Heroes of Might and Magic II Mod

[PhoenixReborn]

Seriously you guys ought to play each other, and stop doing a theoretical wrangle. I'd be very curious as to resutls.

[AngelEyes]

Seriously you guys ought to play each other, and stop doing a theoretical wrangle. I'd be very curious as to resutls.

I agree! I want to see what happens here! Although, it's going to be very important as to what map they play.

[gmars3yp]

Sounds good to me; I'd be up for that. Heck, even if I got my butt kicked it'd be a fun game of heroes, so it's win win.

[UndeadHalfOrc]

Wow, this thread sure isn't as active as it has been.

I had lost interest myself until I saw someone post the offsets not only of building costs, but HERO primary stats advancement tables - now, THIS is interesting.

Since no one will most likely ever know how to change the way Attack and Defense work from 10% to 5% and 5% to 2.5%, the next best thing is to even out the chance they appear for each Hero class' level up.

So, I will increase the odds of Necros, Wizards, Warlocks, and Sorceresses getting Attack and Defense and Lower their chance of getting Power and Knowledge below level 10. (Especially Knowledge - it's the one reason Sorcs are considered crappy). Warlocks and Necros will slightly favor attack, while Wizards and Sorcs will slightly favor defense. The way I'm likely to arrange the stats is that for instance, Warlocks will rarely get more than 4-5 spell power difference over a Barbarian, while a barbarian will rarely get more than 4-5 attack over a warlock, at all levels.

Does it sound good to you guys?

A shame we don't have secondary skill advancement table offsets. I tried searching for hex values in vain. Oh well, the only thing I would have changed was increase the odds of wizards learning Archery and lower Mysticism, plus lower Eagle Eye for all Heroes.

[Darmani]

The only stat adjustment I'd support is to increase the chance of a Sorceress getting Power and decrease Knowledge. Other than that, I'd oppose this attempt to make the factions more similar.

Really, high level magic can be devastatingly powerful; the only reason Might heroes might be considered better is that the mage guilds are so expensive, and, thus, Dimension Door/Berserk/Summon Elemental/Town Portal/<insert other uber spell here> see rare use.

[Old_Man]

Lol, I was actually thinking of doing a Homm2 Mod back in February/March of this year.

I got some feedback from the members there, but the forum was deleted, which kinda sucked.

But I am interested to see what can come out of this, and would be glad to help.

[PhoenixReborn]

A shame we don't have secondary skill advancement table offsets. I tried searching for hex values in vain. Oh well, the only thing I would have changed was increase the odds of wizards learning Archery and lower Mysticism, plus lower Eagle Eye for all Heroes.

You mean you can't find it in the code? Because I do have a chart of the chances of each hero type learning each seondary skill.

Edit: According to this chart the warlock has a chance to learn necromancy. I don't remember that ever happening.

[UndeadHalfOrc]

A shame we don't have secondary skill advancement table offsets. I tried searching for hex values in vain. Oh well, the only thing I would have changed was increase the odds of wizards learning Archery and lower Mysticism, plus lower Eagle Eye for all Heroes.

You mean you can't find it in the code? Because I do have a chart of the chances of each hero type learning each seondary skill.

Edit: According to this chart the warlock has a chance to learn necromancy. I don't remember that ever happening.

No, can't find it. With that chart you're speaking of (found in the manual and help file) I tried to look for different hex values but couldn't.

Yes, Warlocks DO learn Necromancy - perhaps you barely used Warlock heroes and constantly hired Knights/Barbarians? I even remember Archibald learning Necromancy in his final campaign map! Makes sense when you think about it since in MM7 he's a Necromancy grand master.
I even briefly considered giving Warlocks a chance to learn it in Heroes 3 (it's 0 chance for all non - Necropolis heroes in H3)

[AngelEyes]

Edit: According to this chart the warlock has a chance to learn necromancy. I don't remember that ever happening.

It happens, but its not common. Warlock is the only hero that can get Leadership and Necromancy.

[Ya5MieL]

I didn't expect to see this thread alive after it dropped to 2nd page.

Since i have basically checked every byte of .exe file and was still unable to find (or recognize) any more useful data except the ones for which i have written the offsets in previous post, its safe to assume that this is all that can be done with simple hex editing.

So, all that can be done is:

Creature stats, growth, costs
Building costs
Hero primary stats, chances
Spell names, chances to appear (no damage )
Various texts, descriptions, credits and other not much useful data.

[UndeadHalfOrc]

Spell names, chances to appear (no damage )

Where did you post the offsets of spell chances to appear?

And yes, changing damage power multipliers would have been good. In Heroes 3 I changed Fireball and Frost Ring from 10 base power to 13.... It's sooo much better. Fireball can now actually outdamage lightning bolt in total damage as long as you hit at least 2 units (13 X 2 = 26 power, Lightning is 25 base power) which isn't hard.

In H3 I also buffed Death Ripple from 5 to 8 base power multiplier.
Destroy Undead, 10 to 13 base power multiplier.
And last but not least, Inferno (named Fireblast in H2) from 10 to 15 base power multiplier.
Inferno is now almost as good as Meteor Shower if can hit three units and Meteor can only hit two: 15 x 3 = 45 vs 25 x 2 = 50. Not bad, and cheaper to cast.

[Ya5MieL]

I didn't had the offsets in my notes at that moment so i haven't posted them, but i do remember editing them. It's not of much use since there is no damage variable, but at least spells could be banned from guilds .

[UndeadHalfOrc]

I have found spell names, it roughly starts at F13B0. I just need to figure out what each byte does.

I'll try to figure out where they hid the Damage multipliers.
Here's a clue for everyone trying to look:
Lightning Bolt and Meteor Shower are 25 (0x19)
Fireball, Fireblast, Magic Arrow and Cold Ring are 10 (0x0A)
Cold Ray is 20 (0x14)
Armageddon is 50 (0x32). At least it was in H3.
Chain Lightning is: 40 (0x28) for first target, 20 (0x14) for second target, 10 (0x0A), then 5 (0x05).
Don't remember off hand for Elemental Storm, and Death spells and Holy spells, sorry.

[Darmani]

I'll try to figure out where they hid the Damage multipliers.

The code, probably. Not every spell does damage, and they all work in different ways; thus, it makes much more sense to just have a pointer to a subroutine in the structure rather than a separate "damage" slot.

Don't remember off hand for Elemental Storm, and Death spells and Holy spells, sorry.

Death Ripple: 5x
Death Wave 10x: 10x
Holy Word: 10x
Holy Shout: 20x
Elemental Storm: 25x

Don't throw away your manual; they're a handy reference. (Of course, I already knew all of those except the Holy spells.)

[grobblewobble]

In conclusion; it's true that knight/barb troops cost less than wizard/warlock troops, but that shouldn't stop a competent player from getting the wizard/warlock troops just as soon. The only thing the knight/barb then has to show for it is extra cash... and that's not going to help win the battle!

Interesting discussion.

Seriously you guys ought to play each other, and stop doing a theoretical wrangle. I'd be very curious as to resutls.

Nice one. But different maps favor different factions. So first of all, let's try to think what kind of map would be best suited for such a test?

A large map, not too rich in resources but not too poor either, I guess? Suggestions, anyone?

To take up sides in the discussion, this is my opinion:
- warlock is the best on larger maps, unless it is really poor in sulfur
- sorceress and necro are the best on small, rich maps
- barbarian is the best on poor maps with a hillfort nearby on harder settings
- knight is the best on poor maps when you start next to water with plenty of floating wood (on harder settings)
- wizard is the best if you have infinite resources, I guess

[UndeadHalfOrc]

- warlock is the best on larger maps, unless it is really poor in sulfur
- knight is the best on poor maps when you start next to water with plenty of floating wood (on harder settings)

Actually, contrary to Wizard, I found Warlock to do very well on small map due to the quality of their level 1-5 creatures.

And don't forget that to get that floating wood in the first place the Knight needs to spend 30 wood on shipyard + ship! Where do you think that floating wood came from?

[grobblewobble]

I found Warlock to do very well on small map due to the quality of their level 1-5 creatures.

They are extremely good at eliminating neutral shooters.

And don't forget that to get that floating wood in the first place the Knight needs to spend 30 wood on shipyard + ship!

Yes, of course. But on many maps it is worth it, despite of that. A single flotsam can give 10 wood IIRC. You earn back the wood with interest, it is a strategy that I found to work surprisingly well.

[UndeadHalfOrc]

Hi all,

My mod was complete and untouched for months, but now I have finally got around to transcribing every single change I made in one text file.

Spells and secondary skills were not touched for the simple reason that the relevant Offsets could not be found in the executable.

Here is the list. PM me if you want the executable (works for H2 PoL v2.1)

Everything has been playtested as much as I could.

Necromancer is more Mercury/Sulfur intensive now (and needs much less Crystals/Gems). This was made to balance out the 4 rare resource total cost across towns.

The rest is self-explanatory. Comments are welcome.

Download it here
http://pages.infinit.net/plague/h2mod.zip



KNIGHT CASTLE
Increased Peasant basic growth from 12 to 24 (total 24+2+8=34)
Decreased Peasant gold cost from 20 to 15
Increased Peasant speed from Very Slow to Slow
Increased Archer/Ranger hit points from 10 to 11
Increased Pikeman/Veteran Pikeman hit points from 15/20 to 16/21
Increased Pikeman/Veteran Pikeman damage from 3-4 to 3-5
Increased Pikeman/Veteran Pikeman gold cost from 200/250 to 210/260
Increased Swordsman/Master Swordsman hit points from 25/30 to 26/31
Increased Swordsman/Master Swordsman damage from 4-6 to 4-7
Increased Swordsman/Master Swordsman gold cost from 250/300 to 260/310
Increased Cavalry/Champion hit points from 30/40 to 35/45
Increased Cavalry/Champion gold cost from 300/375 to 340/415
Decreased Jousting Arena wood cost from 20 to 15
Increased Paladin/Crusader hit points from 50/65 to 60/75
Increased Paladin gold cost from 600 to 675
Decreased Cathedral wood cost from 20 to 10
Decreased Upg. Cathedral cost from 10 wood, 10 crystal, 5000 gold to 10 wood, 5 crystal, 3500 gold
Decreased Fortifications wood/ore cost from 5/15 to 0/10


BARBARIAN CASTLE
Increased Goblin basic growth from 10 to 12 (total 12+2+8=22)
Increased Orc hit points from 10 to 11
Increased Wolf defense from 2 to 4
Increased Wolf gold cost from 200 to 210
Decreased Ogre Lord hit points from 60 to 55
Decreased Ogre Lord gold cost from 500 to 475
Decreased Troll/War Troll gold cost from 600/700 to 575/650
Increased Cyclops hit points from 80 to 85
Increased Cyclops gold cost from 750 to 800
Decreased Pyramid ore cost from 20 to 10
Decreased Coliseum cost from 10 wood, 10 ore, 2000 gold to 5 wood, 5 ore, 1500 gold


SORCERESS CASTLE
Increased Sprite basic growth from 8 to 10 (total 10+2+8=20)
Decreased Dwarf/Battle Dwarf gold cost from 200/250 to 190/235
Increased Elf Attack skill from 4 to 5
Increased Grand Elf Attack skill from 5 to 7
Increased Elf/Grand Elf hit points from 15 to 16
Increased Upg. Stonehenge gold cost from 1500 to 2000
Increased Unicorn hit points from 40 to 45
Increased Unicorn gold cost from 500 to 515
Changed Rainbow's mercury/crystal cost from 0/10 to 5/5


WARLOCK CASTLE
Increased Cave ore cost from 0 to 5
Decreased Crypt ore cost from 10 to 5
Decreased Hydra gold cost from 800 to 775
Decreased Green/Red/Black Dragon basic growth from 1 to 0 (total 0+2=2)
Decreased Red/Black Dragon hit points from 250/300 to 240/280
Decreased Green Tower gold cost from 15000 to 13000
Increased Red/Black Tower gold cost from 5000 to 6000
Increased Dungeon cost from 5 wood, 10 ore, 3000 gold to 5 wood, 10 Ore, 3500 gold, and 3/3/3/3 rare


WIZARD CASTLE
Increased Boar defense from 4 to 5
Increased Roc defense from 7 to 8
Decreased Upg. Ivory Tower gold cost from 4000 to 3000
Increased Giant hit points from 150 to 155
Decreased Giant/Titan basic growth from 1 to 0 (total 0+2=2)
Decreased Titan hit points from 300 to 280
Decreased Titan gold cost from 5000 to 4500
Decreased Cloud Castle gold cost from 12500 to 7500
Increased Upg. Cloud Castle gold cost from 12500 to 16500


NECROMANCER CASTLE
Decreased Skeleton gold cost from 75 to 70
Increased Zombie speed from Very Slow to Slow
Increases Zombie/Mutant Zombie defense from 2 to 3
Decreased Zombie/Mutant Zombie gold cost from 150/200 to 140/190
Increased Mummy/Royal Mummy defense from 6 to 7
Changed Upg. Mansion cost from 5 wood, 10 crystal, 10 gems, 4000 gold to 5 wood, 10 mercury, 5 crystal, 3000 gold
Increased Lich hit points from 25 to 30 but decreased defense from 12 to 11.
Decreased Lich/Power Lich gold cost from 750/900 to 650/750
Changed Upg. Mausoleum cost from 5 ore, 5 crystal, 3000 gold to 5 ore, 5 sulfur, 2500 gold
Decreased Bone Dragon hit points from 150 to 140
Increased Bone Dragon gold cost from 1500 to 1600
Increased Laboratory mercury & gold cost from 5 mercury, 10000 gold to 10 mercury, 12000 gold



COMMON BUILDINGS
Decreased Shipyard wood cost from 20 to 15
Decreased Mage Guild Lv2 rare resource cost from 4 to 2
Decreased Mage Guild Lv3 rare resource cost from 6 to 4
Decreased Mage Guild Lv4 rare resource cost from 8 to 6
Decreased Mage Guild Lv5 rare resource cost from 10 to 8

HEROES
(Attack/Defense/Power/Knowledge)
Knight Lv 2-9: No change: 35/45/10/10
Knight Lv 10+: No change: 25/25/25/25
Barbarian Lv 2-9: No change: 55/35/5/5
Barbarian Lv 10+: No change: 25/25/25/25 (manual incorrect, it's NOT 30/30/20/20)
Sorceress Lv 2-9: 20/25/25/30 from 10/10/30/50
Sorceress Lv 10+: 20/25/25/30 from 20/20/30/30
Warlock Lv 2-9: 20/20/35/25 from 10/10/50/30
Warlock Lv 10+: No change: 20/20/30/30
Wizard Lv 2-9: 20/20/30/30 from 10/10/40/40
Wizard Lv 10+: No change: 20/20/30/30
Necro Lv 2-9: 25/25/25/25 from 15/15/35/35
Necro Lv 10+: No change: 25/25/25/25

[BAD23ro]

I have myself done alot of researches about Heroes II and if will have time, will share my work with you guys

[Soldatenhandel]

Have you figured out how to open and edit the ICN. files in Heroes II, BAD23ro? I'd be very intrigued if you were to tell me you have. I've tampered with them some and have only ever been able to locate the MINOTAUR.ICN & GENIE.ICN. I wonder if you know whether or not the GENIE & MINOTAUR .ICNs are BINs posing as .ICNs? I've looked into the possibility but am stumped. Of course, if one could open the said .ICNs then editing them would be no problem: there are multiple programs that can be found by a simple internet search to modfiy .ICN files into .BMPs (bitmaps, which can be edited with Paint) and back again. In fact, locating the MINOTAUR and GENIE .ICNs are quite an obvious process. This process being opening the Registry Editor (or type 'regedit' in the 'Run' program) and searching the Registry Editor for the words 'genie' then 'minotaur', in whichever order you prefer of course.

As I said, I'm stumped, but do believe that being able to edit the graphics in Heroes II would be a huge surprise for Heroes II fans and might bring with it an influx of newer players to revitilize the community; hell, Heroes III, IV, and V all have edited graphics, why not Heroes II? It's a matter of time and interest, really, and Heroes II is overdue.