Loved this game when it first came out, years ago... when I discovered GoG (just recently) bought a bunch of things... this being one.
I don't recall, obviously, but why is it that sometimes, you only have 2 people available to fight?
Furthermore, when one of those went down, the 3rd person could fight, and when I healed the 2nd person up, he could fight again. I'm just confused, any insight, or is this just a simple bug that must be suffered through as it comes along?

Thanks

In MM1 and MM2, unlike later Might and Magic games, you have front and rear ranks. The size of the ranks are dependent on terrain and surprise.
Front ranks are larger outdoors than in dungeons, and if you are surprised your own front ranks are also large, making more of your characters vulerable to melee attacks.

I don't think unconscious characters expanding the ranks is a bug. It may be a bit illogical, but as long as you know how it works it becomes part of the tactics.

Personally I think the combat of the two first M&M games was vastly superior to the tacticsless combat of MM3-5.

Interesting, okay that explains it mostly I'm used to the first 4 (at least in my memory) being able to melee, but that could be from the latter MM's. However, the expanded ranks was a bit more than just an unconscious char letting the next in line fight, but when I healed the KO'd char, then I had 1-3 able to fight instead of the 1-2.... but *shrugs*

Thanks for the answer.

The ranks can shift during battle. You might start with only two characters in melee range but as the fight goes on more characters (and more monsters) might enter melee range. I believe that each turn there is a chance for the ranks to shift.

Also, when a character is knocked unconscious, it creates a hole for the enemies to move in. So even after you revive that character, the enemies have broken into your ranks, so you now have 3 characters engaging instead of two.

Your memory of having 4 characters in melee range is probably from outdoor battles, where this is common. Indoors things are more cramped and there's less room for melee fighting. This is why it's a good idea to get your characters some decent ranged weapons, and to keep your spellcasters in back since they can usually cast while out of melee range. Your archer, if you have one, can shoot even while in melee range, and will usually want to shoot rather than attack with a melee weapon, so having your archer somewhere in the middle where he/she is behind the lines for indoor fights but in the front lines for outdoor fights is a good idea. That way the archer can take some of the hits when outdoors but won't take up a valuable front-line melee spot for the cramped indoor fights.