Posts from - Heroes 5 of Might and Magic

Interview with Fabrice Cambounet

The French website heroes-fr.com conducted an interview with Fabrice Cambounet, the producer of Heroes V. The interview mainly focused on the future support for the fifth installment of "Heroes." Fabrice assured that support has not been discontinued, and at least one more patch is planned for the future; moreover, the work on balancing the game is not yet complete. As for the map editor, no further improvements are planned. With the upcoming patch, cooperative maps will be introduced. Fabrice is generally satisfied with the four-year collaboration with Nival (judging by the sales results) and mentioned that after such a long collaboration, either the publisher and developer will part ways for a long time, or one will buy the other, but "in this case, neither of those things happened." Draw your own conclusions :).

P.S. Patch information is in the Readme 3.1 file.

Update to version 3.1

June 2008

Contents
==========

1. System Requirements
2. Installation
3. Change List
4. Known Issues
5. Troubleshooting
6. Technical Support
7. Legal Information

1. System Requirements
======================

Minimum
-----------

- OS: Windows 2000/XP, DirectX 9.0C
- Processor: Pentium 4 / Athlon 1.5 GHz or better
- Memory: 1024 MB or more
- Video Card: 128 MB AGP GeForce4 Ti4200 / RADEON 8500 or better
- DVD-ROM: 4x
- Sound Card: DirectX compatible 16-bit PCI sound card

Recommended
-------------

- OS: Windows 2000/XP sp2/XP x64/Vista(*), DirectX 9.0C
- CPU: Core 2 Duo E6400 / Athlon 64 X2 5000+ or better
- RAM: 2048 MB or more
- Video: 256 MB PCE-E NVidia GeForce 7600 / ATI RADEON x1600 or better
- DVD-ROM: 4x
- Dolby Surround 5.1 Sound System

(*) not 100% compatible with Windows Vista

2. Installation
===============

Please verify that you are installing the correct update:

1. Ensure that you have already installed the game Heroes of Might and Magic V: Tribes of the East (version 3.0).

2. Close all other programs before installing the update.

3. Run the installation file for the version 3.1 update.

4. Follow the further instructions from the installer.

After installation, you can launch the game from the Windows "Start" menu ("Start" -> "Programs" -> "Nival Interactive" -> "Heroes of Might and Magic V — Tribes of the East" -> "Start Game") or use the "H5_Game.exe" file in the installed game folder (by default, the game is installed to the folder "C:\Program Files\Nival Interactive\Heroes of Might and Magic V - Tribes of the East").

3. Change List
===================

You will see some changes in the game's operation after installing the update only when playing a map from the start, not when loading it from a save.

Version 3.1
-----------

Added Features
*******************

- Windowed mode support

- Widescreen resolution support (including HDTV resolutions) (*)

- Dwarf generation for random maps

- Special army generation for random maps

- Water zone generation for random maps

(*) dialogue scenes, loading screens, and map cinematics will be displayed with the correct aspect ratio, but will not use 100% of the widescreen

Fixed Bugs and Improvements:
********************************************

Stability Improvements:

- game no longer crashes after an action has been deferred twice

- game no longer freezes if assassins are involved in battle and defeated by a hero other than Arantir

- fixed possible crashes during multi-threaded synchronization after loading a map while playing the voice-over briefing

- fixed possible crashes when several battles were launched for one player simultaneously

- fixed game crash when a player dispels a hero's curse on seven ghosts

- fixed possible game freeze after completing a dialogue scene at the end of a mission

Camera, Graphics, Interface:

- fixed repeated announcement of empowered spells when acquiring artifacts and new skills in the absence of the Chaos magic skill

- fixed money display where player's money is shown instead of ally's money when accessing an ally's city construction menu via Kingdom Overview

- fixed ignoring selected upgrades when clicking "Buy All" in caravans from another city

- fixed rapid skipping of several turns by quickly pressing the "End Turn" button in missions without computer opponents

- fixed missing sound in stables on the global map

- added a special function that draws paths for ghosts

- fixed an error where dead units around cyclopes on map C2M2 triggered tooltips and became attackable

- fixed Magic Corruption animation announcing Blood Rage bonuses before attacking

- fixed and improved the message log, fixed the number of creatures remaining on the battlefield after being killed with a secret crystal

- fixed the amount of gold received shown in red tones in the city artifact sale section

- fixed "Next" button that switches to sleeping heroes

- fixed network profile alignment calculation

- fixed availability of "Arrow Rain" skill in the spellbook when there are no more visible sworn enemies

- fixed pointer incorrectly showing daily path when moving from a ship to land with the Snatch ability

- fixed tooltips on sacrificial buildings in Inferno and Dungeon cities

- fixed step counter update on city, hero, creature info, and ghost info screens (for simultaneous turns)

- fixed incorrect information about income shown on the first day of the game

- fixed blocking of interface elements during opponent's turn and playback of scripted scenes

- fixed opening of Traveler's Hut interface via hotkey ("Y key") in a Stronghold city when the building is not yet constructed

- fixed an error where the server could set a password for only one character and clients could not connect to a blocked hero during interface blocking and opponent's turn

- added a face to the hero tooltip during battle

- fixed output of information about occupied slots in the Online Lobby when the game creator closes slots and switches them to AI

- fixed an error where a player could detect invisible creatures by the pointer shape when using the trapper ability

- fixed incorrect Stunning Blow animation after Chieftain's Word

- fixed an error where a defending army without a hero could see creature elements during an attack by a hero with "Elemental Vision" skill

Game Mechanics and Balance:

- Elemental Vision skill added for players in duel

- fixed an error where Zehir summoned creatures despite lack of resources

- removed repeat playback of cinematic when the user double-clicks on a ritual site

Global Map Mechanics and AI:

- removed ability to build the Tear of Ashi structure in a Stronghold city if the city level is below 15

- fixed inability to complete network level increase after a mission was won

- now a growth bonus for creatures is given over several lunar weeks

- fixed an error where a hero enters a city but does not capture it if attacking gates protected by an enemy hero

- fixed retreat possibility check for battle AI to match that used in battles

- ship model is now displayed correctly after quickly crossing whirlpools

- alternative creature upgrade branch is now available in Haven cities

- fixed switching of multiple clickable objects (Prophet's Hut, Ancient Silannas, etc.)

- Stronghold Halls now fully restore a Barbarian hero's mana after a turn

- Now after changing the week using an astrologer's tower, creature units grow and lunar week announcements are shown

- Now changing the week with an astrologer's tower affects the number of creatures in cities and buildings, as well as bonuses and penalties

- now hero specialization works for upgraded creatures

- Now computer-controlled heroes do not freeze in front of caravans

- now "Secret Advantage" gives +100 mana only once

- now heroes in Academy cities learn spells immediately after the library is built, rather than on the next turn

Battle Mechanics and AI:

- now "Tactics" skill works correctly if heroes who both possess this skill meet in battle

- battle griffon can no longer land on occupied cells

- nomadic centaur now correctly uses the "Maneuvering" skill

- "Fear" effect for nightmares is working again

- now counter-attacks when attacking friendly units under the influence of Subjugation and Berserk spells act not only on friendly units

- now when playing as orcs, AI uses "Wait" instead of "Defend", making its armies more vulnerable

- now after a secret crystal explosion, open city gates are not displayed as closed

- secret crystal no longer deals damage to walls, gates, and towers

- mask of justice no longer gives doubled bonuses

- fixed battlefield abandonment evaluation for Veteran and Hero difficulty levels

- fixed spells working for barbarians and battle cries working for heroes of other classes if given via the editor

- fixed a situation where a creature hit by Storm dies but still attacks its target

- fixed an error where the attacker continues the attack after their death

- Sylvan hero can no longer use Arrow Rain skill against invisible targets

- ability to reduce damage using Blood Rage no longer works against Death Blow, Shearing Sword and similar spells

- Evil Eye no longer removes protection from secondary targets

- in 3v3 duel, illegal bonuses granted to summoned units after switching heroes are removed

- in 3v3 duel, ability to cast Magic Corruption on an inactive opponent hero is removed

- in 3v3 duel, effects from Helmar's set are no longer reapplied upon every switch

- fixed an error in 3v3 duel where battle machines were destroyed for all enemy heroes simultaneously

- incorrect combat bonuses in 3v3 duel removed, and Fire Wall no longer works during hero switching

- fixed an error where phantom creatures became real after Vampirism was applied to them

- Hives can no longer attack invisible creatures

- rooted ents can no longer flee

- luck spells do not work for empowered Stopping Cold

- AI no longer ignores summoned creatures

- creatures under the influence of "Subjugation" or "Seduction" spells can now be attacked by both armies

- orc heroes can no longer have spells from artifacts

- March of Golems now affects obsidian golemes' initiative

- greater demons can no longer jump if entangled in roots

- AI uses spells more actively

- fine-tuning of AI targeting performed, including avoiding hitting own creatures when destroying a secret crystal

Random Map Generator:

- fixed error with abandoned mine (previously it only provided gold)

- fixed error with movement penalty on snowy roads

- new objects added: Mahogany Observatory, Thief's Den, Magic Well

- fixed a rare error with isolated player zones

- new functions added for the in-game RMG, allowing control over collected resource wealth, experience treasures, player races and adding the Tear of Ashi

Map Editor:

- fixed crash when attempting to take a screenshot if AI-Geometry mode is active.

- now barbarian abilities can only be held by barbarian heroes

Scripts:

- scripted AI is now able to find a path to the target through a hero's threat zone

- fixed IsHeroInTown command

- MessageBox function callback can no longer be called after the message window has automatically closed due to timeout or turn switch

- now CaptureTrigger object field works for building a monster bank; the game will attempt to call a scripted function when the bank is captured

- growth bonuses do not disappear after a building is destroyed via script

- last creature is not removed from stack when there are free stacks in the monster army

- additional parameters added for several scripted functions

- new scripted functions added

4. Known Issues
======================

Graphic issues may occur if ATI Crossfire is used under Windows Vista. To resolve this, disable Crossfire.

Heroes of Might and Magic V: Tribes of the East is not 100% compatible with Vista.

Dialogue scenes, loading screens, and cinematics will be displayed with the correct aspect ratio, but not full widescreen.

Disabling "Vertical Sync" in your video card driver settings may cause animation stuttering in cities during manual camera rotation.

When loading a save made in another language version, font corruption in all menus and incorrect text output may occur.

Yahoo Messenger may conflict with online play; please turn it off when playing on UBI.COM.

Changes made to battle recordings via the Video Editor are not present in saves loaded via "Battle Recording". To view edited recordings, use the Video Editor.

Some maps created in the map editor using "Save as" from single maps will have identical names in the campaign editor and scenarios, regardless of the names entered during saving.
To fix this error, you need to change the names of these maps via the map editor normally (View menu -> Map Properties, General Map Properties tab, Map Name field).

To use new hotkeys in the movie editor, add the following lines to the input.cfg file located in your profile folder (My Documents\My Games\Heroes of Might and Magic V - Tribes of the East\Profiles).

bindsection replay_battle_screen
bind skip_scene 'ESC'
bind set_pause 'SPACE'
bind step_forward 'RIGHT'
bind step_backward 'LEFT'
bind step_to_start 'CTRL' + 'LEFT'
bind step_to_end 'CTRL' + 'RIGHT'
bind speed_up 'UP'
bind speed_down 'DOWN'

If a reboot or power failure occurs while loading a custom map, the map file may be corrupted. We recommend making backup copies of your maps frequently.

Also, if power is lost during gameplay, the last saved game may be corrupted. We recommend saving the game frequently under different names.

5. Troubleshooting
============================

5.1 Outdated or incorrect video card drivers can cause issues with game operation. Before contacting support, please ensure that the latest versions of video card drivers and the correct DirectX 9.0c package are installed on your computer. Latest driver versions can be found at the following addresses:

http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp for nVIDIA graphics cards
http://ati.amd.com/support/driver.html for ATI Technologies graphics cards

The DirectX 9.0c package is on the game installation disc.

5.2 Additionally, before starting the game, ensure that no other programs are running.

5.3 The game does not support operation via http-proxy. The player will need a direct (real IP) or NAT (in most local networks) internet connection. In the case of a firewall, the player will need to open some ports:

6668 TCP (IRC servers (chat in lobby))
40000 to 42999 TCP (various Ubi.com servers)
44000 UDP (CDKey Servers)
45000 UDP (NAT Server)
42500 UDP (Local CDKey port, can be set by the player in game configuration files, "setvar net_ubi_cdkey_port = <desired port>", default 42500)
8888,8889 UDP UDP (The game itself, can be set by the player in game configuration files, "setvar net_game_port = <desired port>", default 8888; "setvar net_lan_match_maker_port = <desired port>", default 8889)



6. Technical Support
========================

Technical support for the game is provided by "1C", e-mail: hotline@1c.ru . By registering the game, you can use the hotline services of "1C". By calling (095) 288-99-01 from 9:30 to 18:00 or writing to hotline@1c.ru , you can always
count on a qualified answer to any question related to the game.

7. Legal Information
=========================

Heroes of Might & Magic® V © 2006 Ubisoft Entertainment. Heroes of Might & Magic V: Tribes of the East © 2007 Ubisoft Entertainment. All rights reserved. Heroes, Might and Magic, Heroes of Might and Magic, Heroes of Might & Magic V: Tribes of the East, Ubisoft and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the US and/or other countries. Pentium, Microsoft Windows, Athlon, GeForce, Radeon, SoundBlaster, DirectX are trademarks of their respective owners. © 2007 Nival Interactive. "Nival" is a registered trademark of Nival Interactive. All rights reserved. The exclusive right to distribute in the territory of Russia, CIS countries and the Baltics belongs to CJSC "1C".

While they are actively promoting and advertising the 7th installment, it seems like people have forgotten about the 5th. And that's a shame...

Who thinks that Heroes 7 wasn't a failure? Show me a person who liked them; they are terrible!

I haven't played them myself, so I don't have much to say. Although, there are some unpleasant similarities to the sixth installment.

They have no style of their own, no interesting plot, and certainly no interesting units or factions. It's a shame for the series. Instead of giving it back to us so we could create something great, they give it to some Poles who continue to ruin the series.