From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg
Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Tue, 13 Aug 2024 05:24:34 -0500, Altered Beast
<j63480576@gmail.com> wrote:
Having gone to Heroes IV right when it arrived, I never realized that
the AI in Heroes III is very competent. Heroes IV basically had no AI
that I could discern. The missions were like ride down this coast
killing wolves until you get off the island - no interaction with the
enemy. Heroes III just kicked my ass again because the enemy came from
a direction I didn't expect.
What Heroes IV had going for it was that it was very pretty. They
brought back an AI in Heroes V but that is for another story.
Past the first HOMM, I really don't differentiate the various
iterations. They're all a blur to me, merging one into the next. Maybe slightly better graphics but I never really saw much difference in
gameplay or AI. I bought and played the games, but they never engaged
me like the first one because they lacked the freshness and novelty of
the original. The innumerable expansions in HOMM5 (and later Heroes Chronicles) ultimately drove me away entirely. The games just weren't offering enough new for me to keep buying (and buying and buying) the
newest iterations.
But I still fire up HOMM1 and 2 every now and again. They're still surprisingly playable experiences, and despite their age still look
pretty good.
Which isn't to say I disagree with your assessment. I never played the
game intensely enough to really notice; I was more of a dabbler in the franchise than a die-hard fan. But -for me at least- the competency of
the AI was the least of the series' problems.
It may not sound like a lot, but HOMM3:RoE has 6 campaigns. The secret
is that they definitely ramp up the difficulty as you progress through
them. If you decide to get the new remastered HOMM III, like someone
else said previously, get the GoG.com version because it includes two fantastic expansions. There was a campaign in the expansion where Gelu
the elf who can train archers and wood elves into sharpshooters has to
make it without cities and a final scenario in the last expansion where
one totally overruns the world with a zillion liches. Both a great deal
of fun.
The campaign in 1 didn't feel real to me, I think you fight a few then
fight a hero of identical class. HOMM 2 had two campaigns that were
pretty good. HOMM3 really blasts it out, like they had someone famous
and gifted create the campaigns. They are all different and once again
like in HoMM2, one plays both sides in the conquest, with a third side belonging to scavengers and peacekeepers.
The reason I notice the HOMM3 AI is because as far as I could tell, HOMM
IV shipped without one. It wasn't obvious - you had to slog through
some tedious scenarios as the only player on the map. However, over
time and before finishing it was a very lonely experience for me. To
say that there is no AI in there is slightly strong. The enemy hero
would trek from point A to point B to point A to point B, but there was
no feature on the map at point B. He had strong aspirations for
conquest then thought better of it, the whole time your power is growing.
I think it was the HOMM5: Tribes of the East where they sold out. It introduces a new faction, the orcs. The orcs are a derision against
certain players who like to maintain their positions. If you don't move
the orc troops they get a negative to their abilities. The thing is it
is a failure. You can even move them backwards. Just moving one space
is good enough. So you've got these guys fidgeting around and the
disdain for an effective strategy, albeit one that is often hated,
camping in one place to wait for the enemy to get there. I use it all
the time against the computer and probably in multiplayer too. I get
this new Tribes of the East and it's like Ubisoft told me, "Your
strategy sucks." HOMM6 was terrible and because of a Steam error I
can't play HOMM7. I think I navigated backward during the sale or
something and it's sitting in my library incapacitated.
I would play HOMM2 again if it were remastered. Very good story.
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