Heroes 3.5: In the Wake of Gods Portal > Fanstratics – Update #7 – Stoutbluds faction
Fanstratics – Update #7 – Stoutbluds faction
This month’s Fanstratics troop concept sketch is the Troll Witch.
Fanstratics Faction #2: Stoutbluds
Our second faction may be a touch surprising to some. They are the Stoutbluds; a largely Dwarven faction, persisting within vast metropolitan civilizations, on and under wintery Alpine mountains. Long-lived and visionary, these noble craftsmen have a predisposition for runic artifacts and clockwork machinery.
Anyone familiar with the ‘Tower’ from Heroes 3, will find much in common with this wise, honorable, and enduring faction. Currently, the Troop representing them is the Hammersmith, which can be viewed in the gallery:
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- Gnoll Spear Thrower
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- Troll Witch
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- Feral Vampire
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- Elfin Sharpshooter
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- Dwarven Hammersmith
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- Human Cavalier
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- Bile Worm
What was the Market of Time, which was cut from Heroes 3?
Originally, the Market of Time was called ‘Brigadoon’. It would randomly appear after long periods of time, and for a Day, a Hero could purchase very high value artifacts and very cheap resources. It was ‘cut’ because it required new programming functionality, we were running out of development time, and I was worried players would ‘park’ a Hero at the destination and simply wait for the Market. Also, for the record, it was never a place where Heroes could unlearn Secondary Skills.
Why was the Fear Spell cut from Heroes 3?
The Fear spell was ‘cut’ because it was little more than ‘bad morale’ in another form. Later, I thought it was better to convert the mechanic into the Fear ability for the Azure Dragon.
What do you know about unused artifacts from the Shadow of Death: Diplomat’s Suit, Ironfist of the Ogre, and Mired in Neutrality?
By the time New World Computing (NWC) began work on Shadow of Death, I was long gone. So, I can’t speak to anything regarding the expansion.
What happened to the Mac Port of Heroes 3?
Similar to Shadow of Death, I was long gone from NWC when these ports were undertaken. For instance, there was an attempt to port Heroes 3 to Dreamcast. I didn’t know it existed until earlier this year. As to Ubisoft, I have never worked for them in any capacity, and they have never reached out to me for any reason. So, I can’t say why they do one thing and avoid another. I will say this… if they could make reasonable money from it… only office politics or incompetence would prevent it.
Do you happen to know the situation with the HD release? Is there any chance whatsoever that an HD version of the full Heroes III Complete might ever appear?
As to the HD release, Ubisoft claims to have lost the original source code for the Armageddon’s Blade expansion, hence the reason there is no HD version of Complete. This does puzzle me. If they let someone like myself, or David Mullich, rummage through their archives, we might be able to dig it up, but there’s no guarantee. Personally, I’d work something out with the guys who made VCMI, but as I just stated… if they could make reasonable money from it… only office politics or incompetence would prevent it.
