I can offer some help. I did some research into the game mechanics a very long time ago and created a web site. It's still available but looks horrible. Most of what I uncovered was done with repeated testing in controlled environments. The link is below.Other's with more programming knowledge have since done extensive game modifications. They would know where to look for the actual coding. You might be able to contact them at Celestial Heavens.
You also might be interested to learn about the work of Tim Lang. He worked on MM8 and was Lead Designer for MM9. He has his own studio now and is developing a M&M-style RPG using a modern game engine. It's named "Aeolwyn's Legacy". A search on that will get you to his site and you can download a demo from there. I suspect the two of you would have an interesting conversation.
