An mini-interview

Official forum of the Equilibris mod to Heroes of Might and Magic IV (Russian forum)
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Akul
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An mini-interview

Unread postby Akul » 31 May 2007, 09:55

So, it is time for my 2nd interview with the Equi-team!
(You don't need to answer all the questions ;) and neither do you need to answer theme 100%. 50% should be enough.)

1. You have showed that you have added many cool new features, both for mapmakers and for the players. Is it hard to pull the new features in since you work in assembler? What other new features you will/would want to add to next version?

2. The FaceTool was (and still is) a cool feature. Wll you make a new version of it? If yes, what new can we except? Do you play to add the fan-made potraits into the game? Will changing the potraits be optional?

3. You alredy told that you work on RMG. What can you tell us about it? What are the differences betewen that RMG and the one from H4Util?

4. You added many new features into the Editor that shall make the mapmakers happy. Will you add any more new features/scripts?

5. You changed the Summoning and Necromancy skill drasticaly in last version. Do you plan to change any other skills? If yes, did H5 skill system have any influence on you?

6. Personaly, my favourite feature from WoG was the town demolition and assimilation. In old forums, it seemed as if you tought about it as well. Will this feature be added? If yes, how shall it work?

7. Will you add another tool like the FaceTool that lets the mapmaker add new things to his campaigns like new audios, campaign screens, special artifacts (that replaces the name and picture of an old one)...

8. A RT member Pacobac says that H4 is an amazing game in multiplayer. Do you intend to improve it? If yes, what changes can we except?

9. Do you intend to have interface changes? Is it even possuble to add new interfaces?

10. Years passed since the last version was released, but the number of enthusiasts isn't much lower. What can you tell us about your opinions of the mod and its success and promise? Can you tell us what made you a H4 fan? Why do you believe it is special then the other games from the series?

11. A cliche question: do you have a release date for the next version? :P

This should be enough questions for now. Hope you answer (or at least read theme) :)
I am back and ready to... ready to... post things.

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Angelspit
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Unread postby Angelspit » 31 May 2007, 11:56

Yes, I want some answers too! :)

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Unread postby MistWeaver » 31 May 2007, 13:01

Me too, of course.

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okrane
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Unread postby okrane » 31 May 2007, 15:08

Answer: no Comment!:D

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Dalai
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Re: An mini-interview

Unread postby Dalai » 01 Jun 2007, 22:08

Sauron wrote: 1. You have showed that you have added many cool new features, both for mapmakers and for the players. Is it hard to pull the new features in since you work in assembler? What other new features you will/would want to add to next version?
Generally - yes, it is hard. We would like to add or change several effects of skills, change economy to add more depth to strategy.
2. The FaceTool was (and still is) a cool feature. Wll you make a new version of it? If yes, what new can we except? Do you play to add the fan-made portraits into the game? Will changing the potraits be optional?
We did not discuss next version of FaceTool. It's not perfect, but it does what it's meant to do. We want to introduce some new faces for our campaigns, but they will be drawn specifically for that. Last part I don't understand. It's optional now and it will remain the same.
3. You alredy told that you work on RMG. What can you tell us about it? What are the differences betewen that RMG and the one from H4Util?
H4Util creates very chaotic maps. We want to make RMG much smarter, so it could create interesting maps to play. Unfortunately, we stumbled upon some algorithms, so we're still in the very beginning.
4. You added many new features into the Editor that shall make the mapmakers happy. Will you add any more new features/scripts?
Yes, sure. Don't know which ones though - I'm not a mapmaker myself. But our wish-list is quite lengthy.
5. You changed the Summoning and Necromancy skill drasticaly in last version. Do you plan to change any other skills? If yes, did H5 skill system have any influence on you?
Yes, we do plan to change other skills. No, H5 skill system did not influence us. In my personal opinion, it's inferior to H4 system. And what's more important, it's designed for a single hero, which is not the case for H4. This is very important.
6. Personaly, my favourite feature from WoG was the town demolition and assimilation. In old forums, it seemed as if you tought about it as well. Will this feature be added? If yes, how shall it work?
Not in foreseeable future, sorry to disappoint you.
7. Will you add another tool like the FaceTool that lets the mapmaker add new things to his campaigns like new audios, campaign screens, special artifacts (that replaces the name and picture of an old one)...
Yes, we have a bold idea about such a tool, which will allow a lot of customization, but it's not going to happen soon.
8. A RT member Pacobac says that H4 is an amazing game in multiplayer. Do you intend to improve it? If yes, what changes can we except?
Multiplayer is a sort of play, where only one goal of many possible matters. You have to win, and only then you can think about relaxation, immersion into fantasy world, alternative (=less efficient) strategies and tactics, etc. This means that only small part of the game is used, the most efficient ways to achieve victory. We want to make changes that will make more strategies viable, more tricks working. You can expect another reshuffle in spells, changed properties for some objects on the map and in towns. Changes in economy will influence multiplayer too.
9. Do you intend to have interface changes? Is it even possuble to add new interfaces?
No, we're satisfied with existing interface, especially in 1280*1024. It is possible to create new interface. Several guys in Russian forums tried to do it with our help, but unfortunately none has finished this task.
10. Years passed since the last version was released, but the number of enthusiasts isn't much lower. What can you tell us about your opinions of the mod and its success and promise? Can you tell us what made you a H4 fan? Why do you believe it is special then the other games from the series?
First of all H4 is a great game in terms of design. 99% of the attention we have must be credited to NWC team. One single decision - putting heroes on the battlefield - had so many consequences, and most of them very positive. Hero in battle -> there can be several heroes -> heroes can be specialists -> you can have more then one army and still utilize all experience in final battle. Skill system makes you learn to fight with anything you have - with level 1 spells, level 3 spells. There is a long way to grandmaster, and you have to fight this way through. Compare it with only couple levelups to absolute mastery in some school of magic, you know where. You choose to learn some school of magic - and here you are, very soon you have all the best from it. I'm not talking about lesser things, like simultaneous retaliation or fog of war, but they too make this game to stand out from the others.
11. A cliche question: do you have a release date for the next version? :P
No. Programming features requires some very special skills. Our chief programmer, Lost, has gained several levels in Equilibris development. Now he's a rare and very valuable employee for his company, and it has underside - too little time for hobby. Especially if hobby is too similar to work :)
"Not a shred of evidence exists in favour of the idea that life is serious." Brendan Gill

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okrane
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Unread postby okrane » 02 Jun 2007, 09:30

I agree a long time has passed since the release of the last equi version. I fear that upon releasing a new one no one will be there to care. Or even worse, you will give up programming for it at one time simply because nobody will be interested in it.

Especially with the rise of Vista which is incompatible with H4.

So imo, in a couple of years when many people will have Vista and probably H6 would have appeared, I think H4 will be just a forgotten dream.

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Akul
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Unread postby Akul » 02 Jun 2007, 11:30

Thanks to Dalai (and the whole equi-team) for professionaly answering my questions :)
I am back and ready to... ready to... post things.

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MistWeaver
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Unread postby MistWeaver » 02 Jun 2007, 13:10

Thanks, Dalai :)

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pacobac
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Unread postby pacobac » 02 Jun 2007, 19:29

thanks Equil team, good job....

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Unread postby BDragon » 17 Jun 2007, 15:35

okrane wrote:I agree a long time has passed since the release of the last equi version. I fear that upon releasing a new one no one will be there to care. Or even worse, you will give up programming for it at one time simply because nobody will be interested in it.

Especially with the rise of Vista which is incompatible with H4.

So imo, in a couple of years when many people will have Vista and probably H6 would have appeared, I think H4 will be just a forgotten dream.
I agreed... but i don't want it will happen...
Black Dragon...

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Unread postby iKossu » 17 Jun 2007, 16:40

Sauron wrote:9. Do you intend to have interface changes? Is it even possuble to add new interfaces?
Dalai wrote:No, we're satisfied with existing interface, especially in 1280*1024. It is possible to create new interface. Several guys in Russian forums tried to do it with our help, but unfortunately none has finished this task.
I have a 19" widescreen TFT monitor and I was wondering if someone could make H4 Equilibris work with a 16:10 resolution or in a window. I don't know what's the problem but my H4 doesn't work in a window. And btw, has the following actually been confirmed?
okrane wrote:Vista which is incompatible with H4.
Last edited by iKossu on 17 Jun 2007, 16:48, edited 1 time in total.

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okrane
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Unread postby okrane » 17 Jun 2007, 16:46

doesn't work for me...

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Dalai
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Unread postby Dalai » 18 Jun 2007, 08:47

KonserniJohtaja wrote:I have a 19" widescreen TFT monitor and I was wondering if someone could make H4 Equilibris work with a 16:10 resolution or in a window. I don't know what's the problem but my H4 doesn't work in a window.
I too have a non-standard resolution on my laptop. Playing in window is not too comfortable for me. I prefer to launch heroes in their standard resolution fullscreen, and setup monitor not to stretch picture, but to crop borders (you'll have a black frame around Heroes screen). I even played H2 with such settings - not too bad. :proud:
"Not a shred of evidence exists in favour of the idea that life is serious." Brendan Gill

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Unread postby iKossu » 18 Jun 2007, 10:17

I didn't know that was even possible! Care to tell me exactly where this is done? I have GeForce 7800 GS (AGP) and I haven't actually installed my monitor at all. Thanks anyway!

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Unread postby rhomboidspace » 21 Jun 2007, 14:35

KonserniJohtaja wrote:I didn't know that was even possible! Care to tell me exactly where this is done? I have GeForce 7800 GS (AGP) and I haven't actually installed my monitor at all. Thanks anyway!
i don't personally have a wide screen monitor but from my experience inorder to play in windowd mode the game resolution has to be lower than your desktop resolution it will not even work in windowed mode if you set the game resolution to the same as your desktop, it has to be lower

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Unread postby iKossu » 22 Jun 2007, 09:26

But of course! I didn't even think about that. My desktop resolution is 1440x900 and the game is at 1280x1024, so no wonder why it won't go in a window. I'll have to decrease the game's resolution to 1024x768. But then the window is so small. :( I really would like to play the game like this:
Dalai wrote:standard resolution fullscreen, and setup monitor not to stretch picture, but to crop borders (you'll have a black frame around Heroes screen).

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Unread postby jeff » 23 Jun 2007, 01:04

There was a version of Equilibris released for the map making contest, sadly I did not get it, but it had several items not found in 3.51. As a bone, could it possibly be made available again? :beg:
Mala Ipsa Nova :bugsquash:

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Dalai
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Unread postby Dalai » 23 Jun 2007, 20:37

KonserniJohtaja wrote:I didn't know that was even possible! Care to tell me exactly where this is done? I have GeForce 7800 GS (AGP) and I haven't actually installed my monitor at all. Thanks anyway!
I think, this option is available not for all video cards and/or monitors. I'm not sure about your hardware. In my case it looks like this:

Image

Text in red frame:
- Whole screen
- Desktop in the center
- Keep proportions
"Not a shred of evidence exists in favour of the idea that life is serious." Brendan Gill


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