Map Editor

[Kalah]

Sounds unlikely.

[Karmakeld]

Like Jeff, I would've loved to see many of the upcomming H-VII features available in the H-IV editor.
It seems they've listened to fans regarding the editor. Though it doubt it possible (even in the future) to import maps from prev. versions, I'm trilled by the several modding feature, heroes stats, portaits, skills etc, creatures and artifacts, The possibility to add scripted actions to any object I see as a gift to any mapmaker and the possiblity to make special battle objectives as well as design battle maps should open for some very interesting user-made maps. Providing ofcourse, that fans find H-VII interesting enough to create these maps. But I think it looks promising regaring long-livity.

[Panda Tar]

Seeing some people discuss in HC and other places even, it's downright saddening considering the events of people wanting this Modding feature so badly before the game is even released. Instead of focusing on what a game can produce on its own, if it was at least any good, many people are already setting that aside in the hope that they can mod to something 'better'. This is a very disturbing thought.

Imho, games, whichever genre they are, must present themselves in a way that the last thing you would want was modding it. It should be pristine to fulfill your gaming desires, provide fun you are paying for and surprising yourself with intelligent entertainment and challenge, something that would last in your books for a long time, memorable (in a good fashion) and also turning into a game you would start evaluating as an example in which others should mirror themselves on, following certain features, inspiring. And only a long time later, or at least, to appease a hardcore fan base, modding tools could be provided as a bonus, not as a mandatory 'key-feature' as it looks like in this Heroes game.

It is as if, in spite of all ranting and complains since H6, this modding capacity has been used as a tool to prevent total failure, so they can mess or do whatever they want, brainstorming with God knows what, but if that gets a bad feedback (which is laughable to say the least), they get modding tools, so 'you do better then'. I think it's almost offensive, a jeer of sorts in this particular development.

What I simply abhor in this new installment is that it simply made me feel like not playing the old ones as well, because I keep thinking on how things could have been, that I could have been playing a new decent, extraordinary game, and such thing can be accomplished with tender simplicity. Instead, there's that trash, expensive trash. Given that I don't feel as entertained by the old games from this franchise, I don't feel like playing them to avoid tarnishing the original grasp they had upon me back then. How hard it is to renew that feeling?

[Galaad]

Very good post Panda.

[Kalah]

Indeed.

[Steven Aus]

I understand this perspective. Still, I haven't played H6 or H7 and don't plan on doing so in the near future. I did buy H5, but only to play M&M:H5.5, an excellent mod that provides much fun and balance.

[Karmakeld]

Panda Tar has a very good point. But still I think some of the modding tools offers some great oppertunities for map making. But ofcourse there's different degrees of modding. For my part, I agree that hopefully the game itself should be suffifient as it is, but I see the modding tool as a way to design a map/campaign completely according to my visions, suited to match a given story, not to mod the game itself.

[Kalah]

I think the main reason why people are wishing for moddability already is the negative experiences with past games, it's as simple as that. Combine this with the tradition for modding within the Heroes community, it's no surprise that it's a sought-after feature.

[jeff]

True, but unless the mod is carried as part of the map; it can be counter productive. I have used the equilibris mod; but I can see why people don't want to mess with the software to run someone else's idea of a great idea. In other words, I don't want to edit ini or data files to play their mod. If they game cannot stand alone; I really don't care if it can be modded or not. Having said that flawed as it is H-IV is still the only heroes game that gets any of my play time; largely due to the equilibris improvements.

[Panda Tar]

Yeah, H-4 without Equilibris was rather difficult to digest. And the cost when buying H4 didn't include Equilibris, which is, in a sense, what they are doing now in H7.

[Marzhin]

I'll be showcasing the map editor on Twitch next Tuesday, at 6PM CEST, if you want to see it "in action"

Since this twitch will be doubling as a celebration of Heroes' 20th anniversary, there will also be some surprises and announcements.

[Karmakeld]

looking forward to seeing that Marzhin.
But anyway, from what I've read, the mods will only affect the actual map you mod, not the entire game. Like Panda wrote, it's quite likely that some are ready to/expect to be modding for the better, but I still consider it a good option to be able to customize, atleast single maps/campaign without having to know software codes or already be a skilled in the art of modding. besides beta testings should've taken care of the final issues/balancing so the need to mod those sort of things, should not be nessecary.

[Madaxe]

I was able to watch Marzhin's map editor stream, and first want to say thank you very much for the effort and nice surprises

I had a few quick questions. I apologize if these were answered in the stream, as I was interrupted at several points while trying to watch it and may have just missed it.

Will there be a scripting language to use in the map editor like H5 had? In H5 it was LUA, if there is one in H7, which language was used?
Marzhin showed some of his custom map objects. Will these or other Ubisoft/Limbic map designer's objects, be made available too?

Thanks!

[Marzhin]

Will there be a scripting language to use in the map editor like H5 had? In H5 it was LUA, if there is one in H7, which language was used?

You don't have to actually type your scripts in H7, all can be done through the Script Tool (choosing functions from a list, setting up parameters with drop-down lists, etc.)
But you can also use Unreal's visual scripting engine, Kismet, if you want to do things that are not part of the usual Heroes gameplay. But that will require some reading ^^

Marzhin showed some of his custom map objects. Will these or other Ubisoft/Limbic map designer's objects, be made available too?

Yes, all the new objects (heroes, artifacts, map locations, variant towns, etc.) I'm creating for the Lost Tales will be available to mapmakers to use in their own maps

[Panda Tar]

Ah, that's an elegant thing to do, Marzhin. Although I'm not going to buy this game, I'm sure it'll help inspire others to play and do the same on their own in due course.

[Madaxe]

Yes, all the new objects (heroes, artifacts, map locations, variant towns, etc.) I'm creating for the Lost Tales will be available to mapmakers to use in their own maps

Wonderful! This is appreciated! It is great having such a huge fan of the series working for the developer. I think it leads to such kindness. Keep up the good work!

[Karmakeld]

now that editor looks awsome.. I love to possibility to do thing the way I as a mapmaker want them.
I would've liked to see the combat map editor in work, though.
There is one thing that I don't think is very userfriendly, though. When you had to write heroes bios you had to import it, rather than just being able to double click the desired hero and be able to edit the hero's bio that way. It was very easy to do so in Heroes 4, but this new way just seems like an exra walk to to do the job.
And nice surprise. Can't help but consider to move the remaining of my Heroes 4 campaign to Heroes 7. If only you'd be able to fight with the heroes as in Heroes 4..

[Marzhin]

There is one thing that I don't think is very userfriendly, though. When you had to write heroes bios you had to import it, rather than just being able to double click the desired hero and be able to edit the hero's bio that way. It was very easy to do so in Heroes 4, but this new way just seems like an exra walk to to do the job.

Yes, I agree. It comes down to the fact Heropedia was added very late to the game, and it wasn't very clear how bios would be handled until then. As a result the related functions were also only added to the editor very recently. The team hasn't had the time to make them more user friendly, but I hope it can be done in a future patch. The tools are already infinitely better than the ones we had in H6 (for me it has reignited this pleasure to create maps and stories and just tinker with stuff I never really had when using the H6 editor), but there's definitely room to improve them in many areas.

[gourley4p]

Very excited for how the map editor will add longevity to this title. I look forward to playing the creative and challenging maps made by my fellow gamers.

[johnnycage]

I have Might & Magic Heroes VII and Might & Magic Heroes VII Trial by Fire. How do I access the map Editor on windows 10?