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hippox89
Famous Hero
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posted November 18, 2020 02:20 PM |
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I'm so sorry to read the news about Docent passing away.  I always come to this place ever so often hoping to read an insigtful post from Docent. I will remember Docent through all of his wonderful creations and contributions that he made for people to enjoy and appreciate through HotA.
I wish good fortune for the rest of the great crew. And I hope you will find a way to carry on in time and continue working on HotA.
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PaintingPeter
Tavern Dweller
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posted November 19, 2020 10:56 PM |
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Doomforge
Admirable
Undefeatable Hero
Retired Hero
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posted November 19, 2020 11:35 PM |
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Perhaps something to honor Docent Picolan should be added to HotA?
An artifact perhaps? A combination artifact, even?
Name it Docent Picolan's Eternal Glory or something like that maybe.
I think it would be a sweet touch to remember him through his work.
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We reached to the stars and everything is now ours
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FirePaladin
Promising
Legendary Hero
DoR Modder
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posted November 20, 2020 12:23 AM |
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A hero maybe? Who was revealed a few months ago I daresay?
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Enshackling time itself, heralds of the Ancients among their heat-depleted land.... Who could they be, who could rally the beings of the East and the North and control the mortals' fate?
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Ghost
Undefeatable Hero
Therefore I am
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posted November 20, 2020 08:42 AM |
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Better artifact or some object. Because we have a different religious group. Someone doesn't want to worship a person.
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Fight MWMs - stand teach
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fred79
Disgraceful
Undefeatable Hero
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posted November 20, 2020 10:22 AM |
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Doomforge said:
Perhaps something to honor Docent Picolan should be added to HotA?
An artifact perhaps? A combination artifact, even?
Name it Docent Picolan's Eternal Glory or something like that maybe.
I think it would be a sweet touch to remember him through his work.
this is a nice idea, but it'll more likely come as a tribute page dedicated to Docent either upon running HotA, or winning(as an end-credit).
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FirePaladin
Promising
Legendary Hero
DoR Modder
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posted November 20, 2020 01:12 PM |
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There's already a Docent hero, guys, how much direct do I have to be when I speak with y'all?
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Enshackling time itself, heralds of the Ancients among their heat-depleted land.... Who could they be, who could rally the beings of the East and the North and control the mortals' fate?
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fred79
Disgraceful
Undefeatable Hero
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posted November 20, 2020 01:22 PM |
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i'm not always in this thread, so i wouldn't know.
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FirePaladin
Promising
Legendary Hero
DoR Modder
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posted November 20, 2020 01:22 PM |
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Not to you necessarily, to Ghost especially and some other guys too (including doomforge). I mean, I think I said it like 3 times on 2 pages or smt.
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Enshackling time itself, heralds of the Ancients among their heat-depleted land.... Who could they be, who could rally the beings of the East and the North and control the mortals' fate?
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Phoenix4ever
Legendary Hero
Heroes is love, Heroes is life
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posted November 20, 2020 05:33 PM |
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So FirePaladin are you saying Docent Picolan is going to be a Factory hero?
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FirePaladin
Promising
Legendary Hero
DoR Modder
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posted November 20, 2020 05:40 PM |
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Well, I think you have seen the older news. There is a hero inspired by Docent's look at least, dunno about personality though.
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Enshackling time itself, heralds of the Ancients among their heat-depleted land.... Who could they be, who could rally the beings of the East and the North and control the mortals' fate?
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DarkAtom
Adventuring Hero
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posted November 22, 2020 11:15 PM |
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I came here to check the HotA thread as I do every 1-2 weeks, usually just reading discussions and some spam. I saw Tevye's name next to a post, so I jumped to it, saw the image and stopped for about 10 seconds as I somehow knew what I was about to read.
My condolences to Docent Picolan's family and friends!
He basically revived the Heroes III community. He (along with the other members of the Crew) developed HotA in his own free time so that everyone can play. So sad he never got to see Factory released 
Rest In Peace, brother!
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"If you get scared of doing what's right you might as well lay down and die" - Wulfstan, Heroes of Might and Magic V: Hammers of Fate
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Planetavril
Famous Hero
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posted November 26, 2020 11:27 AM |
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pekute99
Known Hero
The prettiest I must say
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posted November 26, 2020 02:53 PM |
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My heart literally dropped when I saw the news. Rest in peace Docent Picolant, you have done so much for our community.
I also want to give good lucks to the other crew members, hope you can overcome this painful loss and will continue to work with this wonderful project 💖
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tzening
Adventuring Hero
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posted November 27, 2020 03:27 AM |
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Big respect for the HOTA leader. May he spend his afterlife leading the finest of heroes wearing the greatest of artifacts.
I have a question I was going to ask you all but I will ask some other time.
Condolences from Singapore.
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Tevye
Adventuring Hero
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posted November 27, 2020 06:31 PM |
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However tough things may be at the moment, the development of the Factory continues. Time has come to introduce to you the creatures that will occupy the 5th tier of the town's unit roster. These are the Sandworm and its upgraded version, the Olgoi-Khorkhoi.
Sandworm model, by Dima Gravchenko
Olgoi-Khorkhoi model, by Dima Gravchenko
It is no secret that creatures inhabiting the Might & Magic universe are almost always based in common fantastic stereotypes, myths and legends. Likewise, this unit also has numerous prototypes in mass culture. The main one is, of course, the giant, mysterious Shai-Hulud from Frank Herbert's Dune. Of course, the Wasteland, where their relatives live in HotA, are not identical to the deserts with which huge underground worms are most often associated; however, most of you likely remember the good old Tremors movie. In that one, the action takes place in an area very similar to the Wastelands, and so the Graboids became another important influence on the Sandworms' appearance. There is also a legend about a huge horned cattle-stealing half worm/half snake in Brazilian folklore, where the creature is called Minhocão. On top of that, we found it appropriate to give our unit certain features of another, if not so widely known, mythical creature: the Olgoi-Khorkhoi, a deadly worm which, according to Mongolian legends, can be encountered in the bizarre, frightening expanses of Gobi. This being is the origin of the name given to the worms possessing outstanding combat qualities, bred by the famous bioengineering guru Agar.
Mythical and fantastic prototypes of the Sandworm: Shai-Hulud from the Dune book series
Mythical and fantastic prototypes of the Sandworm: Graboid from the Tremors film series
Mythical and fantastic prototypes of the Sandworm: Minhocão from the Brazilian legend
Mythical and fantastic prototypes of the Sandworm: Olgoi-Khorkhoi from the Mongolian legend
Of all the units on the Factory's roster, the Sandworms probably caused us the fewest problems in development. Docent Picolan quickly found the right concept for their appearance, and the 3D artist Dima Gravchenko brilliantly embodied it in the model, and essentially on the first try, even though it was his very first assignment after joining the team. This is why you won't be getting an evolution chart seen in the articles about other units. In fact, the first version of the model differed from the final one only in size, some minor posture details, and materials.
Early concept - "Myriapod", by Nosferatu
Early concept, by Nosferatu
Sandworm. Final concept, by Docent Picolan
Olgoi-Khorkhoi. Final concept, by Docent Picolan
Coming up with interesting and useful gameplay features for the Sandworms was somewhat of a bigger challenge. However, it was clear from the get go that the Sandworms should be moving underground. Due to this ability, the Factory has a "flier", even if not quite a traditional one, even before the Couatls become available. Let us immediately reassure those who were puzzled about the worms moving in battles taking place on ships and in other similar conditions. For such situations, a dedicated surface movement animation exists, and, of course, in this case, the worms will not be able to ignore the obstacles in their path.
Sandworm. Animated model, 200% scale, by Dima Gravchenko
Sandworm. Animated model, 100% scale, by Dima Gravchenko
Even when tamed, Sandworms still are obligate carnivores, and their second distinctive feature that appears in the upgraded version of the unit is a vivid display of their bloodthirsty nature. If an Olgoi-Khorkhoi moves to a hex occupied by a corpse, then, when emerging from the ground, it will devour this corpse and get an extra strike when attacking in the next round; such strikes can stack, too. It is also possible to eat a corpse and attack all in one turn, if the corpse is positioned right next to the target.
Creatures that form up the Might & Magic bestiary usually possess traditional abilities inherent in their mythical and fantasy prototypes; however, the widely known descriptions of Olgoi-Khorkhoi are not so much based on popular legends, but rather stemming from the imagination of various 20-21st century fiction writers, and are therefore wildly apocryphal (if one can say so about creatures that are after all fantastic). The properties attributed to them vary greatly from source to source: from banal poison to instantly killing electric rays. We decided that these wild ideas should remain on the conscience of their creators. According to a number of researchers, the legend of the Olgoi-Khorkhoi was born of people's encounters with a real animal known as sand boa. Likewise, the Sandworms bred and used by the Factory, though extremely dangerous, are not supernatural in essence.
Olgoi-Khorkhoi. Animated model, 200% scale, by Dima Gravchenko
Olgoi-Khorkhoi. Animated model, 100% scale, by Dima Gravchenko
It should be noted that worms, though not seen in earlier HoMM games, are not newcomers to the wider Might & Magic universe. This collage shows the appearance of their counterparts in other M&M games. Easily noticeable are also certain chared features in their appearance, manifesting especially clearly in the worm from M&M IV.
Worms in various Might & Magic games, from the might-and-magic.ru website
We still cannot declare any certain timeframe for the release of the Factory, but allow us to emphasize once again that the development has not halted. We have a wealth of plans, as well as confidence that they will be implemented in due time.
P.S. We would like to point out that the new official HotA YouTube channel has been created. Its launch was a forced step, as previously the videos were posted on Docent Picolan's personal channel, out of the team's control now. In the future, new videos will appear there. As of now, you can enjoy Docent Picolan's piano renditions of his own music on the new channel.
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phoenix4ever
Legendary Hero
Heroes is love, Heroes is life
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posted November 27, 2020 06:48 PM |
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Thank you so much for the update Teyve.
The new sandworms sounds brutal.
If I understand it correctly, they can devour enemy corpses, which will allow them to strike one more time next round. This also prevents Resurrection/Animate Dead of the devoured corpse?
Really happy you continue development, despite the sad news about Docent Picolan.
Maybe expecting Factory by New Years is still a bit much to hope for?
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fred79
Disgraceful
Undefeatable Hero
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posted November 27, 2020 07:13 PM |
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thanks for the update. 
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planetavril
Famous Hero
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posted November 27, 2020 07:20 PM |
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Hourglass
Supreme Hero
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posted November 27, 2020 07:47 PM |
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Thx Tevye, looks really promising as always. It makes me happy in many levels that you guys are still having an interest of continuing the project.
In general the creature looks kinda menacing, and it seems it can really do stuff if the player is capable of controlling the creauture.
Few questions:
1) I once heard there was some debate with the name of Olgoi-Khorkhoi, but this is going to be the final name? (personally, I like it)
2)Is AI going to be able to utilize the corpse-eating ability?
And lastly: Does the Factory music theme exist, and if not, how the team is going to work with that area?
Thx, I wish nothing but the best for you guys.
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