Posts from Simultaneous turn in a turn-based strategy game. Auto-translated

By the way, I would like to ask Sav directly, were all the developments handed over to baratorch his personal work? Or was it taken in parts and refined from WT or another platform? Having Wicca on the team, it would have been possible to ask the WT developers for the code, or at least try to figure it out yourself. If there was already a base that was used, it would be possible to request it for potential SoD modders.

IMHO, with the introduction of rebuilding, HotA Mage Guild will irrevocably steal the spotlight. And it's not even about personal preferences.

Well, it's pretty obvious. SoD is standing still, while HotA is evolving. For HotA, if you will, it is beneficial for SoD to continue standing still.

Psyche, as far as I know, there is no open-source code. Otherwise, any programmer could analyze the code and make changes. The main problem is that only partial data is extracted from the game (from the executable file, etc.). And in some cases, one has to simply guess how and what is implemented. That is why, after making changes, a new executable file is created based on the old one. Yes, firstly, it takes a lot of time to figure out the method itself and the extracted resources, and secondly, it is inconvenient and has many limitations. If Online Hotseat (OH) was implemented in Heroes, then, of course, it can be implemented in Sword of Chaos (SoC) as well – it's just that few people have experience in delving into the resources of Heroes.

As for the "pulling the blanket over" – in the CIS, perhaps, yes, over time. In the world – I highly doubt it. Although, if there is good advertising, investment in tournaments, and coverage, everything is possible. Besides, Online Hotseat has existed in Heroes for a long time, and the popularity of Sword of Chaos is not decreasing (although many said that it would draw most players to Heroes). We have already seen different versions of Heroes based on Sword of Chaos appear, and we have also seen these versions completely forgotten or their popularity significantly decline. As a rule, such versions exist only while development is ongoing. Development ends, and popularity declines. Another question is how the developers will ensure the possibility of supporting the game by other people in the future. But in essence, these are just different games (there are more and more differences). History will put everything in its place, and we will wait for now

By the way, I would like to ask Sav directly, were all the materials passed on to baratorch yours personally?

Yes. These materials related to researching the original game’s engine. I have my own database about it, not based on any of the existing ones. And for me, researching the game is often the primary goal and main interest, compared to implementing features, so the database is large and relatively well-organized.

baratorch used the materials from WT himself. But he didn't ask anyone for them; he reverse engineered them himself.

In principle, baratorch wrote about this: /topic/at/909448/

off-topic question

Hey guys, have you considered releasing a remastered version in HD, similar to what they did with Age of Empires 2, when Microsoft took over the unofficial expansion and released it in HD on Steam, and then added a couple more DLCs. It seems like everyone benefited from that. Ubisoft might also be interested in such an opportunity.

IMHO, with the introduction of own-building, HotA Mage Guild will irrevocably steal the spotlight. And it's not even about personal preferences.

The big shots think so, but as a mere mortal, I don't like the heap of creature banks and morale problems; again, I don't welcome some artifacts and buildings either, but the presence of OH allows one to move things along when there isn't much time, which is why I would like OH in SoD as well.

Okay, I understand. I didn't read it carefully the first time, so the previous work was not related to Olden Era, but to reverse engineering. Therefore, if the position of the "baratorcha" regarding Olden Era in the SoD (presumably, "SoD" refers to "Shades of Darkness") doesn't change, I think it would be reasonable to ask him to provide the Olden Era database that he honestly borrowed and processed, up to the point where he started using Sav's work.

Ideally, if I may put it this way, it would be beneficial for SOD to remain as it is.

No one is hiding this. And if it weren't for Baratorch and Wizard, SOD would have stagnated completely.

I believe that if there is a demand from the players, it should be taken into account and respected! After all, you are not working only for yourself, but also for the masses, so that there is a playable product in the end. However, there is practically no feedback. :confused: Vic is doing a great job, but he is no longer a player and cannot assess the balance at the same level as those who constantly play HotA, such as Hellight or Lizard.

No one is hiding that. And if it weren't for Baratorch and Wizard, SOD would have stagnated completely.

I believe that if there is a demand from players, it should be taken into account and respected! After all, you are not working only for yourself, but also for the masses, so that there is a playable product in the end. But there is practically no feedback. :confused: Vic is great, of course, but he is no longer a player and cannot assess the balance at the same level as those who constantly play HotA, such as Hellight or Lizard.

It used to be for the masses, now it's for the HotA management. Contractual obligations, at the very least. And the masses... they can be hooked on what is profitable for you. Here, it's not just about ideology, but also about commerce. It is unlikely that a product like HotA is created purely out of altruism, without aiming for future commercial gain in some form. Otherwise, who would refuse to make money from implementing an expansion for SOD?

Bwahaha. What "masses"? The audience of Heroes players isn't enough for mass commercialization—maybe around 100 more or less active players. And that's with a bunch of streams featuring actually cool content!!! Long-drawn-out games are no longer on trend and probably will never become a mass-market game again. HotA, HVrules are truly products created by fans of the series and they exist precisely because these fans exist. A huge thank you to them for all this. p.s. as for commercial profit, Ubisoft raked it in; they collected the cash and couldn't even fix the bugs in a fairly promising product.

What is currently lacking is streams of the finals with commentary, similar to the last broadcast of the CIS final. Such streams have enormous potential and could attract many more new players, and if Baratorch creates an observer mode, the effect will be simply amazing. And even without an observer mode, Wicc, since you've ended your career as a player, maybe you could start a career as a streamer and stream the finals of your tournaments? You yourself wrote that you have a knack for it, and people love good commentary and high-quality analysis.

They talk about Ivan, they talk about a fool... The thread is called "Simultaneous Turn in SOD" and that is exactly what is being discussed here. As you can see, the topic is relevant, as people have quickly been found (and not just 1-2 people, but many more) who are ready to sponsor its creation. It feels like haters are deliberately steering the conversation to other topics to drown out this issue in a flood of spam. Feel free to create a thread for comments on the stream—that is also important and interesting—but not here. As I have already said, I will delete off-topic and spam posts and issue violation points according to the HeroesWorld rules.

Could we send a collective letter to Ubisoft suggesting ways to take the game to the next level?

Good try, Ubisoft, but this time we won't fall for it.

Regarding Vic... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i99li-LsO50

Guys, as I understand it, we can forget about the Overhaul mod for the game. Its implementation requires someone who will develop it from scratch (this will take a year or more), because, as it seems to me, neither Baratorch nor Sav are going to transfer their intellectual property to others, especially for free, and that's understandable. All that remains is to wait for the competitor to back off. And even if a miracle happens and some of the developments are transferred to someone who knows how to develop, it is not a fact that he will be able to refine it properly to a state close to the Overhaul mod in Heroes of Might and Magic.

It’s possible to hack the Pentagon’s database in a year if you know what you’re doing, but attaching a cheat to a game is a different story. Perhaps someone with some knowledge in this area should visit a freelance programmer website and try to explain our task to see if it’s possible and what the cost would be. Besides, we might get lucky and find a programmer who knows what Heroes of Might and Magic is and how it works.