Nagan-4
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If you don't mind, I'll add a bit of Heroes 4 to our purely Heroes 3 conversation. And we have an interesting person here, with an impressive title – World Champion in Heroes of Might and Magic 4, which he will soon be defending in a new tournament.
A legitimate champion, according to no less than 4 major resources. It's great that he's a member of our forum, the respected STRANNiK. Here's an interview with him.
As far as I remember, you're not indifferent to football. Who is closer to you in mentality – the explosive, attacking "Barcelona" or the balanced, thoughtful "Manchester"?
It's hard for me to judge myself. I always want to remain thoughtful, but in reality, emotions sometimes take over.
Favorite book?
There's a book that I liked more than others. I read it about 5 years ago. It's "Hearts in Atlantis" by Stephen King.
Favorite food?
I really love fish in any form. Especially patonka.
Many players started playing Heroes 4 when it was released, but after a while they returned to Heroes 3, or waited for Heroes 5. Why did you choose the fourth installment?
Actually, I'm no different from others. I was waiting for Heroes 4, but after its release, I didn't play it for long and quickly returned to Heroes 3. I started playing Heroes 4 again only because I couldn't play Heroes 3 online. With Heroes 4, the connection worked right away. The choice between Heroes 3 and Heroes 4 turned into a choice between offline and online. The latter turned out to be more interesting.
How did you find your first online opponents?
I went to GameSpy, used a well-known Russian nickname, and opponents started contacting me. In 2004, there were no problems finding opponents in GameSpy.
Stages of growth... who did you learn from, who did you play with, who was a difficult opponent?
I can only talk about two stages of growth. In the first, you break away from hotseat and single-player, thinking of yourself as an unbeatable player. In the second stage, you learn to play. The essential difference between these stages is that at first, you don't know anything about classic online tactics, and then you try to use all of them without mistakes.
I learned to play from Keks. An excellent player from St. Petersburg. We used to be in the same clan on ToH. I always liked his style and ability to play rush. I learned a lot from Camoes. I remember several games with him in 2v2. In these games, I gained a significant part of my experience.
I played against everyone who agreed. Gamers from different countries. I can't remember them all.)
The most difficult opponent was gagatek, a strong Polish player. I lost many games on Powerspot to him. There, Seaman also mercilessly killed me more than once.
A provocative question, before the new world championship, I'll give a hint to the competitors... What is your favorite Heroes 4 castle?
I doubt the question turned out to be provocative. Many people know that I try to start games on random.
There is an opinion that the fourth installment is not so much Heroes of Might and Magic, but Might and Magic, that is, the game is closer not to a strategy, but to an RPG, an action-adventure. Look, a hero appears, develops, gains unique skills for his class, then other heroes join him... in the final battle, you have to maneuver not with monsters, but with a squad of heroes. Maybe Heroes 4 is really an RPG?
Heroes 4 is not an RPG. It's a strategy. A turn-based strategy. Yes, heroes have more weight in the fourth installment than in any other part. But I've never been interested in maps where you can level up one hero and defeat everyone. I like to play where 3-4 heroes are developed, and the rest are monsters. In this situation, the strategic component looks more convincing.
I really like two features in the fourth installment – unique magic for each of the castles, completely different from each other, and equally unique heroes. What would you, as a master of the game, like to add to the game, or, conversely, remove something?
The uniqueness of magic for each of the castles is indeed a feature of Heroes 4. Would I want to fundamentally change something in Heroes 4? I can't say "yes." But I wouldn't leave it as it is either. My knowledge of the Heroes system is probably not enough to consider myself a master. For offline players, it's better to contact Serger, for online players, m8mat. Regarding the creation and balancing of maps, contact pacobac. In general, the Equi team is fully dedicated to this. Their forum also contains my thoughts. The common desire of all players is, of course, impossible: adding the function of simultaneous turn in online and eliminating the imbalance.
Do you play Heroes 5?
No.
A question about our favorite forum. You've been a member of the World forum for a long time. What did you like about this resource three years ago? What was it like then?
I came here hoping to create a school for Heroes 4 online. It was a young, newly created forum. I liked it for its freedom of speech and action. The energy of young players.
Are there team tournaments for the Heroes 4 game?
If you mean something like clan-war, then such tournaments are not active now.
You are the world champion in the online game. And at the same time, you are the creator of one of the most famous clans on our forum, "E Pluribus Unum." Do you think that people with a rational-gaming mindset and people who prefer the role-playing element in the game can coexist? Is there a danger of discord between these two groups of people on the forum?
The danger of discord always exists. But it's also easy to coexist, the main thing is not to forget that it's just a game. Arguing is, of course, useful, but a brawl is not good.)
Let's move on to the world championship? Who initiated the World Championship 2008?
I don't know who initiated the World Championship 2008. I helped Oxygen and Shnurov as much as I could.
As far as I understand, you were also a judge from our resource at the World Championship. Were there any disputes during the games?
There were no disputes during the games or about their outcomes.
The most intense game?
Judging by the game as a whole, the game against Zud on Giant Maze. I was playing rush on the opponent's board.
Judging by the final battle, it was undoubtedly the final of the World Championship 2008 against m8mat.
Who was your most dangerous opponent among Russian-speaking players?
I can't single anyone out. CMEPTb, Oxygen, Seaman, Shnurov were always dangerous for me.
When is the next world championship planned?
I hope this fall.
What would you like to wish the online players of our site?
Play more often and play fairly.)
Thank you very much for the interview, I want to wish you new great victories in Heroes!
Good luck!
Thank you for the wishes and interesting questions!
A legitimate champion, according to no less than 4 major resources. It's great that he's a member of our forum, the respected STRANNiK. Here's an interview with him.
As far as I remember, you're not indifferent to football. Who is closer to you in mentality – the explosive, attacking "Barcelona" or the balanced, thoughtful "Manchester"?
It's hard for me to judge myself. I always want to remain thoughtful, but in reality, emotions sometimes take over.
Favorite book?
There's a book that I liked more than others. I read it about 5 years ago. It's "Hearts in Atlantis" by Stephen King.
Favorite food?
I really love fish in any form. Especially patonka.
Many players started playing Heroes 4 when it was released, but after a while they returned to Heroes 3, or waited for Heroes 5. Why did you choose the fourth installment?
Actually, I'm no different from others. I was waiting for Heroes 4, but after its release, I didn't play it for long and quickly returned to Heroes 3. I started playing Heroes 4 again only because I couldn't play Heroes 3 online. With Heroes 4, the connection worked right away. The choice between Heroes 3 and Heroes 4 turned into a choice between offline and online. The latter turned out to be more interesting.
How did you find your first online opponents?
I went to GameSpy, used a well-known Russian nickname, and opponents started contacting me. In 2004, there were no problems finding opponents in GameSpy.
Stages of growth... who did you learn from, who did you play with, who was a difficult opponent?
I can only talk about two stages of growth. In the first, you break away from hotseat and single-player, thinking of yourself as an unbeatable player. In the second stage, you learn to play. The essential difference between these stages is that at first, you don't know anything about classic online tactics, and then you try to use all of them without mistakes.
I learned to play from Keks. An excellent player from St. Petersburg. We used to be in the same clan on ToH. I always liked his style and ability to play rush. I learned a lot from Camoes. I remember several games with him in 2v2. In these games, I gained a significant part of my experience.
I played against everyone who agreed. Gamers from different countries. I can't remember them all.)
The most difficult opponent was gagatek, a strong Polish player. I lost many games on Powerspot to him. There, Seaman also mercilessly killed me more than once.
A provocative question, before the new world championship, I'll give a hint to the competitors... What is your favorite Heroes 4 castle?
I doubt the question turned out to be provocative. Many people know that I try to start games on random.
There is an opinion that the fourth installment is not so much Heroes of Might and Magic, but Might and Magic, that is, the game is closer not to a strategy, but to an RPG, an action-adventure. Look, a hero appears, develops, gains unique skills for his class, then other heroes join him... in the final battle, you have to maneuver not with monsters, but with a squad of heroes. Maybe Heroes 4 is really an RPG?
Heroes 4 is not an RPG. It's a strategy. A turn-based strategy. Yes, heroes have more weight in the fourth installment than in any other part. But I've never been interested in maps where you can level up one hero and defeat everyone. I like to play where 3-4 heroes are developed, and the rest are monsters. In this situation, the strategic component looks more convincing.
I really like two features in the fourth installment – unique magic for each of the castles, completely different from each other, and equally unique heroes. What would you, as a master of the game, like to add to the game, or, conversely, remove something?
The uniqueness of magic for each of the castles is indeed a feature of Heroes 4. Would I want to fundamentally change something in Heroes 4? I can't say "yes." But I wouldn't leave it as it is either. My knowledge of the Heroes system is probably not enough to consider myself a master. For offline players, it's better to contact Serger, for online players, m8mat. Regarding the creation and balancing of maps, contact pacobac. In general, the Equi team is fully dedicated to this. Their forum also contains my thoughts. The common desire of all players is, of course, impossible: adding the function of simultaneous turn in online and eliminating the imbalance.
Do you play Heroes 5?
No.
A question about our favorite forum. You've been a member of the World forum for a long time. What did you like about this resource three years ago? What was it like then?
I came here hoping to create a school for Heroes 4 online. It was a young, newly created forum. I liked it for its freedom of speech and action. The energy of young players.
Are there team tournaments for the Heroes 4 game?
If you mean something like clan-war, then such tournaments are not active now.
You are the world champion in the online game. And at the same time, you are the creator of one of the most famous clans on our forum, "E Pluribus Unum." Do you think that people with a rational-gaming mindset and people who prefer the role-playing element in the game can coexist? Is there a danger of discord between these two groups of people on the forum?
The danger of discord always exists. But it's also easy to coexist, the main thing is not to forget that it's just a game. Arguing is, of course, useful, but a brawl is not good.)
Let's move on to the world championship? Who initiated the World Championship 2008?
I don't know who initiated the World Championship 2008. I helped Oxygen and Shnurov as much as I could.
As far as I understand, you were also a judge from our resource at the World Championship. Were there any disputes during the games?
There were no disputes during the games or about their outcomes.
The most intense game?
Judging by the game as a whole, the game against Zud on Giant Maze. I was playing rush on the opponent's board.
Judging by the final battle, it was undoubtedly the final of the World Championship 2008 against m8mat.
Who was your most dangerous opponent among Russian-speaking players?
I can't single anyone out. CMEPTb, Oxygen, Seaman, Shnurov were always dangerous for me.
When is the next world championship planned?
I hope this fall.
What would you like to wish the online players of our site?
Play more often and play fairly.)
Thank you very much for the interview, I want to wish you new great victories in Heroes!
Good luck!
Thank you for the wishes and interesting questions!