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Greetings to the honest company.
Well then, Andrey, at first I wanted to send this message as usual via "DM". But after rereading my little letter, I decided that it all qualifies as a full-fledged "review," and in order to convey my opinion to a wide circle of interested parties, I decided to post it in the appropriate thread.
Well, let's begin. But where to start? Perhaps I'll start with the main thing — the appearance of a sea/water faction is indeed my "idee fixe," one might say, the dream of my whole life :). Not an obsession, of course, but as they say, there is a grain of truth in every joke :).
Now then — on this issue, your opinion and mine coincide, Andrey. But what I absolutely cannot agree with is the introduction of an underwater level to the strategic map.
Why? There are a number of reasons for this.
1. Even if a water faction somehow miraculously appears in the game, it already has by default its "native" terrain type — the sea (essentially any open waters). I will use the Dungeon faction (or if you prefer — the same League of Shadows) as an example, since it is easiest to draw an analogy with this faction, the master of the underground level of the strategic map.
So, this faction possesses a single terrain type unique to it — the dungeon. However, both Warlock Heroes and Heroes of any other faction can move through it. In turn, same League of Shadows Heroes can travel without problem not only underground but also across the surface in general, and consequently — across the unique terrain types of other Ashan factions in particular. I recall that lava fields are a unique terrain type for Demons, dead wastes are the lands of Necromancers, deserts are the domain of Wizards, meadows and fields are the "native" land of the Castle Knights, and forests, in turn, are the estate of Sylvan Elves.
In principle, at the moment only the open seas are no man's land. And if we assume that a sea race exists and the sea is its "native" terrain type (which is more than logical), then introducing YET ANOTHER underwater level would be pure imbalance. Because in such a case, one would either need to add another terrain type for all other races or resolve something with the water faction. After all, it turns out that it would have two unique types of "native land," with all the resulting bonuses, while others only have one.
2. Furthermore. Well, let's assume that both the "sea surface" and an "underwater level" exist simultaneously. I venture to suggest that this would not be a labyrinth of tunnels, but a perfectly normal section of the earth's surface, with complex relief, deep-sea trenches, and reefs protruding above the water. Only instead of grass and trees, everything would be covered in corals, anemones, and sponges. Let's assume. For the most part, I believe creating a "marine" design for this level is not difficult.
But as I said above, one can travel across any terrain type without particular problems; any landscape can be reached without fulfilling special conditions (artifacts, spells, etc.).
Any — except for the dungeon and the sea. After all, to enter or exit a dungeon, "dungeon entrance" and "stairs to the surface" objects are needed. And to get to the open waters, "descent to water" and "ship" objects are required.
This in itself creates a slight imbalance in the game, as so-called "bottlenecks" appear. That is, it is enough for a player to control just one point on the map to prevent an enemy from penetrating their territory. And penetration into such terrain types is impossible without fulfilling the necessary conditions.
But such places can actually exist anywhere on the map (for example, a narrow pass in the mountains opens the entrance to a vast valley). Therefore, balance does not suffer much from this.
Plus, to neutralize this slight skew, it is enough to place several "dungeon entrances" and several "descents to water" located in different places on the strategic map.
But you went even further — you suggest that to get underwater, one must use special artifacts — a "Sphere of Water and Air" and a "Sphere of Earth and Air."
That is, let's assume that to capture a water faction castle located on the "sea floor," a player playing, say, as Academy Wizards needs to find a "descent to water" somewhere, buy or summon a "ship." Sail it some distance across the sea surface (which isn't going anywhere from the game). Then acquire a "Sphere of Water and Air." Dive to the bottom (by the way — in what exact place will the "submersion" occur? Wherever one wants? In whirlpools?) and only then try to find and capture the underwater castle.
But to capture, say, a Haven castle, Wizard armies can simply gallop through forests and dales without any "hassle" and take the enemy citadel by storm.
A fair question arises — ISN'T THE IMBALANCE TOO GREAT?
3. Furthermore. There are strategic maps entirely without dungeons or entirely without water sections on the surface. And if a castle located on the sea surface (as I described in my contest entry) can easily be placed anywhere on the map, and it would look like a rock towering over the surface of a small lake (a desert oasis, etc., etc.) with a lighthouse fire blazing fiercely atop it, surrounded by reefs, masts of sunken ships, and whirlpools. Then a fully underwater city on such maps would look quite strange. How do you depict it? As a puddle?
An example of the placement of a sea city with an above-water part could be the Sylvan Elf tree-city located in a lake. Yes, the body of water around the Tree of Life on the strategic map looks more like a moat. But as soon as you double-click to enter the city, the camera flying around the city immediately opens up endless expanses of a mist-shrouded lake to our view.
The question is — what stops the camera, while flying around the city with a cloud of spray, from plunging into the depths of the waters and there, slowly rotating around the central rock, showing the player Kraken lairs, Leviathan Grottoes, and much, much more…
Moreover, the CASTLE itself should be regarded rather as a symbol of power over some territory, as a place for training troops and a source of income, rather than as some specific building on the earth's surface. After all, if in the same third part of Heroes, buildings in the castle were strictly tied to the background landscape of the city screen, and in the fourth part even to the type of land on which the city is located, then in the fifth part, the developers went even further. The internal decoration of the city no longer depends on the terrain type it's located on or any specific background backdrop. The city now fully conveys the character of the dominant race, demonstrating a plot to the player.
For example, if Academy Wizard buildings float high in the sky, and the Elf Tree grows in the middle of a lake (which, in turn, is in the middle of a forest!), what stops us from showing a Sea Castle both from the surface and underwater when creating it.
4. It's also worth noting that power over a city has now acquired a certain symbolism. And if in previous parts of Heroes fortifications completely surrounded the City, now they look more like a kind of gate, a barricade blocking the way for invaders. Remember — the road to the Inferno pit is blocked by gates, with an abyss stretching to the left and right. The road to the stairs leading "to heaven" in the Academy is again blocked by gates, with a cliff to the left and right. It's the same song for Necromancers and Warlocks. For Sylvan Elves, such a barricade, protected on the left and right by the waters of the lake, blocks the way to the pontoon bridge leading to the island with the Tree. Moreover, developers neglect notions like "street fighting," "pockets of resistance," and other nonsense. Everything is symbolic. Capture the gates — the city is yours.
So the question arises — why can't a siege of a sea city be built in the manner of the Academy siege, exactly opposite. Capture the gates — the way to the castle rock is open, and all underwater buildings without question surrender to the mercy of the victor and pass under your command. Why even go underwater then?
5. And lastly — absolutely all objects, including recruitment spots for sea creatures, are quite simple to depict so that they can be seen from the water's surface, so that land heroes can reach them without problem. You read about this in my contest entry as well. As a living illustration, remember the sea creature recruitment spots in Heroes 4.
So still, why go underwater?
Well, the underwater level is one thing. But I also have several remarks regarding the army composition of the race you've imagined. Perhaps some things you've already heard from me, Andrey, but I will repeat them anyway.
The fact that you decided to use amphibious creatures as the population of the depths is great. Who else can survive on land and in the depths of waters simultaneously? Well done!
But there are a number of shortcomings in the set of creatures you proposed:
1. You lack a so-called CORE RACE, DOMINANT PEOPLE, SPECIES.
That is, 4-5 warriors of the faction's army should consist of creatures of one species, and the remaining 2-3 warriors should be allies. EXAMPLE: Haven — 5 army warriors Humans + 2 allies (Angels, Griffins); Inferno — 5 army warriors Demons + hell beasts (Cerberi, Nightmares); Sylvan — 4 army warriors Elves (or related species) + forest dwellers (Ents, Unicorns, Dragons); Dungeon — 5 army warriors Dark Elves + dungeon inhabitants (Minotaurs, Hydras, Black Dragons).
Exceptions to this rule are the factions of Wizards, Sorcerers, Mages, Warlocks, etc., where a skilled mage acts as the main character of the army, and the other 6 warriors consist of creatures summoned or created by his art. EXAMPLE: Academy and Nekropolis.
This principle was established by the developers of Heroes V, and in my opinion, should have been strictly observed.
Now if your people were based on some BEAST MASTERS (with a unit of that name necessarily in the army), then you could take any of the remaining 6 creatures at your discretion. Though with the caveat that all of them, at least theoretically, could be summoned by this very MASTER.
2. It would be simply great if a GENERAL STYLING OF THE RACE, its AESTHETICS and ARCHITECTURE, were clearly traceable. This is exactly how the guys from Nival managed to convey the "EASTERNNESS" of Academy Wizards, the "GOTHICNESS" of Necromancers, the wild mix of "JAPONISM" and "DECADENCE" of Shadow Elves, and the "INDIAN" style of Sylvan Elves. In your case, the styling of South American Indians, such as Aztecs for example, would be most appropriate. Although, if you already have Tritons and Neptunes in your army, an ANCIENT STYLE would be more logical.
3. Another important point for me personally is the NAMES and TITLES of the warriors of the described faction's army. Again, taking into account that the race you propose should fit harmoniously into the World created by the developers, it should be assumed that the names of the troops should also be in the NIVAL style. EXAMPLE: "Elf(Female Elf)-with-Swords" is a boring, uninteresting name. But "Blade Dancer" or "Blood Fury" is top-notch. Therefore, in my work I tried to follow the principle established by the developers and named warriors not with mundane "Mermaids-Sirens," but with more original names conveying the ESSENCE and PURPOSE of the squad, such as "Song of the Sea," "Wave Runners," etc. I sincerely appreciate the ability to give beautiful, catchy names to faction creatures in others. In your case, everything is somewhat haphazard — creature names are all from various mythologies and ideologically unrelated:
1. Triton — Nimble Triton — as I understand it, half dolphin half human, Greece
2. Turtle — Giant Turtle — clear
3. Spider — Sea Spider — also clear
4. Child of Sobek — Sobek Warrior — crocodile, reptile, Egypt
5. Neptune — Neptune-hunter — also half-human???, Ancient Rome
6 . Kraken — King of Octopuses — Scandinavian word, but how can one do without krakens?
7. Something — Mystery of the Sea
4. The HISTORY OF THE RACE, in my opinion, should be plausible and not abound with bloody uprisings, battles, wars, and other NON-EXISTENT contacts with the MAIN SIX RACES OF ASHAN. I am sure that in an add-on the developers will add ORC races of the RANAAR state, whose specialization will be DESTROYING ENEMY ARMOR, and (maybe!) DWARVES of the GRIMHEIM state, specializing in MAGICAL RESISTANCE. The history of these races indirectly intersects with already written histories; there are mentions of them, they took part in the life of other peoples.
And the ending of the main campaign plot of Heroes V leaves no doubt that in a possible sequel, a half-demon DESTROYER, son of Kha-Belekh and Isabelle, will indeed appear. And most likely only ORCS can put an end to his atrocities, being like him, half demons, half humans (since it was into the veins of human criminals and outcasts, aggressive and fearless, that the Wizards of the Silver Cities poured Demon blood).
Moreover, one should remember that it was the ORCS who once destroyed the demon legions, stopping the invasion of year 330, the First Eclipse, the War of the Blood Moon.
Well, and finally the saddest part — since ONLY THE PUBLISHER, i.e., Ubisoft, has the right to decide which races, which creatures, and what innovations need to be introduced into the game, therefore there is no point in torturing the unfortunate DEVELOPERS from Nival (already hounded by fans) and asking them to change or add anything to the game.
Therefore, there are only two ways to realize your vision. First — refine the monster list, creature abilities, Hero skills, create concept arts, translate all this into French (since no one at Ubisoft understands Russian without a translator) and send it to Fabrice Cambuné — maybe he'll take notice.
The second way — refine the monster list, creature abilities, Hero skills, create concept arts, but instead of translating into French, find good 3D modelers, programmers, a musician, and make a MOD that adds both an underwater level and a sea castle to the game.
A third way, to my great regret, is not given…
I sincerely hope that you, Andrey, and your comrades succeed in achieving your intended goal.
I didn't succeed, and as you know yourself — I tried very hard, and I had something to show the developers. Moreover, the fact that my contest entry was awarded second place in the "people's" fan vote on NIVAL's own forum is further confirmation that fans of Heroes of Might and Magic are not against seeing a sea race in the game.
So be bold and good luck to you.
Yes, and one last thing. If by any chance some of my statements disappointed or even offended you — please don't be angry. Anyone can politely "smile" and say — "Oh great!" But only a True Friend can point out mistakes, weak spots, and make an offensive but fair remark. And he will do so even despite the risk of losing good standing. Therefore, please don't be angry, but you and your friends really have something to work on.
Furthermore, in my examples I pointed primarily to mistakes that I myself made (communicating with … well, you know who) and which you can now avoid.
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