Hi, let's talk about the Herpes-Free HoMMV demo.

[Sairon]

Okay I played the demo, seemed fairly decent. I hope there's super large maps with tons of shit to control, love those. I hope there's going to be more than just the 3 factions they have on their homepage, or I won't even consider this a complete game.

[schild]

No doubt there will be some super large maps. And three factions really is more than enough considering the amount of shit that goes on.

[Wolf]

When you quit it says how many factions there will be in the retail version. "Master 6 factions and more than 80 creatures... blahblah".

I just want to lan up with my old heroes 3 buddies and play a "quick XL with underground". Those were the times... :P

[Sairon]

6 factions sounds fabulous, sounds like just about the amount they had in the previous games. I don't think 3 would be enough, there's not much more going on in this game than there were in the previous games. There's usually a bunch of expansions coming to these as well, and no doubt will this game also see some expansion love. I think the game will sell pretty decent, the demo is getting a lot of attention.

[Trippy]

It only sends one short data packet (243 bytes) but they SSL encrypt it first.

Still, you get asked "Do you want to help UBI make better games?" to get you to agree to send them data and then it asks you to register and then even though you told them twice to FOAD they still co-opt your network for whatever purpose they want.

At best it's an asshole thing to do.

edit:  So not entirely herpes free.  It's still got an ugly coldsore on it's lip.

MFers. Now I wish I knew x86 assembly so I could debug what those MFers are doing.

[Gong]

The multiplayer of the demo is pretty limited, but you do get the option to see each faction. The downside is that your only choice is what faction. You get a pre-built hero and army to play with, and you'll find out pretty quickly that it's not balanced. It's the "Duel" gametype which is simply a head-to-head combat, there's no city building or land exploration.

I think it's way too early to say the game in general isn't balanced, but it seems much more plausible that these pre-assembled armies aren't particularly balanced. I've been given the impression that in retail, you have a set number of "points" to work with and you can then spend these points to come up with your own combination of units, hero, and spells.

[Strazos]

Just give me an undead-faction hero with good Necromancy skills.

Oh, and Vampires. I love me some Vampies.

[Sky]

He who gets the teleport spell wins.

I try to forget there was a HoMaM IV.

I hope I can build one of my favorite armies: tons of golems backing up a high-level spellcaster. Tanks to soak damage while I AoE and lvl4 debuff the hell out of the enemy.

HoMaM has always been one of my favorite games, I hope the opera music returns.

[Azazel]

I can only find IV around to buy. No luck with III.

Of course, I could always just download the demo of V and try it for myself. But that would involve installing and getting around to playing the thing. Easier to just buy the good games, in a way. Play them "later". So many games, so little time.

[HaemishM]

I never played HoMM. What would it be comparable to?

It's like the old Warlords games, only not as fun. I never liked HoMaM much, played multiplayer hotseat through the first 3 editions. It just never clicked for me.

[schild]

There's a reason 3 and 4 are bundled with the special edition of HoMMV. The original releases probably won't run on modern machines.

[Sky]

Except they will. I've got every game in the series, and I've played III and IV on XP (even though IV is dead to me). I think I've mentioned this before...

Don't buy HoMaM IV. While not a completely wretched game, it's not of the quality of I-III. I liked Etherlords (and Nival in general), so I have hope for V.

[Sairon]

I love the map in HOMM 2 where there's a truckload of black dragons in the middle. Build a decent sized army and max out diplomacy then engage. After you're done in there it's god mode 

[Margalis]

Was Etherlords the one that was kind of like Magic: TG? If so I remember the demo was pretty neat.

[Strazos]

There's a reason 3 and 4 are bundled with the special edition of HoMMV. The original releases probably won't run on modern machines.

I have the Complete version of III, and it runs fine. Don't know if that qualifies as an "original release."

So once again, no Starforce on this baby? I could Really use an updated version of my lovely HeroesIII.

[Sky]

The demo won't run on my boot camped mac mini. Get the main screen, but it crashes after the loading screen for the campaign. I bet it's a 3d problem, though the main screen 3d displayed fine. Maybe VRAM related.

Have to admit I'm kinda glad it won't run. Should get the macbook pro in next week, should try it on that.

[Trippy]

The demo won't run on my boot camped mac mini. Get the main screen, but it crashes after the loading screen for the campaign. I bet it's a 3d problem, though the main screen 3d displayed fine. Maybe VRAM related.

Have to admit I'm kinda glad it won't run. Should get the macbook pro in next week, should try it on that.

Not surprising given how gimpy the Intel GMA950 "GPU" is.

Edit: fixed typo

[Sky]

Great for 2d!



(It's just my work machine, not meant for gaming. Figured I'd give it a shot, since Eve ran great on our miniDells)

[Trippy]

Great for 2d!

At least it supports Core Image for all those wizbang Aqua/Quartz effects which the Radeon 9200 in the PowerPC Mini didn't.

[Descended]

The demo holds much promise.  The things I really liked about HoMM3 (fun maps to explore, interesting combinations of units/abilities/spells in turn based/grid combat, and the slow progression of new heroes into unstopable forces) are there, with improvements.  The map is sufficiently upgraded visually to match the six or eight years it has been since HoMM3 came out, but retains enough of the style elements of the HoMM3 maps to invite nostalgia.  The combat has some nice improvements, like damage predictions on mouseovers, and, I believe, units no longer move in a fixed sequence -- higher initiative means being able to take more turns, or somat.  The hero abilities look to have been given a nice redo; for example, I didn't see Logiistics or Pathfinding, which were so overpowered you were a moron not to take them when they became available.

The interface in the city and menus does lag for me, even after I did some graphic options adjustment, but seems good out in the map or in combat.

[schild]

Yes, the GIANT GIANT GIANT cities kind of bother me. I'm the type of guy that would rather click on districts than iconic buttons. It's just more immersive for me. Trying to find all the districts in Dis was a monstrous pain in the ass.

[Sairon]

The hero abilities look to have been given a nice redo; for example, I didn't see Logiistics or Pathfinding, which were so overpowered you were a moron not to take them when they became available.

They're both still there alright.

[Wolf]

The hero abilities look to have been given a nice redo; for example, I didn't see Logiistics or Pathfinding, which were so overpowered you were a moron not to take them when they became available.

They're both still there alright.

Yup the custom map is unfinishable on higher difficulties without expert logistics due to the retartedness that is 1 Town = 1 Hero.

[Strazos]

Bah, I can't have multiple heroes early in the game anymore? W T F?

I use to have heroes for the sole purpose of ferrying my new units along in a chain up to my main guys.

[sigil]

Bah, I can't have multiple heroes early in the game anymore? W T F?

I use to have heroes for the sole purpose of ferrying my new units along in a chain up to my main guys.

The custom game has the tavern disabled.

Is the adventrue map spell on that mission selected from a pool?  I was able to use the Summon monster ability to ferry each weeks batch from Dis, while I spent my time topside farming the renewbale hotspots like the windmill and various towers. I haven't tried another game to see. I'm sold on this, and will wait for release to pick it back up.

[Sky]

One thing about IV that was decent was the ability to have units move independent of heroes. Of course, that also led to some lame gameplay aspects, too...but at least it solved the "Taxi Hero" thing.

I'm not even bothering with the demo, Nival+HoMaM=SkyBuy.

[Wolf]

Bah, I can't have multiple heroes early in the game anymore? W T F?

I use to have heroes for the sole purpose of ferrying my new units along in a chain up to my main guys.

The custom game has the tavern disabled.

Is the adventrue map spell on that mission selected from a pool?  I was able to use the Summon monster ability to ferry each weeks batch from Dis, while I spent my time topside farming the renewbale hotspots like the windmill and various towers. I haven't tried another game to see. I'm sold on this, and will wait for release to pick it back up.

I read somewhere that there is a 1 town, 1 hero rule. I thought it was here, obviously not. I don't might be mistaken. I just ran like a crazy person and when I finally engaged the other guy I was back at least 2 weeks on his unit count. But I owned him due to my awesomness.

[sigil]

2 heroes may contribute to a towns defense.

[MrHat]

Gold!

I am joyus.

[Strazos]

Soo....is there a way to get me my units every week, or no?

Not being able to get my units would suck....a lot.

[Sairon]

Soo....is there a way to get me my units every week, or no?

Not being able to get my units would suck....a lot.

There's a spell for summoning units from a town to a hero if that's what you mean.

[Strazos]

So, I don't even need multiple heroes, and it's Starforce free?

Excellent.