Heroes of Might & Magic VI

New mechanics for creature production (no need for caravans)

Creature dwellings will work as resource production buildings. Basically, when you first capture a creature dwelling you will receive a first batch of creatures that you can integrate straight away to your army. The building will then work as a resource building meaning that it will add creatures to your creature pool every week as a gold mine would add gold to your resources. These creatures will then be hirable via the cities and forts you control.

Town unique buildings
2 slots, 4 buildings per town, each with a different ability (economy booster, creature production booster, gives a special ability on the adventure map or the combat maps)
Having several similar unique buildings in different towns improves their efficiency (a bit like the marketplaces).

General principles of the revised RPG system
- Heroes can be male, female, Might, Magic
- Heroes have faction and class specific abilities
- Heroes gain skill points when they level up, that they can spend consciously on “general” abilities organized in skill categories – they have total control over their development – no more “probability-based” limited skill choices offered to the player
- Heroes can unlock advanced classes that will change their appearance and grant them an ultimate ability

More variety in the combat arenas
- Specific topography (various sizes and shapes for the battle arenas)
- Dynamic topography (seashore battle with the tide flooding the arena turn by turn)
- Different combat objectives (hold your ground for X turns, defend this sacred shrine at the center of the arena, kill a specific enemy stack, etc.)
- Boss fights!

Initiative system
Back to H3 mechanics but with a H5-like INI bar interface.

New Creature Tier System
Core, Elite, Champion (like Clash of Heroes)

Creature Siege Damage
Creature stacks can now damage the fortifications (but are obviously less efficient than catapults)

Fixed camera angle
On the adventure map, to remove the necessity of rotating the camera to locate hidden items.
Easier to manage for players and map designers, feels like 2D navigation but with the benefit of 3D coolness

No secondary / alternative upgrades
Obvious in the concept arts.

The Artifact Sets
Nothing special – you collect them all and you get a bonus.

The different tilesets
Jungle, Plains (Summer AND Autumn), Lava, Wasteland (Necropolis), Underground

The presence of critters on the adv map
Turtles, dolphins, birds, etc.

Campaign structure
5 campaigns of 4 maps, 1 per faction, playable in any order, with an optional tutorial map and a mandatory prologue map.

The Map editor
A fan is REALLY involved and there is a goal to make it user-friendly at the latest to be shipped with the game, but if possible and the quality is good enough it will be released BEFORE the game.

And some more:

* When can we expect news on the two unknown factions?

It should come very soon. I think you could expect an update in December.

* Could you reveal some units from the announced factions? Any pictures would also be appreciated.

Indeed, they are now being presented on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/MightandMagic. The last ones will be presented in the coming weeks.

* We know there will be 7 magic schools, the 6 elemental schools (including light and darkness) plus primordial. Anything you could share on them, like new twists or descriptions to an idea of what to expect?

Not yet. :> But it’ll come soon™

* While at that, how many will be accessible to each faction? Some will of course favour specifics schools but will the other ones be available and/or effective?

All schools will be accessible. Each faction will favor a specific Magic school among the others.

* There have been mentions of hero customization. We still get "tavern heroes" with their unique bios, skills and specialties, right?

Yes. Customization is in multiplayer, for your starting Hero. You can still choose other heroes and recruit them in town. In solo mode, the customization is limited.

* Will the creature lineups of H6 remain mostly race-based (like in H5) or will they be based around a common theme (like in H1-4)?

Heroes VI is more balanced about this. You’ll get a bit of both; some race-based creatures and some about the theme.

* Will any of the classic units not assigned to factions return as neutrals?

About neutral creatures, you’ll see new ones and old faces. For example, the phoenix you might have already seen on the dev T-shirts.

* What can we expect from the advanced classes? Will they work like in H4?

Not really, it is different from Heroes IV. We’ll soon go in more detail about this. What we can say so far is that each advanced class have 2 unique abilities, including one ultimate.

* How will hero movement be affected on the adventure map?

You’ll have skills and artifacts linked to movement. Creatures in your army won’t affect your movement. Terrain will also have an effect.

* How will spells be learned in Heroes VI? Are Mage Guilds returning? If not, will the skill tree be used instead?

Heroes VI will have a new skill system we’ll talk about soon™ (see question 3 for reference )

* What type of race-unique buildings can we expect in Heroes VI?

You’ll be able to build 2 out of a choice of 4. Buildings are linked to faction strategy.

Here are exclusive examples of unique buildings:

- For Haven: the Statue of Revelation which removes fog of war in a targeted area, once a week.

- For Necropolis: the Altar of Eternal Servitude, which gathers the remains of the player’s Necropolis Creatures that fell in combat, so they can be recruited again (for a price).


* What is the estimated planned map total (campaigns, single scenarios and multiplayer maps inclusive) for the initial release of Heroes VI?

We have 24 campaigns and 10 multiplayer maps. While there will be "only" 10 MP maps in the retail game, the goal is to have more maps available for download on the official website of the game right from day 1.

* If many of the mines and creature dwellings are being retired for Heroes VI, what will take their place? How will the adventure map be kept interesting and fresh?

You still have treasures, artifacts and places to visits. Also, re-centering the game on areas of control and strategy will make the adventure map appealing.

* Will mixed neutrals ala Tribes of the East be returning? Pretty please

Yes.

* Can you elaborate on the Reputation system which was mentioned? How does it work? How will it affect gameplay? What actions determine your reputation? What are the benefits of having one type of reputation or the other?

We’ll develop on this later on

* Are the beloved dialogue and text boxes from Heroes I-IV returning in Heroes VI? Will the campaigns contain a lot of juicy narrative as in H3 and H4, or just cutscenes like in H5?

In the campaign mode, you’ll have some cut scenes, dialogue boxes. You won’t have big texts like in H IV, but for curious players, there’ll be plenty of very detailed text to read in the bios of heroes, creatures, cities, etc.
Also map makers will be able to put all the boxes they want in their maps.

* According to the timeline, necromancy was only discovered in 461 YSD and the rise of the Necromancers took place almost 50 years after H6, in 610. How is it possible the Necromancers are such a strong force at this point in time?

At the time of Heroes VI, Necromancers are just a group of wizards, not a full Nation. They are part of the 7 cities. But their cult is 100 years old. Heroes VI is the turning point where Necromancers come to the foreground.

* Will it be possible to create custom dynamic battles in the map editor?

We’ll communicate on the map editor details later.

* The press release claimed "Might & Magic Heroes VI will include all the characters and features that have made this brand a worldwide success". Is it possible that any classic heroes from the Might and Magic franchise will return in some form for Heroes VI?

This is a request that has been strongly expressed by the VIP fans. As you know, 2011 will be the 25th anniversary of M&M, so surprises are to be expected.

* We are worried that the storyline will ultimately just rehash the Everyone VS Demons plot yet again. Will the Demons be the main antagonists of Heroes VI?

Yes, there is a Demon invasion in Heroes VI.
No, it is not the most important plot element in the storyline.
Even though most factions have the Demon invasion in mind, the political face of Ashan is evolving way beyond this threat.