Posts from Heroes V - Remake "File restructuring, 'junk' cleanup, and game optimization"

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A global modification that restructures directories and files to make life easier for mod makers, clean resources of "junk", and optimize the game.

Version: Remake (22.09.2018-Beta)
Link1: https://yadi.sk/d/HKsBgSTitxi2T
Link2: https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...zV5NmxWcjQ4Sms

ATTENTION: Third-party modifications and maps made for the original version of the game will NOT be compatible with this version of the game.
This is a Beta version of the modification; something may work incorrectly.

Installation: Installation is possible on any version of “HoMM V - Tribes of the East”. The modification uses its own directories and files and does not affect the original game resources. If you use third-party plugins and modifications, they will be inactive when playing “HoMM V - Remake”.

Main changes:
— The binary file icon has been replaced with the original HoMM V icon;
— The game archives have been repacked into a single archive;
— The game directories and files have been restructured;
— The file “splasha2.bmp” in the game root has been renamed to “Remake.bmp”.
— Instead of the “Data”, “UserCampaigns”, “Maps”, “DuelPresets”, and “UserMODs” directories, the “RMod” directory is used. This was done so the original game, or the game with third-party modifications, can be used safely apart from the “Remake” modification;
— The “Cursor”, “Music”, and “Video” directories have been moved into “RMod”;
— The “hwcursors” directory has been renamed to “Cursor” and moved into “RMod”. Cursors unused by the game have been removed;
— The standard game music has been reworked using all 3 game expansions;
— In the “Profiles” directory, the following were renamed:
— the “default_profile” directory to “Remake-Profiles”
— input_a2.cfg to input.cfg;
— user.cfg to user_a2.cfg.
— In the “Video” directory:
— the file “intro_a1.xml” was renamed to “intro.xml”;
— the file “outro_a1.xml” was removed.
— In the “bin” directory, the game will no longer create the “SI.bin” file during play; the game now does not check the connection to the “Ubi.com” servers without the user’s knowledge;
— The game account directory has been renamed to “HoMM V — Remake”;
— The map editor has been removed, but the ability to create standard random maps has been preserved;
— The “Ubi.com” menu item has been removed, since with this version of the game you are unlikely to find an opponent on the server;
— The main menu background has been changed to a version from “HoMM V: HoF” with minor edits;
— The campaigns menu has been reworked; it now holds 6 items instead of 5;
(In development) — Campaigns, scenarios, and maps from the original HoMM V and HoMM V: HoF have been added, along with an additional “Dark Messiah” scenario inspired by the game of the same name;
(In development) — Scenarios by Nival Interactive and Ubisoft related to the heroes and events of the original campaigns have been merged into the main campaign branches; the “Dark Messiah” scenario is now the game’s epilogue;
(In development) — Duplicate files have been removed;
— Each game map has been reworked so that random creatures now appear instead of preset creatures, except for those needed by the story;
— All available map files have been reworked and cleaned of kludges and other junk without any loss of gameplay;
— The game’s first campaign, “The Queen”, now contains tutorial messages from the original HoMM V. The messages will appear if the “Show tutorial” option is enabled in the game settings. (Tutorial messages will appear only once for the current game profile, and tutorial tips will not appear on repeat playthroughs. So anyone who wants to go through the tutorial again needs to create a new profile.);
— The names of the game factions have been changed based on Might & Magic Heroes VI and Might & Magic Heroes VII;
— “UFO”, “Tank”, and “Airplane” have been removed, and missions where these models were used have been cleaned up;
— Unused files, unnecessary lines of code in game files, developers’ junk left after patches, and so on have been removed;)
— “LOD”, “Strike”, and similar models have been removed. Now all creatures and characters on the battle arena, adventure map, and character information screen use one model instead of 2 or more similar models;
— In each faction, most creatures of the same level use the same animations and voiceover, mostly from the creature’s alternative upgrade. (Previously, unupgraded creatures had their own animations, such as attack, luck, idle, and so on, which were very similar in movement to the animations of upgraded creatures);
— Numerous errors in the game text files have been fixed;
— The random map generator has been changed and improved, many different map templates have been added, and the variety of random creature stacks has been tripled;
— Camera positions when viewing creatures have been changed. Now, when viewing creatures from the same town and level, one camera view is used;
— Map size names have been changed to the classic designations (T, S, M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL).
— The description of each faction’s trait in the map selection and new game creation menus has been changed. Information for each faction is now more informative;
— The descriptions of hero specialties in the map selection and new game creation menus have been changed. Now, in addition to the name of the unique ability, the ability description is also present;
— The skills of heroes who could not obtain their faction’s unique ability have been changed so that this ability becomes available;
— The appearance of “female heroes” has been changed; they received female body models;
— Rune magic icons in the game have been changed. The icons now include the names and images of resources needed to use the runes;
— The data shown when viewing information about “enemy” creatures on the map has been changed; now an approximate numerical range is shown instead of values like “horde”, “thousands”, and “legion”;
— The color of unavailable spells in the spellbook has been changed to red;
— The damage description on the battle map has been changed; it now provides more information, indicating possible damage amount and the possible number of creatures killed;
— The battle log window on the battle map has been changed and enlarged. The length of displayed lines has been fixed; words now no longer run outside the visible area of the log window;
— Swamp fog density has been reduced;
— All campaign heroes have been added for multiplayer;
— The standard icons of some heroes have been replaced;
— Specialty descriptions with specific numbers have been added for all towns and factions;
— A modified skill wheel has been added;
— Selected HD texture equivalents for objects and buildings have been added;
— The letter “Yo” has been added to texts, though not everywhere yet;
— A cheat code has been implemented that allows you to remove the fog of war on the adventure map:
— In the game, open the console: `
— Type the command that will remove the fog of war: @Fog()
— The black screen during an opponent’s turn in multiplayer has been removed if the opponent is on an explored map. Now the opponent’s turn is visible, as in single-player;
— The spell “Forgetfulness” — Khrushchev’s head has been removed when casting the spell;
— An unnecessary option has been removed from the “Duel” menu. The drop-down list of available arenas has been expanded from 5 items to 13;
— Duel mode now has 73 arenas available (previously 17). All standard arenas have been activated, including some the game did not use at all, and several fan works have also been added with minor edits, some of which are now also available in classic game mode;
— Duel mode: the balance of all heroes has been adjusted, and one additional hero has been added for each race;
— Fan maps for multiplayer have been added.
— and much more. (details in the file "Список изменений.pdf")

Suggestions are welcome.

The following add-ons are available for the Remake modification and can be downloaded from the disk:
AllHero-Unlock.pak - unlocks campaign heroes;
CompatibilityMap (31.05.2018-Beta).pak - compatibility mod for fan-made multiplayer maps;
GrayGhost.pak - restores gray color to ghosts;
RageButton (4.3-R).pak - adds the orc rage info button and changes the battle interface.

Group on “VK”: https://vk.com/remake_mod