Posts from МОД: Клинок Армагеддона / Armageddon's Blade Auto-translation in progress

Heroes 5 Armageddon's Blade v01.08.2020 has been uploaded to Google Drive!

First, I want to say that I have reworked all the links between descriptions and images for the Knight and Demon Lord. That is, now the descriptions are displayed correctly in the skill wheel when hovering over the skill image. (I have started working on the Necromancer, but this is still in the distant future).
Changes/additions:
Knight
Lord of Cold ---> Deadly Cold ---> Lord of Chaos (advanced spell)
Intelligence ---> Graduate ---> Wizard's Mark
Battle Frenzy ---> Critical Strike ---> Cursed Mark

Demon
Battle Frenzy ---> Critical Strike ---> Cursed Mark
Lord of Pain ---> Cursed Land ---> Debilitating Strike
Exploding Corpses have been moved to class perks

Fire Corpses --->
Debilitating Strike --->
Cursed Mark --->
Sudden Attack ---> Urgash's Call

Mage
Lord of Cold ---> Deadly Cold ---> Lord of Chaos (advanced spell)

Intelligence --->
Wizard's Mark ---> Graduate
Control Machines (does not require the Wizard's Sign)
Exorcism (does not require the Wizard's Sign)
Banishment (does not require the Magic Mirror)
Counterspell (does not require the Magic Mirror)

Warlock
Lord of Chaos is available immediately upon learning the Basics of Chaos Magic

Ultima (central perk) through Lord of Chaos instead of Lord of Lightning

07/26/2020
Demon
Eagle Eye ---> Endurance
Graduate ---> Wizard's Mark
Triple Ballista ---> Enchanted Machines
Blessing ---> Prayer
Hunter ---> Machine Devotion
Aura of Speed ---> Inspiration
Barbarian Girl ---> Dwarf Girl
Trophies ---> Elf Girl
Freezing Cold ---> Lord of Chaos
Lord of Charms and Lord of Earth ---> Enchanted Armor
Mysticism ---> Army Protection from Chaos Magic
Diplomacy and Troop Gathering ---> Empathy
Secret Knowledge ---> Counterspell
Lord of Charms ---> Enchanted Weapon
Lord of Charms and Lord of Life ---> Spiritual Bond

Ranger
Lord of Charms ---> Enchanted Weapon

Knight
Lord of Charms ---> Enchanted Weapon
Lord of Charms and Lord of Life ---> Spiritual Bond

Necromancer
Lord of Charms and Lord of Life ---> Spiritual Bond

Banishment is no longer required for the Scream of Terror

07/29/2020
Knight
Added Stunning Strike to the attack branch.
Added Wild Fury to the attack branch.

Necromancer
Banishment is required for Habitable Mines (the leadership branch is not required).
Added Exorcism
Added Enchanted Armor (through Lord of Earth and Lord of Charms)

Plain text is difficult to perceive, and it is not necessary. It is better to go into the game and make 3 screenshots for you:

For now, I'm not going to delve too deep into the data folder; I've switched back to working on the models, and I'll alternate between tasks. Otherwise, the monotonous work on the skill wheel will kill all my creative drive xD.

Here's a question about the heroes themselves: are they different from the original only in terms of their stats (parameters/number of creatures/skills/heroes) and models?

I have a question about the heroes themselves. Do they differ from the original only in terms of date (parameters/number of creatures/skills/heroes) and models?

What do you mean? There's a lot in the data, including text and animation sets, and much more.

Are you asking if there are any scripts in the mod? No, there aren't.
You can find general information in the first post. And for more details, see the changelog - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BHMDL5kKK0NDIvgvk0EsRgYLLzMkk61z8kUf7Cbpeb4/edit

Modeling, UV mapping, and texturing. It took 20 days in total. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaX2VIHKTQ4 It's suitable for rendering, but not for the game, as it has 250k triangles. Next, I plan to do retopology, and I hope to reduce it to 4-5k triangles. You can view it on Sketchfab - https://skfb.ly/6UItt

Modeling, UV mapping, and texturing. It took 20 days in total.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaX2VIHKTQ4

It's suitable for rendering, but not for a game; it has 250k triangles.
I hope to retopologize it in the future and reduce it to 4-5k triangles.

Cool. But why so many, 250k? Wouldn't it be easier to model a low-poly version right away, with properly configured smoothing groups? The models are made of simple geometric shapes; why model them with 250k triangles? It seems like you're doing double the work, in my opinion. Although, maybe I'm missing something.

That's cool. But why so many polygons – 250k? Wouldn't it be easier to model a low-poly version right away, with pre-configured smoothing groups? The models are made of simple geometric shapes; why model them with 250k polygons? It seems like you're doing double the work, in my opinion. Although, maybe I'm missing something.

To achieve beautiful detailing of the elements, we create a model that satisfies us the most.
These elements consume a lot of resources (I made them this way for proper shading).


In a low-poly version, there will be several polygons, I think around 10-12 rounded ones. And all these arches will simply be baked onto them. That is, it will look as if they exist and cast shadows, but in reality, this was done on a high-poly model, and there won't be any on the low-poly model.

For example, I covered the entire area with five polygons (first screenshot). And the second screenshot shows what the "baking" will create on this area.



The chain can be made with a cylinder, without loops or with a few for greater smoothness. However, I don't know how much it will lose in quality; I haven't baked chains yet.

I think you're overcomplicating things. For example, why so many polygons on the tower-like structure? In the end, you'll still have to reduce the polygon count and bake one part onto another, and somewhere, something won't align, resulting in artifacts. Wouldn't it be easier to use a low-poly model with optimized smoothing groups and bake it onto itself? Regarding the arch example, I didn't quite understand. Will you ultimately bake them onto a flat surface? Won't it look crooked? In any case, there are indeed a lot of polygons on these arches and "steps." If this model is for the global map and the player will be viewing it from a distance, I would make a solid "step" and cut out the arches and openings using an alpha texture. Considering the scale, the player won't notice the difference. Also, the number of steps can be reduced, considering the scale. The issue isn't even the polygon count, but the fact that a large number of small details on a small model will be barely distinguishable and may be perceived as visual noise. If you make them larger, it might make the model more pleasing to the eye. Compare how the cities on the map are simplified in the original game compared to what you see in the city menu. By the way, if the model is for the city menu, then, of course, you need to create it using geometry. Regarding the chains, it's simple. Look at how the inquisitor/monk's chain is made in the game. Essentially, you need two elongated planes intersecting in a cross. Cut out the chains using an alpha texture on them. Here's an example, but the author has slightly complicated the scheme by adding volume to the chain links. At the scale of your model, I think this is unnecessary, but it also won't consume many polygons, so why not?

Waterfall_13
I saw that you were working on something related to duels.
As I understand it, it's just replacements.
If not, here are two questions:
1) Is it possible to make it so that there are not 3 heroes per faction in the hero selection menu, but 4 or more? Specifically, in the hero menu. I generate 13-20 hero files, but DungeonPreset4 doesn't seem to recognize them.
2) Is it possible to fix this? How did you do it? I assume there are 3 portraits specifically made for duels; maybe they are somewhere and can be used for other heroes?

https://c2n.me/48Qm55m
https://c2n.me/48Qmado

Waterfall_13
They wrote that you were working on duels.
As I understand it, it's just replacements.
If not, here are two questions:
1) Is it possible to make it so that there are not 3 heroes per race in the hero selection menu, but 4 or more? Specifically, in the hero menu. I generate the hero files, 13-20 of them, but DungeonPreset4 doesn't seem to recognize them.
2) Is it possible to fix this? How did you do it? I assume there are 3 faces specifically made for duels; maybe they're somewhere, and we can use other faces for other heroes?

https://c2n.me/48Qm55m
https://c2n.me/48Qmado

In my opinion, the duel mechanic is a godsend for modders; it's very flexible. It's a pity that artifacts weren't made using the same principle.
The only thing I've somewhat forgotten how to do.
BUT I think I'll sort things out in the next few days and find time to remember everything, make a dwarf for duels, and then create a video tutorial on how to add them.

Regarding the avatars, it's simple; they just have links to them, and they are stored in a separate folder. You'll need three avatars (Left/Right/41x41 - pixel for trio duels in the hero selection menu for trio duels).

Added 4 minutes later

You're overcomplicating things, in my opinion. For example, why so many polygons on the tower-chimney?

Because the shading doesn't work properly if it's not done that way. The cuts are in the places where the chimney is interrupted by windows (or loopholes).

Regarding the avatars, it's simple – they are linked to, and stored separately in a folder. You will need three avatars: (Left/Right/41x41 pixels for trio duels in the hero selection menu).

Do I need to create them from scratch and change them constantly, or are there ready-made ones for all heroes?

My point is that, at least as far as I can tell, there are a total of 104 heroes in the game. I have no idea which 24 (3 * 8 races) of them will appear and in what order if they are generated automatically. Does this mean I need 104 (or 104*3) images? And will they cover both cases shown in the second screenshot?

And regarding the first question, how do I make it so that not 3 heroes are used, but, say, 4 – is there anything I can do about that?

Added after 5 minutes
Here /topic/15111/ is a screenshot showing the problem; I've also duplicated it here separately. If there aren't any ready-made images, that's a problem – I definitely won't be drawing them myself

Regarding the first question, is there a way to allow the use of 4 heroes instead of 3? Is that possible?

I know how to add new heroes to the existing duel mechanic, and they will work both in duels and in trio-duels.

However, I don't know how to make it so that there are 4, 5, or 6 heroes to choose from in a trio-duel.
And I think that even if it is possible, it would likely require modifying the .exe file.

In short, I don't think this is something that's accessible to ordinary users. Perhaps some framework creators could figure it out.

Because the shading looks bad if you don't do it this way. The cuts are made in the places where the pipe is interrupted by windows (or loopholes).

If by "shading" you mean smoothing, then in Max, for example, there is an option to adjust this smoothing, and at an angle greater than 90 degrees, it looks good. I am 99.9999% sure that Blender has a similar function. In short, for a normal bake of the sky on this pipe, you don't need 100 faces, 8-10 are enough, which you can then use as a low-poly model. This is better because when baking 100 faces onto 8-10, artifacts will definitely appear, and it is quite possible that you will have to correct them manually, which is a real pain, and it is easier to just use a low-poly model.

Regarding the windows themselves, this is also a separate issue; there is a high chance that it will bake incorrectly due to such a difference in the number of polygons. I can suggest two options. Either make two pipes (inner and outer) and cut out the windows with an alpha on the texture. The second option is to paint them on the normal map. This is easy: draw a black and white mask with windows on the texture, in Substance Painter, create a layer based on this mask that gives depth, and transfer this depth to the normal map. And then further create a curvature map and beautifully texture it using the normal map. In fact, ideally, you should do both: cut them out with an alpha and create a normal map.

In short, there are many different tricks when working with low-poly models; you need to constantly come up with tricks to make it look good.

If by "shading" you mean smoothing, then in Max, for example, there is an option to adjust this smoothing, and it looks good at angles greater than 90 degrees. I am 99.9999% sure that Blender has a similar function.

Of course, it exists, and I am already using it on this model.


The poor shading there might be due to something else, and that is precisely why cuts were made under the areas with windows.

As for the magic with all these windows using Height and Normal maps. Firstly, I'm not particularly good at drawing (yes, I can do something like that in Substance, but I'm not very good at it). Secondly, the number of man-hours for all these tricks, not only for the windows but also for other elements using Height and Normal maps, would be the same or even greater than the number of man-hours spent on creating a new mesh over the existing one. And such things bake quite well; I was convinced of this when working on the Guild of Magic from the Tower city.

Firstly, it's still about twice as fast as modeling a low-poly version on top of a high-poly one (or even three times faster). There's not much need for drawing; you just need to cut out a circle and a square. Secondly, the idea is that this can be done instead of a high-poly model, meaning you don't have to spend the time you would have spent on the high-poly model. You could immediately create a low-poly model and add the necessary details to the texture. I'm just trying to say that you've complicated your work by a factor of three, without any benefits to the result (or even with drawbacks). I don't know how or what you plan to bake, but if you're so sure there won't be any problems, maybe you know what you're doing.
But what's the point of transferring high-poly simple cubes and pipes to low-poly ones when you can bake low-poly models onto themselves with the same success, guaranteed without artifacts and without wasting a lot of time on the high-poly model and its retopology?

In any case, good luck!