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The year of peak might and magic

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Re: The year of peak might and magic

#51

Post by ethan_smith »

ferguess_k wrote: post #8

As 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…

Check out "Game Programming Patterns" by Robert Nystrom and the GDC Vault for technical deep-dives. For HOMM specifically, the VCMI project (open-source HOMM3 engine) has source code that reveals implementation details like their A* pathfinding and combat AI systems.

Re: The year of peak might and magic

#52

Post by ksec »

GeekyBear wrote: post #5

I 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.

>There aren't many games from that era that are as infinitely replayable.

I think A lot of games from that era were infinitely replayable. Diablo, Sim City. It really is the case we dont made them like that any more. The amount of small details that goes into it. Not just the games itself, but also the packaging, manual and things surrounding.

It is somewhat strange that group of people grow up and start producing in the 90s still have the attention to detail mind set. This is mostly gone in modern Gen Z generation.

Re: The year of peak might and magic

#54

Post by nurettin »

ranprieur wrote: post #41

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 best soundtrack.

Really hard to say, homm3 soundtrack was a true masterpiece.

Re: The year of peak might and magic

#55

Post by IG_Semmelweiss »

nurettin wrote: post #54
ranprieur wrote: post #41

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 best soundtrack. Really hard to say, homm3 soundtrack was a true masterpiece.

I don't know. HoMM2 has some incredible tracks too. And that's despite taking some risks with opera music.

Re: The year of peak might and magic

#56

Post by ktallett »

dfex wrote: post #42
GeekyBear wrote: post #5

I 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.

The story still holds up really well. Plus if you can't deal with the classic graphics there is StarCraft remastered.

Re: The year of peak might and magic

#58

Post by randomNumber7 »

ranprieur wrote: post #41

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.

Heroes IV has a bad design. Your hero can be attacked, so you are forced to pick the warrior class to not get oneshot. You can only have 2 classes and one slot is kinda fixed.

Re: The year of peak might and magic

#59

Post by jajko »

ksec wrote: post #52
GeekyBear wrote: post #5

I 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.

>There aren't many games from that era that are as infinitely replayable. I think A lot of games from that era were infinitely replayable. Diablo, Sim City. It really is the case we dont made them like that any more. The amount of small details that goes into it. Not just the games itself, but also the packaging, manual and things surrounding. It is somewhat strange that group of people grow up and start producing in…

The market has evolved, thats true but you have whole indie scene which is close to those values. Ie for management strategies there is Factorio.

Re: The year of peak might and magic

#60

Post by ferguess_k »

hcs wrote: post #22
ferguess_k wrote: post #8

As 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…

Warren Robinett wrote an interesting one on Atari VCS Adventure http://www.warrenrobinett.com/inventing_adventure/ It doesn't go super deep, he had a more technical book in the works but I haven't heard any updates about it for a while: http://www.warrenrobinett.com/ecv/annotated_adventure_toc/in...

Thanks! This looks really interesting from retro-programming perspective.
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