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Heroes Community > Tavern of the Rising Sun > Thread: Obscure Heroes I-IV Artwork
Thread: Obscure Heroes I-IV Artwork This thread is 8 pages long: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 · NEXT»
Cepheus
Cepheus


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Legendary Hero
Far-flung Keeper
posted June 26, 2008 12:59 AM bonus applied by kookastar on 01 Jul 2008.
Edited by Cepheus at 01:02, 26 Jun 2008.

Obscure Heroes I-IV Artwork

For a few months now I've been hoarding artwork relevant to Heroes I, II, III and IV, plus the Might and Magic series.  Most of it is official and was created by NWC.  I suppose it's doing no good sitting in my hard drive, so here's the lot, including my pointless commentaries.  Perhaps this belongs in the Library, but it concerns Heroes IV too, so... meh.

If you have a poor internet connection, get a better one, I'm not converting 90 images into links at this hour of the night




HEROES III

Armageddon's Blade Box Art


Gaze in awe!  This is a fullscreen image of the original box cover of Heroes III: AB.  Note the heroes' differences from their current appearances - Kilgor is helmeted and strange, and, well... that's about it.  Oh, and look, the Forge is there too!


Adrienne


An image of Adrienne, the Tatalian Fire Witch from Armageddon's Blade.


Armour of the Damned


Remember this, folks?  It's Sandro's favourite toy.  This mighty piece of equipment allowed our beloved megalomaniac lich to invade three kingdoms in a matter of years.  Too bad it took him over ten years to cheat a Sorceress into finding it for him.


Azure Dragon


A fine description for this beast would be "All your base are belong to us."


Beholder


I have no idea why this pretty damn good picture wasn't used at all in the game.  Man, they make dozens of screens worth of kickass concept art and then scatter them all across the net for me to find.  Top-notch effort there.


Beta Artifact Screen


This was apparently just a mockup screen of the heroes' paper doll, used in the Heroes III beta.


Beta Title Screen


Some sort of beta title screen, possibly designed for use as a placeholder.  Note the presence of Queen Catherine and a random Troglodyte in its natural habitat - prison.


Catherine Ironfist


It's Queen Catherine Ironfist of Enroth, protagonist of Heroes III and (though never admitted) inspiration for the blockheaded Isabel Greyhound from Heroes V.  She's also a major character in Might and Magic 7 and 8.


Chronicles Logo


Here we have a logo for the Heroes Chronicles, an eight-part set of small, standalone campaigns which used the Heroes III engine.  Their main character was the Immortal Hero, Tarnum, who is prominent in Heroes IV's Might campaign.  See?  NWC's storyline had continuity!


Dracon


Dracon, the mightiest Dragon Slayer in Antagarich and a smart-talking Wizard.  Following his appearance in Heroes III: AB we never hear a word of him again.  Odd.


Energy Elemental


This thing's relevant hero portrait is used so much on HC that you'd get sick of looking at it.  One for the road, then.


Forge Screenshots

















Yes, it's that fine ol' futuristic town so many people love to hate, the Heavenly Forge.  Whether due to ignorance of the storyline, love for the medieval setting or the ability to cause a ruckus, quite a heckload of people pitted against 3DO and NWC for trying to introduce this into the game.  I would have preferred this to the Conflux, personally.  Then again, I wasn't internet-savvy at the time so I'm not really qualified to pass comment.


Gelu





The Hero of AvLee and by mutual consensus the guy with the most pwnage specialty in Heroes III, Gelu the Demonslayer had prominent roles in Heroes III, Heroes Chronicles and the opening cinematic of Heroes IV.  He's one of about ten people in the series who can be credited with blowing up a planet, and is also the only Vori (Snow) Elf we ever get to see.  Well, half-Vori.


Gelu and Gem


Gelu and Gem, two of Heroes III: The Shadow of Death's four protagonists.


Gnoll


It's a Gnoll.

That's basically all there is to say.



Ice Elemental


The benchmark of coolness (throw your tomatoes at me now), these scaly fishlike... things were introduced in Armageddon's Blade.


Ingham


This larger portrait of Ingham, which appeared in Might and Magic VII for some reason, proves that there was more to the hero portraits than we're given in the game.  Sad that we never got to see many more of them in full view.


Kilgor


Ya either love him or you hate him, but this jerk is the Heroes equivalent of... you know, that guy who killed thousands of people, whatshisname.  By strange fortune (mostly because of a fellow who was too nice to kill a lady whose armies he had massacred), Kilgor comes into possession of the Sword of Frost and manages to blow up the world.  Classy!


Magic Elemental


Brains incarnate, and perhaps one of the cooler creatures introduced by Armageddon's Blade.  Take a look at their "defend" animation in game and tell me how many other creatures can conjure that sorta thing!


Mutare


A Dungeon Overlord turned Dragon, famous for the fact that no-one really knows when exactly her Heroes III campaign takes place.  Well, not really famous.  But you get the point.  Lore fanatics (that is, me and two other people from different sides of the globe) have spent countless minutes debating on the fact that she was alive when Erathia had a King, yet her campaign seems to take place after the last King died, blah blah blah...


Necropolis


Everyone knows this!  The Necropolis is (I assume) one of the most loved, and hated, factions of Heroes III.  Mainly down to Sandro.  But hey, I'm not complaining.


Nicolas Gryphonheart


It's good old Nicolas, Queen Catherine's father and the main antagonist of Heroes III: Restoration of Erathia.  So many people have no clue that he's the main enemy, since they never bothered to play the campaigns and he isn't a playable hero.  Oh well, unlife goes on.


Pre-development screenshot


One of the scarce few screenshots from Heroes III midway through its develpment.  Beats me why they decided to put this one on the back cover of the release version...


Rampart screenshots












The Rampart's just... nice.  A nice-looking town.  Did you know that it's based around Asian architecture, though?  No?  Well there you are.  It's really subtle in-game, but the screenshots above show the artist's intent.


Roland Ironfist


It's King Roland Ironfist of Enroth, the main character of Heroes II and a prominent figure throughout the series.  He's mentioned all over Might and Magic VI (though you don't see him), and you rescue him from the Kreegans in Might and Magic VII.  This leads into his apperance in Armageddon's Blade, after which he travels to the land of Might and Magic VIII, then you see a note from him in Might and Magic IX...

The developers sure enjoyed using this poor guy every chance they got.



Rust Dragon


You have no chance to survive make your time.


Scorpicore


I never really understood this creature.  The Manticore was great, but Scorpicore... wtf?  Also, did you know it was originally going to be named "Crimson Manticore"?


Sharpshooter


Gelu's custom Forest Guard recruits.  Crappy alone, unbeatable in large numbers.


Sprite


It's basically a faerie.  They've appeared (including the name) in every single Heroes game so far, always in a nature-based town.


Tarnum






Tarnum, the Immortal Hero and protagonist of the Heroes Chronicles.  He's a multi-layered character, literally - over the series he's taken on six different classes, respectively Barbarian, Knight, Wizard, Ranger, Beastmaster and Overlord.  He's also mentioned in Heroes IV.  This is just a handful of the huge amount of artwork revolving around his character.  Ask and you shall receive more.


Tavern cinematic


You may / may not recognise this scene from Heroes III - it's shown every time you drop by the nearby watering hole.


Tazar


The screaming maniac who everyone loves using in Heroes III.  Thanks to My-Key for bringing this portrait to light (in fact, I should be crediting a lot more people in this post, but I can't remember their names or where I heard of them )


Vampire


Bleeeurgh!  Seriously, do I need to make a comment here?  You get the picture, in more ways than one.


Wizard Symbol


This is some odd symbol I found through Google.  It can be seen on Dracon's staff, on the Arch Mage's staff and in the Armageddon's Blade cutscene with the Phoenix (among the dead bodies).  I'm not totally sure what it symbolises, though maybe it's a Bracadan symbol of some sort.




I know I say this a lot, but I'm gonna update this post.  Soon.  With Heroes IV and Might and Magic artwork!  Until then...
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Homer171
Homer171


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posted June 26, 2008 01:29 AM

These are nice Most of these i have seen already but Rampart artwork for instance looks good. Beta screens are also interesting.

It seems while they tested the game they used old heroes 2 creatures for icons anyway. It sure would be nice to get hold on some of those early works they had.. Ohh the modding possibilities gw Cep
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Daystar
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posted June 26, 2008 08:42 PM

Thank you!  These are very helpful, blessed be!  
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emilsn
emilsn


Legendary Hero
posted June 26, 2008 09:47 PM

Quote:
It seems while they tested the game they used old heroes 2 creatures for icons anyway.



You got a hawk eye! I had to see it and so true awesome detail

Great pictures. But I really never quite understood the story of the FP-RPG based on the heroes series.
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Cepheus
Cepheus


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posted June 26, 2008 10:18 PM

Quote:
Great pictures. But I really never quite understood the story of the FP-RPG based on the heroes series.


...In fact, the Heroes series was based on the FP-RPG.  Nine games.

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Elvin
Elvin


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posted June 26, 2008 10:21 PM

That is indeed great, thanks cepheus

A few things. Yes I'm pretty sure a good part of the homm fans were not aware of the might and magic story but does it even matter? Just look at the forge, it kills the whole feeling and does not match with the magical feeling heroes is all about.
Btw there was a fan mod that planned to restore it, any news on that?

Rampart may not have looked as Asian in this setting but the mage guild was a total giveaway

I liked Tarnum's character, I suppose he was the equivalent of a heroes highlander and I did enjoy that series Also his campaigns had interesting character development, the transformation from the warlords of the wastelands till the end of H4 stronghold campaign was remarkable. I'd be interested to see what you have.

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Cepheus
Cepheus


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posted June 26, 2008 10:31 PM

Quote:
gw Cep


Quote:
Thank you!  These are very helpful, blessed be!


Quote:
That is indeed great, thanks cepheus


Glad to help (or whatever it is I'm doing)!

Quote:
Yes I'm pretty sure a good part of the homm fans were not aware of the might and magic story but does it even matter?


Well to a point it does matter, since the Forge was only planned to appear in the Armageddon's Blade campaign.  Otherwise the game remained untouched by sci-fi.  Though I don't know for sure, so again - I'm not really qualified to comment.

Quote:
Btw there was a fan mod that planned to restore it, any news on that?


Sadly it seems to be dead, though I'm not sure.

Quote:
I'd be interested to see what you have.


There's not a lot left to add, mostly high-res images of Heroes IV buildings and units.  Also there's a few miscellaneous pics from across the series

Thank you for showing interest

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antipaladin
antipaladin


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posted June 26, 2008 10:39 PM

i always waited for highlander to have a jewish highlander..the closest was the wife of a jew was was killed by the nezis...

lol anyway nice digging up,but did u notice that the elf face on gelue's sharp's is one of portarits in mm7 on male elf? also howcome both huamnes (makesman) and elven archers becoume elven sharps?
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alcibiades
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posted June 26, 2008 10:51 PM

Wow, this was enlightening. Funny, for all these years of playing Heroes 3, I never made the Rampart - Japan connection until seeing theese screenshots. Weird, as Elvin said, the mage guild was a total give away, but I simply never had the thought.

And thanx for the Forge shots!!! Much as I abhore the concept of this town (and I do abhore it!) it does look stunning. Glad it didn't make it into the game, though.
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Lexxan
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posted June 26, 2008 10:56 PM

This is

Can't wait to see more !
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Cepheus
Cepheus


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posted June 27, 2008 07:09 PM
Edited by Cepheus at 19:14, 27 Jun 2008.

Heroes IV artwork...

Buildings














Okay, some of the creature art was beyond crap, but you've gotta hand it to them for the buildings.  Pity they decided to bundle all the structures in each town together in the generic way they did, but there you are.


Creatures and Heroes
















































I am cutting to the chase on the creatures since you really don't need me to tell you how to think when it comes to these  About the "G" symbol, many of these images are recovered from GameSpot.  A few things of note, though - the Crossbowman bears the flag of Palaedra on his vest (you won't see that anywhere else except on the Squire) - it's like a combination of Heroes II's Lion of Enroth and Heroes III's Erathian Griffin.  Did you know that the Ballistae are all actually manned?  It's hard to notice in-game.  To compensate for its poor in-game stats, the Leprechaun's grin is almost as deadly to the eagle-eyed player as Gotai's breath.  Also, the Heroes V Black Dragon is okay but this guy steals the show for me, look at that facial expression


Fan art





Art of Tawni, Cyrca and a mermaid from the "Pirate's Daughter" campaign.  As I recall their artist here is Kevin Sung.


Map



This map is also fan-made but it really cannot go without a mention here  The left continent is the land of Might and Magic IX, while the one on the right is that of Heroes IV.  I believe that NWC had planned a third continent to be introduced in Legends of Might and Magic but it never went through.  The artist is Marzhin, who created Legends of the Ancients.
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emilsn
emilsn


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posted June 27, 2008 07:49 PM

Okay - I can agree with the buildings, but eventhough the buildings were great, the towns turned out horrible.

but the creatures! The creatures are the worst ever, just look at the punk centaur, the weird grass harpy and the very un-harmonic elves.

Sorry for ruining people who enjoyed HoMM4. It is to me only funny when you cheat, with that ambrosia(?) where you can forge your own hero with the skills you want  
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Elvin
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posted June 27, 2008 08:34 PM

I did not really hate them but some just did not look right. Some look even worse from up close
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alcibiades
alcibiades


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posted June 27, 2008 09:30 PM

Woah, these creatures look awful in close-up. Didn't much like the ingame looks, but gotta agree, the facials are particularly horrifying. Few exceptions, though, the Satyr looks kinda cool in close-up.

The buildings look beautiful and actually match the in-game realization perfectly. However, can't help thinking that for all that mattered, towns still looked ugly due to changing terrains. Some towns did look nice on their native, however - well, at least the Sylvan/Refuge was stunning.
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Elvin
Elvin


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posted June 27, 2008 09:37 PM

I still remember a preserve on lava But yes they looked great on native terrain.
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Cepheus
Cepheus


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posted June 27, 2008 09:40 PM

That was one feature they really didn't need.  Sure it added a little realism but the towns just looked awful outside their native locales... except Stronghold on snow, which was quite decent.

A few pics from Might and Magic will be up soon, likely tomorrow

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Lexxan
Lexxan


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Unimpressed by your logic
posted June 28, 2008 11:15 AM

Good work Ceph

Though I must admit that I regrett seeing the Leprechaun and the Harpy in close-up ()

anyway, I want MORE !
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eugen_cosmarul
eugen_cosmarul


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hey
posted June 28, 2008 04:47 PM

Best avatar you can get. --->

Anyway good work Ceph!
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alcibiades
alcibiades


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of Gold Dragons
posted June 28, 2008 05:57 PM

Quote:
That was one feature they really didn't need.  Sure it added a little realism but the towns just looked awful outside their native locales... except Stronghold on snow, which was quite decent.


What WOULD have been nice would have been if all towns had looks that matched all terrains. That would have been cool - but obviously, a lot of extra work for a bit of eye-candy.
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Elvin
Elvin


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posted June 28, 2008 06:01 PM

Eye candy? WHO IS HIM???



What eye candy are we talking about with things like this
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