News


Happy New Year, friends!
We would like to thank everyone who has been waiting and believing.

We are proud to present you with the largest update in the project's history.

It features the Factory, the new long-awaited town, a campaign dedicated to it, a huge amount of graphics, audio and video content, new game mechanics, countless fixes, major and minor improvements, and much more.
We are pleased to share the result of our long, hard work with you. Trust us: we have been waiting for this moment just as eagerly as you.
The journey continues. Jadame is waiting!

The update is available here:
https://h3hota.com/en/download
What's new:
● The new town and faction, Factory, including new heroes, creatures and their external dwellings.
● The new campaign, Forged in Fire, with an improved gradation of difficulty. It'll take your best skills to help the Factory establish itself in the world of Heroes.
● Completely overhauled Campaign Editor and support for custom campaigns; new background and region maps for campaigns.

Full changelog:
https://download.h3hota.com/upd/changelogs/eng.txt

-Panzer(info from HotA Discord)

 YT video featuring new Air Ship:

 

 First gameplay by Liso:

Version 1.7.0 - abbreviated changelog:
(See full at https://download.h3hota.com/upd/changelogs/eng.txt)
[!] Added the new Factory town and faction, including new heroes, creatures, and outer dwellings
[!] Added the new Forged in Fire campaign dedicated to the Factory. Campaign maps have increased difficulty
[!] Added the campaign editor and support for custom campaigns, new background and region maps for campaigns

Bugs:
[-] Fixed a possible crash when visiting an external shipyard
[-] Fixed a crash occurring sometimes when casting Remove Obstacle spell (usually when removing the last obstacle)
[-] Fixed a freeze when trying to exit via Alt+F4 while a creature is flying and then clicking OK or Cancel
[-] Fixed possible crashes when loading saves on G-sized maps with a very large amount of content

Gameplay
[+] Added the Airship, similar to a boat, that allows heroes to fly, as well as the Airship Yard object that allows building Airships (generally not available on RMG templates)
[+] Ancient Altar returned to scenario editor and made a visited object: fighting 25 Haspids for the Horn of the Abyss (banned in RMG by default)
[+] Added a new artifact: Sleepkeeper; grants creatures immunity to mind magic (banned by default)
[+] Added a mechanism that prohibits powerful dead heroes from coming to the tavern. Powerful heroes can only come if no other heroes are available
[+] Erased heroes in the tavern now have movement points, mana, and a number of other parameters updated (as in case of death)
[+] Tavern heroes now have their current army movement points updated (no 2000 heroes)
[+] Stables bonus reduced from 400 to 300 movement points
[+] When spell research is enabled, the Town Portal and Dimension Door do not drop in the normal guild slots without research, but are guaranteed to drop if 3 research attempts have been made before
[+] Hit-n-run ban built into HotA: in two-hero combat, the attacker is forbidden to retreat in the first round of combat after casting a spell
[+] Summoning Earth and Fire Elementals now has the power of [2/2/2.5/3] * SP
[+] Lifted the ban on summoning different types of elementals in the same combat
[+] Wall of Fire: Power damage multiplier increased from 10 to 15
[+] Luna: specialization bonus reduced from 100% to 25%
[-] Conflux: Upg. Magic Lantern now requires the Garden of Life, but does not require the University of Magic
[+] Reduced Imp Cache value from 5000 to 1500
[+] Changed the number of Steel Golems in the Experimental Shop: 20-40-60-80 instead of 25-50-75-100
[+] Changed the Tomb reward from 500-5000 to 1500-4000 Gold
[+] Changed the healing power of the First Aid Tent: 20-25 / 40-50 / 60-75 / 80-100 according to the skill level
[+] Lizardmen: Fight Value: 115 -> 137, AI Value: 126 -> 151
[+] Lizard Warriors: Fight Value: 130 -> 174, AI Value: 156 -> 209
[+] Leprechauns: Fight Value and AI Value: 208 -> 190 (inadequately large coefficient via ability removed)
[+] Changed the standard number of Sea Dogs on the map: 12-18 -> 12-20 (like all Level 3 upgrades; due to this, they can no longer be generated in certain weak guard spots)
[+] Cyclopes can now attack the castle gate if the gate hex has allied creatures standing on it
[+] Wall shooting disabled in the Cyclopes' Alternate Action mode
[+] Bone and Ghost Dragons now transform into Bone Dragons in the Skeleton Converter
[+] Optimized the behavior of AI-controlled shooters in close combat
[+] The Diplomat's Mantle allows ignoring the hit-n-run ban (only for surrender). AI also knows how to use this
[+] Correct ability to surrender with a Diplomat's Mantle in a town if there is no way to retreat added for the AI
[+] AI now does not consider a broken wall to be a reason to give up defending the castle if there is a moat (except when an enemy is already standing in the moat, ready to enter the castle in 1 turn).
[-] Improved AI cast assessment for the Berserk spell
[-] The 6lm10a template now has 5 presets with different road settings, which provides for an acceptable balance and diversity of the road network
[-] h3md1 template: external Taverns, Shrines of Magical Mystery, heroes Solmyr, Aislinn, Thant, Vidomina, Deemer, Ciele, Leena, Giselle banned
[-] 8xm12a template: size of white zones reduced from 20 to 15, old double links removed, links to the center made double. Shrines Of Magical Mystery banned
[-] Mini-Nostalgia template: Dragon Utopia settings are as in 6lm10a: frequency 200, maximum per zone 1 (gold zones: no restrictions). Shrines Of Magical Mystery banned
[-] Apocalypse template: Wanderer's Boots and Shrines of Magical Mystery banned
[-] mt_Diamond, mt_Jebus, mt_TeamJebus, mt_Andromeda, mt_Antares templates: Shrines of Magical Mystery and the hero Giselle banned
[-] 6lm10a, 8mm6a, Spider, Nostalgia, Kerberos, 2sm4d(3), Diamond, Boomerang templates: Shrines of Magical Mystery banned
[+] Updated the mt_Firewalk template to v2.0 (but no campaign heroes, Navigation heroes, or Giselle)


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CelestialHeavens wish you all Merry Christmas, vigor and peace. Just enjoy your time with your family & friends. gking1

HCCQ2023 2


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h2tbd goforit

This is the last chance to get Heroes of Might & Magic III: The Board Game with all of its Stretch Goals! The first shipments start in December, and if you place an order now, you will most likely receive it in
the first quarter of 2024!

Go for it!


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soc header

Create the story of your dreams!

 

We’re excited to announce a contest. Your task is to create the best campaign you can. We’re teaming up with mod.io, our fantastic partners who have provided a home for our wonderful community-created maps.

The winner of this exciting endeavor will receive a cash prize of $700, and the runner-up will receive $300. Additionally, there will be some great Steam keys from our friends at Coffee Stain for those who come close to securing those coveted positions.

Now let’s delve into the specifics:

  • No copyright infringement. We cannot endorse the use of other developers' intellectual property, so please rely on your own imagination or draw inspiration from stories that are public domain.
  • Create at least two maps with a connected story.
    Upload your campaign to mod.io and tag it with the contest tag. (Campaign Maps Contest)
  • We encourage you to create custom wielders and stories.
  • Do not build upon the official campaigns, instead think outside the box and simply use the map editor as a tool for telling a great story.
  • The winner will be chosen based on creativity, playability, visuals, and overall compatibility with our game.
  • You will have nearly three months to create your masterpiece; the last day to submit your contributions is the 31st of January.

Remember that to submit you have to have an account on Mod.io which is a straightforward process requiring just a few clicks. Here’s the link to get you started!

If you haven’t created any maps yet but are curious to begin, we offer a series of beginner-level tutorials on our YouTube channel. We also highly recommend joining our helpful and amazing Discord Community.

So what are you waiting for? We can’t wait to see the fantastic results of your work.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to leave a comment below or reach out to us on Discord or through social media.

So good luck out there, cartographers and storytellers!

Sincerely, The Lavapotion Team


https://www.songsofconquest.com/modding

Twitter | Discord | Youtube | Instagram | Facebook | Original Message


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And for something a bit unusual, a cooking show with Dave Mullich where he talks about Heroes III and his other game..

The Geek Recipe is back for an exciting Season 2, and this time, it's a mouth-watering journey through the Italian kitchen of Slitherine's very own CMO, Marco Minoli.

Join us as we introduce legendary game designer David Mullich, known for his work on titles like Heroes of Might and Magic III and Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, to the sensory delights of our Italian cuisine.

In this episode, we prepare a prime vegetarian dish: Parmigiana di Melanzane. It's a delicious recipe featuring sliced, baked eggplant with layers of cheese and tomato sauce. Get ready to satisfy your gaming and culinary cravings!

David Mullich shares his insights on game design, his journey through the gaming industry, and his experiences working on iconic titles. From early text-based adventures to the universally acclaimed Heroes of Might and Magic III, he reveals the secrets behind great game development.

The Geek Recipe is all about sharing the connection between entertainment and gastronomy. We invite renowned game developers, writers, creators, and directors to our kitchen, where they share the ingredients that make both great food and great entertainment.

Thanks AS ;)


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And there come new friendly batch of decomissioning online servers for Ubisoft games. If you played Heroes VI, it's in.

Decommissioning of online services for older Ubisoft games (January 2024)

Heroes of Might and Magic VI

You will be unable to play multiplayer, link Ubisoft accounts in-game or use online features.

Additionally, the Ubisoft Connect rewards will be unavailable.

This is last strike after Dynasty system was disabled. There should be true, that you get some of its reward by default now, as they were very handy to speed up your progress and enriched your experience.

Such is a fate of games, which rely not only on online Ubisoft dependat multiplayer but also on online experience enriching system.

Sayonara Heroes VI waving

Thanks to Crazy-AK47 for the alert. ;)


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newshornIn following days there will be a change in our domain provider, hopefully everything will come out smooth.

If in any case would not, it's merely question of spreading new DNS, which is matter of 4-72 hours, depending on your location worldwide. Europe will come first, China and Australia last.

Stay with us and don't panic! gking1

dtp

PS As of now (22.10.2023) all is done, transfer was successfully completed. There's no change for you.


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VCMI 1.3 was released

  • vcmi logo

  • Scalable user Interface
  • Touchscreen improvements
  • RMG
  • Improved Adventure AI
  • Fixed Campaigns
  • HoTA Maps Support



Heroes5.5(18d) were released

New patch, this patch is more than a critical hotfix, but less than a usual bigger patch, more like some important stuff got done much faster than expected.

Heroes Orchestra

heroesorchestra logo s
2x Big Free Live Concerts today. Enjoy! Heroes II - IV.
NEXT CONCERT? 19.08 Lublin!





Fanstratics Letter #36

Halberdier - H3 Source Code - Ubisoft

H4ResourceEditor

Fixed replacing/adding sounds

fheroes2 - Free Heroes of Might and Magic II Resurrection

https://github.com/ihhub/fheroes2/releases/tag/1.0.6

  • Significantly Updated Adventure Map AI
  • New option to lower the campaign difficulty during playthroug

Silence of the Siren - Base UI

Capturing and upgrading your bases is crucial for your economy, but it must always be balanced with other elements to ensure victory. Never underestimate the need to explore. Good usage of all advantages the map gives you can be just as important, but that is something we will show you more about in the future



Our "Xeen Team" ranked #5 in Creature Quest :D
& I'm out for vacations on following two weeks


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"Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes" is back in "Definitive Edition" as of 20th July.

MMCOH DE Keyart 1

Peeking through reviews at Steam:

  • Everyone is happy for ressurection of the game. thumbsup
  • Online mode is back!
  • Game code is old and it seems that is essentially still the same, ppl still complain about some old bugs at Steam.
  • Check Dotemu pages for overview of a new CoH DE toff
  • Or you can jump to our older news, what is the new content summarized.

Resume line: "If you played the original game and are not in need of playing it online, Definitive edition brings you mostly only the new Campaign and no other significant improvements."


From Dotemu announcement:

Originally developed by Capybara Games, Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes is getting a Definitive Edition including its DLC, refreshed character portraits, many quality-of-life improvements and an expanded, fully reworked and re-balanced online mode!.

The game is available for PC, Nintendo Switch and PS.

Xbox was omitted which is a grave mistake in my view. To see Nintendo Switch impressions, look at the reviews at nintendolife.com

Happy Gaming!


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This month I have four topics concerning the Toadish Intruder, Game AI, HoMM3 gameplay, and a new ‘HoMM3 Recollection’ about HoMM2 Gold.

CH Note: "This is a bit abbreviated version of Greg's letter, if you wish to see original, check here."

 

Fanstratics Troop: Toadish Intruder

Toadish Intruders are a difficult Troop to engage under any circumstance.  Wielding a long, heavy rapier, doused with toxins derived from their wart-covered skin, the Toadish Intruder specializes not in killing, but in applying poisonous debilitation.  If they are unable to pierce their targets and administer their contaminants, their own thick hide has a chance to apply a pollutant to any Troop brave enough to Assault them.  As expected, this Troop is immune to the very contagions it produces.

Justin asked if he could conceptualize and render this Troop on his Twitch stream.  I said, “Sure.”  This put us on an accelerated timeline as Justin had the last two weeks of the month scheduled for other things.  Considering how this Troop turned out, perhaps we should ‘rush’ more often.  Another favorite.

For those who want to see Justin create the drawing, there are two VOD’s from his Twitch stream.  First is a conceptualization, with the second being the final render.

fst toadish intruderToadish Intruder - Colorized by CH 

Fanstratics Question: I really like HoMM III and HoMM V (as it close to third part), but I have one major problem with both of them.  Mainly we play with my wife in hotseat mode with teams (humans vs AI).  And at some level of our skills it becomes quite boring to play against AI (especially in HoMMV).  AI becomes predictable or even stupid (for example, AI heroes run back and forth until the end of movement points).  So, did you consider such a problem?  As I understand, today machine learning can dramatically change the situation.

Regarding the AI, I can only speak to HoMM3.  Overall, for something programmed in 1999, I believe it does what it is supposed to do, and I think it does its job quite well.  Is there room for improvement?  I believe ‘yes’.

Where Fanstratics is concerned, I suspect we will take a traditional approach when building our AI.  Still, if time and budget permit, I would like to add additional 'AI profiles' at a later date.  This is where machine learning could possibly play a role.  We'll see what happens.  AI is quickly becoming the newest frontier in game and technology development.


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