H3SW General Discussion

Interesting how in there written no upgrade for Rogue, but in current version he actually can be upgraded into Bandit.

DanilaRud015 wrote:

Interesting how in there written no upgrade for Rogue, but in current version he actually can be upgraded into Bandit.

Yes, that is one of the exceptions I also mentioned. It made sense as we wanted the Rogue to fit it better with the Arabian theme (and also Ragoon's concept with the long knife and the scarf around his face was amazing!)

Generally speaking, adding upgrades for the sake of upgrades is not the best solution. Even the Rogue upgrade feels a little bit weird when the game is played on a Heroes 2 map - perhaps it's just the fixed memory though.

Future upgrades (and balance changes thereof) should be created for the sake of the gameplay, and not in spite of it. It all depends on what role should the upgrade have at the proper stage of the game.

Planewalker wrote:

In keeping with the rough Heroes 2 design philosophy of providing upgrades for humanoid (or humanoid-shaped) creatures, are there upgrade plans for the Acolytes, Nomads, Anubites, and Death Knights?

As of now, there is no plans for such upgrades. The closest creature which might have it is the Toad (Witch's lineup) because the Witch lacks shooters and I once thought about spitting Toads so the creature changes the role. It's not set in stone though; the Witch gameplay in future should be predominantly oriented on its innate creature cursing abilities.

The Dervish gameplay, on the other hand, is not currently crystallized. It might be right to suggest some kind of a fast expansion gameplay, where Dervish is supposed to push forward like the Barbarian. In that case, upgrades are often omitted because there is no time or money for them. The creatures are more balanced than those of the Sorc or Warlock, and suitable for a quick push against a wide selection of neutral armies.
On the other hand, the concept and lore of the faction might suggest that the Dervish has the money.

I think the Witch lineup works with only one ranged unit, due to their unusual number of flyers with varied roles. Wasps are good strikers, toads are tanks, mantises are shock units, and wyverns are all-around strong.

There is a huge possibility of Mantises being replaced by a new unit (Werewolves) in future. Will have to think about the possible combat role for the creature.

I found a "secret theme" im games files. Is it gonna be inferno music?

Orzie wrote:

There is a huge possibility of Mantises being replaced by a new unit (Werewolves) in future. Will have to think about the possible combat role for the creature.

Werewolves are cool, but for me, that would be somewhat sad. I love the mantises. They are a fun unit to mass, and they look amazing.

While the Manti are to discover if they help the gameplay, they are a big problem in terms of faction design. The Witch lineup is currently overcrowded with mono-colored "big animals" instead of more dynamic "mythology meets pop culture" concept which is strong in Heroes 1/2. It's not that the Manti should disappear from the game completely (even when Werewolves will appear, one of the creatures will go to Neutrals), but we'll have to decide what's better for the game, all things considered. It's never easy, like it is with every new creature or alternative design, the game is already exploding from new concepts which don't fit to the original vision of H2 developers.

The initial design decision of the Manti was done because there were too less reasons to add Werewolves (we already had Wolves and Anubites to fill the wolf niche). However, since the new campaigns will be based on the good portion of Might and Magic VI plot and the Witch is supposed to take a certain firm role in it, there is an increased need for the wolf guys and the number of reasons to do that also increased.

Makes sense to me - you guys are doing a great job. I'll still be happy with such a well-designed project.