Heroes of Might and Magic Tribes of the East the Art of Strategy in

Video game serial

Heroes of Might and Magic
Logo for the Heroes of Might and Magic serial
Genre(s)	Turn-based strategy
Developer(southward)	New World Computing (1995-2003) Nival Interactive (for Heroes 5) Black Pigsty Amusement (for Heroes VI) Limbic Entertainment (for Heroes Half dozen and 7) Virtuos (for Shades of Darkness)
Publisher(s)	New Globe Computing (1995-1996) The 3DO Company (1996-2003) Ubisoft (2003-)
Creator(s)	Jon Van Caneghem
Platform(southward)	DOS, Linux, Game Boy Colour, Mac OS, Windows, RISC OS
Showtime release	King's Bounty 1990
Latest release	Might & Magic Heroes Seven 2015
Spin-offs	Heroes Chronicles Kingdoms Clash of Heroes Night Messiah of Might and Magic

Heroes of Might and Magic , known as Might & Magic Heroes since 2011, is a series of video games originally created and developed by Jon Van Caneghem through New Globe Computing.

As part of the Might and Magic franchise, the series changed ownership when NWC was acquired by 3DO and again when 3DO closed downward and sold the rights to Ubisoft.^[1] The games characteristic turn-based, fantasy-themed conflicts in which players command armies of mythical creatures. The series began in 1995 with the release of the start title. A seventh installment, Might & Magic Heroes VII, was released on September 29, 2015.^[two]

New Earth Computing airtight after the production of Heroes of Might and Magic IV, and since then the rights to the franchise have been endemic by Ubisoft. Nival Interactive developed the first game in the series since the changeover, Heroes of Might and Magic Five. Black Hole Amusement adult its sequel Might & Magic Heroes Half dozen, but Limbic Entertainment adult afterward patches and the DLC, as well every bit Might & Magic Heroes Seven. Virtuos developed the Shades of Darkness standalone expansion for Heroes VI.

The series is directed primarily at the DOS and Windows platforms, with sporadic back up for macOS over the years. In addition to Windows and Mac platforms, Heroes II was ported to RISC Bone^[3] and Heroes Three was ported to Linux.^[four] GameTap carried the first four games in the serial beginning in 2006.^[5] Remakes have besides appeared on the Game Boy Color.

Games [edit]

Release timeline
1991
1990	King's Bounty
1992
1993
1994
1995	Heroes of Might and Magic
1996	Heroes of Might and Magic II
1997
1998
1999	Heroes of Might and Magic 3
2000
2001
2002	Heroes of Might and Magic IV
2003
2004
2005
2006	Heroes of Might and Magic V
2007
2008	Rex's Bounty: The Legend
2009	King's Bounty: Armored Princess
2010	King's Bounty: Crossworlds
2011	Might & Magic Heroes Six
2012	King'due south Compensation: Warriors of the North
2013
2014	King'southward Compensation: Nighttime Side
2015	Might & Magic Heroes Vii
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021	King's Bounty 2

King's Bounty (1990), an earlier game from New World Calculating, largely predictable the design of Heroes and is included in some Heroes anthologies. It was later remade and branded as a Heroes title for the PlayStation ii game, Quest for the Dragon Bone Staff. A sequel to Rex's Compensation was released in 2008 as King's Compensation: The Legend.

Primary series [edit]

Heroes of Might and Magic [edit]

Heroes of Might and Magic: A Strategic Quest (9/1995)
Heroes of Might and Magic II (10/1996)
- The Toll of Loyalty (v/1997)
Heroes of Might and Magic III (The Restoration of Erathia) (iii/1999)
- Armageddon's Blade (9/1999)
- The Shadow of Decease (3/2000)
Heroes of Might and Magic IV (3/2002)
- The Gathering Storm (9/2002)
- Winds of War (2/2003)
Heroes of Might and Magic Five (five/2006)
- Hammers of Fate (11/2006)
- Tribes of the East (11/2007)
Might & Magic Heroes Half dozen (ten/2011)^[6]
- Pirates of the Savage Sea Adventure (seven/2012)
- Danse Macabre (nine/2012)
- Shades of Darkness (5/2013)
Might & Magic Heroes VII (9/2015) ^[7]
- Lost Tales of Axeoth one - DLC (ii/2016)
- Lost Tales of Axeoth two - DLC (4/2016)
- Trial past Burn down (4/2016)

Male monarch's Bounty [edit]

King'due south Bounty (1990)
Rex's Compensation: The Legend (2008)
Rex's Compensation: Armored Princess (2009)
Male monarch'due south Bounty: Crossworlds (2010)
Male monarch'southward Bounty: Warriors of the N (2012)
Rex's Compensation: Dark Side (2014)
Rex's Bounty 2 (2021)

Spin-offs [edit]

Heroes of Might and Magic (Game Boy Colour, 2000)
Heroes of Might and Magic II (Game Boy Color, 2000)
Heroes Chronicles (2000)
Heroes of Might and Magic: Quest for the Dragon Bone Staff (PlayStation 2, 2001)
Heroes of Might and Magic Online (2008)
Might and Magic: Heroes Kingdoms (MMO, 2009)
Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes (Nintendo DS, 2009; Xbox Live Arcade, 2011; PlayStation Network, 2011; PC, 2011)
- Might & Magic Clash of Heroes: DLC I Am the Boss (2011)
Might & Magic Heroes: Era of Chaos (2017)
Might & Magic: Chess Royale (2020)

Anthologies and special editions [edit]

Heroes of Might and Magic Compendium (1997), known every bit Heroes of Might and Magic Full Fantasy Funpack in Germany, includes King's Bounty and offset 2 Heroes games including the Price of Loyalty expansion pack. Released by 3DO/Ubisoft.
Heroes of Might and Magic II Gilt (1998), includes Heroes Ii, its expansion, and 31 additional unmarried-map scenarios by various authors. Released by 3DO.
Heroes of Might and Magic Millennium (1999), includes Male monarch's Compensation, Heroes I, Heroes Ii Gold and Heroes Iii, merely no expansions to Heroes Three. Released by 3DO, in a iii CD-ROM disc set.
Heroes of Might and Magic 3: Consummate (2000), a special edition that includes Heroes III and its expansions packs (all updated to latest versions) and a custom championship screen. Released past 3DO.
Heroes of Might and Magic Trilogy (2000), Heroes I, Heroes II and Heroes Three, but no expansions to Heroes Ii nor Heroes III. Released in a articulation venture by 3DO and Ubisoft, in a three CD-ROM disc set.
Heroes of Might and Magic: Platinum Edition (2002), includes Heroes I, Heroes Two Gold and Heroes III Complete. Released by 3DO, in a four CD-ROM disc ready.
Heroes of Might and Magic III+IV Consummate (2002), includes Heroes III Complete and Heroes IV Complete. Released by Ubisoft, in a i DVD-ROM disc fix.
Heroes of Might and Magic IV Complete (2004), includes Heroes IV and all of its expansions. Released by Ubisoft.
Heroes of Might and Magic Five: Silvery Edition (2006), includes Heroes Five and the expansion pack Hammers of Fate.
Heroes of Might and Magic V: Collector's Edition (2007), includes Heroes V and all of its expansion packs. It also includes three bonus DVDs including Storyline Trailers for the main game and its expansions, Developer Diaries, Heroes 5 Universe Album, Exclusive Monsters Test Videos, Fan-Made Heroes Game Encyclopedia and more. Released by Ubisoft.
Heroes of Might and Magic: Complete Edition (2007), includes the first 5 Heroes games and their expansions. The included games are accompanied by extras and goodies, such equally soundtracks DVDs, a faction booklet, a Heroes of Might and Magic V T-shirt or The Art of Might and Magic artbook. Released by Ubisoft.
Might and Magic Heroes 5: Epic Collection (2009), includes Heroes 5 and both of its expansion packs. Released by Encore Games.
Heroes Pack (2009), includes Dark Messiah and Heroes V and its expansion packs. Available on Steam.
Might & Magic Heroes Drove (2011), includes all 5 Heroes games and their expansions - similar the 2007 Complete Edition, without the extras. It was released in most parts of the earth by Ubisoft, as a iii disc set,^[8] and in the Uk, by Mastertronic Games in a iv disc set.^[9]
Might & Magic Heroes VI: Limited Edition (2011), includes Heroes VI and Heroes III along with one extra item (Staff of Asha) and hero (Kraal) for Heroes 6. Released by Ubisoft.
Might & Magic Heroes VI: Deluxe Digital Edition (2011), includes a digital copy of Heroes Half dozen, 2 .pdf documents (164-folio concept art book and an A2 format double sided poster), the game'south soundtrack and i month subscription on Heroes Kingdoms. Released by Ubisoft.
Might and Magic Franchise Pack, (2012), includes Dark Messiah, Heroes Five and its expansion packs, Clash of Heroes and its DLC, Heroes VI and its two adventure packs. Available on Steam.
Might & Magic Heroes Vi: Gilt Edition (2012), includes Heroes VI and its 2 adventure packs. Released past Ubisoft.
Might & Magic: Heroes VI: Consummate Edition (2013), includes Heroes VI (version one.five.1) and its standalone expansion pack and two adventure packs.

Gameplay [edit]

The Heroes series is inside the genre of turn-based strategy. The titular heroes are player characters who tin can recruit armies, motion effectually the map, capture resources, and engage in combat. The heroes also contain some role-playing game elements; they possess a set of statistics that confer bonuses to an army, artifacts that enhance their powers, and cognition of magical spells that tin can be used to attack enemies or produce strategic benefits. Also, heroes proceeds experience levels from boxing, such that veteran heroes are significantly more than powerful than inexperienced ones. Experienced heroes may persist through a campaign, but generally do non carry over between scenarios.

On a typical map, players begin a game with one town of a chosen alignment. The number of different alignments varies throughout the series, with the lowest count of four appearing initially in Heroes I and peaking at nine in the Heroes III expansion Armageddon's Blade. Each boondocks alignment hosts a unique pick of creatures from which the player tin can build an regular army. Town alignment also determines other unique traits such equally native hero classes, special bonuses or abilities, and leanings toward certain skills or kinds of magic.

Towns play a cardinal office in the games since they are the primary source of income and new recruits. A typical objective in each game is to capture all enemy towns. Maps may also offset with neutral towns, which exercise not send out heroes just may still be captured by any player. It is therefore possible, and mutual, to have more than towns than players on a map. When captured, a town retains its alignment type, allowing the new owner to create a mixed army, although Heroes Half-dozen introduces the ability to change a boondocks's alignment to the capturing player's. A player or team is eliminated when no towns or heroes are left under their control, or they do not control a boondocks for seven consecutive days. Disallowment any special atmospheric condition, the concluding player or team remaining is the victor.

A side objective commonly actualization in the series is the acquisition of a powerful object called the "ultimate artifact" (Heroes I and II), grail (III and IV), or Tear of Asha (Five, Half dozen, and VII), buried somewhere on the map. In all games except Heroes Vi, heroes visit special locations (called obelisks, or oracles in Heroes Iv) to gradually reveal a map of the location of the antiquity; in Heroes Six, a hero must instead collect four Fragments of the Moon Disc, which and so causes the Tear of Asha to appear somewhere on the map. The ultimate artifact provides immense bonuses to the hero that carries it; the grail or Tear of Asha allows the hero to construct a special edifice in one of their towns that confers immense bonuses to the player.

Time and resources model [edit]

Each turn (consisting of all players' moves) is represented as a single mean solar day, and days are organized into cycles of weeks and months (measured as four weeks). The primary resources is gold, which is generated past towns on a daily basis. Golden alone is sufficient for obtaining bones buildings and about creatures. As construction progresses, increasing amounts of secondary resources such as wood, ore, gems, crystals, sulfur, and mercury are required. These resources, as well as gold, are produced at mines and other secondary structures, which are located on the map and require heroes to capture them. As with towns, mines can also be captured by enemy heroes, presenting an additional artery for conflict.

At the beginning of each calendar week (each twenty-four hours in Heroes Four), creature dwellings produce new recruits, and in most cases neutral armies will increment in size (by default; tin can be turned off if desired). In some of the games, the start of a new calendar month causes neutral armies to spawn all over the map, providing fresh challenges and opportunities.

Gainsay [edit]

Whenever a player engages in boxing, the game changes from the adventure map display to a gainsay screen, which is based on either a hexagonal or square grid. In this fashion, the game mimics the plough-based tactics genre, every bit the engaged armies must conduct through the boxing without the opportunity to reinforce or gracefully retreat. With few exceptions, combat must end with the losing army deserting, being destroyed, or paying a heavy price in gold to surrender. Surrendering allows the player to keep the remaining units intact.

Creatures in an regular army are represented by unit of measurement stacks, each of which consists of a unmarried blazon of beast, in any quantity. A express number of stacks are available to each regular army, varying by game. Players generally maneuver their stacks attempting to achieve the most favorable rate of attrition for themselves. The games also accept an automatic combat option that allows the computer to make tactical choices for a player. Heroes participate in battle as well: passively by granting bonuses to their army, and actively by engaging in combat and casting spells. In most of the games, heroes do not human activity as units, and cannot be harmed. Nevertheless, in Heroes IV they practise act as regular units and can exist "killed"; these dead heroes are transferred to the nearest town's dungeon where they can be freed if their team captures the town.

Gainsay is affected by several random factors. In addition to simulating dice rolls to make up one's mind damage, a variety of influences including hero abilities and special bonuses determine a unit's luck and morale ratings, which touch on the likelihood of those units triggering a bonus during combat. A unit that triggers expert luck deals more than (or receives less) harm, and a unit that triggers loftier morale receives an extra turn. In another games, luck and morale can also be negative, with opposite corresponding effects. Luck and morale can be improved past hero abilities, artifacts, and spells. Morale may suffer with overwhelming odds in combat or past mixing incompatible unit types (east.g. Chaos with Order.)

History of changes [edit]

Knowledge allows heroes to cast more spells, either through a spell memorization (HoMM I) or spell point (II-V) organisation.

Heroes Ii introduced secondary skills. Heroes tin can acquire a limited diverseness of secondary skills with several levels of proficiency. Secondary skills give specific, miscellaneous bonuses to heroes and their armies. For example, skill in logistics increases the distance a hero's army can travel, while skill in leadership gives their army a morale bonus.

Offset with Heroes II, some creatures were able to be upgraded. By Heroes III, every animal (excluding those not plant in any castle) was able to be upgraded.

Heroes III also introduced a new artifact platform; rather than having 14 spaces for any artifact, the player instead has a much larger backpack, but tin can only employ a limited number. For instance, only ane headpiece tin be used at a time, as well equally only i pair of boots, etc.

Replay value [edit]

Games in the series oft include a map editor and/or random map generator. Several fansites collect and rate user-generated maps.

Storyline [edit]

Old world [edit]

Up until Heroes of Might and Magic Five, the Heroes series took place in the aforementioned fictional universe every bit the Might and Magic series, and later Might and Magic installments heavily referenced the games, with some taking place in the same globe.

Heroes I and Ii take place on the planet of Enroth, on a northerly continent of the same name, and chronicle the adventures of the Ironfist dynasty. The protagonist of Heroes I is Lord Morglin Ironfist, a knight who discovers a portal to the realm of Enroth while fleeing from his throne's usurpers, and goes on to conquer and boss the continent, establishing a unified kingdom and a new dominion.

Heroes II featured a ii-sided conflict betwixt Morglin'south sons, Roland and Archibald, both vying for their deceased father's throne. Canonically, Roland defeats Archibald, though the player can choose to align themself with either side. Information technology was the kickoff game in the serial to feature playable heroes as campaign characters—the main characters of Heroes I were represented by the player'due south presence rather than every bit commanders on the battlefield.

The storylines of Heroes Iii and the Heroes Chronicles shift focus to the Gryphonheart dynasty on the southern continent of Antagarich, and introduces the Kreegan as playable characters and enemies. In Heroes III, Queen Catherine Gryphonheart, King Roland Ironfist's wife, is called home to attend her father's funeral, to discover Antagarich existence torn apart past various factions. Heroes III 'southward expansions build on the setting with more prominent character development, featuring new and old heroes from the series in differing roles.

The events preceding Heroes 4 precipitated the destruction of the planet Enroth due to a clash between Armageddon'due south Blade and the Sword of Frost. The ensuing devastation brings about portals leading to another earth, Axeoth, through which many characters escape. Heroes IV 's campaigns focus on the scattered survivors from Enroth and Antagarich every bit they form new kingdoms and alliances in the new world.

New world [edit]

Heroes of Might and Magic V was the first Might and Magic championship to take place on the previously unheard of earth of Ashan, as part of Ubisoft's franchise-wide continuity reboot. Its 6 campaigns are each centered around a faction leader, tied together past the character of Isabel Greyhound, Queen of the Griffin Empire. The Heroes V expansion packs both continued this storyline, leading into the events of Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. Heroes VI acts equally a prequel, occurring 400 years prior.

Reception [edit]

Critical reception for the serial has been generally positive, with GameRankings scores averaging from the high 70s to high 90s.^{[ commendation needed ]}

By October 1997, overall sales of the Heroes of Might and Magic serial had surpassed 500,000 copies.^[10] This number had risen to 1.5 million copies by December 1999.^[11] The Might and Magic franchise as a whole, including the Heroes serial, surpassed 4.5 one thousand thousand copies in sales by May 2001.^[12]

In 1999, Next Generation listed the Heroes of Might and Magic series as number 31 on their "Acme fifty Games of All Time", commenting that, "With cute second characters and maps and admittedly bright strategy, Heroes managed to exist a completely engrossing game that never once replaced quality design with new-fangled flash."^[13]

References [edit]

^ "Ubisoft Entertainment SA acquires 3DO Co-Heroes of Might & Magic from 3DO Co". The Alacra Shop. December 23, 2003. Retrieved October 5, 2009.
^ "Might & Magic Heroes VI volition be released on October 13th". Ubisoft. August five, 2011. Retrieved August v, 2011.
^ "Heroes of Might and Magic 2". www.arsvcs.demon.co.united kingdom . Retrieved May 21, 2018.
^ "Heroes III ported to Linux". Loki Software, Inc. October 28, 2000. Retrieved October 5, 2009.
^ "Heroes of Might and Magic Invade GameTap". GameZone. February 23, 2006. Archived from the original on November 29, 2009. Retrieved October five, 2009.
^ Douglas, Jane (August 17, 2010). "Heroes of Might & Magic Six rising on PC in 2011 – News at GameSpot". Gamescom.gamespot.com. Archived from the original on August 21, 2010. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
^ O'Connor, Alice (August thirteen, 2014). "HOMMage: Might & Magic Heroes Vii Announced". Rock Newspaper Shotgun. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
^ "Might & Magic: Heroes Collection". MobyGames . Retrieved March viii, 2021.
^ "Heroes of Might & Magic Drove". Mastertronic. Archived from the original on Apr 23, 2012. Retrieved Feb 12, 2019.
^ Staff (Oct 30, 1997). "3DO in Flux". PC Gamer United states of america. Archived from the original on Feb xviii, 1998. Retrieved January xiii, 2020.
^ "3DO Ships Heroes of Might and Magic(R) Three for Macintosh(R)" (Printing release). Redwood City, California: PR Newswire. December 21, 1999. Archived from the original on April 25, 2001.
^ "3DO Announces Heroes of Might and Magic® IV" (Press release). Redwood City, California: The 3DO Company. May 15, 2001. Archived from the original on June 11, 2001.
^ "Height fifty Games of All Time". Next Generation. No. 50. Imagine Media. Feb 1999. p. 76.

External links [edit]

Might and Magic official franchise website
Heroes of Might and Magic at MobyGames

langyazzle.blogspot.com

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroes_of_Might_and_Magic