Factory
Introduction
Factory is the unreleased 11th faction for Horn of the Abyss, which is confirmed to be released in game version 1.7.0. This new faction will have the Wasteland as its native terrain, which was released in HotA version 1.6.0. The town's theme combines nature with an attempt to harness its power, which is reflected in the two "trees" of creatures and their upgrades.
Creatures
As of August 2020, the revealed line up consists of:
- Tier 1: Halfling –> Halfling Grenadier ("The basic version will fully replicate its predecessor from the original game, differing from it only in appearance; but the upgraded ones, Halfling Grenadiers, thanks to exploding projectiles created by talented artificers, will acquire the ability to ignore a certain percentage of the target's defense when attacking. This percentage will be flat, helping maintain the archetypal image of halflings as giant-killers.")
- Tier 2: Mechanic –> Engineer (They can repair mechanical units in both forms.)
- Tier 3: Armadillo –> Bellwether Armadillo (They are said to have an alternative walking animation: when having Haste cast, they will curl into a ball and roll instead of walking; this is purely a cosmetic feature.)
- Tier 4: Automaton –> ??? (No released graphics or information available other than the fact they are possibly fully robotic.)
- Tier 5: Sandworm –> Olgoi-Khorkhoi (Teleport, similar to Nymph, Devil, and etc. If they come out of the ground above a corpse, stack automatically consumes it, and its next attack receives extra attacks. Bonus strikes from multiple corpse consumes are accumulated. They are also said, when combating on ships, to not be able to use their burrowing (teleport) ability and will walk normally instead.)
- Tier 6: Gunslinger –> Bounty Hunter (Retaliate to one ranged attack per round with a Quick Shot.)
- Tier 7: Dreadnought –> Juggernaut (Both units have a special penetrating beam attack called Heat Beam. The attack pattern is similar to that of the Cerberus, but it also affects units including those next to the targets, similar to a dragon's breath attack. The attack can only be used "when the beam goes live", and both units will perform normal melee attacks otherwise.)
- Tier 7: Couatl –> Crimson Couatl (Couatls can Meditate to become impervious to damage and skip their turn.)
NOTE: Both the Dreadnought and Couatl are set to be 7th tier units. Both dwellings may be built in the same town and both units may be recruited. They will NOT be alternative units like in Heroes of Might & Magic IV.
Ammo Cart is a War machine of Factory.
Heroes
The two hero classes have been revealed to be the might class of Mercenary and the magic class of Artificer.
Factory will feature heroes from former games, such as Kastore and Agar (an Artificer with a Sandworm specialty), but also new ones, like Todd and Bertram. Jangaard is a Mercenary hero with a Scouting specialty, and Henrietta is a Mercenary hero with a Halfling specialty. Morgan and Sam are two additional heroes of unknown classes.
Current Progress
As of 15 August 2021:
- Wasteland terrain and associated objects are ready and in the game as of 1.6.0.
- All Factory creatures are ready.
- Hero models on the Adventure Map and in battle are ready.
- Hero lineup is not finalized, but there are more than 16 portraits in a releasable state, but still being worked on.
- Paul Romero is currently working on the musical theme of Factory.
- Almost all 3D models of the town screen are finished; there are only a few models that need texturing.
- Factory creature dwellings are not ready (and can only be started once Factory town screen is finalized).
- Factory siege screen is not ready (and can only be started once Factory town screen is finalized).
- The majority of 3D campaign cutscenes are finished or in the final stages of production, with only a few still needing to be made.
- Campaign maps are still in the beginning stages of being made; only 1 (out of 8) map is close to being ready.
- The Factory campaign videos are close to completion.