fheroes2: Resurrection

[sirDranik]

It is the name of the original project, that was started 10+ years ago. Our team picked the project, after the years being abandoned, back in 2020 and made a decision to finish up the engine. It is not correct to change the name, of an existing project. Don't forget, that the project is opensource and adding "free" in front of the name of game name is a common designation. "Fheroes" is just an abbreviation.

[sirDranik]

Hello, Heroes of Might & Magic II players!

Today we're presenting 0.9.5 version of fheroes2 project with many changes.

First of all, we added Monster Description information for every creature with special abilities. This change is extremely useful for newcomers and even for pro players who want to refresh their knowledge.




Secondly, we fixed a lot of issues being presented with object passabilities on the World Map. Sometimes players were unable to progress with certain maps due to aforementioned problems. Now the project has the same logic as in the original game. Besides this some logic with object interaction was fixed as well.

On top of this, a huge amount of work was given for AI improvement: now it can interact with more objects, it has better hero management and path planning.

[Check the progress of AI at 0.9.4 version]


[Check the progress of AI at 0.9.5 version]


Overall AI is much smarter in comparison with previous releases so be ready to enjoy the challenge

A small but useful feature was added to the game: all scrollbars now support continuous scrolling while holding arrow buttons.

We also dedicated some time for fixing music related issues, adding missing features of campaigns such as scenario restart or Bane / Alliance monster behavior.

Overall we managed to fix more than 70 bugs!

Thanks to everyone for making this release happen and we hope that you'll enjoy the game!

You could also support the project development on Patreon.

[Blake]

just one random comment, but I think the name:

fheroes2

it's just that little bit too, unfortunate? (Read it aloud.)

In any case I was just here to look for H3 Factory. Looks like it's not yet out...

bahahahahaha I assume you mean say it out loud with a space between the F and Heroes.. as that does sound pretty funny/rude hahaha.

Hello, Heroes of Might & Magic II players!

Today we're presenting 0.9.5 version of fheroes2 project with many changes

Oh man this is awesome.. great work guys!

[sirDranik]

Each month - new release - new progress and features.
Enjoy!

[Yurian Stonebow]

"The original fheroes2 project was dead for many years..."

This explains while I recall seeing no new updates to the version 0.72 (was it?) that I downloaded years ago.
I actually thought that the team had given up and disbanded for good. Thumbs up for the resurrection
of the Project.

With best wishes,
Yurian

[sirDranik]

This explains while I recall seeing no new updates to the version 0.72 (was it?) that I downloaded years ago.
I actually thought that the team had given up and disbanded for good.

That's what happened exactly.
We are, as totally a new team, took the project ~1.5 years ago and start working to develop the project it from "alpha" stage to a completely finished product.

[gsandro1]

I downloaded the latest version and played the Broken Alliance map, soooo niceee, after such a long time, thank you for bringing back this amazing game!!

Ps where can I find the campaign maps?
Ps I also became Patreon to support the project

[sirDranik]

Hi, @gsandro1!
Thanks for your contribution so much!
To play campaign maps you need to have full official version of HoMM2.

[gsandro1]

Hi, @gsandro1!
Thanks for your contribution so much!
To play campaign maps you need to have full official version of HoMM2.

Thanks for the reply, I have the official version, should I copy and paste campaign files to fheroes ?
Also, is it possible to play me and my friends with wireless connection with the fheroes?

I know that in the original HoMM II Gold released by 3DO (October 1998) on Windows XP computer. TCP/IP and IPX it was doable.
But is this available in fheroes? If not any plans to include it, in the future.
It would be fantastic

ps In the mean time I am inviting old players to join the cause

[sirDranik]

Sorry for late answer, gsandro1.
Currently we're focused on fheroes2 engine itself, so multiplayer is limited to a "Hot Seat" mode only for now. We cannot work on full multiplayer support, until we finish the engine. In future we definitely will work on multiplayer, as this is one of the most important part of gameplay nowadays.

ps In the mean time I am inviting old players to join the cause

Thanks and go on! I wish all HoMM2 lovers will know about our project and unite in a community, spreading all over the world this nice game.

[gsandro1]

After installing free heroes version, I started playing again.
First map is Broken Alliance, which actually comes with the installation.
Then I copied my original Heroes 2 version to free heroes game folder.
(Instructions in the Read me file of the installation)
This gave me access to all maps and campaigns of the game

To honor this special occasion, I played the Seven Lakes classic map
and created a You Tube video on Armageddon tactics.

See: https://youtu.be/VUQR-O_jw3E

Long live Heroes

LInk to download maps:
https://www.celestialheavens.com/737

[sirDranik]

Dear supporters and fans of HoMM 2!

Great news: fheroes2 is updated to 0.9.6 version! As usual we spent a huge amount of time polishing the code to make it more stable and less error-prone. However, this is just a normal thing to say.

First of all, we boosted translation support in the project. Starting from now you can enjoy the gameplay in Polish, French or Russian languages.


Our team decided to translate things in the most efficient way - manually with multiple members involving in the process. In this case we could easily spot any mistakes in the texts even which were present in the original HoMM II game.
Please remember in order to play with translation you have to own the original game of this language. Translation to other languages will come very soon.

We also made few quality of life improvements in this release. One of them is cursor shadow display for 2-hex monsters during the battle. Now a player will know the position of a monster to be taken while attacking.


Another important improvement is a new configuration dialog which allows to switch between languages (if supported by the game resources), change game resolution and access experimental options (under development).


Besides this we added support of Nintendo Switch game console.

Lastly, the goal of fheroes2 is not only to create Heroes of Might and Magic II engine but to make a memorable and enjoyable add-on for the game. We would like to tell that the work has been started and we already have some changes for game graphics, campaign scenario script is partially written and we're working on new songs to be a part of the game. More details will be shared later.

As usual, we fixed more than 60 bugs.
Enjoy the game and be ready for more exciting news in the future!

You could also support the project development on Patreon.

[iLiVeInAbOx05]

New campaigns, eh? Sounds cool!

Are they follow on H2 campaigns, or something completely different?

[sirDranik]

Cannot tell anything specific right now. With the help of new engine we will add to campaign new innovative features. Also we're going to expand game experience using this campaign related stuff for the whole game.

[Blake]

Dear supporters and fans of HoMM 2!

Great news: fheroes2 is updated to 0.9.6 version!

This is AMAZING work!!

[sirDranik]

This is AMAZING work!!

Thanks, but there're still lots of issues need to be fixed.)

[Pol]

This is AMAZING work!!

Thanks, but there're still lots of issues need to be fixed.)

It's still and amazing work, you cannot deny it!

And very ambitious plans, fingers crossed.

BTW did you ever heard about Darmani and his team with Iron Fist Mod?

[sirDranik]

It's still and amazing work, you cannot deny it!

And very ambitious plans, fingers crossed.

BTW did you ever heard about Darmani and his team with Iron Fist Mod?

Sure. But I found information somewhere, that the project is really far from its final release. And there's no clear information, when it will be finished.

[Pol]

Well, yes. But Darmani explored the code almost completely. There's no person knowing more about it. You may try to drag him in, if you have any unsolved questions.

Aka, how this was done in the original game. Or how it shall work.

This might be benefiting to both of you.

[sirDranik]

I'm not sure, he has enough time for the second project.
We've already had a conversation with Darmani. I don't want to divert him much from his nice project
We currently work on fixing minor bugs, polishing code and enhancing AI. So, the original code is not needed anymore, I think. Surely, we would ask, if have any questions.