try out new things: "There's a lot left to explore in the ''Myth'' franchise even before we go in a somewhat different route. Although, we are taking a [new] route in terms of adding 3D acceleration, 3D models, and doing stuff with the terrain engine and physics that are still way beyond what the other RTS games are doing right now."<ref name="PreviewWA">{{cite web | url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/myth-iii-the-wolf-age-preview/1100-2675831/| title=Myth III: The Wolf Age Preview | website=[[GameSpot]] | last=Bergman | first=Jason | date=January 18, 2001 | access-date=May 7, 2016}}</ref> Similarly, producer and lead designer Scott Campbell stated: "We intend to pay respect to ''Myth'' and its fans. We don't care to change the whole appeal of the game just so we can call it ours."<ref name="Radar">{{cite web | url=http://www.dailyradar.com/features/game_feature_page_2142_1.html | title=Myth III Interview | publisher=[[Daily Radar]] | date=January 20, 2001 | access-date=May 7, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010202150300/http://www.dailyradar.com/features/game_feature_page_2142_1.html | archive-date=February 2, 2001}}</ref> With this in mind, MumboJumbo hired three members of ''Soulblighter''{{'}}s modding community to work on the game.<ref name="PreviewWA"/><ref name="Radar"/> Although initially hired to work on technical aspects, they became invaluable to MumboJumbo in terms of writing the storyline. Executive producer Mike Donges explained that "they're our ''Myth'' lore experts, so if we try to put in something new, they have the ability to [reject it]".<ref name="Preview Update">{{cite web | url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/myth-iii-the-wolf-age-updated-preview/1100-2812466/ | title=Myth III: The Wolf Age Updated Preview | website=[[GameSpot]] | last=Parker | first=Sam | date=September 14, 2001 | access-date=May 7, 2016}}</ref>

[[Image:Myth III gameplay.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Screenshot of ''Myth III'' showing the [[3D computer graphics|3D]] character models in a 3D terrain. In contrast, the previous games in the series used [[2D computer graphics|2D]] [[Sprite (computer graphics)|sprites]] in 3D terrains.]]
Although ''The Wolf Age'' was built using ''Soulblighter''{{'s}} source code, the developers made significant changes, the single biggest of which was that everything in ''The Wolf Age'' is rendered in [[OpenGL]] 3D, including the characters and all environmental objects. ''The Wolf Age'' was the first ''Myth'' game to feature fully 3D characters, rather than 2D sprites in a 3D environment.<ref name="PreviewWA"/> Of the move to full 3D, Dochtermann points out that the 3D engine allows for things not possible in the previous games: "There's some very cool [[kinematics]] stuff. So when you have explosions, and when your units move through the world, the trees will respond. And not just blowing them up. You'll see the shock waves from explosions, and you're affecting the environment a lot more. It's a lot more realistic."<ref name="PreviewWA"/> The new game engine also supported [[Real-time computer graphics|real-time]] [[Shadow mapping|shadows]] and [[Computer graphics lighting|dynamic lighting]], as well as being capable of blending six to seven different [[Texture mapping|texture]] layers, depending on how close the camera is to the action.<ref name="ImpressionsWA"/><ref name="Preview Update"/>

Regarding the programming tools used to create the game, MumboJumbo initially began by using Bungie's "Fear" and "Loathing". However, they never intended to use them for very long, with the plan always being to develop their own tool. Speaking a few months into development, Campbell stated: "We are planning on doing a merger of the tools later on [...] we're actually making tools right now that we will be using for ''Myth III'' that are not only cross-platform compatible, but will also allow you to do all the neat new things, use all the new scripting commands and the new models and 3D units and stuff that we're using in this game."<ref name="PreviewWA"/> The new tool was eventually called "Vengeance".<ref name="Preview Update"/> At the [[Electronic Entertainment Expo|E3]] event in May 2001, MumboJumbo promised that Vengeance would ship with the game.<ref name="ImpressionsWA"/>

''The Wolf Age'' [[Software release life cycle#RTM|went gold]] on October 17, 2001,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://ie.ign.com/articles/2001/10/17/myth-iii-goes-gold | title=Myth III Goes Gold | website=[[IGN]] | date=October 17, 2001 | access-date=May 7, 2016}}</ref> completing a development cycle of only ten months, a relatively fast time to develop a major video game.<ref name="GSpotWA"/> Soon before the game's release, ''[[PC Gamer]]''{{'}}s Jim Preston wrote he was skeptical as to whether the developer had been given enough time to satisfactorily complete the game.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Preston | first=Jim | date=December 2001 | title=''Myth III: The Wolf Age'' | journal=[[PC Gamer]] | issue=91 | page=24}}</ref>

On November 16, lead programmer Andrew Meggs posted on Mythvillage.org that the entire ''Myth III'' PC team had been laid off by MumboJumbo the same day the game had been released, November 2. In a post titled "Some ugly, but honest truths", Meggs wrote:

{{blockquote|The basic reason was that there was no next project lined up and funded, nor was there expected to be in the near future, it's expensive to keep a team of salaried people around doing nothing, and MumboJumbo was not a huge business with infinitely deep pockets. There's a tangled web between the MumboJumbo Irvine project team, its parent company United Developers and the game's publisher Take-Two. I wouldn't blame anyone specifically for the collapse - call it everybody's fault if you're the angry sort or nobody's fault if you're charitable.<ref name="Ugly">{{cite web | url=http://www.mythvillage.org/forums/general_archive/index.cgi/read/2485 | title=Some ugly but honest truths | publisher=Mythvillage.org | last=Meggs | first=Andrew | date=November 16, 2001 | access-date=May 7, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041029110112/http://www.mythvillage.org/forums/general_archive/index.cgi/read/2485 | archive-date=October 29, 2004}}</ref>}}

Meggs explained the team knew there were problems with the Windows version of the game that needed addressing, but, as they had been fired, they were unable to do so. He stated they had been working on a patch to fix many of these problems when they were let go, and he was unsure if this patch would be released. He also acknowledged that many of the criticisms regarding [[Software bug|bugs]] in the game would be addressed by the patch.<ref name="Ugly"/> The same day Meggs made his post, November 16, MumboJumbo closed their offices in [[Irvine, California]], with a view to consolidate their resources in their [[Dallas]] headquarters.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mumbo-jumbo-closes-irvine-office/1100-2825369/ | title=Mumbo Jumbo closes Irvine office | website=[[GameSpot]] | first=Walker | last=Trey | date=November 16, 2001 | access-date=May 7, 2016}}</ref>

Three days later, MumboJumbo denied the ''Myth III'' team had been laid off, saying all staff members had been invited to work in the Dallas office. They also announced the patch Meggs had spoken of would be released within the week.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/myth-iii-patch-demo-coming/1100-2825826/ | title=Myth III patch, demo coming | website=[[GameSpot]] | first=Walker | last=Trey | date=November 19, 2001 | access-date=May 7, 2016}}</ref> On December 19, Mark Dochtermann promised the patch would be released before Christmas, along with Vengeance, which had not been shipped with the game.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/myth-iii-patch-on-the-way/1100-2833847/ | title=Myth III patch on the way | website=[[GameSpot]] | first=Walker | last=Trey | date=December 19, 2001 | access-date=May 7, 2016}}</ref> The patch was never officially released by MumboJumbo.<ref name="Patch 1.1">{{cite web | url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/myth-iii-unofficial-patch/1100-6025017/ | title=Myth III unofficial patch | website=[[GameSpot]] | first=Parker | last=Same | date=April 11, 2003 | access-date=May 7, 2016}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=August 2017}}