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After successful Kickstart, Heroes 3: The Board Game is for some time available in your local shops (or late pledge), so there's definitively time to take a look at its gameplay. This is masterpiece designed at Archon Studios featuring beautiful art of Magdalena Katanska. See the people playing, they feel soo comfortable ;)

For more arty people among us, ofc you can paint your minis ;)

Official pages: https://homm3boardgame.com
Official forum: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/355326/heroes-might-magic-iii-board-game

H3.TBG Playlist by Archon


If you played H3:TBG let us know your experience, share it with us!


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Paul Anthony Romero will be having very soon two concerts in Ukraine with Lumos Orchestra. The dates are:

About the show

Music from the famous game "Heroes of Might and Magic" in Lviv!
On March 11, 2024, at a concert at the Lviv Opera, your fantasies will come true: the music will immerse you in exciting battles with dragons and angels, lead you in search of the Holy Grail or magical towers, or perhaps take you straight to the Necropolis itself!

Paul Romero, the composer of the music for the Heroes of Might and Magic III game saga, whose acquaintance with Ukraine was accompanied by a sold-out show, is back! At the concert in Lviv, you will find an updated program - a concert that will make dreams come true for Heroes of Might and Magic fans: the composer will perform the legendary video game soundtrack live at the piano, accompanied by the unsurpassed geek band LUMOS Orchestra and the Evshan choir!

Concert soloist - Paul Romero (USA)
Conductor - Roman Kreslenko
Artistic director of the orchestra - Diana Koval
Artistic director of the choir - Iryna Kreslenko
Paul Romero - live concert in Lviv!

Paul Romero is a composer who has been accompanied by music all his life, since childhood he spent hours improvising on the piano, then fell in love with Chopin and Liszt, played Mozart with a symphony orchestra, and in his teens wrote and performed his first piano concerto with a symphony orchestra, and later received a scholarship to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

Listening to music performed live by a composer is an experience that cannot be described, it must be heard and felt. In addition, the Heroes of Might and Magic III project has special, unique arrangements with the addition of instruments that emphasize the Ukrainian flavor.

Together with the composer, LUMOS Orchestra, the only geek orchestra in Ukraine, will perform on stage with their colleagues, the Galician chamber choir Evshan, and each of their performances is a real show that combines their own author's arrangements of music, animations by Ukrainian artists, interactive, scenery and costumes, and, most importantly, powerful drama with a well-told story.

The World of Might and Magic is calling! So don't delay, tickets are available for purchase on our website and at the city ticket offices.

https://www.instagram.com/lumos.orchestra


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The best game ever is having its 25th birthday. Yay!

h3tbg leadership

It's like that with release date, different countries and OSes have it slightly shifted. But offical release date is 28th Feb 1999, whereas available for Windows in stores was from 3rd March 1999. Linux and Mac had come a bit later.

And if you wanna play original Restoration of Erathia with better graphic or just complete your library for very decent price, now you have a chance with Steam. Till midnight. gking1

You can also celebrate it with a match in Anniversary Championship, organised by Jebuss Cross.

 *Heroes 3 RoE HD for Android is no longer supported and was removed by Ubisoft from Google Play. Hence you can go for VCMI. For which you also need the base game.
vcmi logo

 **For much more detailed view on the game and its respective release date, you can check mobygames.


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I didn't know, that ther is Villain Wiki but, they certainly covered Heroes of Might and Magic saga, let see:
https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Sandro_(Enroth)
https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Deemer
https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Finneas_Vilmar
https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Archibald_Ironfist
https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Zydar
https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Calh
https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Tamika
https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Lord_Haart

Though the pages are ridden with adverts, like most "commercial" wikis, the content deserve praise. I liked how they summed it up ;)


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After very long time, certainly for mobile game, Creature Quest come to an end (2017-2024).

There are likely several resons, leading here:

  • End of Marmelade Engine, due to iOS changeable requirements pilling up. This left the game being updated and patched on the dead engine.
  • End of CQ support with iOS 16+
  • And recently there were reported some lags over Android 13
  • As Marmelade Engine was multiplatform, it was mostly question of time, where all these problems will arise and in the effect shrink number of players only on these having iOS 15 and below and Android 12 and below.
  • Additonaly the game is not advertised from 2020, perhaps with exception of Heroes Community. Which is somewhat correlating with time, from which is not patched.

To our dedicated community,

We want to thank all of you for your passion and commitment to our project over these many years. We hope that we were able to bring some joy and fun into your lives.

It is with a heavy heart that we have to notify you that starting February 29, 2024, Creature Quest will be shutting down its servers indefinitely. This means the game will no longer be able to open, even for those that already have the app. Additionally, in-app purchasing will be disabled as of February 15, 2024. We kept it running as long as we could, but it is no longer feasible.5

We wish all of you the best and hope to see you again on another project some day.

Quest on!

This is a sad news, this game was unique and there's not known succesor, not even spiritual one, to me.

Links:
https://news.creaturequest.com/news/2024/2/15/important-notice
http://vcmobile.net/

 


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Hi folks,
Mctronic kindly send us his new campaign for Heroes V - Tribes of the East. Your journey will be to liberate Oak Valley, as Ylthin, a skilled and respected elven ranger.

As each map is state of art, there's even more. The campaign contains two additional mods, one for music, with more music available over external link and Large Message Boxes mod by Pitsu. Maps has been  tested by Wheeler Deeler.

From the notes:

  1. Installation
    Put the files in their respective directory where you installed Heroes V Tribes of the East (that is : put the content of userMODs in this archive inside the UserMODs directory of Heroes 5 TotE, and so forth).
    To uninstall, simply remove those files from the folders that is located in "UserMODs".
    In the Video and Audio option menu, uncheck the checkbox "No Eyecandies".
  2. Playing
    Launch Heroes V - Tribes of the East.
    Go into Single Player / User Campaigns and select Liberation of Oak Valley to start the adventure :).
    To be played on hard difficulty.

Enjoy!

Download "Liberation of Oak Valley"


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Newsletter #41 January 2024

Ogre Mage - Quarterly Newsletters - Health issues - HoMM3 recollection about Dendroids and E3 special demo

FST Ogre MageOgre Mage Amongst Ogres, the Ogre Mage is revered. Amongst all other wizards, the Ogre Mage is disregarded. With knowledge and limited castings of only one spell, the Ogre Mage has the ability to Enrage a separate Allied Division. At first, this may not seem significant, but the effect is cumulative and persistent for the remainder of Battlefield Combat. Furthermore, under specific Battlefield conditions, this effect can be applied to an entire Army, making the Ogre Mage a surprisingly effective, albeit limited, caster.

Hey, All.

Hope each of you is safe and healthy.
​​
This month, I have four topics concerning the Ogre Mage, Hero spell casting, the name for the HoMM3 Dendroid, and the first part of three HoMM3 Recollections relating to E3 in 1998.

I also have an update regarding the frequency of these Newsletters. Going forward, they will no longer be monthly, but quarterly (January, April, July, and October). Why? My ‘personal bandwidth’ continues to be limited, stemming from my ongoing health issues. Doing this will free up more time to focus on Fanstratics development, while overlapping nicely with the HoMM3 Recollections. Previously, I touched upon this subject in Newsletter #38.

Until next time.

​Greg
Fanstratics Game Director & Designer

This was a fun one. Initially, Justin rendered his typical four thumbnails for me to choose. All were excellent. I picked a foundation, and a couple of elements from the others. After a second-round line drawing, I found myself gravitating back to one of the original thumbnails, and told Justin to put it in reverse, and run with foundational thumbnail. Very happy with the end result.

Just like last month, there is no VOD from Justin. Christmas commitments took priority. So, no stream. Maybe next time.
Fanstratics Question: Will a hero be able to cast more than one spell per turn?

In Fanstratics, like HoMM3, Heroes can only cast one spell per 'turn' unless special circumstances dictate otherwise (like an artifact).
HoMM3 Question: Why are Dendroids called Dendroids?

During one of my sessions with Jon Van Caneghem (JVC), we were finalizing the roster for the Rampart. At the time, Dendroids were named Treants, as derived from Dungeons & Dragons. At the time, I did not know there had been a copyright issue between Dungeons & Dragons and the Tolkien estate, as Treants were originally named Ents (referring to anthropomorphic tree creatures from Lord of the Rings). Regardless, JVC didn’t like the name Treant. I offered up ‘Ent’. Didn’t like it. Treefolk? Nope.

After retrieving a paperback Thesaurus from my office, I sat in front of Jon and read all the synonyms for Treant, Ent, etc. Woodfolk? Nah. Grove Giant? (shakes head). Tree Spirit? No.

Me, “Dendroid?”
JVC, “What’s a dendroid?”
Me, after retrieving a paperback Dictionary from my office, “Dendroid... resembling a shrub or tree.”

JVC shrugged his shoulders.

Me, “I like Treefolk, but I could live with Dendroid,”
JVC, “Let’s go with Dendroid, until we think of something better.”

Well, we never thought of anything better, and to be perfectly honest, the name grew on me.

As a bonus, in hindsight, we probably avoided a potential copyright issue with Dungeons & Dragons.
HoMM3 Recollection: E3 1998 (part 1 of 3)

Before 1995, in the USA, video games were showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Along the way, at some point, consumer and computer game companies got tired of being treated like third-class citizens in relation to televisions, radios, and VCRs.

Via the Wikipedia summary, according to Tom Kalinske, CEO of Sega America, "The CES organizers used to put the video game industry way, way in the back. In 1991, they put us in a tent, and you had to walk past all the porn vendors to find us. That particular year it was pouring rain, and the rain leaked right over our new Genesis system. I was just furious with the way CES treated the video game industry, and I felt we were a more important industry than they were giving us credit for."

Eventually, Pat Ferrell, the creator of GamePro magazine, birthed the idea for what would eventually become the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). In the beginning, in 1995, E3’s primary purpose was to pre-sell hardware and software to visiting retailers. Later, as the world became more connected with cell phones, fax machines, and the rising 'internet', E3 became a technological circus where the big companies tried to out-muscle one another for media coverage.

As a game developer, attending E3... was exhilarating. Attendance was limited only to retailers and developers, and this convention was the center of all things video games. You saw what was presently available, and what was appearing on the horizon.
Fast forward to mid-April of 1998, at New World Computing (NWC). David Mullich, John Bolton, Phelan Sykes, and I were scheduled for a meeting in Mark Caldwell’s office. It concerned E3.

When the four of us arrived in Mark’s office, there were only two chairs.

Mark, chuckling, “I guess you guys need two more chairs.”

You would think, seeing as Mark scheduled the meeting, there would have been four chairs ready and waiting. Instead, John and I looked at one another, then stepped outside the office, looking for available furniture to make up the shortfall. John grabbed a chair from the vacant office across the hall. Next door to Mark's office, was Scott White, who I visited on a semi-regular basis. Knocking on his door frame, I stepped inside. Scott turned about in his desk chair.
Me, putting a hand on his guest chair, “Can I borrow your chair?”
Scott, perplexed, “Why?”
Me, “We’re having a meeting with Mark, and were short. I’ll bring it back, right after.”
Scott, chuckling, “Okay.”

Dragging Scott's guest chair into Mark's office, I closed Mark's office door and sat down.

Mark, “E3 is taking place in Atlanta, Georgia, from Thursday, May 28th to Saturday, May 30th. We'll fly out the day before, and we'll be there, part of the 3DO booth. Everyone is presenting. Keith (Francart) is showing Might and Magic 6, Ben (Bent) is showing Vegas Games, and one of you is showing Heroes.”

Phelan, John, and I looked at David.

David, “My wife is expecting sometime around the end of May.”

David, Phelan, and John looked at me.

Me, exhaling, “Yeah. I’ll do it.”


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Matt Barton mentions a cross between X-Com and Heroes on Steam:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1527950/

I’ve been having a great time with this little gem. Plays like a mix of X-Com, Heroes of M&M and maybe a bit of Mount and Blade. There’s even a whole category of quests for rats and associated perks. Definitely worth a look. Wartales on Steam..

https://twitter.com/mattbarton/status/1747346101621940624

wartales

The official Web site is also worth a look.

https://wartales.net/

We had some talks recently, how much it seems to be similar to Heroes or Mount and Blade and..

Join us in the dicussion, show what you are thinking ;)


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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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