Heroes of Might and Magic III

Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia (also known as Heroes III or HOMM3) is a turn-based strategy game developed by Jon Van Caneghem through New World Computing for Microsoft Windows and released by the 3DO Company in 1999. An Apple Macintosh port was released by 3DO, and a Linux port was released by Loki Software, both later that year. In 2000, a Game Boy Color port entitled Heroes of Might and Magic 2 was released and the Dreamcast port was cancelled. It is the third installment of the Heroes of Might and Magic series. The game's story is first referenced throughout Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven and serves as a prequel to Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor. The player can choose to play through seven different campaigns telling the story, or play in a scenario against computer or human opponents.

The gameplay is very similar to its predecessors in that the player controls a number of heroes that command an army of creatures inspired by myth and legend. The gameplay is divided into two parts, tactical overland exploration and a turn based combat system. The player creates an army by spending resources at one of the eight town types in the game. The hero will progress in experience by engaging in combat with enemy heroes and monsters. The conditions for victory vary depending on the map, including conquest of all enemies and towns, collection of a certain amount of a resource, or finding the grail artifact.

The game received the expansion packs Heroes of Might and Magic III: Armageddon's Blade and Heroes of Might and Magic III: Shadow of Death, as well as a fanmade expansion titled Heroes of Might and Magic 3½: In the Wake of Gods. Heroes Chronicles, a series of short introductory games based on the Heroes III engine, was also released. A special version of Heroes III titled Heroes III Complete, which included the original game and both expansion packs, was released in 2000.

Story
The game's story unfolds primarily through a series of seven playable campaigns, all set upon the continent of Antagarich. During the campaigns, the story is told from alternating points of view, giving players the opportunity to play as each of the town alignments.

Following the disappearance of King Roland Ironfist of Enroth prior to Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven, his wife, Queen Catherine, is left to rule the realm. In the meantime, her father, King Gryphonheart of Erathia, is assassinated. Without their beloved King, the kingdom of Erathia falls to the dark forces of Nighon and Eeofol. Queen Catherine returns home to Antagarich seeking to rally the people of her homeland and lead them against the evil that has ravaged their nation.

Erathia's capital of Steadwick is sacked by the dungeon lords of Nighon and the Kreegans of Eeofol. Meanwhile, the nations of Tatalia and Krewlod skirmish at the western border, seizing the chance to expand their territory. Catherine's first task is to establish a foothold in the conquered kingdom by enlisting the aid of allies. The wizards of Bracada and the elves of AvLee answer her call, and together they push towards Steadwick and eventually retake it, quickly quelling the border war in the west. Soon after, Lucifer Kreegan, a commander in the Eeofol armies, sends an envoy to Erathia claiming that Roland Ironfist is captive within their territories. AvLee invades Eeofol, but fails to rescue Roland, who is transported to their northern holdings. Afterwards, Catherine invades Nighon, pushing the dungeon armies back to their island home.

In the meantime, the necromancers of Deyja, having been responsible for the assassination of King Gryphonheart, plot to revive his corpse as a lich. They plan to use his wisdom in leading their own armies of the undead. However, King Gryphonheart's will proves too much for the necromancers even in his corrupted state, and he becomes a rogue lich. Having little other recourse, Queen Catherine is forced to ally herself with the necromancers and together they set out to destroy the lich of King Gryphonheart before he becomes too powerful.

A final bonus campaign, accessible only after the main campaigns are complete, tells the story of separatists living in the Contested Lands, a war-torn border between Erathia and AvLee. Tired of the skirmishes that bring unrest to their homelands, they join together to fight for independence from the two large kingdoms. It is later implied that this rising was orchestrated by Archibald Ironfist, the antagonist of Heroes of Might and Magic II.

Gameplay
Gameplay consists of strategic exploration on the world map and tactical turn-based combat. As with the series in general, the player controls a number of "heroes" who act as generals and command troops comprising various types of creatures inspired by myth and legend. The player can complete or "win" a map by completing the objectives set out by the creator of the map. Objectives may include conquering all the towns in the map, gathering a set amount of resources, or piecing together a puzzle to find the Grail artifact. If a player loses all their heroes and towns, they will lose the game.

There are two "layers" to the world map - the aboveground and the underground. There are typically subterranean gateways that lead to and from the underground. Maps are filled with a huge variety of buildings, treasures, monsters, mines and so forth that reward extensive exploration. At the very least, a player must locate mines and flag them (whereupon they provide constant resources), since these resources are required to develop towns. The player must also develop his heroes' skills, both by battling creatures (and enemy heroes) and by acquiring artifacts or visiting special locations. For example, the Witch Hut can give a hero a random skill and the Learning Stone provides 1000 experience points.

Heroes are given a choice of skills to upgrade upon levelling up, as well as becoming better at combat or the use of magic. The skills must be chosen carefully, since they are permanent and only a limited number of skills can be learnt. Examples include a damage bonus by all archery units in the hero's command, the ability to walk further across the map each day or specializing in an elemental school of magic to make the associated spells far more effective.

The player's towns serve many functions, but most importantly they allow recruitment of creatures to form armies. Towns also provide funds, new spells and a safe location to make a last stand against an invading enemy hero. To build new structures within a town requires gold and usually one or more type of resource. Wood and ore are needed for most structures, but more expensive buildings will also require rarer resources (mercury, crystal, gems or sulfur). All factions require a disproportionate quantity of just one of these special resources, making the acquisition of a corresponding mine essential to victory. This same resource is also needed when hiring the most powerful creatures available. Each faction also has a handful of unique structures available only to them.

If a player finds the Grail artifact, they can deliver it to a town to make that town the Grail's permanent home by creating a special structure. The Grail bestows greatly increased creature growth and weekly income, in addition to a bonus unique to the town, such as the Skyship in the Tower town, which reveals the entire world map and gives defending heroes a knowledge statistic bonus in the event of a siege.

Town alignments
There are eight different town alignments available in Heroes III: three "good" towns (Castle, Tower, and Rampart), three "evil" (Inferno, Dungeon, and Necropolis), and two "neutral" (Fortress and Stronghold). Another neutral town, the Conflux was added in the Armageddon's Blade expansion pack. Each town has seven basic creatures, each of which can be upgraded to a more powerful variant. Each town also features two associated hero types: one that leans more toward might (combat), and one that leans more toward magic. Some towns have a predisposition toward might or magic, and the leanings of the hero classes may simply be a matter of degrees.


 * The Castle army is made up predominantly of humans, represented as traditional medieval troops, supplemented by the addition of mythological griffins and divine angels. The might hero is the Knight and the magic hero is the Cleric. The kingdom of Erathia is of the castle alignment.
 * The Tower is associated with arcane elements of fantasy, and armies are composed of wizards, magical beings, and animated constructs. Towers are at home in Arctic environments. The might hero is the Alchemist and the magic hero is the Wizard. The kingdom of Bracada is of the tower alignment.
 * The Rampart army is composed mainly of sylvan creatures from Germanic and Greco-Roman mythology. Accordingly, their home is in the grasslands and forests. The Rampart town is also host to "good" dragons. The might hero is the Ranger and the magic hero is the Druid. The kingdom of AvLee is of the rampart alignment.
 * The Inferno is a hell-like castle built on smoldering ground. Its armies consist of demonic creatures, such as devils and demons. The might hero is the Demoniac and the magic hero is the Heretic. The Kreegans of Eeofol are of the inferno alignment.
 * The Dungeon houses monsters that live in underground caverns, including the "evil" dragons. The might hero is the Overlord and the magic hero is the Warlock. The kingdom of Nighon is of the dungeon alignment.




 * The Necropolis is a ghost town of the undead, borrowing inspiration from the classic horror genre. The might hero is the Death Knight and the magic hero is the Necromancer. The kingdom of Deyja is of the necropolis alignment.
 * The Stronghold is populated with brutish, tribal creatures associated with barbarism. Goblinoids and organic giants make up the bulk of the army. Stronghold units are at home in the deserts and wastes. The might hero is the Barbarian and the magic hero is the Battle Mage. The kingdom of Krewlod is of the stronghold alignment.
 * The Fortress is built in marshland and is home to numerous reptilian creatures. The might hero is the Beastmaster and the magic hero is the Witch. The kingdom of Tatalia is of the fortress alignment.
 * The Conflux creatures and heroes are mainly elementals. The might hero is the Planeswalker and the magic hero is the Elementalist. The heroes and buildings focus on magic specialties, as well as most creatures having innate magic resistances and immunities.

There are also many "neutral" creatures, not associated with any town type, which can be recruited from special buildings on the game map.

Expansion packs
Two official expansion packs were released for Heroes III. The first of these expansions, Armageddon's Blade, introduced a ninth town alignment, the Conflux; a random scenario generator, a variety of new creatures, heroes, and structures; and six new playable campaigns.

The second expansion, The Shadow of Death, was a standalone expansion that included Restoration of Erathia and added seven new playable campaigns and a variety of new artifacts, including Combination Artifacts. Combination Artifacts were extremely powerful items assembled by collecting a specific set of lesser artifacts.

Neither Armageddon's Blade nor The Shadow of Death were released individually for Macintosh or Linux.

Fan-made extensions
Heroes of Might and Magic 3½: In the Wake of Gods is an expansion which, in addition to new maps, includes an improved map editor, and the possibility to change the function and appearance of any map object using a new scripting language.

VCMI is an ongoing project to completely rewrite the game engine of Heroes of Might and Magic III. It builds on the Wake of Gods expansion and aims to allow a further range of customization options.

Complete Edition
In 2000, a bundle containing Heroes III and both expansion packs was released as Heroes III Complete. More than just bundling the original game discs, however, this release reworked the game's installation process as well as its in-game menus to reflect a unified product.

It was released for both Windows and Macintosh, and was the first opportunity for Macintosh players to obtain the two expansions and the random scenario generator. This version used SafeDisc 2 or higher copy-protection methods.

Reception
Heroes III was received positively by critics, receiving an average score of 87% in Game Rankings. It was widely acclaimed as the best in the series.

Computer Gaming World's Robert Coffey said that the game "expands upon the insanely addictive play of the previous edition, retaining the core gameplay while enhancing almost every facet of the game". He continued to say that the game is "mind-boggling in its depth", but criticized its uneven campaign pacing and "sluggish" connection speeds during online play. He concluded: "Ultimately, the rewards of Heroes of Might and Magic III far outweigh its few drawbacks. [...] [This] is a game that strategy fans should absolutely be playing".