The number 7 in the title of any project hints that the best times of the series are already behind us, and in the future it will face imitation and not always successful experiments. Yes, “Heroes” no longer belongs to the category of exclusive classic works, but has safely moved into the category of product series. Only the genre of the game and the principle of mass production are almost incompatible: it is difficult to find so many mandatory requirements for mechanics anywhere else. On IgroMir Ubisoft showed a demo version Heroes 7, which has already appeared at gamescom, and we got the opportunity to talk with the creators and clarify all the details that interest us.
Plagiarism or tradition?
If the gameplay is any Call of Duty and you can diversify with an aggressive shepherd and a jetpack, then such tricks don’t work with “Heroes”. The series is very conservative and demanding in terms of compliance with the canons. In a sense, she is sentenced to a lifetime of marking time. The only thing that could be improved is the graphics. But do true fans of the series need it??
Developers who undertake the creation of each subsequent part find themselves hostage to this situation. Limbic Entertainment is well aware of his position and therefore humbly agrees with the unenviable role of an epigone. In an interview, the authors openly admitted that in all aspects of development they strive to reproduce elements of the best parts of the series. The main landmarks were the third, fifth and sixth issues – according to the developers, the brightest representatives of “Heroes”.
The developers are trying in every possible way to maintain contact with the community during the process of creating the game. So, fans were given the right to choose two game factions. It is planned that there will be six of them in total. Four of them – the Alliance, the Academy (magicians), the Rebellious Tribes (orcs), Necropolis – were introduced by the authors themselves. The last two are chosen by fans on the official website of the game. Users have already made one choice – the fifth faction will be elves. At the moment there is a struggle between Inferno and Dungeon.
The developers are discussing many other issues with the community. So, players can choose the appearance of the main character Ivan, whose story will run through all the storylines. Ivan is a young duke who is faced with the task of solving military problems in the kingdom and ascending the throne. Representatives of six factions – subjects of an inexperienced young man – tell him stories about great heroes and their exploits in order to teach the young politician wisdom. Thus, the game will consist of seven unrelated campaigns, each of which represents a separate story.
Hero for the https://silkbingocasino.co.uk/ Motherland
All the distinctive features of mechanics Heroes remained untouched. Free-to-play haters can rest easy: no influence Heroes Online will not be found in the seventh part. The action takes place in a step-by-step mode, on each turn we can perform a certain number of actions with the heroes, as well as buy something in the castle. Seven types of resources will be returned to the game (although three of them will be non-traditional). Interactive objects will appear on the map: in the presented demo, the player could rebuild a destroyed bridge across the river, and also attack the titans who stormed the castle using a catapult, without turning on the battle mode.
Developers are reluctant to talk about the mechanics of “leveling up” a hero. It is known that in matters of character development, a step will be taken to the roots: basic attributes like “attack”, “defense”, “knowledge” and “magic power” will return. Also, apparently, the wheel of skills from the fifth “Heroes” will undergo reincarnation. Limbic Entertainment wants to create a variable development tree that allows several lines of “leveling up” of one character. The spell system will be similar to that in the third and fifth parts. Mages guilds will return to the game, in which spells from seven schools will be studied.
Each castle will feature eight “units” with the ability to “upgrade”. In addition, your squad can be equipped with combat vehicles such as catapults and ballistas. Troops purchased in the city will be allowed to be transported to a hero who has wandered far from home using a caravan. A captured castle can no longer be turned into a settlement corresponding to the type of your faction, so, as before, you will have to focus on creating a motley army.
This dome can be installed to protect your castle. To get rid of it, you will have to learn a special spell.
In each city, both buildings common to all factions and unique ones will be available. The priority for the construction of certain structures also differs depending on the chosen race. For example, the Academy will get faster access to the mages guild, and the orcs can quickly equip the city with the strongest walls. In order to erect a certain building, you will need not only to accumulate the required amount of resources, but also to develop the general level of the city to the required level.
Like chess, only more difficult
Battles take place in the usual way: warriors take turns walking along the map marked with cells, performing certain actions, and the hero helps the fighters using various spells. The battlefield now contains a huge number of obstacles that can serve as cover from long-range enemy attacks.
The main innovation regarding battles is flank attacks. Damage dealt to an enemy from behind or from the side is multiplied, so now you will have to pay more attention to the location of warriors on the battlefield. Other factors that play an important role in the battle are the morale and luck of the soldiers, who are very sensitive to what is happening. So, if one of your units was defeated, the morale of the remaining “units” will be reduced, but success will increase the combat effectiveness of the allies.
Visually Heroes 7 is a mixture of various elements from previous parts. In general, Unreal Engine 3 produces an excellent picture: textures and terrain detail look very nice. The hero icons are reminiscent of the fourth part, the interface as a whole is reminiscent of the third and fifth. The city of the Alliance even evoked associations in us with the first part of “Heroes”. Yes, at the moment the city screens are completely two-dimensional, but the community so zealously defends the ability to “fly” over your settlement that it’s possible, Limbic Entertainment listens to the community.
In battle mode, in addition to destroying the enemy, there will be other goals. For example, destroy a catapult.
If we ignore the facts and become imbued with superstitions for a moment, then the development of the series Heroes can be described as follows: good games happen every time. The third and fifth parts of “Heroes” were great, the fourth and sixth were worse. Well, the seventh is next, and if we follow this pattern, it should pleasantly surprise us. One way or another, Heroes 7 is being developed according to all the rules of the genre, so there should be no cause for concern.