Heroes of Might and Magic III HD+ Mod receives epic update

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Heroes of Might and Magic III HD Mod (Download here) just breathed some new life into my personal favorite installment of the Heroes of Might and Magic series. 

The Change log looks like this: 

5.0 RC61 -> 5.0 RC63 (11/18/2019)

[+] New graphics modes: (stretchable) 16-bit OpenGL and (stretchable) 32-bit OpenGL by Verok use GPU for scaling, filtering and rendering , unlike other modes which use CPU.

[+] 32-bit True graphics modes have become even more True for SoD and for the future HotA

[+] System cursors which was used in 32-bit True (stretchable) GDI mode is now used in all modes.

 This option is highly recommended for use.

[ ] All graphic modes and some filters renamed (the functionality has not changed)

[ ] Changed the option code Sys.CPU.ReduceUsage (= 1 and = 2) Now in the message loop instead of "Sleep (1ms or maybe more)" the game tries to do "Sleep (about 0.5 ms, no more)". Changes apply only to Windows.

 As usual, it is recommended to use Sys.CPU.ReduceUsage = 2.

[-] Settings are no longer reset after update.

[ ] Minor changes and fixes.

So, why the excitement? Well, take a look at the 32-bit true GDI mode and the OpenGL mode. I just launched up Heroes III using Verok's OpenGL and the difference is amazing. The entire feeling of the graphics make it feel new and fresh. Details feel more crisp but the main thing is without a doubt the on map animations. 

Here's the regular version: 

https://giphy.com/embed/lnChlY14eElZdwjAlJ
via GIPHY

And here's the updated version: 

https://giphy.com/embed/XFpOwIaET6EmA58M2v
via GIPHY

 

While it truly may not look like much at first, there are some distinct changes that, in my opinion, makes a whole lot of difference! 

What are your thoughts on the latest update?
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[ToweringAmishPlumber]

Don't care - never really a fan of Heroes III.

[Coldy]

The HD mod is amazing. Love playing with it.
The only uncertainty I have is the stretch filters. There does not seem to be a good explanation of what they do online apart from a few old Reddit posts.
The official website still has that section under construction.

What scale filter do you guys use?

[Chief of Honour]

To be honest: M'eh!

[Steven Aus]

Well, no more real Heroes or MM games from AlwaysSoft so we need to make the most of what we have and the modders still working on HOMM and MM games.

[BB Shockwave]

To be honest, those two gifs look the same to me... both pretty blurry.
I only checked the HD mod years ago but I found it inferior to the re-mastered official Heroes III HD game. I just wish Uni got their *** together and remastered Armaggedon's Blade too. Would not cost much to restore the pixels on a few new units.

[Steven Aus]

I guess it would be possible to update the graphics without the source code.

[Pol]

To be honest, those two gifs look the same to me... both pretty blurry.
I only checked the HD mod years ago but I found it inferior to the re-mastered official Heroes III HD game. I just wish Uni got their *** together and remastered Armaggedon's Blade too. Would not cost much to restore the pixels on a few new units.

You know, then they haven't source code. Now they do but don't care, all hype is gone.

@Coldy
I guess that these are standard video scaling methods but will take a look in a few days, when being less busy.

[Pol]

Not a big difference in graphic filters. Albeit it stopped "effect of tired eyes". So the GL engine do wonders, used just this (32) and stretch filter Billinear/Bicubic.

Some light filters/sources would come handy too. Cough, cough.