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| Thread: Immortal Realms: Vampire Wars (HoMM like game) | |
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Blake00
Known Hero
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posted September 18, 2020 10:29 AM |
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Edited by Blake00 at 11:52, 18 Sep 2020.
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Immortal Realms: Vampire Wars (HoMM like game)
I just saw this new dark Transylvanian vampire HoMM like game called Immortal Realms: Vampire Wars for PC, PS4, Xbox, & Switch in one of my recent PC Gamer mags. In their preview they talked about it's closeness in gameplay to Heroes of Might & Magic and gothic art style to Disciples. I also notice it has a Eador & AoW-Planetfall like territory/province system, a research system (called legacy), and it looks like most of the game's mechanics (empire, heroes, spells etc) revolve around an interesting card deck system and all the cards have these cool animations. Looks like there's no gorgeous HoMM style city screen where you build buildings but in the main map view you can develop provinces with some interesting building upgrades.
I just checked and the game got released a couple of weeks ago on Steam & GoG. Metacritic score looks pretty good at 71%, steam score is not as good although most of the negative reviews point to bugs and AI issues that will hopefully be sorted in patches (Kalypso shouldn't pull the plug on them as there's console releases coming so they'll wanna iron out all the bugs). No multiplayer which doesn't bother me but I know it might bother others so thought I'd mention it.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1024480/Immortal_Realms_Vampire_Wars/
https://www.gog.com/game/immortal_realms_vampire_wars
Here's an old preview video of it.. I love that foggy night map shown around the 2min mark. I remember preview videos of HoMM5 had undead foggy dark night time maps that excited me but the final game just had the usual not so foggy day time or dusk undead maps. I can also see myself spending ages just gawking at all the card animations instead of playing the game haha.
https://youtu.be/qf1ylXIzK4k?t=12
A much more recent video where a guy plays the first campaign mission for half an hour.
https://youtu.be/wTnXKOE4Aes
Another new video where a guy plays a skirmish game against what appears to be a lot of AI factions which is cool.
https://youtu.be/omUsxlKDQ-Y
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Blake's Sanctum - Heroes of Might & Magic: fan page containing pictures, vids, info, similar games & fan projects!
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Stevie
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
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posted September 18, 2020 11:14 AM |
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Gonna do more research when I get back home. For now I'll keep an eye on it and maybe give it a consideration on a discount sale. But man, is this community completely starved of Heroes... Everything starts looking like Heroes... Heroes this, Heroes that. I can cut the desperation with a knife.
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Guide to a Great Heroes Game
The Young Traveler
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blob2
Undefeatable Hero
Blob-Ohmos the Second
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posted September 18, 2020 05:47 PM |
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Edited by blob2 at 17:50, 18 Sep 2020.
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I actually mentioned this game a couple of times already. I'm currently playing it, 2/3 of the sp campaign in. It's solid but still buggy and needs polishing. For example I have some nasty issues with savegames - I need to restart the game regulary cus they stop working. But maybe it happens only on my machine.
The game has potential: the atmosphere is really great, the machanics are easy to grasp and fun (a nice blend of startegy and cardgame + tb battles), the campaign is solid (simple, but enjoyable plot) and quite hard. From a gameplay standpoint this game is quite enjoyable. It has some UI issues that should be ironed out (not everything is clear enough like some keywords etc). It could use some more content: 3 playable factions + 1 neutral and that's it, it doesn't even have neutral monsters. The cardpool/ability pool is also limited. Ah yes, and the AI is simply bad.
I would suggest you guys wait some time for it to be on sale, 30 euros is a bit expensive for what it has to offer at this point. But definately keep it on your radars.
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Blake00
Known Hero
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posted September 21, 2020 08:59 PM |
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Edited by Blake00 at 21:00, 21 Sep 2020.
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blob2 said:
I would suggest you guys wait some time for it to be on sale, 30 euros is a bit expensive for what it has to offer at this point. But definately keep it on your radars.
Thanks yup, that's the plan. Have wishlisted it and subscribed to their updates.
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Blake's Sanctum - Heroes of Might & Magic: fan page containing pictures, vids, info, similar games & fan projects!
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PandaTar
Responsible
Legendary Hero
Celestial Heavens Mascot
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posted September 21, 2020 09:25 PM |
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Oh, it's already released? I thought it was in early access or something.
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"Okay. Look. We both said a lot of things that you're going to regret. But I think we can put our differences behind us. For science. You monster."
GlaDOS – Portal 2
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blob2
Undefeatable Hero
Blob-Ohmos the Second
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posted September 22, 2020 12:18 AM |
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Edited by blob2 at 00:20, 22 Sep 2020.
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PandaTar said:
Oh, it's already released? I thought it was in early access or something.
The beta was released a couple of months ago to people who pre-ordered the game. Basically it was EA, I wonder why they didn't call it such to begin with (maybe some kind of policy?). They added content in parts, campaign and all. You could basically finish the game even before its release date which was August 28th. After some initial playtesting I kept the game in the "freezer" until it was officially released hoping they add some more content around the time for its release, but they didn't.
At face value the game is enjoyable and I don't regret buying it. The campaign is somewhere between 30 hours of play (still need to finish though), with no difficulty options (there's a bit of a difficulty spike in the middle to end of the first factions campaign) and I still didn't get bored with it. After that I think I'll probably play it some more, but it's not a game that will give you 100+ hours like AoW Planetfall imo. It doesn't have multiplayer and I know some people hate weak AI so the game won't satisfy them in the long term.
This game is like this little gem in the rough. You discover it, you play it, you enjoy it. Heck you might even feel you were looking for something like this in the TBS departament, especially if you like Disciples like setting. But then you realize the game could've been so much more.
I say wait. Wait for price drop (or you can play it for 2 hours and refund). Wait and see if developers will support it. They promise they are working on patches but it's almost a month and still not even some hotfixes. I don't know if they have a roadmap, plans for expanding what the game is lacking currently (better AI or UI, more content, multiplayer) or if its a few patches more fare and it is all there is to the game. It could really use more adventure objects, neutral monsters, maybe things like mini quests etc. Something to give more variety. Or maybe it just a one-of. You'll play the game, finish the campaign and stop the clock at around 40-50 hours, never to go back to it (which is still solid, but not for a strategy game).
So here are my two cents, don't expect more from me because there's probably not much more I can say about this time.
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PandaTar
Responsible
Legendary Hero
Celestial Heavens Mascot
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posted September 22, 2020 04:10 AM |
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Thanks for the input. I was not really looking to buy it. My mood is wavering around RPGs and platform games right now. ^_^
Let's hope this game will have added stuff. As consumers get more demanding, it's odd having games still being released with not much content. And again, bad AI.
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"Okay. Look. We both said a lot of things that you're going to regret. But I think we can put our differences behind us. For science. You monster."
GlaDOS – Portal 2
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blob2
Undefeatable Hero
Blob-Ohmos the Second
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posted September 22, 2020 09:45 AM |
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Edited by blob2 at 09:46, 22 Sep 2020.
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PandaTar said:
Let's hope this game will have added stuff. As consumers get more demanding, it's odd having games still being released with not much content. And again, bad AI.
I think companies like Calypso or Paradox try to simply fill some niches. They have those big sellers like Tropico or Stellaris, but they have a lot of small game development companies under them and those make games that aren't "destined for greatness". Just those solid 6-7/10 strategy games who a small portion of gamers will pick up because they fill the market isn't very bountiful for them. Imo it's still hard to find some truly polished TBS fantasy games that will scratch that "Heroes" or "Disciples" itch... hope Song of Conquest will do that for me, I have high expectations.
IR is one of those solid games that imo still do not explain such a pricetag behind them. In some aspects the game feels that it's Palindromes first game...
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Neraus
Promising
Legendary Hero
Pain relief cream seller
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posted September 22, 2020 12:08 PM |
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Stevie said:
Gonna do more research when I get back home. For now I'll keep an eye on it and maybe give it a consideration on a discount sale. But man, is this community completely starved of Heroes... Everything starts looking like Heroes... Heroes this, Heroes that. I can cut the desperation with a knife.
As a kid I called Age of Wonders "that Heroes III like game", back then any TBS with hero on the map was Heroes to me.
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Noli offendere Patriam Agathae quia ultrix iniuriarum est.
ANTUDO
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blob2
Undefeatable Hero
Blob-Ohmos the Second
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posted September 22, 2020 03:27 PM |
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Neraus said:
As a kid I called Age of Wonders "that Heroes III like game", back then any TBS with hero on the map was Heroes to me.
This isn't actually wrong. Some would probably argue but I still find Heroes of M&M games as pinnacle of TBS PC gaming and compare every other fantasy game to it. The only other subgroup I cleary identify in the TBS genre are Japanese Tactics-Ogre or Famitsu Wars (Fire Emblem) style tactical games... and don't lecture me, this is how I personally view it.
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PandaTar
Responsible
Legendary Hero
Celestial Heavens Mascot
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posted September 22, 2020 03:31 PM |
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Final Fantasy Tactics, Bahamut Lagoon, Tenshi Muyo, Banner Saga are also part of that genre you mentioned. FFT the one I played the most.
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"Okay. Look. We both said a lot of things that you're going to regret. But I think we can put our differences behind us. For science. You monster."
GlaDOS – Portal 2
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Neraus
Promising
Legendary Hero
Pain relief cream seller
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posted September 22, 2020 03:36 PM |
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I add the civ-like games, though I find master of magic much better than civilization.
Otherwise I do have a similar way of thinking, what's funny is that my first FE-like game was an Italian indie PC game, probably the only game that made me cry over a plot in my childhood.
Doesn't do the same effect, turned out it was the smarmy anime inspired final scene coupled with the music.
Anyway, this game for some reason reminds me more about Total War: Warhammer.
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Noli offendere Patriam Agathae quia ultrix iniuriarum est.
ANTUDO
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blob2
Undefeatable Hero
Blob-Ohmos the Second
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posted September 22, 2020 03:43 PM |
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Edited by blob2 at 15:52, 22 Sep 2020.
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Neraus said:
I add the civ-like games, though I find master of magic much better than civilization.
I think 4X is a different beast entirely, simply because even if you have RPG like elements (Endless Legend and its hero customization for example), most TBS games in the style of Heroes don't have any clear economical layer. Sure you might have city building or even some research, but usually nothing more then "collect gold and build your armies". Actually Age of Wonders leans more towards 4X in that regard as it has technology/science trees and province growth/expansion... while Total War has real-time battles.
But still, this is how I perceive things, it might not be accurate...
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artu
Promising
Undefeatable Hero
My BS sensor is tingling again
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posted September 23, 2020 01:20 AM |
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artu
Promising
Undefeatable Hero
My BS sensor is tingling again
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posted September 23, 2020 05:16 AM |
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Of course, this wasnt about immortal realms and vampire wars. Sorry kids, dont drink and drive.
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Are you pretty? This is my occasion. - Ghost
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Blake00
Known Hero
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posted September 26, 2020 05:59 PM |
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Edited by Blake00 at 18:01, 26 Sep 2020.
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Speak of the devil.. first patch is here. Hopefully fixes some of those bugs and UI issues I've seen complaints about.
https://steamcommunity.com/games/1024480/announcements/detail/2901963782215948660
Yeah judging comments I've seen here and elsewhere I really hope it does well enough for them to do addons with more factions and content etc. That way by the time I get to it it'll be bloody amazing haha. However even if that doesn't happen I'm sure I'll still enjoy it being a big HoMM and Disciples player.
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Blake's Sanctum - Heroes of Might & Magic: fan page containing pictures, vids, info, similar games & fan projects!
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blob2
Undefeatable Hero
Blob-Ohmos the Second
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posted September 27, 2020 02:00 AM |
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Edited by blob2 at 02:01, 27 Sep 2020.
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If you're interested in the game you should try it. I don't know if 2 hours is enough to get a feel of it (the refund period I mean), but the campaign itself is a solid 30+ hours of gameplay (and I myself do enjoy it).
You can also wait to see if the game is improved upon. The patch did fix some things but I think the general shortcomings of the game are still there. It remains to be seen if devs will adress them.
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Blake00
Known Hero
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posted October 07, 2020 06:53 AM |
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Edited by Blake00 at 06:54, 07 Oct 2020.
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blob2 said:
If you're interested in the game you should try it.
I wish I could! However I don't have a dedicated graphics card installed and I'm still using Windows 7 due to my retro gaming activities. This game is Win 10 only so it'll have to wait until I upgrade in the next year or so.
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Blake's Sanctum - Heroes of Might & Magic: fan page containing pictures, vids, info, similar games & fan projects!
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blob2
Undefeatable Hero
Blob-Ohmos the Second
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posted October 07, 2020 10:46 AM |
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I've completed the campaign after around 30+ hours. It was a decent experience, I enjoyed it. The fights themselves can be quite challenging if you want to conserve your forces (and you should cus enemies usually have a lot of armies with high tier units plus they gain exp which makes them stronger). The campaign is designed so you can usually field only one strong army (or I'm simply bad with economy in this game  ) whereas due to activities of AI and its multiple armies it's hard to protect your domain, which is kinda lazy design but oh well. And rest of your heroes will be used to "ping" provinces, as there are no garrisons in the game, and each time it gives you experience which is used for upgrades. Auto-battle sometimes works sometimes the results are far from optimal, and strangely it's blocked at some points (devs imply that you should fight the harder battles yourself). I enjoy the possibility to influence the outcomes of battles with card combinations, there are some really useful ones to pick. After completing the campaign I'm yet to find motivation to play the game some more (in sandbox mode). So keep that in mind.
I still think it's best to wait and see how the game evolves from this point onwards. So far they patched the most serious issues (with saves), but people would still like to see some UI and AI tweaks.
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