Posts from The Hero's Path

1) General Information

Title: Path of the Hero (Sword and Sorcery 3)
Type: scenario / RPG
Size: 136x136 (medium), with a dungeon
Game Version: only 3.1
Map Version: 1.5 (06/17/2024)
Author: Jack_of_shadows

2) Installation

Unpack the archive and copy the file "Sword and Sorcery 3.h5m" to the Maps folder.
ATTENTION: the map is a mod and replaces some original game files. To avoid affecting other maps, it is recommended not to keep it in the Maps folder unless absolutely necessary.
(Modified elements: large message and dialog windows (mods by Moonst@r with my changes), 3rd and 4th special ability slots (not used in the original game)).
MOREOVER: it is strongly not recommended to use other third-party mods that affect gameplay or replace units on the map at the same time as this map.

Possible signs that something went wrong:
- When the map starts, you do not see any welcome dialogs - make sure the game version is exactly 3.1.
- The text in the dialogs is displayed incorrectly (it goes beyond the allocated space, it differs in font from what is in the screenshots) - remove all third-party maps/mods from the Maps/UserMODs folder.
- When you click the "End Turn" button, you see the turn bar for the computer players.
- At least one red line starting with "(Script) ERROR" appears in the console - save and send me the save file.
In any case, you can contact me - I will try to help as much as I can.

3) Plot

Becoming a true hero is not easy, especially if you are young, poor, and live in the peaceful and prosperous Griffin Empire during one of those periods when neither a great war nor a great depression has befallen it. The roads here are safe, the bandits are insignificant, and for the very last task, you can always find a couple of seasoned veterans with their loyal legion of mercenaries.
Not wanting to give up on your dream of becoming a great hero, you left behind everything you had and set off on a journey to the vast free lands on the southern borders of the Empire - places where you can find an opportunity to prove yourself in the right way at every turn.

4) From the Author

I would not like to call this map just another single-player scenario diluted with quests. I would describe it as a full-fledged role-playing game based on "Heroes", in the form that I imagine it - with many conversations, non-linear quests, many ways to earn and spend gold, various additional ways to develop the character, and as little unnecessary pathos as possible. In total, the map contains:

- Almost 50 thousand lines of code, rewriting the game mechanics from top to bottom.
- Almost a megabyte of text, helping to better immerse yourself in the game world.
- Three dozen quests and several dozen characters, not letting you stay idle for long.
- A dialog system that increases the interactivity of interaction with characters and objects.
- Dynamic change of lighting and weather, creating its own special flow of time on the map.
- A system of travel spells, complementing the usual combat magic.
- A chemistry skill that allows you to create both simple and compound potions.
- Detailed and readily available progress statistics, pleasing lovers of strict reporting.
- An achievement system for those who need more than just simple statistics.
- A system of random events, designed to add a small element of surprise to your travels.
- Your own mini-game, giving you the opportunity to take a break from the main gameplay and spend some gold.

- ...and a whole wagon of smaller changes and additions. At the same time, many standard gameplay elements, such as building a castle, capturing mines, and chasing enemy heroes, have been cut. I hope you won't miss them.

P.S. The recommended difficulty level for inexperienced players is "warrior". The map was created and tested to be passable and moderately difficult on this level. In general, the difficulty level only affects the number of enemy creatures, based on the multipliers from "recruit" to "hero" 0.6/1.0/1.25/1.5 (WARNING: at the "hero" difficulty level, the beginning of the map may cause you a lot of trouble) (if you choose a level other than "warrior", the map initialization takes significantly longer, approximately 2-3 minutes, during which the interface will be very slow. It is better to just wait for this time).

5) Version History

2024.06.17 - 1.5
- Added new message and dialog window options, all now fits on one screen in dialogs (mods by Moonst@r with my changes)
- Added the ability to chat with the main villain and accelerated the process of his preparation for the battle
- Added a small final dialog before the end of the game
- Added the ability to buy all elements with one click in chemistry shops
- Added the ability to quickly exchange resources for gold with one click
- Added experience for damage from rune magic of chaos in the same amount as for a battle
- Added display of the real power of rune magic and chemistry effects, taking into account their current duration
- Added a loading screen image
- Fixed a bug with dialogs if you click on the building again during the purchase/sale animation (the interface is blocked during the animation)
- Fixed a bug with the bank breaking when the quest "Trouble in the Fields" is in the "Need to find peasants to replace" state
- Fixed a bug with the binomial not being counted in the "Problem on the Plane" quest if the center of the triangle falls inside it
- Fixed a bug with the blindness spell breaking in the "Team in Danger" quest if there are creatures in the army that are immune to blindness
- Fixed a bug with the dragon hitting the hero during the pathetic dialog with him in the "Knight's Option" quest
- Fixed a bug with the inability to get the "Born Killer" achievement if the player has a mod for new creatures
- Fixed a bug with the "Rune Master" achievement being received earlier than it should
- Fixed a bug with potions that sometimes could give one more effect than written in them
- When casting spells automatically at the beginning of the battle (for blessings and achievements), the hero now does not move on the initiative scale
- Dragon blessings no longer have a negative effect on creatures of other factions
- Strengthened the "Dragon's Breath", "Playing with Fire" and "Transmutation" rune spells
- The "Patronage of Aschi" perk is prohibited (as it allows you to hack the "Demon's Option" quest)
- Monster respawn starts later, the number of creatures is less and has a limit (in case of very long playthroughs)
- Simplified the recruit difficulty level (reduced the army strength multiplier from 0.75 to 0.6)
- Slightly reduced the bank's terms for deposits
- ...and many more small fixes for balance, texts, bugs, etc.

Your map won't launch. I deleted all the maps, and there are no mods installed. I have a licensed copy of Orcs 3.1. What could be the problem?

It crashes the game when trying to select a map.

Is it definitely version 3.1? Is it written in the menu in the lower left corner?
Are you absolutely sure that no mods were installed? Besides the Maps folder, there might be something in UserMODs.
I don't have the ability to check it on other computers right now. If anyone has it running normally, please let me know so we can understand the scale of the problem.

Update: Just in case, I reinstalled the game from scratch to make sure nothing interferes. On version 3.0, the map runs without problems, all scripts naturally don't work, and on version 3.1, everything is as it should be. I don't have any ideas about your glitches yet.

The map has great potential; if the bugs are fixed, it will, in my opinion, be the best map for the fifth installment of Heroes (comparable to World of Enroth, but that map is much larger, and on my computer, the save files are constantly corrupted).
But here's the problem: every turn, I'm bothered by a gloomy vampire and some orc offering mercenaries, and they do it in a large number of pop-up windows.

The map is loading.
Whether with mods or without...
When the map starts, the game consumes an additional 600 MB of RAM.
You definitely need a powerful computer.

Added 11 minutes later

The map is very promising; in my opinion, if it's free of errors, it will be the best map for the fifth installment of Heroes (comparable to World of Enroth, but that map is much larger, and on my computer, the save files are constantly corrupted).
But here's the problem: every turn, I'm bothered by a sad vampire and some orc offering mercenaries, and there are a lot of pop-up windows.

By the way, save files are corrupted not only due to the map size and the number of objects but also due to TalkBox.

SparkySweets, the map was thoroughly tested from start to finish, and there are definitely no critical errors. There might be some minor issues, but nothing major. What you experienced shouldn't happen. You can send me your save file, but I think the problem is more likely related to the specifics of your version (again, mods?). I'm playing on the original Tribes of the East (not the gold edition), with only patch 3.1 installed. The maximum save size I've reached is 10 megabytes, and there's still some room left :) (I had the same issue in World of Enroth). Dyrman, I'm glad to see your first post without any critical problems. My computer is as old as Heroes 5, and it seems to handle it well.

Save files can be corrupted not only by the map size but also by TalkBox.

I haven't heard of this; I'd be glad to learn more. The map uses a custom-made dialogue engine, built as a wrapper around TalkBox. It's used extensively and hasn't caused any problems so far.

I removed all mods and other maps before starting, here's the save file. At the beginning of each turn (except the first), a sad vampire and an orc appear, and some ingredients are given.
I have a question: are the starting funds intended to be spent in the educational center, or should they be saved?

SparkySweets, there's a bug in your version; the starting script fails at some point, and not everything is initialized correctly. In the normal version, the computer players shouldn't be able to move; they don't even get a turn. (The pop-up windows are enemy heroes that should have been standing still like statues, and they're clicking on all sorts of buildings during their turn). I'll try to figure something out now. If you're willing to cooperate, we can debug it remotely sometime. There's no point in continuing to play right now. :( Regarding the educational center: at the very beginning, there are already plenty of things to spend money on, but a little later, you can buy those skills that have a very low chance of appearing (I got Chaos Magic this way, for example). I found a bug: there's a constant called CREATURES_COUNT in the game. According to my calculations, it should be taken from the common.lua game file, which contains all the creatures from the original game, totaling 180. In your version, it's equal to 1000 (presumably due to some mods that add creatures). I'll try to hardcode it into the starting script and update the download link. In general, the problem is that there's a lot of specific code on the map that's tied to the original game. Hence the suggestion to play the "clean" version. Update: I've updated the link in the first post. If the console is enabled (I recommend enabling it), open it at the start of the map and make sure there are no red errors and that a green message appears saying that everything is okay (on "Warrior" difficulty, this should happen about a minute after the start, and on other difficulties, after 2-3 minutes)

Thank you, the error no longer occurs.

I found a bug: the game has a constant called CREATURES_COUNT. According to my calculations, it should be taken from the common.lua game file, which contains all the creatures from the original game, totaling 180. In your version, it is equal to 1000 (presumably due to some mods that add creatures).

Perhaps an NCF is needed.

Added 4 minutes ago

I haven't heard of this; I would be glad to learn more. The map uses a custom-made dialogue engine, built as a wrapper around TalkBox. It is used everywhere and has not caused any problems so far.

This topic was discussed a long time ago. In some map or mod, they decided to abandon this component. Perhaps it is only in the multiplayer. If everything is fine, then there is nothing to worry about. There is also a flaw in the component:

Attention! In the localized versions of the patch, there is one necessary text file missing, which is required for the correct operation of TalkBoxForPlayers. You can simply create it:

File: UI/CommonBoxes/TalkBox/Text.txt
Content:

File format: plain Unicode text (save as Unicode in NOTEPAD)

This file is recommended to be distributed as part of the map archives that use TalkBoxForPlayers.

There's still a flaw in the component:

And here, if possible, could you provide more details: I've been having problems with TalkBox for a long time:rolleyes: (the version from Buku). I checked my data.pak: there isn't even a TalkBox folder in UI/CommonBoxes...
The message from zzima isn't clear - should I modify the data.pak file in the game, or should I ask all mapmakers who use TalkBox to do what is written there???

Attention! Localized versions of the patch are missing one necessary text file.

Oh, there's no need to worry about that; the required file is naturally embedded in the map (the font only differs from what the developers recommended). Problems may only arise if it's also embedded in one of the neighboring maps and differs from mine (this could lead to distorted fonts in dialogues).

There's a bit of an aura of mystery around TalkBox because:
a) it only appeared in patch 3.1.
b) it doesn't work out of the box; it requires that very file.
c) it's very complex to use.
d) it's rarely used anywhere (the most I've seen is about 5-10 simple TalkBoxes in the entire map).
My goal is to dispel all the myths and show how convenient it is. Again, it's a fresh gameplay approach, unlike the common videos. And the simplicity of using my engine (if anyone looks at the source code) will hopefully even encourage someone to use it somewhere else.

The game crashes when attempting to select a map.

Similar problem. I just installed a clean version of Heroes 3.0 (not the Gold Edition), patched it to 3.1, and the game crashes when I try to select a map in the Scenarios. If anyone has any ideas, please share them; I want to play. Or, please provide a link to a version of Heroes where this map is guaranteed to work.
Thank you in advance.

nekromant_alex, try this version – I removed the image that appears next to the description; perhaps there was something wrong with it. I tested it on the Russian license of Tribes of the East and on some shady Complete Pack build, and it worked the same in both.