Heroes IV - My Mod

[BAD23ro]

Will be posted later, in a better version

[ByteBandit]

I like the idea. But then again, I always liked your passion about what you do to improve any hero game. Keep up the good work BAD, and when I come up with some sort of change I would like to see in your new mod, I would like to put my two cents worth in, if I may. ( And you may know by now, I'm not bashful about what I would like to see improved.)
Thanks again!

[jeff]

You do good work, but the problem I have with this mod is players hitting max levels too soon. In the campaign I hope to release soon I have tried to ensure that there are ample experience points and experience leveling up opportunities for each of the players carryover heroes to max out. If they use your mod this will happen far earlier than I planned and many battles will be meaningless and parts of the map may go unexplored.

[ByteBandit]

Jeff? Is your campaign so far along that you can't adapt the Mod to it? If that's the case, perhaps on a different campaign you decide to make in the future, you may work with the Mod. Just wondering only. If you can't adapt the Mod, maybe you may want to post this in the paperwork that'll come with your campaign.

[jeff]

Jeff? Is your campaign so far along that you can't adapt the Mod to it? If that's the case, perhaps on a different campaign you decide to make in the future, you may work with the Mod. Just wondering only. If you can't adapt the Mod, maybe you may want to post this in the paperwork that'll come with your campaign.

Yeah it is too far along, I have been at it since Dragon's Fate was done and I am not going back to readjust it now, especially since some may not ues it. It is a small matter and I do not object to the mod, but players should understand that it may ruin some of the existing maps.

[ByteBandit]

That's a shame BADs' new Mod could'nt be used for your campaign. I hope there's a separate exe for it so that one may be able to use either the existing or the new Mod, allowing the player to choose which condition to play.
I have completed an elaborately designed H4 map that I sent to Koni for him to peruse. He glanced over it while testing your campaign, and hopefully, once he is satisfied with what your campaign achieves, he will look over my map again. I say this because I never had any intent on releasing it to the public. (An XL/U. 511kb in size! And that's without a storyline or anything like that.)
I say that, because I may release the map with the Mod BAD is proposng. It's just a kill 'em all style of map, ordinary in every way without scripting and the like. But the map is highly artistical with each town individually designed. I'm not promoting the map here since I never planned to release it anyway. But, what better way to introduce a new map with a new Mod. Of course, along with the map, I will include the new exe, if there is one, of BADs' Mod. Along with a readme file, of course.

[BAD23ro]

Thank you ByteBandit

For now, this mod is 4in1, so includes: Single Version of Income, Can Hire Both Level 2,Pure Necropolis Creatures and Heroes IV Levels(leveling mod)

I'll make later a standalone version too.
Anyway, I guess is on the good track how I've balanced the new experience per level after some opinions that I got in my mails.

P.S Nothing is finished yet

[ByteBandit]

Okay. well, when you have the Mod finished and ready for public release, and there is an exe for it, let me know, and I'll test the exe with the map to see how it plays. If the Mod plays well, I will make needed adjustments to the map so it plays with the Mod.
Looking forward to the new project.

[jeff]

About the only thing I could do is ask at the start of the first map if the mod is being used and then set a carryover variable that would trigger bombs that would eliminate all or most of the trees of knowledge, but that is sort of artificial. It would be better if the mod was automatically detected causing the triggering. As I recall GhostWriter's the City could detect Equilibrius (I don't know how) and not let the game be played if it was being used. I guess I am confused why the need to lower the experience point levels after all this time. Again I don't object but I am forced to wonder, has the young player of today skills degenerated to where this type of accommodation has to be made.

[ByteBandit]

Good point about the young players. I think you have hit the nail on the head. Most young players are accustomed to playing Xbox and the PS which means not much fan made material to extend the playing challenge of a game for the player. Being a creator of maps for HoMM (Be they good or bad), I love to push the envelope of gameplay each and every map. Which is why I'm not too keen on console games. Where this is not possible to challenge the player.
Now, it would be fun to intice the young player into thinking that the map is rather easy to play at first, where later on he/she would find the game a bit more challenging in the end. Not so much a "Boss" factor at the end, but a real challenge where a wrong decision could cost you if you did'nt know what to do. I like that concept.
Of course, BADs' new mod is more of an experimentation for me to make the map do just what I described above to happen. But it's a challenge I am willing to try. It may work. It may not. The only way to find out is by actually doing it. I have tha map made, and the Mod is in its infancy, and once it's ready, I'll apply it to see what happens.
I hope I'm not off topic and I hope you see what I'd like to see happen.

[TheUnknown]

Hi there BAD
Is it possible to make external program to chose what mods to use in our game, I have an idea but it requires every possible mod in .exe form. I am thinking of something to make changes into one .exe, something like u chose options and it changes the hex code to what is needed for that mode and reverses the change if we uncheck the mod.

[BAD23ro]

Hi there BAD
Is it possible to make external program to chose what mods to use in our game, I have an idea but it requires every possible mod in .exe form. I am thinking of something to make changes into one .exe, something like u chose options and it changes the hex code to what is needed for that mode and reverses the change if we uncheck the mod.

Hi!

It's quite hard to make something like this if hasn't an external script.
Is a good idea and something like wog

[jeff]

I went back and checked GhostWriter's the City and it's first script is if 100/50 = 2, then you are playing with the Equilibrius mod followed by a loss script. I don't know why that works, but it does. Is there a similar script that could be put in your mod, thus preventing its use.

[BAD23ro]

I don't think is possible yet to choose what script from my mod to be enabled or not.
Will see in the future what can be done.

[TheUnknown]

Hi there
I was thinking about the magic dampener of the might town, would someone know the assembling line for it and what changes you may do with it. For example can you change the resistance effect with some effects of an artifact like the mind shield?
Can there be multiple effects added to the dampener like the more abilities we could add for creatures in the guide for modification of the game?

[TheUnknown]

Still no answer

btw I wanna know also if a change can be made to the dampener so it gives 0.5 movement to an army (stackable with other dampeners etc. only remove current magic resistance with 0.5 movement)

If someone knows it can be done pls post the way to make it or at least some clues...

[Black Ghost]

For example can you change the resistance effect with some effects of an artifact like the mind shield?
Can there be multiple effects added to the dampener like the more abilities we could add for creatures in the guide for modification of the game?

I don't know how does it look like from technical point of view (probably yeah after overcoming some problems - programmers are genial), however, I think dampener is good as it is - I mean boosting only magic resistance.
Any other possible abilities would be IMO too much. Bonus-structures work only after visiting the town, global effects however are just too powerful to be provided by single structure. Global grails are in 99% impossible to build, let alone the difference between their effects and mind shield effect.
Mind Shield is very powerful - works in 100%, kills many crucial spells and is 1-sided. I think pure MR is enough to deal with control magic, the point is to have efficient resitance for creatures, but not too much to still give a chance to blind or song of peace a threat.
Recently I have been thinking about removing the cumulative effect from dampener and go for single good structure with ~25%-33%MR for only might allied creatures and no heroes (heroes have MR-skill+get free MR per level) Having 2, max 3 strongholds is what you have on most maps, therefore cumulative dampener is weak.
Same goes for movement bonus. You can't forget about the game flavour. Magic dampener is MR booster not Stables. Moreover, you would have to have 6 towns to get free Potion of endurance. I still prefer visiting stables or adventure map mov modificators + buy/get for free PoE to collecting 6 towns - faster & easier

[TheUnknown]

3 strongholds is what you have on most maps, therefore cumulative dampener is weak.
Same goes for movement bonus. You can't forget about the game flavour. Magic dampener is MR booster not Stables. Moreover, you would have to have 6 towns to get free Potion of endurance. I still prefer visiting stables or adventure map mov modificators + buy/get for free PoE to collecting 6 towns - faster & easier

Sorry I didn't mentioned, my bad, I was thinking about battle movement, kinda like artifact winged sandals or tactics give, tactics per level gives 0,5 movement. Would make behemoths more competitive to the thunderbirds and other creatures, ogre magi and low lvl creatures too.

Anyways on balance I do agree with you, I was just wondering if someone could explain how to do it so we can test many effects for it not just mind shield and try to achieve better balance. But maybe that's too much energy spending on a good old game, from the activeness on this forum I'm starting to think people are giving up on it

[Black Ghost]

Sorry I didn't mentioned, my bad, I was thinking about battle movement, kinda like artifact winged sandals or tactics give, tactics per level gives 0,5 movement. Would make behemoths more competitive to the thunderbirds and other creatures, ogre magi and low lvl creatures too.

I see, but I've already given up idea of advanced modding with cumulative dampener. Maybe I got used to obligatory tactics for barbarian to speed my army.

I was just wondering if someone could explain how to do it so we can test many effects for it not just mind shield and try to achieve better balance.

for testing purposes it's OK, I'm keen on experimenting but just to feed my curiousity how the game works.

But maybe that's too much energy spending on a good old game, from the activeness on this forum I'm starting to think people are giving up on it

well, I think waiting too long for equilibris was one of the reasons for decreasing interest - many map-projects in standstill. But more convincing is the fact that equilibris is at the point of reaching its final form. And so do mature the players to this product.
It's original purpose was balance+no bugs, so after 3.55 there aren't many changes in the gameplay compared to 3.51. (Some middle-spells got adjusted to fit the power of certain level class or usefulness.) 3.55 is about polishing the form.
The extras are limited in their nature. For MP they are irrelevant, and all must admit that MP is what now matters to keep heroes 4 alive. Equilibris is MP oriented and it's goal is nearly achieved.
I like access to all objects in the game (battlefield->adv map) and usefull addons, however, there;s a limit to old-in-new. "fresh ideas" seem to be impossible to add so there's no need for many people to experiment with the old game. That's right, that's the point where you ask yourself - do we still need more and more? Many are fine with the balanced gameplay, they have still h5 and many other games to play.
When I was constantly playing heroes I liked lively discussions about its evolution thanks to equilibris, but now I just like to play the old game, in a shape 3do hadn't managed to release.
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[BAD23ro]

Sorry I didn't mentioned, my bad, I was thinking about battle movement, kinda like artifact winged sandals or tactics give, tactics per level gives 0,5 movement. Would make behemoths more competitive to the thunderbirds and other creatures, ogre magi and low lvl creatures too.

I have my own balance mod and is revamped from zero...In my own version, the movement in battle is different and ogres have a good movement if this you want.

I can post a link with my own version, but keep in mind that will be just for movement, not for statistics for now.

Big version will come later when more will be tested.