Posts from Resources extracted from Heroes III.

In this thread, resources “extracted” from Heroes III will be posted using special programs (for example, this one). H3_res_Battles.zip – WAV files with music played before battles. H3_res_Ultimate.zip – a WAV file with music played when excavating the Holy Grail.

Is it possible to extract the animation of a specific unit?

by the way, does anyone know how to extract the initial intro and the executioner scene (the one that plays when you lose) from the Platinum edition? They're really starting to annoy me.

Vanechka, if you choose the executioner as the loading screen, then all the defeat music will play in full, so it's better not to change anything (and with videos, you can skip them with a click). You can also extract the animation, but I personally don't know how to edit it. I think these are def files. But there are also programs for creating animations in the archive for the resource editor, but I don't feel like figuring them out... :)

Is it possible to extract the animation of a specific unit?

At the moment, I've basically figured out how to extract frames from an animation (can be done for any unit).
And creating a mini-movie based on them won't be difficult (using a GIF animator, etc.).

Here, for example, are a few frames (as well as a zip archive of all the frames) that can be used to create an animation of a battle unicorn.

And here's the result after working with GIF Animator (the last picture).

AAAAAAAwesome!!!!! :-)
I think there should be a video (gif) like the one in the window when you view monster info.

P.S.: The question about the executioner is interesting to everyone, I think!!!

I think there should be a video (gif) like the one in the window when you view monster info.

I think (and I've definitely checked) that there isn't such a video in the default resources of Heroes, because, for example, let's take the unicorn animation.
This animation is used for displaying it both on the battlefields, which have different backgrounds, and in the castle...
It doesn't make sense to store all unicorn animations combined with different types of backgrounds.
It's much more efficient to store only the outlines of the moving image (the unicorn).
By the way, the turquoise color on which the moving images are located is not a background, but rather its absence (transparency).

The question about the executioner is interesting to everyone, I think!!!

I'll need to dig around a bit more.

By the way, the turquoise color on which the animated images are displayed is not a background, but rather its absence (transparency).

Well, it's obvious that it should be on a transparent background! No need to consult an expert! :D

I think there should be a video (gif) like the one in the window when you view monster info.

Now I understand what you meant, but still – there is no such video in the default resources of Heroes.

For example, let's look at the same unicorn in the castle fort.
As you can see, the unicorn's animation is quite long.
But throughout the video, there is a group of frames where the unicorn is simply walking (stepping), and the same frames of the unicorn walking are repeated on the screen.

Therefore, it would not be efficient to store an animation in which the same group of frames is repeated dozens of times, thereby greatly increasing the size of the resources.

It is easier to provide for a programmatic access to these frames and loop them dozens of times. In addition, this allows for randomizing the movement, i.e., literally creating a new (unique) video based on the available frames.

Here, the unicorn walks, then attacks, then walks again, then steps. And it can be done in any other order.

That's why these resources were created – to allow you to manipulate them in any order and save physical disk space ;)

And, by the way, the example of the unicorn's movement animation confirms all this.
The resources contained unique unicorn movements (a total of 63 frames).
And so, if you want to create an animation of the unicorn walking, you take all these individual frames and, by grouping and copying frames, create the unicorn walk that you want (you decide whether the unicorn will fall, whether it will take 10 steps or 5, etc.). As far as I understand, the same principle is used in Heroes.

Vanechka, if you remove the executioner intro, then the entire defeat music will play, so it's better not to change anything (and with the video, you can skip it with a click). You can also remove the animation, but I personally don't know how to edit it. I think these are def files. But there are also programs for creating animations in the archive for the resource editor, but I don't want to figure them out... :)

I just have a corrupted version of Heroes of Might and Magic III. I installed it from a disk (yes, there was such a DISK - Heroes 3.5), archived it multiple times, and re-extracted it. In this version, it skips the intro videos (although they were originally there) and sometimes doesn't autosave... So, I think it's possible to fix these intro issues. But when I delete the video file from the data folder to get the platinum edition working, it refuses to run...

The thing is, you shouldn't completely delete the file from the archive, but replace it with an empty video file. There might also be an error with the packing process – the program isn't very stable.

by the way, does anyone know how to extract the initial intro and the executioner scene (the one that plays when you lose) from the Platinum edition? I'm getting tired of them.

Yes, it's possible, but you'll need at least Total Commander, as well as programs that support BINK VIDEO, to open and replace these files. In principle, everything can be extracted from the third game.

How did you convert the DEF file to GIF? Can you share the secret? I've tried extracting the phoenix animation many times, but it won't open in its original DEF format.

This file contains all the sounds from the game "Heroes of Might and Magic 3 Complete" from the "Data" folder.

Number: 1130 (demo), 1187 (alpha)
Format: .mp3 (.rar)
Size: 12.7 MB (demo), 86.64 MB (alpha)
Links:

This file contains all the images from the "Heroes of Might and Magic III: Complete" game, taken from the "Data" folder.

Quantity: >5000
Format: .bmp, .jpg (.rar)
Size: 88.55 MB.