Heroes of Might & Magic 3

Heroes of Might & Magic 3
Studio	New World Computing Loki Software (Linux)
Publisher	The 3DO Company Loki Software (Linux)
Erstveröffent- lichung	February 28, 1999 June 1, 1999
platform	Windows , Mac OS , Linux , Game Boy Color , Dreamcast
genre	Turn-based strategy game
Game mode	Single player , multiplayer
control	Keyboard , mouse
system advantages preconditions	133 MHz CPU 32 MB RAM 2 MB graphics card 200 MB hard disk
medium	1 CD-ROM
language	German
Current version	Windows: 1.4, Linux: 1.3.1a (2000) 4.100 RC11 (January 16, 2016, unofficial patch HoMM 3 HD ) Heroes of Might & Magic III - HD Edition: Update # 4 (PC) (March 8, 2015) 1.1. 6 (Android) (September 21, 2015) 1.2.0 (iOS) (January 20, 2016)
Age rating	USK

Heroes of Might & Magic 3: The Restoration of Erathia is a turn-based strategy game released by New World Computing in 1999 . The gameplay did not show any significant differences compared to its predecessors, but the game had not only new render graphics with higher color depth, but also numerous smaller improvements and a very large scope. The original version of the game only ran on Windows 95 and newer versions, but it was also ported to the Mac OS , Linux and Sega Dreamcast . Over the course of the following months, New World Computing released the add-on Armageddon's Blade , an expanded version of the main program called The Shadow of Death and finally a bundle Heroes of Might & Magic 3 Complete .

In December 2014, Ubisoft announced an HD remake for PC, Android and iOS, which was released on January 29, 2015. In this it is now possible to play the game with much higher monitor resolutions (HD). The textures have also been adapted to the higher resolutions. So are z. B. the monsters in more detail than was the case in the original version. In terms of content, however, it is about Heroes of Might & Magic 3: The Restoration of Erathia, the extensions have not yet been implemented because the source code could no longer be found.

For some time now, the engine has been re-implemented under the VCMI project. Thanks to the GPLv2 project, many improvements, such as higher resolutions, mod support and multi-platform support (Windows, Linux, Mac OS and Android) have been implemented.

Furthermore, there is an unofficial patch HoMM 3 HD independent of the HD edition , which can display the game in higher resolutions than the regular 800 × 600 pixels. Also some bugs have been fixed.

action

The story takes place on the continent of Antagarich and is only loosely linked to its predecessors. In fact, the story of Roland and Archibald had already been continued in the role-playing game Might & Magic 5 ; in Might & Magic 6 both narrative strands were then brought together again.

The King of Erathia, Nicholas Griffinheart, has been murdered. When his daughter Catherine, who is now married to Roland Eisenfaust, returns, the armies from Nighon and Kreegan have already invaded Erathia. The war worsens when the dead king is resurrected as a Lich by necromancers and also starts an invasion of his homeland. Catherine now declares herself the new queen and must now drive away all attackers and find her father's murderer in order to restore peace.

content

Heroes of Might & Magic 3 offers eight city types and 56 different creatures, almost all of which can be upgraded to a slightly more powerful version. Most of the city types are more or less based on those of their predecessors, but many creatures have been changed or replaced. Each city type is now assigned two hero classes, one of which has stronger power and the other has stronger magic abilities.

• Castle (knight / cleric): Human soldiers such as B. archers, pikemen, and crusaders but also griffins and angels
• Protective wall (ranger / druid): elves, dwarves, centaurs and other forest creatures
• Tower (Alchemist / Wizard): Magical and artificial creatures such as golems, magicians and jinns
• Inferno (possessed / heretic): demons and devil beings
• Necropolis (Death Knight / Necromancer): Undead, such as zombies, vampires and liche
• Dungeon (Overlord / Warlock): harpies, dragons and other monstrosities
• Castle (barbarian / battle mage): Wild creatures such as goblins and ogres
• Fortress (Beast Masters / Witches): Swamp creatures (e.g. lizards, hydras)
• Conflux (elemental magician / level changer): elemental beings such as phoenixes as well as earth, air, water and fire elementals; this city type was in the add-on Armageddon's Blade added

The number of secondary skills, spells and landscape objects has also been increased significantly, and scenarios with up to eight players are now possible. The game is generally more varied and now also allows the integration of quests that the players can or must complete. The total of 128 heroes have different starting talents and special abilities that set them apart from other characters of the same class. Furthermore, each hero has an individual biography, and you generally get a deeper insight into the game world.

The Restoration of Erathia contains six campaigns, but they are all relatively short and part of a common story. The player gradually takes on the role of all warring factions. For the first time, the strongest heroes are also included in later campaign scenarios without losing the experience and character values ​​they have gained.

reception

reviews publication Rating CGW 4.5 / 5 GameSpot 9.1 / 10 IGN 9.0 / 10 Power play 71% Meta-ratings GameRankings 86.74%

Heroes of Might & Magic 3 received mostly good ratings (game rankings : 86.74%).

Extensions

Armageddon's Blade

The add-on , also released in 1999, caused great controversy in advance. In the meanwhile published Might & Magic 6 , villains had rediscovered the futuristic technology of the ancients with which they now wanted to conquer the world. Heroes 3: Armageddon's Blade was to continue this story and introduce a science fiction city ​​type with the "smithy" . After massive protests by fantasy purists , this was rejected again in favor of the Conflux.

In contrast to the main program, the add-on was published exclusively for Windows .

action

The campaigns of Armageddon's Blade tell six independent stories. In the title campaign, the already defeated Kreegans surprisingly gain strength again and plan to set the world on fire with an overpowering sword. To prevent this, Catherine and Roland begin a final campaign with the ranger Gelu. When the war-weary nobility of Erathia gradually withdraws their support, numerous elementals appear to offer them help.

The other five campaigns include the young barbarian Kilgor, who is trying to become King of Krewlod, and the equally power-hungry Mutare, who is looking for the legendary Dragonborn in Nighon.

content

The most important characteristic of Armageddon's Blade is the Elemental Conflux , a ninth type of city that primarily houses elementals. The associated heroes are called level shifters and elementalists. However, many players criticize the Conflux as unimaginative and too strong, which is explained by the fact that the developers only needed a quick replacement for the abandoned forge.

Numerous “neutral” (ie city-independent) creatures were introduced, most of which were already known from Heroes I and II . For the first time since the first part there is a generator for random scenarios, as well as a completely new editor for creating your own campaigns.

The included campaigns only focus on a few heroes, and their story is told in detail in text boxes that appear regularly. This scheme was retained in all later Heroes episodes.

The Shadow of Death

In the spring of 2000 The Shadow of Death appeared , which is a combination of the main program and a second add-on. In addition to all the campaigns and scenarios from The Restoration of Erathia , the new features from Armageddon's Blade , as well as numerous new missions, are included. To the annoyance of the players, however, the new scenarios were not published individually.

The Shadow of Death is compatible with the Armageddon's Blade add-on and, like this one, was released exclusively for Windows . The German sales department switched to Infogrames . Heroes of Might & Magic 3 Complete , which contained all missions from Restoration of Erathia , Armageddon's Blade and The Shadow of Death (but not the Heroes Chronicles ) , was later released in English .

action

The six campaigns of The Shadow of Death form a prequel to The Restoration of Erathia and tell the adventures of the sorceress Gem and the barbarian Crag Hack, who both come from Enroth, as well as the young barbarian Yog and the ranger Gelu, who are all in conflict with the necromancer Sandro. In the course of the campaigns, Sandro comes into possession of overpowering artifacts with which he now wants to conquer all of Antagaric.

content

The Shadow of Death contains all the features of Armageddon's Blade , of which the city type Conflux and the random map generator (and of course the scenarios) can only be activated in combination with the add-on. The few of its own new features include (besides the scenarios) magical terrain and the possibility of combining certain artifacts into a single, very powerful item.

In the Wake of Gods

In the Wake of Gods is an unofficial add-on that fans have programmed with permission from 3DO and are still developing. The add-on is free, but requires Heroes of Might & Magic 3: The Shadow of Death (or Complete ). It expands the game with countless new creatures and other features, so that z. For example, creatures can gain experience and thereby gain additional skills and cities can be demolished. A scripting language is also available, which opens up great possibilities for scenario creators. The new campaigns are partly made in a completely different style than before, which means that many players have problems with them.

Horn of the Abyss

Horn of the Abyss is an unofficial add-on that was first released in 2008 and is still being actively developed. The add-on is also free and is also based on Heroes of Might & Magic 3: The Shadow of Death . The bay was added as a new city type. Otherwise there is a new war machine (the cannon), a new campaign, larger maps, new artifacts, new heroes, new overworld objects and various other improvements. In contrast to In the Wake of Gods , special attention was paid to changing the classic gameplay as little as possible. The extension should be comparable to the official extensions.

Web links

• Heroes of Might & Magic 3 at MobyGames (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Drachenwald - Heroes of Might & Magic 3 - Downloads ( Memento of the original from December 29, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ HoMM 3 HD - changelog
3. ↑ Blog entry about Heroes of Might & Magic III - HD Edition on Steam
4. ↑ Heroes of Might & Magic III - HD Edition in the Google Play Store
5. ↑ Heroes of Might & Magic III - HD Edition in iTunes
6. ↑ Heroes of Might & Magic 3 - HD Edition announced
7. ↑ A special announcement - Ubisoft blog ( Memento of the original from March 11, 2015 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
8. ↑ VCMI Portal ( Memento of the original from August 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
9. ↑ HoMM3 HD ( English ) sites.google.com. February 26, 2011. Retrieved on January 7, 2012: " Description HoMM 3 HD [...] is an addon pack for Heroes of Might and Magic 3 that changes game resolution to any from 800x600 to 4000x4000, adds new functionality and fixes some original bugs. "
10. ^ Robert Coffey: Heroes of Might & Magic III . In: Computer Gaming World . July 1, 1999. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000. Retrieved April 14, 2010.
11. ^ Gamespot : Heroes of Might and Magic III Review
12. ↑ IGN : Heroes of Might & Magic III : If it ain't broke, don't fix it - the Heroes series triumphantly returns
13. ↑ http://www.kultboy.com/index.php?site=t&id=1158
14. ↑ ^{a b} Gamerankings : Heroes of Might & Magic 3