Heroes of Might and Magic 5

[Nostromo]

Its in the works, and it looks good. The graphics remind me of WoW.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/...icv/index.html

Ubisoft will be showing off the next game in the Heroes of Might and Magic strategy series at E3 2005. Heroes V will be the first game in the series that is not developed by the now-defunct New World Computing. Instead, this new game is in development at Nival Interactive, the Russian studio responsible for such games as Silent Storm and Etherlords. Like its forebears, Heroes V will be a colorful turn-based strategy game that takes place in a high-fantasy world of griffins, knights, and dragons. However, unlike any other Heroes game before it, Heroes V will be a fully 3D game. That's right; the next game in the series will use 3D polygonal graphics to represent its lush overland environments, its huge towns, and its many hero and monster units.

We were able to watch a very brief gameplay demonstration that revealed a number of details about Heroes V. To begin with, we saw an early version of what a fully upgraded town will look like for the "human" faction (apparently the new name for the original castle/knight faction). These developed towns will have a huge central castle surrounded by familiar structures like a griffin aerie and mage towers, while less-developed towns will appear as just that, even on the overland map. The 3D graphics will come complete with a 3D camera that will let you zoom in on various features on the overland map, such as waterwheel mills, which, like in the previous games, will yield resources when captured but will also spring to life and become animated once you or someone else has claimed them.

From what we've seen so far, overland map exploration in Heroes V will be very similar to what it was in previous games. You'll lead your hero's army across the land on a path lit by a series of green arrows, which will mark the extent of your reach this turn. You'll be able to recover artifacts, such as a pair of magic shackles, and pick up treasure chests full of gold that can be added to your coffers or donated to the local peasantry in exchange for bonus experience. Gaining enough experience, either through recovering treasure or being victorious in battle, will let your hero character gain a level and learn an additional skill, including classic skills like pathfinding and mastery of different schools of magic, along with new skills that have not yet been revealed.

Of course, the heart of the Heroes series is combat, and while the battles will be staged with colorful 3D graphics, they seem like they'll retain the spirit of the classic Heroes games. We were able to witness a battle between the human faction and the inferno faction (the demons from Heroes III). The demonstration we saw took place on an open field map, and, according to Ubisoft's Fabrice Cambounet, the game will let you place hex squares on the map to track your units' movement. Also, combat will continue to be about strategic decision making, unit placement, and matching up the strengths and weaknesses of different units against each other. On the battlefield, we were able to see traditional inferno creatures, like nightmares and devils in action, along with traditional castle/knight units like cavalry, griffins, and archangels. Top-level units like archdevils and archangels seem just as devastatingly strong as they were in previous games. This particular battle was won by the humans. The archangels mopped up after the battle was over, but at the very end, a skeletal dragon swooped down on the battlefield for some reason and decimated the survivors. Cambounet suggests that unpredictable events like this will take place in Heroes, which should make battles even more interesting.

Other details about Heroes V remain sparse at this time. There will be a total of six playable factions in the game, including the humans, the inferno, and four other factions, which, according to Cambounet, will include some that "should be familiar to fans of the Heroes series," as well as one all-new faction. Siege combat--that is, battles waged in and around towns--will apparently take place on very large maps and will look "very impressive." The team is also planning to add in an optional, alternate setup for combat that will resemble the "timed initiative" system of most console role-playing games, in which each unit will have a continuously filling time meter and will be able to move or attack once its meter is full. Cambounet also made sure to point out that the game will have the highly requested feature of hotseat support, as well as an all-new mode that will apparently let you play through a session in 15 to 20 minutes (though exactly how isn't yet clear). Heroes V is scheduled for release later this year. Stay tuned to GameSpot for more updates from E3.

[snoopy369]

Bah ... i'm just waiting for MMX. (Yes, i may be waiting a long time ... sigh ...)

[Ben Kenobi]

Wow, that's a gorgeous game.

[General Ludd]

Wow, the first HoMM game since the second to have decent graphics. But you're right, some of the units have characterists that make them look like they've been ripped out of Warcraft 3. Which isn't a good thing, in my opinion. Warcraft 3 has very distinct graphics, and any resemblance to them would seem like an attempt to associate with the game in some way - and there's no reason for HoMM to want to do that.

[vmxa1]

Late 2006 so far away.

[Ben Kenobi]

Better that than to put out quickly like the latest two; HOMM 3 and 4 were worse than HOMM 2.

And they'd better have strong Vampire Lords again.

[Jamski]

I'm imagining that archangel with its wings beating and the sword flaming... drool...

[Sandman]

You can really tell it's a French game with the smooth lines and pastel shades.

Nice

I hope they bring back unique hero specialties. And Orrin.

Edit: It's being made by a Russian developer.. duh.

[DarkCloud]

Looks more like fable than warcraft.

Looks more like an adventure game than a top down management game.

Looks ugly to me.

And by those shots it seems they're focusing on a smaller world- I liked HOMM I-III's worldwide focus- these ones show farms, etc. I'd rather fight on a top-down battlefield with an eagles eye view.

But at least the mechanics seem better than HOMM IV's. And the graphics, while still unsuitable for a top-down command TBS game, are better than HIV's. So perhaps it's promising.

Anyways- etherlords was at least a good game under the hood- even though its graphics were far too busy.

[Bkeela]

3D is overated. I'm probably one of the few people here who has zero interest in the direction Civ is heading.

[Barinthus]

drool looks nice

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by DarkCloud
Looks more like fable than warcraft.

Looks more like an adventure game than a top down management game.

Looks ugly to me.

And by those shots it seems they're focusing on a smaller world- I liked HOMM I-III's worldwide focus- these ones show farms, etc. I'd rather fight on a top-down battlefield with an eagles eye view.

But at least the mechanics seem better than HOMM IV's. And the graphics, while still unsuitable for a top-down command TBS game, are better than HIV's. So perhaps it's promising.

Anyways- etherlords was at least a good game under the hood- even though its graphics were far too busy.

Let's be honest though, you are strange.

IIRC this game qualifies under your rules as a 'shooter'.

[Kuciwalker]

Pretty.

[Theben]

HOMM4 was 'pretty' as well, and the gameplay sucked.

Hopefully this one will have a competent AI.

[General Ludd]

Originally posted by Theben
HOMM4 was 'pretty' as well.

No it wasn't.

[Theben]

That's why it's in quotes.

[General Ludd]

It also happens to be the subject of a comparison.

Or where you trying to say that you didn't like the graphics shown for HoMM5?

[Theben]

Im saying that graphics alone wont save HOMM5.

[vmxa1]

Maybe we can't say Homm4 was pretty, but the graphics looked better than previous ones.

I am not fond of 3d, but will wait and see.

[General Ludd]

Originally posted by vmxa1
Maybe we can't say Homm4 was pretty, but the graphics looked better than previous ones.

Er, no. HoMM4 had the worst graphics in the series.

I'd rate them as such, from best to worst:

HoMM2
HoMM1
HoMM3
HoMM4

[DrSpike]

It's quite obviously 4, 3, 2, 1. Remember, GL has an odd taste in graphics, as we've seen in the past.

[General Ludd]

Originally posted by DrSpike
It's quite obviously 4, 3, 2, 1. Remember, GL has an odd taste in graphics, as we've seen in the past.

4's graphcis where bland, blocky, and awkward. 3's graphics where just bland, 2's was comparitevly rich and vibrant and 1's was on par with 4 and 3, despite being much older.

[DrSpike]

A case in point.

[General Ludd]

HoMM1:

All things considered, the graphics aren't that bad for it being the oldest of the bunch.

HoMM2:

The graphics in HoMM2 had an appealing softness to them and a lush pallet that gave it life.


HoMM3 had similiar graphics to the secod one, but it lost the soft vibrance that made HoMM2 so appealing.


HoMM4 had some potential, but there was a great number of things that stuck out like a sore thumb, such as towns that where a collection of clean-cut generic buildings with no detail and monstrously awkward block-walls. (and not to mention the ocasional graphic ripped out of one of the previous games and ploped down in a completely new graphical environment)

[Kuciwalker]

I agree with Ludd

IMO the graphics progress from 1 to 3, but at 4 they take a turn for the worse.

[DrSpike]

Looks like a clear progression to me.

The statement that 1 is better than 4 is simply ludicrous.

[General Ludd]

I give 1 bonus points for when it was made. It's the oldest one and yet still comparable to all the others.

[Urban Ranger]

HoMM 4 definitely looks... strange. It doesn't look actually bad, but the various elements just don't fit together.

[Theben]

I will say that HOMM2 had the best soundtrack. There was one terrain... I think it was sand or cracked- that made an excellent eerie background noise. I played it when playing other games that benefitted from such a mood.

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by General Ludd
I give 1 bonus points for when it was made.

You can't really do that now - your statements earlier were absolute statements not statements about graphics relative to the standards of the day.

Originally posted by General Ludd

Er, no. HoMM4 had the worst graphics in the series.

Originally posted by General Ludd

1's was on par with 4 and 3, despite being much older.

I agree 1 and 2 were nice for their time, but that's not the point, and not what you claimed. 4 looks better than 1 period, and you can't credibly claim otherwise.