Nagan-4
Auto-translated
Friends. Unlike Pete and other younger players, I'm no longer ashamed to start writing my memoirs (although... I'll still fight a bit). Here's my new project: "Heroic Stories."
Online Heroes 3 has its own history: Peter, Minsk, Moscow, Krasnodar, Yekaterinburg, Perm, Michurinsk, Tambov, Pyatigorsk, Kyiv, Simferopol... the list can go on. Great battles raged there, the founding fathers of the game appeared out of nowhere and mysteriously disappeared, forums were buzzing with tension, the balance of power changed; endless discussions were held about the inevitable end of Heroes 3... much of it is funny to remember now, some of it is embarrassing, but there's much more that's pleasant to recall. I've already held talks with several people from our Heroes community who have had a significant impact on its development, regarding interviews - they all seemed positive.
So, the first of them became the father of the genre: "Writing decent game reports," in its Russian version. At that time (early 2000s), this was a breakthrough. No one really knew how to play properly yet, so detailed descriptions of games by leading players in the country helped ordinary fans from small towns better understand the game.
This person was also one of the founders of the famous St. Petersburg Tournaments, thanks to him, the country learned about Antal, Lord Dima, and many other players.
In short, an interview with the organizer and judge of the St. Petersburg Tournaments of 2000-2002 and, after a break, 2004 - Lord Maniac. Unfortunately, it turned out to be not very long, although I certainly have more questions.
Nagan-4:
Vitaly, good evening.
Lord Maniac:
And to you!
Nagan-4:
On the HeroesWorld website, a project called "History" has been started. This project aims to give a voice to people who have made the greatest contribution to the development of the Heroes world. If any question seems unethical or provocative to you, you can leave it without comment.
Nagan-4:
Favorite time of year?
Lord Maniac:
Summer.
Nagan-4: .
Favorite movie?
Lord Maniac
Equilibrium.
Nagan-4:
Favorite singer or band?
Lord Maniac:
Depeche Mode.
Nagan-4:
No one knows the answer to the next question better than you... It so happened that the Heroes community in the post-Soviet space first made itself known in St. Petersburg. Hundreds of players, multi-round, intense battles, worthy coverage of tournaments on websites, one star after another emerging from club tournaments – Antal, Master of Lightnings, Lord Dima, Uncle Fedor, Boss, Warshield, Cobra… How did it all begin?
Lord Maniac:
Almost immediately after the official release of Hmm3, the first tournament was organized (as a reminder, people were generally familiar with the beta version). It was organized by Singing Heart. Later, several more tournaments were held in a similar way. The peculiarity of these was that only 1 map was used! later there were 3, then 5, but further increasing their number, as well as rotation, was a big question. I wanted to optimize a number of moments in the rules, refine the maps, and reduce the dependence of the chance of winning on knowing the map, so I decided to do it myself.
Nagan-4:
As far as I remember, the old St. Petersburg tournaments will remain the largest events in the Heroes world, with 118 people playing in one of the last ones, all of them the best players in the northern capital. The closest competitors, Moscow and Minsk, the strongest communities, even in their best years, could not gather more than 60-65 players for club tournaments. What are the origins of such a massive turnout?
Lord Maniac:
Hmm3 was very popular among the masses at that time. There were not so few people who only played Heroes. Advertising in a popular computer magazine at the time + a certain reputation of the tournaments + the most serious positioning of the tournament + a good and convenient club for players = such a turnout.
Moscow used different schemes. If my scheme had been applied in Moscow, IMHO, even more people could have come.
Nagan-4:
What always surprised me was the prompt reports from the scene, because about two hundred matches were played in a tournament, and you managed to write a report for each of them, and what wonderful reports they were, you could read them for hours. And at the same time, you were solving organizational issues, making the draw, resolving disputes between players. How did you manage to do everything on your own?
Lord Maniac:
The critical thing is not the number of matches per tournament, but per game day - there are much fewer of them. I tried to monitor them in my free time from organizational issues, going from computer to computer. And my memory is pretty good. The most difficult thing is that writing reports for a day is not compatible with getting a normal amount of sleep if you have to go and judge the next day (or night). Organizational issues during tournaments do not take up much time. After all the matches of the round have started, it becomes easier.
Nagan-4:
In essence, you have seen all the best players in your city in action. Can you name the three most talented players, in your opinion?
Lord Maniac:
Lord Dima
Antal
Master of Lightnings.
Nagan-4: .
The most difficult conflict at a tournament during your time as a judge?
Lord Maniac:
I don't remember anything like that, there were many minor issues.
Nagan-4: Once, I had a heartfelt conversation with old players, and the idea was expressed that your departure from the Heroes world was facilitated by Heroes 4. Almost all Heroes fans were sure that Heroes 4 would replace Heroes 3, just as Heroes 3 replaced Heroes of Might and Magic 2.
The half-baked product that was called Heroes of Might and Magic 4 was terrible in its original version; in fact, it didn't even have multiplayer, only hot-seat.
The Grand Underground has a detailed description of this tournament, with all the difficulties that the players and, above all, the judge and organizer had to face. Were Heroes 4 really hopeless for club tournaments from the very beginning?
Lord Maniac:
That's a terrible lie, Hmm4 has nothing to do with it. The main reason is the specifics of my new job (100% busy on Saturdays and Sundays).
Regarding Hmm4 - the battles are very long. I managed to hold one championship on them. It is unrealistic to play 2 matches a day or night - at least some of the matches will not be completed.
Nagan-4:
Thank you very much for the conversation.
That's all for the interview. For now, that's all. I plan to take a few more interviews, and also write about how the Heroes tournaments appeared in our city, the most memorable moments, etc. I also ask, I really ask all the players of our resource, as well as guests, to share their Heroes stories, remember how they came to Heroes - this is definitely interesting.
Vitaly, good evening.
Lord Maniac:
And to you!
Nagan-4:
On the HeroesWorld website, a project called "History" has been started. This project aims to give a voice to people who have made the greatest contribution to the development of the Heroes world. If any question seems unethical or provocative to you, you can leave it without comment.
Nagan-4:
Favorite time of year?
Lord Maniac:
Summer.
Nagan-4: .
Favorite movie?
Lord Maniac
Equilibrium.
Nagan-4:
Favorite singer or band?
Lord Maniac:
Depeche Mode.
Nagan-4:
No one knows the answer to the next question better than you... It so happened that the Heroes community in the post-Soviet space first made itself known in St. Petersburg. Hundreds of players, multi-round, intense battles, worthy coverage of tournaments on websites, one star after another emerging from club tournaments – Antal, Master of Lightnings, Lord Dima, Uncle Fedor, Boss, Warshield, Cobra… How did it all begin?
Lord Maniac:
Almost immediately after the official release of Hmm3, the first tournament was organized (as a reminder, people were generally familiar with the beta version). It was organized by Singing Heart. Later, several more tournaments were held in a similar way. The peculiarity of these was that only 1 map was used! later there were 3, then 5, but further increasing their number, as well as rotation, was a big question. I wanted to optimize a number of moments in the rules, refine the maps, and reduce the dependence of the chance of winning on knowing the map, so I decided to do it myself.
Nagan-4:
As far as I remember, the old St. Petersburg tournaments will remain the largest events in the Heroes world, with 118 people playing in one of the last ones, all of them the best players in the northern capital. The closest competitors, Moscow and Minsk, the strongest communities, even in their best years, could not gather more than 60-65 players for club tournaments. What are the origins of such a massive turnout?
Lord Maniac:
Hmm3 was very popular among the masses at that time. There were not so few people who only played Heroes. Advertising in a popular computer magazine at the time + a certain reputation of the tournaments + the most serious positioning of the tournament + a good and convenient club for players = such a turnout.
Moscow used different schemes. If my scheme had been applied in Moscow, IMHO, even more people could have come.
Nagan-4:
What always surprised me was the prompt reports from the scene, because about two hundred matches were played in a tournament, and you managed to write a report for each of them, and what wonderful reports they were, you could read them for hours. And at the same time, you were solving organizational issues, making the draw, resolving disputes between players. How did you manage to do everything on your own?
Lord Maniac:
The critical thing is not the number of matches per tournament, but per game day - there are much fewer of them. I tried to monitor them in my free time from organizational issues, going from computer to computer. And my memory is pretty good. The most difficult thing is that writing reports for a day is not compatible with getting a normal amount of sleep if you have to go and judge the next day (or night). Organizational issues during tournaments do not take up much time. After all the matches of the round have started, it becomes easier.
Nagan-4:
In essence, you have seen all the best players in your city in action. Can you name the three most talented players, in your opinion?
Lord Maniac:
Lord Dima
Antal
Master of Lightnings.
Nagan-4: .
The most difficult conflict at a tournament during your time as a judge?
Lord Maniac:
I don't remember anything like that, there were many minor issues.
Nagan-4: Once, I had a heartfelt conversation with old players, and the idea was expressed that your departure from the Heroes world was facilitated by Heroes 4. Almost all Heroes fans were sure that Heroes 4 would replace Heroes 3, just as Heroes 3 replaced Heroes of Might and Magic 2.
The half-baked product that was called Heroes of Might and Magic 4 was terrible in its original version; in fact, it didn't even have multiplayer, only hot-seat.
The Grand Underground has a detailed description of this tournament, with all the difficulties that the players and, above all, the judge and organizer had to face. Were Heroes 4 really hopeless for club tournaments from the very beginning?
Lord Maniac:
That's a terrible lie, Hmm4 has nothing to do with it. The main reason is the specifics of my new job (100% busy on Saturdays and Sundays).
Regarding Hmm4 - the battles are very long. I managed to hold one championship on them. It is unrealistic to play 2 matches a day or night - at least some of the matches will not be completed.
Nagan-4:
Thank you very much for the conversation.
That's all for the interview. For now, that's all. I plan to take a few more interviews, and also write about how the Heroes tournaments appeared in our city, the most memorable moments, etc. I also ask, I really ask all the players of our resource, as well as guests, to share their Heroes stories, remember how they came to Heroes - this is definitely interesting.
