Does this really work for the turn-based strategy fan???

[Ethric]

And GalCiv is so different from HoMM that the comparison isn't to worthwhile IMO. There you can zoom in on niceties if you want, but mainly you just zoom way out, and at a certain point all objects turn from their 3d-models to flat symbols, so you can still see them. For a spacegame, that works well (lots of empty space). For HoMM, I have my doubts

[gangel269@yahoo.com]

And GalCiv is so different from HoMM that the comparison isn't to worthwhile IMO. There you can zoom in on niceties if you want, but mainly you just zoom way out, and at a certain point all objects turn from their 3d-models to flat symbols, so you can still see them. For a spacegame, that works well (lots of empty space). For HoMM, I have my doubts

That's quite interesting and informative - as I said, my RTS experience is limited. What you're describing sounds like the hybrid 2D/3D model someone else mentioned as potentially interesting for HOMM.

You get the 3D experience by zooming in (for eye candy), and when you just want to play quickly, zoom all the way out and everything becomes so small that it's effectively 2D because everything becomes practically flat. I could see that working out nicely for HOMM. Am I understanding you right?

On a side-note, I'm replaying a major battle in the Sylvan campaign right now (saving and loading to minimize losses), and it drives me crazy how unit selection is so finicky in HOMM 5. I often have to rotate or zoom camera to be able to select the proper unit (especially in last rank) and to move it exactly where I want it to attack from the right direction (important for units with breath or multiple attacks sometimes). And then sometimes unit-number displays overlap and that can also only be solved by rotating the camera again. If I could 'macro-zoom' and have the battlefield become effectively 2D, I'd be happy.

This is an example of what I meant earlier about playability issues.

[HodgePodge]

I agree with bob1760 too. Manipulating the camera rotation & control makes the user interface much more difficult and the game much less fun. Take the underground for example … if people are honest, just ask yourself how much time you've spent just trying to get the "horse" cursor so you can get your hero to move at all. I have almost given up & quit out of frustration with navigating through the underground level. It just plain STINKS!

Not to mention, the irksome town rotation every time you want to enter one of your towns … UGH! Enough already! It was cool the first two or three times, now it's just annoying.

I would prefer an option to turn off many of the 3D elements in the game … so I can just PLAY and not spend my time fighting with the interface.

Oh, and by the way, my computer is top notch: Pentium 4, 3.0 GHz, 1.5 GB RAM, GeForce 7600 256MB Video Card. It's not my computer, it's the game!

[DaemianLucifer]

Camera problems can be solved in many ways:Transparent object,camera lock,camera memorizing,minmap tags,etc.Its just that the 3D camera they took for heroes is bad.

[Ethric]

You get the 3D experience by zooming in (for eye candy), and when you just want to play quickly, zoom all the way out and everything becomes so small that it's effectively 2D because everything becomes practically flat. I could see that working out nicely for HOMM. Am I understanding you right?

More or less. But in GalCiv the map consists of stars w\planets, the occasional anomaly and ships. No threes or mountains or rivers and stuff, so it's limited how much you can zoom out before it becomes impossible to target. And lets not forget that a lush landscape has always been a part of HoMM.

[WretchedGnu]

I think people are ignoring what the original post is actually saying.

It used to be that people understood that the most important aspect of a turn-based strategy game is information. In terms of user interface, absolutely the first thing a true strategy game designer would do is create a thorough and easily-accessible spreadsheet system -- at the very least -- before tackling something as strategically inconsequential as a nice 3D graphics engine. There is not even a bloody "kindom overview" screen in this silly children's game!

This is precisely the reason I'm not buying this game (that and the non-existent adventure AI) -- because the designers clearly made it for people who think 3D graphics are more important than a strategy-gamer's interface.

[Wildbear]

(...) the first thing a true strategy game designer would do is create a thorough and easily-accessible spreadsheet system (...)

I disagree, the first thing (about the interface) is to create an easily accessible playing screen, the good spreadsheet system comes right after. Here it doesn't have the first one, so it isn't surprising it doesn't have the second.