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VCMI: Open-Source Engine for Heroes of Might and Magic III

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Re: VCMI: Open-Source Engine for Heroes of Might and Magic III

#31

Post by j1elo »

NiteOwl066 wrote: post #12
baal80spam wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ditto. Just don't confuse it with official Heroes® of Might & Magic® III - HD Edition which is a blatant hackjob/cashgrab from Ubisoft with blurry textures.

I think you are a little bit biased here. Heroes® of Might & Magic® III - HD Edition from ubisoft has one major issue, it's lacking expansions. But the graphics itself is imo better than in hd mod. https://www.gamersgate.com/media/products/product/14687141/s... https://i.imgur.com/i1DNqNp.png The second one is a pic from hd mod. The first one is hd edition.

The HD Edition from Ubisoft looks definitely better, I think it's not even subjective. Just look at that clock tower on the upper-left quarter, the hd mod is not even in the same league. Same with details like the main character, trees, and mummies.

Re: VCMI: Open-Source Engine for Heroes of Might and Magic III

#33

Post by nihilist_t21 »

thriftwy wrote: post #6
theoperagoer wrote: post #2

Heroes II was my personal favorite

There's fheroes2 for that, an open-source port which mirrors most of the features of HoMM3's HD Mod.

This is fantastic! I had no idea this project was a thing. While I love HoMM3 and the HD Mod/HoA, HoMM2 was the one I played first and will always be my favorite.

Re: VCMI: Open-Source Engine for Heroes of Might and Magic III

#34

Post by SantiagoElf »

nathell wrote: post #11

I still spend inordinate amounts of time playing Heroes 3. It’s been a strong procrastination feeder over the decades, but it also gave me a lot of fun! I mostly play HotA in HD Mod these days, but I had used VCMI on Android (with SoD). It’s been a bit rough – the client-server thing that it does would have connection issues, the mechanics differed in subtle ways, etc. But I’m also super grateful that it exists.

Same here. Heroes 3 with HD Mod, but without HotA addiotions.

Tons of fun - usually I start a XXL map with 5 computers, I play Kyrre from Rampart and rush to find first the Dragon Utopia get Town Portal/Dimension door and hunt them down the map.

Re: VCMI: Open-Source Engine for Heroes of Might and Magic III

#35

Post by biggieshellz »

jokethrowaway wrote: post #19
thih9 wrote: post #13

Off topic, I wanted to compare it to the original, wanted to run that in Boxer.app[1] and realized that this software is now unmaintained. That’s unfortunate, it was a nice product with good UX. Also, unapologetically skeuomorphic, like many apps of that era. [1]: http://boxerapp.com/

Dos won't cut it for H3; it's wine territory and wine is a pain to use on mac, as Apple killed it with the move to Catalina

Wine works fine on Mac -- see https://www.reddit.com/r/wine_gaming/comments/1599bm1/does_w... for the Gcenx packages that work.

Re: VCMI: Open-Source Engine for Heroes of Might and Magic III

#36

Post by thriftwy »

bombcar wrote: post #21
thriftwy wrote: post #5

Pro players use HoMM3 HD Mod + HotA addon, which are closed source improvements of the original binaries with solid support for multiplayer action. It has lobby with ladder ratings, simultaneous turns, etc.

Beware that the lobby plays modern H3 multiplayer with very specific rules - watch some YouTube about it before you venture into it. Twenty years has perfected H3 multiplayer to a science of when you do the break on Jebus Cross. And if you don’t know what those mean, you will be in for a sad time.

You may always start humbly with some M maps on 200% difficulty. Then the only actual rule is "don't run away without admitting defeat in a ranked game".

For people who only played HoMM3 20 years ago, Duel type maps may be a pleasant surprise with their lack of micromanagement.

Re: VCMI: Open-Source Engine for Heroes of Might and Magic III

#37

Post by isolli »

Tade0 wrote: post #27
bombcar wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s a few games out there that have absolutely immense fandoms in places unexpected - Heroes III is absolutely HUGE in countries east of the old iron curtain, partially probably because it runs well on older computers but also because it’s one of the best games ever made.

As someone from that region I know the reason: it's the hot seat feature[0]. You only needed one copy of the game and one PC for you and your friends to play together. Every class in school had at least one guy who had his own PC, who often invited friends over to play after class and since commie blocks are particularly walkable, we could all return home on our own. I spent a good chunk of my preteen years like that…

Thanks for sharing. What time was that, if I may ask?

Re: VCMI: Open-Source Engine for Heroes of Might and Magic III

#38

Post by thriftwy »

bombcar wrote: post #16

My personal ranking puts HD Mod above VCMI (currently) but VCMI has some features that HD Mod will likely never enable - because they’re fundamentally game changing. https://sites.google.com/site/heroes3hd/ HD Mod also works with Horn of the Abyss https://heroes3wog.net/horn-of-the-abyss-download/ which is an (pretty successful) attempt to build an unofficial expansion to H3 that has the feel of H3. Anyone who played…

HD Mod also works (albeit in reduced form) with HoMM3: Succession Wars, which is a mod for Heroes III which make them look like Heroes II. It's WIP but it is charming.

https://www.moddb.com/mods/h3sw

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