New multiplayer philosophy for Homm3

[Alfred1349]

To me Homm3 was a game from my teen years. When I returned to playing it many years later I saw many flaws of the game that were very difficult for me to accept, and I felt the game needed much improvement and modification. It seemed to me too chaotic, random and - from the core purpose of the game – winning or losing with a human opponent often seemed somewhat pointless. In 'no-rules' game a mediocre player could easily defeat a master player with just a little bit of luck. A precise and careful game of one player could lead to nothing, since the other player may get into possession powers that would defeat any effort made by the experienced player.
I believe that this one single factor discourages many potential players from playing that game. There is nothing more detrimental to the player than a conviction after the game that one did everything possible and lost because he or she did not have a super-powerful artifact, spell, or luck in joining free standing monsters that enabled the other player to win. Also, the victorious player may not feel happy with the game knowing that he or she won because of luck.
That reasoning made me think that in order to extend the game to a larger number of players, and perhaps even to preserve it for the next generations, a great deal of effort must be done to make Homm3 more strategic. That does not necessarily mean the game would lose any of its adventurous charm, and both aspects may be accommodated.
Some time ago I began experimenting with my friend in order to achieve that goal. At the beginning it was just for us, but later, after I realized how much fun it is I wanted to share it with other players, and that led to the project I would like to present to you.
Our ultimate goal was to create super-fair scenarios with a little margin for luck, where everything would be decided by the skills of the players. The whole idea was to create a new reality, in which all major elements of the game – army, heroes, magic, artifacts connect in a balanced way, with no single element overpowering the others. There would be no ‘silver bullet’ - any single element that could shift the fate of the game in any direction, but rather the victory would be achieved by a skillful combination of many factors – well developed economy that is providing army, hero strength, artifacts, and magic altogether.
First, we limited diplomacy to 1-4 units, and reduced the number of overpowering spells, skills, heroes, artifacts; creating a cohesive strategic standard, a foundation for a new type of a multiplayer game. It soon became clear to us that removal of those powerful elements created space for the remaining elements to reach their full potential. Then, we proceeded with organizing some of the game’s ‘superpowers’, by setting them against one another - for instance Town Portal vs. Statue of Legion (with the addition of some other minor bonuses). One player would have a power of mobility, while the other player would have increased population in all towns. Adding ‘superpowers’ on top of well tested strategic standard in a way that they can balance each other, opens new possibilities that were unimagined before. The players may now operate virtually with most of what the game is offering, but in more subtle, refined way, where each side possesses only some powers, not all of them at once. The players may either begin with those powers, or acquire them during the game.
All of that was achieved by a novel approach to designing maps themselves. Creating a series of maps, rather than a single multiplayer map opens a new dimension for modifications. Now, when human players begin the game on different positions, all the challenges and sequences of events are set differently each time just to accommodate this particular setup. In other words, each variant of a map is becoming entirely new scenario, with literally every element of the game as a potential target for modifications. Towns, garrisons, events, monsters, artifacts, teleports – all may be altered to give more diversity within each variant map. As for now, three series of maps are ready (including Avantgarde), and the fourth map is under way. I hope with time more maps will come.
Lastly, the project has a new storyline that is materialized in the final, most complex scenario: it is the war between Carthage and Rome that took place in 218-202 B.C.. This story is already present in a game, with the three Carthaginian commanders depicted as heroes in Stronghold – Dessa (Hannibal), Gundula (Mago), and Crag Hack (Hasdrubal). Two players would decide the fate of the ancient battle, and perhaps change the history of mankind!

I would be honored if you join me at www.thehannibalproject.net
Alfred