This is the last game developed by New World Computing in the Might and Magic series. Unfortunately, it is nowhere near the quality of every other game in the series since they were forced to release the game 6+ months early because of the publisher. This game might be of interest to die hard Might and Magic fans that simply want them all and completionists, but the unpolished nature of the game might turn others off.



This guide will explain how to install the digital edition of the game, available on GOG.com

Tips & Specs

To learn more about PlayOnLinux and Wine configuration, see the online manual: PlayOnLinux explained

Arch Linux 64-bit
PlayOnLinux 4.2.2
Wine 1.5.8

Downloading from GOG

GOG games can be downloaded on Linux by using a web browser, just make sure the "GOG.com Downloader mode" is OFF



Or you can use the lgogdownloader, which is my personal preferred choice. It is a very useful program for downloading GOG games. There is no graphical interface for it, but it is very fast and provides error free downloads.

For some Linux distros it may be found in community repositories or similar community provided packages. Installation and usage instructions are located here: lgogdownloader

On first use, you must log in by opening a terminal and using the command:

lgogdownloader --login

You will be prompted for your gog.com account email and password, which you must type in correctly before you can use lgogdownloader to download games.

To list all games you own, type:

lgogdownloader --list

If you only want to see specific games you own, for example any games with 'might_and_magic' in the name, then type:
lgogdownloader --list | grep might_and_magic



To download Might and Magic 9 with no extras and no cover artwork, just the actual installer:

lgogdownloader --download --game might_and_magic_9 --no-extras --no-cover --directory /path/to/folder

Setup PlayOnLinux

Launch PlayOnLinux and select 'Tools' and 'Manage Wine versions'

In the new window that appears, scroll through the 'Available Wine versions' box to find '1.5.8' and click on the right pointing arrow to install it, now it will be visible under 'Installed Wine versions' on the right side
If you have a 64-bits system, make sure you have selected the 'Wine versions (x86)' tab above



Just close the window. Back at the main PlayOnLinux window, select 'Install'

Click on 'Install a non-listed program'



Select 'Install a program in a new virtual drive' and click next



Name the the virtual drive "MM9" and click next



Select "Use another version of Wine", "Configure Wine" and "Install some libraries" before you click next



On the wine selection window, select 1.5.8 and click next. Make sure you select '32-bits window installation' if you are on a 64-bit system



When the wine configuration window appear, select the 'Graphics' tab, and click the checkbox for the lower three options. You don't have to capture the mouse within the game window for this game since it will be properly captured anyway in first person view. This will also let you move the mouse outside the game window while you have the game paused. The resolution you set for the virtual desktop is also not very important as it will switch to the game resolution on start.



Note: Even though the language is Norwegian in my screenshot, the layout will look the same for you

When you come to the selection of libraries to install, select: POL_Install_gdiplus
This will let the GOG installer display correctly



Then click 'Next'

When you are asked for the install file to run, navigate to the GOG installer and select it. Then click 'Next'



Installing the Game



Click on 'Options', and click to accept the UELA, then click 'Install'



When the installation is complete, 'Exit' the installer



When you are asked to create a shortcut, select "lithtech.exe", the mm9.exe starts a launcher that does not work properly in wine



Name the shortcut "Might and Magic 9"



That is all you have to do in order to play the game. Since this game is very old, there is no need to set any higher video memory, or any other settings for that matter. The game will run as it is now. The GOG version also includes the latest fan patch for the game, which fixes the progress breaking bugs that were left after official patches.

Note on resolution

This game runs in 800x600 resolution, so obviously the game window will appear very small on most modern screens. You can try to go into wine configuration and disable the virtual desktop. However this might prevent the game from properly launching on some setups.

Certain distros have a default desktop environment that let you zoom in, so that is certainly an option. Another easy method is simply to reduce your desktop resolution when you play the game. Some window managers have the option to let a window take fullscreen status, meaning it will draw over everything else without window borders. If you window manager allows this you could set desktop resolution to 800x600, and then set the game window to fullscreen.

Screenshots