Posts from Mod for Heroes II.

With the most optimistic approach and a bit of luck, it's the second option. As for buying troops... 30-40 Centaurs + 12 Gargoyles + 4 Griffins are enough to defeat almost all monsters on the map up to level 3, inclusive.

On hand-made maps, you can forget about finding two dragons on a random map; you'll have to spend a long time searching for a sawmill and a mine first. It's a hassle, of course, but it makes the game less schematic, and introduces an element of unfair initial advantage for one side...

Ah, if only I could find someone who has figured out the format of the Heroes map files...

I already wrote about this in another thread. I don't know if anyone needs this. I can describe how to change monster parameters (attack, defense, cost, etc.) in the second Heroes game, if needed. I wrote a program for this myself once, but it's for the DOS version.

2pr2004: Share it. It might be useful to someone.

Monster parameters, as well as building costs, are stored in the executable file within data structures. It's easy to find the monsters: Open the executable file (e.g., HEROES2W.EXE) with a hex editor and search for a string, for example, "drgn". The first occurrence will lead you to the middle of the green dragon's data structure. All monsters are arranged in the order of the castles. The first are peasants, and the last are water elementals. The structure stores the main parameters, cost, attack and defense values, growth rate, etc. There is also a special byte that controls additional parameters, such as whether a dragon can fly and occupies two cells. In this byte, you need to look at the first four bits (or something like that), which allow you to adjust 4 parameters. I don't know how to make a monster immune to magic like a dragon; I haven't found that parameter. You can also find, for example, the cost of buildings. These structures are located around address F267C (specifically, the cost of the pyramid for the barbarians is 6000 = 1770 in hex; other related values, such as the additional 20 crystals, are located nearby). I didn't go any further because I was only writing an editor for monsters.

Added 2 hours 24 minutes later
And for dessert. I just found the cost of the Summon Bolt spell in the executable. $-) F1888 - this is where the structure of bytes like 050A0A0A is located. So, 05 is its cost. The other spells are located nearby. What the other bytes mean is unknown; I didn't investigate.

Thank you. I will try now.

Everyone hopes you'll succeed... The most important thing is that the balance is good... and even.

yeah, that's interesting :)

It would be great to have Heroes 2 made in Java.

Recently, I noticed that even though quite a few people play Heroes 2, no one is making mods for it. Heroes 3 has WOG, HotA, and many other mods. Is it really the case that no one is making anything for Heroes 2? I suggest creating a mod for Heroes 2, and I ask those who don't know how to make mods (I am one of them) to post their ideas here. I'll start.

1) Balancing.
I suggest strengthening level 6 creatures, with the exception of dragons and titans (naturally, by increasing their cost). One option is to significantly increase their growth rate. You could also reduce the cost of titans; they are too expensive.

2) New castles. I'll say right away that I borrowed many ideas from somewhere.
I suggest creating the following castles:

Inferno (hero - demon)
Imp --> Devil
Gog --> Magog - ranged attacker
Cerberus
Demon - flying unit
Ifrit --> Ifrit Sultan - flying unit
Devil --> Archdevil

Dwarven Castle (hero - lord of dwarves) (but you need to replace the dwarves in the Elven Castle with something)
Blacksmith
Dwarven Warrior
Bear --> Battle Bear
Ballista --> Steam Ballista - ranged attacker
Dwarven King
Lava Dragon - NOT a flying unit

I haven't come up with a name for the castle, the hero is a Heretic.
Thief
Possessed --> Berserker
Heretic --> Occultist
Medusa
Basilisk --> Great Basilisk
Fallen Angel

I haven't come up with a name for the castle or the hero class. This castle is unique; it has 4 flying units but no ranged attackers. It is inhabited by the Ashar race - tall, swarthy people with purple, webbed wings on their backs.
Raven - flying unit
Pegasus - flying unit
Ashar Warrior --> Ashar Veteran - flying unit
Air Elemental --> Light Elemental
Guardian (An Ashar who has lost his wings. When he lost the ability to fly, a lot of energy was released, and he became much stronger than ordinary Ashars. Such warriors guard the approaches to the palace of the Ashar king, but sometimes they also participate in military campaigns)
Sun Dragon --> Light Dragon - flying unit

3) Changes to existing castles. In my opinion, the Knight's Castle needs to be completely reworked. I suggest the following version:
Spearman --> Veteran Spearman
Archer - ranged attacker
Priest --> Inquisitor - ranged attacker
Rider
Paladin --> Crusader
Angel --> Archangel

You can also rework the Necromancer's Castle:
Skeleton
Zombie --> Zombie Mutant
Lich --> Archlich - ranged attacker
Vampire --> Vampire Lord - flying unit
Dark Knight
Necromancer (weak in combat, but can cast Animate Dead, with SP depending on the number of necromancers)

Better not... how about this idea?

6 types of troops in each castle, but the hero has only 5 slots.
That's not fair - let the hero have 6 slots instead.

I suggest creating 6 more hero classes, following the warrior and mage system.

Knight - Priest
Barbarian - Shaman
Ranger - Sorceress
Overlord - Warlock
Aristocrat - Mage
Death Knight - Necromancer

and remember that the Warlock's Dragon upgrades twice
Green Dragon -> Red Dragon -> Black Dragon
I suggest making all units (except neutrals, of course) upgrade to the second level, just like the dragon... some can also be replaced... I haven't assigned properties to all creatures yet.

Castle
Peasant -> Squire -> Guardsman
Archer -> Ranger -> Arbalester
Pikeman -> Veteran Pikeman -> Halberdier
Swordsman -> Master Swordsman -> Crusader
Rider -> Champion -> Griffin Rider
Paladin -> Knight -> Zealot (mass blessing)

Stronghold
Goblin -> Hobgoblin -> Goblin Hunter (spell "traps" - slows down approaching enemies)
Orc -> Orc Chieftain -> Berserker (10% chance to inflict "weakness" on the enemy when attacking)
Wolf -> Elder Wolf -> Wolf Rider
Ogre -> Ogre Chieftain -> Ogre Shaman (bloodlust)
Troll -> Troll Warrior -> Brute (breaks through walls)
Cyclops -> Goblin Thrower (throws goblins) -> Glutton (throws and eats goblins)

Rampart
Fairy -> Elder Fairy -> Nymph (slows down)
Dwarf -> Dwarven Warrior -> Rune Mage (Stone Skin)
Elf -> Grand Elf -> Royal Elf
Druid -> Great Druid -> Child of Nature (summons several squads of nymphs)
Unicorn -> Elder Unicorn -> Royal Unicorn
Phoenix -> Elder Phoenix (10% chance to rise from the ashes -> Blazing Hawk (25% chance to rise)

Dungeon
Centaur -> Centaur Warrior -> Centaur Captain (attacks twice)
Gargoyle -> Obsidian Gargoyle -> Titanic Gargoyle
Medusa -> Medusa Warrior (attack and return) -> Medusa Queen (attack and return, ranged attacker)
Minotaur -> Elder Minotaur -> Minotaur Chieftain (35% chance to weaken on attack)
Hydra -> Ancient Hydra (10% chance to slow down on attack) -> Chaos Hydra (25% chance to slow down on attack)
Green Dragon -> Red Dragon -> Black Dragon

Tower
Hobbit -> Hobbit Warrior -> Hobbit Elder (counterattack)
Boar -> Battle Boar -> Boar Rider
Iron Golem -> Steel Golem -> Gold Golem
Roc -> Elder Roc -> Thunder Roc (lightning)
Mage -> Archmage -> Magister (mass shield)
Giant -> Titan -> Thunder Giant (breaks through walls)

Necropolis... I suggest replacing the mummy with ghosts, but their properties will be different
Skeleton -> Skeleton Warrior -> Skeleton Archer (ranged attacker)
Zombie -> Zombie Mutant -> Ghoul (15% chance to slow down or curse on attack)
Guard -> Ghost (10% chance to replenish its squad at the expense of killed enemies) -> Undead (15% chance to replenish its squad)
Vampire -> Vampire Lord -> Death Knight (30% chance to curse on hit, 15% chance to lower enemy luck and morale on hit)
Lich -> Archlich -> Ancient Lich (Summon Skeletons)
Bone Dragon -> Ghost Dragon -> Blood Dragon

for now, that's it
what do you think?