Archangel Castle's Q&A session

The new Heroes games produced by Ubisoft. Please specify which game you are referring to in your post.
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Archangel Castle's Q&A session

Unread postby Nelgirith » 24 Sep 2010, 09:22

Archangel Castle had its Q&A session with Ubisoft : http://www.archangelcastle.com/h6_presentation_QAAC
Keep in mind that the questions were gathered 3 weeks ago, so some infos that got unveiled lately weren't known at the time we asked them :P


MAP EDITOR :

Will it be possible to customize the radius of the Control Areas of forts and cities ?
Yes

Will it be possible to convert H5 maps for H6 ?
No. The game engine is different. The game code is different and with the new features from H6 any conversion will be impossible.

Is it possible to place a boss on a map through the map editor ?
Yes. It will be possible to use a boss like any creature to keep a treasure.

How will the map editor look like ? will there be "modules" like for the Warcraft 3 editor ? etc...
The map editor will use triggers like in WC3. It will be possible to create a map without ever writing a single line of code.


MODS

Will mod creation be easy for H6 ?
It's our objective ^^

How did you plan the mod creation ? Will it be easier than H5 (better file structure, ability to modifiy/import 3D models, etc...) ?
First, we want the game to have a simplified UI in order to activate/deactivate mods. Also, H6 is a lot "cleaner" than H5 when it comes to file structure.


GAME OPTIONS

Will it be possible to deactivate the dynamic camera (that zoom on creatures dealing a critical hit for example) ?
Yes.

You talked about a travelling showing points of interests at the start of a map. Will it be possible to deactivate it ? Will we be able to see it again after we started playing the map ?
Yes, it will be possible to deactivate it. So far, it's not possible to see it again, but it's an interesting idea

Will it be possible to change the shortcut keys ?
Yes.


GAMEPLAY - MISC.

How will you explain that soem creatures in H6 will not appear in H5 (which is in the future) - for example the Juggernauts ?
Sheogh is THE Chaos and it has 1000 faces that we're slowly discovering. A creature can then be in H5 but not in H6 and vice and versa, but the creature is still existing in the world of Ashan. Over time, some creatures can also evolve.

Will there be achievements ?
Yes, but more infos will be given later.

Will there be a beta-test ? open or closed ?
We can't give you any info right now ^^

What is the favourite "plus" you've brought to H6 ?
Something we haven't unveiled yet :D


TECHNICAL INFOS :

Let's say, iIf my opponent captures my city and starts to convert it, but I recature it. What will happen ?
The conversion will be automatically stopped.

Will it be possible to load/save a game during a battle ?
Loading yes. Saving no (though this might still change)

How will H6's multiplayer happen ? Will it still go through ubi.com ? or a simple interface like in H3 ?
We'll talk about the multiplayer later ^^

Will there be combat logs ?
Yes


CITIES

Will it be possible to delay a building over 2 turns in order to lower costs (as in Heroes Kingdoms) ?
No.

Will it be possible to destroy one of the unique building in our cities in order to build another one ?
No, unique buildings will only be destroyed when your city is being converted.

Will creature growth boosts from external dwelling only affect the base creature or also the upgraded creature ?
The boost will affect all. The player can choose the creature he wants to buy.

Will cities still have specializations ?
Yes.

Will there be a Graal ?
Yes, the Tears of Asha.


ADVENTURE MAP

Will creatures affect the deplacement of a hero on thr adventure map (like in H4) ?
No, the hero will have his deplacement value and it won't be affected by his army.

You said you wanted to keep the Heroes essence, though one of your first changes was to reduce the resources (which makes long-time fans screaming :P). Why such a change ? How will the new system impact our games ?
Resources are not fundamental, they're a feature. It is important to make a distinction between the soul of the game on one hand(turn by turn, RPG component, realm and city management) and on features on the other (resources for example). We'll explain more about this very soon.

In one of the Gamescon interview, Erwan talked about spying and scouting your opponent. Does this mean will get a real fog of war ? If there's one, will it be possible to affect the opponent's line of sight (like the Veil of Shroud in H3) ?
The fog of war is static. Once shown it will disappear. Abilities, artifacts and buildings can help you reveaingl it.

What about Dragonblood "mines" ? Is there a real explanation about them ? :)
YES. During the War of Ancients, the Dragon Gods spilled blood on the world of Ashan creating nexus of powers called Dragon Veins. The inhabitants of Ashan have learnt how to extract the blood, hence the creation of mines.

Will external creature dwellings be linked to a creature or to a category (core, elite, champion) ?
They'll be linked to categories.


HEROES

How can we customize heroes ?
You'll be able to select your hero's name, sex and might or magic orientation. The advanced classes will depend on abilities.

How will you balance Might vs Magic heroes ? In H5, a might-oriented hero could kill 1-2 level 7 per strike or at best a dozen level 1 while a more Magic-oriented hero could kill hundreds with a single spell).
The balance between heroes will be reviewed in-depths.

Can we have more infos about the magic ?
There will be 7 schools. The 7 elementals : Air, Fire, Earth, Water, Light and Darkness and the Primordial Magic (linked to Asha and Urgash)

Will the skill system look like King's Bounty (for example a might tree, a magic tree and a jack-of-trade treee) ?
There will be a tree system like in KB, but there will be A LOT more trees. We'll speak more about this later :P

Seeing that we get a total control on our hero's development, how will you avoid all heroes being carbon-copies of each other ? Will there be "intermediate" skills to avoid the "ideal template" ?
Each hero will have a class with a unique skill and each faction won't have the same access to magic or to skills. Also each faction has a unique ability.


FIGHTS

If an arena is bigger than its H5 counterpart, will it be possible to have more than 7 stacks on the battlefield ?
No.

How will morale and luck work ?
Morale wil grant you an additional action (or none if bad morale) and chance will give you max damage (or minimal if bad luck).

We'll be able to place shooters in towers, but what happens if a tower is destroyed ?
If a tower is destroyed, any stack inside will die.

Will the weather affect an arena battle like slowing units, affecting spells or shooters (rain, fog, blizzard) ?
Yes, it can happen, but it will be random (it may or may not happen at all)

How will the terrain change affect a battle ? Will floodings stop a creature or only slow it ?
Flooded squares can't be crossed at all. There will be plenty of different effect based on the kind of arena.


CREATURES

What is the size of the biggest creatures belonging to a faction ?
Still 2x2. Bosses will be bigger (can be 4x4 for example)

Will basic creatures still have a use compared to their upgrade ?
Upgrades are not optionnal. Upgrades are real upgrade in powers compared to a basic creature. Also an upgraded creature will keep the abilities of the basic one.

In comparison to faction creatures, how many neutral will there be ?
We won't give you an exact % but there will be neutral creatures. One of them is on the Gamescon T-shirts ^^

We've seen that 5 of the Necropolis creatures were only using one square. How many "Big creatures" will there be per faction ?
It depends on the faction, but it will be either 2 or 3.


CAMPAIGN

Could we get more infos on Sveltana ? Is she one of Asha's Chosen (like Aranthir) ? Is she a Dragon Knight ? Does she belong to the Blind Brothers ?

"My name is Sveltana, aunt of Slava. I left my home in order to dedicate my life to Asha, the goddess of Death. I used to be beloved and called "Flower of the North, but now people fear me and call me Pariah, Heretic or Necromancer ..."

Daughter of the Griffin Duke who was hoping for a son, Sveltana lived with the burden of being a lone child, unwanted by her parents. At the age of 15, after the birth of her brother Pavel, she was isolated while he was named heir of the throne. She was quite happy with how things turned for her and she left her hom in order to study the world of Spirits, first with the Angels then with the Magicians of the Seven Cities. She was an excellent student and the Necromancer Aguirre became her mentor. Since she had no link with her familly, she decided to join the freshly born Cult of Asha, the spider goddess. She became Aguirre's assistant and his right-hand woman.

She travelled through the Jade Sea islands with her master in order to free Mother Namtaru, a powerfull avatar of the Spider Goddess. Aguirre was killed during the expedition and Sveltana, alone, brought the creature back to the Silver Cities. She became a legend among all the Necromancers. She didn't have much time to enjoy her fame. Shortly after triumphant come-back, she was called to help Pavel to stop a demonic invasion. Sadly, she arrived too late and couldn't save her brother. She became the regent of the Griffin Duchy until her nephew Pavel would be old enough to reign.

Will the Dragon Knights and the Blind Brothers have a role in the campaign ?
Yes.

The Ancients Wars was the war between Angels and Faceless, right ?
Yes, exactly.

Why 400 years before H5 ?
The storyline after Dark Messiah is covered by Heroes Kingdoms. The writers wanted to go to the past and show the events that lead to Heroes 5

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Unread postby Zenofex » 24 Sep 2010, 09:50

Great work, it's good to have a light in the dark once in a while. Some things sound nice (7 schools of magic - quite nice actually), others - not really. This particular one bothers me a bit:
How can we customize heroes ?
You'll be able to select your hero's name, sex and might or magic orientation. The advanced classes will depend on abilities.
So basically we will have the depersonalized heroes from HoMM IV. This is more RPG-like, sure, but devoids the characters (the heroes in this case) of uniqueness.

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Unread postby OliverFA » 24 Sep 2010, 10:00

Resources are not fundamental, they're a feature.
I have no words for that. Supossing I understand what they mean by "feature".

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Unread postby ThunderTitan » 24 Sep 2010, 11:09

Wow... the stuff about the campaign actually doesn't sound too bad...
"Will it be possible to change the shortcut keys ?
Yes. "
Nice.

"How did you plan the mod creation ? Will it be easier than H5 (better file structure, ability to modifiy/import 3D models, etc...) ?
First, we want the game to have a simplified UI in order to activate/deactivate mods. Also, H6 is a lot "cleaner" than H5 when it comes to file structure."


too many games nowadays don't have this... it's a very welcomed feature.
""What is the favourite "plus" you've brought to H6 ?
Something we haven't unveiled yet :smile_teeth:""
Well That's foreboding...
"Can we have more infos about the magic ?
There will be 7 schools. The 7 elementals : Air, Fire, Earth, Water, Light and Darkness and the Primordial Magic (linked to Asha and Urgash)"
Finally some adding instead of subtracting.
We'll be able to place shooters in towers, but what happens if a tower is destroyed ?
If a tower is destroyed, any stack inside will die."

Sounds like it would be overpowered once you reach a higher stack number in the game.... maybe they should just dmg the unit inside for something like 25% of total life.

In comparison to faction creatures, how many neutral will there be ?
We won't give you an exact % but there will be neutral creatures. One of them is on the Gamescon T-shirts ^^
GIMME PHOENIX IN TOWN ALREADY!!!!
OliverFA wrote:"I have no words for that. Supposing I understand what they mean by "feature"."
Well he's not wrong, but he's also pretty much telling us they might as well be making a game like Heroes instead of a Heroes game...
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Unread postby Tress » 24 Sep 2010, 13:45

I have no words for that. Supossing I understand what they mean by "feature".
Guess feature just like named weeks, or upgraded units. Homm4 took controversial steps and abolished both, now ubi abolishes resources. There is cons and pros for it, but I guess there is multi page thread already on that.

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Unread postby Banedon » 25 Sep 2010, 01:50

Lots of important info there. I'm sad for the fog of war (I support having it). The change to luck makes luck that much weaker. The random weather in battles might be going a bit too much. What if you get fog during your shooters' turn, then no fog during your opponent's turn? That's not fair at all, and battles don't last long enough for large changes in weather anyway.
ThunderTitan wrote:Sounds like it would be overpowered once you reach a higher stack number in the game.... maybe they should just dmg the unit inside for something like 25% of total life.
In which case you don't put them in the tower. I don't know how strong a tower is defensively; is it feasible to destroy one?
I'm a hypocrite because I suggested that all life is sacred and should not be wasted without good reason.

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Unread postby King Imp » 25 Sep 2010, 19:46

Banedon wrote:The change to luck makes luck that much weaker.


I'm personally fine with that. I know I vehemently argued for a change to H5's Luck because it was so extremely overpowered. If you had Expert Luck and your opponent didn't have it at all, it was pretty much game over in favor of you. The almost 100% Luck trigger and the immense damage it did wiped out your opponent before they even had an opportunity to go.

The fact that Nival just didn't understand that (amongst many other things) are one of the reasons I'm glad they're gone.

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Unread postby Tress » 25 Sep 2010, 20:03

I'm sad for the fog of war (I support having it).
Actually imo tossing it away from form it had in homm4 is great. Main thing is AI cant effectively play with FOW and thus he simply cheats and ignores it, thus making it only nuisance only for you. Secondly game does not feature effective way's to create scouts even more when units cant walk alone like in homm4. It isnt w3 where you can hang owls on trees to check if enemy is passing by.
Only pro to having dynamic FOW is fact that scouting becomes remotely useful. Some extra information as in h3 doesn't really cut it.
The change to luck makes luck that much weaker.
it does but x2 is kinda harsh imo even though it is so since homm1.It makes bit more balanced when first hit can be so devastating and can take out half army. They could add that luck cant proc in round 1 but they should trade something back too then. Making it min/max though seems bit wrong though. For onc it makes bless/curse redundant, and it makes certain units benefit from luck than others, depending on damage range. I

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Unread postby Secret_Holder » 25 Sep 2010, 21:21

I've not been up to date with the HoMM VI news, but what is city conversion?

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Unread postby Nelgirith » 25 Sep 2010, 21:33

Secret_Holder wrote:I've not been up to date with the HoMM VI news, but what is city conversion?
You can convert at a ressource and time cost a city you captured to your own faction.

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Unread postby Tress » 25 Sep 2010, 21:34

I've not been up to date with the HoMM VI news, but what is city conversion?
When you capture city you can turn it into your own type, bit like in 3rd mission of necromancer campaign, only it will take time to perform. As ubi announce that races will be widely different, i suppose it will be more actual to use native types of units and thus this feature will be in core of homm6 gameplay.

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Unread postby Banedon » 26 Sep 2010, 11:29

King Imp wrote:I'm personally fine with that. I know I vehemently argued for a change to H5's Luck because it was so extremely overpowered. If you had Expert Luck and your opponent didn't have it at all, it was pretty much game over in favor of you. The almost 100% Luck trigger and the immense damage it did wiped out your opponent before they even had an opportunity to go.

The fact that Nival just didn't understand that (amongst many other things) are one of the reasons I'm glad they're gone.
True, but then in Heroes 5 the hero is extremely strong relative to no hero. An army led by a level 20 hero can take on the same army led by a level 1 hero and massacre it with barely any casualties. For all of Expert Luck's strength, compared to Expert Leadership, Expert Destructive Magic, Expert Dark Magic, etc etc etc.

I think it's a game balance problem. I'm not opposed to the nerf to Luck, but I do think it shouldn't become useless either. If morale works the same way as it did in Heroes 3 but a lucky hit only rolls max damage, then luck is very much weaker relative to morale, so Leadership and Luck would need rebalancing. How that turns out I'll wait and see.
tress wrote:Actually imo tossing it away from form it had in homm4 is great. Main thing is AI cant effectively play with FOW and thus he simply cheats and ignores it, thus making it only nuisance only for you. Secondly game does not feature effective way's to create scouts even more when units cant walk alone like in homm4. It isnt w3 where you can hang owls on trees to check if enemy is passing by.
Only pro to having dynamic FOW is fact that scouting becomes remotely useful. Some extra information as in h3 doesn't really cut it.
Well yes, but AI is AI is AI and it will be destroyed by human intelligence. Heroes 5 AI was so easy to roll over it not having the FoW handicap barely matters. Same applies to Heroes 4 AI, Heroes 3 AI, etc. At higher difficulties AI already cheat anyway - they take on powerful stacks and lose no units, they get much more resources, etc. What's this extra advantage for them? Besides, it'd add a lot more depth to MP.
I'm a hypocrite because I suggested that all life is sacred and should not be wasted without good reason.

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Unread postby TheUndeadKing » 26 Sep 2010, 13:35

As far as balance is concerned, H4 had the best morale & luck system, IMO.
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Unread postby ThunderTitan » 26 Sep 2010, 14:06

TheUndeadKing wrote:As far as balance is concerned, H4 had the best morale & luck system, IMO.
Well fixing the morale&luck system was something everyone wanted... too bad people forgot that when H5 was being made.
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Unread postby Soronarr » 27 Sep 2010, 10:15

YAY! Modding support! :-D

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Unread postby Rion » 27 Sep 2010, 17:59

This is really good news.
While I respect the people who could achieve more with H5's editor than they could with H4's, I still hated it. Actual support for modding is also awesome, especially considering Nival's treatment of modders.
Please inform me if my sentences contains grammatical mistakes.

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Unread postby ThunderTitan » 02 Oct 2010, 23:46

And here's another interview: http://www.gametrailers.com/video/evolu ... ght/705584

Nothing new in it it seems.
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