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| Thread: Announcing: Heroes IV ULTIMATE |  This thread is pages long: 1 2 3 4 5 · «PREV / NEXT» |
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BrucknerHun
Hired Hero
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posted June 07, 2021 04:17 PM |
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Balance ideas
Hi all !
I am here again, and i would like to say some balance ideas of mine, because i am very interseted in this project!! 
First suggestions, that if we will get a recruitable Megadragon, it should be nerfed heavily, because it is way too op. Such as I would like to reduce HP a lot like, to have around 600-650 HP, abilities and other stats is ok.
Secondly, I would like to reduce the Dark Champion Terror spell to just only ONE use. Because it is op, if this creature has more.
Ok, thats all. But I will have two more question: First when will be the release date, secondly how this new recruit system will work ( I mean, that you said, that in this mod, you can recruit other creatures, wich you cannot build in the city)?
But yes, I am very happy with the work and enthusiasm of Nimostar, as this game brings back a lot of good memories !! Kepp up the good work guys!!!
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NimoStar
Responsible
Legendary Hero
Modding the Unmoddable
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posted June 08, 2021 03:29 AM |
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What about the AI, Homm4 Achilles' heel?
For the campaigns I have given AI certain pre-conquered mines, that should get it some improvement since the AI apparently can't use the market, resulting in extremely inefficient building.
For normal maps, I am not an AI editor, but people have been enhancing the AI with a variety of tools including scripts, and some automated by Iliveinabox.
Several challenging custom made maps vs the computer are included.
Some of these scripts I made myself are giving the enemy hero +1000 exp every certain time, or giving them extra artifacts. In campaign this also applies, since some enemies were exceedingly easy to defeat and have been upgraded.
As for the hardcoded AI itself, sadly this requires very low-level programming which is not available at this time, but in the future, who knows.
Quote:
Balance ideas
Hi all !
I am here again, and i would like to say some balance ideas of mine, because i am very interseted in this project!!
First suggestions, that if we will get a recruitable Megadragon, it should be nerfed heavily, because it is way too op. Such as I would like to reduce HP a lot like, to have around 600-650 HP, abilities and other stats is ok.
Secondly, I would like to reduce the Dark Champion Terror spell to just only ONE use. Because it is op, if this creature has more.
Ok, thats all. But I will have two more question: First when will be the release date, secondly how this new recruit system will work ( I mean, that you said, that in this mod, you can recruit other creatures, wich you cannot build in the city)?
But yes, I am very happy with the work and enthusiasm of Nimostar, as this game brings back a lot of good memories !! Kepp up the good work guys!!!
Thanks for the warmth bruckner, Enthusiasm is always appreciated.
Greatest Mod has a recruitable Megadragon in the new Nature town:
https://www.moddb.com/mods/greatest-mod/downloads/greatest-mod-v18-full-release-test
Indeed, it's nerfed to 850 HP, you only get one per week, and it's a berserk unit that may wreck your own army with its breath, and it's also very expensive (double Black Dragon) so there are definitely some downsides for getting "The ultimate weapon".
In the future, Greatest Mod will be updated with new technologies to reduce game instability.
However, in the current Ultimate Mod no creatures in towns are switched (not even in Creature Portal), so the recruitable Megadragon (same as the Sea Monster and Mermaid) can only be gotten in external dwellings. Much as the external dwelling of Azure dragon in H4, this will only appear if the player/mapmaker so configures it, which means it's not a balance concern for towns.
As for the Dark Champion, yes, I have reduced it to one use on base. However, it also has mana drain, so every four turns it should be able to cast it once again. On the other hand, Dark Champion abilities besides Terror have been changed, so do take a look on release. Again, however, this is a neutral unit in Ultimate (unlike Greatest Mod), as such is not 100% crucial that it's as balanced as creatures in towns, because it will only appear when the creator intents. They no longer regenerate, though (that's the Hydra now. Hydra heads are suppossed to regrow).
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Never changing = never improving
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boho
Hired Hero
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posted June 09, 2021 01:58 AM |
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I picked up H4 again and am re-discovering the great writing and... interesting AI.
I don't know the history of attempts to improve the H4 AI, but has helping the AI cheat its way through Quick Combat with neutrals been tried? The AI seems to play pretty normally, but loses units hand over fist while creeping - I'd assume because it uses Quick Combat which is notoriously awful. I'd be curious to see how it'd perform if it only lost 5 or 10% of the units it normally does when it fights neutrals.
I'd assume that'd require digging around at a very low level to modify it as described, but is it possible to emulate that via scripts just to test it? Has that ever been tried?
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iliveinabox05
Honorable
Famous Hero
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posted June 09, 2021 02:41 AM |
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boho said:
I picked up H4 again and am re-discovering the great writing and... interesting AI.
I don't know the history of attempts to improve the H4 AI, but has helping the AI cheat its way through Quick Combat with neutrals been tried? The AI seems to play pretty normally, but loses units hand over fist while creeping - I'd assume because it uses Quick Combat which is notoriously awful. I'd be curious to see how it'd perform if it only lost 5 or 10% of the units it normally does when it fights neutrals.
I'd assume that'd require digging around at a very low level to modify it as described, but is it possible to emulate that via scripts just to test it? Has that ever been tried?
The writing certainly is good! Definitely one of the things I enjoy most about H4.
As far as helping the AI cheat, yes, reducing the neutrals when encountered by AI definitely helps them lose significantly less of their army.
There is also showing the entire map to the AI so they don't have to explore, giving them additional resources, giving AI heroes additional XP, and other things that can enhance the AI.
The H4 Advanced Options Map Editor allows you to set these things and apply these events / scripts to any map of your choice.
Just posted the thread for it here.
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thGryphn
Promising
Famous Hero
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posted June 10, 2021 07:33 PM |
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@Nimostar, is there a list of new creature stats?
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NimoStar
Responsible
Legendary Hero
Modding the Unmoddable
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posted June 10, 2021 08:36 PM |
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thGryphn said:
@Nimostar, is there a list of new creature stats?
Full changelog with full release, there is a list, yes.
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Never changing = never improving
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Romanov77
Known Hero
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posted June 13, 2021 09:40 AM |
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Will the campaigns rework be available of release, or later?
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NimoStar
Responsible
Legendary Hero
Modding the Unmoddable
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posted June 13, 2021 09:56 PM |
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Romanov77 said:
Will the campaigns rework be available of release, or later?
I'm aiming at them being available on release, though there are some changes to reverse-engineer from the campaigns remastered to Greatest Mod, specially on Winds of War, so that they are back to "normal" creatures and factions...
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Never changing = never improving
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karmakeld
Responsible
Supreme Hero
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posted June 22, 2021 08:01 AM |
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NimoStar said:
Well, at least in my mod those "nonsensible choices" are fixed. The "weak" alternatives have been much stronger, with nagas blocking and having tri-attack, and Golems having Magic Mirror, while Dragon Golems have double attack (only lvl 7 creature that does this). Champions have Long Weapon allowing to attack unretaliated (it's actually Angels that are weaker).
PS: I am not so pessimistic about creatures upgrades. Sure, there might not be buildings inside the towns to do it, but there is certainly the possibility of having a "Hill Fort" type structure that upgrades your units.
Graphics of new upgraded creatures can be done by color and contrast shifting, which is mostly what is done in other games anyways. Plus we have the heroes, even though @Karmakeld never did what I told him of adventure walking heroes to use as creatures :'(
However, first things first, getting the ability to add new creatures.
What..?! I did 1.. totally forgot about this.. will have to remind myself about the process. Is it still important?
As for Sea Monster and Mega Dragon.dwelling.I can send you.some.
Original Outpost image is also available as an object. Check your mail Nimo
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NimoStar
Responsible
Legendary Hero
Modding the Unmoddable
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posted June 22, 2021 08:55 AM |
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Quote:
What..?! I did 1.. totally forgot about this.. will have to remind myself about the process. Is it still important?
Well, in theory, with the advances of H4 editor I can do it myself by resizing the combat sprites into map sprites as ORA, then re import with the mass import. However, I you have a bit of time to do some and are familiar with that process, it would still be useful. Since for every hero to turn into a map-walking creature it is like 40 .ora files to resize.
Quote:
As for Sea Monster and Mega Dragon.dwelling.I can send you.some.
Original Outpost image is also available as an object. Check your mail Nimo
Didn't find anything on email or spam folder...
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Never changing = never improving
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NimoStar
Responsible
Legendary Hero
Modding the Unmoddable
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posted June 25, 2021 08:25 AM |
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I'm changing life to be more of a roman legion-type look, since the original oversaturated purple was a bit offensive to the eyes.
(In antiquity, purple was a very expensive dye and reserved for royalty, the rich, and high functionaries.)
That being said, I'm not 100% convinced; maybe I should leave this as an optional addon? Tell me what you think.
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Never changing = never improving
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Assryn
Adventuring Hero
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posted June 25, 2021 02:58 PM |
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I really like that new color palette, it makes think a bit of Heroes I, with the Knight faction waving the red flag in the campaign  but if your not sure about it, maybe leaving it as an additionnal plugin would be for the best, and you could save it for later, that way you can focus your time on what you feel is a must do for the mod !
I'm working on a few campaigns right now (as I mentionned previously) and I was wondering if eventually, once I've made enough progress on those, do you think I could ask you for a few additionnal adventure map locations ? Or maybe for the guidance to create those myself ? (It would be strictly for plot locations, so not many would be required)
This is still a long ways off, but i was wondering if eventually that was something I could ask you
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iliveinabox05
Honorable
Famous Hero
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posted June 25, 2021 04:12 PM |
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Assryn said:
I really like that new color palette, it makes think a bit of Heroes I, with the Knight faction waving the red flag in the campaign but if your not sure about it, maybe leaving it as an additionnal plugin would be for the best, and you could save it for later, that way you can focus your time on what you feel is a must do for the mod !
I'm working on a few campaigns right now (as I mentionned previously) and I was wondering if eventually, once I've made enough progress on those, do you think I could ask you for a few additionnal adventure map locations ? Or maybe for the guidance to create those myself ? (It would be strictly for plot locations, so not many would be required)
This is still a long ways off, but i was wondering if eventually that was something I could ask you
You mean new adventure objects for your campaigns?
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Assryn
Adventuring Hero
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posted June 25, 2021 06:00 PM |
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iliveinabox05 said:
Assryn said:
You mean new adventure objects for your campaigns?
Yes, further down line (but obviously anyone else could use them )
I don't have a definitive list yet, as i'm done writting three campaigns, but would like to make one per alignement. So my asking about that is really hypothetical for now !
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iliveinabox05
Honorable
Famous Hero
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posted June 25, 2021 06:11 PM |
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Assryn said:
Yes, further down line (but obviously anyone else could use them )
I don't have a definitive list yet, as i'm done writting three campaigns, but would like to make one per alignement. So my asking about that is really hypothetical for now !
New campaigns are always nice
If you need help adding them to the game, the h4 resource editor is your best bet. There's still an issue with not knowing how to calculate the number of height offsets, which causes the editor to crash, but we should be able to figure it out manually
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NimoStar
Responsible
Legendary Hero
Modding the Unmoddable
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posted June 25, 2021 06:43 PM |
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Edited by NimoStar at 18:46, 25 Jun 2021.
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Well, as you can see in the picture actually, there is still a little problem with flickering feet. If not I would leave this as default for sure, since anyways, Squire also has red and gold on his undergarment.
I am also partially inspired by NWC heroes 5 concept art, and this Heroes 3 mod:
Quote:
Red Castle Mod Heroes 3 - VCMI version
Download WOG version
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As for making new map locations for your campaign, sure, that will mean your campaign is Heroes IV Ultimate exclusive and that would be cool to have  just tell me what you need, and as long as they are few things, i can see what I can do.
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Never changing = never improving
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karmakeld
Responsible
Supreme Hero
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posted June 26, 2021 11:43 AM |
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Assryn said:
iliveinabox05 said:
Assryn said:
You mean new adventure objects for your campaigns?
Yes, further down line (but obviously anyone else could use them )
I don't have a definitive list yet, as i'm done writting three campaigns, but would like to make one per alignement. So my asking about that is really hypothetical for now !
Look for the tread How to add new objects. Guides are posted showing how to add your own obejcts to the game. With a bit of practice, it's not the hardest task, though issues occur from time to time.
adding new objects
I believe ilive also posted a guide on how to use his Resource Editor for adding new objects.
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NimoStar
Responsible
Legendary Hero
Modding the Unmoddable
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posted June 27, 2021 08:51 AM |
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Edited by NimoStar at 09:04, 27 Jun 2021.
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Last of the Life main purple units were changed: Champions. Heroes come next. Though doing this is extremely painful still, ho ho
I think at least, the results are good, nothing like the mostly bad recolored H3 units from WOG for example. What do you believe?
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Never changing = never improving
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Assryn
Adventuring Hero
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posted June 27, 2021 02:13 PM |
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Edited by Assryn at 14:15, 27 Jun 2021.
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iliveinabox05 said:
New campaigns are always nice
If you need help adding them to the game, the h4 resource editor is your best bet. There's still an issue with not knowing how to calculate the number of height offsets, which causes the editor to crash, but we should be able to figure it out manually
I agree so far I'm mostly done with the writting of Chaos, Nature and Death (with basic brainstorming for Order and Might done, Life being a bit more tricky for now), but I've barely begun the Map Editor work, so I've still got a long way to go, especially because i want to make everything as good as possible !
I'll definitely check out the resource editor, but I'm afraid my absolute absence of modding knowledge will be a problem :/, I'll only know once I've tried !
NimoStar said:
As for making new map locations for your campaign, sure, that will mean your campaign is Heroes IV Ultimate exclusive and that would be cool to have just tell me what you need, and as long as they are few things, i can see what I can do.
I actually wouldn't mind that ! That could be a great way to showcase your modifications in situ (granted the campaigns are interesting to others haha !), although since I kinda try to "reimagine" the factions a little so to speak (at least as far as storytelling goes), I don't know if that would line up well with people haha (Maybe I should make a thread about it, but I feel like it's still so early, I wouldn't want people's interest to wane before anything is out, or to not be met for whatever reason)
karmakeld said:
Look for the tread How to add new objects. Guides are posted showing how to add your own obejcts to the game. With a bit of practice, it's not the hardest task, though issues occur from time to time.
adding new objects
I believe ilive also posted a guide on how to use his Resource Editor for adding new objects.
Thanks for the link karma, I'll definitely check it out ! Although as I said, I don't know about my modding capabilities lol
NimoStar said:
Last of the Life main purple units were changed: Champions. Heroes come next. Though doing this is extremely painful still, ho ho
snip
I think at least, the results are good, nothing like the mostly bad recolored H3 units from WOG for example. What do you believe?
Ooooh I really really like that a lot !! I really get the NWC H5 vibes from that, I love it, I'm definitely gonna aim for that in storytelling too !!
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karmakeld
Responsible
Supreme Hero
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posted June 27, 2021 07:06 PM |
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Assryn, well the point of the Resource Editor is really to limit the amount of modding needed (hex editing) and letting the program do the hard stuff, so things are automated via the program just try it out..
read more abou it
But of course it does require some knowledge about the stuff you want to change
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