I've tried playing through Tribes of the East recently too. Stopped in the middle of the orc campaign. That shit is seriously friggin boring.
Most of the hate 4 gets for not being like 3, you see some people would like if HoMM was like EA's sports series with new release every year that is almost identical to the last one.
There was also a problem with it being unfinished. Parent company was hurting (some fans of retroactive history like to claim that HoMM4 killed it and everything was fine before it was released) and IIRC base game was rushed. Two released expansions were obvious cash-ins since they added very little (if we don't count campaigns and couple of neutral creatures then I think they didn't add anything at all) and fixed nothing. For comparisons sake 5 was utter shit when released but was fixed into decent game with two expansions.
I'd prefer if new HoMM game actually finished and fixed homm4 instead of trying to make homm3 again and again but this time with dynasty weapons system and prettier graphics.
A couple of dumb decisions and obviously the lack of a random map generator are its biggest flaws, otherwise I think 4 is really good.
I liked the original campaigns a lot too. The expansions are terribly boring.
I'm not sure why you use the word "anything" in what seems to be a derogatory manner, what you mentioned is already better than the retarded "improvements" that 4 brought. Add initiative, branching upgrades done right and much improved balance and there is no contest.Has HoMM5 actually introduced anything new to the series asides of skill wheel and racial abilities for heroes? Most of the stuff was either directly taken from earlier games or taken and adjusted.
Has HoMM5 actually introduced anything new to the series asides of skill wheel and racial abilities for heroes? Most of the stuff was either directly taken from earlier games or taken and adjusted.
You could garrison troops in resource structures in IV
The most unbearable thing in HOMM4 was the duration it took the AI to complete its turns. It was like the computer calculated each battle (even AI vs AI) at the same speed as a human sipping on coffee while considering his next move. Graphics were nice though. Heroes 7 looks like a decent part to come, stepping in the footsteps of Heroes 5 which was stepping in the footsteps of Heroes 3.
Imo the biggest flaw H4 had was the lack of RMG. Many (if not most) people play the frachise just for that.
But, tl;dr: yeah, no map random map generator for a game mostly played for it's multiplayer it's pure suicide.
Are you saying this only for the sake of arguing? Starcraft doesn't have such a high degree of randomness as an important part of the gameplay. Also maps in Heroes tend to dictate in a more direct manner the flow of the game (with the 'objective' based gameplay).
But all the generated maps have basically the same setup: basic mines near and advanced resources a bit farther with a higher level creature guarding it and the exit to your area guarded by a level 6 creature.
Isn't game more about assessing which fights you can take instead of how the maps are generated?
As you may know already, there are 3 tiers of creatures in Heroes VII. The core creatures are the cheapest, more numerous and less powerful ones, the champions are the opposite: few, costly and very powerful. Elites are between those two extremes.
In Heroes VII, there are more subtleties in the power range of creatures. There is generally one core creature and one elite creature noticeably stronger than the two others of the same tier. It feels a bit like game prior to the tier system (Heroes V and earlier games) and it is supposed to bring more variety and liveliness.
In Heroes VII, each faction has two champion creatures, but each town can only dwell one kind. Also, it’s generally better to have more of one kind than trying to have both.