Yeah, the magic effect is not really suggestive, I just wanted to post something cool from the creature itself haha!
But you got it right with the aurora.
@zeryss
Can't really say much about it. It was before MDT merged with DoR, and many things happened ever since. For now, it can only be the object of speculations.
____________ 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?
I'm always happy about news of this promising project.
Can you tell something about the Aurora Borealis? Of course it's already known from Conflux. Is it just a cool picture or does it have something to do with Palace? And if it is a kind of building of the Palace town, will there be any changes of Conflux grail building?
And another question because it wasn't talked about it as far as I know: Are there already any compositions for a town theme?
Quote:The image is only suggestive of some of the upgrade's VFX, not an actual screenshot of the creature (but it is what I used as a basis for it).
About the town theme, it has been virtually done for a few years. The old, crappy (I can't stress that enough, reeeeee) teaser even has a remix of the town theme's motif after the Snow theme remix ends (which is more obvious when Gelu visits the ice spire and reveals everything around).
____________ 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?
Thanks! As for release, when it's done.
____________ 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?
Happy New Year, everybody! It is time for another DoR update, one that should have come earlier, soon after Christmas, but I wanted everything to meet our expectations for this promo material, so there was a little delay due to that. You'll find out why specifically at the bottom of the update.
The Nisse and Tomte
First of all, we have to thank you, the community, for the feedback given. We have always said that feedback is important and we take it into consideration, and it is true. There was plenty of feedback that this particular creature as well as certain aspects of the town are too reminiscent of Winter holidays. Since this was also not really our intent when making the Palace, we have decided to replace or rework most such elements, with most of that endeavor having been handled in November of last year. Thank you!
Palace consistently features various Norse and winterland creatures, but there is usually a clear distinction between the two. However, the Nisse might be the only exception. While it is a Nordic creature from Europe, from more or less the same area that was once occupied by vikings, it is in fact a post-viking creature, with it being debated to have appeared as early as the 13th century and as late as the 17th century.
In DoR, the Nisse are short humanoids, native to Vori. Merry little folks, they dabble predominantly in matters such as stargazing and the crafting of related equipment. Protective and conservative by nature, they also make for great guards. They stand out from other races such as the dwarves through the fact that, in spite of their big beards, their skin is always smooth and young, as are their facial features for the most part.
Nisse. Idle and mouseover frames, 200% resolution.
When it comes to gameplay, the Nisse is not very proficient in battle. It boasts below-average stats outside of speed. However, things do change with the Tomte. While their stats become average at best, they have good speed and, unlike many creatures of the same tier, gain an ability, Stargazing. I wonder how many of you will be able to guess what it does! Not only, but in terms of usefulness, the upgraded Tomte is also currently competitive with some of the stronger melee T1 creatures.
Tomte. Idle and cast frames, 200% resolution.
T7 rush?!?!
Squirrels found 6/6 (for a little reward) Edit: All were found! My next post has the "little reward".
This particular creature slot faced the most debate during the town's inception. Kobolds and Red Caps were some of the most commonly mentioned candidates, but in the end, we decided to go with something that has clear connections to the winterland and would have not been controversial for various reasons (such as the Kobold, which would have been an awkward fit due to its evil and draconic angle, among others). The Nisse is a little humanoid with enough room to be distinctive from other such races, and is associated with the necessary tropes.
The worlds of MM and DnD are host to various races of short humanoids. While one could simply just brand them all as variations of dwarves, that is not really true. Halflings, for example, are roughly just as short as dwarves, but hardly sport any beard, do not wear shoes, and often have curly hair. Gnomes, on the other hand, are physically more similar to dwarves, but have a stronger affinity for Magic and more natural things, rather than Might, mining and the forge (with the Red Dwarves having even created primitive robots). Thus, they are also somewhat closer to the garden gnome and elf (miniature ones) interpretations than the classic Tolkien-esque dwarves found in both MM and DnD are.
NWC's King's Bounty - you can spot the 8 Dwarf warriors on the upper side of the arena, and the sole Gnome in the lower part of it.
The Red Dwarves' Dragon Golem in HoMM4 - these are the same dwarves who inhabit Stone City in MM7, as put into evidence by a location's name and their independent rule.
Various depictions of Gnomes in Might and Magic RPGs - you can notice their inclination towards the Magical arts.
The Nisse (or Tomte) in DoR, as mentioned above, are young-looking short humanoid, with fairly smooth skin that does not betray their age. Unlike the halfling, however, they have great, bushy beards, and are not as nimble. They do not have a particularly strong interest or affinity with aspects of either Might or Magic, like other races do. Instead, they are passionate about having a cozy and protected home, a trait which they partially share with the gnomes, and, perhaps unexpectedly, they are also very curious about anything that concerns the night sky. Regardless of whether it's simply tradition or genetics, this strong interest is shared among most of the Nisse population. As one might expect, they are indeed great craftsmen of anything related to this field of study, and to that end they do not shy from combining both pure physics and magical functions. The stretched time of Vori also aids this endeavor. Thus, despite being in the age of Silence, their telescopes and observatories undeniably perform much better than any found elsewhere on the face of Enroth, and are even comparable in some aspects to the ones from Before the Silence. And only a few of those Ancient artifacts remain today, with some of them being treasured by the likes of Gavin Magnus, the immortal ruler of Bracada.
This inclination of theirs is pretty critical in Vori's zealotic fate-predicting mindset as well. While they do use casting runes, astrology is just as important. The world of MM is built like a virtual simulation which contains "hidden features", and the inhabitants of Vori know how to use these to greater extents than the regular astrologers do, thanks to the Vori elves' inherited knowledge. The way in which the stars and planets align in this universe can influence events and many other things on the various worlds, from something as simple as increased squirrel activity, to plague outbursts. There is more to say here, and the Nisse are definitely involved in it, but more on that in the future. Nonetheless, some of the HoMM players will see the return of certain game mechanics as a result of that.
A Tomte looking up at the night sky, by Eva Melhuish.
Earlier on I have mentioned their protective nature. These little folk enjoy adorning their houses with ornaments and keeping them safe, and this also translates to a sentiment of protecting their island and inhabitants as well. As such, it is not uncommon for a Nisse to work as a guard when it comes to military matters. The ones with stronger sentiments towards Vori's Ancient heritage also make it a duty for themselves to grow in their rank and position in order to become the guards of Iduna's own ice palace or the capital in Larhana.
This more or less summarizes the lore background of the creature, in DoR. But why have we chosen this direction? Physically, there was a need to distinguish it from other short races such as the dwarves and gnomes. Both of these creatures often sport beards and have wrinkled skin, their age showing remarkably depending on the individual. So we had to do something at least different enough with these little fellas. Representations of Nisse and Tomte with young facial features, Nils Holgersson in Selma Lagerlöf's book "The Wonderful Adventures of Nils", as well as themes of immortality and timelessnes associated with Vori back their physical traits.
Nils Holgerrson after being downsized by a Nisse.
Mythologically, the Nisse and Tomte are household spirits, taking care of the house, the animals and so on. It is undeniable that modern interpretations have left their mark on this creature, with it often being represented as a spirit that loves the house. While this is not too far from the original interpretation, either, it solidifies the motif itself. Not only, but another major winterland inspiration is Narnia's White Witch, who had a personal dwarf.
Lastly, their fascination with the night sky is not something directly related to the mythological creature itself, but an identity that we have gradually formed for it. It was decided ever since the beginning that themes like astrology as well as fate prediction and intervention will be major motifs in Palace (Norse runes, the Chinese angle, the Wyrdes from MM9, MM9's Norse motifs etc.), and there was still a need to make the Nisse more unique, lore-wise. Admittedly, and from before the visual rework, a loose inspiration was Santa Claus flying around over the night sky with his sleigh, but stronger than that was the general theme of the Northern Lights, Aurora Borealis, clear night skies and so on that occur in Northern regions. Not only, but this also proved to be a perfect opportunity to introduce motifs of Chinese astrology, too. And since it was unfit to make the "light" elves of Vori or its vikings be passionate about the creation of telescopes (among other things), equipment which is necessary for the proper study of the sky, it was decided that the Nisse could very well adopt such an identity.
Wu Yong, a fictional character from Chinese literature, drawn by Utagawa Kuniyoshi.
The last thing left to discuss are the visuals of the creature. Both versions of the creature feature big wooly boots, suitable to traveling in snowy areas. The basic version has thick mittens, but the upgrade wields gloves, which give it more flexibility. Worth mentioning is that the basic version is more of a homage to the classic Nisse, whereas the upgrade leans more towards the guard interpretation. Thus, the presence of that particular hat on the Nisse, and the striped socks that appear on the upgraded Tomte.
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There was a bit of a debate regarding the weapon they should wield, also in order to avoid overlap with certain creatures' weapons, some of which even inside the faction itself. The concept art featured some sort of fancy, ice pick-poleaxe weapon with little real life parallel. It was the only thing that significantly changed after the creature was remodeled, until it became a more relatable poleaxe weapon of sorts.
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Tomte artwork, by KM.
Press the image for full resolution.
And, to close it off, a nice, updated creature evolution chart and.... a game cutscene! This is not meant to be part of the main Palace campaign (but a secondary one), and the text is somewhat of a placeholder, as it contradicts the lore in some regards (for example, Falagar was stationed on Enroth for a good while, and the adventurers in MM6 refered to him as more of a fatherly "granddad"), but nevertheless, we hope you'll enjoy it! And of course, it is still prone to changes.
The delay is due to the fact that Winter holidays are a busy time, and I was bent on releasing this update only when the VA is done (which has masterfully been handled by @Ehlesgens-art). The music was written by AmiDaDeer (formerly "Hobbit").
____________ 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?
Crap, you people were too fast for me to think about the "reward" yet.
(But I'm really glad you liked this little game of finding squirrels, I'll continue it in future updates. Also, the CDA screenshot has some squirrels, too, for whoever has the magazine, and for whenever we'll post the images).
Well, for now, I'll actually share a bit of info, instead.
In this screenshot, you can see the default, basic T1 of all DoR towns. In older screenshots on adventure map (page 11), you can also spot the new Yeti and Frost Giant (different creatures), together with.... another Palace lineup creature.
(And lastly, pay close attention to the wording I used as image caption or as part of images, it might reveal more, but I won't confirm it just yet).
Edit: Fixed the image above the squirrel image.
____________ 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?
____________ 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?
Exellent update and both creatures look much better than previously. I wasn't expecting the creature's best attribute being speed, but that's probably just me. Anyway, if the rest of the creatures will have this good quality, I can't wait to try the town out. Homm3 is going strong even after 25 years.
Thank you!! And yes, this is the quality standard we want to uphold.
There is actually a good balance reason for why they have nice speed (besides, their stats are not really that high to begin with, roughly goblin level, with 1-2 damage), and it relates to some things guessed by forum readers, the CDA article, and the "little reward" above. But again, for now, I won't confirm it (but maybe I can broach the matter in the next update, we'll see hehe).
____________ 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?
Quote:There is also a Yuki-onna looking thing below the imp cache
Well, creatures ought to have an adventure map sprite, too, don't they? =p
The other two creatures you pointed out have also been shown in the CDA magazine, I think there is a photo of them earlier, heh.
____________ 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?
Damn I had to think for a moment there when you said "fat bald man on the top right". It's actually top left! And some inside info - these guys are neither bald nor fat. But nicely spotted regardless haha
LordCameron
Known Hero
Veteran of the Succession Wars
posted January 06, 2024 07:45 PM
Xfing said:Damn I had to think for a moment there when you said "fat bald man on the top right". It's actually top left! And some inside info - these guys are neither bald nor fat. But nicely spotted regardless haha
This thread is pages long: 
posted November 15, 2023 04:06 PM
! Good eye !
