Hm, for me the North always seemed to be physically stronger; bigger in numbers, better and more advanced equipment (Gatling gun etc). The South was maybe too reliant on Lee's (excellent) leadership. Historians argue that he would never be able to actually win the battle.
So General Lee would be someone with a fair amount of "magic understanding" and high morale. Castle Cleric with Wisdom and Leadership.
General Meade would be the more practical leader, with strengths in numbers, attack, speed. Stronghold Barbarian with Artillery and Offense.
Gettysburg (1863)
-
Yurian Stonebow
- Archmage
- Posts: 961
- Joined: 06 Jan 2006
- Location: Vantaa, Finland
Playable demo coming up this Christmas/New Year
Update 19th of December 2008
I have been working feverishly for the past week or so in order to come up with a playable demo by Christmas or possibly, the end of the year. It seems that I have more good news than bad news to report this time in this update. Which is quite nice 'cause the lightless northern wintern otherwise for sure has kept me in its heavy grip. But the work continues and the danger of abandoning the project has been passed by.
Let's take a look at the current state of the project.
-territories consisting of modern day Canada have gone through extensive changes with some balance issues solved, improved graphics and finally, geographically correct coastlines! (not a bad score)
-Canadian player will be a Tower with two already partially built castles from the start of the scenario, playing colour Pink
-Mexican Republican forces will play as Inferno under the Green banner operating from their main base close the U.S border
-Mexican Imperial and French forces in Mexico will play under a single banner, Tan, with troops belonging to Inferno and Castle
-Mexican-U.S border and U.S-Canadian border will be closed by Border Gates to limit access accross the borders
-two Indian nations will inhabit the famous U.S "Wild West" with one faction allied to the Union and the other to the Confederacy
-scrapped the idea of Central American nations being available as a single faction, this was due to multiple nations occupying the area with different historical backround and motives
-Cuba will be the base of the Spanish colonial forces, playing color has not been decided at the moment I type this, nor the faction, most likely Purple and Castle (this is still at a planning state)
-Union troops will operate under the Blue banner with Castle being the faction for the North
-Confederacy will play as the Fortress, under the "rebel" Red banner
-capitols of both North and South will be heavily guarded by garrisons
-limited high level spells are available (banned: Fly, Dimension Door, Water Walk and Town Portal)
-no campaign Heroes available
Are you willing to try out the demo version? Contact me and I will send you the 0.80 version of the map (H3:SoD, XL). Screenshots coming soon! And as before, more information available by contacting me. Stay tuned for more!
Map publishing deadline: Jan 30th 2009
Yurian
I have been working feverishly for the past week or so in order to come up with a playable demo by Christmas or possibly, the end of the year. It seems that I have more good news than bad news to report this time in this update. Which is quite nice 'cause the lightless northern wintern otherwise for sure has kept me in its heavy grip. But the work continues and the danger of abandoning the project has been passed by.
Let's take a look at the current state of the project.
-territories consisting of modern day Canada have gone through extensive changes with some balance issues solved, improved graphics and finally, geographically correct coastlines! (not a bad score)
-Canadian player will be a Tower with two already partially built castles from the start of the scenario, playing colour Pink
-Mexican Republican forces will play as Inferno under the Green banner operating from their main base close the U.S border
-Mexican Imperial and French forces in Mexico will play under a single banner, Tan, with troops belonging to Inferno and Castle
-Mexican-U.S border and U.S-Canadian border will be closed by Border Gates to limit access accross the borders
-two Indian nations will inhabit the famous U.S "Wild West" with one faction allied to the Union and the other to the Confederacy
-scrapped the idea of Central American nations being available as a single faction, this was due to multiple nations occupying the area with different historical backround and motives
-Cuba will be the base of the Spanish colonial forces, playing color has not been decided at the moment I type this, nor the faction, most likely Purple and Castle (this is still at a planning state)
-Union troops will operate under the Blue banner with Castle being the faction for the North
-Confederacy will play as the Fortress, under the "rebel" Red banner
-capitols of both North and South will be heavily guarded by garrisons
-limited high level spells are available (banned: Fly, Dimension Door, Water Walk and Town Portal)
-no campaign Heroes available
Are you willing to try out the demo version? Contact me and I will send you the 0.80 version of the map (H3:SoD, XL). Screenshots coming soon! And as before, more information available by contacting me. Stay tuned for more!
Map publishing deadline: Jan 30th 2009
Yurian
Don't worry if things are going badly today. They will be much worse tomorrow.
-
UndeadHalfOrc
- Titan
- Posts: 1363
- Joined: 13 Mar 2007
-
Storm-giant
- Minotaur
- Posts: 693
- Joined: 13 Jun 2008
- Location: Torrelavega
-
Yurian Stonebow
- Archmage
- Posts: 961
- Joined: 06 Jan 2006
- Location: Vantaa, Finland
Demo version ready!
Update December 31st, 2008
First things first, thank you all for your comment and your encouraging words. I owe you some answers and additional information, so here it goes. Explainin' coming up
@rdeford, UHO and Storm-giant:
Thanks! I appreciate your feedback and your trust in this project of mine (or UHO's too, for he's the one who initiated the project). It's always good to know that there are people who are waiting there accross the world just to see this humble map coming into life. As a mapmaker, I know that one part (and quite valuable one, too) of the whole map making process is to interact with fellow Heroes fans and mapmakers, to hear their comment and ideas and perhaps, arrenge wider co-operation with them. Fear not, I'm not going to give up working on the Civil War map. I'm just too stubborn to do that and, also, my national pride demands me never giving up. I value the Sisu, remind you
@Corbon:
I agree with you that the South relied heavily on her best Generals' work on the field, especially the overall command of Lee. Without his brilliant Leadership, the CSA would have lost the battle even sooner than history did serve as witness to. The main point is that the industrial might of the North and the blockade of the Southern harbours by the Union Navy severely stressed the CSA's chances to win the War Between the States. The demo version of my map deals with some of the aforementioned stuff. You will see me going more into detail in the upcoming Release Version. In other words, the demo version does not feature special Heroes with CSA or Union Generals' bios. We're talking about version 0.80 after all...
Additional info concerning the demo version:
-Cuba hosts the Spanish colonial armies under the Orange flag, town-type: Dungeon
-island of Hispaniola is the home of a neutral city called Port-au-Prince
-border areas now guarded by double border gates
-American First Nations within the modern day U.S territory play as Rampart with limitations on buildings, playing colours Purple and Teal
-areas to explore: Queen Charlotte Islands in the far NW corner of the map to Hispaniola Island in the far SE corner of the map; in the extreme NE corner of the map one will find Canadian Arctic areas and forests in the Province of Quebec. The SW corner features the Pacific Ocean with Mexican island group called Islas Revillagigedo.
-NO Conflux Heroes, Sir Mullich also disabled
I shall send the Demo map to the CH Staff later today.
Yurian
First things first, thank you all for your comment and your encouraging words. I owe you some answers and additional information, so here it goes. Explainin' coming up
@rdeford, UHO and Storm-giant:
Thanks! I appreciate your feedback and your trust in this project of mine (or UHO's too, for he's the one who initiated the project). It's always good to know that there are people who are waiting there accross the world just to see this humble map coming into life. As a mapmaker, I know that one part (and quite valuable one, too) of the whole map making process is to interact with fellow Heroes fans and mapmakers, to hear their comment and ideas and perhaps, arrenge wider co-operation with them. Fear not, I'm not going to give up working on the Civil War map. I'm just too stubborn to do that and, also, my national pride demands me never giving up. I value the Sisu, remind you
@Corbon:
I agree with you that the South relied heavily on her best Generals' work on the field, especially the overall command of Lee. Without his brilliant Leadership, the CSA would have lost the battle even sooner than history did serve as witness to. The main point is that the industrial might of the North and the blockade of the Southern harbours by the Union Navy severely stressed the CSA's chances to win the War Between the States. The demo version of my map deals with some of the aforementioned stuff. You will see me going more into detail in the upcoming Release Version. In other words, the demo version does not feature special Heroes with CSA or Union Generals' bios. We're talking about version 0.80 after all...
Additional info concerning the demo version:
-Cuba hosts the Spanish colonial armies under the Orange flag, town-type: Dungeon
-island of Hispaniola is the home of a neutral city called Port-au-Prince
-border areas now guarded by double border gates
-American First Nations within the modern day U.S territory play as Rampart with limitations on buildings, playing colours Purple and Teal
-areas to explore: Queen Charlotte Islands in the far NW corner of the map to Hispaniola Island in the far SE corner of the map; in the extreme NE corner of the map one will find Canadian Arctic areas and forests in the Province of Quebec. The SW corner features the Pacific Ocean with Mexican island group called Islas Revillagigedo.
-NO Conflux Heroes, Sir Mullich also disabled
I shall send the Demo map to the CH Staff later today.
Yurian
Don't worry if things are going badly today. They will be much worse tomorrow.
-
Storm-giant
- Minotaur
- Posts: 693
- Joined: 13 Jun 2008
- Location: Torrelavega
-
Yurian Stonebow
- Archmage
- Posts: 961
- Joined: 06 Jan 2006
- Location: Vantaa, Finland
Demo sent to CH Staff
Update Jan 1st, 2009
Happy New Year!
The Demo version of the upcoming "American Civil War" map (Heroes III:SoD, XL, singleplayer, no underground) is now in the hands of the CH Staff and should be released soon into the maptesting service. I sincerally hope that you all shall dig the map and find it quite enjoyable. I used literally hundreds of hours to plan, scale and finally decorate and balance out the map. Overall the version 0.80 should be solid enough. And with "solid" I mean as by my notoriously high standards. I'm my own boss, of course, but a boss that is more like a dictator. Sounds good, huh?
Important!
What I failed to mention in my previous update is that in version 0.80 there are only two human-playable factions: Union as Blue and the Confederacy as Red player. Other factions are controlled by the CPU. I may change this in upcoming versions... So please remember that your feedback means a lot.
@Storm-giant:
Because of that silly hat of his, I just can't stand seeing him with that stupid thing on his head.
Yurian
Happy New Year!
The Demo version of the upcoming "American Civil War" map (Heroes III:SoD, XL, singleplayer, no underground) is now in the hands of the CH Staff and should be released soon into the maptesting service. I sincerally hope that you all shall dig the map and find it quite enjoyable. I used literally hundreds of hours to plan, scale and finally decorate and balance out the map. Overall the version 0.80 should be solid enough. And with "solid" I mean as by my notoriously high standards. I'm my own boss, of course, but a boss that is more like a dictator. Sounds good, huh?
Important!
What I failed to mention in my previous update is that in version 0.80 there are only two human-playable factions: Union as Blue and the Confederacy as Red player. Other factions are controlled by the CPU. I may change this in upcoming versions... So please remember that your feedback means a lot.
@Storm-giant:
Because of that silly hat of his, I just can't stand seeing him with that stupid thing on his head.
Yurian
Don't worry if things are going badly today. They will be much worse tomorrow.
-
Yurian Stonebow
- Archmage
- Posts: 961
- Joined: 06 Jan 2006
- Location: Vantaa, Finland
CH map testing in full swing
Update 14th of January, 2009
Greetings all,
As you all know, map testing for "American Civil War" (H3:SoD, XL) is now in full swing with the demo version of the map readily available for general testing in the CH's very own map testing service.
The demo version's geographical details concerning outlines of the North American continent and surrounding areas is about 90 % of the accuracy I wish to achieve in the release version scheduled for the end of the current month. I also wish to note that many features from the final version are still missing, and the main purpose of the demo version/0.80 is thus limited to testing the mechanics of the map: operating of the AI, town building strategies and inter-faction balance being the most important ones.
At the moment, the map is of the traditional "Defeat All Enemies" type but I may change this in upcoming versions. "Capture specific city"-option might indeed be better winning goal. Remember that this is a U.S Civil War map that emhasizes battle between the states and that's why, naturally, the other nations are to be controlled solely by the AI. While it may limit replayabilty, it adds to the authentic experience of the story.
In the upcoming versions you will see improved and added graphical details, and focusing on the story with the main Heroes being influential Union or CSA commanders. Some of the decisions as to the identity of these Heroes are still left undecided, which means that you may lobby for your own favourite historical Civil War Era leader being added as available commander of the two opposing fighting forces. Contact me and we'll have a chat. (Be prepared to back up your candidate with solid arguments.
)
Maygwan suggested adding Whirlpools into the map to improve sailing between various places on the seas surrounding North America. While the idea would be perfectly valid for a "normal" type of H3 map, his suggestion will be left out from the "American Civil War" due to real life related stuff: because of the aimed historical accurancy, we can't have ships popping out of nowhere bringing a huge invading army to the other side of the continent in no time. (Love the idea though)
As stated in a PM, your other suggestions are taken into careful consideration, Maygwan. My busy schedule willing, I shall sit down to work later today and see how the new ideas will interact with the rest of the map.
Here's hoping folks that you keep that valuable feedback coming in.
With best regards,
Yurian
Greetings all,
As you all know, map testing for "American Civil War" (H3:SoD, XL) is now in full swing with the demo version of the map readily available for general testing in the CH's very own map testing service.
The demo version's geographical details concerning outlines of the North American continent and surrounding areas is about 90 % of the accuracy I wish to achieve in the release version scheduled for the end of the current month. I also wish to note that many features from the final version are still missing, and the main purpose of the demo version/0.80 is thus limited to testing the mechanics of the map: operating of the AI, town building strategies and inter-faction balance being the most important ones.
At the moment, the map is of the traditional "Defeat All Enemies" type but I may change this in upcoming versions. "Capture specific city"-option might indeed be better winning goal. Remember that this is a U.S Civil War map that emhasizes battle between the states and that's why, naturally, the other nations are to be controlled solely by the AI. While it may limit replayabilty, it adds to the authentic experience of the story.
In the upcoming versions you will see improved and added graphical details, and focusing on the story with the main Heroes being influential Union or CSA commanders. Some of the decisions as to the identity of these Heroes are still left undecided, which means that you may lobby for your own favourite historical Civil War Era leader being added as available commander of the two opposing fighting forces. Contact me and we'll have a chat. (Be prepared to back up your candidate with solid arguments.
)Maygwan suggested adding Whirlpools into the map to improve sailing between various places on the seas surrounding North America. While the idea would be perfectly valid for a "normal" type of H3 map, his suggestion will be left out from the "American Civil War" due to real life related stuff: because of the aimed historical accurancy, we can't have ships popping out of nowhere bringing a huge invading army to the other side of the continent in no time. (Love the idea though)
As stated in a PM, your other suggestions are taken into careful consideration, Maygwan. My busy schedule willing, I shall sit down to work later today and see how the new ideas will interact with the rest of the map.
Here's hoping folks that you keep that valuable feedback coming in.
With best regards,
Yurian
Don't worry if things are going badly today. They will be much worse tomorrow.
-
Yurian Stonebow
- Archmage
- Posts: 961
- Joined: 06 Jan 2006
- Location: Vantaa, Finland
Dual version of 0.88 available for map testing
Greetings All,
I have now completed one additional round of updating, decorating, and finally, test playing my newest creation called "American Civil War". The results can be seen and downloaded on the CH's main page, from the map testing departement. You can also access the maps at the Maparchives. It requires you to first apply for membership, and then sign in, but that is not a hard task to do, and will be completed in minutes.
I wish to use this oppurtunity to thank Akul for his help in publishing the maps I've sent to him. His work in handling the Map Departement has a mark of professionalism all over it with new maps and demos added up fast into the map database. First class service all the way.
Thanks, my friend.
I decided to create a separate map for the North and another one for the South. In other words, I divided the map into two separate parts instead of keeping them together as a single mission map. I tried my best to rebalance the two maps in a unique way for both the South and the North, and I did this for their own scenarios.
The reason behind this is that in my test games concerning v0.87, I encountered many problems lurking within what at a first glance seemed to be the good bits, and decided to simply eliminate that version altogether. Like I said before, the decision to move on to 0.88 was made, and I further continued to work on the update by dividing it into two parts: part 1, the North's campaign, part 2, the South's campaign. Objective now changed from Defeat All Enemies to "Capture specific town".
I made some additonal balancing stuff but can't tell for sure if the results are yet good enough. This problem is left for the people to solve who have downloaded version 0.88 from the map testing page. EDIT: (some minor issues were encountered and dealt with in update to version 0.91)
After all this time passed, I have yet again decided to postpone for later editions (say 0.90) the Union and the Confederacy to receive their famous army commanders, (extra) Events, Rumours and other related stuff.
In other words, much of the plotline is still not ready and indeed needs some good thinking&planning to be as accurate as possible when dealing with real historical events. All this will add nicely to the overall challenge
of the American Civil War "dual map".
With two different maps (scenarios), the story can be told much more "smoothly" and better tied to its historical backround and real events. After all, I do not wish to lose my reputation as a knowledgeable Uni student of History.
With this said, testing the "Southern" part of the map, you will come accross a more aggressive CPU opponent playing for the North and vice versa when playing for the North. The Union Blue AI player/the CSA Red AI player has some nice bonuses coming in (as an Event) which I think the CPU knows just fine how to use.
I sincerally hope that people will like the two new maps that I now offer for general testing, "American Civil War 0.88 South" and "American Civil War 0.88 North". Also, a thank you is addressed to all wonderful folks here who have contributed to testing of the various map versions. Please keep those reports coming in. They are of valuable information and always received in humble gratitude.
APPENDIX, the American Civil War version 0.88 ReadMe for the North.
With best regards,
Yurian
Map version: 0.88
Map Date: Jan 31st, 2009
E-mail Address: olavi.valimaki (at) helsinki.fi
Human-playable town-types: Castle (Blue)
1 Humans Only, 7 Computer Only
Map Type: Historical, Adventure
Map Size: Extra-Large
Map Difficulty: Hard
Game Version: Shadow of Death
Language: English
Underground: NO
Multiplayer: NO
Special Win: Capture a specific town
Special Loss: Lose a specific town
Description: Abraham Lincoln has just sworn in as the President
of the United States of America. Not everyone is happy with this
and so the Secessionists decided to execute their long since
prepared plan: break away from the Union. As a Union Commander,
your mission is to teach these rebels a lesson.
Notes for Players:
This is an improved Demo, based on the previous version, 0.85.
The current version introduces additional bug fixes, improved graphics,
greatly enhanced inter-faction balance, and also extra Garden of
Knowledges and Star Axis and other "+1 buildings". Despite all this,
many features from the release version are still missing.
I have now completed one additional round of updating, decorating, and finally, test playing my newest creation called "American Civil War". The results can be seen and downloaded on the CH's main page, from the map testing departement. You can also access the maps at the Maparchives. It requires you to first apply for membership, and then sign in, but that is not a hard task to do, and will be completed in minutes.
I wish to use this oppurtunity to thank Akul for his help in publishing the maps I've sent to him. His work in handling the Map Departement has a mark of professionalism all over it with new maps and demos added up fast into the map database. First class service all the way.
Thanks, my friend.
I decided to create a separate map for the North and another one for the South. In other words, I divided the map into two separate parts instead of keeping them together as a single mission map. I tried my best to rebalance the two maps in a unique way for both the South and the North, and I did this for their own scenarios.
The reason behind this is that in my test games concerning v0.87, I encountered many problems lurking within what at a first glance seemed to be the good bits, and decided to simply eliminate that version altogether. Like I said before, the decision to move on to 0.88 was made, and I further continued to work on the update by dividing it into two parts: part 1, the North's campaign, part 2, the South's campaign. Objective now changed from Defeat All Enemies to "Capture specific town".
I made some additonal balancing stuff but can't tell for sure if the results are yet good enough. This problem is left for the people to solve who have downloaded version 0.88 from the map testing page. EDIT: (some minor issues were encountered and dealt with in update to version 0.91)
After all this time passed, I have yet again decided to postpone for later editions (say 0.90) the Union and the Confederacy to receive their famous army commanders, (extra) Events, Rumours and other related stuff.
In other words, much of the plotline is still not ready and indeed needs some good thinking&planning to be as accurate as possible when dealing with real historical events. All this will add nicely to the overall challenge
of the American Civil War "dual map".
With two different maps (scenarios), the story can be told much more "smoothly" and better tied to its historical backround and real events. After all, I do not wish to lose my reputation as a knowledgeable Uni student of History.
With this said, testing the "Southern" part of the map, you will come accross a more aggressive CPU opponent playing for the North and vice versa when playing for the North. The Union Blue AI player/the CSA Red AI player has some nice bonuses coming in (as an Event) which I think the CPU knows just fine how to use.
I sincerally hope that people will like the two new maps that I now offer for general testing, "American Civil War 0.88 South" and "American Civil War 0.88 North". Also, a thank you is addressed to all wonderful folks here who have contributed to testing of the various map versions. Please keep those reports coming in. They are of valuable information and always received in humble gratitude.
APPENDIX, the American Civil War version 0.88 ReadMe for the North.
With best regards,
Yurian
Map version: 0.88
Map Date: Jan 31st, 2009
E-mail Address: olavi.valimaki (at) helsinki.fi
Human-playable town-types: Castle (Blue)
1 Humans Only, 7 Computer Only
Map Type: Historical, Adventure
Map Size: Extra-Large
Map Difficulty: Hard
Game Version: Shadow of Death
Language: English
Underground: NO
Multiplayer: NO
Special Win: Capture a specific town
Special Loss: Lose a specific town
Description: Abraham Lincoln has just sworn in as the President
of the United States of America. Not everyone is happy with this
and so the Secessionists decided to execute their long since
prepared plan: break away from the Union. As a Union Commander,
your mission is to teach these rebels a lesson.
Notes for Players:
This is an improved Demo, based on the previous version, 0.85.
The current version introduces additional bug fixes, improved graphics,
greatly enhanced inter-faction balance, and also extra Garden of
Knowledges and Star Axis and other "+1 buildings". Despite all this,
many features from the release version are still missing.
Last edited by Anonymous on 07 Mar 2009, 08:49, edited 1 time in total.
Don't worry if things are going badly today. They will be much worse tomorrow.
-
UndeadHalfOrc
- Titan
- Posts: 1363
- Joined: 13 Mar 2007
-
Yurian Stonebow
- Archmage
- Posts: 961
- Joined: 06 Jan 2006
- Location: Vantaa, Finland
Version 0.95 for North coming up soon for general testing
Greetings All,
It's been way too many weeks since may last update.
I can assure you that I have used the time for polishing the map,
adding new material and even writing some story and info bits
Here is a rough summary of what you shall see in "North 0.95":
Number of starting towns:
7 Fortresses (CSA "South" controlled towns and cities)
5 Castles (Union controlled towns and cities)
4 Ramparts (Indian Allies of Union and the Confederacy)
3 Towers (British imperial towns and cities in Canada and the Caribbean)
2 Infernos (one each for the Mexican Republic and the Mexican Empire)
1 Dungeon (Spanish colonial base located in La Havanna, Cuba)
Number of neutral towns:
4 Towers (in Canada)
2 Castles (in northern U.S territory and Mexico)
2 Infernos (in Mexico)
1 Rampart (in Belize)
1 Necropolis (in the Caribbean)
1 Conflux (in modern day state of Utah)
From the "American Civil War North 0.95" ReadMe:
Notes for map testers:
This is an improved Demo based on the previous version, 0.92.
The current version introduces better graphics and scenery,
yet again carefully and (painfully) improved inter-faction balance,
extra "+1 buildings", magic wells and creature dwellings.
(A small percentage of features from the release version is still missing.
I shall keep on adding content as I move towards version 1.0.) Neutral
factions outside the modern day U.S received some nice boosters including
pre-set historical Heroes as army leaders, extra resources and better
access to shipyards. Access to magic has been scaled down with the intent
of fair game between CPU controlled factions and due to real life related
things: high level magic easing travelling on the map is generally banned
altogether. Whirlpools are also out of the question. No level 5 spells!
Also:
-additional rumours and events
-improved faction balance (Red and Pink now more aggressive)
-map is set on Hard although it could be Expert as well
(some times it's tough as nails, this I admit)
-somewhat increased the fighting capability of the North
-Tan and Orange received some easin' up of their starting position
-extra resources throughout the map
-more "native" troops guarding mines etc near faction headquarters
-raised experience level of some of Red's starting Heroes
-rebalanced Mexico: Green's chances at victory over Tan increased
-slightly increased Blue garrison's strength near Washington
-added neutral town of Salt Lake City (heavily scaled down Conflux)
-Pink received an extra starting Hero and some new mines and resources
which, I think, should make "him" a considerable player near end-game
-some other minor improvements
I shall add more information soon.
Meanwhile, you can download the map from the Maparchives site. This requires you to first sign in but getting a membership there is not a hard thing and should be a matter of ten minutes time.
With best regards,
Yurian
It's been way too many weeks since may last update.
I can assure you that I have used the time for polishing the map,
adding new material and even writing some story and info bits
Here is a rough summary of what you shall see in "North 0.95":
Number of starting towns:
7 Fortresses (CSA "South" controlled towns and cities)
5 Castles (Union controlled towns and cities)
4 Ramparts (Indian Allies of Union and the Confederacy)
3 Towers (British imperial towns and cities in Canada and the Caribbean)
2 Infernos (one each for the Mexican Republic and the Mexican Empire)
1 Dungeon (Spanish colonial base located in La Havanna, Cuba)
Number of neutral towns:
4 Towers (in Canada)
2 Castles (in northern U.S territory and Mexico)
2 Infernos (in Mexico)
1 Rampart (in Belize)
1 Necropolis (in the Caribbean)
1 Conflux (in modern day state of Utah)
From the "American Civil War North 0.95" ReadMe:
Notes for map testers:
This is an improved Demo based on the previous version, 0.92.
The current version introduces better graphics and scenery,
yet again carefully and (painfully) improved inter-faction balance,
extra "+1 buildings", magic wells and creature dwellings.
(A small percentage of features from the release version is still missing.
I shall keep on adding content as I move towards version 1.0.) Neutral
factions outside the modern day U.S received some nice boosters including
pre-set historical Heroes as army leaders, extra resources and better
access to shipyards. Access to magic has been scaled down with the intent
of fair game between CPU controlled factions and due to real life related
things: high level magic easing travelling on the map is generally banned
altogether. Whirlpools are also out of the question. No level 5 spells!
Also:
-additional rumours and events
-improved faction balance (Red and Pink now more aggressive)
-map is set on Hard although it could be Expert as well
(some times it's tough as nails, this I admit)
-somewhat increased the fighting capability of the North
-Tan and Orange received some easin' up of their starting position
-extra resources throughout the map
-more "native" troops guarding mines etc near faction headquarters
-raised experience level of some of Red's starting Heroes
-rebalanced Mexico: Green's chances at victory over Tan increased
-slightly increased Blue garrison's strength near Washington
-added neutral town of Salt Lake City (heavily scaled down Conflux)
-Pink received an extra starting Hero and some new mines and resources
which, I think, should make "him" a considerable player near end-game
-some other minor improvements
I shall add more information soon.
Meanwhile, you can download the map from the Maparchives site. This requires you to first sign in but getting a membership there is not a hard thing and should be a matter of ten minutes time.
With best regards,
Yurian
Don't worry if things are going badly today. They will be much worse tomorrow.
-
Yurian Stonebow
- Archmage
- Posts: 961
- Joined: 06 Jan 2006
- Location: Vantaa, Finland
@Koni:
Good to hear you're back in the map testing business. I say go for it Good reports are always welcome and they have chance to effect further map versions. In my opinion, map testing amounts to 20% of the finished product. I can never stress enough the importance of it. That's why I value high any assistance I get and read incoming reports eagerly and with map improvement aspect in mind.
North's campaign version 0.95 has so far been sent personally by me to but a small circle of friends and fellow Heroes fans: you, Muszka, UndeadHalfOrc and HeroOfPunk. A version is also featured in the Maparchives' BB6 section.
Good luck to map testing, Koni. And watch out for Red!! If you don't play aggressive enough, he shall overcome you in 6 weeks. On the other hand, remind you, if you play too aggressive, some of Red's combined early game forces may be too powerful for the player to fight at once.
Yurian
Good to hear you're back in the map testing business. I say go for it
Good reports are always welcome and they have chance to effect further map versions. In my opinion, map testing amounts to 20% of the finished product. I can never stress enough the importance of it. That's why I value high any assistance I get and read incoming reports eagerly and with map improvement aspect in mind.North's campaign version 0.95 has so far been sent personally by me to but a small circle of friends and fellow Heroes fans: you, Muszka, UndeadHalfOrc and HeroOfPunk. A version is also featured in the Maparchives' BB6 section.
Good luck to map testing, Koni. And watch out for Red!! If you don't play aggressive enough, he shall overcome you in 6 weeks. On the other hand, remind you, if you play too aggressive, some of Red's combined early game forces may be too powerful for the player to fight at once.
Yurian
Don't worry if things are going badly today. They will be much worse tomorrow.
-
Yurian Stonebow
- Archmage
- Posts: 961
- Joined: 06 Jan 2006
- Location: Vantaa, Finland
Update, on the Good Friday, 2009
Version 0.95 for North is stable enough to be released for general map testing, but before I send it over to the CH Staff, there are some minor issues that need my attention. Version 0.95a is currently in the works, going through some minor modifications as we speak. I think that I shall be ready with the re-worked version of 0.95 later today. Let's see how things turn out.
What worries me most is the lack of story bits. I'm not much of a writer so adding them has been postponed several times already. But I think that with A Little Help From My Friend Koni, this obstacle shall be overcome. The good news is that I've added new Hero bios and some brand new Heroes in the latest version, soon available for the people here at the CH to see for themselves.
Mexico remains one of the areas most difficult to balance out evenly in power between the factions. In my experience, the Tan player, representing Mexican Imperial forces, gained the upper hand in battle against its Green nemesis way too often prior to versions 0.95 and 0.95a.
The Mexican republican forces under Benito Juarez, playing colour Green, were subject to difficult and bitter fighting against the combined Tan armies from the south. Balancing this continues to be one of the few remaining major balance issues. Hopefully I shall find remedy soon.
As for Canada, UndeadHalfOrc and Angelspit should give me a tap on the shoulder and say "good boy, Yurian", for I have balanced British Imperial Canada quite nicely and made the Pink player (Traditional British Imperial colour) a formidable foe when faced in battle. What limits "his" actions is the vastness of Canada, spread out resources, heavily guarded shipyards and an Azure Dragon guarded keymaster tent allowing access accross the U.S-Canadian border. Well, the first viceroy of Canada, Charles Monck, was a man of peace and diplomacy in the real world, and if his Heroes incarnation was of similar conduct and manners, he'd stay in Canada 'till the mid to late game.
Version 0.95 features added level of difficulty, so remember to be cautious and always watch your back. Loosing Washington will cost you the entire scenario, and no matter who conquers the city. I have even seen the British Imperial forces (Pink player) take it (!!). Consider yourself warned. Aggressive use of force will protect you far better than slowly building up your army and cities. Trying to spread out the field armies you control may also prove out to be a fatal mistake. Using a few concentrated and thus powerful armies will help you gain an edge over the enemies. Good luck!
Care to comment? Need some additional advise when trying out the map and playing on harder difficulty levels? Critisism? Feel free to contact me for more information or just say you dig the map or found it to be sub-par. The choice is yours.
Yurian
Version 0.95 for North is stable enough to be released for general map testing, but before I send it over to the CH Staff, there are some minor issues that need my attention. Version 0.95a is currently in the works, going through some minor modifications as we speak. I think that I shall be ready with the re-worked version of 0.95 later today. Let's see how things turn out.
What worries me most is the lack of story bits. I'm not much of a writer so adding them has been postponed several times already. But I think that with A Little Help From My Friend Koni, this obstacle shall be overcome. The good news is that I've added new Hero bios and some brand new Heroes in the latest version, soon available for the people here at the CH to see for themselves.
Mexico remains one of the areas most difficult to balance out evenly in power between the factions. In my experience, the Tan player, representing Mexican Imperial forces, gained the upper hand in battle against its Green nemesis way too often prior to versions 0.95 and 0.95a.
The Mexican republican forces under Benito Juarez, playing colour Green, were subject to difficult and bitter fighting against the combined Tan armies from the south. Balancing this continues to be one of the few remaining major balance issues. Hopefully I shall find remedy soon.
As for Canada, UndeadHalfOrc and Angelspit should give me a tap on the shoulder and say "good boy, Yurian", for I have balanced British Imperial Canada quite nicely and made the Pink player (Traditional British Imperial colour) a formidable foe when faced in battle. What limits "his" actions is the vastness of Canada, spread out resources, heavily guarded shipyards and an Azure Dragon guarded keymaster tent allowing access accross the U.S-Canadian border. Well, the first viceroy of Canada, Charles Monck, was a man of peace and diplomacy in the real world, and if his Heroes incarnation was of similar conduct and manners, he'd stay in Canada 'till the mid to late game.
Version 0.95 features added level of difficulty, so remember to be cautious and always watch your back. Loosing Washington will cost you the entire scenario, and no matter who conquers the city. I have even seen the British Imperial forces (Pink player) take it (!!). Consider yourself warned. Aggressive use of force will protect you far better than slowly building up your army and cities. Trying to spread out the field armies you control may also prove out to be a fatal mistake. Using a few concentrated and thus powerful armies will help you gain an edge over the enemies. Good luck!
Care to comment? Need some additional advise when trying out the map and playing on harder difficulty levels? Critisism? Feel free to contact me for more information or just say you dig the map or found it to be sub-par. The choice is yours.
Yurian
Don't worry if things are going badly today. They will be much worse tomorrow.
-
Yurian Stonebow
- Archmage
- Posts: 961
- Joined: 06 Jan 2006
- Location: Vantaa, Finland
Version 0.96 North released for map testing
Update, May 15th 2009
I now announce the release of version 0.96 of "American Civil War" for North, or the Union. The Extra-Large Heroes III: Shadow of Death map is finally approaching its release version (1.0), and as a preview of things to come, I decided to make one more pre-release version available for general map testing here in our very own CH's Map Testing service page.
Here's information from the ReadMe:
"Map Name: American Civil War 0.96 North
Map Maker: Yurian Stonebow
Map version: 0.96
Map Date: May 13th, 2009
E-mail Address: olavi.valimaki(@)helsinki.fi
Human-playable town-types: Castle (Blue)
1 Humans Only, 7 Computer Only
Map Type: Historical, Adventure, Exploration and Strategic
Map Size: Extra-Large
Map Difficulty: Hard
Game Version: Heroes III: Shadow of Death
Language: English
Underground: NO
Multiplayer: NO
Special Win: Capture a specific town (Richmond)
Special Loss: Lose a specific town (Washington)
Description: Abraham Lincoln has just sworn in as the President
of the United States of America. Not everyone is happy with this
and so the Secessionists decided to execute their long since
prepared plan: break away from the Union. As a Union Commander,
your mission is to teach these rebels a lesson.
Notes for map testers:
This is an improved but little tested Demo based on the previous version, 0.95. The current version introduces better graphics and scenery,
yet again carefully and (painfully) improved inter-faction balance,
extra "+1 buildings", magic wells and creature dwellings, new Heroes,
new towns and a couple of new events and small "storybits".
You will see me adding new content as I move towards version 1.0. Neutral factions outside the modern day U.S received some nice boosters including pre-set historical Heroes as army leaders, extra resources and better (but now much more closely gurded) access to shipyards.
The overall availability of magic has been intentionally scaled down aiming
at fair game between CPU controlled factions, and also, due to real life related things: high level magic easing travelling on the map is generally banned altogether. Whirlpools are also out of the question. No level 5 spells!
Also:
-additional rumours and events
-improved inter-faction balance (Tan player is now more aggressive)
-although the map is recommended to be played on Hard difficulty,
it can be enjoyed on Expert as well if one is careful enough on his/hers moves (some times this can be as tough as nails, which I readily admit)
-increased the fighting capability of the North
(additional town now available + extra resources and a better access to the important windmills and mines near Blue's starting castles)
-Tan received some easin' up on its starting position with buffed up Heroes
extra resources fixing some of the encountered balance issues
-many additional piles of resources spreaded throughout the map
-more "native" troops guarding mines etc near faction headquarters as well as scattered along the area historically controlled by the Union or the forces of the Confederacy
-raised experience level of some of Red's starting Heroes
-rebalanced Mexico: Tan and Green are now about equal in strength, but have more high level creatures guarding Shipyards
-modified Blue's garrison near Washington: additional guards slowing down the enemy and "his" early chance at conquering the North's Capitol
-added the neutral town of Salt Lake City (heavily scaled down Conflux)
-the city of New York sees its first appearence, and it is also the starting town of the new Blue Hero, J. Schofield
-Red received yet another Hero, J Longstreet (General James Longstreet)
-also numerous minor improvements"
Opposing forces:
The Confederacy
Heroes and their base of operations
General Lee: Richmond
J Longstreet: Atlanta
J. Finnegan: Tallahassee
Gen. Jackson: Memphis
Gen. Bragg: New Orleans
John B. Hood: Austin
Capt. Hunter: Tucson
Seven cities to begin the scenario with, one Hero in each city.
The Union
Heroes and their base of operations
Gen. Grant: Washington
J. Schofield: New York City
T.J.Sheehan: Fort Rigedly
Col. Connor: Los Angeles
Gen. Sherman: *secret location, follow the storyline*
(I may add more Union Heroes in 1.0)
Six cities to begin the scenario with, Hero in four of them
(also, the Union controlles cities Augusta and Seattle, no Hero present)
Mexican Republicans
B.Juarez: Chihuahua
Mexican Imperial forces and the French Task Force in Mexico
J. Almonte: Mexico City
Gen. Bazaine: French Base (SE of Mexico City)
Spanish Colonial Empire: Cuba
Gov. of Cuba: La Havanna
British Empire
Canada
Viceroy Monc: Quebec
Gov. Douglas: Vancouver
The Caribbean
No hero present: Kingston, Jamaica
American First Nations
Opoth Yohola: Creek Nation (located in the western Great Plains area)
Bear Hunter: Shoshone Camp
Little Crow: Dakota Camp
(also one additional town for the "Amerindians", about 1,000 miles north of Austin, TX, called "CSA Indians")
The general rule is that forces opposed to, or neutral, to the Union (Blue player) start with one Hero in each town they hold in the beginning of the scenario, with some exceptions, of course. For example, Blue's only Ally, the Purple player, starts with one city and one Hero only. His success depends totally on his actions on the battle field within the couple of few weeks from the start of the scenario. Not an easy task, that's for sure!
I suggest that you play the scenario as semi historical fantasy battle. This way you don't have to feel that disappointed from "errors" or "factual errors" rising from the world of Heroes III being quite different from that of our own. On the other hand, I assure you that I did my best to walk the not-so-wide line between historical accuracy and playability. While I do admit that the result may be not that astonishing and I may face bitter opposition for the choices I made, it was for the greater good.
With all this said, I bid you all a Merry testing/playing
Yurian St. Bow
I now announce the release of version 0.96 of "American Civil War" for North, or the Union. The Extra-Large Heroes III: Shadow of Death map is finally approaching its release version (1.0), and as a preview of things to come, I decided to make one more pre-release version available for general map testing here in our very own CH's Map Testing service page.
Here's information from the ReadMe:
"Map Name: American Civil War 0.96 North
Map Maker: Yurian Stonebow
Map version: 0.96
Map Date: May 13th, 2009
E-mail Address: olavi.valimaki(@)helsinki.fi
Human-playable town-types: Castle (Blue)
1 Humans Only, 7 Computer Only
Map Type: Historical, Adventure, Exploration and Strategic
Map Size: Extra-Large
Map Difficulty: Hard
Game Version: Heroes III: Shadow of Death
Language: English
Underground: NO
Multiplayer: NO
Special Win: Capture a specific town (Richmond)
Special Loss: Lose a specific town (Washington)
Description: Abraham Lincoln has just sworn in as the President
of the United States of America. Not everyone is happy with this
and so the Secessionists decided to execute their long since
prepared plan: break away from the Union. As a Union Commander,
your mission is to teach these rebels a lesson.
Notes for map testers:
This is an improved but little tested Demo based on the previous version, 0.95. The current version introduces better graphics and scenery,
yet again carefully and (painfully) improved inter-faction balance,
extra "+1 buildings", magic wells and creature dwellings, new Heroes,
new towns and a couple of new events and small "storybits".
You will see me adding new content as I move towards version 1.0. Neutral factions outside the modern day U.S received some nice boosters including pre-set historical Heroes as army leaders, extra resources and better (but now much more closely gurded) access to shipyards.
The overall availability of magic has been intentionally scaled down aiming
at fair game between CPU controlled factions, and also, due to real life related things: high level magic easing travelling on the map is generally banned altogether. Whirlpools are also out of the question. No level 5 spells!
Also:
-additional rumours and events
-improved inter-faction balance (Tan player is now more aggressive)
-although the map is recommended to be played on Hard difficulty,
it can be enjoyed on Expert as well if one is careful enough on his/hers moves (some times this can be as tough as nails, which I readily admit)
-increased the fighting capability of the North
(additional town now available + extra resources and a better access to the important windmills and mines near Blue's starting castles)
-Tan received some easin' up on its starting position with buffed up Heroes
extra resources fixing some of the encountered balance issues
-many additional piles of resources spreaded throughout the map
-more "native" troops guarding mines etc near faction headquarters as well as scattered along the area historically controlled by the Union or the forces of the Confederacy
-raised experience level of some of Red's starting Heroes
-rebalanced Mexico: Tan and Green are now about equal in strength, but have more high level creatures guarding Shipyards
-modified Blue's garrison near Washington: additional guards slowing down the enemy and "his" early chance at conquering the North's Capitol
-added the neutral town of Salt Lake City (heavily scaled down Conflux)
-the city of New York sees its first appearence, and it is also the starting town of the new Blue Hero, J. Schofield
-Red received yet another Hero, J Longstreet (General James Longstreet)
-also numerous minor improvements"
Opposing forces:
The Confederacy
Heroes and their base of operations
General Lee: Richmond
J Longstreet: Atlanta
J. Finnegan: Tallahassee
Gen. Jackson: Memphis
Gen. Bragg: New Orleans
John B. Hood: Austin
Capt. Hunter: Tucson
Seven cities to begin the scenario with, one Hero in each city.
The Union
Heroes and their base of operations
Gen. Grant: Washington
J. Schofield: New York City
T.J.Sheehan: Fort Rigedly
Col. Connor: Los Angeles
Gen. Sherman: *secret location, follow the storyline*
(I may add more Union Heroes in 1.0)
Six cities to begin the scenario with, Hero in four of them
(also, the Union controlles cities Augusta and Seattle, no Hero present)
Mexican Republicans
B.Juarez: Chihuahua
Mexican Imperial forces and the French Task Force in Mexico
J. Almonte: Mexico City
Gen. Bazaine: French Base (SE of Mexico City)
Spanish Colonial Empire: Cuba
Gov. of Cuba: La Havanna
British Empire
Canada
Viceroy Monc: Quebec
Gov. Douglas: Vancouver
The Caribbean
No hero present: Kingston, Jamaica
American First Nations
Opoth Yohola: Creek Nation (located in the western Great Plains area)
Bear Hunter: Shoshone Camp
Little Crow: Dakota Camp
(also one additional town for the "Amerindians", about 1,000 miles north of Austin, TX, called "CSA Indians")
The general rule is that forces opposed to, or neutral, to the Union (Blue player) start with one Hero in each town they hold in the beginning of the scenario, with some exceptions, of course. For example, Blue's only Ally, the Purple player, starts with one city and one Hero only. His success depends totally on his actions on the battle field within the couple of few weeks from the start of the scenario. Not an easy task, that's for sure!
I suggest that you play the scenario as semi historical fantasy battle. This way you don't have to feel that disappointed from "errors" or "factual errors" rising from the world of Heroes III being quite different from that of our own. On the other hand, I assure you that I did my best to walk the not-so-wide line between historical accuracy and playability. While I do admit that the result may be not that astonishing and I may face bitter opposition for the choices I made, it was for the greater good.
With all this said, I bid you all a Merry testing/playing
Yurian St. Bow
Don't worry if things are going badly today. They will be much worse tomorrow.
-
Yurian Stonebow
- Archmage
- Posts: 961
- Joined: 06 Jan 2006
- Location: Vantaa, Finland
Update, 4th of August (Not July) 2009
Friends,
I'm about to release the First part of the American Civil War, the one where you will be in control of the Federal (North's) troops fighting a campaign to crush the rebellion, and to restore the Union. Unknown to the Union leaders at the time (early 1861), the Rebels were much more than a gang of disillusioned ex-Army officers and marauding members of some backwoods town militia, what the Washington government faced in reality was a full scale War for Southern independence, some times called the War Between the States.
The player will be leading Union's blue coated men (from the Castle alignment, no less!) from the Union headquarters at Washington and major cities of New York and L.A on to assault the defenses of the Confederates in and around their fortified cities of Atlanta, Tallahassee and New Orleans, just to name a few.
Famous enemy commanders will be met with bitter fighting ensuing, slaves will be freed and the enemy's sites of resource production taken over and confiscated. Wrath of an Empire could spoil your plans, and the untimely arrival of hostile scouting parties and surprise attacks & attempts by various enemies, both internal and external, will cause you additional worries. All in all, you're guaranteed to be in for some good, Heroic time with many nice surprises waiting.
Outnumbered in the beginning by 5:7 and faced with the brilliant overall leadership of General Lee, and having to fight off hostile Indian raids, your hands will be tied and the resources scarce at first. Use aggressive tactics to wear down the enemy, develop your industrial potential to the max, and finally drive out the invading Red CSA armies from the outskirts of your Capitol to the marshes of the South and to the heavily fought for area around Richmond, Virginia. Lead your siege troops against the walls and defenses of the capitol of the South through the Petersburg area.
Got any comment to share? Act now for by the end of the week the map shall be finalized and no alterations will see daylight before first patch (if any).
It's time to restore the Union! Onwards, men of the North!
-Yurian
Friends,
I'm about to release the First part of the American Civil War, the one where you will be in control of the Federal (North's) troops fighting a campaign to crush the rebellion, and to restore the Union. Unknown to the Union leaders at the time (early 1861), the Rebels were much more than a gang of disillusioned ex-Army officers and marauding members of some backwoods town militia, what the Washington government faced in reality was a full scale War for Southern independence, some times called the War Between the States.
The player will be leading Union's blue coated men (from the Castle alignment, no less!) from the Union headquarters at Washington and major cities of New York and L.A on to assault the defenses of the Confederates in and around their fortified cities of Atlanta, Tallahassee and New Orleans, just to name a few.
Famous enemy commanders will be met with bitter fighting ensuing, slaves will be freed and the enemy's sites of resource production taken over and confiscated. Wrath of an Empire could spoil your plans, and the untimely arrival of hostile scouting parties and surprise attacks & attempts by various enemies, both internal and external, will cause you additional worries. All in all, you're guaranteed to be in for some good, Heroic time with many nice surprises waiting.
Outnumbered in the beginning by 5:7 and faced with the brilliant overall leadership of General Lee, and having to fight off hostile Indian raids, your hands will be tied and the resources scarce at first. Use aggressive tactics to wear down the enemy, develop your industrial potential to the max, and finally drive out the invading Red CSA armies from the outskirts of your Capitol to the marshes of the South and to the heavily fought for area around Richmond, Virginia. Lead your siege troops against the walls and defenses of the capitol of the South through the Petersburg area.
Got any comment to share? Act now for by the end of the week the map shall be finalized and no alterations will see daylight before first patch (if any).
It's time to restore the Union! Onwards, men of the North!
-Yurian
Don't worry if things are going badly today. They will be much worse tomorrow.
-
Yurian Stonebow
- Archmage
- Posts: 961
- Joined: 06 Jan 2006
- Location: Vantaa, Finland
-
ByteBandit
- Archangel
- Posts: 1448
- Joined: 27 Nov 2005
-
Yurian Stonebow
- Archmage
- Posts: 961
- Joined: 06 Jan 2006
- Location: Vantaa, Finland
You now my perfectionistic habits, BB. It isn't ready until I have combined the good bits to the other bits. There's still much work that needs to be done.
Somebody else would have quite happily released the map by now. But not me. Oh no. I just can't force myself to do it. I just can't let go of it just yet.
It's a real bugger I know.
Somebody else would have quite happily released the map by now. But not me. Oh no. I just can't force myself to do it. I just can't let go of it just yet.
It's a real bugger I know.
Don't worry if things are going badly today. They will be much worse tomorrow.
-
ByteBandit
- Archangel
- Posts: 1448
- Joined: 27 Nov 2005
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests