Heroes of Might & Magic III HD Edition

JuliusBorisov

Ubisoft have announced that the most popular Heroes title of all time will soon be back in HD, fifteen years later than the vanilla game.

Key Features

- A new HD experience: re-live the Heroes III in HD, a true craftsmanship which offers players updated graphics, with wide screen compatibility.
- Enjoy the critically acclaimed Heroes III gameplay, with 7 exciting campaign scenarios, around 50 skirmish maps, a local multiplayer mode and a map editor.
- A new online multiplayer lobby tailored for PC: Now Steamworks compatible, the PC version of Heroes III offers an online multiplayer lobby, where you can share your experience with the Heroes® III community.
- Play Heroes® III on tablets anywhere: Heroes III now features iOS and Android tablet versions, upgraded with intuitive touch controls to enjoy this passionate game experience anywhere… anytime.

Ubisoft's objective with HOMM3 – HD Edition is to offer a new way to experience Heroes III on iOS and Android, alone or with friends thanks to the acclaimed hotseat mode (no more boring long train journeys!).

To also please the PC fans they have worked on a Steamworks version of Heroes 3 RoE! As they say, if you want to try the game after all those years, play it again in HD and benefit from Steam multiplayer features, this version is made for you.

Heroes of Might & Magic III HD Edition will have only Restoration of Erathia and no expansions. No Shadow of Death and Armageddon's Blade.

This is because Ubisoft found usable source code only for Heroes III Restoration of Erathia. In 2003 they asked New World Computing to retrieve their archives for all the Might & Magic titles and RoE was the only thing that was given in terms of HOMM3.

These're the screenshots from HOMM3 HD Edition - look at the resolution and the redrawn material:









The video below shows what particular work Ubisoft have done while creating the HD Edition.

http://youtu.be/qrRr0DMnBc4

http://might-and-magic.ubi.com/universe/en-gb/games/all-games/might-and-magic-heroes-3-hd/index.aspx

http://mmh7.ubi.com/de/blog/post/view/a-special-announcement

Edit: the game is out!

JuliusBorisov

I've thought this news and the game itself deserves the separate thread that can be updated as soon as the new information becomes available.

Adding to the main announcement Ubisoft have already released a special announcement (the link is in the OP) about why there can be no Shadow of Death and Armageddon's Blade HD Editions.

tagging here people that I know like HOMM3 @Shandyr‌ (it would be excellent to see your BG map with this graphics) @Tresset‌ @Aedan‌ @mlnevese‌ @BelgarathMTH‌ @booinyoureyes‌ @LordRumfish‌ @CrevsDaak‌ @lolien‌ @HaHaCharade‌ @bob_veng‌ @KidCarnival‌ @Pecca‌ @Anton‌

@Anduin‌ (just look at the Necropolis photo from the OP) and others who haven't tasted HOMM3 - this is your chance : )

LordRumfish

Modern update eh? Hmmm... food for thought. They've cut back my hours at work so I'm watching my spending carefully right now, but it does look interesting.

Pecca

It's awesome, but having no datadiscs hurts. It means that my old Heroes III Complete edition will still provide better experience on my PC. But it may be perfect for a casual play on android during everyday travels to work. I'm looking forward to it.

O_Bruce

Original creatures models never were that undetailed.
http://img6.gram.pl/20141209192924.jpg
http://grajcownik.pl/gry/solucje/heroes3/mapa/pole_bitwy2.jpg

False advertising we have here.

JuliusBorisov

@O_Bruce‌ There was a lot of criticism after the main announcement and many people said the same you say. Ubisoft released the special announcement after it with the video and the resolution. The thing is in HD Edition you'll be able to watch redrawn textures in much larger resolutions than in the original. The video shows exactly what they have done.

So, on a 800x600 resolution you won't see the difference but the difference will be on a 1920x1080 resolution.

Also, the textures are redrawn - you can see the difference on the screenshots.

O_Bruce

@bengoshi‌
While it's true that the video looks believable, you have to consider that at least one of the promotional materials is false. We're dealing with Ubisoft here, and hence I recommend to be a little careful with this project.

I perfectly understand that the fans might be excited, thought.

Pekingduckman

I would have preferred if Heroes 3 HD was done by BeamDog instead of DotEmu

rede9

bengoshi said:

Heroes of Might & Magic III HD Edition will have only Restoration of Erathia and no expansions. No Shadow of Death and Armageddon's Blade.

This is because Ubisoft found usable source code only for Heroes III Restoration of Erathia. In 2003 they asked New World Computing to retrieve their archives for all the Might & Magic titles and RoE was the only thing that was given in terms of HOMM3.

Damn it.
But will it be multilanguage at least?

HaHaCharade

bengoshi said:

I've thought this news and the game itself deserves the separate thread that can be updated as soon as the new information becomes available.

Adding to the main announcement Ubisoft have already released a special announcement (the link is in the OP) about why there can be no Shadow of Death and Armageddon's Blade HD Editions.

tagging here people that I know like HOMM3 @Shandyr‌ (it would be excellent to see your BG map with this graphics) @Tresset‌ @Aedan‌ @mlnevese‌ @BelgarathMTH‌ @booinyoureyes‌ @LordRumfish‌ @CrevsDaak‌ @lolien‌ @HaHaCharade‌ @bob_veng‌ @KidCarnival‌ @Pecca‌ @Anton‌

@Anduin‌ (just look at the Necropolis photo from the OP) and others who haven't tasted HOMM3 - this is your chance : )

Cool! Hopefully they give the expansions the HD treatment too.

KidCarnival

Really not excited it's Ubisoft. I distrust them. I bought Heroes 6 (or whatever stupid title they gave it, "Might & Magic: Heroes"?) and that was the end. First, the game sucks ass. I know the even numbered HOMMs never were as great as the odd numbered ones, but seriously, how can you remove one half of the title giving elements, in this case magic aka Tower? Second, the forced being online even when in single player campaign, which I couldn't play in a team/as PvP if I wanted, has been critized about Ubisoft a lot, and in this case, it reached a crowning moment of pathetic. Shortly after launch, the server went down and the only people able to play... were people who had torrented the game where forced online was disabled. I paid 60 EUR and couldn't play. For WEEKS. When I could, I soon found out the game sucks because no, not all factions should have access to everything, with nothing but different annoying voiceovers to set them apart.

In short, I'm not going to buy from Ubisoft again. They still owe me 60 bucks or alternatively, at least 60 hours of fun. I'll try to get the CPU issue with my old version solved, if neccessary, I install on an older computer. Either way, it's going to be cheaper and more reliable than Ubisoft. Who will likely also force me online to play a game from 2003. F' that.

BelgarathMTH

I'm still not sure what to think about it. I'll probably wind up buying it if I read at least some good initial feedback after it's released, but Ubisoft has a well-deserved bad reputation, so I'm adopting a wait-and-see approach for now. I will be following news about it with interest. But, always, caveat emptor when it come to Ubisoft.

CoryNewb

So I don't have to use UPlay like my copy of child of light? Count me in

iKrivetko

Really looking forward to it. The typography is rubbish though.

EDIT:

bengoshi said:

only Restoration of Erathia and no expansions

Actually, now it seems much less tempting.

bob_veng

it's not good enough quality. some adventure map buildings look pathetic such as school of magic.

everything would need to look spotless for me to be happy because that's what the game deserves.

Dee

I feel Ubisoft's pain. Not being able to work with original art assets makes remastering a lot more difficult- and that's what this is, ultimately; a remastering, not a full HD overhaul.

It's still exciting to me, though; I haven't played HoMM3 in over a decade.

bob_veng

but it's not sufficiently high quality work. the overpainting is smudgy and some objects look distorted.

Daralon87

Ah good... a medicine for the gamers with eye-cancers!

JuliusBorisov

While we're waiting...

JuliusBorisov

The game is available for pre-order for $14.99:

http://might-and-magic.ubi.com/universe/en-gb/games/all-games/might-and-magic-heroes-3-hd/

http://store.steampowered.com/app/297000/

The release will happen in 2-weeks time.

So, there's a Steamworks compatibility and the game will not require Uplay.

The game's Steam page doesn't mention Uplay at all, which makes Heroes of Might & Magic III HD Edition one of the few games developed and/or published by Ubisoft that does not require the Uplay service.

elminster

Man people are intense on Steam about not liking this namely because it doesn't have the expansions (as if this was an easy option to include them). Reminds me of when BGEE launched.

JuliusBorisov

The game has been released! You can buy it here:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/297000/ or http://shop.ubi.com/store/ubiemea/ru_RU/pd/ThemeID.8605700/productID.312698000/Heroes-of-Might-Magic-III-HD-Edition

The price is $14.99.

smeagolheart

the hd graphics don't look very different than the old graphics to me. Even the HD version is not a good looking game.

elminster

I do like how all these reviewers on Steam bought the game, surely knowing that it didn't have the expansions. This had been repeated many times on Steam's forums and even someone like myself (I'm pretty unfamiliar with the series) was aware of it after basic research. Yet the top Steam complaints are about how it doesn't have the expansions. Given that you have to purchase the game on Steam in order to write a review did people really pay $15 to grip about the game? Or are they just incapable of googling?

Wilbur

elminster said:

I do like how all these reviewers on Steam bought the game, surely knowing that it didn't have the expansions. This had been repeated many times on Steam's forums and even someone like myself (I'm pretty unfamiliar with the series) was aware of it after basic research. Yet the top Steam complaints are about how it doesn't have the expansions. Given that you have to purchase the game on Steam in order to write a review did people really pay $15 to grip about the game? Or are they just incapable of googling?

You can't fix stupid I guess.

jackjack

Companies sure are tossing around the ol' HD term without warrant these days.

iKrivetko

elminster said:

I do like how all these reviewers on Steam bought the game, surely knowing that it didn't have the expansions. This had been repeated many times on Steam's forums and even someone like myself (I'm pretty unfamiliar with the series) was aware of it after basic research. Yet the top Steam complaints are about how it doesn't have the expansions. Given that you have to purchase the game on Steam in order to write a review did people really pay $15 to grip about the game? Or are they just incapable of googling?

http://youtu.be/Dsy2q_rkl3w

smeagolheart

why didn't they just call it whatever expansion HD instead of the full game HD.

Not that I'm confused but just to make it clear to everyone, then they wouldn't have this backlash.

iKrivetko

HURR DURR DERPITY DERP

BelgarathMTH

Hi, I bought HoMM 3 HD today on Steam, and I love it. It looks really sharp and beautiful, and it plays in HD and widescreen "out of the box", with no need for mods or other tweaking. Plus, I get the nice Steam support, with achievements record and hours logged counter.

This release reminds me very much of the EE editions of the Infinity Engine games. The "naysayers" are using pretty much the same criticisms that were used against Beamdog when they "enhanced" the IE games.

I'm already spoiled on the graphical sharpness and ease of use of the new HD version of HoMM 3, just as I was on the EE's of the IE games.

As far as the lack of expansions, I rarely stay interested in a HoMM game, (there are 6 of them now, and a 7th coming soon), long enough to want to move from the main release into the expansions. If I do get so interested in HoMM 3 presently, that the original Restoration of Erathia isn't enough to satisfy my current interest, I already own the GoG.com complete version, in all its blurriness and 4x3 aspect ratio.

Plus, I remember playing the expansions upon their original release, and not thinking that they were all that great.

As with the EE's vs. the original IE games with widescreen mod, I remain unimpressed with the various widescreen mods for old games, as I find them to be ridiculously zoomed out to the point of having avatars looking like ants, and game structures looking like anthills.

Since I am an avid Might and Magic 7 player, the story and lore of HoMM 3 are especially fun and nostalgia-inducing. I know all of Erathia and the surrounding territories and factions intimately well from MM7, so the game story plays out really well from the beginning, giving me a great incentive to beat maps in order to progress the story and thereby increase my appreciation of MM7.

If you want to play a great old turn-based strategy game in HD, with remastered sprites, and un-zoomed-out widescreen, and with Steam support (achievements records, hours played records, friends who also play, etc.), for only $15 U.S., then the new HoMM 3 HD is very good. and you'd probably like it.

I'm very glad I bought it.

Pekingduckman

Unfortunately, the lack of the expansions really hurt the game IMO, especially since the Armageddon's Blade expansion introduced the random map generator which is quite popular online. Beamdog's Enhanced Editions can at least be justified for their prices since they not only include the original games plus expansions, they also include extra NPCs, items, classes etc beyond the original games. Even Skybox's HD editions for Age of Empires 2/Mythology made popular mods official parts of the game. In contrast, Heroes 3 HD is missing the 9th town, a dozen creature and numerous items, the RMG, not to mention mod support, many of which depends on the expansions.