H6 Stronghold Video

[Darkström]

So i'm the only one that thinks the Cyclops looks too bloated and is badly proportioned, the upgraded one at least?!

Nope.

[Pol]

^ Yes.

Huh No, but it looks more like an H-IV cyclops that fell into the same vat of chemicals that the Joker fell in.

But big Mr. Penguin, throwing Acid stones, with air shield from small flying penguins wouldn't be bad either.

Well, Orcs are all overdosed like TT said. So I do not see how he can complaining now about this Cyclops-Chaos spawn dimensionally impossible proportioned creature.

@vicheron
If that was 50% for HeroesV, now it will be 95% for HeroesVI. But it never will be a true Warhammer!

[vulcanus]

The orcs are all allright but the ciclops is a bit oversised

[Infiltrator]

You can tell what kind of market this game will focus on just by looking at the way these two tell the story..

[ThunderTitan]

@vicheron
If that was 50% for HeroesV, now it will be 95% for HeroesVI. But it never will be a true Warhammer!

Well maybe H5 seems only 50% WH to you because all the Black Moon Chronicles present in Ledroit's art...

[Campaigner]

LOVE the way he talks. French english but then he says "The ORKS!" in a really cool/funny voice

Rush now, THINK later!
I want to see such presentations for every single faction, and more

[CloudRiderX]

Haha, I'm loving the enthusiasm with which they tell the story. Other than that, it was a informative video.

[klaymen]

If that was 50% for HeroesV, now it will be 95% for HeroesVI. But it never will be a true Warhammer!

That remaining 5% is game logo?

[Pol]

If that was 50% for HeroesV, now it will be 95% for HeroesVI. But it never will be a true Warhammer!

That remaining 5% is game logo?

It was if. But indeed logo seems to be an original.

[rdeford]

I deleted a doubled posting. Sorry, rdeford
Edited on Tue, Jan 25 2011, 14:50 by rdeford

[rdeford]

This is a great bunch of comments, showing spirited but respectful interplay. It brings a few things to mind. (NOTE: I've played HOMM II through V, but not M&M.) Basically, I have always felt that the stories are superfluous to the game and I never paid much attention to them. Based on this string of comments, I have come to see that I am not typical. OK, fine with me, but, even so, I wish to explain my position.

The HOMM games are all turn-based strategy with nothing offered beyond the central build-gather-kill core game play. IMO, the simplistic campaign stories have always seemed to be disconnected from the actual game play, which remains the same no matter what the story is. Sure, with the powerful scripting capabilities of H5 the game makers could actually incorporate some story elements into the official campaign maps, but few fan map makers could master H5 scripting, so we see very few fan-made story maps. The community has suffered from the lack, and I blame Ubisoft for it.

I am still playing H3 and H5 because I love the game play. To me, H5 plays like H3 with different creatures, and a few new features such as caravans. And, I can say that H3 plays like H2 with different creatures and a few extra features. In all cases, the campaign stories have not been integrated into the game play, except maybe to explain the existence of some race or faction. Will H6 be any different?

Based and a few scattered tidbits dropped here and there by Ubisoft, I have some hopes that H6 will allow something beyond build-gather-kill. And, hopefully, the scripting will be approachable by enough fans to allow all the immense creativity and wisdom of the fan base to make the kind of maps that have kept this community alive for all these years.

[ThunderTitan]

What exactly beyond build-gather-kill is there gameplay wise?!

And when it comes to story, frankly i miss reading it instead of just watching a cut-scene... and SC2 showed me that it's not just bad in-game cut scenes that make me want that... engine made videos should stay in action games...

[rdeford]

@ ThunderTitan

Regarding: "What exactly beyond build-gather-kill is there gameplay wise?"

A most excellent question, worthy of a separate forum discussion in its own right I think. Given the great deal of thought you put into your forum comments, I would bet that you could provide some intriguing ideas on this topic.

As for myself, here is one for single player maps, I would suggest on-the-fly alliances with AI players. This capability might be conditioned by racial considerations, reputation, diplomacy, swapping of heroes, trade, map maker placed likes, dislikes, and so forth. And of course, reversals and betrayal caused by shifting needs, better offers, map maker placed trends and events, and so forth.

Also, as I alluded to earlier, a way to easily create story maps that tell a story over the course of playing a map. I tried to do this feat with my H5 scripted maps, as did other H5 map makers such as Grumpy Old Wizard, Franzy, and others, who often did it better than I.

What else? I would love to see an exchange of ideas on this topic.

[ThunderTitan]

Making the story tied more into gameplay is always good*, but it's not really a new gameplay type imo, just a better implementation of the build-gather-kill system...

*not to imply that you can't do it wrong!

As for alliances... no Heroes AI so far showed any signs of being able to handle that to any acceptable degree... they'd have to build a 4X type of AI from the ground up for that (meaning invest at least the same amount of money in it as in the graphics)... i don't see it ever happening...

[rdeford]

i don't see it ever happening...

OK, maybe so, but let us keep thinking. I have a few more ideas, but I still think they are off topic here. Maybe elsewhere?

[klaymen]

As for myself, here is one for single player maps, I would suggest on-the-fly alliances with AI players. This capability might be conditioned by racial considerations, reputation, diplomacy, swapping of heroes, trade, map maker placed likes, dislikes, and so forth. And of course, reversals and betrayal caused by shifting needs, better offers, map maker placed trends and events, and so forth.

To be honest, if you want good (even great) working diplomacy, you should try Age of Wonders games. HoMM series is not even close in this regard.

[Elvin]

Agreed

[rdeford]

@ klaymen

Agreed. I hold out the hope that MMH will someday have comparable diplomacy.

Here is another idea: How about some city-build/management simulation aspects to the MMH games so you could build a town(s) in your territory to attract peasants, merchants, traders, smiths, and so forth. Then you collect collect taxes get discounts on resources and equipment etc. to give you a strategic advantages based on how well you govern and treat your subjects.