I agree with the author: Heroes II is my favorite of the series, just for the innocent vibe. Also, Heroes IV is underrated. It got bad reviews because it came out buggy, but the bugs were fixed in updates, and of all the HOMM games, it has the best soundtrack.
The year of peak might and magic
41–50 of 68 posts
Re: The year of peak might and magic
#42I keep a Windows 2000 virtual machine with no network access around just to occasionally play HOMM 3. There aren't many games from that era that are as infinitely replayable. Command and Conquer: Yuri's Revenge and Starcraft come to mind.
Yuri's Revenge never gets old - it's just the right balance of RTS with a bit more of an arcadey feel. Sadly I missed the original Starcraft train (finished Starcraft II), but one of these days I'm going to sit down and work my way through it.
Re: The year of peak might and magic
#43I remember coming across HoMM around 2008, but the published game was nowhere available near where I lived, so I ended up playing a web based clone[0].
Been playing it for around 17 years, and it is still quite fun.
Re: The year of peak might and magic
#44Me and my friends had really been playing M&M 6&7 in 98/99, such fond memories. We had really high hopes for Ultima 9 - which came out in 99, as it looked so much more modern than the M&M games...nope, a total turd. Think I still have the box somewhere in the attic though, that was probably the most impressive thing about the game. M&M8 which came out the year after, was good enough though. That's around the time I s…
Ultima IX was so bad that I stopped playing computer games entirely. 3D worlds just never worked for me. All the story immersion and imagination that I’d loved in the games of my childhood seemed to be gone. (I never cared for Doom either, and then all games somehow became Doom.) The next time I bought a high-end 3D game was over 15 years later. That was Fallout 4. I played 30 minutes and then never returned to it. U…
when you try again in 2030, make sure to get Baldur's Gate 3
Re: The year of peak might and magic
#45I keep a Windows 2000 virtual machine with no network access around just to occasionally play HOMM 3. There aren't many games from that era that are as infinitely replayable. Command and Conquer: Yuri's Revenge and Starcraft come to mind.
Try playing the HD add-on with the HotA (horn of the abyss) espansion! There are 2 new factions now which are well balanced. And, they look beautiful. Its wonderful what a dedicated community can achieve. Kudos to all of them! TIP: if you get the game on GOG. It will run just fine in any modern Windows setup (even MAC OS i believe)
Another vote for the Horn of the Abyss! It is a community pack that keeps the HOMM3 gameplay spirit but adds a lot of minor UI enhancements fixing various pain points.
And if you like insanely complex scenarios, check out HotA user maps on maps4heroes.
Re: The year of peak might and magic
#46World of Xeen was an enchanting experience. The interlocking quests in an open exploration world with a party of characters you could custom select with different attribute strengths, the large spells and weapons compendium, and the music just all came together in a way that no other RPG before or since engrossed me.
Re: The year of peak might and magic
#47As a side (but arguably related) topic: Is there any webpage or book or any media that analyzes the technical aspects of a game? Take HOMM3 as an example -- what are the most difficult technical problems and how did the developers solve them? What are the algorithms that run aspects of the game (e.g. how is path-finding implemented? How is AI implemented?)? What is the architecture of the engine? Does it have a scrip…
You're probably looking for something more detailed and implementation-focused, but Ars Technica had a series of 10 minute videos where they interviewed developers about technical challenges. E.g. they had one on pathfinding and CD video in second generation Westwood RTS games [1]
Re: The year of peak might and magic
#48I don't even play the game. But I value very highly the artwork, the music, the sounds, the whole atmosphere. The endless autumn forests, the castles, the fairy dragons—they all rightfully belong to a museum of baroque art. A game can be a work of art in itself; HoMM III definitely is.
Re: The year of peak might and magic
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I keep a Windows 2000 virtual machine with no network access around just to occasionally play HOMM 3. according to wiki there should be an easier way: Platform(s) Windows, Macintosh, Linux (PowerPC/x86), iOS, Android Release March 3, 1999
The Windows version is no longer compatible with modern Windows versions. The Mac version (I own both) was for PowerPC Macs. I've already paid for it a third time, as part of a HOMM box set for Windows. Good Old Games has produced a fixed version, so I could pay for it a fourth time, but running it in the VM still works.
> Good Old Games has produced a fixed version, so I could pay for it a fourth time
It probably wouldn't cost more than $1, given that you're clearly willing to wait for a sale.
Advertised price right now is $5 with "lowest price in the last 30 days" of $2.50. The bundle of all 8 expansion campaigns shows the same current and recent pricing.
Re: The year of peak might and magic
#50I agree with the author: Heroes II is my favorite of the series, just for the innocent vibe. Also, Heroes IV is underrated. It got bad reviews because it came out buggy, but the bugs were fixed in updates, and of all the HOMM games, it has the best soundtrack.
100% agree, esp. on the soundtrack. I thought I was going crazy when in Witcher 3's Skellige island it started playing the soundtrack from HOMM4. (See Track 14 here: https://youtu.be/F9sG0r_9f4M?t=4400).