Forge (HotA)

Female hero (Magic) of the Forge and the Pyro in battle; male heroes of the Forge (Magic) on the adventure map. By DrSlash and Balkron

Forge is an evil alignment town. Forge's native terrain is lava.

Forge will be disabled by default and must be enabled specifically in scenarios or templates.

Development History

All information has been sourced from various threads in the DF2 topic.

The town's design was based on New World Computing's Forge that was shown at E3 between the 13th and 15th of May 1999. Some models were reused NWC assets and others were newly made by don_ko, though the lighting's tone shifted from cooler to warmer. New buildings such as the Electric Chair and Operating Room are directly inspired by real-world execution and torture methods, overtly emphasising the evil and experimental nature of the faction. The town's lineup of creatures would have directly referenced the intended lineup of creatures sourced from original New World Computing documentation and ideas. The Patrol Drone creature is also a direct reference to the Patrol Unit of Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven.

Due to the open-ended nature of New World Computing's Forge, many modders had differing ideas on what the Forge should truly be, hence the varying designs of the creature concepts. Some lean into the steampunk aesthetic, which the Factory has since embraced in part, while others are designed with the dieselpunk subgenre in mind, which are more akin to George Almond's original concept sketches of Forge creatures and buildings. Lore was heavily considered when it came to implementing heroes, with Kastore and Maximus intended to make their return to the main story, as well as a possible continuation or branch of Tarnum's legacy.

Certain assets were shared between fellow modders and forum users during the time of the town's then-development, though not all were shared with permission from their original authors. One such case was the sharing of the town's portraits, originally made by Morn, which had been pointed out by don_ko. These were then replaced with art produced by nosferatu in Feanor's Forge, an offshoot of the Forge that was being made for ERA by Feanor, another Horn of the Abyss team member.

Speculation

The Forge was considered to be the next Horn of the Abyss town by some members of the community, since the unidentified purple hero from Bulwark preview video looks quite like the hero from HotA 1.7.7 April Fools joke, which is about Forge. That is strengthened by the fact that HotA Crew also is developing the second Factory campaign, the Frederick one, as was stated by the team members on df2.

But on 23rd of April it was confirmed that the next town of HotA is in fact Forge, with it being renewed with new ideas from Greg Fulton and getting a boardgame expansion.

Gallery

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  Grunt Soldier by Alex-ander
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  Foot Soldier by Alex-ander
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  Pyromaniac by Alex-ander
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  Stinger by Alex-ander
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  Annihilator by Agar
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  Mechanical Dragon by Agar
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  Juggernaut by Agar
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  Mechanical Dragon by Agar
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  Mechanical Dragon by Agar
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  Mechanical Hydra by Agar
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  (pre-cursor of Olgoi-Khorkhoi?) by Agar
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  ??? by Agar
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  Drone by Don_ko
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  Drone by Don_ko
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  Drone by Don_ko
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  Drone by Don_ko
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  Drone by Don_ko
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  Drones by Don_ko
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  Minotaur Zombie by nosferatu
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  Jump Trooper by Agar
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  Jump Trooper by Agar
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  Jump Trooper by Agar
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  Jump Trooper by Agar
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  Jump Trooper by Don_ko
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  Naga Tank by Axolotl
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  Naga Tank by Axolotl
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  Naga Tank by Don_ko
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  Juggernaut by Agar
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  Juggernaut by Don_ko
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  Juggernaut by Don_ko
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  Dreadnought and Juggernaut by Don_ko
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  Juggernaut by nosferatu
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  Mage Hero & Neutral Creature by Agar
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  Heroes by Agar
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  Heroes by Agar
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  Heroes by Agar:
  Grave, Titus
  ---
  Mobius, Luther
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  Heroes by Agar:
  Hannah, Ixia
  ---
  Gort
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  Heroes by Agar:
  Gideon, Mordecai
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  Amelie
  (orignally created for the Monolith town concept)
  (art by nosferatu)
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  Blasterman
  (art by nosferatu)
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  Commissioner
  (art by nosferatu)
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  Goblin
  (art by nosferatu)
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  Gurvich
  (orignally created for the Monolith town concept)
  (art by nosferatu)
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  Kastore
  (art by nosferatu)
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  Knight
  (art by nosferatu)
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  Marine
  (art by nosferatu)
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  Maximus
  (updated for All In)
  (art by nosferatu)
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  Mechanic
  (art by nosferatu)
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  Old Lady
  (art by nosferatu)
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  Punk
  (art by nosferatu)
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  Punk Girl
  (art by nosferatu)
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  Steampunk
  (art by nosferatu)
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  Steampunk Girl
  (art by nosferatu)
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  Texas
  (art by nosferatu)
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  Forge Hero
  (sketch by Agar)
  (painted by Don_ko)
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  Forge Hero
  (sketch by Agar)
  (painted by Don_ko)
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  Forge Hero
  (sketch by Agar)
  (painted by Don_ko)
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  Forge Hero
  (sketch by Agar)
  (painted by Don_ko)
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  Forge Hero
  (sketch by Agar)
  (painted by Don_ko)
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  Ixia
  (sketch by Agar)
  (painted by Don_ko)
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  Forge incarnation of Tarnum
  (sketch by Agar)
  (painted by Don_ko)
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  Heroes on horseback by Agar
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  Kastore and others by Agar
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  Background Concept by Agar
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  Buildings by Agar
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  Village Hall by Don_ko
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  Hall versions by Don_ko
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  Castle by Don_ko
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  Tavern by Don_ko
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  Tavern by Don_ko
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  Mage Guild by Don_ko
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  Blacksmith by Don_ko
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  Old and new Blacksmith by Don_ko
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  Marketplace by Don_ko
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  Resource Silo by Don_ko
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  Resource Silo by Don_ko
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  Resource Silo by Don_ko
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  Tesla Coil by Don_ko
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  Tesla Coil by Don_ko
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  Oil Pump, presumably by Don_ko
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  Grunt Dwelling by Don_ko
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  Juggernaut Dwelling by Don_ko
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  Pyromaniac Dwelling by Don_ko
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  Pyromaniac Horde by Don_ko
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  Electric Chair by Don_ko
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  Observatory and Locator by Don_ko
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  Pressure Chamber by Don_ko
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  Operating Room by Don_ko
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  Operating Room by Agar
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  Operating Room by Don_ko
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  Depot by Don_ko
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  Unnamed Building by Don_ko
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  Unnamed Building by Don_ko
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  Town Screen by Don_ko
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  Town Screen by Don_ko
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  Town Screen by Don_ko
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  Town Screen by Don_ko
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  Town Screen by Don_ko
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  Town Screen by Don_ko
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  Forge Siege Screen by Don_ko
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  Forge Siege Screen by Don_ko
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  A screenshot of Feanor Forge being sieged, with a bunch of HotA Forge assets used there, along with some MDT assets.