I purchased HOMM3 Complete on my laptop from GoG. Will HoA work with this, or do I need an original copy?
It will! In fact, it's the recommended version to install HotA over. The addon will also work with Shadow of Death, but not Restoration of Erathia, Armageddon's Blade or the (eurgh) HD version from Steam.
Thanks for the reply. I'll give it a try this weekend...
Having lots of fun with the update! I like some of the skill rebalances the most, so far. Haven't gotten the wasteland terrain to show up on a random map yet, but I am looking forward to it.
Apologies for hijacking this thread a bit, but I was wondering... Might any of you happen to know of a HoMM 3 save game editor that works with/up to Shadow of Death? I mainly just want to tweak the secondary skills my Hero(s) have ("Stop giving me Eagle Eye/Scholar/First Aid, DANGNABBIT!!!"). I did try my hand at hex editing the save game, but I'm afraid it seems to be beyond my technical skill as I must have messed something up as the save game wouldn't load afterwards.
HoMM3 is one of the best strategy games. It's cool people are still expanding them.
I went from the original version to HotA :
Fan of:
- Graphics & animations improvements
- New faction(s)
- random map option
- team alignment option
- map/island/no island option
- spell scrolls
Not fan of:
- The new font is thin and harder to read than original game
- Battle screen/town screen isn't widescreen (less immersive)
- Being able to re-do a battle after a battle
As it often happens, the vast 1.6.0 update was not without shortcomings and even critical crash-inducing bugs, especially frequent on maps with water. Most of those are now fixed.
The update notification in the installer now contains a link to the HotA information page with a number of mirrors to download the files: http://h3hota.com/en/download
As it often happens, the vast 1.6.0 update was not without shortcomings and even critical crash-inducing bugs, especially frequent on maps with water. Most of those are now fixed.
The update notification in the installer now contains a link to the HotA information page with a number of mirrors to download the files: http://h3hota.com/en/download
Thank God! I downloaded this a few weeks ago but kept getting those crashes. Lovin' the Cove but those bugs were killing me. I'll probably fire it up again tomorrow night after upgrading...
Here's a little something made by Wit Olszewski, a talented 3D artist, with a bit of help from us. Just to make the wait for the Factory to come out a bit more pleasant of a pastime
Happy New Year, friends!
We would like to thank everyone who has been waiting and believing.
We are proud to present you with the largest update in the project's history.
It features the Factory, the new long-awaited town, a campaign dedicated to it, a huge amount of graphics, audio and video content, new game mechanics, countless fixes, major and minor improvements, and much more.
We are pleased to share the result of our long, hard work with you. Trust us: we have been waiting for this moment just as eagerly as you.
The journey continues. Jadame is waiting!
The update is available here.
What's new:
● The new town and faction, Factory, including new heroes, creatures and their external dwellings.
● The new campaign, Forged in Fire, with an improved gradation of difficulty. It'll take your best skills to help the Factory establish itself in the world of Heroes.
● Completely overhauled Campaign Editor and support for custom campaigns; new background and region maps for campaigns.
Full changelog.
Hi beauregard, thanks for posting this here. I wanted to write a comment on the toxic heroes community forum, but don’t have an account there, so I’ll post here instead.
Just want to say what you keep accomplishing is beyond amazing. I appreciate every new feature and change you make, as both a single and casual multiplayer player. Thank you so much for this incredible mod and the new version.
I know your team is probably used to it already, but I still want to mention anyway. Please disregard people who are on various forums complaining about this or that change or balance updates. That happens due to their resistance to change to something they got used to for 25 years, even if the changes are objectively for the better. Please keep sticking to your own vision always, and remember there are many many people who support and enjoy your mod silently without posting anywhere.
Even in my several friend groups where I live (in Turkey), I have many friends who started and keep playing H3 only thanks to Hota. I admire your persistence in completing this version even after Docent, and still sticking to his vision.
And finally, I’m still looking forward to your future updates, especially with more balancing/changing of rubbish secondary skills and some spells.
Yaaay! I am so happy you were able to get this out! I heard about the tragic setback you had when the leader and founder of the HotA team died (deepest condolences for that, btw), and was worried it would never happen. I am thrilled for you, for your team, and for all your fans that you were able to recover! I have been trying out the update for several days now and I really like it so far. Thanks for all your hard work!
The new year is yet to arrive, but the time to find out what befell Dargem has come.
We present to you the version 1.7.2. Some of the more perspicacious viewers were able to unravel the clues we scattered across our earlier announcement. In this update, you will indeed find long-awaited game balance changes related to the rarely utilized and less-useful secondary skills. The end of an era is high: Eagle Eye jokes are becoming obsolete. To study the changes in detail, peruse the changelog, and for now, here's a brief description of the latest developments in HotA:
- A number of weaker secondary skills have been reworked in order to make each of them at least situationally useful.
- The specializations of a number of heroes related to spells and creatures have been reworked; their impact on the game should be more noticeable now.
- Some minor alterations were made to the Factory's internal balance in a bid to strengthen its technological branch, which turned out to be less desirable than expected.
- Some fixes to game mechanics, long-suggested by online play experience, have been introduced.
- The user interfaces of the editor programs included in the distributive have been partially reworked for better compatibility with modern screens and high resolutions, bugs have been fixed, and some other QoL improvements have been introduced. - A number of interesting new features has been added to the scenario editor.
- A new campaign, All In, has been added. Play it to learn more about Dargem Llywellyn and the events that took place in his life in the period between his fateful encounters with Boyd and Bidley.
- 9 new single-player scenarios have been added.
- If you like dragons, then there's a pleasant surprise waiting for you!
We present to you version 1.7.3. This update is compact in scope; however, in addition to correcting various bugs, it also features a handful of notable changes.
- A significant development that coincides with this patch's completion is the release of Horn of the Abyss on GOG.com. Those who have a copy of Heroes of Might & Magic III in their GOG collection can now also install HotA from there: https://www.gog.com/en/game/heroes_of_might_and_magic_iii_horn_of_the_abyss
- The Default Random Map (Legacy) template pack has been introduced. In these templates, otherwise similar to the default standard pack, Galthran and Sir Mullich, Resistance, Cloak of the Undead King assembly, joining monsters for free, and some other things in the same vein are allowed.
- Some changes have been introduced, continuing the refinement of secondary skills started in the previous release. In particular, Learning was slightly limited; according to the players, its initial altered version turned out to be too powerful.
- A number of minor hero-related balance fixes have been implemented.
- Four new single-player maps have been added, mainly aimed at fans of fast, intense gameplay: Just Win, Or Else; Key To Victory: The Second Key; Sails and Propellers; Treasures Of The Pyramid.
- Many edits and additions have been made to campaign maps and texts.
- The map and campaign editors now offer the opportunity to force a specific version of HotA; in case of a discrepancy with the version the player uses, such a map or campaign will not start, and a message with the recommended version will be displayed.
- Also, in response to frequent questions from players, we decided to offer instructions on how to install HotA on devices running macOS and Android. The solutions have been tested by team members and are considered to be workable at the time of this announcement. Please note: HotA Crew still does not declare official support for these systems, cannot guarantee the universal performance and long-term viability of the suggested solutions, and does not accept any claims related to them. The instructions below should thus be considered nothing more than friendly advice.
Comments
Thanks for the reply. I'll give it a try this weekend...
I went from the original version to HotA :
Fan of:
- Graphics & animations improvements
- New faction(s)
- random map option
- team alignment option
- map/island/no island option
- spell scrolls
Not fan of:
- The new font is thin and harder to read than original game
- Battle screen/town screen isn't widescreen (less immersive)
- Being able to re-do a battle after a battle
The version 1.6.1 is out.
As it often happens, the vast 1.6.0 update was not without shortcomings and even critical crash-inducing bugs, especially frequent on maps with water. Most of those are now fixed.
The update notification in the installer now contains a link to the HotA information page with a number of mirrors to download the files:
http://h3hota.com/en/download
Full changelog
Thank God! I downloaded this a few weeks ago but kept getting those crashes. Lovin' the Cove but those bugs were killing me. I'll probably fire it up again tomorrow night after upgrading...
Happy New Year, friends!
We would like to thank everyone who has been waiting and believing.
We are proud to present you with the largest update in the project's history.
It features the Factory, the new long-awaited town, a campaign dedicated to it, a huge amount of graphics, audio and video content, new game mechanics, countless fixes, major and minor improvements, and much more.
We are pleased to share the result of our long, hard work with you. Trust us: we have been waiting for this moment just as eagerly as you.
The journey continues. Jadame is waiting!
The update is available here.
What's new:
● The new town and faction, Factory, including new heroes, creatures and their external dwellings.
● The new campaign, Forged in Fire, with an improved gradation of difficulty. It'll take your best skills to help the Factory establish itself in the world of Heroes.
● Completely overhauled Campaign Editor and support for custom campaigns; new background and region maps for campaigns.
Full changelog.
Just want to say what you keep accomplishing is beyond amazing. I appreciate every new feature and change you make, as both a single and casual multiplayer player. Thank you so much for this incredible mod and the new version.
I know your team is probably used to it already, but I still want to mention anyway. Please disregard people who are on various forums complaining about this or that change or balance updates. That happens due to their resistance to change to something they got used to for 25 years, even if the changes are objectively for the better. Please keep sticking to your own vision always, and remember there are many many people who support and enjoy your mod silently without posting anywhere.
Even in my several friend groups where I live (in Turkey), I have many friends who started and keep playing H3 only thanks to Hota. I admire your persistence in completing this version even after Docent, and still sticking to his vision.
And finally, I’m still looking forward to your future updates, especially with more balancing/changing of rubbish secondary skills and some spells.
Best wishes for Hota team for the new year!
I am also going to plug this on another forum some of us started. Check it out if you want: http://tavernrpg.com/threads/heroes-of-might-and-magic-games.232/post-7621
Friends,
The new year is yet to arrive, but the time to find out what befell Dargem has come.
We present to you the version 1.7.2. Some of the more perspicacious viewers were able to unravel the clues we scattered across our earlier announcement. In this update, you will indeed find long-awaited game balance changes related to the rarely utilized and less-useful secondary skills. The end of an era is high: Eagle Eye jokes are becoming obsolete. To study the changes in detail, peruse the changelog, and for now, here's a brief description of the latest developments in HotA:
- A number of weaker secondary skills have been reworked in order to make each of them at least situationally useful.
- The specializations of a number of heroes related to spells and creatures have been reworked; their impact on the game should be more noticeable now.
- Some minor alterations were made to the Factory's internal balance in a bid to strengthen its technological branch, which turned out to be less desirable than expected.
- Some fixes to game mechanics, long-suggested by online play experience, have been introduced.
- The user interfaces of the editor programs included in the distributive have been partially reworked for better compatibility with modern screens and high resolutions, bugs have been fixed, and some other QoL improvements have been introduced. - A number of interesting new features has been added to the scenario editor.
- A new campaign, All In, has been added. Play it to learn more about Dargem Llywellyn and the events that took place in his life in the period between his fateful encounters with Boyd and Bidley.
- 9 new single-player scenarios have been added.
- If you like dragons, then there's a pleasant surprise waiting for you!
See you in the new year!
The update is available here.
For a more stable downloading experience, we recommend using the torrent link.
Full changelog.
Friends,
We present to you version 1.7.3. This update is compact in scope; however, in addition to correcting various bugs, it also features a handful of notable changes.
- A significant development that coincides with this patch's completion is the release of Horn of the Abyss on GOG.com. Those who have a copy of Heroes of Might & Magic III in their GOG collection can now also install HotA from there: https://www.gog.com/en/game/heroes_of_might_and_magic_iii_horn_of_the_abyss
- The Default Random Map (Legacy) template pack has been introduced. In these templates, otherwise similar to the default standard pack, Galthran and Sir Mullich, Resistance, Cloak of the Undead King assembly, joining monsters for free, and some other things in the same vein are allowed.
- Some changes have been introduced, continuing the refinement of secondary skills started in the previous release. In particular, Learning was slightly limited; according to the players, its initial altered version turned out to be too powerful.
- A number of minor hero-related balance fixes have been implemented.
- Four new single-player maps have been added, mainly aimed at fans of fast, intense gameplay: Just Win, Or Else; Key To Victory: The Second Key; Sails and Propellers; Treasures Of The Pyramid.
- Many edits and additions have been made to campaign maps and texts.
- The map and campaign editors now offer the opportunity to force a specific version of HotA; in case of a discrepancy with the version the player uses, such a map or campaign will not start, and a message with the recommended version will be displayed.
- Also, in response to frequent questions from players, we decided to offer instructions on how to install HotA on devices running macOS and Android. The solutions have been tested by team members and are considered to be workable at the time of this announcement. Please note: HotA Crew still does not declare official support for these systems, cannot guarantee the universal performance and long-term viability of the suggested solutions, and does not accept any claims related to them. The instructions below should thus be considered nothing more than friendly advice.
Instructions for macOS: https://h3hota.com/en/x_macos
Instructions for Android: https://h3hota.com/en/x_android
The full changelog can be found here: https://download.h3hota.com/upd/changelogs/eng.txt
Download the new version of HotA here: https://h3hota.com/en/download
We wish you a pleasant time, and do keep following the news!