Posts from Heroes VII

basically, what are your expectations for the seventh installment of the Heroes series?

I see them alongside the Elves. Although, to be honest, I can't imagine them being developed, and I don't even know what would come of it if they were. They need to come up with something radically new, something to be proud of, while also ensuring that the product is generally appealing in terms of appearance and gameplay mechanics with its dynamics.

Judging by the return to the roots in the odd-numbered installments, we shouldn't expect anything radically new. It's a shame. A few features from the 6th installment could be implemented, as well as a few from the 4th, and the core elements of the 5th. That's how I envision the 7th installment.

Newbies are unaware of the existence of the third game.

RiMpel2, you won't believe it, but people still play it. I didn't include it in the list because the fifth installment was heavily influenced by the third. => almost the same.

Even better, take it from the second game. Just with decent graphics. And it will be perfect.

I just don't see it happening. For the Heroes games to be truly great, they need JVC's involvement; without it, this will just be another instance of exploiting a dying franchise, and nothing more.

I don't know what could be, but here's an idea: bring back Rai'lag and tell his story after his disappearance in Hammers of Fate.

I don't know what it could be, but there's one idea: they'll bring back Railag and tell his story after his disappearance in Hammers of Fate.

No. Erwan Le Breton has hinted several times that they will continue to delve into the past. The next "stop" will be the era of Shantiri. Although it is quite possible that in H7 they will not yet jump to it, but will continue to describe the events of the middle of the millennium: the Underworld War, the War of the Broken Staff, the Third and Fourth Eclipses...

And regarding the era after Dark Messiah, according to Le Breton, they might only write a book about it.

Improve the graphics of the fifth installment, although, rather, stylistically – that is, reduce the cartoonishness a bit (like in Disciples 2 – they are perhaps too gothic, but I like this style), place the teleport spell among the magic skills, keep the castle conversion (also make it a separate skill), in general, it's hard to list everything at once, but the main directions are parts 3-5.

Even better, take it from the second game. And it will be fine.

Oh, it's been a while since I last posted off-topic outside the same... Let me describe my own ideal version. I can't promise that my dreams will align with yours.

Number of Factions: the more, the better, but without going overboard. Ideally—something between the third and fifth games. Mandatory factions: humans, mages, elves, dungeon, undead, demons, orcs (almost a set from two or four). Additional factions: swamp/lizards, nagas, dwarves, one or several new original factions as desired, although I'm afraid to count on the latter—what if they just make a second undead faction across the sea of Irsus.
Faction Concept: more individualism; don't be afraid to make factions without shooters/flyers/tanks/support mages. Unique faction features and abilities are strictly mandatory; all tactics should be built upon them. Let one faction overwhelm with cheap, numerous meat-shields, another be thick and impenetrable, a third rely on speed, a fourth flood the same from a distance with various nasties, units of the fifth help each other in different ways, and so on—the point is clear. Regarding design—you can follow the line of the sixth game; everything was pretty enough there, only the units need more individuality and a more diverse color palette without losing the unified faction style. Transports and little ships should also be unique; I really like the fifth for transports and the fourth for ships. You could also play around with the interface design; it was quite tasty in the second—separate designs for "good" and "evil" factions, but you can go even further here—let everything for elves be entwined with leaves, bones lying around for undead, caves, crystals, and little mushrooms for dungeon.
Heroes: graphics-wise, one should look to the fourth or sixth games. A unique model for each gender and each specialty is very cool. As for skills, I really like the system from the fourth; a few features from the fifth can be added as desired, like hybrid skills and other unique abilities. Oh, and of course, unique starting abilities—and make them truly unique, please. And remove this nonsense with the main starting hero and under-hero support units. Although the reputation system isn't the worst idea; it could be developed.
Magic: once again, rays of love for the fourth! Unique magic for each faction is incredibly cool. You could, of course, add something like "wisdom" to learn same little things from other schools, you can make "hybrid" spells like demonology, you can somehow combine all this with the magic of the fifth, or give one to three factions per school of magic. The most important thing—more spells, good and varied (the new King's Bounty gives a good example here), and a corresponding book, at least like in the first four games. And bring back a proper Mages' Guild.
Units: six to seven per faction. More is possible, but then it makes sense to introduce branches like in the fourth or Disciples. As for creature levels—four to five are enough so that the power gradation is obvious but not too extreme. Five to seven slots in an army are sufficient, depending on the number of creatures. Regarding upgrades, you can follow in the footsteps of the second: from zero up to two. It's better to take the unit window from the sixth—rotate them, examine them from all sides. And plenty and plenty of neutrals. I really like King's Bounty regarding unit windows—everything is very detailed, informative, and clear. Special rays of kindness to them for indicating resistance (not to be confused with defense) and damage type; I can't wait for such a feature in Heroes. In the sixth, they messed around with physical and magical attack/defense, but it still wasn't quite right, although you could develop that idea—it would even be better if it were something original rather than copied.
Castle: the second and third games have the most beautiful castles, but such images are no longer very relevant or attractive. I wouldn't refuse a version like the fifth—pretty 3D with a flying camera. Again, clickable buildings duplicated by buttons. The construction screen—the fifth and sixth were quite good; one can move in that same direction, only draw the constructing buildings larger; you can look at Disciples for this. The type of terrain on which the castle stands could influence the city screen, but I don't like the version from the fourth—everything there is too crude and the faction style is killed at the root; it needs to be implemented more elegantly. Unit recruitment was very good in the third and fourth—seeing all the guys at once with characteristics and miniature models. And as for resources, bring everything back to how it was. Again, faction individuality: some need sulfur, some stones, some something else.
Map: less beauty, more functionality; put some tasty landscapes around the edges, fewer corridors, more resources, more artifacts, more unique buildings and other treats. Seriously, the S-map in two-three-four was much tastier and richer than the XXL-map of the sixth. In terms of "treats," one should look to the third and especially the fourth. I understand that graphics require beauty and few people hunt through every corner now, but it must be interesting first and foremost. Give external dwellings to every unit. Kick territory capture and other forts back to their native Disciples. Caravans must definitely return. Cut down on castle rebuilding—let it take longer and let the whole city have to be rebuilt from scratch. You could remember squads without a hero, only let them not capture anything and let the battle happen in auto-combat mode. Oh yeah, remove those druggy map settings from the sixth; it's unclear why they disliked the "classic" starting choice of faction, color, hero, and bonus.
Battle: keep pushing what exists. Cover—good, unique objects with perks—good, unique unit abilities—good. I'd like to bring back the heroes from the fourth, but I predict a lot of spitting and anathema, so you can make them closer to the fifth. But let the hero stand on the battlefield both on foot and give a perk to nearby units, while the horse grazes somewhere aside. Keep all the beautiful crit animations as they were, but make them toggleable. Let the turn order be standard—each unit moves at least once per round, determined by initiative, etc., etc. And don't forget to put the hero in the line. Walls and gates should still only be destroyed by a catapult. War machines should be there; they are good, though skills for them should be merged into one. And separate rays of love to the sixth for the funny unit idle animations.
Additional: a couple of new original treats. Not too radical, but interesting. Play around with war machines, unit parameters, hero skills, the map, the size and shape of the map and battlefield, introduce three-way battles (at least for duels in Multiplayer), and so on.
Additional-2: approximate faction composition.
Humans: mostly various human paladins, spearmen, archers, monks, cavalry, swordsmen, and other joys. Angels can be added; I don't really want griffins, but they can be too if you must.
Mages: standard and beloved gargoyles, golems, djinn, titans, and other magical creatures of varying degrees of mythological own. One or two actual mages as desired.
Elves: fairies, archers, ents, and unicorns are strictly mandatory. Druids, pegasus riders, a few more elves, various walking cacti of different shapes and sizes, forest or magic dragons (you can make them small and put them at low levels), phoenixes, optional griffins, and various animals from wolves to my favorite giant praying mantises.
Dungeon: since the devs don't want to leave Ashan, dark elves will be there: assassins and witches, as well as their pet minotaurs, manticoras, beholders, and everyone's favorite same-old black ones. Optionally various faceless and a couple more squads of actual dark elves.
Undead: how could it be without skeletons, ghosts, and vampires? And there are also dark knights, liches, zombies, bone dragons, lamassu (I really liked those kitties) and a bunch of other spider-like decaying not-quite-living nasties.
Demons: here you can go wild! Imps, cerberus, and archdevils are strictly mandatory; incubi-succubi, spawners, pit lords, and other horned red own-evil nasties of all possible shapes and sizes as desired.
Orcs: goblins, cyclops, shamans of any gender, centaurs, harpies, a couple or three orc warriors, seasoned with thunderbirds, hippos, some bull riders, and a couple of monsters as desired (even those same griffins are fine—why not?).
Lizards (I know they aren't in Ashan, but I really, really loved the swamp in the third): several lizardmen—warriors, shamans, maybe shooters or other throwers, hydras, wyverns, basilisks, maybe a few dinosaurs, snakes, and other reptiloids.
Nagas: medusas, kensei, kirins, yuki-onnas, kappas. Additionally, one or two nagas squads, something mermaid-like, kraken, and various Japanese-style water undead.
Dwarves: bear riders (male/female), a couple or three dwarf squads, mechanical dragons, yeti. You could also have various mechanisms, giants, some Scandinavian-style freaks, and even valkyries.
New: a couple of human or non-human factions—some savages or bandits; style and habitat as desired. Something non-magical but with good technology—better than the dwarves. Some mystical unknown thing, dark or light. Any interesting humanoid mythological race with accompanying creatures. The main thing is to skillfully fit all this joy into the world's history.

In short: plenty, tasty, unique, with development and in a "heroic" way. And in the end, it turned out to be a hybrid of previous parts with the tastiest ideas from there. I'm afraid that is the fate of all players' hopes regarding a new part :)

more individualism, don't be afraid to create Factions without archers/flying units/tanks/support mages.

+++++++++++++++
And also, everything should be made overpowered, and then there will be balance.

Ideally, something in between the third and fifth parts.

8.5? )

Separate kudos to them for indicating resistance (not to be confused with defense) and damage type; I'm really looking forward to this feature in Heroes. In the sixth game, they were experimenting with physical and magical attack/defense, but it still wasn't quite right, although this idea could be developed further, and it would even be better – something original, not copied.

I should note that resistance types are standard for many games with RPG elements, and Heroes can generally be considered such a game, with RPG elements. So, it's unlikely that anyone will perceive this as stealing a feature from KB.

Seriously, the S-sized map in the second, third, and fourth games was much more interesting and richer than the XXL-sized map in the sixth game.

I must say that the size of the maps and the objects on them in Heroes deserve separate study. For example, if you compare the maps of the third and fifth games, it seems that there are fewer objects in the latter (in terms of density), but in reality, this is compensated by the increased hero movement range... Or partially compensated. And the feeling of a populated map in the fifth game can be created by using the mouse wheel to zoom out ;) In the fifth game, there is a characteristic distance at which you can reliably detect a clickable object. The situation is somewhat different in the sixth part, if I understand it correctly. There, the entire map is clearly divided into zones, and within each zone, there is a certain number of objects, right? No, in the fifth part, it's the same, but it's not very noticeable because the size of the zones is consistent. But in the sixth part, in one zone there are two mines, in another two, but one is right next to the Castle, and the other stretches across half the map. This creates a huge emptiness... Of course, this option is not good.

You can remember units without a hero, but let them not capture anything, and the battle takes place in auto-battle mode.

Auto-battle? Not a bad idea!

And let the hero stand on the battlefield on foot and provide a nice bonus to nearby units, while the horse grazes somewhere nearby.

That's also a good idea, although I personally dream of an option in the style of Total War: the hero is not an uber-invincible combat machine, as in the fourth game, and doesn't always deal a lot of damage, but is surrounded by a guard of specially trained soldiers who take all the hits. Of course, until they die. Technically, the bulky fourth-game tank is replaced by a unit with a default "fight to the last" setting, which is both useful and not overpowered. Compared to the third, fifth, and sixth parts, this would diversify the game, allowing you to introduce, in addition to standard tacticians and mages, a hero-warrior who will focus specifically on the strength of this elite squad (in other cases, he will be not very effective).

Lizards (I know they're not in Ashan, but I really, really loved the swamp in the third game).

Well, the developers didn't create beastmen for nothing; you can put anyone in there, even people-sea cucumbers, let alone lizards.

I must note that resistance types are standard for many games with RPG elements, and Heroes can be considered such a game, albeit with those elements. So, it's unlikely anyone will perceive this as stealing an idea from another game.

Still, there's no need to copy this feature exactly. Let them develop their own physics and magic system, and perhaps add some subcategories – for physics, this could be melee/ranged weapons (and even crushing, slashing, and cutting weapons, hello, TES!), and for magic, it could be elemental damage, light, and darkness.

The feeling of a populated map in the fifth installment can be created by using the mouse wheel to zoom out.

You won't believe it, but I zoomed out as much as possible, and it still felt too small.

Personally, I dream of a Total War-style option: the hero is not an overpowered, invincible combat machine, as in the fourth installment, and doesn't always deal a lot of damage, but is surrounded by a guard of specially trained soldiers who take all the hits. Of course, until they die.

And what will you do with these soldiers afterward, where will you get them, how will you replenish them after they die, and how much space will they take up? This option isn't the worst, but there are some unclear aspects. Again, it could be implemented as an additional building with additional units to choose from.

Well, the developers didn't create Beastmen for nothing; you can put anyone in there, even human sea cucumbers, let alone lizardmen.

They're already being used by half of the factions in their armies, so Beastmen aren't really suitable as a full-fledged faction, although taking and isolating the lizardmen, sending them across the Sea of Irsus

So, what do you do with these units afterward? Where do you get them, how do you replenish them after they die, and how many units do they take up in your army? It's not a bad idea, but there are some unclear aspects. Again, you could make it an additional building with extra units to choose from.

Never mind, it's just details that don't really affect the gameplay. I think the most logical thing would be to give them to the hero when they enter a town, and the stronger the town, the more of these creatures you get.