- by Pol
Newsletter #41 January 2024
Ogre Mage - Quarterly Newsletters - Health issues - HoMM3 recollection about Dendroids and E3 special demo
Ogre 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.”
Read on: Fanstratics Newsletters #41
| Comments (2) |
- by Pol
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
The official Web site is also worth a look.
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 ;)
- by Pol
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)
| Comments (3) |
- by Pol
CelestialHeavens wish you all Merry Christmas, vigor and peace. Just enjoy your time with your family & friends. 
| Comments (1) |
- by Pol
This is the last chance to get Heroes of Might & Magic III: The Board Game with all of its Stretch Goals! The first shipments start in December, and if you place an order now, you will most likely receive it in
the first quarter of 2024!
| Comments (2) |
- by Pol
Create the story of your dreams!
We’re excited to announce a contest. Your task is to create the best campaign you can. We’re teaming up with mod.io, our fantastic partners who have provided a home for our wonderful community-created maps.
The winner of this exciting endeavor will receive a cash prize of $700, and the runner-up will receive $300. Additionally, there will be some great Steam keys from our friends at Coffee Stain for those who come close to securing those coveted positions.
Now let’s delve into the specifics:
- No copyright infringement. We cannot endorse the use of other developers' intellectual property, so please rely on your own imagination or draw inspiration from stories that are public domain.
- Create at least two maps with a connected story.
Upload your campaign to mod.io and tag it with the contest tag. (Campaign Maps Contest)- We encourage you to create custom wielders and stories.
- Do not build upon the official campaigns, instead think outside the box and simply use the map editor as a tool for telling a great story.
- The winner will be chosen based on creativity, playability, visuals, and overall compatibility with our game.
- You will have nearly three months to create your masterpiece; the last day to submit your contributions is the 31st of January.
Remember that to submit you have to have an account on Mod.io which is a straightforward process requiring just a few clicks. Here’s the link to get you started!
If you haven’t created any maps yet but are curious to begin, we offer a series of beginner-level tutorials on our YouTube channel. We also highly recommend joining our helpful and amazing Discord Community.
So what are you waiting for? We can’t wait to see the fantastic results of your work.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to leave a comment below or reach out to us on Discord or through social media.So good luck out there, cartographers and storytellers!
Sincerely, The Lavapotion Team
https://www.songsofconquest.com/modding
Twitter | Discord | Youtube | Instagram | Facebook | Original Message
- by Pol
And for something a bit unusual, a cooking show with Dave Mullich where he talks about Heroes III and his other game..
The Geek Recipe is back for an exciting Season 2, and this time, it's a mouth-watering journey through the Italian kitchen of Slitherine's very own CMO, Marco Minoli.
Join us as we introduce legendary game designer David Mullich, known for his work on titles like Heroes of Might and Magic III and Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, to the sensory delights of our Italian cuisine.
In this episode, we prepare a prime vegetarian dish: Parmigiana di Melanzane. It's a delicious recipe featuring sliced, baked eggplant with layers of cheese and tomato sauce. Get ready to satisfy your gaming and culinary cravings!
David Mullich shares his insights on game design, his journey through the gaming industry, and his experiences working on iconic titles. From early text-based adventures to the universally acclaimed Heroes of Might and Magic III, he reveals the secrets behind great game development.
The Geek Recipe is all about sharing the connection between entertainment and gastronomy. We invite renowned game developers, writers, creators, and directors to our kitchen, where they share the ingredients that make both great food and great entertainment.
Thanks AS ;)
- by Pol
And there come new friendly batch of decomissioning online servers for Ubisoft games. If you played Heroes VI, it's in.
Decommissioning of online services for older Ubisoft games (January 2024)
Heroes of Might and Magic VI
You will be unable to play multiplayer, link Ubisoft accounts in-game or use online features.
Additionally, the Ubisoft Connect rewards will be unavailable.
This is last strike after Dynasty system was disabled. There should be true, that you get some of its reward by default now, as they were very handy to speed up your progress and enriched your experience.
Such is a fate of games, which rely not only on online Ubisoft dependat multiplayer but also on online experience enriching system.
Sayonara Heroes VI 
Thanks to Crazy-AK47 for the alert. ;)
| Comments (6) |
- by Pol
In following days there will be a change in our domain provider, hopefully everything will come out smooth.
If in any case would not, it's merely question of spreading new DNS, which is matter of 4-72 hours, depending on your location worldwide. Europe will come first, China and Australia last.
Stay with us and don't panic!
PS As of now (22.10.2023) all is done, transfer was successfully completed. There's no change for you.
- by Pol
VCMI 1.3 was released
- Scalable user Interface
- Touchscreen improvements
- RMG
- Improved Adventure AI
- Fixed Campaigns
- HoTA Maps Support
Heroes5.5(18d) were released
New patch, this patch is more than a critical hotfix, but less than a usual bigger patch, more like some important stuff got done much faster than expected.
Heroes Orchestra
2x Big Free Live Concerts today. Enjoy! Heroes II - IV.
NEXT CONCERT? 19.08 Lublin!
Fanstratics Letter #36
Halberdier - H3 Source Code - Ubisoft
H4ResourceEditor
Fixed replacing/adding sounds
fheroes2 - Free Heroes of Might and Magic II Resurrection
https://github.com/ihhub/fheroes2/releases/tag/1.0.6
- Significantly Updated Adventure Map AI
- New option to lower the campaign difficulty during playthroug
Silence of the Siren - Base UI
Capturing and upgrading your bases is crucial for your economy, but it must always be balanced with other elements to ensure victory. Never underestimate the need to explore. Good usage of all advantages the map gives you can be just as important, but that is something we will show you more about in the future
Our "Xeen Team" ranked #5 in Creature Quest :D
& I'm out for vacations on following two weeks
| Comments (5) |
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