Fanstratics, "Наследник духа Героев от ведущего дизайнера трешки" Опции

[Iriniko]

Ну тут скорее не про стиль он говорит, а про движок. Т.е. сам движок 3Дшный, но при этом вся графика 2Д.

Я не так это понял. Он сказал как в Ори. То есть 3д карта (не изометрия как в четвёрке) в определённом ракурсе без возможности крутить как в пятых. При этом например, тени 3д объектов будут корректными в отличии от 2д. Может и низины/холмы на карте приключений будут, если конечно игра вообще до релиза доживёт. Сейчас гиганты то игропрома мобильное/браузерное говно делают. Маленькая компания может не потянуть поставленную задачу просто из-за нехватки средств. Но надеюсь у Грега всё получится.

[Axolotl]

Допустить такой смысл можно, но всё же я поставил бы на то, что фраза "The game is being built in 3D, but the presentation is entirely 2D" означает не фиксированный ракурс камеры, а 3Д движок с 2Д спрайтами. Собственно сравнение с Ори в этом контексте имеет смысл, т.к. там именно так и есть: 3д движок, но многие спрайты нарисованы от руки. Но к стилю в любом случае ни та, ни другая версия отношения не имеет.

[Iriniko]

Newsletter #4
December 2020

Hey, All.

Hope each of you is doing relatively well, and welcome to Fanstratics Newsletter #4 (December 2020).

Greetings those of you finding your way here from...

acidcave.net

A quick subscriber update...

Last Newsletter: ~1950.

This Newsletter: ~2300.

This month's Troop concept sketch is the Gnoll Spear Thrower. For those of you who find art production interesting, Justin showcased his rendering the Gnoll via this Twitch stream.

‘Thank you’ to everyone who wrote, especially the well wishers. If you have any questions or comments, regarding Fanstratics (FST) or Heroes of Might and Magic 3 (HoMM3), feel free to send them along, and I’ll try to answer them in future newsletters (newsletter@fanstratics.com). Please keep in mind, it may take at least 7 days before I reply.

This month, I have five initial questions, four of which were asked by the community for ‘The Silent’. Following those, is part two of the lengthy interview I did with Tavern of Might and Magic.

In other news, earlier this month, I fell ill. At the local clinic, a test for strep throat proved negative, but two days later, a test for COVID returned positive. In my case, hospitalization was not required, but I’ve experienced all the symptoms to varying degrees. Persistent fatigue has been the worst, and as of this writing... it continues. For me, November hasn’t been a productive month. Hopefully, by the next Newsletter, I’ll be past it.

Lastly... an unfortunate report. On November 7th, the founder and leader of HotA, Docent Picolan passed away. After all these years, I feel an inherent debt of gratitude to the HotA team for helping keep HoMM3 in the public eye, and while I never met Docent, I believe we would have had much to discuss. To Docent’s family, friends, and the HotA team, please accept my heartfelt sympathies.

Until next time.

Greg

Fanstratics Game Director & Designer

*****

(Questions, Answers & Comments)

Fanstratics Faction #1: Allegiant.

This first faction should be unsurprising to most. They are the Allegiant; loyal, faithful, and steadfast in devotion. Inspired by medieval Knights, and their chivalric code, this predominantly Human faction makes their homes on the Grasslands. Despite having a moderate lifespan, they are the eldest culture on the continent, and oddly predisposed to forgetting older life lessons. Anyone familiar with the ‘Castle’ from HoMM3, should feel very much at home with the Allegiant. Currently, the Troop representing this faction is the Cavalier, which can be viewed in the Fanstratics Gallery.

Is Fanstratics connected somehow to the lore of M&M or H3 series, or it will be a completely different universe? (adamnavel)

Ubisoft owns the legal copyrights to Might and Magic and Heroes of Might and Magic, so I have no choice but to place Fanstratics (FST) in its own unique universe. In previous newsletters, I described Fanstratics as ‘different but familiar’. It will look different, with different characters and different lore, but anyone who has played HoMM3, should feel very much at home with its game play mechanics.

What features of Heroes III were cancelled before release? (ABC)

Truthfully, other than the controversial Forge faction, I would say 99% of what I wanted in the game... made it into the game. I don’t honestly remember cutting anything of real significance. When we shipped HoMM3, I was satisfied with the work we had done. Is there room for improvement and evolution? Yes. This is what I am attempting with FST.

How many different types of resources are planned for ‘Fanstratics’? (fen)

Six resources are planned: Timber, Ore, Crystal, Incense, Quicksilver, and Gold. I trimmed the original seven down to six, with the intention to create a natural symmetry, and more rare resource competition, between FST’s 9 factions.

Why did you decide to develop a new game now, 20+ years after the release of Restoration of Erathia? (Silent)

This is a big question to answer, but I will try to be concise. When I left game development, I was burned out and unhealthy from years of stressful working conditions and crunch. I tried other professions, specifically, writing, stock options trading, and ultimately... foreign currency trading. It took years to learn how to profitably trade the currency markets, but once I figured it out, I suddenly had spare time on my hands. With this extra time, I began to crave a return to computer game development. Slowly, I started to reawaken my game design skills, when disaster struck. My foreign currency broker collapsed... and I lost everything. I no longer had a choice. It was ‘game dev or die’, and Fanstratics is the hill on which I have chosen to fight.

*****

Tavern of Might and Magic

2019.02.28

Questions 12-23, of 58

This interview was conducted by Tavern of Might and Magic and GoodGame.ru, and published on February 28th, 2019, the 20th Anniversary of HoMM3. It’s a very long interview, almost 60 questions, and delves deep into unresolved lore, as well as other common questions. I’ll be posting between 10 to 15 questions per Newsletter, until we reach the end, after which we will roll into another interview. Below are questions 12 to 23, of 58.

12. Can you tell us more about the original version of AB with the Forge? What was the story and its key characters

Conceptually, the story went something like this…

Following M&M7, Archibald's former 'Advisors' restored production to an ancient wonder called the 'Heavenly Forge'. Using the Heavenly Forge, these Advisors could fashion any manner of artifact or technology. Creating a futuristic city (Forge) and an army composed of cybernetically enhanced creatures armed with high tech weaponry, the Advisors set out to conquer the world. Ground zero was Erathia.

Following the Restoration of Erathia, Catherine musters the nation’s remaining forces to halt the techno-hordes of the Forge cities. If the line breaks, Erathia will be lost. With Catherine and Roland commanding the front lines, another hero is needed to search for Erathia's last hope for survival; the fabled Armageddon’s Blade. For this sacred quest, Catherine chooses Gelu, the half-human, half-elf commander of the Erathia's elite guerilla warriors: Forestguard. Gelu understands the importance of his quest. What he does not know is the truth of his origins.

A campaign structure was in place, with Marcus responsible for putting it all together. To the best of my knowledge, the campaign story went something like this…

1. Deyja solders with ‘strange equipment’ invade Erathia’s northern border. Catherine leads the charge to stop them.

2. Gelu is enlisted to fight a shadow war on the Deyja-Erathian border.

3. Roland leads an army to assist and reinforce Catherine’s position.

4. Gelu is tasked with locating the pieces to construct Armageddon’s Blade.

5. Gelu is tasked with finding a Grand Smith to fashion Armageddon’s Blade.

6. Gelu, Catherine, and Roland lead the final push to destroy the Heavenly Forge.

There was supposed to be an ending cinematic where Gelu drives Armageddon’s Blade into the Heavenly Forge, creating a blast wave destroying only the Forge towns and troops, leaving the land and its people cleansed of its influence.

There were additional branch missions involving a Forge hero (so players could experience the Forge town), but I cannot recall specifically the story or mission details.

I also had plans to divulge information proving Catherine and Gelu were related by blood. Ever notice both have red hair?

13. Were the five side campaigns and their protagonists different, and to what degree?

No, the five side campaigns were conceived completely separate from the main Armageddon’s Blade campaign, but there were adjustments after the Forge was cut.

14. What was the creature line-up of the Forge?

Concerning the Forge, this webpage gets almost everything right. What is missing are details for the Tier 7 troop, which was supposed to be dragon-like Mech.

Personally, I got a kick out of Ubisoft’s April Fool’s concept art for the Pyro, Jump Soldier, and Tank.

15. Since the rise of an entire technological faction in Deyja is a very significant event, what was supposed to happen with the world later? What happens to the Heavenly Forge itself after Kastore and his allies are defeated?

As you can determine from the original story synopsis, in the end, Armageddon’s Blade was supposed to wipe the world clean of all Forge influence. Basically, the world was restored to its pre-Forge state.

16. Is there a chance that the original maps for the campaign or their texts remain somewhere? It’d be interesting to know the actual plans and progress made by the team head as well as your personal thoughts on the matter.

Possible, but unlikely.

Someone at Ubisoft, with access to the original game assets from the 3D0 auction, might be able to turn up something, but keep in mind, the working AB campaign maps were effectively ‘converted’.

There was little reason to hold onto the old material, and if the original working AB campaign maps do exist, I suspect they are in an unfinished form.

As for my personal thoughts… I think the cancelation of the Forge content, and its subsequent replacement by the Conflux content… was a blessing in disguise. My answers to subsequent questions reveal my reasons as to why.

17. David Mullich has mentioned different versions of the Forge town being pitched during the development: We did have some debate about what visual form this technology would take. I advocated more of a Jules Verne glass-and-brass look; others wanted a WWII look. Can you provide more information on these?

I vaguely remember the initial conversation I had with David Mullich as to the competing visual styles. At the time, year 1999, when David dropped the name Jules Verne, I immediately thought of 20K Leagues Under the Sea, Journey to the Center of the Earth, H.G. Wells, War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, etc. What was being proposed was art deco, and I had envisioned the Forge being a horrifying, corrupting, evil faction. To me, the WW2 option made more sense.

Later, Phelan Sykes (HoMM3’s Lead Artist) showed to me a number of different books with ‘oppressive’ art deco architecture. Where David pointed to Jules Verne, Phelan pointed to the movie Metropolis. Phelan wanted a very gritty, very grungy, very squalid conception of what we today commonly call ‘steampunk’. After my conversations with her, I was sold on the direction.

Weeks later, I began to realize, what Phelan had envisioned, and what the NWC art staff could deliver, were two very different things. Initial work on the Forge was not promising. After the Forge was canceled, I told David I had doubts about the ability of the NWC art staff to deliver on what Phelan had in mind. David thought, as it was with HoMM3, it would take a lot of effort and numerous revisions to get what we wanted, but he thought it could be done.

18. What is your opinion: would Forge work in HoMM3?

I believe so, but it would not be a trivial task. The Forge can work as a high power, high maintenance, low population, steampunk faction, but artistic execution is absolutely critical and the troop line-up could use conceptual revision. Provided the town and troops were visually exciting and inventive, and fit within the existing HoMM3 art style, I would hope most people would put aside any ‘cross genre’ reservations and simply enjoy the outrageousness.

19. Looking back on it after all these years, was it a concept that could have been realized well?

In hindsight, was NWC capable of realizing the Forge concept? I have my doubts. I could have easily revised the troop line-up to deliver something more traditional, but in the end, my biggest concern was art.

Phelan Sykes gets nowhere near enough credit for the work she did as Lead Artist. With David Mullich’s assistance, she, Scott White, Adam McCarthy, and George Almond, carried the NWC art staff to a level of quality they simply hadn’t reached before. With HoMM3, the NWC art staff overachieved. Unfortunately, when it came to the Forge, I think we simply asked of them something they simply could not deliver.

20. And can it still potentially be done well by modders?

As for the modders, a small dedicated team with a clearly defined vision could certainly pull it off. My suggestion? Embrace the basic concept, but don’t be afraid to deviate from the original idea, or play around with the troop types. For artistic inspiration, I would point to Ubisoft’s April Fool’s concept art and the miniatures game Warmachine.

21. Conflux was originally supposed to be the new town in the second expansion. What was the original idea for Conflux’s backstory and the expansion itself?

Originally, the Conflux was little more than a high concept; Elemental troops in an Elemental town. Prior to Armageddon’s Blade, there was never any unique lore developed for it.

Like the Forge, the Conflux was supposed to be a relatively self-contained endeavor, and I did not expect to address it until after the first expansion was finished. After the Forge was cancelled, the work on the Conflux was simply moved forward.

22. The released version of AB establishes the Great Conflux as the union of armies from the four Elemental Planes (plus the fifth and sixth element, thought and magic) that was sent by the Elemental Lords (called the elemental gods by Roland in the campaign) to help stop Lucifer Kreegan from using Armageddon’s Blade to burn the world of Enroth.

The Conflux itself is shown to be composed of elementals who respect mortals, but the reasons of the Elemental Lords themselves for sending them to Erathia’s aid are not made clear (which is highlighted by characters), only hinted at in AB and MM8 (the latter revealing that the Elemental Lords created the planet long ago, and that it’s destruction would victimize their plane), Roland wondering about it and harboring some distrust towards the Conflux heroes.

Can you tell us more about the forming of the Conflux and it aiding Erathia against the Kreegans?

My conception of the Conflux was relatively straightforward. Conflux Heroes and the associated Elemental troops were defenders of the natural world. When there is a threat to its continued existence, they make their presence known, assert themselves, and attempt to eliminate the threat. They have no allegiance to anyone or anything, other than the preservation of the world.

Anything beyond this was developed after I departed NWC.

23. A key leader of the Conflux is Tamar the Wanderer, one of the Elemental Lords of Air, who seeks to gain knowledge and help those in need. He and his compatriots aid Erathia against the Kreegans, and Tamar uses his gift of premonition to warn her about important things regarding Roland, Gelu and Armageddon’s Blade. However, Tamar’s face is described as hidden, only his beard being visible, and it isn’t clarified whether he’s an air elemental, a human, a genie or something else. Can you tell us more about him?

Human. This webpage gets the essentials correct.

FANSTRATICS.COM

[feanor]

Опять десять тысяч ответов на вопросы о Фордже и _три_ абзаца о самом проекте. Про ресурсы, краткое описание рыцарской фракции и концепт гнолла.
А, и офигительная история про "я все просрал и теперь хочу хотя бы с фанатов старого проекта получить бабла".

[Mefista]

Опять десять тысяч ответов на вопросы о Фордже

Да, но это куча нужной информации, которая, к тому же, вызовет Ненависть™ у многих неприятных людей (Iriniko, похоже, воспринял этот комментарий неправильно), от этого куда как больше пользы)))

А последнее...ну он честно хоть.

[feanor]

Да, но это куча нужной информации

Ну такое, если честно.

А последнее...ну он честно хоть.

Но совершенно непонятно, зачем она именно здесь. Как минимум, она сильно убавляет доверия к проекту.

[feanor]

Ладно, по той скудной информации, которая есть.

Гнолл забавный. Интересно, к какой фракции? Варвары? Аналог Болота? Чернокнижники, мб?

Описание рыцарей действительно не удивило. С другой стороны, зато мы знаем, что фракция характеризуется еще и террейном.

Шесть ресурсов - неплохо, хорошее, годное изменение, которое с одной стороны позволит отличать игру от героев, а с другой - ни на что по факту не влияет.

[Haart of the Aby...]

Гнолл явно по эстетике близок к Крепости, скорее всего, её и будут воссоздавать как неочевидную, но удачно зашедшую идею.

Ответы на вопросы о Фордже — вы оба не учитываете, что это СТАРЫЕ ответы. Причём СТАРЫЕ ответы, про которые он без понятия, запостили их в итоге где-то или нет, и тем более — стали ли они известны вне русскоязычного сообщества (т. к. интервью всё-таки ориентированной на русскоязычную аудиторию Таверне давалось). Поэтому — ну с чего бы ему их не постить, если они уже у него есть? И лично проследить, пользуясь случаем, чтобы они пошли в массы — приятно, и объём писем можно набить без каких-либо усилий. Если бы ему это стоило какого-то времени — тогда бы да.

А вот офигительная история действительно офигительный тревожный звоночек.

[feanor]

Гнолл явно по эстетике близок к Крепости, скорее всего, её и будут воссоздавать как неочевидную, но удачно зашедшую идею.

Не факт, может, цитаделекрепость, как в семерке.
Или аналог четверочного Хаоса, собственно, там же тоже гноллы планировались. Хотя это тоже слишком сложное шапито, я бы предположил, что варлоки будут варлоками.

и тем более — стали ли они известны вне русскоязычного сообщества (т. к. интервью всё-таки ориентированной на русскоязычную аудиторию Таверне давалось)

по-моему, их потом перевели поляки

[XEL]

про которые он без понятия, запостили их в итоге где-то или нет, и тем более — стали ли они известны вне русскоязычного сообщества (т. к. интервью всё-таки ориентированной на русскоязычную аудиторию Таверне давалось).

Я публиковал это интервью на Celestial Heavens и Heroes Community.

[Slavic boy]

Единственный существенный недостаток гнолла в том, что на нём нет Майки-алкоголички

[hommer]

По поводу "офигенной истории". А как она влияет на качество проекта? Всё равно он заинтересован в успехе (и даже в большей степени, чем если бы это был чистый энтузиазм), а знаний и навыков для этого у него явно хватит.

Гнолл, похоже, варварский. И это ещё один звоночек в пользу того, что фракции будут более шаблонно-фэнтезийные, чем в тройке.

Насчёт ресурсов - не очень понял его аргументацию за снижение с 7 до 6. Странно, что не использует геройскую схему - на неё-то авторские права вряд ли распространяются.

Описание рыцарской фракции ожидаемо и тривиально. Интересное, видимо, начнётся со следующего месяца - там дальше по списку как раз гном (если, конечно, он будет придерживаться той же последовательности, что и с артами).

[feanor]

По поводу "офигенной истории". А как она влияет на качество проекта? Всё равно он заинтересован в успехе (и даже в большей степени, чем если бы это был чистый энтузиазм), а знаний и навыков для этого у него явно хватит.

На качество - тем, что к проекту, автор которого пишет, что он двадцать лет не занимался геймдевом, и не умеет работать с деньгами, будет меньше доверия, и, следовательно, меньше денег. Не говоря уже о том факте, что он, собственно, двадцать лет не занимался геймдевом и не умеет работать с деньгами.
Зачем такое вообще писать? Тоже мне, "честность - лучшая политика".

Насчёт ресурсов - не очень понял его аргументацию за снижение с 7 до 6. Странно, что не использует геройскую схему - на неё-то авторские права вряд ли распространяются.

Я полагаю, что это идея запилить очередную богомерзкую сетку 3x3 - три фракции в каждом элайнменте используют три разных ресурса для тех же топ-юнитов, или куда там они будут применяться.

[Mantiss]

Я полагаю, что это идея запилить очередную богомерзкую сетку 3x3 - три фракции в каждом элайнменте используют три разных ресурса для тех же топ-юнитов, или куда там они будут применяться.

Очень похоже на то. Жаль, если так. Удачность количества ресурсов в Героях связана вовсе не каким-то мифическим накалом конкуренции между фракциями, а с богатством исследуемой карты. Грубо говоря, карта - пирог. Если этот пирог не изобилует разнообразными объектами, то он невкусный. Озвучено уже неоднократно. Непонимание данного аспекта, если это оно и есть, - вот это реально плохой звоночек.

[Axolotl]

По поводу "офигенной истории". А как она влияет на качество проекта? Всё равно он заинтересован в успехе (и даже в большей степени, чем если бы это был чистый энтузиазм), а знаний и навыков для этого у него явно хватит.

Ну это как: "помните" была (абстрактная) гаражная группа "Крэг Факин Хэк", и вот там молодые ребята тусили, жили в гараже, принимали различные, преимущественно запрещенные в-ва, влюблялись, попадали в полицию и все прочие, прочие радости жизни. И играли простую, но честную, злую, драйвовую музыку с мегаваттами энергии. И вот через 20 лет один из участников, ставший к тому времени биржевым брокером, отрастивший пузико и по вечерам пьющий пивко у телевизора, думая о том, как выплатить кредит и прочие, прочие радости жизни. И вот он пишет, что что всё-то у него уже было хорошо и замечательно – никаких там отходняков и тому подобного – если бы с биржей только не случился коллапс. А деньги нужны. Но достану-ка я сейчас из гаража свой забытый мной и богом бас и запишу новый альбом!! Один, без группы. В духе прежних – злой и драйвовый!
Нууу, оно вероятно и хочется верить, что это тот самый случай, когда "талант не пропьешь", но слишком много знаем мы примеров, чтобы не насторожиться.

Я понимаю, что метафора очень условная, музыка (особенно такая, которая в моем примере) в принципе более зависима от искренности, да и жанр игры больше требователен к логическим навыкам, но все-таки мотивация заниматься проектом "немного" подозрительная.

[hommer]

Очередной ежемесячный выпуск новостей:

(Раскрыть)

Hey, All.



Hope each of you is doing relatively well. Happy New Year and welcome to Fanstratics Newsletter #5 (January 2020).



A quick subscriber update...



Last Newsletter: ~2300.

This Newsletter: ~2550.



This month's Troop concept sketch is the Troll Witch.



‘Thank you’ to everyone who wrote, especially the well wishers. If you have any questions or comments, regarding Fanstratics (FST) or Heroes of Might and Magic 3 (HoMM3), feel free to send them along, and I’ll try to answer them in future newsletters (newsletter@fanstratics.com). Please keep in mind, it may take at least 7 days before I reply.



This month, I have seven initial questions, including a COVID wrap-up, followed by part three of the lengthy interview I did with Tavern of Might and Magic.



Until next time.





Greg

Fanstratics Game Director & Designer





*****



(Questions, Answers & Comments)



Fanstratics Faction #2: Stoutbluds.

Our second faction may be a touch surprising to some. They are the Stoutbluds; a largely Dwarven faction, persisting within vast metropolitan civilizations, on and under wintery Alpine mountains. Long-lived and visionary, these noble craftsmen have a predisposition for runic artifacts and clockwork machinery. Anyone familiar with the ‘Tower’ from HoMM3, will find much in common with this wise, honorable, and enduring faction. Currently, the Troop representing them is the Hammersmith, which can be viewed in the Fanstratics Gallery.



What was the Market of Time, which was cut from HoMM3?

Originally, the Market of Time was called ‘Brigadoon’. It would randomly appear after long periods of time, and for a Day, a Hero could purchase very high value artifacts and very cheap resources. It was ‘cut’ because it required new programming functionality, we were running out of development time, and I was worried players would ‘park’ a Hero at the destination and simply wait for the Market. Also, for the record, it was never a place where Heroes could unlearn Secondary Skills.



Why was the Fear Spell cut from HoMM3?

The Fear spell was ‘cut’ because it was little more than ‘bad morale’ in another form. Later, I thought it was better to convert the mechanic into the Fear ability for the Azure Dragon.



What do you know about unused artifacts from the Shadow of Death: Diplomat’s Suit, Ironfist of the Ogre, and Mired in Neutrality?

By the time New World Computing (NWC) began work on Shadow of Death, I was long gone. So, I can't speak to anything regarding the expansion.



What happened to the Mac Port of HoMM3?

Similar to Shadow of Death, I was long gone from NWC when these ports were undertaken. For instance, there was an attempt to port HoMM3 to Dreamcast. I didn't know it existed until earlier this year. As to Ubisoft, I have never worked for them in any capacity, and they have never reached out to me for any reason. So, I can't say why they do one thing and avoid another. I will say this... if they could make reasonable money from it... only office politics or incompetence would prevent it.



Do you happen to know the situation with the HD release? Is there any chance whatsoever that an HD version of the full Heroes III Complete might ever appear?

As to the HD release, Ubisoft claims to have lost the original source code for the Armageddon's Blade expansion, hence the reason there is no HD version of Complete. This does puzzle me. If they let someone like myself, or David Mullich, rummage through their archives, we might be able to dig it up, but there's no guarantee. Personally, I'd work something out with the guys who made VCMI, but as I just stated... if they could make reasonable money from it... only office politics or incompetence would prevent it.



I’m curious about your COVID experience. My symptoms were few and only lasted a couple weeks, but I’ve had friends who stayed in bed for more than a month. Is your experience mild or severe?

I know this is not game related, but it is relevant to the present day. So...



On the day before my birthday, I fell ill with earaches and the inability swallow without intense pain. Initially, I suspected strep throat, as it was going around, but a quick five minute test, at a nearby clinic, produced a negative result.



My doctor wanted me tested for COVID, and a couple days later, I took another quick test. Two days after, my COVID test came back positive.



For the next five weeks, I took a handful of vitamins every eight hours, and lived on Aleve and Excedrin (not at the same time). I had almost every symptom: fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle aches, headaches, loss of taste, sore throat, lack of appetite, and brain fog. Of these symptoms, fatigue and lack of appetite were the worst. It created a vicious cycle; I’m tired and not hungry... which leads to be being even more tired with even further diminished appetite. It’s difficult to put into words, especially the oppressive weight of the fatigue.



I had no energy for work, and when I did muster the strength for thirty to sixty minutes... I couldn’t focus. Browsing the web... watching a movie... quickly gave me splitting headaches. On the day Cyberpunk 2077 released, I made an effort to play, and after thirty minutes, I’d acquired a raging headache and queasiness.



In the end, I spent most of my time... existing. I began to wonder if I had ‘Long COVID’, which is measured in months, not weeks. It was demoralizing, and if it wasn’t for family and friends, I’m not sure how I would have managed.



Thankfully, on Day 1 of Week 6, I began to feel less miserable, and by Day 1 of Week 7, I was feeling relatively normal. Presently, I’m still working my way back, and experience bad days and good days.





****



Tavern of Might and Magic

2019.02.28

Questions 24-34, of 58



This interview was conducted by Tavern of Might and Magic and GoodGame.ru, and published on February 28th, 019, the 20th Anniversary of HoMM3. It’s a very long interview, almost 60 questions, and delves deep into unresolved lore, as well as other common questions. I’ll be posting between 10 to 15 questions per Newsletter, until we reach the end, after which we will roll into another interview. Below are questions 24 to 34, of 58.



24. What was the conclusion of Seeds of Discontent, the secret campaign from The Restoration of Erathia? There’s a reference campaign in Archibald’s diary in the MM7 manual (perhaps my seed of discontent will grow in these ‘disputed lands’; that also implies that he was somehow involved in the events per his plans to stir up tensions between Erathia and AvLee), but other than that, the game doesn’t mention the events of Seeds of Discontent at all. It indirectly suggests -- in that the lands between Erathia and AvLee are still being disputed -- that the rebels failed to make the Contested Lands independent. Can you provide more details on the outcome of Seeds of Discontent? How was Archibald involved, if at all? What is the eventual fate of Faruk Welnin? Was Ryland severely reprimanded for basically going against AvLee?
The purpose of the Seeds of Discontent campaign, aside from being the ‘secret’ campaign, was to showcase the ‘upgrade a town’ victory condition. There was no planned ‘official’ story conclusion for the campaign.

So, like many lore threads, we laid down enough story to satisfy the design requirements, then left the various elements to be possibly picked up by someone else at a later time. This occurred when the MM7 team decided to give Archibald an undefined ‘behind the scenes’ role in the Seeds of Discontent. So, yes, Archibald did play a role in the Contested Lands becoming independent.

In my opinion, as to the conclusion of the Seeds of Discontent, upon making Welnin the Capital in the campaign, the Contested Lands became their own kingdom. Despite the rebels declaring independence, this does not mean Erathia and AvLee acknowledged this reality. It is one thing to declare independence. It is another to remain independent. As for Faruk Welnin and Ryland, their fates were left unresolved, again, to be possibly picked up by someone else at a later time.


25. MM7 focuses on Harmondale – a town and castle in the Contested Lands that has been a key point of human-elven disputes since the Timber Wars, changing hands numerous times. The negotiations to divide Harmondale and other Contested Lands between Erathia and AvLee is a crucial plot point and choice in the game. Harmondale itself can become a small indepenent kingdom, or come under the control of either side. It is established in Armageddon’s Blade that Brandis Fairweather was chosen to be the Arbiter, thus making it clear that the Path of Light in MM7 is canon. Other than Gelu asking Judge Fairweather for advice, Harmondale is unrelated to AB’s plot – the Erathia-Eeofol war never reaches it, with Catherine holding the Kreegan off, and the lords of Harmondale were most likely in an expedition to other planets per MM7’s canonical ending. Thus, no clear indication is given about Harmondale’s political status. The campaign shows that at least some of the Contested Lands, like the Moss Valley near Eeofol’s border, belong to Erathia (which fits with all three outcomes, since the majority of the Contested Lands are divided between the two kingdoms anyway), but nothing is directly said about Harmondale. Lucifer calls Xenofex’s killers those heroes from Erathia, but that can easily be taken as him talking about the heroes place of origin, not their affiliation at the time. Was there a canonical outcome of the choice regarding Harmondale, or was it left entirely up in the air for players’ interpretation and potential further use of any option?
To my knowledge, there was no canonical outcome regarding Harmondale. This was strictly a MM7 thing, and I suspect, purposefully left open ended for player interpretation.


26. A small bit about Harmondale and Welnin. Two maps -- one of HoMM3 promotional images and a map from MM’s strategy guide – mark Welnin as a region, thus implying that the name is also used for the area around the town. In MM7 one of NPCs is mentioned as living in a small village in Welnin, just south of the city of Harmondale, and there’s Welnin Cathedral in Harmondale. Are the two towns located rather close to each another?
This is a tough one. I would reference the following maps.

World of Enroth (https://bit.ly/2Viv6oC)
Map of Antagarich (https://bit.ly/2AmbN4O)
Contested Lands (campaign) (https://bit.ly/2EVzPYa)

The Map of Antagarich, the one with the Chinese characters, is essentially the map the MM7 team used when they started work on MM7. On this map, you can see within Erathia, three smaller regions colored redish-purple. These were The Contested Lands.

Welnin was supposed to be a town, later converted into the capitol of The Contested Lands. When the campaign was created, there was no formal location for Welnin. The Contested Lands campaign map clearly shows it belongs in the upper region, but there is no specific spot indicated within this region.

When MM7 was created, the MM7 team placed both Harmondale and Welnin for their own purposes. At this point in time, unless you can reach Paul Rattner or Tim Lang for contrary information, I would run with the World of Enroth map showing Harmondale and Welnin almost parallel to one another. As for the NPC from MM7, I would disregard the line of dialog. It feels like a continuity error to me.


27. MM 6-7 and HoMM3 have several mentions of Phynaxia, a nation that was part of Erathia, but later became independent, forming the Phynaxian Empire. Phynaxia was located to the south of what is now the Contested Lands (thus placing it in the area of Grainrich, Fire Coast and Rionpoint), and Erathia expanding it’s borders beyond Phynaxia was the cause of the Timber Wars. The date of the rise of Phynaxian Empire in the steppes of southern Erathiai is a year after the end of the Timber Wars. Was Erathia and AvLee being weakened after over a century of warfare what triggered Phynaxia becoming independent and rising to power? Considering that Phynaxia fell to the elves, has Avleeans settlers (the ones that we fight in the first Inferno mention of Dungeons and Devils; Ryland is one of them) arrived in Rionpoint around that time, or was that unrelated?
This is another tough one.

After the Timber Wars, I think is it is safe to assume the armies of Erathia and AvLee were relatively depleted. Under these conditions, you would have an obvious power vacuum, into which Phynaxia would attempt to rise. Under any other circumstances, I couldn’t imagine Phynaxia standing against healthy armies from either Erathia or AvLee.

As to Avleean settlers, again, I think you make a reasonable assumption. I see no reason why elvish settlers would not expand from Phynaxia, into other nearby areas, after it fell.


28. Was Rionpoint named after Rion Gryphonheart, the founder of Erathia? Was it the region from which he hailed or the one from which he started to unite the humans or something else?
To my knowledge, this was never specified, but it is logical to assume Rionpoint was named after Rion Gyrphonheart.


29. Edric’s bio says: Edric's father was the first man in Erathia to domesticate and train a wild Griffin. Now, Edric continues what his father started by setting up Erathia's largest Griffin breeding grounds for use in the King's armies. However, a campaign texts says that the aforementioned first King Gryphonheart tamed the griffins and trained them for war, eventually uniting the divergent human colonies into Erathia. I guess it is a mistake in Edric’s bio and it was instead an ancestor of his who was the first man to tame a griffin, is that correct?
This appears to be a continuity error created by a lack of research or simple miscommunication. It happens. Were I to correct it, your solution, specifying an ‘ancestor’ would be appropriate.


30. Sephinroth is introduced in The Restoration of Erathia and described in her bio as the only known woman ever to bear the title of warlock. In MM7, which takes place after RoE, there are female warlocks in Nighon. From the lore standpoint, it means that by the time of MM7, the warlocks have admitted more female members into their ranks. Can you tell us more about this development?
I cannot. This is really a question for the designers of MM7.


31. Did you have ideas on what Vokial’s kingdom was, where it's located and what is its current status?
In the course of production, assistant designers routinely create dangling ‘story hooks’. These ‘hooks’ are purposely laid down to later be picked up by the creator of the hook, or someone else. Vokial’s biography was written by Christian Vanover. After HoMM3 shipped, Christian moved onto Legends of Might and Magic, and Vokial’s story was left untold.


32. The Forest Guard is described as having been Erathia's eyes and ears for centuries. It is also distinct from the rest of Erathian military in that it has worked together with the forces of AvLee numerous, even admitting Avleeans to fight in their ranks. Was the Forest Guard formed before, during or after the Timber Wars?
This is a tough one. I remember creating the Forest Guard, but do not remember at what point in the timeline they were conceived. Do not hold me to this, but if I recall correctly, they were created during the Timber Wars, specifically to counter the elves of AvLee. Later, after the Timber Wars, Forest Guard evolved and became a general purpose ‘special forces’ group.


33. There is a scenario map in SoD called Adventures of Jared Haret. In it, the eponymous explorer, Jared Haret the Knight, return from an expedition into subterranean tunnels under a lake to find his castle in the highlands (snowy landscape on the map) captured by the neighboring wizard. Scenarios in Heroes, with only a few exceptions, usually depict some 'random' world without any connection to the main setting. Is this the case with AoJH, or could it take place in the game's world? On the Erathian-Bracadan border, for instance.
I did not work on SoD, and cannot speak specifically to AoJH, but in general, individual single player scenarios were considered isolated creations. However, as you point out, there are exceptions.

Typically, these exceptions had to do with individual Map Makers and the unique storylines they created and pursued. In these instances, as long as what they created did not interface with the over arching story goals, it was permitted.


34. Can you tell us some additional details on Gelu's background and potential eventual fate you and/or Marcus Pregent created.
Unfortunately, there really is nothing more to tell. What few ideas I had in mind were thrown away and never developed when the Forge was cut, and there was no long term plan beyond the second expansion. Marcus may have had some ideas, but we never discussed them.

Тезисно:
На сей раз инфы по проекту вообще нет за исключением "дежурной" - концепта юнита и краткого описания фракции. Остальное - про мелкие детали трёшки, сюжетные замуты и то, как он переболел короной.
Юнит тролль-ведьма. Скорее всего - представитель болотной фракции. Теперь уже можно точно утверждать, что болото планируется, и как по мне это плюс. Сам по себе юнит тоже любопытный.
Описанная фракция - пятёрочные гномы с чертами троечной Башни. Это ИМХО минус, даже двойной - переняли плохое решение из пятёрки и одновременно запороли классический троечный город.

Итого по фракциям. Имеем людей, гномов, лес, варваров, нежить и болото. Башни как отдельного города уже 99% не будет. Из классики остаются варлоки (в том или ином виде) и демоны. Итого - 8, а заявлено 9. Учитывая, что особой экзотики ждать не стоит - оставшаяся фракция либо переосмысленные маги (возможно с уклоном в пустынно-восточную тему или с чертами Конфлюкса), либо вариация на тему моря (автор с Хотой знаком, так что вполне возможно).

[Mefista]

Описанная фракция - пятёрочные гномы с чертами троечной Башни. Это ИМХО минус, даже двойной - переняли плохое решение из пятёрки и одновременно запороли классический троечный город.

Это не просто вот это, это Генерик Фэнтези самого низшего пошиба. От и до. Включая даже стимпанковые хрени.
Да и болото, так как это тролль - ведьма, будет понадерг с варика, по ходу дела.
И да, я вот с ужасом ожидаю темных эльфов.

[WarZealot]

Никогда не перестану удивляться странному отношению к дварфам здесь. Отдельные фракции людей и эльфов вообще никого никогда не смущали, как только речь заходит о дварфах - сразу истерика.
То что их в пятёрке так лениво реализовали - проблема пятёрки, а не самого концепта. Горные кланы передают привет.
Раз уж заявлен синтез с башней, предполагаю, что могут появиться горгульи (возможно, големы), механические драконы, великаны, те же гремлины - есть, в общем, чем лайнап интересно забить

А ведьма классная.

[Haart of the Aby...]

Это не просто вот это, это Генерик Фэнтези самого низшего пошиба. От и до. Включая даже стимпанковые хрени.

Фууу, дженерик фентези. Что дальше? Тупая монголо-викингская орава гоблинов, орков и ещё трёх вариантов той же идеи, живущих в юртах и глинобитных хатах? Добрая феечка™ с доброй магией, в Самом Белом Замке™ и с единорогяшами?

Да и болото, так как это тролль - ведьма, будет понадерг с варика, по ходу дела.

Ну да, с него, конечно. Не с VCMI же, и тем более не со скандинавских мифов. Вон и сама троллиха как на варкрафтовских похожа.

Имеем людей, гномов, лес, варваров, нежить и болото. Башни как отдельного города уже 99% не будет. Из классики остаются варлоки (в том или ином виде) и демоны.

Судя по тому, что всё-таки имеют место креативные перетасовки, а не востребованное фанатами даже в этой теме копирование 1 в 1 старых идей — проект провалится варлоки тоже могут оказаться с кем-то синтезированы (у них и так никогда особо чётко выделяемой сути не было, давайте честно-то). Будет прикольно и олдскульно, если нежить сделают не 100% нежитью, а как раз варлоками-с-нежитью-в-лайнапе.

[hommer]

Никогда не перестану удивляться странному отношению к дварфам здесь. Отдельные фракции людей и эльфов вообще никого никогда не смущали, как только речь заходит о дварфах - сразу истерика.
То что их в пятёрке так лениво реализовали - проблема пятёрки, а не самого концепта. Горные кланы передают привет.

Сколько ни видел дварфов в играх - везде скукотища. В пятёрке ещё не самый худший вариант, кстати - там хоть дракон немного разбавляет общую унылость.

Будет прикольно и олдскульно, если нежить сделают не 100% нежитью, а как раз варлоками-с-нежитью-в-лайнапе.

Думаю, с нежитью он не будет настолько оригинальничать - всё-таки, это одна из культовых фракций, и эксперименты с ней чреваты.
Вот демоны - другое дело, пара-тройка их представителей вполне может оказаться в рядах армии чернокнижников. Тем более, что каноничных криган один фиг не будет.