Dark Messiah of Might and Magic

This page or section needs more images. There's a whole lotta words here, but not enough pictures. Please fix this. Specifically: Screenshots of the e3_l06_l09 map.

To do: Unused scene files, some of them contain cut voice lines. Unused alternate voice sets for the Orcs, Goblins, and Necromancers. Are the following graphics unused: materials/hud/newgame.vtf materials/hud/stealth_temp.vtf materials/sprites/ar2_muzzle1.vtf

Dark Messiah of Might and Magic is the series' Source Engine-powered kicking simulator last hurrah. Join Sareth as he embarks on an adventure to become the Dark Messiah, while kicking everyone who gets in his way off of cliffs and onto crates, barrels, fireplaces and even spikes.

The game was re-released on the Xbox 360 as Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements in February 2008.

Debug Menu#

Like most other Source Engine games, Dark Messiah of Might and Magic has a debug menu that can be accessed by pressing ⇧ Shift + F1. In this game, it has the same style as all the other menus. A majority of this menu's buttons require sv_cheats 1 to work properly.

Unused Map#

e3_l06_l09 is exactly what the filename says: the sixth and ninth levels of the game merged into one map for showing at E3. It is also used for the game's demo. This map has its own unique loading screen graphic.

Unused Spells#

This needs some investigation. Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page. Specifically: Is there any way to use the unused spells in-game?

Four unused spells exist in the game's code, those being EARTH_1, EARTH_3, EARTH_4, and WATER_2. While they do have associated Deploy_Spell_ console commands, none of them actually work in-game. All four of these spells have their own associated scrolls.

According to scripts/game_sounds_magic.txt, "EARTH_1" evolved into the Stone Skin potion, "EARTH_3" would have let the player summon Spiders, "EARTH_4" would have presumably drained an enemy's life, and "WATER_2" would poison enemies.

Unused Weapons#

bow_mass#

Console codename: weapon_mm_bow_mass

An unused bow. It lacks a model, inventory icon, name, and description. However, it does have a texture sheet and a sound effect associated with it.

Sword of Misery#

Console codename: weapon_arx_sword_of_misery

An unused sword. Has a missing model (items/weapons/sword_misery/sword_misery.mdl), inventory icon, name, description, and even a missing .qct (inventory definition) file.

Wizard Staff#

Console codename: weapon_mm_staff_wizard

An unused staff. This may have been used by the wizards of Stonehelm. Like the Sword of Misery, it has a missing model (items/weapons/staff_wizard/staff_wizard.mdl), inventory icon, name, description, and even a missing .qct (inventory definition) file.

Daggers of Destruction#

Console codename: weapon_mm_daggers_dest

An unused pair of daggers.

Staff of Shock#

Console codename: weapon_mm_staff_shock

Another unused staff.

Unused Models#

props/crossing/t_cafebush#

An untextured model of a potted plant, which seems rather out-of-place in this game's world. It is a leftover from Arkane Studios' cancelled Source Engine game, The Crossing. This prop was intended for that game's "Templar" world, hence the "t_" prefix.

Unused Graphics#

Console#

A static graphic of Arkane Studios' logo, simply named arkane in the files. This was replaced by an animated intro in the final game.

An unused variant of the loading screen named ___startup_loading_widescreen. The used loading screen is called menu_3d_lb.

Unused	Used

An unused background graphic for Dark Messiah consisting of a blueish graphic of a sketch in the background and "MIGHT and MAGIC" text on the foreground, known as intro.

Another unused variant of the loading screen.

Another unused background image, known as background01. This image uses an earlier version of the final game's main menu texture, alongside an early logo. It was meant to be used in conjunction with a bump map called console/bg1_rays_.

An earlier version of the copyright screen, only showing Ubisoft and Arkane Studios' logos.

The startup_loading graphic that is present in almost all Source Engine games, but isn't used here. The multiplayer mode has a slightly different version of it, oddly enough.

Singleplayer	Multiplayer

Half-Life 2 Leak Leftovers#

This game contains a rather mild amount of leftover graphics from the infamous Half-Life 2 leak.

An alternative pre-release menu background, shown at E3 2003. Its name suggests that this was originally used for the developer console.

The "loading" graphic used in the leak build when going through a loading screen.

Template Skybox#

A "template" skybox which seems to be based off of a skybox seen in the Half-Life 2 leak with overlaid text indicating which side is which. The original skybox in question is sky_urb01.

Unused Skyboxes#

An unused skybox called sky_flashback_a that would have been used in some kind of flashback sequence, hence the name.

Another unused skybox called sky_l02_a. This is an earlier version of sky_l02_night, which is used.

Cut Multiplayer Map#

In the multiplayer mode's files, there is a loading screen for a cut Capture the Flag map, internally known as ctf_1. It may have been set in a town, judging by the loading screen. Nothing else is known about it.

Testanim#

Two placeholder effects can be found in the multiplayer's materials\fx\test folder.

Half-Life: Source Leftovers#

All of the HUD sprites from Half-Life: Source can be found in the multiplayer files. Interestingly, 640hud1 contains early icons for the five playable classes.

Half-Life 2 Leftovers#

Some of the HUD sprites seen in early HL2 screenshots remain in this game's multiplayer files, unused.

Early Class icons#

Early selection icons for the multiplayer's five classes can be found in materials/vgui/classmenu/. These icons only show the Human faction's classes, and all five of them show significantly different designs from the final game. The used icons are stored in materials/hud/gui_002_kuju_1024_720.vtf.

Unused Dialogue#

Ishtvan#

Ishtvan only has one line of unused dialogue.

Leanna#

Orcs#

Percy#

Phenrig#

Sareth#

Stonehelm Guards#

Villagers#

Female#

Male#

Xana#

Xana appears to have been somewhat more chatty than she is in the final game.

Missing Sounds#

Many missing sound effects that can be found referenced in the game's soundscripts.

Unused Text#

system_strings_fpp_tutorial#

Various text strings for a cut tutorial map. In the final, the Prologue level also serves as a tutorial of sorts. "fpp" stands for "First Publisher Playable", implying that this level was used by Arkane to pitch the game to any interested publishers.

Interestingly, a few strings are commented out. Judging by some other strings, the kick appears to have been bound to C by default at one point in development.

//////////////////////////////////
/////system_strings_fpp.txt///////
//////////////////////////////////
/////(\\resource\\english\\)//////
//////////////////////////////////
////First Publisher Playable//////
//////////////////////////////////


"lang" 
{ 
    "Language" "English" 
    "Tokens" 
    {    
        //
        // OBJECTIVES
        // ____________________
        //
"obj_fpp_tut_room01_01"         "Read the note on the door."
"obj_fpp_tut_room01_02"         "Locate your equipment in the living room."
"obj_fpp_tut_room02_01"         "Take your bag (F)."
"obj_fpp_tut_room02_02"         "You can drink (F) your potion from your inventory or from your belt (Mouse wheel)."
"obj_fpp_tut_room02_03"         "You can equip (F) your armor from your inventory (TAB) or from your belt (Mouse wheel)."
        

"obj_fpp_tut_room03_01"         "Mantle (Hold SPACE and Z) to get out."
"obj_fpp_tut_room03_02"         "Kick (C) the planks."
"obj_fpp_tut_room04_01"         "Jump (SPACE) to jump over the gap."
"obj_fpp_tut_room04_02"         "Sprint and jump (SHIFT while Holding Z + SPACE) to jump over the gap."
"obj_fpp_tut_room04_03"         "Sprint and jump and mantle (SHIFT while Holding Z + hold SPACE) to jump over the gap and mantle."
"obj_fpp_tut_room04_04"         "Crouch (X) to enter the crawlspace."
"obj_fpp_tut_room05_01"         "Jump (SPACE) on the chain to get out of the pit."
"obj_fpp_tut_room06_sword_01"       "Take your sword (F)."
"obj_fpp_tut_room06_sword_02"       "Equip your sword (Open your inventory, select the sword and press F (default))."
"obj_fpp_tut_room06_sword_03"       "Approach the goblin."
"obj_fpp_tut_room06_sword_04"       "Slash the goblin (MOUSE1)."
"obj_fpp_tut_room06_sword_05"       "Big slash the goblin (hold MOUSE1 and release)."
"obj_fpp_tut_room06_sword_06"       "Kick the goblin (C)."
"obj_fpp_tut_room06_orc_01"     "Go to the next room to start combat training."
"obj_fpp_tut_room06_orc_02"     "Parry in front of the orc (MOUSE2)."
"obj_fpp_tut_room06_orc_03"     "Hit him with your sword (MOUSE1) to gain adrenaline."
"obj_fpp_tut_room06_orc_04"     "Do a Big slash (hold MOUSE1 and release) on him to perform a fatality."
//"obj_fpp_tut_room06_orc_05"       "Go to the next room to start the bow training."
"obj_fpp_tut_room06_bow_01"     "Take the bow (F) on the table."
"obj_fpp_tut_room06_bow_02"     "Equip your bow (F in inventory)."
"obj_fpp_tut_room06_bow_03"     "Approach the target range."
"obj_fpp_tut_room06_bow_04"     "Break some bottles (MOUSE1)."
"obj_fpp_tut_room06_bow_05"     "Break some moving bottles (MOUSE1)."
"obj_fpp_tut_room06_bow_06"     "Go through the door that just opened."
"obj_fpp_tut_room06_bow_07"     "Fight the orc."
"obj_fpp_tut_room06_drop_01"        "Drop your bow from your inventory (Drag and Drop outside of the inventory with MOUSE1)."
"obj_fpp_tut_room06_drop_02"        "Jump (SPACE) on the rope to continue."
"obj_fpp_tut_room07_01"         "Access the next room."
"obj_fpp_tut_room07_02"         "Stay in the shadow."
"obj_fpp_tut_room07_02b"        "Approach the table."
"obj_fpp_tut_room07_03"         "Take & equip your daggers."
"obj_fpp_tut_room07_04"         "Continue to the left of the orc."
"obj_fpp_tut_room07_05"         "Aim at the orc's head from behind to backstab him (MOUSE1)."
"obj_fpp_tut_room07_06"         "Hide the corpse in the shadow (MOUSE1 to grab - MOUSE1 or MOUSE2 to release)."
"obj_fpp_tut_room07_07"         "Go back to start the magic training."
"obj_fpp_tut_room08_01"         "Take the spell book (F)."
"obj_fpp_tut_room08_02"         "Cast WizardEye (R) and find the lever."
"obj_fpp_tut_room08_03"         "Equip FlameArrow (R) and fire (MOUSE1) to break those bottles."
"obj_fpp_tut_room08_04"         "Equip Freeze (R) and freeze the goblin (MOUSE1)."
"obj_fpp_tut_room08_05"         "Equip Telekinesis (R) to grab (MOUSE1) and release (MOUSE1 or MOUSE2) the goblin."
"obj_fpp_tut_room08_06"         "Break the first 4 chairs with telekinesis."
"obj_fpp_tut_room08_07"         "Equip Shrink (R) and shrink the goblin (MOUSE1)."
    
        
        //
        // Hints
        // ____________________
        //
        
"help_fpp_tut_room00"           "                  You have a new objective.\n\nIf you don't know what to do in this tutorial, press O to see/hide your objectives.\n\n                  (MOUSE2 to close this window)"
"help_fpp_tut_room01_note"      "I put your equipment in the living room.\n\n\n\nPhenrig \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n(MOUSE2 to close this window)"
"help_fpp_tut_room01"           "To read the note, press USE (F default). \n\nThe USE key is useful to interact with the world: take objects and items, open doors, talk to NPCs, read books, etc.\n\n                  (MOUSE2 to close this window)"
        
"help_fpp_tut_room02_note"      "In this chest, you'll find your bag.  It contains some provisions.\n\nPhenrig\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n(MOUSE2 to close this window)"
"help_fpp_tut_room02_01a"       "Take your bag by pressing USE"
"help_fpp_tut_room02_01b"       "To access your inventory, press INVENTORY (Tab Default).\nTo access your belt, use the mouse wheel"
"help_fpp_tut_room02_01c"       "To access your belt, use the mouse wheel."
//New
"help_fpp_tut_room02_02a"       "To use an item from inventory, select it and press F. Hold Left-click and drag to move objects."
//New
"help_fpp_tut_room02_02b"       "In the belt, select an item with the mouse wheel and press F to use it.\n\n You can also press the corresponding number."
//New
//"help_fpp_tut_room02_02c"     "Good. Now face the door to learn how to unlock doors."
"help_fpp_tut_room02_03"        "Items from your inventory appear on screen when they can interact with objects in the world.\n\nTo unlock the door, face it, wait for the key to appear and press USE (F Default).\n\n(MOUSE2 to close this window)"
"help_fpp_tut_room02_04"        "The door is now unlocked. \n\nPress F to open it."
        
        
        
"help_fpp_tut_room03_01"        "To mantle the wall, hold down JUMP (SPACE default) while moving forward (Z default)."
"help_fpp_tut_room03_02"        "To destroy the planks, press KICK (C Default)"
        
        
"help_fpp_tut_room04_01"        "To jump, press JUMP (SPACE default)"
"help_fpp_tut_room04_02"        "For longer jumps, SPRINT (SHIFT) while moving forward (Z default) and JUMP."
"help_fpp_tut_room04_03"        "For extreme jumps, SPRINT (SHIFT) while moving forward (Z default), JUMP and continue pressing JUMP to mantle up the wall."
"help_fpp_tut_room04_04"        "To continue through this crawlspace, hold CROUCH (X Default)."
        
        
"help_fpp_tut_room05_01"        "Jump on the chain, look up and move forward (Z Default) to climb."
"help_fpp_tut_room05_02"        "Press forward (Z default) and jump to get out of the well."
        
        
"help_fpp_tut_room06_01"        "This is the combat training area.  \n\nRetrieve your sword from the table."
        
"help_fpp_tut_room06_sword_01a"     "Let's begin with the goblin hanging from the rope. \n\nEquip your sword (Open your inventory, select the sword and press F (default)).\nYou can also use your belt (MOUSE WHEEL default)"
"help_fpp_tut_room06_sword_01b"     "Now approach the goblin."
"help_fpp_tut_room06_sword_01c"     "Please, equip your sword."
"help_fpp_tut_room06_sword_02"      "To perform a quick slash, press MOUSE 1."
"help_fpp_tut_room06_sword_03"      "To perform a powerful slash, hold MOUSE 1 and then release.\n\nNotice that the direction you are moving while you attack influences the type of attack you can perform."
//New
"help_fpp_tut_room06_sword_04"      "The kick (C) can be very useful in combat. \nYou can Kick your ennemies aswell !\n\nNow let's try the live opponent in the next room"
//New
"help_fpp_tut_room06_sword_05"      "You can continue to practise on the dummies."
"help_fpp_tut_room06_sword_06"      "Slash the planks."
        
//New
"help_fpp_tut_room06_orc_01"        "Parry is very important in combat.\nNow, hold MOUSE2 in front of this orc and see how you parry his attacks."
//New
"help_fpp_tut_room06_orc_02"        "In The lower left corner, notice the bar between health and mana. This is your adrenaline.\n\nIt increases each time you hit an enemy.\n\nNow, try to hit the orc and watch the yellow bar go up."
//New
"help_fpp_tut_room06_orc_03"        "When you have maximum adrenaline, the bar is flashing white. Then you can perform a fatality on your opponent.\n\nDo a Big slash aiming at his head and see what happens!"
"help_fpp_tut_room06_orc_04"        "Well done. Continue to the next room and take the bow on the table."
        
"help_fpp_tut_room06_bow_01a"       "Equip your bow (Open your inventory, select the bow and press F (default)).\nYou can also use your belt (MOUSE WHEEL default)"
"help_fpp_tut_room06_bow_01b"       "Now approach the target range."
"help_fpp_tut_room06_bow_02"        "Hold MOUSE 1 to draw an arrow. Release MOUSE 1 to launch the arrow.\nShoot as many bottles as you can."
//New
"help_fpp_tut_room06_bow_03a"       "Now try to break the moving bottles."
//New
"help_fpp_tut_room06_bow_03b"       "Great! You killed our hamster goblin. I guess shooting bottles was too boring...\nGo through the door behind you, or you can try to kill the orc.\nBe careful, this one bites!"
"help_fpp_tut_room06_bow_04"        "Good. Go through the door behind you, or you can try to kill the orc. Be careful, this one bites!"
        
"help_fpp_tut_room06_drop_01"       "You must get rid of your bow to continue.\nDrop it in the previous room."

"help_fpp_tut_room06_drop_02"       "To throw an item, Left-click on it and drag it outside of the inventory."
"help_fpp_tut_room06_drop_03"       "Good. Now, climb the rope to continue."
    
//New
"help_fpp_tut_room07a_01"       "You are in a stealth training area.\n\nThe small eye (in the lower left corner of the screen) gives you feedback on how visible you are to other creatures in the world."
"help_fpp_tut_room07a_02"       "You're now completely in shadow. If an enemy looks in your direction, he won't see you."
        
//New
"help_fpp_tut_room07_01"        "Here, you must stay in the shadows to avoid detection.\n\nApproach the table."
"help_fpp_tut_room07_02"        "Take your daggers on the table and equip them to perform an assassination."
"help_fpp_tut_room07_03"        "To assassinate your opponent, you must not be heard or seen. Try to walk right behind him.\nTo walk silently, press and hold ALT while moving."
"help_fpp_tut_room07_04"        "Stop or he will see you. Take the shadowed path on the left."
//"help_fpp_tut_room07_05"      "Here, you must crouch in order to be invisible." //useless
"help_fpp_tut_room07_06"        "Carpet absorbs the sound of your footsteps.  Walk on it to muffle your approach."
"help_fpp_tut_room07_07"        "Move directly behind your opponent.  Focus your view on the back of his head.  You will naturally assume backstab position."
"help_fpp_tut_room07_08"        "Click to backstab."
"help_fpp_tut_room07_09"        "Perfectly executed.  To remain undetected you must hide the corpse. Press USE on the body."
"help_fpp_tut_room07_10"        "Move the body to an area of deep shadow."
"help_fpp_tut_room07_11"        "Press MOUSE2 to release the corpse."
"help_fpp_tut_room07_end"       "Congratulations.  You have completed stealth training.\nThe door to access the Magic training room has opened."
        
        
"help_fpp_tut_room08_spellBook"     "This is your spell book."
"help_fpp_tut_room08_01"        "You are in a magic training area.  Take the book to learn your spells."
//new till the end
        
"help_fpp_tut_room08_nomana_01"     "You don't have enough mana to cast spells. Wait a few seconds or drink a mana potion."
        
"help_fpp_tut_room08_we_01"     "You can now cast spells.\nOpen the magic interface (R Default)\n\nIt works exactly as the belt\n\nSelect and cast wizard eye (F default)."
"help_fpp_tut_room08_we_02"     "This spell allows you to see in the dark. Find the lever and Use it."
        
"help_fpp_tut_room08_fa_01"     "Equip the Flame Arrow spell."
//New
"help_fpp_tut_room08_fa_02"     "Shoot as many bottles as you can. Notice that you can control your shots by holding MOUSE1."
//"help_fpp_tut_room08_fa_03"       "Holding click while shooting a flame arrow allows you to control it. \nTry to shoot bottles behind the orange obstacles."
        
"help_fpp_tut_room08_freeze_01"     "Good. Now equip the Freeze spell."
"help_fpp_tut_room08_freeze_02"     "Freeze the goblin when he arrives."
        
"help_fpp_tut_room08_telekinesis_01"    "Good. Now equip the Telekinesis spell."
"help_fpp_tut_room08_telekinesis_02"    "The first click will grab objects you aim at (chairs, monsters, etc.).\nTry it on this goblin. Show no mercy. I have dozens for you to practice on."
"help_fpp_tut_room08_telekinesis_03"    "Left-click will throw the goblin. Right-click will release him."
"help_fpp_tut_room08_telekinesis_04"    "Try grabbing objects. Break the first 4 chairs to continue."
        
"help_fpp_tut_room08_shrink_01"     "Excellent. Now equip the Shrink spell."
"help_fpp_tut_room08_shrink_02"     "Cast Shrink on the goblin."
        
"help_fpp_tut_room08_end"       "Congratulations, you have completed this tutorial. You are now ready to play the game."
    } 
}

Half-Life 2 Leftovers#

All of the text strings from Half-Life 2 are present in this game in French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Traditional Chinese and Thai.

mm_itemnames_english#

        //# arrow_rope_name
        //~ arrow_rope_name
        "arrow_rope_name" "Rope Arrow"

        //# arrow_rope_description
        //~ arrow_rope_description
        "arrow_rope_description" "An arrow that spawns ropes when it hits a wooden surface."

At some point, the Rope Bow had limited arrows.

        //# earth_3
        //~ earth_3
        "earth_3" "SUMMON SPIDER"

Text string for the unused "EARTH_3" spell.

Oddities#

• The multiplayer mode's 4:3 and 16:9 backgrounds have some slight differences. The widescreen background is darker and uses a different shade of blue for the game's logo.

4:3	16:9

• A lot of weapons and items (i.e. the rings, Short Sword, and shields) are prefixed with weapon_arx_ or item_arx_ in the game files. arx is a reference to Arkane Studios' previous game, Arx Fatalis.

Regional Differences#

• In the Russian version, Xana speaks German for some reason when all other characters have proper Russian dubbing.

Revisional Differences#

v1.01#

The first patch released for Dark Messiah on 3rd November 2006. German releases have a separate download for the patch, however, the changes are the same.

• Crash fixed on Save/Load if player has an object in their hands.
• Health and poison effects are no longer displayed during credits.
• Player’s hands don’t appear behind the credits when you combine the Skull of Shadows with an equipped spell.
• All game menus are hidden when a video starts.
• Problem fixed when the player tries to switch between Xana mode and an equipped scroll.
• Indestructible shields are now really indestructible :)
• Crash fixed when the player tries to throw a dagger, then immediately jumps and parries.
• Crash fixed when the player tries to switch between casting a fireball and taking an object.
• The DM fonts now support all Eastern European languages.
• Bug fixed. Player cannot re-use a scroll multiple times after switching to Xana mode.
• Saving is now disabled during end game credits to avoid system anomalies.
• The player now dismounts correctly from the top of ladders, even when moving backward.
• Leanna no longer shows the wrong animation when exiting from the giant spider’s lair.
• Fixed a bug that could occur when saving a game at the end of level 12_A. The chain that allows you to exit from that part of the level won’t be shortened (unusable) if you reload at this point.
• Instantaneous spells (Magic Protection, Heal, Wizard Eye) no longer break other spells like Firetrap.
• Climbing NPCs can't be charmed and fall if shrunken.
• Bug fixed that allowed player to break the planks from the last house of the l07_a without being inside the house.
• Bug fixed. When the player uses magic against Aratrok, his bodyguards now react.
• Fixed getting stuck on door on Level 11, when jumping on a rope attached to it.
• Fixed weapon being unequipped after jumping in certain conditions
• Fixed when pressing E multiple time in certain conditions would quicksave the game
• Fixed when pressing E very quickly to get his backpack back at a specific location, backpack was recovered but all objects were missing
• Localisation: while in game pressing ESC and then switching to MP, the confirmation window was not translated.
• Fixed not being able to take any objects under certain conditions
• Fixed game crash after de-equipping a weapon in certain conditions
• Fixed a potential first person hands animation problems
• Fixed being stuck sometimes in some specific locations close to stairs
• Fixed looping dagger and staff sound when doing a power attack and parrying in the middle.
• Fixed some scrolls that could be used several times (much like a spell)
• Fixed teleporting that could occur when using lockpick
• Fixed Fireball staying stuck to the player until it explodes
• Localisation: German: fixed improper wall signs
• Fixed the mission failed message not appearing when killing the wounded guard on the island.
• Shrunken enemies are now sensitive to melee weapons
• Fixed a crash when killing a NPC with a fire weapon when he is knee deep in the water
• Fixed Percy getting stuck in a window
• Fixed Percy not reacting properly to certain players choice (avoiding spoiler)
• Fixed a certain NPC (still avoiding spoiler..) still looking Alive when he is should be dead
• Fixed invisible wall present on level 7
• Fixed a crash when at the ragdoll in level 2 with a fire arrow spell
• Fixed collision disappearing on Trap behind the barn after a reload
• Fixed lockpick becoming a weapon (melee animations played)
• Fixed Lighting bolt scroll not working
• Fixed issue with telekinesis not always working as intended
• Fixed issues with "Adjust Brightness Level" still being in game after using it in the menu.

v1.02#

The second patch released for Dark Messiah on 30th November 2006. Like with Patch v1.01, German releases have a separate download for the patch, however, the changes are the same.

• Combat Difficulty is now properly saved and restored when exiting the game and reloading a saved game (Hard mode difficulty was previously not restored, so, unfortunately, everybody was playing "Normal" after reloading) [WILL NOT WORK ON SAVED GAME DONE BEFORE PATCHING]
• Added a new "Hardcore" difficulty mode
• Re-balanced NPC's strength & health on the second half of the game for all difficulty modes [WILL NOT WORK ON THE CURRENT CHAPTER BEING PLAYED IN A SAVED GAME DONE BEFORE PATCHING]
• Added an intermediary "Texture" setting between "Medium" & "High". "High" could create an overload with some video card memory: so, to offer more scalability, it has been renamed to "Very High" and the "High" option now offers "Medium" textures for the scenery but "High" textures for the NPCs.
• No More Crash when NPC's beheaded (that happened with the “head_link” error message)
• Fixed the black Bink playback problem with GeForce FX video cards
• Fix FPS drops with GeForce 6800
• No More graphical glitch on GeForce FX cards when player is under water
• No More graphical glitch on GeForce FX cards when player is being hit or is almost dead.
• No More graphical glitch on GeForce FX cards when equipping a Magic Weapon. If you still have trouble, please set GFX Detail to “Low”
• Fixed additional stuttering problems, linked to Expression files being read while they should not
• Fixed Random Crashes due to a memory patch in the decal system
• Fixed a crash that could appear very rarely on the Tutorial map if Phenrig played his reference base animation
• Fixed Crash on Telekinesis used on a NPC after having frozen & kicked him
• Fixed a crash at the end of chapter 07 if you equipped telekinesis when the mage was talking to you
• Fixed a showstopper bug with Percy in Chapter 09
• Saved Game system changed to the new Async System to prevent too much stuttering when the game is auto saving (if you’re still experiencing problems, you may want to disable the Auto Save feature in the “Gameplay” options menu)
• GFX Option is now properly Saved
• Convar mat_forcemanagedtextureintohardware is now correctly handled depending on PC specs
• Avoid Rope Bow from disappearing under the world surface before getting it.
• Fixed inconsistency with the way Xana behaves during “City of Flames” chapter events depending on player’s choices
• Fixed a bug where the giant spider was not spawned at all.
• Fixed a bug with some potions being destroyed on map spawn in the “Temple of the Spider” chapter
• GFX Detail level Option is now properly translated in the French version
• Avoid user being stuck in the walls while using the Rope Bow
• Final Boss has been re-balanced
• Removed some dev button that could be found behind some walls in the Epilogue
• Fixed the way some objectives were badly managed with the Pao Kai in the last chapter
• Removed an improper “use” flag on some wooden beams in “Gleam of a Cold Knife”
• NPC immune to Telekinesis can't be grabbed using Telekinesis Spell when they are in ragdoll behavior
• Arrows that are out of the Game world are now Removed properly to prevent framerate from decreasing to zero
• Max number of potions/food you can stack in your inventory is now properly checked
• Avoid the Ghoul script from being broken in some cases if player used the bow to attack the creature in “Dead Man's Trail”
• Remove small memory leak on the Particle System (about 100Kb was lost on each load/restart/map change)
• Remove small memory leak on clear value
• Better memory management with BINK playback
• Disabled two auto save points just before change level that could lead to corrupted saved game in Chapter 05
• Prevent a specific mana potion from disappearing from player inventory during Chapter 05
• Spells against the player now deal the correct amount of damage depending on difficulty mode
• Vampire Knights will now always correctly play their stun animation
• Arantir's Health has been increased
• Game will not auto save twice when triggering the final events in the Epilogue
• Added missing precache on Undead spawned by Necromancer Lord
• Decrease probability of Virtual Memory fragmentation that could lead program to run out of memory ("Memory Can't Be Read" crash on Loading Screen) (please see below if you're still experiencing very repetitive crashes during loading)

References#