Magic The Gathering Windows 95
Comments (17) / downloads Magic: The Gathering is an abandoned Windows XP/98/95 fantasy strategy game, developed by MicroProse Software, designed by Todd Bilger, David Etheridge, Ned Way and published by MicroProse Software in 1997. It's available for download. Screenshots were taken by Abandonware DOS. NetDraft is an interface which allows multiplayer Magic: the Gathering drafting for up to 8 people. It offers Booster and Rochester draft, card information, and a convenient deck builder. NetDraft requires Windows 95/98/NT. Cant install old windows 95/98 game might and magic 7 i have a very old game called might and magic 7 but it will not install for windows 7 i tried every compatibility and i know it ran on windows 98 and i believe 2000. Windows 95, Windows 98 are no longer supported. For opening Magic Suitcase decks you will also need: MDAC 2.8 is still needed in case import from Magic Suitcase deck or inventory files is planned. This component comes pre-installed with Windows XP/2003 or later versions. Upto version 2.4 Internet Explorer and Microsoft XML were used. Shop COMC's extensive selection of all items matching: magic 1995 magic the gathering 4th edition. Buy from many sellers and get your cards all in one shipment! I have an old copy of Magic the Gathering. This game requires Windows '95 to run. Any way Windows Vista can run it??
Preview by Al GiovettiPrice:
Genre: strategy
Release:
Developer: Microprose (Hunt Valley, Maryland)
Producer: Sid Meier and Richard Garfield
Designer: David Etheridge
Publisher: Microprose
Phone: 800-879-PLAY, 619-549-0222
Website: www.microprose.com/magic
Requirements: Windows 95, 2X CD ROM drive, sound card
History: Magic: The Gathering has fallen prey to Microprose woes. First Microprose wanted to grow their company and the infamous mistakeof going into coin op games was made. Hiring the talent needed for theexpansion seemed to cause a rift from the management to the janitoriallevel that rocked Microprose to the core, and ended with Microproseco-founder Wild Bill Stealey leaving for greener pastures in NorthCarolina founding Interactive Magic.
An English company shored up Microprose with funds, and new management. More troubles lead vetran game designer, Arnold Hendricks to joinStealey in his new company. The acquisition by Spectrum Holobyte andsome unknown problem at the troubled Hunt Valley company lead to a massexodus of talented people, just another in a long string of layoffs anddisallusionment. After this Microsoft co-founder, Sid Meier wasassigned to the Magic: The Gathering project. In June, Sid leftMicroprose to start his own company, Firaxis. Now the game has beendelayed and rebuilt to emerge as a game with the potential to be thenext mega-hit.
Microprose’s Magic: The Gathering the computer game is based upon a trading card game of the same name which is the property of Wizards ofthe Coast (www.wizards.com). This card game has sold over one billion cards in six languages since it was introduced over five years ago. There is also a significant appeal to collectors with this card set. Many of the cards go out of print and increase in value due to theirplay value and power in the game. Single cards may sell for as much as$200 in good condition.
According to Microprose sources, 'Meier is programming a new, adventuregame segment that is based on the original card game. In this exotic,fantasy world, people will interact with AI (artificial intelligence)opponents with the goal of acquiring more cards for their computerplaying deck. These AI opponents will be new characters that personifyaspects of many of the Magic: The Gathering cards. He is alsoprogramming a stand-alone duel segment where people can challenge thecomputerís AI outside the adventure world.'
Plot: There are five wizards who are competing for control of themagical world called Shandalar. In this installment, each of thewizards expects to dominate by weilding magical power. The powerfulwizards have taken control of magical towers and enslaved the peoplefrom the safety of their home castles. You take the role of theliberator and retake the wizards towers to free those enslaved andperhaps even live to face the wizards on their home ground.
Interface: The screens we saw had an isometric overhead obliquescrolling map view of a landscape with characters, buildings, rivers,roads, lakes, castles, dungeons, and trees in the middle of the screenwith command bubbles around the outside. Other screens were to resolvethe conflicts in putting cards out on the table again within the screenmask with the bubble command areas. A bar along the bottom of thescreen within the mask shows gold, food and drink, clerical power (oramulets), and magic power in numeric digital display. The mat and allgraphics seem to be colored in subdued and textured earth tonesresembling patchwork leather.
The Game: The first part of a Magic game is deck building. This iswhere two or more players, who take the role of powerful wizards,prepare the cards in their deck similar to memorizing spells for awizards duel. Once the deck is built the wizards duel begins by placingcards out on the table to battle other cards played in turn by otherplayers. The strategy comes in with how many cards of what kinds are inyour deck and how they are played.
Its All in The Cards: The card sets that will be in the game includeevery card in the Fourth Edition, 26 additional rare cards, and twelvenew Astral Set cards that Wizards will keep as unique to the computergame. The beauty of the game is that cards can be added later inexpansion sets, and that any card past and present can be duplicatedwith the system. Although we doubt that Microprose or Wizards willallow the user to edit or create their own cards.
While you cannot create your own cards you can build your own decks andsave them to play against or with in the computer game. You can alsoplay against decks that the design team is building into the game.
Multiplayer: No multiplayer features are planned for the initialrelease of the game, severely compromising its play value. The greatestadvantage of the Magic computer game is the internet, null and phonemodem, and network play options. This is a game that many take asserious as chess, there are innumerable tournaments and a multiplayergame would allow players from all over the world to compete with peoplemore near their skill level.
A free patch will be offered after the release which will allow network,null and phone modem connections. Shortly thereafter, Microprose willorganize online tournaments and duels, that are the most attractivefeature of the game. Finally, Microprose intends to develop an onlinefantasy world where Magic players can wander and compete. The fantasyworld needs to have a plot structure to be effective.
There should be something to compete for and something to gain bycompeting. Some of the best online games, like Multiplayer Battletech,have an underlying social structure and heirarchy which depends upon thesuccess or failure of encounters in the game. Players are ranked orrated, and they receive responsibilities proportional to their power inthe game. It makes it more fun when you can own property, have a groupof companions and novice trainees, and where you can go and live infamiliar surroundings.
Game play: Your wizard will consume food and use gold to spend onsupplies, so movement becomes another component when you are facingstarvation or bankruptcy. Exploration of the landscape and structuresand defeat of wandering monsters will give you gold, food, amulets, andspells. The adventure portion of the game is intended to be separatefrom the card portion in many ways.
Wandering spells will be separate and different from the card basedspells. Many of the spells will protect you when traveling, or teleportto your destination. Towns are expected to be sources of quests thatwill also provide curses, blessings, gold, food, amulets, spells, cards,hints, or life points. Life points can be used in the adventure or carddueling portion of the game to provide an extra advantage.
References:
www.cdmag.com/strategy_vault/magic_the_gathering_preview/page1.html
http://computerpages.com/1995/Dec7/magic.html
Joe Grant Bell, Computer Games Strategy Plus, issue 70, September, 1996,pg.36-38.
| Magic: The Gathering | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | MicroProse |
| Publisher(s) | MicroProse |
| Producer(s) | David Etheridge Ned Way |
| Designer(s) | Todd Bilger David Etheridge Ned Way |
| Artist(s) | Murray Taylor Michael Haire Frank Frazier |
| Composer(s) | Roland J. Rizzo |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
| Release | April 1997 |
| Genre(s) | Digital collectible card game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Magic: The Gathering is a video game published by MicroProse in April 1997 based on the collectible card gameMagic: The Gathering. It is often referred to as Shandalar after the plane of Shandalar, where the game takes place. The player must travel the land and fight random enemies to gain cards, and defeat five wizards representing the five colors. The player must prevent one color from gaining too much power, and defeat the planeswalker Arzakon, who has a deck of all five colors. Adventure and role-playing elements are present, including inventory, gold, towns, dungeons, random battles, and character progression in the form of new abilities and a higher life point total. An oversized version of Aswan Jaguar was included in the game box.
Two related products were released, the expansion packSpells of the Ancients and Duels of the Planeswalkers. Duels of the Planeswalkers was an improved version of the main game that did not require the original to be installed.
Game mechanics[edit]
The game has several modes: a single-playercampaign, a duel or tournament against computer-controlled opponents, and later a multiplayer experience added by the Manalink add-on. All three share the same dueling interface, which is based on the mechanics of the real-life Magic: The Gathering card game. In Duel and Multiplayer modes, the game allowed a player to construct his or her own deck (using a specialized Deck Editor), or to play with a randomly generated deck (simulating a 'fresh pack of cards' as was the custom in various tournaments at the time). The single-player campaign however required the player to participate in a large-scale quest, during which he or she would endeavor to gather cards and thus be able to construct more powerful playing decks, hopefully powerful enough to defeat the campaign's chief antagonists.[citation needed]
Duel mode[edit]
The card duel mode of the game attempts to simulate the experience of playing with actual Magic: The Gathering cards. The player is shown a tableaux that is divided into two halves - the lower half for the player's cards, and the upper half for the opponent's cards. Both players draw randomly from their own available cards (their personal 'deck'), then proceed to play a standard game of Magic: The Gathering, based as closely as possible on Magic: The Gathering official rules. The match progresses in phases and turns, corresponding with the M:TG rule-set, with the program automatically skipping over certain phases when no action is possible and/or required. The player can set break-points to allow him or her to execute 'fast-acting' spells or card abilities in case the program is not smart enough to automatically spot such possibilities. Each player's life-counter is displayed on their side of the playing field and will either rise or drop according to the progression of the game. The player can also rearrange his or her played cards to allow better visibility when the playing field becomes crowded, often during prolonged matches. When the card duel is initiated as part of the single-player campaign, special rules may apply. Often this includes a higher (or lower) life counter for one or both players, a card that appears at the start of the match for one or both players, or a global effect that influences both players (either beneficial or detrimental, often depending on the composition of either player's deck).[citation needed]
Single-player campaign mode[edit]
The single-player campaign is played mainly on an isometric representation of the game world, consisting of a randomly generated landscape dotted with terrain features and places of interest. The player initially selects a difficulty level (determines starting gold, cards, amulets and the life totals of 'boss' enemies) and a preferred magical 'color', and subsequently is given a predetermined deck, according to difficulty level and color chosen. The character is then transported to the world map, initiating the game. Travel across the world map is in real-time. The player moves the character across the landscape using simple mouse clicks, evading or intercepting enemies who themselves are predominantly interested in intercepting the player-character. Upon a successful interception, the game transitions into 'duel' mode, wherein either the player competes against the encountered enemy using the Magic: The Gathering card game system, or pays the enemy an amount of gold to not duel. When dueling an enemy, a card or set of cards is often wagered, with particularly powerful enemies sometimes offering additional rewards beyond the waged cards. Some enemies have unique abilities that allow them to gain a specific advantage for the duration of the battle, while some enemies can summon up a surprise substitution to play in their stead (e.g., a more powerful enemy). The landscape is composed of patches of different types of terrain, corresponding with the five colors of the game world. Different terrain might offer benefits or hindrance to movement, including roads through all terrain types which allow rapid movement. Terrain also dictates the boundaries across which enemies may travel, as they have to adhere to terrain matching their own color(s). More importantly, each type of terrain offers a chance for special encounters to appear, often unique to one terrain type or another. Such encounters yield anything from combat to instant rewards, and often include riddles that require some knowledge of the various game cards.[citation needed]
The world map contains a large number of cities which can be visited, and these form the backbone for the game's underlying role-playing mechanics. Each city offers some cards for sale of a color matching the terrain around the city; the purchase of food (required to prevent slow-downs on the world map due to hunger); and often quests that usually involve reaching another city, acquiring a specific card, or defeating an enemy in the nearby area. These quests often has a reward at the end wherein the play will receive cards, hints to castle secrets or Mana links. Obtaining Mana links raises the players life points. These Mana link can also be removed if the city in which it was obtained is overrun by a creature. Cities also buy cards from the player, allowing him or her to make money for the purchase of food, better cards and spend them in certain special areas (for example, to buy amulets from a Gem Bazaar). Some cities also offer special items that enhance player performance or allow the player to create special effects such as instant teleportation. Some of these effects, depend on the consumption of colored amulets that can be collected in various encounters, earned upon completion of quests, or purchased These gems can also be traded for rarer cards (generally those of the same color of the amulet) at various towns. The landscape also contains a handful of dungeons whose locations can be discerned through various means, particularly the completion of quests and the defeat of powerful enemies. Within a dungeon, life lost in each duel carries over to all others, and other special rules will apply which could hinder or enhance a player's abilities. For example, a particular card could be permanently in effect. The dungeon interface is made up of a randomly generated series of perpendicular tunnels, with enemies placed in various locations and intersections. The player has freedom of movement within the tunnels while enemies remain stationary, but the player cannot pass through a spot taken by an enemy without initiating combat with that enemy. The tunnels also contain bonuses that can be picked up which provide a random effect, often bestowing extra life points or a free creature at the start of the next duel. Dungeons are important because of the special, valuable and powerful cards contained within that can be found no where else, frequently offering one of the Power Nine.[citation needed]
The player's primary goal is to destroy the five evil mages who are vying to cast the Spell of Dominion, which will enable them to conquer Shandalar. To accomplish this, the player must seek out and destroy the castle of each and every mage. Castles are played similarly to dungeons, except they contain no special cards but instead house the mage him/herself. If the mage is defeated in a duel, the mage and the castle are permanently destroyed. Until defeated, each mage regularly sends minions to attack cities on the map, which requires the player to react promptly, traveling to this city within the allotted time and defeating the minion in a duel. If the player fails, either by losing to the minion or taking too long to respond, the enemy mage will establish a mana link at the city, leaving the now much more powerful minion to stand guard. If any one mage establishes enough mana links (3 or 5, depending on whether or not the player possesses a certain item) to cast the 'Spell of Dominion', which will bring the plane of Shandalar under their control, the game is lost. After defeating all five mages, the player then has to confront a final enemy who plays with cards of all five colors. This enemy has vastly more life points than any other enemy in the game. The amount of damage the player manages to do to this final boss before the fight ends constitutes the player's final score for the campaign.[citation needed]
Development[edit]
The project to make Magic: The Gathering came during turbulent and troubled times at MicroProse, as it had recently lost a large amount of money pursuing unprofitable ventures (such as an arcade game business).[1] A corresponding flight of personnel was happening as well. Sensing trouble with the Magic project, the famous and marquee Sid Meier was assigned to it. This game would be the last that Meier would ever work on with MicroProse, as he went on to found his own studio, Firaxis Games, shortly afterward.[citation needed]
Reception[edit]
In preparation for the game's launch, Spectrum HoloByte shipped 220,000 units to stores.[2][3]Magic: The Gathering sold over 400,000 units by early 1999.[4]
Next Generation reviewed the PC version of the game, rating it two stars out of five, and stated that 'The lack of mutliplayer [sic] and oddly high system requirements will keep Magic: The Gathering from becoming a gaming classic or even one that fans of the genre will want. In the end, whether you're a fan of the card game or not, there are only two words to describe this release, and they're both 'mediocre.'[5]
GameSpot gave it a generally positive review, stating 'This translation looks beautiful, plays decently, and has all the qualities - except the ability to play with other humans - that made the card game a hit.' [6]
Mobygames gives it an aggregate score of 79 based on 13 critic reviews.[7]
Magic: The Gathering was named the 35th best computer game ever by PC Gamer UK in 1997. The editors called it 'very good indeed'.[8]
Expansions[edit]
The Spells of the Ancientsexpansion pack was released on September 24, 1997.[9] It included an upgrade of the game engine and interface, improved AI, and a sealed-deck tournament feature. It also added cards from older editions of the base set, the expansion sets Arabian Nights and Antiquities.[citation needed]
Magic The Gathering Arena Download
Duels of the Planeswalkers was an upgraded version of the original game released on January 14, 1998. Owners of the original game were eligible for a mail-in rebate. It included the original game, all of the upgrades included in Spells of the Ancients, and 80 new cards from the expansion sets Legends and The Dark.[citation needed]
References[edit]
- ^'Magic: The Gathering' article by Al Giovetti
- ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 1997-10-12. Retrieved 2020-03-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 1997-06-05. Retrieved 2020-03-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^Asher, Mark (March 24, 1999). 'Game Spin: The MicroProse Skinny'. CNET Gamecenter. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
- ^'Finals'. Next Generation. No. 31. Imagine Media. July 1997. p. 168.
- ^'Magic: The Gathering Review'. GameSpot. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
- ^http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/magic-the-gathering/mobyrank
- ^Flynn, James; Owen, Steve; Pierce, Matthew; Davis, Jonathan; Longhurst, Richard (July 1997). 'The PC Gamer Top 100'. PC Gamer UK (45): 51–83.
- ^Staff (September 24, 1997). 'Now Shipping'. PC Gamer. Archived from the original on February 18, 1998. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
'Now Shipping: ...Magic: The Gathering - Spells of the Ancients (MicroProse)...'
External links[edit]
Magic The Gathering Price Guide
- Magic: The Gathering at MobyGames