Editing Greg Fulton/Fanstratics Newsletters/5 (section)

== HoMM3 Questions ==
'''What was the [[Market of Time]], which was cut from HoMM3?'''

Originally, the Market of Time was called ‘Brigadoon’.  It would randomly appear after long periods of time, and for a Day, a Hero could purchase very high value artifacts and very cheap resources.  It was ‘cut’ because it required new programming functionality, we were running out of development time, and I was worried players would ‘park’ a Hero at the destination and simply wait for the Market.  Also, for the record, it was never a place where Heroes could unlearn [[Secondary Skills]].


'''Why was the [[Fear (spell)|Fear Spell]] cut from HoMM3?'''

The Fear spell was ‘cut’ because it was little more than ‘bad morale’ in another form.  Later, I thought it was better to convert the mechanic into the Fear ability for the [[Azure Dragon]].


'''What do you know about [[Unused_content#The_Shadow_of_Death|unused artifacts]] from the [[Shadow of Death]]: [[Diplomat's Cloak|Diplomat's Suit]], [[Ironfist of the Ogre]], and [[Pendant of Reflection|Mired in Neutrality]]?'''

By the time [[New World Computing]] (NWC) began work on Shadow of Death, I was long gone.  So, I can't speak to anything regarding the expansion.


'''What happened to the Mac Port of HoMM3?'''

Similar to Shadow of Death, I was long gone from NWC when these ports were undertaken.  For instance, there was an attempt to port HoMM3 to Dreamcast.  I didn't know it existed until earlier this year.  As to Ubisoft, I have never worked for them in any capacity, and they have never reached out to me for any reason.  So, I can't say why they do one thing and avoid another.  I will say this... if they could make reasonable money from it... only office politics or incompetence would prevent it.


'''Do you happen to know the situation with the HD release? Is there any chance whatsoever that an HD version of the full Heroes III Complete might ever appear?'''

As to the HD release, Ubisoft claims to have lost the original source code for the Armageddon's Blade expansion, hence the reason there is no HD version of Complete.  This does puzzle me.  If they let someone like myself, or [[David Mullich]], rummage through their archives, we might be able to dig it up, but there's no guarantee.  Personally, I'd work something out with the guys who made VCMI, but as I just stated... if they could make reasonable money from it... only office politics or incompetence would prevent it.


'''I’m curious about your COVID experience.  My symptoms were few and only lasted a couple weeks, but I’ve had friends who stayed in bed for more than a month.  Is your experience mild or severe?'''

I know this is not game related, but it is relevant to the present day.  So...

On the day before my birthday, I fell ill with earaches and the inability swallow without intense pain.  Initially, I suspected strep throat, as it was going around, but a quick five minute test, at a nearby clinic, produced a negative result.

My doctor wanted me tested for COVID, and a couple days later, I took another quick test.  Two days after, my COVID test came back positive.

For the next five weeks, I took a handful of vitamins every eight hours, and lived on Aleve and Excedrin (not at the same time).  I had almost every symptom: fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle aches, headaches, loss of taste, sore throat, lack of appetite, and brain fog.  Of these symptoms, fatigue and lack of appetite were the worst.  It created a vicious cycle; I’m tired and not hungry... which leads to be being even more tired with even further diminished appetite.  It’s difficult to put into words, especially the oppressive weight of the fatigue.

I had no energy for work, and when I did muster the strength for thirty to sixty minutes... I couldn’t focus.  Browsing the web... watching a movie... quickly gave me splitting headaches.  On the day Cyberpunk 2077 released, I made an effort to play, and after thirty minutes, I’d acquired a raging headache and queasiness.

In the end, I spent most of my time... existing.  I began to wonder if I had ‘Long COVID’, which is measured in months, not weeks.  It was demoralizing, and if it wasn’t for family and friends, I’m not sure how I would have managed.

Thankfully, on Day 1 of Week 6, I began to feel less miserable, and by Day 1 of Week 7, I was feeling relatively normal.  Presently, I’m still working my way back, and experience bad days and good days.