Disappointment with Heroes 5

[Kalah]

I'll wait for the demo to be released until I pronounce my final judgement, however.

That's the only sensible thing I've read in this topic.

[Kareeah Indaga]

I'll wait for the demo to be released until I pronounce my final judgement, however.

That's the only sensible thing I've read in this topic.

Since when are we getting a demo? (And no, I don’t count the open beta as a demo.)

[Bandobras Took]

The H5 hydras would be abominable if they weren't so absurd. A lot of other creatures are grossly overdone as well.

Speaking of absurd & abominable … what happened to the noble Minotaur? Suddenly he's a grossly overweight, stupid slave. We want our beloved Minotaurs back like the ones from Heroes I, II, III & even IV.

Well, we could skip four, IMO. But you forgot to mention the main artistic objection to Minotaurs in H5. Nipple Rings?

[Metathron]

I'll wait for the demo to be released until I pronounce my final judgement, however.

That's the only sensible thing I've read in this topic.

Since when are we getting a demo? (And no, I don’t count the open beta as a demo.)

I merely assumed there would be a demo. Why wouldn't there be one?

[Kareeah Indaga]

I merely assumed there would be a demo. Why wouldn't there be one?

*shrug* Because we had the open beta. Which is not a definite guarantee that there won’t be a demo, I just hadn’t heard of one.

[Orfinn]

I kinda doubt that Heroes V will have that kind of longevity or loyalty of the fanbase … due to its crass overdone graphics … at the expense of other more durable elements of the game.

How can you be so sure, you havent played the game yet! I guess you havent participated in the beta either. Long before SF popped up in front of your face, werent you the person that was so excited about H5?
Hmm yes I think it was you (sry if im wrong), praising the game skyhigh for its freshness, you liked most of what H5 showed at that time, so because of SF you dont dare to like the game? Good to see an enthusiastc SF hater, I know the copy protection is piece of crap but if you cast that piece of shadow aside and focus on H5 itself you see that it may be a great game after all.

We have to wait with the final judgement until the game get realesed or at least try out the demo, THEN we can praise it up into the skies or flame it down into the underground, still the demo may not show everything, but it can give us a better view on the game than the beta version give us.

[innokenti]

If only they released a demo in good time. I.e. concurrent with the game release. That would just be nice and helpful. Too much to hope for?

[HodgePodge]

I kinda doubt that Heroes V will have that kind of longevity or loyalty of the fanbase … due to its crass overdone graphics … at the expense of other more durable elements of the game.

How can you be so sure, you havent played the game yet! I guess you havent participated in the beta either. Long before SF popped up in front of your face, werent you the person that was so excited about H5?

Yes, before StarForce became an issue (which was in about July '05, nine months ago) I was very excited about the game. Since then however, SF is the reason I'm not buying the game at all. I would even buy it if it wasn't so good but with SF, I won't buy it or put it on my computer.

Nonetheless, other elements have arisen since July'05 … such as the ridiculous storyline revealed so far, some of the more moronic creature types & names, & the emphasis on graphics at the expense of originality.

Things things have made me believe that Heroes V will be nothing more than a complete waste of time and money. All this isn't even taking into account the horrible customer relations & service UbiSoft has with many of its customers. How can a game be successful if it doesn't capture the imagination & affection of the fans?

[Derek]

If only they released a demo in good time. I.e. concurrent with the game release. That would just be nice and helpful. Too much to hope for?

Hopefully not too much to hope for. If a demo was released, and it was good, I would certainly change my mind as to purchasing the game. It seems that demos are the new trend nowadays, so I can only assume there will be one.

It is not as though the open beta made people want to buy the game(it actually scared me away...)

[Llefser]

While I'm not exactly thrilled by the look of some of the creatures in Heroes V, what really matters to me is gameplay. In that regard the open beta was a big disappointment. If Nival fixes the things that were wrong with the beta then I might consider buying the game.

In the long run, the success of Heroes V is dependant upon the inclusion of a good editor. If the game doesn't ship with one or if it is deficient, many people will lose interest in it quickly.

[jeff]

Nonetheless, other elements have arisen since July'05 … such as the ridiculous storyline revealed so far, some of the more moronic creature types & names, & the emphasis on graphics at the expense of originality.

Things things have made me believe that Heroes V will be nothing more than a complete waste of time and money. All this isn't even taking into account the horrible customer relations & service UbiSoft has with many of its customers. How can a game be successful if it doesn't capture the imagination & affection of the fans?

HodgePodge you are not alone. Maybe I am just getting old, but the hair on the back of my neck has been rising every since the first cartoonish pictures of their vision of the new Hero’s world appeared. Now I will admit since then some of these visions have turned into spectacular images. Yet I have maintained great graphics may be great for the eyes, but it’s the story that keeps fans coming back to a franchise. Many of the creatures just seem like they escaped a Dragon Ball Z cartoon, and not the Heroes world I know. The lack of a good solid tie in to Heroes’ past is very disappointing. Perhaps many here in the forum are happy with what they see, and so it may be time for me to watch the torch get past to the next generation of players. As many of the great games that I have played have ultimately ended because of the various companies failing (Wizardry line, SSI Gold Box, and of course Might and Magic as well as Heroes to name a few). I of course will monitor the situation and withhold my final judgment until UBI actually releases a version intended for the consumer and not just for testing, but as I said may be I am just getting too old.

[Kalah]

It is evident that Ubi focuses on the graphics for this game; their site is full of the stuff. Great pictures, that cool video on the official site and lots of creature and town screenshots - it abounds the site, while the little background which has been revealed, i.e. the hero biographies, seems banal and unimaginative. Still, I think the inclusion of a decent scenario editor would change all that. After all, the H4 campaigns weren't that good either...

[Derek]

It is evident that Ubi focuses on the graphics for this game; their site is full of the stuff. Great pictures, that cool video on the official site and lots of creature and town screenshots - it abounds the site, while the little background which has been revealed, i.e. the hero biographies, seems banal and unimaginative. Still, I think the inclusion of a decent scenario editor would change all that. After all, the H4 campaigns weren't that good either...

Yes, HIV did have some forsaken stories that we were expected to romp through. Fortunatly nobody did, that's a relief...

Well anyways, wouldn't it be nice though if the campaigns did have some thought put into them? A decent main game certainly would make the purchase seem a bit more appealing(and since we have heard next to nothing about the editor I doubt its quality.)

[Bandobras Took]

Yes, HIV did have some forsaken stories that we were expected to romp through. Fortunatly nobody did, that's a relief...

Well anyways, wouldn't it be nice though if the campaigns did have some thought put into them? A decent main game certainly would make the purchase seem a bit more appealing(and since we have heard next to nothing about the editor I doubt its quality.)

H2 Succession Wars had great campaigns. That was one of the things that kept me with it. Mowing over the dwarves in the evil campaign as well as suppressing the peasant revolt . . . the mixture of fun, humor, and showing off a town served the H2 campains well.

[innokenti]

Yes... HeroesII showed everyone how single-player campaigns should be made. I would be very happy to see that sort of quality again, if a little surprised.

[theLuckyDragon]

All we know of the story up until now is 99.99% History, the remaining 0.01% being the fact that Isabel's War is "the topic Heroes V's campaign", as it is stated in the timeline on the official site. I do hope that's a misprint. There must be more than one campaign.

Or maybe there is one large 'campaign' but comprised of different sub-campaigns, like Heroes 3 RoE was, each of them dealing with a certain phase of the Restoration, if you know what I mean. After RoE, the campaign structure became looser, each dealing with separate destinies and heroes. The exception would be SoD, which in game history terms happened before RoE, but even this one has most of the campaigns focusing on particular tales. As for Heroes 4... it's obvious it has no "greater story" to tell, just the strugglings of those who escaped the Reckoning.

Well, I do hope Heroes 5's campaign structure will have a "grander story".

[Iswald]

I HOPE Nival will not touch the Might & Magic title. They have in turn ruined the title!. That is the sole reason why i will not be buying Heroes of Might & Magic 5 apart from having Starforce.

One of my biggest shocked that i've received is that it's not a Heroes game anymore. They've ruined the Might & Magic world with stupid and nonsensical creature/heroes. Ever seen griffins wearing armor?

Yes. Yes, I have. Hmmm.... Wait... Let me think... hmmm... You know, I don't think I've ever seen a griffin much more one in armor. But, could I imagine a griffin? Yes. One in armor? Sure. OK. How about an armored griffin flying around with a rotisserie strapped to its back to cook its meals before eating? Sure, why not? On the other hand, minotaurs with nipple rings would be a bit too much for my tastes.

I honestly have no idea if I will buy H5 or not. The graphics may or may not be an issue when I make my decision.

[jeff]

Still, I think the inclusion of a decent scenario editor would change all that. After all, the H4 campaigns weren't that good either...

I agree a decent scenario editor would change all of that, but they have failed to say whether this editor would allow the linking of maps, you know a campaign editor feature, and if anything have indirectly denied any. Without that and I have stated this here and the official site, I will not buy H-V. Story and background while important are less so on a single map scenario.

[Derek]

H2 Succession Wars had great campaigns. That was one of the things that kept me with it. Mowing over the dwarves in the evil campaign as well as suppressing the peasant revolt . . . the mixture of fun, humor, and showing off a town served the H2 campains well.

I agree completly. However, I do not think that any campaign in the HOMM universe has come close to matching the quality(and variety) of those maps. 'Country Lords' was a great map. I am doubting the quality of the main game because there is little saying that it will be good, and strategy games rarely have the best main games.

[jeff]

You know, I don't think I've ever seen a griffin much more one in armor. But, could I imagine a griffin? Yes. One in armor? Sure. OK.

You know an armored griffin would make sense IF it had a rider, much like the armor a Knight’s horse would have. I don’t remember, didn’t the silver Pegasus have armor. Having said that I don’t remember any riders on the griffins, but that by itself I would put that down to UBI trying to update the game, I think what people are getting nervous about is the sporadic way information is being released and more often than not new information is found by fans on several different sites and not widely disseminated by UBI itself. UBI needs to wake up get control of the release of information and make it complete when it is released. The bad press (incomplete information) is hurting the possible sales. Several fans are filling in the blanks with overly high or low expectations and this needs to be dispelled. I think all of us want a good game released and one that will continue the line for a long time.