Posts from Development of the "Breath of the Void" campaign.

Greetings to everyone! I decided to create this thread for several reasons: my previous campaign took me about a year and a half to make, and work on this one has already exceeded that timeframe, while the end is still quite far off. At the same time, I'm well aware that very little has come out for Heroes V in terms of standalone maps and campaigns lately, so the popularity of this "section" of the game keeps dwindling. But despite everything, I really want to finish Sandro's story (can't just leave it halfway), and this thread was created precisely for that purpose. I also want to thank all fans of this game for their dedication to the project. Without you, none of this would have happened, and the game wouldn't have lasted this long. Thank you all!

While the campaign is at a relatively early stage of development, you can share your wishes regarding the vision of the game (they may well be taken into account upon release), as well as ask questions about mechanics, story, and anything related to the campaign. Additionally, information about its development process will gradually appear here.

As of now:

The campaign will consist of 10 full-fledged missions

In terms of content, this campaign will be much larger than the previous one (possibly even one of the biggest single-piece ones ever)

It will feature a new "purple" tier for Haven click

There will be 4 main heroes representing 3 factions

Three "trailers" have been made for the campaign: first, second and third

The campaign will have both a voiced version and one without voice acting

Also, there's a high chance there will be two versions of voice acting: Russian and English 

The timeline of the campaign events - year 931 ASL (20 years before the Grey Alliance war)

Two of the four main heroes will be Archmage Cyrus and young Knight Godric (whose models already appeared in the second trailer)

The main storyline of the campaign is based on materials from an interview with one of the authors of the map "Dark Messiah" for Heroes V, as well as the writer of parts 6 and 7, Julien Pirou link to it

Unfortunately, there's still no certainty regarding the specializations of the main heroes: whether they'll be like those of standard heroes or something new — if anyone has suggestions, I'd always be glad to hear them

Most likely, due to the volume and number of files, the campaign installation will either use an sfx archive or a custom installer (like in games from "pirate" sites); I haven't yet decided which would be more convenient in such a situation

The campaign will let you play as both "good" and "bad" heroes

Two "new" buildings will be added: Cyclops Cave and Naga Temple. One of them will become a creature bank, the other - an upgrade building

All creature banks will be reworked in terms of their guards and rewards toward increasing them, since at later stages of the game they stop posing any challenge to clear

A leisurely playthrough of the campaign will take around 20-25 hours

Screenshots of some currently finished missions:

Thank you, Andrei_21, for deciding to treat us with a trailer just in time for the New Year!
My heart wants to play this campaign as soon as possible, but my mind tells me not to rush things, and let the author have time to realize all the ideas.
And of course, I will gladly follow any updates to your work!

Added 2 minutes ago
P.S. the ending of the trailer is very intriguing)

Added 1 hour 28 minutes ago
Watched the video again, special respect for the well-crafted Cyrus model!

Well, it's time to reveal a little more:

The campaign will have a version with and without voice acting (for those who enjoy immersing themselves in the story cutscenes, as well as for those who don't particularly like synthetic voices).

Also, there is a high probability that there will be two voice acting versions: Russian and English (I'm not sure how to popularize the latter among the English-speaking community, and I don't know if they even play single-player campaigns).

If you plan to have a lot of text, a complex choice from the options offered, and other interesting mechanics in the dialogue system, as well as full-screen videos, then here are some mods: large talkboxes, large message window, and dialogue.

If there is a lot of text planned, a complex choice from the options in the dialogue, and other interesting mechanics in the dialogue system, as well as full-screen videos, then here are the mods: large talkboxes, large message window, and dialogue.

I thought about these mods, but for now, I decided that they will most likely be an optional addition so that players can choose what they want to play with and what they don't.

Well, here's some more information about the new Campaign, this time regarding the plot: The Campaign takes place in the year 931 AE (20 years before the Gray Alliance War). Two of the four main heroes will be the archmage Cyrus and the young knight Godric (whose models already appeared in the second trailer). The main plot of the Campaign is based on materials from an interview with one of the authors of the "Dark Messiah" map for Heroes 5, as well as the scriptwriter for parts 6 and 7, Julien Pirou link to it. And here are a few more screenshots of the maps:

I haven't posted anything here in a while; I just haven't had the time, but work on the project continues. Here's what's planned:

Unfortunately, there's still no definitive decision on the main heroes' specializations: will they be the same as the standard ones, or will there be something new? If you have any suggestions, I'm always open to hearing them.

Most likely, due to the volume and number of files, the Campaign will be installed either through an SFX archive or through a custom installer (like in games from "pirate" sites). I haven't decided yet which would be more convenient in this situation.

In the Campaign, you'll be able to play as either the "good" or the "bad" heroes.

And here are a few more screenshots:

Ah, it's been almost 4 months since I last posted here, but work hasn't stopped:

Two "new" buildings will be added: Cyclops Cave and Naga Temple. One will become a creature bank, the other will be a unit upgrade building.

All creature banks will be reworked in terms of their defense and rewards, increasing them, as on the later stages of the game, they no longer pose a challenge to conquer.

Completing the campaign at a leisurely pace will take about 20-25 hours.

Hello!

I just saw this thread now.

Respect to Andrei, I'll be waiting for the campaign).

Thank you for your work!

Preliminary versions of the models for three out of the four main heroes of the campaign are ready. Below you can see their appearance and in-game icons (the result is not final):

The knight's hood on the icon is red, but the model doesn't contain those shades. I suggest changing it.

Will you be able to finish the campaign by the end of winter or spring 2026? I can't wait to play it.

Will you be able to finish the campaign by the end of winter or spring 2026? I can't wait to play it.

Well, I really hope to meet approximately these deadlines. I would like to finish everything by that time, and not turn it into another long-term project.

After such a long silence, I couldn't leave all those who are waiting for the next chapter of Sandro's story without a New Year's gift. Therefore, another trailer was created for the campaign (already as a New Year's tradition). Here is the link to it: click

It's also time to talk about the main feature of the campaign: there will be 10 full-fledged story missions in total. Not two campaigns of 5 each, no. A whole 10 missions!) That's why the work has taken so long; the amount of content is much more than usual, and working on a proper balance of all this is really the most difficult thing I've worked on in the Heroes sphere. I really hope that I will soon finally present the results of my (and not only my) work to the public.

Also, in the trailer, you can see a unique model for the character of Emperor Oleg (or Helga, in the style of the fifth game). Huge thanks to comrade Zobr for that!