Heroes of Might and Magic III: In the Wake of Gods (WoG, also called Heroes 3.5 or Heroes 3½) is an unofficial, fan-made add-on to Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Shadow of Death; it also works with the Complete edition[1][2]. It is free and non-commercial and does not install on Restoration of Erathia or Armageddon's Blade[3]. Its official site called it "first and foremost" a customisable toolbox for map makers and players[1]. Its last full release, 3.58f, dates from November 2004[4]; its modernised continuation is the ERA platform[5].
History
- The project was founded and led by Vyacheslav (Slava) Salnikov, known as ZVS, a Russian Heroes III player, who also created its scripting language[6][7][8]. Work began in February 2001[6][9].
- Alexey Pishchulin was among the developers in 2001[10]. By spring 2002 players from around the world had joined[7], and the team, calling itself the WoG Team or HMM3.5 Team, worked internationally[1][11].
- The first version came out on 20 November 2001, in English only, with a Russian version promised for December[10][4]. The Russian edition was named «Герои 3 1/2: Во Имя Богов»[12].
- Commanders arrived in 3.57 (October 2002), creature experience in 3.58 (August 2004), and the full 3.58f package in November 2004[4][13][14].
- Work on 3.59 had started by December 2004, with a new town, the Bastion, approved[8]. The official site still hoped in later years to finish 3.59 "in 2008"[1].
- In December 2013 the team, reorganised as CoreWoG, released a 3.59 alpha and published the source code[7][15]. The repository, under GrayFace, describes the alpha as a platform for mods that installs over a clean WoG 3.58 and does not load 3.58 saves[16]; Linux.org.ru listed Lua scripting with full ERM support and warned of many bugs[17].
Versions
| Version | Date | What it brought |
|---|---|---|
| 3.5 | 20 November 2001 | first release, in English[10][4] |
| 3.51–3.55 | November 2001 – February 2002 | patches[4] |
| 3.56 | 22 March 2002 | Mithril resource, new map objects[4][18] |
| 3.57 | 8 October 2002 | Commanders[4] |
| 3.58 | 26 August 2004 | creature (stack) experience, five new creatures[4][13] |
| 3.58f | patch 2 November 2004; full package 16–17 November 2004 | final 3.58 release[4][14] |
| 3.59 alpha | December 2013 | source code published; Lua scripting[7][17][16] |
Features
- ERM (Event Related Model), a scripting language that can change how any object on a map behaves[19]. AG.ru singled it out at release: mission events can respond to what the player does[10].
- Towns can be destroyed, rebuilt and turned into another town type; old heroes received new specialties; spare troops can be left to guard the map[10].
- Eighth-level creatures and "God's Representatives" that give heroes primary-skill bonuses[2][7].
- Commanders (3.57): each hero may have a personal Commander who fights, gains experience and levels up[4].
- Stack experience (3.58): creatures gain experience and new abilities across up to ten ranks; 3.58 also added the Sorceress, Sylvan Centaur, Hell Steed, Werewolf and Dracolich[13].
- A new resource, Mithril, and new map objects such as caves, treasure chests and markets (3.56)[18]; map makers can set custom hero portraits, dialogues and pictures[19].
- WoG Options, in-game pages that switch individual rules on and off, are still present in ERA[20].
Reception
Igromania found it better than the official expansions[2][12]; the Russian magazine «Лучшие компьютерные игры» gave it its "Crown" award[7], and the Polish CD-Action rated it 9/10 in 2007[21].