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Posts from What would you change in Heroes of Might and Magic IV?
I don't remember how this mess looks in the seventh game, but it's possible that it's even more chaotic there.
It's a little less chaotic than in the sixth game, but yes, after those two, the towns in the fourth game are actually pretty good; people criticized them unfairly.
Yes, in the fourth installment, individual buildings are well-drawn and expressive; they are not easily confused, and they are easily remembered and recognized on the adventure map. In terms of functionality, the town screen is simply perfect; even the identical arrangement of buildings works to the advantage of the gameplay. On their native terrain, many factions look visually acceptable, although they are still clearly weaker than the second and third installments, not to mention the fifth.
I personally got the impression that after the release of the 6th and 7th installments, people looked at the fourth and said something like, "Sorry, we were too harsh on you."
А, вот почему.
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Ment
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On their native terrain, many factions look visually acceptable.
I actually liked some of the contrasts in the fourth game, where non-native terrain sometimes creates the illusion of a change of seasons (Haven on grass, or other cities on snow). The question is, this was rarely used, and it doesn't negate the overall standardization.
Well, the very idea of tying the city screen to the terrain is actually quite good, especially since it was already being considered. In the fifth installment, there's also a departure from the norm when you enter the city screen of a human castle in an underground location, or the undead on a green lawn. And I appreciate that they tried to do this in the fourth game. But because of this, the aesthetics and atmosphere suffered greatly. Another question is whether it will be possible to maintain the atmosphere if the city screen changes depending on the terrain, and whether it's even worth it. I'm not particularly bothered by the mismatch between the terrain outside and inside the city; I get immense aesthetic pleasure from the city screens in parts 2, 3, and 5, and I don't really think about how inappropriate such landscapes are in the city when compared to the adventure map.
In Disciples, by the way, this problem was solved radically; they don't paint the capital to match the terrain type, but rather the terrain to match the capital type, so demons will always be in lava, dwarves in snow, elves in an autumn forest, and so on. It's even more amusing when you manage to override the enemy's terrain color and fill everything with your own terrain type; capitals on foreign soil look very alien and out of place. But in Disciples, the terrain color is an important element of the gameplay, while in Heroes, it's more of a cosmetic feature. There are concepts of movement penalties and native terrain, but there's no such fundamental and key influence on the game itself.
А, вот почему.
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Ment
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It would have been possible to do something like that in the fifth installment, why not? You just need to change the terrain and lighting, choosing suitable options (but not ones that are 100% identical to the surrounding area, just close and atmospheric). Another question is that this would require a significant amount of extra work, and everyone is already satisfied with the current state.
Yes, in 3D graphics this is easier to do because you can simply slap on the necessary lighting and use a simple texture—just apply one faction's sky to another, and it creates a completely different impression. But in 2D, you have to draw a full background with all the details and make sure the building sprites blend in; essentially, a separate sprite is needed for every single background. I scrolled through the thread, and it turns out I was whining about this back in 2k07, lol. Some things never change. It's just that the imperfections of my favorite installment still make me sad; if I didn't love own the fourth one so much, I wouldn't be stressing over these miserable city screens xD
It would also be a good idea to make the castles like in other parts. Buildings with identical functions are located in the same places for all races. And you have to agree, Nature buildings on lava look just as stupid as Chaos buildings on snow.
А, вот почему.
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Ple-Sen
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Well, the idea of tying the town screen to the environment is actually quite good, especially since it was already being considered.
It wasn't just being considered; it was even present in some games. In Master of Orion 2, for example, the appearance of a colony depended on the type of planet it was colonizing. However, the building models were the same for everyone, so the implementation of this aspect was much simpler. Author
I'm not too bothered by the mismatch between the environment outside and inside the town; I get a lot of aesthetic pleasure from the town screens in parts 2, 3, and 5, and I don't really think about how inappropriate those landscapes are in the town when compared to the adventure map.
I agree. And with the Dungeon, there aren't even any problems in this regard – you just have to imagine that you have a fortress-mountain. Besides, even in the Necropolis, the "native" dirt still contrasts with the dead soil of the town screen. What really bothers me is that the Necromancer's native land isn't a wasteland, and the Sorcerer's isn't a desert. It was different in role-playing games!Author
In Heroes 2, you need to draw a full background with all the details, and the building sprites need to match it; you need a separate sprite for each background.
To be fair, they didn't even bother to make several models for mines and some other buildings! But yes, in the context of towns, this would require a lot of effort if you don't have a game with a very simplified graphics style. And you can always leave it to the fans, as you can see from the mods with town screens for the third game.
Драккошка
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Kosh in 2007:
As others have said, each hero should have a unique specialty. Otherwise, they only differ in their portraits and biographies
Exactly, what's the point of having a tavern with such a great selection if all the heroes are the same? Choose a biography that's more interesting or a portrait that's more appealing?
I just want each hero to develop in a specific direction from the start, so they don't just differ in appearance, so the player thinks about who would be better to take.
For example, you can choose a hero who differs from others with a more attractive face and turn him into anyone you want. But isn't it nicer to find a hero that you like, who already matches your favorite tactics and skills?
Kosh in 2024: It's great that you can choose the gender, portrait, and biography of a hero with the desired starting skill to your liking, without worrying about the useless specialty of your favorite hero or the unappealing portrait of a cool hero with great abilities.
А, вот почему.
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Ple-Sen
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It would be even better if there were specializations and the ability to choose them yourself. 😁
It wasn't just a visual element; it even appeared in some games. For example, in Master of Orion 2, the appearance of a colony depended on the type of planet being colonized. However, the building models were the same for everyone, so the implementation of this aspect was much simpler.
I haven't played it, but yes, it's obvious that generic buildings are much simpler than unique faction-specific designs.Ple-Sen
I agree. And even with the Dungeon, there are no problems in this regard – you can simply imagine that you have a fortress-mountain.
Or a descent into a dungeon. Yes, the Dungeon is probably the most straightforward in this regard.Ple-Sen
What bothers me is that the Necromancer's homeland is not a wasteland, and the Wizard's is not a desert. In role-playing games, it was different!
For me, on the contrary, it was a break from the pattern that the Wizards in the fifth game moved from the snows to the sands; my gaming experience at that time was mainly limited to the third and fourth Heroes, maybe if I remembered the second one better, there wouldn't be such a break from the pattern.Ple-Sen
To be fair, they didn't even bother to make several models for mines and some other buildings!
Yes, I also remembered that =_= Ple-Sen
And it would be even better if there were specializations and the ability to choose them yourself. 😁
No, that's just too ideal.
А, вот почему.
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Masonic project
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Some people don't like certain minor details, such as repetitive spells, daily growth, and the graphics, or the choice of building upgrades for certain creatures. Personally, I find all of this acceptable, but I don't like how the hero performs on the battlefield, and I'll explain why now. In the fourth installment, the hero is just another warrior, like all the others, except there's only one of them, and this warrior is not always as strong as the other warriors in the army. Very often, there are extremes, for example, either the hero is one-shot, or, conversely, he single-handedly wipes out entire enemy armies. Although both the army and the hero's strength grow as the game progresses, the army generally grows faster, as there can be several cities and external buildings where you can recruit an army, while the hero rarely exceeds level 20-30 in a single map. Yes, there are stat boosts, artifacts, and wisdom trees, but the army generally grows faster, although, as I wrote above, the opposite can sometimes happen. If we take similar games, turn-based strategies, such as Disciples or Age of Wonders, then the hero is also present on the battlefield, but one warrior is one warrior, and not a figure of one warrior with the number 1000 above his head. In Disciples, a maximum of 12 warriors participate in the battle, half of whom are enemies; in Age of Wonders, up to 56 people participate in the battle at the same time, but in any case, defeating several warriors or even several dozen warriors looks more realistic than when a barbarian kills several hundred gnomes with a single kick.
So, what can be done? There are two options.
The first is to make a formation in which the heroes are protected by troops and are completely invulnerable, except for spells like Armageddon and poison, but there is 100% magic resistance against them.
The second option is like with the gates: they have only 150 HP, but you can only remove a maximum of 50 with one hit, which is logical, because there can be thousands of soldiers in the army, but only a few can fit in front of the gates and attack them at the same time. Thus, the second option is to make it so that the hero can be attacked by a limited number of monsters at the same time, for example, 40 champions, 30 thunderbirds, 10 black dragons, and 20 of all other level 4 creatures.
I would improve the AI, which mindlessly tanks with its units and makes the same tactical mistakes on the global map. Overall, the AI is capable and keeps things interesting, but it is quite predictable and linear. At higher difficulties and/or in the late game, it miscalculates its strength and, as a result, foolishly dies against neutrals or completely loses its army in a major battle. The concept of a "major battle" is probably simply not present in its databases.
The endless cycle of capturing and recapturing buildings. Perhaps I'll suggest a controversial idea, but capturing on the map should be done with a delay or require spending part of the current day. Or even divide all points of interest by value, so that some are captured on the fly, as it is now, and others, say, take an entire turn. Plus, freeze the recapture for 2-3 turns.
The same applies to capturing empty cities. You enter, place a flag, and leave – it's fun, but it needs to be balanced. Especially considering the city's development level.
Ment
And you have to agree, Nature buildings on lava look just as stupid as Chaos buildings on snow.
Ple-Sen
