Posts from Unicorn Empire

I completed version 1.1 on "hero" difficulty in 290 days. My overall impression of the campaign, after the changes, remained the same: exciting action, amazing atmosphere in the maps, and a very high level of execution. The campaign is engaging even though I've played the maps several times before. This is one of those cases where something is good, but there isn't enough of it. I hope that the mention at the end of the credits about a possible sequel will become a reality. Now, I'll go over some of the individual maps in the campaign. First. Nothing remarkable. In general, this is where my main regret lies regarding the original version that was unfairly cut. Almost all the maps in the campaign have variations in how they can be played (except for the 3rd). There was also variation in the first map, but as a result, a rather flat projection of it ended up in the release. I still hope that the original version will be resurrected from oblivion. Second. At first, I was skeptical about it. However, the added teleport system and some geographical changes radically changed everything. The map is captivating due to its dynamics. This is especially noticeable on levels below "hero," when you can fully use both characters. They also develop equally well. On "hero" difficulty, you end up acting like a "one and a half" hero – there aren't enough resources for two armies. Accordingly, this creates an imbalance in development. The main drawback here is the location of the Silanna tree. There is a need for it, but I didn't use it for either hero. Third. Something didn't work out with the chase this time. Andreas appeared, and I hid Varens in the Sanctuary. Andreas went to the Dungeon. I thought he would stay there permanently, but he didn't come out for two days. When he finally emerged, Varens jumped over him with the help of the Prophet and headed towards the teleport, while Andreas began to wander around on top. Until Varens passed through the teleport, he never went down. I also felt that Varens is given too many troops after leaving the Dungeon, which makes the battle with Bertrand a trivial episode. Fourth. It was already great, and now it's even better. The battle with Dominic has become exciting, but difficult and unpredictable. As a result, it is extremely necessary to have autosave between battles with him. However, saving before the "Battle for Ivendel" cutscene can be removed. I wasn't led to the witch by any roads, and I didn't want to "curse" Dominic. I liked the new passage across the river. Endless joy – a new portal with phoenixes. It would be good to have the Prophet give a message if the player comes to him with an incomplete quest (something like: "not all conditions have been met"). Similarly, if the Prophet is ready to banish the phoenixes, let him say so. The problem with the "Sphere of Light" is that obtaining it is virtual and not displayed anywhere. You don't always remember whether you received it or not. It would be nice to add a counter for the collected monacite to the menu. If you don't play in one sitting, it's hard to remember how much you've already collected. It seems that on this map, I saw a cutscene where the lines of text go beyond the bottom edge of the screen. Fifth. Here, I went down unexplored paths. After Andreas's castle disappeared, he not only lost experience but, one could say, it was reset. Of all the skills, only the "attack" basics remained. When Andreas met Agbeth (he arrived and attacked with such speed that I hadn't seen before – immediately after the main character went underground), I was mentally prepared to replay the 2nd map. However, he managed to escape, more or less alive. From the result, I have a wish – to slightly (by 10-20%) increase the number of neutral creatures on the way to the human castle. Because my Andreas, the unluckiest of all Andreas, didn't lose a single unit in battles with them. On the other hand, I would like to get more experience before meeting the Town Elder. The battle with the first mage (Nazir) is a balancing act. If the AI had an "inspiration," he would tear through the human army like a hot knife through butter (he had mini-artifacts +24 initiative, a ring +10 initiative, and parts of the dragon set: a ring, scabbard, and cloak). However, in the end, the hot knife cut through the butter. A couple more mages that ran out, although the computer rated their danger as "high," were not very harmful in reality. In the end, I can say that the map only gained in drama and excitement from the fact that the main character started going through it with level 1, and not level 10. The experience left behind is largely a crutch for those who are not ready to go through the map "on their own." No one wanted to join Andreas's army. The serfs in the basement decided to die for some reason. As an appendix, there is an archive (EUsav) of several replays from the map: a battle with Jeer (Varens_Jeer.sav), Dominic (Varens_Domenic.sav and Varens_Domenic2.sav), from the 5th map, a battle with the dark elf garrison (Andrias_gate_DE.sav), and the final battle (Andrias_Menelag.sav).
Final pictures of the levels.
Thank you very much for your work, with best wishes for further creative success.
P.S. "And you can only slightly envy those,
Who still have the peak ahead of them." ©

I would like to believe that the post-credits mention of a possible sequel will become a reality.

Me too.

The first one. Nothing remarkable. In general, this is my main regret about the innocently killed original version. Almost all company maps have variability in gameplay (except for the third). It was also present in the first one, but as a result, its essentially flat projection went into release. I still hope that the initial version will escape from oblivion.

In its first version, the map was difficult, and therefore it was simplified at the request of players. Yes, the ability to escape from the Necromancer before he captures Primorsk is already my oversight. The old version is long gone.

The second one. At first, my attitude towards it was skeptical. However, the added teleport system and some geographical changes radically changed everything. The map captivates with its dynamics. This is especially felt on levels below "heroic", when you can fully use both characters. They develop equally well. On the "hero" level, you get to act as a "one and a half" hero - there are not enough troops for two armies. Accordingly, this creates an imbalance in development. The main drawback here: the location of the Silanna tree. There is a need for it, but I did not use it for any of the heroes.

It's good that the map has become more dynamic. As I see it, about a third of the map is not open at all, and there are many various stat boosts, powerful monsters, a sphinx... I recently played through it myself: the tree was needed, but only by Andreas, in any case, there were no other sources of experience left (except for the fleet of dwarves), and the difficulty level was Veteran. Therefore, by the beginning of the fifth mission, he was like this:
Level 29

The fourth one. It was great before, and now even better. The battle with Dominic became exciting, but difficult, unpredictable. Consequently, autosaving between battles with him is extremely necessary. But saving before the multi-battle "Battle for Ayven", on the contrary, can be removed. Roads do not lead me to the witch, and I didn't want to "curse" Dominic. I liked the new isthmus across the river. Endless joy - a new portal with phoenixes. It would be nice to make the prophet give a message if the player comes to him with an incomplete quest (something like: "not all conditions have been met"). Similarly, if the prophet is ready to banish the phoenixes, let him say so. The problem is with the "Sphere of Light" - its acquisition is virtual, nowhere displayed. You don't always remember whether you got it or not. It would be good to place a counter of collected monacite in the menu. If you play not in one sitting, then you cannot remember how much has already accumulated. It seems that on this map I saw a multi-battle where the lines of text go beyond the bottom edge of the screen.

I will redo the saves. I will add messages about unfulfilled conditions, and the prophet already "says his piece" in the description of the task. Technically, it is impossible to put the monacite in the menu. My text fit into all the videos, although this may be possible if you have a narrow screen, but there is nothing I can do about it.

The fifth one. Here I went down unbeaten paths. After Andreas's castle flew away, he not only lost experience, but, one might say, it was reset for him. Of all skills, only the basics of "attack" remained. When Andreas met Agbeth (rushed up and attacked with such speed as I had not seen before - immediately after G.G. descended underground), I was morally ready to replay the second map. Still, he managed to escape, more or less alive. From the resulting result, there is a wish - slightly increase (by 10-20%) the number of neutrals on the way to the human castle. Because my Andreas, the most unfortunate of all Andreases, did not lose a single unit in battles with them. On the other hand, I really want to get more experience before meeting T.E. The battle with the first mage (Nazir) is a balance on a razor's edge. If the AI found an "inspiration", he tore the human army apart like Tuzik tearing a blanket. (He had mini-artifacts +24 initiative, ring +10 initiative, parts of the dragon set: ring, scabbard, cloak). However, in the end, the blanket still tore Tuzik apart. A couple more mages who ran out, although the computer assessed their danger as "high", were no longer very harmful in reality. In general, I can say that the map only gained in drama and excitement from the fact that the player began to go through it starting from level 1, and not level 10. The remaining experience is largely a crutch designed for those who are afraid to go through the map "on their own". No one wanted to join Andreas's army. The serfs in the basement decided to die for some reason.

I didn't keep an eye on the serfs. Much depends on what level Andreas finished the second mission at, although clear boundaries (levels 10 and 23) appeared only in version 1.1, in version 1.0 there were more opportunities to soften the brain shock and subsequent memory loss. But this destroys the element of the plot.

Made a small improvement. Not a major change, but it adds a bit of information.
v1.1.1 (09/15/2014)
- Added messages when the conditions of a quest are not met.
- In the third mission, Andreas behaves more actively.
- In the fourth mission, a save point was added between the two sieges.
- The method for counting piles of monazite sand has been changed.

Whew... I completed the entire campaign on "Warrior" difficulty, taking my time, in 670 days, exploring the entire map and using all the upgrades and other perks. It was very interesting and engaging. Will there be a continuation with the "green creatures"? I really liked them.

I'm finishing the 2nd mission, and when loading the 3rd, the game crashes. What could be the problem?

I'm finishing the 2nd mission, and when loading the 3rd, the game crashes. What could be the problem?

It's possible that the NCF was installed incorrectly. Did you see a warning at the beginning of the first mission?

Added 5 minutes later

Ugh... I completed the entire campaign as a "Warrior," taking my time, in 670 days, exploring the entire map and using all the bonuses and other perks. It was very interesting and engaging. Will there be a continuation with the "green guys"? I really liked them.

Thank you. I'm very glad you enjoyed it.
Installing the NCF mod, which is essential for the green faction, is not very convenient. Also, the stability suffers somewhat. For a large-scale campaign, it might be bearable, but for a single campaign, I don't think it will work.

Thank you. I'm very glad you enjoyed it.
Installing the NCF mod, which is essential for the Sylvan faction, is not very convenient. Also, it affects stability somewhat. For a large-scale campaign, this could be tolerated, but for a single-player game, I don't think it will work.

I really enjoyed it. Of course, the Sylvan faction has an advantage compared to other factions, but the balance seems to be okay. It's difficult to fight against them, but it's possible. And playing as them is pure enjoyment.
I especially liked that I completed the entire campaign without using the Dungeon faction, except for the gift from the sorceress. That is, I "remained on the side of Light."

Hello everyone. I have a problem in mission 4: after I defeat Dominick, the castle doesn't transfer to me, and archers and swordsmen always remain in the castle after my victory. Can you advise me on what to do? P.S. The campaign is very good. I hope its creator will make more like it.

Hello everyone. I have a problem in mission 4. When I defeat Dominick, the castle doesn't transfer to me, and after my victory, archers and swordsmen always remain in the castle. Please advise what to do. P.S. The campaign is very good. I hope its creator will make more like it.

Send me the save file, and I'll fix it. I'll also take a look and see what the problem might be.

Send me the save file, I'll fix it and also take a look to see what the problem might be.

Thank you, I hope I didn't send the wrong save file.

Thank you, I hope I didn't mix up the save file.

No, this isn't a save file. 218 bytes is too small for it. Save files are most likely located in the following path: c:\Users\\Documents\My Games\Heroes of Might and Magic V — Tribes of the East\Profiles\\Saves\save_###.sav. Check the date; it should match the date in the game.

Thank you, I found it, now I'll know. If you can't find a solution to the problem, could you send me a save file from that point? I would like to finish the game.

Thank you, I found it, now I'll know. If you can't find a solution to the problem, could you send me a save file from that point? I'd like to finish the game!

I've sent it. The victory is announced in about 10 seconds.
The error is not in the campaign. The NCF mod is not installed (although this was mentioned in the first message), so you were essentially fighting against nothing all this time. Didn't you see the warning at the beginning of the first mission?

I installed it in the game folder, but for some reason, it still wasn't displaying.

I installed it in the game folder, but for some reason, it still doesn't show up.

Are you sure you did it correctly? Did you launch the game using H5_Game.NCF.exe?