Heroes of Might and Magic Community
visiting hero! Register | Today's Posts | Games | Search! | FAQ/Rules | AvatarList | MemberList | Profile


Age of Heroes Headlines:  
5 Oct 2016: Heroes VII development comes to an end.. - read more
6 Aug 2016: Troubled Heroes VII Expansion Release - read more
26 Apr 2016: Heroes VII XPack - Trial by Fire - Coming out in June! - read more
17 Apr 2016: Global Alternative Creatures MOD for H7 after 1.8 Patch! - read more
7 Mar 2016: Romero launches a Piano Sonata Album Kickstarter! - read more
19 Feb 2016: Heroes 5.5 RC6, Heroes VII patch 1.7 are out! - read more
13 Jan 2016: Horn of the Abyss 1.4 Available for Download! - read more
17 Dec 2015: Heroes 5.5 update, 1.6 out for H7 - read more
23 Nov 2015: H7 1.4 & 1.5 patches Released - read more
31 Oct 2015: First H7 patches are out, End of DoC development - read more
5 Oct 2016: Heroes VII development comes to an end.. - read more
[X] Remove Ads
LOGIN:     Username:     Password:         [ Register ]
HOMM1: info forum | HOMM2: info forum | HOMM3: info mods forum | HOMM4: info CTG forum | HOMM5: info mods forum | MMH6: wiki forum | MMH7: wiki forum
Heroes Community > Heroes 4 - Lands of Axeoth > Thread: The Lost Kingdoms: Greatest Mod Factions&Features [SHOWCASE]
Thread: The Lost Kingdoms: Greatest Mod Factions&Features [SHOWCASE]
NimoStar
NimoStar


Responsible
Legendary Hero
Modding the Unmoddable
posted December 05, 2017 10:27 AM
Edited by NimoStar at 10:48, 05 Dec 2017.

The Lost Kingdoms: Greatest Mod Factions&Features [SHOWCASE]

So, many people find themselves wondering: What does really the Greatest Mod change from the original game? In fact, it changes so many things it is impossible for them to navigate it with confidence they know all. Even I do not remember all!

But, besides this being quite good to keep the sense of wonder going, some structure is needed.

This thread is to document the main changes to gameplay, principally in the form of factions and creatures.
All factions and their creatures have been changed, and, if you play the game, it is good to have a notion of who-is-who in this renewed enviroment.


We will start with one of the "brand new" factions:
The Desert Town
No more will the generic Haven blight our game! : P
(Joke aside, you can still use Have as a custom computer opponent or NPCs, as all their creatures and recruitment buildings are intact for map editor)

So, let's commence...

The Desert Town is one of the most "exotic" factions; not having equivalent in heroes I, II, or III; Yet, it can resemble the arab or egyptian themed Academy of later Heroes games (like V and VI)

This town has a revived "desert" musical theme, made by Romero for the H2 desert terrain.


A Gold Golem hero leads his squad in a sandy battle

So, the Desert town for now uses the same building bonuses as the old Haven, yet, its creatures are very different.

All of the new towns are split into two "sides" of creatures.

In the case of the desert town, these are the SURVIVOR SIDE and the GOLDEN SIDE.
Sides are a purelly cosmetic/lore mechanic. You can still mix and match whatever creatures you like, and have both first level dwellings.

Golden side
The wealth and luxury of forgotten empires exists in the dunes and oasis of this apparently inhospitable expanse.

Survivor side
The crafty inhabitants of the Desert know how to thrive in a harsh environment.

Level 1: Halflings

Halflings are much the same as you know and love. These small, childlike humanoids have a special preference for attacking large, powerful targets, specially at a distance. However, they are rather fragile, particularly in melee.

Level 1+: Peasants

For countless generations, foolhardy people have cultivated the few oasis that dot the desert. Living in this hostile soil, they have grown rather resistant for their lowly origins. Masters of their craft, yet humble, peasants will obediently contribute in taxes to their sultans and viziers. Each peasant will raise up to two gold coins every day.

Level 2: Gold Golems or Nomads

This new generation of golems has been perfected by the finest alchemists of the desert realms. It is now enchanted with a reflective surface; as such, in addition to being 75% resistant to magic, they also have a mirror effect to hostile effects and reflect 50% of enemy damage. They may be slow, but they are also unrelenting.
OR
Nomads are the faithful descendants of proud warrior people. They strike lightning fast and are able to deliver punishment to anyone reckless enough to defy the power of their clan. Not only are nomads a surprisingly effective, resilient and versatile choice; but they are also quite cheap to recruit, due to their simple needs.

Level 3: Nagas or Elder Mummies

The nagas have learned, with their long lives (and tails), the secrets of defending with their many arms and swords, not to mention their agile bodies. So, now Nagas have a 40% chance to block any physical attack, be it ranged or melee.
OR
Deep beneath the sands lie tombs of antiquity immemorial. There, the sacred dead await the call to be unearthed in the service of eternal light. These are the Elder Mummies of spellcasters past... and now, again present. Ancient magic still imbibes their bandages and unguents, so they will be a fearsome opponent, commanding dreadful curses for their enemies and even healing potential for their allies.

Level 4: Mythical Dragons (OR) Clockwork Dragon

The dragons of myth have not disappeared as many people thought; they merely hide and shimmer, like a mirage vanished in the desert. They are very hard to hit with conventional weapons, and have a blinding attack. They have a weakness however: A certain vulnerability to magic. Yet, they are powerfull natural spellcasters themselves, so beware their powerful damage-dealing fire and lightning spells.
OR
Tired of perishing in raids or being taken as slaves of stronger, harsher races, the halflings tasked their inventors with the ultimate challenge. It was necessary to stand up at last, and so they did: In four mechanical, forged-iron legs. The clockwork dragon is a marvel of mechanical engineering, no less impressive because it needs to be piloted by a crafty, burly, machine-minded halfling at all times. Well, perhaps marginally less impressive, but that won't matter when their enemies lie dead all around, victims to the false dragon's mighty mechanical maw. As the halflings frequently found themselves surrounded, the dragon's systems have been optimized to allow for an unlimited consecutive number of deadly, pre-emptive retaliations in quick response to any enemy foolish enough to attempt a melee assault on the artificial monstrosity.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  


Desert town - heroes and creature arrangement


________


HERO SPOTLIGHT

Not only creatures have been altered, but also heroes. Here is what we have as of current version (0.18) . Like anything, it is subject to changes as the mod progresses.

Might Hero: Feday

Fedays are absolutely dedicated to serving their people - most often throught warfare. Fedays are not dull blades however, and they are not only skilled warriors but also accomplished tacticians. Their trained knowledge of escape or attack routes much improves the combat maneuverability of troops, being useful for both quicker victories and more drawn-out conflicts. In addition, they always carefully observe and evaluate the fields and enemy posts when they travel, offering both better scouting capabilities and prevention against brigand ambushes and enemy surprise attacks.

Magic Hero: Alchemist

Alchemists don't start their careers as initiates being ready to cast spells, as they have studied mostly for other, less flashy but more enduring purposes. They regard magic as mostly illusion, dedicating themselves to material transformation of physical reality rather than temporal distortions of spacetime. As a result, they gift their allegiance with the result of their hard work - creatures revived from seemingly mortal wounds or destruction, and the creation of valuable materials from mundane origins. Those abilities are such enticing prospects, that the very presence of an alchemist in your army may drive enemies to desert their posts, wishing to join your cause!


_____________________________________________


So, this is the life and essence of the desert faction.
All the stats of creatures have been included in their screenshot, for easy gameplay balance knowledge.

If you have any comments, appraisals, or realistic suggestions, please leave them below!

Other towns are coming soon (if this one gets any attention)

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
NimoStar
NimoStar


Responsible
Legendary Hero
Modding the Unmoddable
posted December 05, 2017 10:31 AM
Edited by NimoStar at 15:43, 17 Dec 2017.

THE DUNGEON



A fan favourite of the mod, this town formerly known as the "Asylum" brings the best from Nighon to bear.

Darkness Side:
The darkness is your ally in the damp, hidden tunnels. Strike swiftly and without mercy with these powerful, versatile and fast creatures.
Featuring: Ninja, Harpy, Minotaur, and the Black Dragon.

Slimy Side:
You may be squishy but don't let that stop you - in fact, quite the contrary. Movilize from afar your acid and curses to wear down the enemy slowly, while your spear-bearing horde delivers fatal blows the heads of your hydra regrow time and again.
Featuring: Troglodyte, Slime, Beholder, and the regenerating Hydra.

Level 1+: Ninjas

Invisible to creatures below level 2 and heroes even with basic scouting, Ninjas are more than just road bandits. They come equipped with poisons and mystical abilities, and as such they can imbibe their blades with deadly substances, launch smoke bombs to hide from enemy archers, and prepare to strike first. Better yet, should they travel with company, they can use this abilities with your heroes and creatures, making your army even more deadly. The more Ninjas there are, the better their spells get, so protect them! You may get the secret technique of teleportation some day...

Level 1-: Troglodytes

Opponents misjudge troglodytes as just weak, near-mindless combatants. But they are wrong. They are HORDES of weak, near-mindless combatants! And with their numbers, more than one smug surface-dweller can be overwhelmed and easily defeated.

Level 2: Harpies OR Slimes

Harpies are possibly one of the more annoying creatures that ever existed. They can attack their opponents from a distance, yet they are not archers. The fly up to them, deliver their blow, and then artlessly retreat to their original stations. Retreating is optional, though, so Harpies are still good to bind enemy archers and stop them from shooting. Enemies are incapable of retaliating to them.
OR
Slimes, certainly a twisted invention of some rogue alchemist, have been the nightmare of dungeon explorers for centuries. These abominations made of an acid, foul substance have a naturally poisonous attack that dissolves flesh. Not only are they able to transmit it on melee touch, but they can also split it at great distance, signing the bane of specially low-def creatures. Furthermore, slimes only cost Mercury to produce, making them ideal in certain nonorthodox resource situations.

Level 3: Minotaurs OR Beholders

Ah, Minotaurs. Enigmatic and stubborn, they learn that the only way to break free from the labyrinths where they are raised is charging the walls ; there is actually no path to exit. This training, coupled with the enduring rage the realization brings (that all their intellectual searches for a solution were for naught) leaves these troubled creatures intensely frustrated with the world outside, and ready to charge anything in it - the only solution that properly worked before.
OR
The Beholders seem to be older than time itself, appearing in the crypts, tombs and caverns of many worlds. Narcissistic and egotistical, they believes themselves to be the ultimate life form and claim their service to the dungeon overlords is but a plot to conquer the universe. If that is actually the case or just another delirium of their unstable and unreliable psychic minds, it remains to be seen.

Level 4: Black Dragon OR Hydra

Human greed, hatred and arrongace are nothing but pale shadows compared to the ones of a Black Dragon. Their emotions are much more intense than the ones of simple mortals, yet their extremely long life has gifted these dark serpents with patience and cunning. The huge wings, bodies with scales stronger than shields, immunity to all magic, and breath able to melt steel are other, less sophisticated gifts they possess.
OR
An Hydra is a calamity of nature said to be unleashed upon the world by the Underground gods themselves. The gods are long to be said dead, yet the Hydras still prowl the Earth as a bleak reminder of the power of elder beings. With their ability to attack all around them and surprising regenerative capabilities, regrowing whole heads in mere minutes after being cut, Hydras are an opponent nobody but the heroic and the foolish dare tackle. More often than not, the only real fight happens between the heads of the hydra itself, battling for which one gets the better part of the meal.

________________________

HEROES

The Dungeon is not only composed of mighty, exotic creatures from the depths of the ground. It also has poweful sorcerers and crafty spies and assassins to compliment their ranks and some of them even command their own factions.

MIGHT: Rogues

Masters of subterfuge, the rogues are one of the few heroes that are trained to move unseen. Not only can they infiltrate enemy grounds, but also steal treasures without their dumb guardians even noticing. They are brilliant scouts, able to see tracks in the ground, gather clues about the battlefield, and strike the enemy when they least expect. Don't let their methodical demeanor and doctrine of only attacking when necessary fool you - they are also masterful with the blade, which make them able to best most opponent heroes on one-on-one melee combat.

MAGIC: Warlockrs

If someone believes in the power of magic to win battles all by itself, it's Warlockrs. Some are confident enough in their abilities that they go to battle entirely alone, trusting their spells to be able to reduce the enemy to smithereens before they have a chance to react. But warlockrs are not all combat - when out of the battlefield or not experimenting with their arcane arts on unfortunate assistant-victims, they supervise as taskmasters the mines and shafts of the Nihon empire, blowing holes in the earth and overseeing the operations. This greatly boosts the flow of rare resources to the coffers of their allegiance.

The Dungeon is a well rounded town, with lack of Tactics-related specialty of their own as their only weakness. For this, if they require an immediate boost to their army, they can still rely on contracting a Dread Knight, however.

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
NimoStar
NimoStar


Responsible
Legendary Hero
Modding the Unmoddable
posted December 05, 2017 10:33 AM

[Reserved for another town]

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
thGryphn
thGryphn


Promising
Famous Hero
posted December 05, 2017 11:31 AM

This is great and was much needed! Thank you!

I know this takes time but you really should keep it coming. I bet many people are in the dark with what your mod is about and they feel uneasy about trying it.

You should share more info and communicate more... otherwise it's not fair to all the efforts you put in developing this mod.


 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
Baronus
Baronus


Legendary Hero
posted December 05, 2017 05:42 PM

Great! We must think about new units too...
How about using the same generator to both creatures and for another wersion of city second genrator? It gives 2 another city looks. How to do it simply?

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
NimoStar
NimoStar


Responsible
Legendary Hero
Modding the Unmoddable
posted December 05, 2017 11:37 PM

Thanks for the encouragement, guys. Yes, it does take a bit of work - work that could be used modding - but I do understand the need of easy documentation.

Also, it's nice seeing it come together. At least if it is appreciated by at least some people :V

__________

Baronus, I am not sure if I understand your idea. You mean, a single building producing both units?
Sadly the one building per unit is hardcoded (except for totally different creature portal); maybe some advanced hex-friendly programmer could override it with the .dll (like Equilibris did for some mechanics such as custom summoning and necromancy), but such think is beyond the scope of my abilities (at least for the time being)

Anyways, your idea in concept is not bad; but I can think it can be easily implemented in Heroes 3 for alternative creatures. Instead of an upgrade, you get a totally different creature. When you click the recruitment screen, for example, instead of Green Dragons or Gold Dragons, you could recruit Green Dragons or Kirin. They would also be interchangeable with the game mechanics (provided a mod makes a way to "de-upgrade" creatures, not only upgrade them)

________________________

Also,
[Reserved for another town] (consecutive post limit is harsh on me)

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
Karmakeld
Karmakeld


Responsible
Supreme Hero
posted December 08, 2017 11:30 PM

Just curious about the skills.
I can't help notice you gave the alchemists charm and resurrection as starting skills. Do they still start with Life and Order or have you managed to complete re-arrange the primary/secondary skills?

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
NimoStar
NimoStar


Responsible
Legendary Hero
Modding the Unmoddable
posted December 09, 2017 07:13 AM

It's just a little trick I learned. Secondary skills have their own codes so if you bypass the game's normal means you can get heroes to start with secondary skills without primary ones.

As it was hex editing the starting hero skills, there was no problems.

You can also do it for map heroes probably, from the hexes I have seen, though the system is different.

Yet, this only works as the heroes start in a game. I have yet to discover anything which enables bypassing these limitations for other purposes (for example scripts), since these automate giving any "required skills" before the actual one.


All of the heroes of current factions "bypass" normal requirements. So yes, you can have defense without stactics, stealth without scouting, summoning without nature, necromancy without death, etc. and it works.

Yet as skill progression, you will still have to "learn" the missing basic one eventually.

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
Baronus
Baronus


Legendary Hero
posted December 09, 2017 12:12 PM

Yes hexediting is needed. It needs edit how building is placed in town when you buy. Its only number and I think may be the same for both.
We can eg give two files h4r. First with firsts building second in alternatives building. But it needs extracting and renaming a lot of buildings. So better is hexedit it. Adding new screens and new look of rest buildings and we have 12 towns!

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
Karmakeld
Karmakeld


Responsible
Supreme Hero
posted December 10, 2017 06:34 PM

NimoStar said:
It's just a little trick I learned. Secondary skills have their own codes so if you bypass the game's normal means you can get heroes to start with secondary skills without primary ones.

As it was hex editing the starting hero skills, there was no problems.

You can also do it for map heroes probably, from the hexes I have seen, though the system is different.

Yet, this only works as the heroes start in a game. I have yet to discover anything which enables bypassing these limitations for other purposes (for example scripts), since these automate giving any "required skills" before the actual one.


All of the heroes of current factions "bypass" normal requirements. So yes, you can have defense without stactics, stealth without scouting, summoning without nature, necromancy without death, etc. and it works.

Yet as skill progression, you will still have to "learn" the missing basic one eventually.


So untested theory is that you could possibly create customized (campaign/map) heroes who could start with various secondary skills? Interesting.

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
NimoStar
NimoStar


Responsible
Legendary Hero
Modding the Unmoddable
posted December 11, 2017 03:03 PM

Quote:
So untested theory is that you could possibly create customized (campaign/map) heroes who could start with various secondary skills? Interesting.


Not exactly untested. I have already seen the hexes and for example edited them to create the blank heroes.

The problem with putting different secondary skills is that so far only the hexes for "basic" is published, and even then these are still different for the editor than for the .exe

But I already have evidence all the time that the game can run with no problem things that make the map editor crash.

__________________________________

A new town has been published, The Dungeon (Ex-Asylum), because it seemed to be one of the more played ones. You can see it on the second post.

More towns are coming later if there is success.

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
dredknight
dredknight


Honorable
Supreme Hero
disrupting the moding industry
posted December 11, 2017 03:17 PM

Nimo forgive me for asking dumb questions but I just bumped into this article and.... are those new factions you have added to the game? and they are not replacing existing one?

You have my admirations if that is the case!
____________
Join our official discord channel | NCF Utility Beta

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
AncientDruids
AncientDruids


Famous Hero
(Andruids for short)
posted December 11, 2017 04:38 PM

They are obviously replacing the old ones.

I have one question myself. Is 'Warlockr' a typo, or some original word-formation? If it's supposed to be the dark magician class present in previous Heroes games, it should be 'Warlock', without 'r' at the end.

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
NimoStar
NimoStar


Responsible
Legendary Hero
Modding the Unmoddable
posted December 11, 2017 04:41 PM
Edited by NimoStar at 16:43, 11 Dec 2017.

They do have to replace existing ones because we don't yet have the code to make all-new ones.

Bear in mind this is the first large-scale mod. H3 has been modding for over 10 years and just now ERA is introducing new towns that don't replace previous ones.

There will have to be either a lot of development on the matter or a release of H4 source code before we can do new towns that don't replace previous ones.

However, at least the Greatest Mod doesn't overwrite normal H4, just compliments it, so you can still play the original game whenever you like by using its .exe - even while the mod is still installed at the same time.

____________________

The Warlockr was originally needed because it hex-replaced "Sorcerer" and needed to have the same character number. I eventually found how to change the number of characters, but by then, I found I actually liked how "Warlockr" sounded. Imagine it as a lore modification or language transformation :V

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
thGryphn
thGryphn


Promising
Famous Hero
posted December 16, 2017 07:47 AM
Edited by thGryphn at 07:48, 16 Dec 2017.

Very, very good Dungeon line-up!

I have one request though, could you put the weekly growth numbers for each creature (for both factions above, and from now on)? Because only then creature stats will make better sense...



Also, I still couldn't make peace with Medusa's in the Necro line-up... I mean, an undead creature in a non-Necro faction is "interesting" and I like it a lot. However, a non-undead creature in the Necro faction, is "weird". If you can somehow edit the Medusa creature and make it an undead, now that I would be all up for. Medusa, after all, is a mythical creature, and you can have your version of it here.

Undead Medusa is what I'd like to see in the Necro line-up

You can even rename it to Undead Medusa


EDIT: Finally, please more factions?

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
mirage
mirage


Promising
Hired Hero
posted December 16, 2017 12:55 PM

afaik theres a [url=http://www.moddb.com/mods/greatest-mod/downloads/lich-minimod-for-greatest-mod-016]lich minimod[/url] for the greatest mod what replaces the medusas with liches in necropolis. the only thing I don't know about is its compatibility with this version...

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
thGryphn
thGryphn


Promising
Famous Hero
posted December 16, 2017 02:04 PM

mirage said:
afaik theres a lich minimod for the greatest mod what replaces the medusas with liches in necropolis. the only thing I don't know about is its compatibility with this version...


I hadn't seen this, thanks, though I think Nimostar needs to make it for v18. Or, am I mistaken??


 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
NimoStar
NimoStar


Responsible
Legendary Hero
Modding the Unmoddable
posted December 17, 2017 03:30 PM
Edited by NimoStar at 15:37, 17 Dec 2017.

My original idea was to post creature growths too, however the castle screen where they appeared was too small. Maybe with text I describe them in next towns.

* * *

Undead medusas is something I will consider. However bear in mind H4 Necropolis was never all undead creatures...
- Imp [Basic] (Not Undead - Living)
- Cerberus (Not Undead - Living)
- Venom Spawn (Not Undead - Living)
- Devil (Not Undead - Living) + Ice Demon (Not Undead - Living)

My version actually increases the proportion of unliving creatures (if we count the Gargoyle)

- Skeleton [Basic] (Undead)
- Zombie [Basic] (Undead)
- Gargoyle (Mechanical/Unliving)
- Vampire (Undead)
- Skeleton Dragon (Undead)

so 5 unliving vs 3 living creatures in new necro, 4 undead vs 4/5 living in old necro (or "infernopolis" as some called it).

Yet "undead" ability is actually a quite strong bonus because of morale and spell immunities, and a big part of why Necropolis became a banned town because too overpowered in Heroes 3. I try to avoid that.

* * *

Lich minimod probably is compatible with 0.18 although I have not tested. The thing that would change is some creature stats, out of date with newer versions.
____________
Never changing = never improving

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
Jump To: « Prev Thread . . . Next Thread »
Post New Poll    Post New Topic    Post New Reply

Page compiled in 0.0769 seconds