copies of the game. As little information surfaced over time, Gravel was instructed to write the books and develop the setting first, with the developers basing their storyline on the novels instead. Del Rey Books published two of the three novels, The Dreamwright and The Shadowsmith, before the release of Might and Magic VI. However, it was decided to develop Might and Magic VI'''s storyline independently of the novels, setting the game on Enroth, the world in which Heroes of Might and Magic took place. Gravel was offered to write a new novel set on Enroth instead of completing the trilogy, but declined. The change of setting established a formal connection between the two series, and successive Might and Magic games continued the Heroes storyline, though with overt connections to the original series such as many references to the Ancients and the presence of a town named New Sorpigal, in reference to the first game's starting town. These were built upon in Might and Magic VII and VIII, which featured several characters from the first five games. The story is set ten years after Heroes of Might and Magic II, and occurs in tandem with the events of Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia. The game was first announced with a press release at E3 of April 1998, described by series creator Jon Van Caneghem, who led development, as "the best Might and Magic that I have ever made" and "by far the largest and most ambitious game in the history of role playing games" with more than a thousand miles of virtual terrain. An architect was reportedly involved with designing the gameworld's structures and dungeons, and two graphic engines named Horizon and Labyrinth were used in the creation of the game's environments. In Might and Magic VI larger objects like buildings, dungeons and the landscape are in 3D. Smaller objects like trees, humans and creatures are 2-dimensional sprites. The sprites were pre-rendered 3D images in 3DS Max and Character Studio. It was the first in the series to feature full motion video cinematics. The game's soundtrack was composed by Steve Baca, Rob King, Paul Romero and Jennifer Wang – Baca, King and Romero had previously composed music for Heroes of Might and Magic. Complex design elements such as the inclusion of rival adventuring parties and a quest system involving complicated alliances with nobles and other