Heroes V Legends of the Ancients

[Blake]

your invites expired..

[Quantomas]

Here is a permanent one. Please note that the current beta isn't suitable for LotA, as it doesn't have support for scripts. I will announce it, once it is playable, but we will most likely run our own tests first.

[Quantomas]

Did anyone have contact with Markkur recently?

[infasiur]

book 4 in progress?

Btw is there anyone who managed book 3 last map on hero difficulty? Is it even possible? :DD

[Blake]

Here is a permanent one. Please note that the current beta isn't suitable for LotA, as it doesn't have support for scripts. I will announce it, once it is playable, but we will most likely run our own tests first.

lol here what? There's no link in your paragraph lol.

Hmm maybe its the one in your signature.. I'll hold my breath and try that lol.

EDIT: Yup its the signature link. I'm in!

.

[Quantomas]

book 4 in progress?

In principle we can do it. But there is a lot of work that needs doing first: the AI upgrade, which I am currently working on, then the plan is to upgrade the vanilla campaigns in a way that each map offers strategically interesting gameplay.

This work is going to be organized in a way that we build a team that can tackle this task successfully.

Once we have achieved this, we can set out to give LotA the same uplift. Book 1 and 2 are mostly good, Marzhin did an outstanding job there. But some maps will benefit hugely from the improved AI, and then will possibly need rebalancing. Book 3 is a different story.

Needless to say we will need good mapmakers and scripters, and also skilled players to get the outmost of the strategic challenges each mission offers.

We are building up slowly, finishing one task after another. So, if you consider participating and are on the fence, you can just as well observe what we get done. The milestones are AI (more versatile, much faster, combat AI overhaul), then an overhaul of the vanilla campaigns' first five missions (to demonstrate what I mean with overhaul of the strategic gameplay). This should give people a lot to assess and to play with.

[Quantomas]

Hello everyone,

mctronic withdrew himself from all HoMM 5 projects. I respect the work he did on LotA book 3, and wish him all the best on his future endeavours.

A few of you may know that I work on finalizing my AI for H5, and that I had begun the testing of LotA for it. I still admire what Marzhin created with LotA, and replaying the missions again after many years, is just as great an experience as back then.

As with the recent developments, I am prepared to take the helm of LotA while I make sure that the missions play well with the new AI. To this end I have created a special version of LotA working with the advanced AI. You can download it from here: https://www.quantomas.de/downloads/

This version contains only the updated LotA missions that have passed thorough testing with the advanced AI. Currently these are missions 1 - 4 of book 1. The idea is to add more missions one by one once these have passed QA. Once all missions have passed, I will upload the updated version to the LotA website.

If you like, you can follow along, simply by playing LotA from the most recent download. I expect the conversion of book 1 and 2 to be complete before the winter ends. With the latest enhancements to the AI, particularly the upgrades to the way treasure sites and high-level dwellings work, each LotA mission has become a unique treat for an experienced strategy player. So all in all it can be quite the ride during this winter, playing LotA again.

If you want to play LotA without my AI, please note that book 3 breaks the earlier books by retroactively changing adventure map objects (seer huts and the like), which in turn break portals because the replacements take more space. The workaround is to remove the book 3 maps while playing book 1 and 2, and install these once you have completed book 2.

I also would like to hear your opinions on book 3 in its current state. I heard some people like it, others found some difficulty spikes arbitrary, and I remember someone criticizing book 3 for not being strategic. So far I hadn't the opportunity to have a proper look at book 3 myself, so I would like to hear about your experience.

[Quantomas]

LotA book 1 mission 5, The Succubus, is now available with some tweaks. Particularly stage 2 has been made more challenging, while the difficulty grades more nicely with the time you need. There were also bug fixes. Details are in the change log of the download of v3138.

I also discovered a bug that apparently some adventure map objects, e.g.the gate to Gauldoth's citadel in mission 2, don't appear in game on some machines. Has anyone seen this and/or knows about its cause or a solution?



Have a happy new year! Be safe, I wish you good fortune and health.

[Quantomas]

Book 1 is now available for playing from start to finish with the enhanced AI. It comes with improvements that upgrade the later maps, additiional polishing, fixes for script errors that prevented winning, and the game in general graduates more nicely with the time you need to finish the missions.

You find the download here: https://www.quantomas.de/downloads/ Make sure to uninstall any previous LotA versions first.

It includes some significant bug fixes. For example, if you played with no eye candies set to on as the you-must-read-me.txt recommends, entire objects were missing from the adventure map, like the gate to Gauldoth's citadel, some of the dwarven walls in The Succubus and so on.

Whether you have played LotA before or not, it is worth trying it out now. Just keep in mind, the treasure vaults and T7 dwellings are much tougher this time. Approach this new feature with an open mind and learn to use it to your advantage. It isn't easy. The hero you face and his army scale up to yours. You can play around with this. So don't bring your more vulnerable troop types, come with good artifacts equipped, and in general be smart.

PS
There were numerous bugs I encountered, particularly with the side effects coming from book 3, that I am surprised nobody reported these before. It is the worst fate for an excellent campaign -- Marzhin did absolutely outstanding work here -- if people encounter a few bugs and are disappointed and can't even be bothered to report the bugs. So please, if you encounter a bug, give it a chance, and let us know so that the maps can be improved for all.

[SackOats]

Please help! I am stuck on the mission "Trials of Nikolai". I have activated the first two pillars but the third one requiring me to defeat the fire dragons has me stumped. I have found the fire dragons on their little secluded island thing but the game will not let me pass through the garrison. Every time my hero reaches it he just stops and I cannot move through it. Am I missing something? I have fought all of the monsters on the map and visited every building (I am pretty sure I have)

[Quantomas]

Please help! I am stuck on the mission "Trials of Nikolai". I have activated the first two pillars but the third one requiring me to defeat the fire dragons has me stumped. I have found the fire dragons on their little secluded island thing but the game will not let me pass through the garrison. Every time my hero reaches it he just stops and I cannot move through it. Am I missing something? I have fought all of the monsters on the map and visited every building (I am pretty sure I have)

I wished I could help you here. But my work on the overhaul is currently at book 2 mission 3, and so far I hadn't a chance for a proper look at book 3.

Anyone?

[Firestorm]

Please help! I am stuck on the mission "Trials of Nikolai". I have activated the first two pillars but the third one requiring me to defeat the fire dragons has me stumped. I have found the fire dragons on their little secluded island thing but the game will not let me pass through the garrison. Every time my hero reaches it he just stops and I cannot move through it. Am I missing something? I have fought all of the monsters on the map and visited every building (I am pretty sure I have)

It's only possible to pass through the garrison with a maximum of 10 skeletons and 1 wight in your army. Simply place all of your troops aside from 10 skeletons and 1 wight into the garrison, and you should then be given the option to start the fight.

A message should appear to inform you of these fight restrictions if you click on the garrison; however, the message will only appear if you click to move to the garrison. If you try to move beyond the garrison, or click on the garrison when you are already standing inside of it, no message will appear, and you will be unable to pass through.

Hope that helps.

[Jarin]

Hi, This campaign is well done. Thanks to everyone who took part in it.

I have a problem in the mission "Trials of Nikolai" (Book 3, Mission 4). I can't get the "Cloak of Igdrasa" artifact underground. (on the left side of the map in the middle) It is inaccessible behind a lava interrupted road. This place could probably be overcome with the help of an "instant travel scroll". (I don't know the exact English name) However, it is behind 6 fire barriers. (bottom right on the map) Barriers can be extinguished by finding the "Lost Souls of the Elothians". I got 7 "Souls", but only 5 barriers went out. The last, eighth "Soul" is behind the gate guarded by the Pit Lords with the "Meteor Shower" spell. The heroine Fiona also stands there. I suppose he should protect the "Cloak of Igdrasa" against the Pit Lords spell.

Unfortunately, it's a strangely vicious circle - I can't get a "travel scroll" because I won't put out the last barrier. I won't put it out here, because the eighth "soul" is behind the wall. I can't walk past the wall because I don't have a "cloak against the magic of the earth." I can't get a "cloak" because I don't have a "travel scroll". I don't have a "scroll" because I won't extinguish the last barrier. :-(

Is it a bug or did I miss something? Can anyone advise? I have version ToE 3.1 and it was played at the level of "difficult" and "heroic". In both cases, the result is the same. I also managed to defeat the hero Tormentor, but I just can't get any further.
Thanks in advance for any good advice or pushing in the right direction.

[Jarin]

So I already found where I made a mistake. Three days of torment, a replayed map at the "difficult" level. All unnecessarily. I'll probably have to buy a bigger monitor or thicker glasses. :-)
Somehow I missed a path in the mountains and didn't find "Queen Catherine's Lost Soul." I was fooled by one "lost soul" behind the walls. I don't even need to defeat the hero Tormentor in combat, which I did before in my twentieth attempt.

Thanks again for the great work in the development of this (and previous) book.

[Quantomas]

The remaster of LotA book 1 and 2 is done! It's ready for you to play. You find an overview of the improvements here: https://www.quantomas.de/lota/. It also says a bit about what is ahead, if there is enough support for it, i.e. people who care enough to help it make happen.

The remastered books are worth playing again, if you have already played the vanilla LotA. Just remember to delete all older LotA maps before you install the remaster, especially the maps of book 3 override features required by book 1 + 2.

[Marzhin]

Thanks Quantomas, and everyone who has kept this project alive along the years

[Quantomas]

Thank you kindly Marzhin. This means a lot to me, and I suppose to anyone who worked on LotA.

Maybe one day we see LotA completed, with this great story arc of yours coming to a close, to be experienced in the best possible form, in a strategy game that requires you to use your wits.

[SackOats]

Hello all. I have a question. On the Trials of Nikolai mission, after gathering the 8 lost souls and removing the fire walls. What are the ingredients that are required to cast the spell behind where the walls were? Also, for one of the pillars in the underworld it seems like I am required to bring a helmet artifact to light it. Is this specific helmet the helmet of enlightenment, and if so, how am I supposed to get it? It is behind a stack of over 10,000 pit fiends. Thanks for the help!