Horn of the Abyss (Changelog)

[!] Important Information.

[-] Bug and error fixes and changes to previous elements.

[+] Innovations.

Version 1.7.1 (06/APR/2024)

[!] Forged in Fire campaign difficulty on Easy & Normal levels has been significantly reduced

[!] Fixed many bugs in Forged in Fire campaign. Several bugs unintentionally reduced difficulty on higher levels

[!] Some of the critical bugs mentioned below have already been fixed through HD Mod updates

HotA Bugs

[-] Fixed a possible crash when clones and summoned creatures perished during Dreadnought's Heat Stroke ability

[-] Fixed a bug: a hero dismissed in an Airship was corrupted during turn replay

[-] Fixed a bug: tavern heroes weren't regenerating mana; besides that the game could possibly crash on saving

[-] Fixed a possible crash when creatures perished during Gunslinger's Preemptive Shot ability

[-] Fixed a possible crash when defeated in a battle

[-] Fixed a bug with Crimson Couatl missing sounds in English version of the game

[-] Fixed a non-working fixed hero level setting in campaigns and map specifications

[-] Fixed various bugs with hero transfer between campaign scenarios, including bugs with non-working Prisons

[-] Fixed bugs with hero invitation (HD Mod option) occurring when there's no available heroes to invite

[-] Fixed Wagon, Campfire and Lean To synchronization on Mirror Templates

[-] Fixed HotA campaign save conversion from versions below 1.7.0

[-] Fixed possible crashes caused by having unsupported/corrupt campaigns in the Maps folder

[-] Fixed bugs and crashes caused by AI upgrading a Dreadnought in Factory

[-] Fixed a bug: a hero with Fly spell standing on an impassable map cell (e.g. on an adventure map Tavern trigger cell right after hero buy) couldn't fly anywhere else

[-] Fixed a bug: an AI hero in a Boat could occasionally teleport to a disembark cell using Dimension Door spell together with the Boat

[-] Fixed a bug: when an AI hero in a Boat is wearing Angel Wings or Boots of Levitation, during disembark he could unreasonably try casting Fly or Water Walk spells

[-] Fixed AI value calculation for War Machine Factory (AI considered it useless)

[-] Fixed a bug: AI attacked meditating Coatles with Area Shot

[-] Fixed a bug: AI summoned elementals when already having maximum number of stacks and unreasonably lost mana

[-] Fixed an AI bug: casting Clone spell AI value was doubled for Eovacius even if only single stack could be summoned

[-] Fixed a bug: when battle AI without a hero was calculating value to decide if a ranged stack should go melee, AI didn't take into account that the stack will be blocked

[-] Fixed a bug: when AI was on the attacking side, he almost never cast in the first round caused by mistake in hit-n-run forbid logic

[-] Fixed mistakes in choosing faction types for random map zones, including higher probability for zone without a town to have Castle faction

[-] Reworked Sacrifice bug fix: now cast cannot be prevented by Anti-Magic and power to reanimate at least one creature is not required anymore

[-] Fixed a bug with incorrect Morale and Luck bonuses for Rally Flag

[-] Fixed an Oasis bug: it increased Luck instead of Morale

[-] Fixed a bug: sometimes a wrong side could be taken during Morale and Luck checks: e.g. Town Tavern Morale bonus could work for a besieger

[-] Fixed expert Disguise bugs with Cove and Factory creatures

[-] Fixed available targets highlighting while selecting Heat Stroke ability direction

[-] Fixed refreshing UI after sending resources to another player

[-] Fixed a bug: maximum number of move points changed to maximum number for Water terrain after opening Hero Information for hero in an Airship

[-] Fixed music play interruption because of implemented earlier music freeze fix

[-] Fixed a possible crash when running all existing music tracks during a single game run

Gameplay

[+] Reworked how Patrol works for AI: now a hero strictly can't go outside the area

[-] Maximum move points cap increased: 32768 -> 99999

[+] If there's an empty Tavern slot, a retreated hero now always occupies it instead of replacing a hero in another slot

[+] AI now chooses aesthetically best-looking direction for Dreadnought Heat Stroke ability among choices with same value

SoD Bugs

[+] Fixed crashes on scenario start while attempting to generate a random hero without any available; now a forbidden hero is generated in such case

[+] Fixed a bug: AI could pass through map cells near monsters using Water Walk or Boots of Levitation attacking those monsters and stopping without a Boat on Water terrain

[+] An unsuccessful Water Walk cast attempt messages in a Boat or an Airship during AI turn are not shown to a player anymore

[+] An unsuccessful Dimension Door teleport attempt from ground into water and vice versa doesn't spend mana anymore

[+] Fixed a bug: when attacking stack died from Fire Shield, retaliation strike into nowhere still happened

[+] Fixed a bug with clones, remaining inactive on battlefield after their expiration caused by Poison effect

[+] Fixed a bug: if you summon 20 stacks and then destroy some of them, you still can't summon new stacks

[+] Fixed a bug: Pit Lord summoned Demons or Fangarm hypnotized creatures could be affected by negative Morale, even though Morale should be positive

[+] Fixed a bug: at some time after a clone had perished, some of theirs passive abilities were still being in effect (e.g. Azure Dragons Fear, Familiar Magic Channel)

[+] Fixed a defect: Vampire Lords could Life Drain from clones

[+] Fixed a bug: Efreet Sultan Fire Shield damage mistakenly increased caused by Hero stats and artifacts

[+] Fixed an AI bug: Bow of the Sharpshooter was not taken into account when attempting to block ranged stacks

[+] Fixed a bug: eliminated after not having a city 7 days player heroes could become invisible in online-match turn replay

[+] Corrected displaying of certain elements belonging to another players during hot-seat turn replay

[+] Removed Surface/Underworld View button flickering during turn replay

[+] Path-route arrows are now removed during turn replay

[+] Actual amount of resources and actual date are now displayed on the bottom bar during Victory/Lose message display

[+] Fixed displaying main menu background parts inside unfilled part of loading map progress bar

[+] Music bug fixes: wrong track selection or playing position reset after quick starting/stopping/switching of tracks

Graphics

[+] Added an underground sand battlefield

[+] Added a new cactus

[+] Improved Dreadnought Heat Stroke animation: now attacked stacks hit animation starts right in the moment of ray-stroke passing through them

[-] Fixed wasteland Tar Pit and Fissure images: they can no more overlap roads

[-] Fixed outlines not blinking when building certain Factory buildings

[+] Fixed outlines not blinking when building certain Fortress buildings

[-] Fixed defects with Factory units start move and end move animations

[-] Fixed Nix and Nix Warrior move animation speeds

[+] Removed an extra pixel in Efreet Sultan adventure map attack animation

[+] Fixed a graphics defect in Hero Position image in Map Editor

Map Editor

[+] Added a new option in Event and Pandora's Box settings, which allows to specify difficulty levels on which the object will be present on the map

[-] Maximum move points number given in Events and Pandora's Box increased till 99999

[-] Returned a Guardhouse requirement to build Archers' Tower and Barrack in Castle town

[-] Fixed a bug: new placing objects allowability rules did not take effect when drawing terrains

[-] Fixed a bug: it was possible to choose 1 skill less in Seafaring Academy, which led to game crashes

[-] Fixed a bug: incomplete creatures list was displayed during editing in Event and Pandora's Box settings

[-] Fixed a bug: unavailable for generation town spells' checkboxes were not properly marked

Campaign Editor

[-] Fixed some problems with text input fields

[-] Fixed problems with file associations

Template Editor

[+] Added an ability to fine-tune customize faction zones independently from main town faction

[-] Fixed a bug: First Aid skill could be unavailable in the secondary skills list

[-] Fixed a bug: maximum number of rounds in a battle couldn't be changed

[-] Fixed problems with file associations

UI

[+] The Shipyard and Airship Yard dialog now opens despite not having enough resources, now you can always see Boat and Airship prices

[+] Clones and summoned elementals now do not count to casualties in the Battle Results window

[+] Text in scroll-able messages is now center aligned

[-] Word wrapping by a hyphen doesn't occur anymore if the hyphen is between digits

[+] Town's Shipyard with a boat now correctly responds to a mouse click

[+] Fixed centering for message window about inability to build another ship because of too many ships already present

Miscellaneous

[-] Updated Cove and Factory creature sounds, volume increased

[+] Balanced music and voice volume levels in campaign cutscenes

[+] Completed campaign checkmarks are no longer dismissed while traveling in the main menu

[-] Fixed a check updates system bug, which caused wrong new version available message to appear

[-] Huge amount of various fixes for maps, campaigns and texts

Version 1.7.0 (31/DEC/2023)

[!] Added the new Factory town and faction, including new heroes, creatures, and outer dwellings

[!] Added the new Forged in Fire campaign dedicated to the Factory. Campaign maps have increased difficulty

[!] Added the campaign editor and support for custom campaigns, new background and region maps for campaigns

HotA Bugs

[-] Fixed a crash when launching the game if the server has incorrect information about the update version

[-] Fixed a possible crash when visiting an external shipyard

[-] Maximum number of towns per mirror template for map generation reduced to 24 to avoid crashes

[-] Prevented attempts to read maps in newer formats than supported by the current HotA version

[-] Fixed a crash occurring sometimes when casting Remove Obstacle spell (usually when removing the last obstacle)

[-] Fixed a freeze when trying to exit via Alt+F4 while a creature is flying and then clicking OK or Cancel

[-] Fixed possible crashes when loading saves on G-sized maps with a very large amount of content

[-] Fixed a crash of the map editor when opening some maps (for example, The Gauntlet)

[-] Fixed a bug: if there were 64 boats and heroes in boats on the map, these heroes would appear without boats when loading the map

[-] Fixed bugs occurring with online messages when raising a hero's level (incorrect information could be transmitted to the wrong player)

[-] Fixed a bug where the +20% effect of the Reflection Pendant didn't work

[-] Fixed a bug where Fairy Dragons didn't switch their attack type to melee in battle rounds where they cast any area-based spell

[-] Fixed a bug where shooters tried to attack Fangarms in melee instead of shooting

[-] Fixed a bug: after a quick battle with Fangarms, only 1 creature could rise via necromancy, regardless of the number of Fangarms

[-] Fixed a bug where some animations could be played in a quick battle, which led to unstable operation of the game

[-] Fixed a bug: the expanded maximum number of Mines per map didn't work

[-] Fixed a bug: after exiting to the main menu from the battle, the Quest Gates could stop working

[-] Fixed a bug with opening the map when offering Scouting on a level in an online game

[-] Fixed a bug: AI couldn't cast Hypnosis

[-] Fixed a bug: AI could raise a stack of 0 Fangarms with the Horn of the Abyss in AI-AI battles

[-] Fixed a bug with the disable tactics button in the hero window not working

[-] Fixed a bug: despite the previously implemented fix, there was still a chance of charting different routes of the hero to the same square

[-] Fixed a bug: when calculating the route for the red player on someone else's turn, the cost of the first step with Angel Wings on was calculated with a terrain penalty

[-] Fixed a bug with incorrect settings of starting towns on a random map if human players are not first in the list

[-] Fixed a bug with resetting the starting hero when restarting on maps with more than 1 random starting heroes

[-] Fixed a bug: resistance and artifacts connected to it were banned on RoE/AB maps

[-] Fixed a bug: Logistics/Intelligence/Diplomacy/Navigation skill odds for Navigators: 6/3/2/2 - > 3/2/2/6

[-] Fixed a bug: the skill of Nix and Nix Warriors did account for the bonus attack from the Bloodlust, Accuracy and Frenzy spells

[-] Fixed a bug: playback of some new types of animations incorrectly accounted for the redraw borders. Because of this, animations of spells such as Fireball, the appearance of a Wall of Fire, or the destruction of a town wall could contain graphic artifacts

[-] Fixed a bug: when casting with Sea Priestesses and Enchanters, they would momentarily display the idle animation frame after the spell effect before continuing with the correct animation

[-] Fixed a bug with incorrect determination of monster RMG coordinates when adding a vacant square to a group of objects, making it possible to steal them by Flying in Anarchy

[-] Arena battleground obstacles are now taken into account when determining acceptable squares for building a ship in towns and shipyards

[-] Fixed a bug: when entering the nwczion cheat, a Lighthouse is not built now in Castles not located near water

[-] Fixed a mana reduction bug in the Mana Altar

[-] Fixed a bug where a normal Witch's Hut could spawn with its snow appearance in RMG

[-] Fixed the order of cutscenes in the Horn of the Abyss campaign

Gameplay

[+] Added the Airship, similar to a boat, that allows heroes to fly, as well as the Airship Yard object that allows building Airships (generally not available on RMG templates)

[+] Ancient Altar returned to scenario editor and made a visited object: fighting 25 Haspids for the Horn of the Abyss (banned in RMG by default)

[+] Added a new artifact: Sleepkeeper; grants creatures immunity to mind magic (banned by default)

[+] Added a mechanism that prohibits powerful dead heroes from coming to the tavern. Powerful heroes can only come if no other heroes are available

[+] Erased heroes in the tavern now have movement points, mana, and a number of other parameters updated (as in case of death)

[+] Tavern heroes now have their current army movement points updated (no 2000 heroes)

[+] Stables bonus reduced from 400 to 300 movement points

[+] When spell research is enabled, the Town Portal and Dimension Door do not drop in the normal guild slots without research, but are guaranteed to drop if 3 research attempts have been made before

[+] Hit-n-run ban built into HotA: in two-hero combat, the attacker is forbidden to retreat in the first round of combat after casting a spell

[+] Summoning Earth and Fire Elementals now has the power of [2/2/2.5/3] * SP

[+] Lifted the ban on summoning different types of elementals in the same combat

[+] Wall of Fire: Power damage multiplier increased from 10 to 15

[+] Luna: specialization bonus reduced from 100% to 25%

[-] Conflux: Upg. Magic Lantern now requires the Garden of Life, but does not require the University of Magic

[+] Reduced Imp Cache value from 5000 to 1500

[+] Changed the number of Steel Golems in the Experimental Shop: 20-40-60-80 instead of 25-50-75-100

[+] Changed the Tomb reward from 500-5000 to 1500-4000 Gold [+] Changed the healing power of the First Aid Tent: 20-25 / 40-50 / 60-75 / 80-100 according to the skill level

[+] Lizardmen: Fight Value: 115 -> 137, AI Value: 126 -> 151

[+] Lizard Warriors: Fight Value: 130 -> 174, AI Value: 156 -> 209

[+] Leprechauns: Fight Value and AI Value: 208 -> 190 (inadequately large coefficient via ability removed)

[+] Changed the standard number of Sea Dogs on the map: 12-18 -> 12-20 (like all Level 3 upgrades; due to this, they can no longer be generated in certain weak guard spots)

[+] Cyclopes can now attack the castle gate if the gate hex has allied creatures standing on it

[+] Wall shooting disabled in the Cyclopes' Alternate Action mode

[+] Bone and Ghost Dragons now transform into Bone Dragons in the Skeleton Converter

[+] Optimized the behavior of AI-controlled shooters in close combat

[+] The Diplomat's Mantle allows ignoring the hit-n-run ban (only for surrender). AI also knows how to use this

[+] Correct ability to surrender with a Diplomat's Mantle in a town if there is no way to retreat added for the AI

[+] AI now does not consider a broken wall to be a reason to give up defending the castle if there is a moat (except when an enemy is already standing in the moat, ready to enter the castle in 1 turn).

[-] Improved AI cast assessment for the Berserk spell

[-] The 6lm10a template now has 5 presets with different road settings, which provides for an acceptable balance and diversity of the road network

[-] h3md1 template: external Taverns, Shrines of Magical Mystery, heroes Solmyr, Aislinn, Thant, Vidomina, Deemer, Ciele, Leena, Giselle banned

[-] 8xm12a template: size of white zones reduced from 20 to 15, old double links removed, links to the center made double. Shrines Of Magical Mystery banned

[-] Mini-Nostalgia template: Dragon Utopia settings are as in 6lm10a: frequency 200, maximum per zone 1 (gold zones: no restrictions). Shrines Of Magical Mystery banned

[-] Apocalypse template: Wanderer's Boots and Shrines of Magical Mystery banned

[-] mt_Diamond, mt_Jebus, mt_TeamJebus, mt_Andromeda, mt_Antares templates: Shrines of Magical Mystery and the hero Giselle banned

[-] 6lm10a, 8mm6a, Spider, Nostalgia, Kerberos, 2sm4d(3), Diamond, Boomerang templates: Shrines of Magical Mystery banned

[+] Updated the mt_Firewalk template to v2.0 (but no campaign heroes, Navigation heroes, or Giselle)

SoD Bugs

[+] Fixed buggy AI assessment of hex hazards for 2-hex creatures (Fire Wall bug, Danger Zone bug)

[+] Fixed a bug where after opening and closing the puzzle map, the background sounds of objects near the current screen center would be played

[+] Fixed RNG bugs: looping creature weeks and months, ability to manipulate the arrival of heroes in the tavern

[+] Fixed a bug with delays when stopping music (for example, slow quick battle when the music is turned on)

[+] Fixed a bug: in quick combat, a small wait before the creature's retaliation/second strike was not disabled

[+] Fixed a bug: when performing actions without skipping a turn (for example, hero casting), pressing the hotkey during the animation would make it trigger after the animation ends

[+] Fixed a bug: if the cursor shadow was present at the end of a combat, it could crash or render incorrectly at the beginning of the next combat

[+] Fixed a bug: when starting a scenario, a hero could have extra artifacts from previous scenario loads in his backpack

[+] Fixed a bug where heroes could end up on top of another hero while moving through the Whirlpool

[+] Fixed a bug: some information about the winning defending hero in online play would not be updated (including secondary skill display)

[+] Fixed a bug: in the replay during the enemy's turn, heroes' disembarking from boats was not recorded; when playing it, the hero would initially appear walking on water

[+] Fixed bugs involving changing hero and boat directions when viewing the enemy's turn

[+] Fixed a bug with changing the hero's direction when boarding a boat

[+] Fixed a crash related to Unicorn auras when AI calculates the value of Hypnotize removal

[+] Fixed a crash when trying to raise Demons by Pit Lords with the maximum number of stacks in combat

[+] Fixed a bug where a player defending a town could summon a clone to a closed gate

[+] Fixed a bug: when teleporting town defender creatures to the gate hex, the gate now opens

[+] Fixed a bug with the Force Field being passable for town defenders when cast on the hex in front of the gate

[+] Fixed a bug with spell points reduction to 999 in the Seer's Hut and when using cheats

[+] Fixed a bug: if magical terrain overlapped the top left cell of the Whirlpool, it would stop working

[+] Fixed a bug: after loading a save, the AI could have a second turn in a day with the color previously under the player's control

[+] Fixed a crash stemming from heroes with Angel Wings sometimes being able to "fly" in boats

[+] Fixed a bug where it was possible to cast Water Walk spells while in a boat

[+] Fixed a bug: now the penalty for Fly on water is not used if the more effective Water Walk is also cast

[+] Fixed a bug: if a hero steps on a local Event next to a monster and is killed in battle with the monster, the event will still trigger for the dead hero. In certain cases, after this happening and restarting the scenario, there was a crash. Now, the event will not be activated in this case

[+] Fixed a bug with heroes getting stuck in objects after using the Town Portal spell and then Fly

[+] Fixed a bug with getting stuck in obstacles when using Fly with Angel Wings/Water Walk with Levitation Boots

[+] Fixed a bug that could cause the player's Fly to stop working if the hero had a high amount of movement points

[+] Fixed a bug: when updating AI paths, information about the previous target could become partially incorrect. This could cause failures in target selection by the AI

[+] Fixed a bug where the AI did not know that a combat with a nearby guard wasn't triggered when boarding a boat

[+] Fixed a bug where an uninitialized variable was used when traversing the AI excavation area. This could lead the AI to choose an inadequate excavation site or to refuse to excavate at a known Grail position

[+] Fixed a bug: possibility to be left without an army after using basic Resurrection

[+] Fixed a bug where invisible Quicksand was highlighted as an available target for the Remove Obstacle spell

[+] Fixed a bug: when casting Sorrow, Mirth, Fortune, and Misfortune spells (as well as upon these spells' effect running out), the morale/luck of units was not immediately updated

[+] Fixed a bug: the resurrection part of Sacrifice is now a Level 5 spell (can be cast on Golden Dragons)

[+] Creatures now cast spells on elemental magical terrains at Expert level if the magical terrain matches the school of magic

[+] Fixed a bug: when calculating the bonus attack from the Frenzy spell, defense penalties from enemy creatures (such as Behemoths and Ancient Behemoths) were accounted for

[+] Fixed a bug: Berserk, Disrupting Ray, and Dendroid Roots spells were removed from units after 255 rounds; now they are not removed and remain active until the end of combat

[+] Fixed a bug with 0 damage against Gold and Diamond Golems when attacking with a Magic Arrow with low Power

[+] Fixed a bug with the priority of protection against magic when casting a Magic Arrow (now the most effective of defenses is used)

[+] Fixed a bug: Magogs could kill themselves with Berserk cast and Sharpshooter's Bow equipped, but not deal damage to nearby enemies

[+] Fixed a bug where Trolls with the Elixir of Life did not fully regenerate their health

[+] Fixed a bug: after destroying the last enemy stack with a spell cast by a creature (such as a Fairy Dragon), morale could trigger

[+] Fixed a bug: during the hero's turn, the AI incorrectly accounted for the shipyards with heroes visiting

[+] Fixed a bug: when building a Necromancy Amplifier, the AI accounted for the number of Necromancers (by hero class), but not the number of heroes with the Necromancy skill. In particular, the Death Knights were ignored

[+] Fixed a bug: The AI could buy more than 8 skills at the University (also at the University of Magic in Conflux and at the Seafaring Academy), and also kept buying skills until the money ran out (without evaluating whether the skill's utility exceeded the cost)

[+] Fixed a bug: The AI tried to block shooters with hypnotized units (although in fact such blocking does not interfere with shooting)

[+] Fixed a bug: during a siege, the AI no longer retreats when the catapult is broken, if it can continue to fight with magic

[+] Fixed a bug with the ability of the AI to consider a destroyed wall intact and continue to defend the castle, even with a destroyed wall

[+] Fixed a bug with the gate hex abuse: if the gate was open and the enemy was standing on it (outside the castle), then the AI did not attack such an enemy, although it was possible to do this without leaving the castle. In addition, now the AI, attacking squads that have flown into the castle, will not position its troops so that the gate opens

[+] Fixed a bug: AI-controlled heroes' spells were not reflected by the Magic Mirror

[+] Fixed a bug: the AI didn't account for the possibility of triggering the Magic Mirror for Chain Lightning

[+] Fixed a bug: the AI didn't account for the Fairy Dragons' innate Magic Mirror when calculating the hero's casting value

[+] Fixed a bug: when evaluating the Magic Mirror's magic value, the AI did not account for the effect being lower for Fairy Dragons

[+] Fixed a bug: high Armorer, Air Shield, and other similar bonuses reduced the creature's value in the AI's eyes all the way down to 0

[+] Fixed a bug where "first creature health loss" was not reset after the stack was killed. This could bring the creature's full health to negative values, which hypothetically could spoil some of its AI checks

[+] Fixed video playback bugs and interruptions in the main menu

[+] Fixed a bug: when a creature moved in combat, there was no rerendering after removing the creature count retangle, so a part of it could remain visible while moving

[+] Fixed a bug: after taking damage from an obstacle in motion, the first frame of the stack's resumed movement could be rendered incorrectly, similar to the first frame of rotation after a stack's cast

[+] Fixed Resurrection bug: for creatures with a long death animation, it didn't play to the end

[+] Fixed a visual bug: if a stack passed or stopped on a hex in front of a gate, it would open even if it wasn't passed through

[+] Fixed incorrect cases of selecting the animation direction during stack casts

[+] Fixed a bug: a moving hero could be seen through objects (when moving from left to right), or other objects could be seen through the hero (when moving from right to left)

[+] Fixed a bug: the semi-transparent image of the selected hero was incorrectly cropped at the map borders

[+] Fixed interface button pressing bugs: ability to press an inactive button, looping sound of pressing a button, possibility to hold down two buttons at the same time

[+] Fixed a bug: for Armageddon, damage was recorded to the log without accounting for the characteristics of the casting hero (for example, Orb of Tempestuous Fire)

[+] Fixed a bug in the log when casting Weakness during Serpent Fly retaliation

[+] Fixed a bug: the log now shows the correct amount of health restored by the Elixir of Life

[+] Fixed a bug: an extra empty message was displayed in town events if the text and resource changes were not customized

[+] Fixed a bug : Treasury Campaign bonus images were not displayed (this caused a crash in HotA)

[+] Fixed a bug: Archers' Tower and Upg. Archers' Tower campaign bonuses displayed images of the Market and Resource Silo

[+] Fixed a bug with missing music in campaign videos at volume 1

[+] Fixed most instances of primary skills, resources, spell points, movement points, and damage overflows in combat

Graphics

[+] New animated main menu background

[+] Several new hero portraits, as well as original Tarnum portraits, added

[+] Updated icons for the game and scenario editor applications

[+] Added a new object: Hero's Camp, similar to a Prison, but with a different image and text when visiting

[+] Added a new Seer's Hut

[+] Added a large builder set of Egyptian-themed decorations

[+] Added decorative items: a set of Mountains and Ravines for lava

[+] Added decorative items: Seaweed

[+] Added new Kelp for 1 and 4 cells

[+] Fire decorative objects remade and returned to the map editor, several new ones added

[+] Maples decorative objects remade and returned to the map editor

[+] Waterfall decorative objects remade and returned to the map editor

[+] Boulder decorative object remade and returned to the map editor

[+] Crumbled Edifice decorative object gremade and returned to the map editor

[-] "Chaos" Garrison removed, replaced with a standard Garrison on maps

[+] Destroyed Camp graphic replaced with Crumbled Keep

[+] Destroyed Fountains' graphics remade

[+] Man-o-war graphics replaced with Seaweed

[+] Bridge sprite replaced; cannot dig on bridges anymore

[+] Snow-covered Underworld Gate graphics remade, standard Underworld Gate graphics fixed

[+] Castle adventure map sprites at different buildup levels updated

[+] Witch's Hut sprite for Snow updated

[+] Some Flowers, Lake and dirt Mountain sprites from the original game updated to better match the terrain squares

[+] Grass removed from the Marletto Tower to blend in on all terrains

[+] Fixed yellow pixels in the spot where the flag is attached to the Estate sprite on the adventure map

[-] Fixed Mana Altar sprite

[-] Fixed animation of the large Serpent Maelstrom and Nymph Waterfall versions on the adventure map

[+] Added glow animation in the windows of a snow-covered Tavern on the adventure map

[+] Added smoke shadow animation for a standard Tavern on the adventure map

[+] Fixed blue and flickering pixels in Magic Plains

[-] Fixed an extra pixel in one of the rock terrain trees

[+] Fixed blue pixels in shadows and other graphics-related issues

[+] Fixed turquoise pixels of swamp objects: Redwood, Tree groups, and Sawmills

[+] Fixed graphics-related issues for the snow-covered Stump and the snow river

[-] Fixed missing pixel for Fangarms turning to the left on the adventure map

[-] Fixed turquoise pixel for the male Priest hero in the map editor

[+] Fixed pink pixel for the Charm of Mana on the adventure map

[+] Removed evenly-colored pixel strip from the Bowstring of the Unicorn's Mane sprite

[+] Fixed numerous bugs in the Castle, Stronghold, Tower, Inferno, Necropolis, Dungeon, Citadel, and Fortress siege screens

[-] Updated obstacles and background of wastelands on the battlefield (removed graphic artifacts: green and red dots)

[-] Multiple tree fixes for dirt battlefield

[-] Removed an extra pixel from the three-hex dune obstacle

[+] Fixed Archangel idle animation in combat

[+] Fixed graphical artifacts in the Centaur idle animation in combat

[+] Fixed a graphic bug involving shadow in the Pit Fiend idle animation in combat

[+] Fixed Troglodyte and Infernal Troglodyte combat animations (primarily, movement start and end)

[-] Fixed Scorpicore's light-colored pixels in combat

[+] Fixed death animation of Hydra and Chaos Hydra in combat

[+] Updated the Fire Elemental outline in combat: it now is a pixel away from the sprite and is more visible

[+] Fixed a graphical artifact in the Magic Elemental idle animation

[+] Fixed the Thieves' cloak edge twitching in combat

[+] Fixed graphical artifacts in the Troll's idle and tease animations in combat

[+] Fixed blinking pixel for the First Aid Tent in combat

[-] Fixed black pixels in shadows for all Necromancer (male) combat animations

[-] Fixed blinking pixel for the Planeswalker (female) in combat

[+] Fixed Lightning spell animation

[+] Removed graphical artifact in the first frame of the Chain Lightning animation

[-] Increased contrast and changed the colors of the Gog shot hit effect

[+] Updated neutral morale images, corrected -1 morale images

[+] Updated Information and Forbidden combat cursors

[-] Fixed portraits for Ingham, Kyrre, Solmyr, Jeddite, Yog, Vey

[+] Fixed small Medusa, Sprite, First Aid Tent, and Ballista icons

[+] Improved Archery specialization icons

[+] Changed the graphics of the non-replaceable spell scroll on the Mages Guild screen

[+] Updated and corrected images of mines in Realm Overview

[+] Fixed blue pixels for Citadel dwellings in Realm Overview

[+] Fixed bugs involving transitions between the Marketplace and Artifact Merchants windows; now all windows are uniform in design

[+] Fixed a light-colored pixel on the inactive hero purchase button

[+] Fixed a graphic artifact on the "Make a trade" button in the Marketplace window

[+] Fixed graphical artifacts of the objects panel background in Realm Overview

[+] Aligned the positions of the "Player" columns for the "Campaign" and "Scenario" highscore tables

[+] Fixed a bug: the moat didn't fully fit into the citadel/castle icon in town

[+] Removed blue pixels on the left side of the Castle Mage Guild Level 3 and 4

[+] Fixed bright-colored pixels of the Castle citadel and castle

[+] Fixed the outline and selection area of the Castle Mage Guild

[+] Fixed the Castle Colossus outline

[+] Fixed graphical artifacts near the Mysterious Pond and Fountain of Luck, including in the construction window

[+] Fixed flashing pixels for the basic and upgraded Pegasus dwelling in Rampart

[-] Fixed the Tower castle outline

[-] Fixed the Observation Tower outline and selection area

[-] New Observation Tower campaign bonus image

[+] Fixed animation flaws of the Inferno citadel and castle rings

[+] Fixed the Fortress and Necropolis shipyards' outlines and targeting areas

[+] Fixed flashing pixels for the Necropolis Veil of Darkness

[+] Fixed the Citadel Mage Guild Level 2 position

[-] Fixed bugs in the Conflux Altar of Thought animation

[-] Fixed Nest and Upg. Nest images on the Cove construction screen

[-] Fixed the Upg. Nix Fort on the Cove screen

Map Editor

[+] Added the ability to customize the content of several objects: Pyramid, Warrior's Tomb, Treasure Chest, Campfire, Ancient Lamp, Wagon, Lean To, Sea Chest, Flotsam, Jetsam, Shipwreck Survivor, Sea Barrel, Vial of Mana, Tree of Knowledge, University, Seafaring Academy, Abandoned Mine

[+] Introduced the option to specify scrolls with specific spells as artifacts for heroes, rewards in Seer's Huts, Pandora's Boxes, Events, and as requirements in various object quests

[+] Added the ability to precisely customize all special buildings in random towns depending on the type of town generated

[+] Enabled customization of starting artifacts and creatures in hero positions for transitioning heroes in campaigns

[+] Introduced a new type of reward in Events and Pandora's Box – movement points with the options to give or take them from the hero

[+] Added an option to prevent heroes from receiving additional random secondary skills at the start of the map if they are not of the first level

[+] Added an option to prevent heroes from gaining experience. Such heroes can have very high levels not attainable for regular heroes.

[+] Added the ability to configure the number of monsters based on their value (similar to the value of objects in RMG)

[+] Added the ability to set a custom patrol radius for heroes up to 99

[+] Added an option to enable special pickup conditions for artifacts (similar to conditions from RoE and Heroes II)

[+] Added an option to restrict players from choosing certain difficulty levels

[+] Added an option to prohibit players from hiring heroes

[+] Added new tabs to the map editor object menu; objects are organized more rationally between tabs

[+] Added hotkeys for selecting terrain, object sections, and other actions in the Map Editor

[+] Improved the hero experience setting interface: now it allows specifying both the hero's level and the exact experience value

[+] Heroes can now be moved between land and water with automatic graphic transformation

[+] Banned buildings are now displayed in gray in the town building configuration dialog

[+] Removed redundant building construction requirements when configuring town buildings

[+] Added new town building configuration buttons: "Disallow All" and "Allow All"

[+] Added a search for Keymaster's Tents, Border Guards and Border Gates by color

[+] Now, only trigger cells of an object cannot be placed on forbidden terrains

[+] Allowed placing almost all objects on any terrains. Exceptions: placing any triggers on Rock, placing Town triggers, Underground Gates, and Land Monoliths on water, placing Ships and Water Monoliths on land

[+] Insufficient hero count on the map no longer results in replacing the map description with an error message

[+] Map verification now includes checking for blocked Shipyards

[+] Fixed a crash when autosaving while dragging an object over impassable cells (autosave no longer occurs in this situation)

[+] Fixed a crash when attempting to edit an empty selected item or pressing space in various list windows

[-] Fixed a bug preventing the placement of objects near certain terrain objects

[+] Fixed the absence of redraw when scrolling the map if the editor window is on the second monitor

[-] Fixed issues with hero palettes, sometimes preventing them from attaching to the mouse cursor

[-] Fixed a bug: the player's Cove faction was replaced with Castle in certain cases

[-] Fixed a big involving hero deactivation in map specifications when opening maps

[+] Element sizes changed: the longest artifact names did not fit into the artifact dialogs in evenps and Pandora's Boxes

[-] Fixed passability of a Shrub for the rock and wasteland terrains

[+] Added the previously unused subterranean hole from the original game

[-] Fixed a bug where new HotA obstacle generation rules would not work when using the obstacle brush or RMG on tiles connecting several terrain types

[-] Corrected the names of map sizes when selecting templates (Исправлены наименования размеров при выборе шаблонов)

[+] Minor interface adjustments

Template Editor

[+] Template Editor now supports creating and editing mirror templates

[+] Added a new feature: creating rules for generating terrain types of zones depending on the terrain types and towns of other zones

[+] Added the option to control the generation of Airship Yards (similar to mines)

[+] Added the option to prohibit hiring heroes on the template

[+] Improved interface for editing links. Now you can edit multiple links at the same time, as well as copy/paste links

[+] The interface is now compatible with High DPI settings

[+] The zone editing window is split into separate tabs

[+] Reworked visualization of the zones' content on the main screen; no more elements that don't fit

[-] Improved the mechanism for visual scaling of links

[+] Added the option to undo/redo manipulations with templates (add, import, etc.)

[+] Added the option to apply settings to all zones/templates for a number of options

[+] Added auto-saves in case the application crashes

[+] Numerous fixes for generating html template descriptions

[+] Dragging is now done with the right mouse button, instead of a separate "Hand" tool

[+] Scroll bars removed, zooming assigned to the mouse wheel (without holding down Ctrl)

[+] The zoom in/zoom out buttons' operation mode has been changed: now these buttons immediately change the scale when clicked, and +/- hotkeys have been added.

[+] You can now drag and drop items between lists in the item ban windows

[+] Added a status bar at the bottom of the screen with messages about completed actions or errors

[-] You can no longer edit the template name on the left panel by clicking on the current template

[-] You can no longer delete the last remaining template from the template set

[-] Fixed an issue where the order of links could be randomly shuffled when editing links or when loading a template

[-] Fixed a bug when exporting a set of templates to multiple files: templates with the same name are not overwritten, but renamed

[-] Fixed incorrect display of Cyrillic characters in the name and description of the template set and the template name.

[+] You can now use quotation marks in the name and description of the template set and the template name

[-] Fixed a bug where only the first line in the template set description was saved

[+] Introduced a limit of 299 characters for the name and description of the template set

[+] The directory for exporting the template's html description/image is now remembered

[+] Templates now have the *.h3t extension, are stored without intermediate folders, and can be associated with the template editor

[-] Windows XP compatibility reintroduced

UI

[+] Mana Vortex is now activated manually and can only be used by a guest hero. Additionally, AI hero allies cannot use Mana Vortex in the player's castle

[+] Added ability to view and dismiss war machines (except the catapult) in the hero window and kingdom overview

[+] Added information about surrender price and available gold in the Surrender button tooltip in combat (even if it is not available)

[+] Added new button on the adventure map: visit an object / disembark from an airship

[+] Number of attacks is displayed for the attack action tooltip in battle (for creatures with multiple attacks)

[+] Changed resources overview panel: spaces have been added to separate digits, large values are displayed in thousands and millions

[+] Now, after completing a quest in the Seer's Hut, the information on the screen is updated upon receiving next quest

[+] Now garrison's appearance on the adventure map and in the garrison UI is the same, correct flags of the garrison owner are also displayed

[+] Added hints with amount of resources by elements of the resource panel in various game windows

[+] Added information about artifact effect to the tooltip when choosing campaign starting bonus

[+] Improved visual readability of the researched spell in the Mages Guild

[+] Subtitles scrolling speed in campaign cutscenes has been slowed down

[+] The video now plays when you hold down interface buttons

[-] Hyphenated text has been fixed and made more universal

[-] Placement of the Pub and the Grotto have been swapped in the Cove Town Hall screen

[+] Fixed a bug: it was possible to donate scrolls, the Grail and war machines to the Sacrificial Altar

[+] Fixed coordinates during cursors pointing in battle

[-] Fixed: the extended dialog for the Black Market RMB was displayed in the center of the screen instead of being centered on the clicked cell

[-] Removed the “Buildings” tooltip in the Town Hall UI when the cursor is not hovering over anything

[+] Added translation and fixed a bunch of bugs in the cheat menu

Miscellaneous

[+] Added new maps: Air Supremacy, Fiery Riches, Carnival of the Abyss, Ville'de'Porte, Around the Bay, Claws, Long Road

[+] Updated all sounds of Cove creatures

[+] Improved the performance of shadow rendering on the adventure map in the game and in the map editor

[+] Clarified the names of certain decorative objects

[+] Description of Luck for First Aid Tent, Ammo Cart and Catapult now indicates that they are not affected by Luck. They are no longer affected by Fortune and Misfortune spells

[-] Removed automatically applied bans of buildings in towns on Arena maps

[-] Save files from SoD are no longer visible in HotA

[-] Improved select scenarios and texts

Version 1.6.1 (01/FEB/2020)

HotA bugs

[-] Fixed a bug where the game would crash when an ally's heroes made an exchange in online play

[-] Fixed a bug where the game would crash when digging up a Grave in online play

[-] Fixed a bug where the game would crash after a new month's monster spawn on maps with many objects

[-] Fixed a number of bugs and memory corruption connected to creating a new boat

[-] Fixed a bug where the game would crash when reviewing a turn where a hero had been acquired from a sea Tavern or Prison

[-] Fixed a number of bugs and memory corruption connected to an AI-controlled hero disembarking a boat

[-] Fixed a bug where information on certain events would be transferred incorrectly to an inactive player during online play

[-] Fixed a bug where the pathfinding mechanism would misbehave due to the game failing to consider whether an inactive player's hero were on a boat

[-] Fixed a bug where Fangarms would fail to retaliate to all attacks in the first turn

[-] Fixed a bug where, upon death of a stack that had been cloned several times, only one clone would disappear

[-] Fixed issues with incorrectly converted campaign savegames made in old versions

[-] Fixed a bug where the Map Editor would crash when holding down Shift

[-] Fixed a bug where checking a map with a Grave would cause the Map Editor to crash

[-] Fixed a bug where objects would sometimes be displaced when opening map files made in old versions in the Map Editor

[-] Fixed issues with certain menu objects in the Map Editor

[-] Fixed the bug where Steel Golems would lack a tick after editing their properties in the Map Editor

[-] Fixed a bug where the setting for available factions in monsters would be read incorrectly from a Template Editor file

SoD bugs

[+] When checking the casting possibility, Spellcasters now consider all stacks instead of the first one on each side only

Gameplay

[-] Spawning points for Zombies were changed for Churchyards

[-] Warlock's Lab value was raised from 3000 to 10000

Graphics

[+] Small creature portraits were reworked and improved

[+] Some large creature portraits were reworked

[+] A Snow sprite was added for the Warlock's Lab

[+] Yellow battlefield grid was introduced for Highlands and Wasteland

[+] Campaign bonus resource icons reworked

[-] Campaign bonus icons were added for the Cove's Fort, Citadel and Castle

Interface

[+] Monolith/Portal and Subterranean Gate icons were added for World View

Miscellaneous

[+] Firewalk and mt_Firewalk templates were added

[-] On arena maps, event messages are only skipped now if they contain no text

[+] Incorrectly looped ambient soundbites for Sea Serpent Maelstroms, fire and two-way Monoliths/Portals were fixed

[-] A number of scenarios and texts were fixed

Version 1.6.0 (01/JAN/2020)

HotA Bugs

[-] A bug has been fixed where a shooter stack going melee with a Sharpshooter's Bow would cause syncing issues in online play

[-] A bug has been fixed where the algorithm for calculating hero paths took too long to resolve

[-] A bug has been fixed where the Cove would never appear as a random neutral city in custom scenarios

[-] A bug has been fixed where Black Market artifact tooltips would sometimes misbehave.

[-] A bug has been fixed where Spellpower would reset on double completion of combat

[-] A bug has been fixed where on random maps, objects with custom settings specified in the template (like Pandora's Box with custom amount of gold) would fail to generate

[-] Objects now cannot be placed too far beyond the right screen border on G sized maps

[-] A bug has been fixed where the game could crash upon visiting creature banks

[-] The faulty background soundbite for the Altar of Thought has been fixed

[-] A bug has been fixed where music wouldn't start in campaign videos

Gameplay

[+] A new terrain, the Wasteland, has been introduced with 125% movement penalty

[+] For all standard random map templates for online play, a 100 round limit on combat duration has been introduced, after which the attacker must flee, surrender or trigger quick combat; the limit can be altered in the map and template editors

[+] On all standard random map templates, monsters now only join for money, and only half the group for the price of the entire group; these settings can be altered in the map and template editors

[+] The speed of any creature affected by Advanced or Expert Slow has been increased by 1

[+] AI Value for Efreet Sultans has been increased from 1848 to 2343, and their Fight Value, from 1584 to 1802.

[+] The percentage for the Logistics secondary skill has been reduced to 5/10/20%, the effect of the Equestrian's Gloves, to 200, and of Boots of Speed, to 400

[+] The effect of the Intelligence skill has been reduced from 25/50/100% to 20/35/50%

[+] The effect of the Mysticism skill has been increased from 2/3/4 to 5/10/15

[+] The value of the Estates skill has been increased from 125/250/500 to 250/500/1000

[-] Scouting specialization now gives +1 to the scounting range for every 6 levels of the hero.

[-] The changes to the Resistance skill (increased by 5/10/20% chance of resisting an enemy spell) have been reverted; the skill, along with its corresponding artifacts, the Garniture of Interference (5%), Surcoat of Counterpoise (10%) and Boots of Polarity (15%), and the hero Thorgrim are now banned by default

[+] A new skill, Interference (reduces the Spellpower of the enemy hero by 10/20/30% in combat), along with its corresponding artifacts Charm of Eclipse (10%), Seal of Sunset (10%) and Plate of Dying Light (25%), have been introduced; for all heroes except Thorgrim, the starting Resistance skill is replaced by Interference

[+] A new hero, Giselle the Ranger, has been introduced with a specialization in Interference; starting skills: Advanced Interference

[+] A new creature, the Steel Golem, has been introduced

[-] Guard of Experimental Shops has been changed from 40-80-120-160 Iron Golems to 25-50-75-100 Steel Golems

[-] Guard of Churchyards has been changed from 6x20 Walking Dead to 6x15 Zombies

[+] A new object, Derrick, has been introduced; it yields 500 gold in the first week and 1000 gold in any other. RMG value is 750, frequency is 30, generated on Wasteland

[+] A new object, Warlock's Lab, has been introduced; it allows players to transmute mercury, sulfur, crystals and gems into each other at the ratio of 1 to 1; RMG value is 3000, frequency is 100, generated on Snow and Wasteland, no more than one per zone

[+] A new object, Prospector, has been introduced; it yields 500 gold or 5 sulfur once a week; RMG value is 500, frequency is 30, generated on Wasteland

[+] A new object, Trailblazer, has been introduced; it reduces the movement penalty for wasteland by 50%; RMG value is 200, frequency is 40, generated on Wasteland, no more than one per zone

[+] A new object, Grave, has been introduced; when dug up, it yields 500-5000 gold, or a random treasure/minor class artifact, and gives -3 to morale until the next battle; RMG value is 500, frequency is 30, generated on the Wasteland

[-] For all mirror templates, Jeremy is now allowed, while Alamar, Jeddite, Labetha, Grindan, and Miriam are banned

[-] Ancient Lamps are now allowed in Tower starting zones on the Jebus Cross template

[-] Numerous changes have been made to the 8xm12a template

[-] Frequency of Dragon Utopias in Treasure Zones on the Spider template has been increased to 200

[-] AI value of melee attacks by shooter units has been reduced

[-] AI value of protection against the elements spells has been reduced

SoD Bugs

[-] The option to switch to the underworld in the world view on single level maps has been removed

[+] A bug has been fixed where, when ordering a hero to move across terrain types using the keyboard arrows, the hoof clatter soundbite would keep playing

[+] Certain animation flaws in online play have been fixed

[+] A bug has been fixed where translucent image elements in combat could turn black

[+] Keystone Tents and artifacts wanted by Seer Huts now cannot be generated beyond Border Guard on random maps

Graphics

[+] The positioning of monster sprites on the adventure map has been fixed; numerous improvements to the sprites themselves have been made

[+] A large number of decorative objects for the Wasteland, such as Mountains, Limestone Lakes, Tar Lakes, Craters, Canyons, Stones, Shrubs, Bones, Skulls, Cactuses, etc., has been introduced

[-] Trees of the Rough terrain have been altered and made versatile enough to be placed on any terrain

[+] Large creature portraits have been fixed and improved

[+] Hero specialization icons have been fixed and improved

[+] Large resource icons have been fixed and improved

[+] Iron Golem sprites have been made sharper

Map Editor

[+] The Arena map mode which allows users to create maps targeted at a single battle between the players, with preparations

[+] The option to customize the level, reward artifacts, and the presence or absence of an upgraded stack in creature banks has been introduced

[+] The following settings for monsters in the Map Editor have been introduced: the exact mood, whether the monsters are willing joining for money only, the percentage of monsters to join, the number of stacks into which the monsters are divided, the presence of an upgraded stack

[+] Local Events can now be set to be triggered independently by human and AI players

[+] A new object, the Quest Gate, has been introduced; it requires players to complete a quest to be granted passage and does not disappear after a visit; for quests that require payment, it will be due at each pass

[+] Two new quest types for Seer Hut / Quest Guard / Quest Gate have been introduced: "Belong to a class" and "Return not before date"

[+] An option to set multiple quests per Seer Hut has been introduced as a sequence of quests or a recurring sequence of quests

[+] Scaling in the object pane has been improved

[+] The restriction of no more than 256 monsters with messages per map has been removed

[+] Map verification now takes into account the option to assemble/disassemble set artifacts when checking for the existence of an artifact needed in a quest

[-] Freezing when generating a random map on some systems has been fixed

Template Editor

[+] Town type selection setting has been introduced, allowing the generator to set the town type in a zone depending on the towns in other zones

[+] Such settings as monster mood selection, willingness to join for money only and joining percentage have been introduced

[-] Zone editing interface has been changed

[+] Dark interface skin has been introduced

[-] Errors when working with parallel connections have been fixed

[-] A bug has been fixed where Golden and Diamond Golems were absent

[-] Windows XP compatibility has been brought back

Interface

[+] The positioning of specialization icons on the Kingdom Overview screen has been fixed

[+] The positioning of the Market dialogue title text has been fixed

Miscellaneous

[+] New maps The Great Wasteland, Gold Rush have been introduced

[+] When using the terrain brush in the map editor, or during map generation, identical tiles no longer spawn next to each other

[-] On random maps, Ancient lamps can now only be generated on sand and snow, value 5000, frequency 200

[+] On RoE maps, random towns can now be Conflux and Cove

[-] Numerous fixes to maps and texts

Version 1.5.4 (27/DEC/2018)

HotA bugs

[-] The Pond of Gems has been fixed, previously designated as Gold Mine in the game files

[-] The possibility to repeatedly visit the Gazebo by a single hero has been eliminated

[-] A bug has been fixed where under a hero with the Sniper's Bow, a shooter stack would approach the opponent and shoot instead of attacking in melee, when so ordered

[-] The endless casting bug has been fixed for Satyrs and Leprechauns

[-] A bug has been fixed where the Resistance skill would sometimes lower the opponent's spellpower by 1 more than required

[-] A bug has been fixed where issues with pathfinding and route length calculating would arise for heroes on ships during the opponent's turn on multiplayer

[-] A bug has been fixed where the color of arrows designating the route (red or dark red) would not take into account the wearing off of the Fly spell

[-] RMG: A bug has been fixed where the maximum number set for the zone and the entire map would be calculated separately for all dwellings of the same creature

[-] A bug has been fixed where the required Shipyards would often not be spawned on random maps, most often with the 'Normal' water level

[-] A bug has been fixed where the Alt+F4 hotkey would not work

[-] RMG: Crashes tied to the overly long template description have been fixed

[-] RMG: No more than 48 towns can now be set per map (previously, exceeding this number would cause crashes)

[-] A bug has been fixed where the timer running out while on the spell selection screen in spell research would crash the game

[-] A bug has been fixed where the game would crash after entering the cheat code for increasing the contrast

[-] A bug has been fixed where an AI-controlled hero would begin moving in circles because of the incorrect evaluation of spells granted by the Aurora Borealis

[-] Town Gate now cannot be placed on water

[-] The hint featuring incorrect number of creatures to be killed when attacking a copy of a stack created by the Clone spell has been fixed

[-] A bug has been fixed where the cursor would remain artifact-shaped if it was so before exiting the exchanging heroes screen in a town

[-] A bug has been fixed where the ESC hotkey would cause issues with the exchanging heroes screen

[-] Fixed: the previously 'fixed' bug with the Faerie dragon spell frequency has been reverted, as it was found not to be a bug

[-] A bug has been fixed where the spells in Tower's Library could copy other existing spells when loading savegames made in pre-1.5 versions of HotA

[-] Some memory leaks tied to dialogue elements have been fixed

Gameplay

[+] If both heroes died as a result of a battle, they will not turn up in taverns, unless all other ones have become unavailable

[-] RMG: In the 6lm10a template, the unguarded 21–22 and 24–25 connections are now always land passages

[-] RMG: In the 6lm10a template, the frequency of Dragon Utopias has been increased from 100 to 200. A limit has been introduced: no more than 1 Dragon Utopia per player and AI-controlled player starting zone and the adjacent ones; no more than 2 Dragon Utopias per silver treasury zone

[-] RMG: In the Diamond template, all 4 roads from each player's starting zone are now mandatory

[-] RMG: In the Diamond template, the frequency of Dragon Utopias has been increased from 100 to 200. A limit has been introduced: no more than 1 Dragon Utopia per player and AI-controlled player starting zone

[+] RMG: Wide connections between random map zones now also work in the underworld

[-] The value of casting element protection spells by upgraded elementals has been decreased for the AI

[+] Faerie dragons now cannot aim Chain Lightning at allied stacks

SoD bugs

[+] A bug has been fixed where unoptimal hero route was traced that could change after several continuous clicks

[+] A bug has been fixed where the value of summoned creatures would become zero for the AI in the event that all other creatures under a hero's command would be killed; the AI would then cease attacking the summoned Elementals with magic, and in HotA, also with splash damage from Liches and Magogs

[+] A bug has been fixed for the situations where the hind hex of a two-hex creature's corpse would be covered by a one-hex creature's corpse; in this event, it would be impossible to target the big creature with the Resurrection and Raise Dead spells, even when pointing at its front hex

[+] The cheat codes for building up towns and reviewing the opponent's towns are now turned off upon starting a new game or loading a game

[+] A bug has been fixed where a combat would sometimes become desynchronized if one of the players had the Angel's Alliance on a hero not taking part in this combat

[+] A certain hero-clonning bug has been fixed

[+] A bug has been fixed where the game would crash upon starting a scenario with a random hero on the map, but no heroes available to the player

[+] RMG: A bug has been fixed where an unguarded passage could be blocked by a group of objects

[-] RMG: A previously missed instance of a bug where a Monolith, a Subterranean Gate or a Shipyard could block a land passage has been fixed

[+] RMG: A bug has been fixed where a wide connection between zones would sometimes not be created if a non-wide connection already existed there

[+] A bug has been fixed where the AI could enter a cycle when considering magical terrains during spell evaluation

[+] A bug has been fixed where a hero would neglect using a ship he/she summoned

[+] A bug has been fixed where another boat could be built in a town with a shipyard built right before that moment even if a boat already was there

[+] A bug has been fixed where hints about the reason of cast unavailability for upgraded Elementals and target immunity for Archangels would not appear

[+] Faulty hints when trying to order Archangels to resurrect themselves or a stack where no one had been killed have been fixed

[+] A bug has been fixed where Roland's specialty would affect Crusaders but not Swordsmen

[+] Reentering the cheat code to increase contrast now restores the regular contrast level

[+] The cheat menu now cannot be used during the video intro upon launching the game and the fading when switching between different game screens

[+] The cheat to build up the town now does not build Shipyards or boats in landlocked towns, does not skip decorative buildings and does not reset the number of hireable creatures in the town's dwellings

[+] A bug has been fixed where pushing an allied player's hero from the garrison to the guest hero slot would cause this hero to appear as changing allegiance to inactive players

Graphics

[+] New Conflux town sprites (Fort, Citadel, Castle, Capitol) have been introduced for the adventure map

[+] Faulty moat graphics have been fixed for Fortress town

[-] Blinking pixels by the horse's hooves have been fixed for the male Knight, female Necromancer and Witch combat sprites

[+] Buggy shadow has been fixed for the Pit Lords sprite

[+] Buggy shadow and a blinking pixel have been fixed for the Mages sprite

[+] The faulty Bone Dragon image on the Necropolis puzzle map has been fixed

[-] Vey, Luna, Ciele and Gelare portraits have been fixed

Map editor

[+] The incorrect position of Elementals in the creature lists has been fixed

Template editor

[+] An 'Anarchy' option has been added where turning it on will often allow visiting objects with the use of Fly without having to defeat their guards, and revert the bugfix to always place object guards correctly

[+] A 'Portal repulsion' connecting option has been introduced where turning it on will force the Monolith-enabled connection to spawn as far as possible from object guards, Subterranean Gates and other Monoliths

[-] A bug has been fixed where the order of object setup rules would change when editing several zones at a time

[-] The faulty exporting of *.jpg images has been fixed

Interface

[+] Hints has been introduced to be displayed when targeting a stack, showing the effect of damage spells, healing and resurrection spells and First Aid Tent healing, along with the number of remaining shots for caster creatures

[+] The hint about the number of remaining shots for arrow towers has been removed, seeing as they have unlimited shots

[+] The casting interface has been enhanced for the Faerie Dragons: the cast-shaped cursor will now replace the attack cursor only when the prepared spell can indeed affect at least one creature being targeted to the selected hex

[+] The game window will now not become unresponsive during generating a random map or loading a map

[+] Maps of non-standard sizes are now correctly displayed on the scenario selection screen

Miscellaneous

[-] A number of issues with maps, templates, texts and fonts have been fixed

[+] New map Daggerwin Valley have been introduced

[+] Templates mt_Andromeda, mt_Antares and Clash of Dragons have been introduced

[+] Map creation date format has been changed in the map selection dialog

[+] The limit for list length in the pathfinding algorithm that could lead to irregular behavior from the AI has been lifted

Version 1.5.3 (18/MAR/2018)

HotA bugs

[-] Non-working Thorgrim specialty fixed

Graphics

[-] Sand Gem Pond image improved

[-] Oasis image fixed

Miscellaneous

[-] Map fixes

Version 1.5.2 (17/MAR/2018)

HotA bugs

[-] Fixed a bug where Ajit would have incorrect number of Beholders in his second stack

[-] Fixed a bug where Conflux heroes wouldn't be available in taverns for players who started with other towns

[-] Learning skill bonus is now considered when visiting Gazebo

[-] Fixed AI crash on boarding a boat

[-] Fixed a bug where multiplayer games with AI-controller players sometimes wouldn't load

[-] Fixed a bug where opening a hero's profile, then switching to another hero via right UI panel and attempting to fire him/her would cause issues

[-] Heroes exchange button on town screen now becomes inactive after one of them is dismissed

[-] It's now impossible to dismiss a hero in the unit gain, garrison, and mine windows

[-] Game doesn't crash anymore if savegames made in older, currently unsupported versions are present

[-] RMG: fixed a rare bug where a faulty passage would be created at a three-zone borderland

[-] Fixed a crash when summoning too many Fangarms with Horn of the Abyss

[-] Fixed a bug where the cursor could become faulty after closing the Grotto dialog window

[-] Fixed issues with smooth graphic effects in combat

[-] Mage Guild screen loading was speeded up

[-] Fixed a bug where there would be no text message when visiting an empty churchyard even if object messages were set to be shown

[-] Fixed a bug where incorrect soundbite could be played when notifying a player of his turn in hotseat multiplayer

In-game experience

[+] Resistance secondary skill and Garniture of Interference, Surcoat of Counterpoise, Boots of Polarity, and Pendant of Reflection artifacts reduce enemy hero Spell Power skill during combat instead of increasing a chance to resist a spell

[+] Resistance secondary skill percents increased from 5/10/20 to 10/20/30

[+] The damage of Armageddon spell reduced from 50*SP + 30/30/60/120 to 40*SP + 30/30/60/120

[+] The effect of Protection from Air, Protection from Fire, Protection from Water, and Protection from Earth spells increased from 30/30/50/50% to 50/50/75/75%

[+] Value of antimagic spells has been reduced for AI

[-] Ruins guard count increased from 10/2/2/10/1 — 20/3/3/10/1 — 30/5/5/20/2 — 40/7/7/20/2 to 20/3/3/10/1 — 30/5/5/10/1 — 40/7/7/20/2 — 50/9/9/20/3 (Skeletons/Wights/Wraiths/Skeleton Warriors/Power Liches); Ruins open map radius increased from 10 to 12

[-] Obstacle generation along with placement of creatures and upgraded neutral stacks are now performed similarly to SoD

SoD bugs

[-] Fixed a crash that would occur when clicking an enemy stack adjacent to a First Aid Tent during the Tent's turn

[-] Fixed a bug where AI would enter a cycle after erroneously determining a tile to summon a boat

[-] Fixed a number of technical bugs with reviewing an enemy's turn

[-] Fixed a bug where the minimap would go black after exiting a town screen during enemy's turn

[+] Fixed a bug where the town list in bottom right corner of the UI wouldn't refresh after using an Inferno's Town Gate to teleport

[+] Fixed a bug where AI could still be searching for the Grail on a map with no obelisks

[+] Fixed a bug when screen was not updated after getting defeating monster prize

Graphics

[+] A new highlands spruce tree has been added

[-] Oasis sprite remade

[+] Fixed and enhanced the autumn oak tree sprites for the Grass terrain

Interface

[+] Added a hint with the creature upgrade cost when right-clicking or hovering over the upgrade button, even if it's inactive

[+] Combat hero preview window now shows hero temporary skill changes

[+] Campaign video is now interrupted in 15 seconds instead of 3 after subtitle scrolling stopped

Miscellaneous

[+] Fortune Favors Fools and In Defense scenarios have been introduced

[-] Scenario The Devil Is in the Detail updated

[-] Added a possibility to generate mt_TeamJebus RMG template on M size

[-] On 6lm10a RMG template the roads on wide connections and most of center zone connection are disabled

[-] Black'n'Blue RMG template updated

[+] Added RMG template check before online game, and a warning in case the template is modified

[-] Mirrored templates now have synchronized upgraded neutral stacks and obstacle placement in combat

[-] Minimal volume setting has been decreased; overamplification at the top setting has been fixed

[-] Multiple maps and texts have been fixed

Version 1.5.1 (13/JAN/2018)

HotA bugs

[-] Fixed a potential crash after right-clicking objects

[-] Fixed a potential corruption of the Shipyard after a turn review

[-] Fixed a bug where a stack of Archangels could resurrect itself

[-] RMG: Fixed a potential crash while generating a map, caused by the zone repulsion mechanic

[-] RMG: Fixed a bug where wide zone connections could disrupt the mandatory road structure

[-] Fixed a bug where spell research would become unusable after a siege in an online game

[-] Fixed a number of graphic artifacts in online play for the inactive player during an ally's turn

[-] Fixed a bug in online play where an inactive player would have the minimap rendered in windows where it's absent

[-] Fixed the wrong Faerie Ring sound clip

[-] Fixed the impassable hex layout for one of the Highlands combat obstacles

In-game experience

[-] Creatures generated on beginning of a new month now won't be spawned closer than two squares from existing creatures on the adventure map

[-] RMG: Maximum per zone for Taverns and Hermit Shacks is down to 1 (except on the Jebus Cross, mt_Jebus, and mt_TeamJebus templates, where the maximum is still 3)

[-] RMG: Maximum per zone for Mineral Springs on the Jebus Cross, mt_Jebus, and mt_TeamJebus is up to 3

Graphics

[+] Added 5 new Puddle decorations for the highlands terrain

[-] Fixed portraits for the following heroes: Gem, Coronius, Marius, Olema, Gunnar, Alamar, Sephinroth, Zubin, Merist, Aenain, Brissa, Labetha, Gelare

[-] Fixed the male Cleric hero sprite on the adventure map

[-] Fixed one of the highland obstacle sprites in combat

[+] Lightning spell animation has been increased in duration

Map editor

[-] Fixed a potential crash on startup

Template editor

[-] The original Hill Fort is now marked as banned by default

[-] Fixed the incorrect default values displayed for Fly/Town Portal/Dimension Door/Water Walk spell scrolls

Miscellaneous

[-] A number of new scenarios has been introduced. New scenarios in v1.5 include: With Sword and Fire, Talent Shortage, Before the Storm, A New Day Tomorrow, The Devil Is in the Detail, Dead Man's Tales, Island of Dust, Broken Compass

[-] Added the Boomerang and Apocalypse templates

[-] Waterfall ambient sound has been changed

[-] Map and text fixes

Version 1.5.0 (01/JAN/2018)

[!] If you prefer launching the game using the HD.exe file created by the HD mod, we recommend you to delete this file and recreate it after upgrading your game to 1.5.0

[+] The game has a built-in savegame converter. Games saved in previous versions will be compatible with the current one.

[+] Introducing the random map template editor, a tool allowing any player to create his own template using extensive formatting features.

HotA bugs

[-] Fixed a critical bug where incorrect creatures were spawning on the map on beginning of a new month

[-] Fixed a bug where upgraded creatures received incorrect specialization bonuses calculated with non-upgraded stats

[-] Fixed a bug where the effect of Watering Place didn't wear off under the simultaneous turn setting

[-] Fixed a bug where AI had limited possible moves while executing the Tactics skill

[-] Fixed a bug where the game would possibly crash if a dialog window was opened while a unit was on the move

[-] Fixed a bug where the heroes exchange button was sometimes displayed as being "on" while exchange was not possible

[-] Combat speed buttons now work correctly after the settings have been restored to default

[-] Fixed a bug with the Visions spell where its radius was displayed incorrectly (it can never be fewer than 3)

[-] RMG: Fixed a bug where it was occasionally possible to bypass guard, if another guard was generated nearby

[-] RMG: Fixed a bug where mandatory roads wouldn't generate on wide connections

[-] Fixed a bug where the chat window would be displayed over the map description in the map selection menu

[-] Fixed the incorrectly animated Cannon in the unit overview window

[-] Fixed a bug where the body would disappear shakily while raising Demons or calling Fangarms

[-] Fixed a bug where AI would enter a cycle while exchanging creatures between two heroes, or a hero and a town

[-] Fixed a bug where it was possible to attack creatures over impassable object entrance borders using Fly

[-] Fixed the Pirate death sound clip that wasn't playing

[-] Fixed incorrect stack behavior while entering creature banks

[-] Fixed the memory leak during online combat between two players

[-] Fixed the memory leak in the artifact overview window on the map

[-] Fixed DEP incompatibility issues

In-game experience

[+] Added a new terrain, the Highlands, which serves as home for the Conflux; no movement penalty

[+] Added new combat features: shooters now can go melee; Harpies now can strike and stay; Faerie dragons now can attack instead of casting; Archangels and Pit Lords can now move instead of interacting with bodies. Action can be changed with a dedicated button or the Alt key

[+] Two-hex units now may move back one hex in combat

[+] Spell research mechanic has been introduced, allowing for replacement of spells in your Mage Guild at a cost

[+] The player now can refuse the secondary skill offered in a Witch Hut or by a Scholar

[+] Orb of Inhibition and Recanter's Cloak are now banned by default

[+] On recasting Fly after improving your Air Magic skill or equipping Angel Wings, the spell level will now go up and spell points will be spent

[+] A new neutral creature, the Leprechaun, has been introduced, along with its dwelling, the Alehouse

[+] A new object has been introduced: the Ruins. Defeat Skeletons/Wights/Wraiths/Skeleton Warriors/Power Liches in quantities of 10/2/2/10/1 — 20/3/3/10/1 — 30/5/5/20/2 — 40/7/7/20/2 to get reward of 1000–2000–3000–4000 gold and reveal the map within a radius of 10. RMG value is 10, density is 100, spawns only on Highlands terrain

[+] A new object has been introduced: the Mineral Spring. It gives +1 to Luck and +600 movement points until the end of day. RMG value is 500, density is 50, spawns only on Highlands terrain, no more than one per zone

[+] A new object has been introduced: the Hermit's Shack. It improves a random secondary skill once for each hero. RMG value is 1500, density is 80, spawns only on Highlands terrain, no more than three per zone

[+] A new object has been introduced: the Gazebo. It gives 2000 experience for 1000 gold once for each hero. RMG value is 1500, density is 50, appears on Highlands terrain

[+] A new object has been introduced: the Junkman. It allows for selling artifacts (excluding spell scrolls) at half their face value. RMG value is 200, density is 40, spawns only on Highlands terrain, no more than one per zone

[+] Dragon Utopia's passable square pattern has been altered

[+] RMG: Pandora's boxes now contain 150 peasants instead of 330, value is unaffected

[-] Experimental Shop is now guarded by 40/80/120/160 Iron Golems, down from 50/100/150/200

[-] Artifact levels in the Temple of the Sea reward have been altered. It now yields 4 artifacts at all times, and at least one relic

[+] RMG: Pandora's Boxes and Seer Huts now can be spawned with any creatures, provided sufficient object value

[-] RMG: Ancient Lamp is now banned

[-] Scrolls containing the spells Fly/Town Portal/Dimension Door/Water Walk now have their face value increased to 20000 from 15000

[-] RMG: Raider Picket density is down to 70 from 80

[-] RMG: Skeleton transformer density is down to 15 from 20

[-] RMG: Elemental Conflux and Golem Factory have their density set to 20, Elemental Conflux now doesn't influence the spawning of other Elemental dwellings

[-] Jeremy now has Offense instead of Logistics in his starting skills

[-] Miriam now has Logistics instead of Offense in her starting skills

[+] Heroes now receive 6-8 harpies in their starting armies, up from 4-6

[-] Fangarm AI Value and Fight Value have been reduced

[-] Nix Warriors now have their Attack skill down to 14 from 15, defense down to 17 from 20, AI Value & Fight Value have been reduced accordingly

[-] Cannon now has its damage down to 4-7 from 5-8, AI Value and Fight Value have been reduced accordingly, price is down to 4000 from 5000

[-] Pirates/Corsairs/Sea Dogs have their speed changed to 7/7/7 from 6/7/8, their price is up to 225/275/375 from 225/250/300, AI Value has been increased slightly

[-] Sea Witches and Sorceresses have their speed down to 6/7 from 7/8

[+] Aurora Borealis now doesn't grant spells that are banned for the Conflux, barring the case when they are set as mandatory for a specified city

[-] Pub now grants +4 to Crewmate growth, down from +6

[-] Gunpowder Warehouse now costs 5 of mercury, sulfur, crystals and gems to construct, up from 2

[+] AI now takes less time to complete its turns, as it doesn't calculate magic usage for battles where it's not needed for the win

[+] Town Gate now has an improved interaction window, and AI can now use it

[+] AI now can use the Scholar skill to exchange spells between heroes in cities

[+] AI now can make use of the Fangarm special abilities

[+] AI now can use the Horn of the Abyss

[+] AI now can cast spells with its Storm, Ice, Energy, and Magma Elementals

[+] AI now considers the damage non-randomized while executing the Tactics skill or targeting the Teleport skill

[+] AI now correctly calculates the number of turns needed to reach enemy units while executing the Tactics skill

[+] New objects are now considered when calculating the map reveal value, or determining the objects to be visited by the closest hero

[+] A hero now will automatically learn new spells if his Wisdom skill has been improved while in a town

[+] RMG: Units guarding potentially path-blocking objects now are limited to one third of total zone value
(This rule is applied only to treasure object guards, it does not affect passage, underground gate, monolith, shipyard and mine guards. For these guards it is much harder to implement and they block roads not so often, so it was left for future development.)

[+] RMG: Unpickable objects now can't be spawned on roads

[+] RMG: Long, winding roads are now less commonly generated

[+] RMG: While generating mandatory roads, only the shortest one of multiple interzone passages is now used

SoD bugs

[+] A hero's primary skill value now can't overflow or zero out

[+] A hero's stack number now can't overflow (partial fix)

[+] Fixed a bug where AI could fly using the Water Walk spell

[+] Water events now won't trigger while passing over them using Fly or Water Walk

[+] Fixed a bug where creatures could be granted multiple times from a one-time local event

[+] Fixed a bug where a unit of upgraded creatures could vanish after defeating a hero

[+] Fixed a bug where a bonus to movement points would be gained from Lighthouses in towns under enemy control

[+] Fixed a bug where a guest hero's last stack could be disbanded in the Kingdom View mode

[+] Fixed a bug where creatures under the Berserk spell effect could attack a stack that was not the closest to them

[+] Fixed a bug where stacks could be slain using the Earthquake spell. Arrow tower AI is now calculated correctly while casting the spell.

[+] Fixed a bug where the game could crash on visiting a Hill Fort

[+] If Magic Mirror reflects a spell into a stack that's currently on the clock, the stack will now end its turn

[+] A stack that was blinded, turned to stone or paralyzed after a retaliation now won't get a high-morale based second attack

[+] AI can now cast Berserk

[+] AI now calculates the Hypnotise spell duration correctly

[+] AI now can raise upgraded creatures using the Necromancy skill

[+] Fixed a bug where winning hero could still lose his army after winning an AI vs AI battle

[+] Fixed a bug where AI determined the objects to be visited by the closest hero incorrectly

[+] Fixed a bug where AI would miscalculate whether a hero controlled by enemy could pass through Border Guards or Gates

[+] AI now considers the presence of Aurora Borealis in towns

[+] AI now calculates correctly whether it needs to summon a ship or not (previously a potential cycling issue)

[+] AI teleportation is now not displayed if showing enemy movement is disabled in the settings

[+] AB/SoD objects are now considered when calculating the map reveal value, or determining the objects to be visited by the closest hero

[+] Fixed a bug where a catapult could fire at a stack after the tactical phase in an online battle

[+] RMG: Fixed a bug where sunk areas and water tiles could still be spawned on waterless maps

[+] RMG: Fixed a bug where a rectangular area of the map could be isolated and filled with water on spawning

[+] RMG: Fixed a bug where vast plots could be either completely filled with obstacles or left empty

[+] RMG: Fixed a number of bugs involving misplaced guards and faulty passages

[+] RMG: Fixed a bug where several guards could be spawned nearby for a single passage

[-] RMG: Fixed a bug where incorrect interzone packages would be spawned, this doesn't influence object placement

[+] RMG: Fixed a bug where objects with impassable triggers could block other objects

[+] RMG: Fixed a bug where an object could be spawned inside a wrong object group

[+] RMG: Fixed a bug where objects could block unguarded passages

[+] RMG: Fixed a bug where an object could be spawned in a position that didn't allow to render it correctly

[+] RMG: Fixed a bug where roads within a zone could be not interconnected

[+] RMG: A partial fix was introduced for some zone squares occupying incorrect territory

[+] RMG: Fixed a bug where purely ornamental isles could have passable squares

[+] A number of visual bugs and misalignments was fixed in the map selection dialog

[+] Fixed a bug where the client would crash on startup before map headers could be loaded

[+] Fixed a bug where the game could crash after using PgUp/PgDown in the map selection dialog

[+] Multiplayer save game list now doesn't display games with a single player remaining

[+] Fixed a bug where the game would crash during a turn review, if an object was picked up after a hero had been defeated

[+] Minimap is now updated correctly during a turn review

[+] Ships are now displayed correctly during a turn review

[+] Fixed a bug where a part of the map would become unexplored after a turn review on the first turn

[+] Revealing the map by the Cartographer is now displayed during a turn review and sent to an inactive player in an online game

[+] Summoning and sinking ships is now displayed during a turn review and sent to an inactive player in an online game

[+] Capturing creature dwellings, garrisons, and shipyards is now displayed during a turn review and sent to an inactive player in an online game

[+] Change of a town's appearance after constructing buildings is now displayed during a turn review and sent to an inactive player in an online game

[+] Digging is now displayed during a turn review and sent to an inactive player in an online game

[+] Spawning creatures on the map on starting a new month is now displayed during a turn review

[+] Fixed a bug where the fog of war would blink after closing the map during a turn review

[+] Fixed a bug with sending info about a deleted object to an inactive player in an online game

[+] Fixed a number of bugs concerning turn reviewing during an opponent's turn

[+] Fixed a bug with transferring the map being closed to an inactive player in an online game

[+] Fixed a number of bugs concerning transferring all map reveal scenarios to an inactive player in an online game

[+] Fixed a bug where a hero would be rendered in front of the top part of another hero or ship located on a square below the former

[+] Fixed a bug where it was possible to build a new ship on the square that's already occupied by the active hero in another ship

[+] Fixed a bug where it wasn't possible to embark a ship immediately after building it at an external shipyard

[+] Active hero/town won't now be switched after building a ship at an external shipyard

[+] Fixed a bug where inactive player wouldn't get his minimap rendered at the start of an online game

[+] Fixed a bug where the cursor wouldn't be re-rendered after casting a spell on the adventure map

[+] Fixed a bug where inactive player would see his gold as zeroed out after active player attacked his town without a garrisoned hero

[+] In online play, inactive player will now receive information on partaking towns and heroes after a combat

[+] In online play, inactive player will now hear the waiting music again after a battle ends

[+] Fixed a bug where ambient sounds sometimes wouldn't stop playing during the enemy's turn

[+] Fixed a bug where damage inflicted by the Armageddon spell would be recorded incorrectly in the battle log

[+] Fixed a bug where casting or shooting at the walls would be animated incorrectly in some directions

[+] Fixed a bug where a creature's shooting animation would stop after releasing the projectile when shooting at the wall

[+] Fixed a bug where a creature wouldn't turn around if shooting at the wall that is behind it

[+] Fixed a bug where obstacles would be displayed incorrectly when fighting aboard a boat on magical terrains

[+] Fixed a bug where some texts wouldn't fit standard floating windows

[+] Fixed a bug where text wouldn't center properly in standard message windows

[+] Fixed an issue with clicking or hovering over inactive Mage Guild spell slots, if Aurora Borealis is present

[+] Fixed the faulty win trigger that wouldn't engage if an attacking hero would die defeating the designated monster

[+] Fixed a bug where a player's designated starting hero for which a portrait picture isn't set wouldn't be displayed in the map selection dialog

[+] Fixed a bug where some win conditions would be recorded incorrectly in the savegame

[+] Fixed a number of issues where shadows and terrain particles would be rendered in front of the objects

[+] Fixed a number of issues with rendering object shadows, map borders, and fog of war in the world overview

[+] Fixed a bug where pictograms adjacent to screen borders would be displayed incorrectly in the world overview

[+] Fixed a bug where Ore Mines didn't have flags in the world overview

[+] Expert View Earth spell now doesn't display any active objects, just the ornamental ones

[+] Fixed a bug where many battle animations missed the first frame

[+] Fixed a bug where the University of Magic dialog window wouldn't be centered

[+] Fixed a bug where a hero visiting an ally's garrison could become the ally's property

[+] Fixed a bug where the Lookout Tower would be displayed as a campaign bonus

[+] In online game, gossip will now be displayed in the Tavern during enemy's turn

[+] Fixed a bug where the Tavern's dialog window would be displayed incorrectly if only one hero was available in the right slot

[-] Fixed starting armies for the campaign heroes

[+] Fixed a bug where several players could have the same starting hero generated for them in the field

[+] Fixed a bug where AI's heroes would be generated incorrectly if restarting a scenario

[+] Fixed a bug where handicap settings would be reset after loading the game

[+] Fixed a bug where the map hiding cheat code would hide just a circle in the top left corner

[+] Fixed a bug where the interface wouldn't refresh correctly after using some cheat codes

[+] Fixed a bug where switching towns while the stack splitting button is active would crash the game

[+] Fixed a potential issue with the game going unstable after summoning a creature in battle

[+] Fixed memory leak caused by tread sounds while flying

[+] Fixed memory corruption when loading a Prison from the map

[+] Fixed a potential issue with animation executed through palette modification

Graphics

[+] Each town now has four sprites for each hero class and gender; two missing sprites were added for each town, both for the adventure map and the combat screen

[+] Fixed a number of issues with the original hero sprites, both for the adventure map and the combat screen

[+] In combat, heroes now have a permanent standing animation

[+] Fixed a bug where a projectile released by a hero's spell would be placed incorrectly

[+] Heroes' casting animations have been slightly slowed down

[+] A hero's gender displayed in combat is now determined by a setting in the map editor

[+] Portrait pictures for Sir Mullich, Luna, and Inteus have been altered considerably

[+] Portrait pictures for a number of Inferno, Fortress, and Conflux heroes have been altered slightly

[-] A new portrait picture for Vey has been introduced

[-] Fixed palette for the Pendant of Downfall

[+] A new puzzle map for the Cove has been introduced

[+] Multiple ornamental objects have been added for the new Highland terrain, such as Mountains, Spruce trees, Lakes, Waterfalls, Rocks, Flowers, etc.

[+] A Churchyard sprite for the new Highland terrain has been added

[+] Four Sea Portals (red, blue, light green and yellow) have been added

[+] 8 sets of ornamental Rubble for sea tiles have been added

[+] A new Seer Hut has been added

[+] Two one-square Oak trees have been added

[+] Two one-square Snow pine trees have been added

[+] A new tree for the Dirt terrain has been added

[+] Fixed the Dirt terrain mountain sprites

[+] Fixed the pallette for one of the Snow Pine forest variations

[+] Fixed the Refugee Camp sprite

[+] Fixed the shadows for the Shrine of magic gesture/thought

[-] Fixed the Shrine of magic mystery sprite

[+] Fixed the Conflux siege screen

[-] Fixed the Conflux map sprites

[-] Fixed the Fortress map sprites

[-] Fixed the one-square Prison sprite

[-] Fixed the Wineyard sprite

[-] Fixed the Colosseum of the Magi sprite contrast

[-] Enhanced the War Machine Factory sprite

[-] Fixed the Snow terrain hill sprites

[-] Animated lakes have been removed

[+] Cursors for movement and visiting objects on the water have been altered

[+] Fixed the Gold Golem magic death animation

[+] Fixed the Halfling sprites

[+] Pit Lord casting animation use scenarios have been added

[+] Fixed the Swordsman and Crusader sprite contrast

[+] Fixed the Minotaur King combat sprite and shadows

[+] Fixed the Manticore and Scorpicore death animation and body sprites

[+] Fixed the Stone and Obsidian Gargoyles' portrait pictures

[+] Fixed the pallette for the ornamental Grass tiles

[+] Fixed the extra pixel in the river sprite

[+] Magical terrains are now rendered below every object, road, and river

[+] Fangarm calling animation from several stacks is now played simultaneously

[+] A hero now doesn't cover his face if Fangarms are called from slain stacks

[-] Fixed the attacking frame for a number of new creatures on the map

[+] Fixed a number of combat interface graphic issues

[+] Fixed the faulty cancel button in the stack splitting window

[+] Fixed the minimap colors for the Brown and Green players

[+] Fixed the ship flag colors for the Blue player

[+] Fixed palette for flags in combat

[+] Fixed the combat backgrounds for the Dirt terrain with hills and dead vegetation

[+] Fixed the combat backgrounds for Inferno and Necropolis siege

[+] Fixed the background for neutral creatures in the creature overview window

Map editor

[+] Spells set as mandatory for a town will now spawn even if generally banned on the map

[+] A "Different from player" setting for towns has been introduced; these town types will be randomly selected from a list specified for the player

[-] Fixed a number of bugs concerning new win conditions and settings for the Plague/creature weeks

[-] Fixed a bug where template sizes smaller than XH couldn't be selected if the template in question was bigger

[-] Fixed a bug where Portals or Exit Monoliths couldn't be searched for

[-] Fixed a bug where Cove wouldn't be included in the Random Faction setting for the player

[+] A new logo has been introduced

Interface

[+] In online play, it is now possible to plan your heroes' movement and switch towns during your enemy's turn

[+] Hold Alt and hover over an adventure map square to see a hint stating how long it will take your selected hero to arrive there

[+] Hold Shift and click a hero on the map to select him, even if another hero has already been selected

[+] Hover over a hero on the map to see his movement points in a hint

[+] Fixed a number of issues with maximum movement points for heroes and travel length calculation

[+] Stables and Watering Place effect wearing off is now considered when calculating the required travel time

[+] Last player to visit the Black Market can now review its inventory

[+] Last player to visit the Ancient Lamp can now review its inventory

[+] Last player to visit the Refugee Camp can now review its inventory

[+] Fixed positioning for the "can't build" message in an external Shipyard; resources will now be recounted properly after a successful build

[+] The dialog to buy a Spell Book is now displayed on the Mage Guild screen

[+] E hotkey now stands for exchange between heroes on the town screen

[+] A hint for the spell learned in a Shrine now displays the spell status regardless of the equipped artifacts

[+] It is now possible to dismiss heroes visiting towns

[+] It is now possible to dismiss heroes on the town and kingdom overview screens

[+] A hint for the Stables and Observatory effects has been added

[+] Casting the spells Earthquake, Teleport, Remove Obstacle, Clone, and Berserk is now recorded correctly in the combat log

Miscellaneous

[+] New map has been added: Before the Storm

[+] Obstacle brush has been improved, along with the RMG obstacle placement

[+] Obstacle brush now won't spawn several instances of the same object next to each other

[+] RMG: Standard templates have been reworked, fixing bugs and improving playability

[+] RMG: Fully passable ornamental objects can now be spawned

[+] RMG: A map is now centered correctly depending on the actual zone layout

[+] It is now possible to place more than 32 Black Markets on a map

[+] Every spell now has its effect formula in the description

[+] Creature dwellings introduced in AB and SoD now have appropriate ambient sounds

[+] Beholders, Evil Eyes and Gold Golems now have magic death sound effects

[+] Faerie Dragons now have a casting sound effect

[+] Sacrifice spell now has a resurrecting sound effect

[+] In hotseat multiplayer games, a special sound effect will now be played when a player attacks another one

[+] Combat casting animation speed has been altered for a number of creatures

[+] Music now can be set to play in 22kHz mono or 44kHz stereo

[+] Record point calculation formula has been altered

[+] HoMM3 HD: If object messages are switched off in the settings, object hints will now be always displayed, as opposed to after visiting only

[-] Multiple maps and texts have been fixed

Version 1.4.2 (05/JAN/2016)

HotA fixes

[-] Fixed: mixed up sprites for the White/Black Border Guards

[-] Fixed: mixed up names for Red and Blue Two Way Monoliths

[-] Fixed a bug where Horn of the Abyss artifact couldn't be enabled in the Map editor

[-] Fixed a bug where all new heroes had shared trigger log for having visited new map objects like Colosseum of the Magi

[-] Fixed a bug where RMG experienced crashes while setting guard defined by the Zone's main town type

[-] Fixed a bug where a creature couldn't be set as a hero's final destination in select cases

[-] Fixed the rule when a dash in text messages would cause missing characters

[-] Hero exchange while in town now triggers Scholar skill, forcing heroes to exchange spells

[-] Fangarms now won't be summoned when a stack is sacrificed with the eponymous spell

[-] Fixed some stability issues

Gameplay

[-] While visiting a Town Gate a hero now won't be placed on its entrance square

[-] The Town Gate's RMG value went up from 7000 to 10000

[-] The Ancient Lamp's RMG value went up from 3000 to 5000

SoD fixes

[+] Fixed a bug when one of the University/Seafaring Academy dialog boxes wouldn't match the player's flag color

[+] Fixed faulty button borders for one of the University/Seafaring Academy dialog boxes

Graphics

[-] Fixed the Town Gate sprite

Miscellaneous

[-] Fixed select maps and in-game texts

Version 1.4.1 (Skipped)

[-] Skipped for technical reasons.

Version 1.4.0 (02/JAN/2016)

[!] Save game format changed! Saves in older versions of the game will not be supported by this version. Make sure you have completed all valuable games before upgrading.

[+] New campaign, Horn of the Abyss, has been introduced. Following its storyline, the player will once again meet Bidley, Jeremy and Casmetra. Finally, you will lay your hands upon the eponymous artifact, a powerful weapon capable of summoning sea spirits on the battlefield.

HotA fixes

[-] Fixed a bug where savegames on a map with the number of mines exceeded 255 went corrupt

[-] Fixed a bug where a recorded replay with an opponent scouting numerous squares in a single turn would become faulty

[-] RMG: Fixed a bug where some of the mandatory roads would not be created

[-] RMG: Fixed a bug where several snow-covered Trade Posts would appear in a single area

[-] Fixed a bug where the cursor would sometimes disappear in the Cannon Yard dialog window

[-] Fixed a bug where a map where only four secondary skills including Necromancy are available would crash upon launch

[-] Fixed: for some spells the probability of appearing in a Cove's Magic Guild was adjusted (on 2nd and 3rd levels toral percentage wasn't reaching 100%)

[-] Fixed a bug where the Diplomat's Cloak was working incorrectly

[-] Fixed a bug where the Cannon would deal incorrect amount of damage if the hero's Attack skill value was negative

[-] Fixed a bug where a hero using Fly spell was able to attack monsters without having reached the final destination

[-] Fixed a bug where choosing Beatrice, Ranloo, Kinkeria and Derek while playing on RoE, AB and SoD maps made other heroes unavailable

Gameplay

[+] A new neutral creature, the Fangarm, has been introduced

[+] A new object has been introduced: the Ancient lamp. A player may once hire a number of Master Genies there. RMG value is 3000, density is 2, no more than 1 per zone

[+] A new object has been introduced: the Colosseum of the Magi. A hero may once acquire a +2 bonus to his Knowledge or Spell Power skill. RMG value is 3000, density is 50

[+] A new object has been introduced: Watering Place. A hero may discard remaining movement points to increase next day's yield. RMG value is 500, density is 50, spawns only on Stone terrain, no more than 1 per zone

[+] A new object has been introduced: Town Gate. Allows visiting hero to teleport to any allied town. RMG value is 7000, density is 20, no more than 1 per zone

[+] Four new Two-way Monoliths have been introduced

[+] A new naval object has been introduced: the Sea Barrel. A hero may find a handful of resources inside. RMG value is 500, density is 400

[+] A new naval object has been introduced: the Jetsam. A hero may find a handful of gold and ore inside. RMG value is 500, density is 600

[+] A new naval object has been introduced: the Vial of Mana. A hero may acquire extra spell points by picking it up. RMG value is 3000, density is 500

[+] A new naval object has been introduced: the Seafaring Academy. A hero may learn and upgrade secondary skills at a cost there. RMG value is 8000, density is 20, no more than 1 per zone

[+] A new naval object has been introduced: the Altar of Mana. A player may acquire spell points by sacrificing creatures there. RMG value is 100, density is 20, no more than 1 per zone

[+] A new naval object has been introduced: the Observatory. A visiting hero may acquire a +2 bonus to his scouting radius until the end of week. RMG value is 500, density is 20, no more than 1 per zone

[-] The Temple of Loyalty has been altered: now its effect is active until the end of day, ranther than the next combat

[-] The Hill Fort's RMG value went down from 12000 to 7000

[-] Number of creatures available for hire at a dwelling that no player has claimed is now set at one growth every week

[+] Number of Skeletons raised by the Necromancy skill is now detendent on total number of slain creatures in an enemy army, rather than on numbers of each individual slain stack

SoD bugs

[+] Fixed a bug where the game ignored the AI mode (Warrior/Builder/Explorer) predefined by map settings

[+] Fixed a bug where the RMG would create a portion of a zone as a narrow plot of land hugging the map edge

[+] Fixed a bug where the RMG would create a water square in the bottom right corner of the map

[+] Fixed a bug where the RMG would create faulty zone transfers after creating objects along the zone borders

[+] Fixed a bug where a player could abuse the Admiral's Hat for endless movement points

[+] Fixed a bug where a player could acquire a naval movement bonus while on land

[+] Fixed a bug where AI vs AI battles featuring Necromancy users would result in raising a single skeleton

Graphics

[+] Introduced: the naval Border Gate

[+] Introduced: the naval Border Guards and Quest Guard

[+] Introduced: the naval Pandora's Box

[+] Basic Pandora's Box sprite has been altered

[+] Sea Chest sprite has been altered

[+] Introduced: two new mossy stones for the Swamp terrain

[+] Introduced: three mew Palm groups for the Swamp terrain

[-] One of the Fields of Glory sprites has been altered

[-] Fixed the portraits for Astra, Lina and Miriam

[-] Beholder Sanctuary sprite has been fixed

Interface

[+] Introduced: the hero exchange button on a city screen

[-] Creature combat movement speed on settings 4 and 5 has been increased by the factor of 1.5

[+] Introduced: an Arena visiting message with the possibility of refusal to attend

Miscellaneous

[+] Altered the colors of shadows cast by objects on the Sand terrain

[+] Added new colors for shadows cast by map objects

[+] Introduced new animation options for map objects using palette cycling

[-] For RoE, AB and SoD maps spell bans no more affect spells granted by artefacts

[-] Fixed some launcher issues

[-] Fixed select maps and in-game texts

Version 1.3.8 (25/APR/2015)

HotA bugs

[-] Fixed a bug where Cove creatures were spawning rarely on random maps

[-] Fixed road generation algorythm on random maps has been improved, now more like seen in original game; no more lack of road through main guarded tile on 2sm4d(3) template

[-] Fixed a bug where generating mandatory roads on random maps caused freezing

[-] Fixed a bug where one of the skull decorations was invisible

[-] Fixed a bug where header text of a meeting heroes window wouldn't fit

Gameplay

[-] Upg. Goblin Barracks return as a requirement to construct the Upg. Wolf Pen in Citadel towns

[-] Red Tower guard and reward has been altered: now player has to fight 35-70-105-140 Fire Elementals for 1-2-3-4 Firebirds; density of Red Towers in RMG went down to 20

[-] Starting army for Cove heroes now has 15-25 Nymphs instead of 20-30

[-] RMG: roads between villages inside zones now not mandatory (e.g. Diamond template); if a castle is present, roads stay mandatory (e.g. Jebus Cross template)

SoD bugs

[+] Fixed a bug where a hero could create path from land over water

Graphics

[+] New sand obstacle set, the Barchan Dunes, has been introduced, along with matching mine set

[+] New Dirt Hills set has been introduced

[+] Fixed the layout of trees on Rock Sawmill sprite

[+] New rough Shrub have been introduced

[+] New single standing dead trees have been introduced

[-] Fixed the layout of a certain Sand Mountain obstacle

[-] Fixed some Cove hero portraits

[+] Fixed Valeska and Caitlin portraits

[+] Hit by a missile animation has been updated for Monks and Zealots

Map Editor

[+] Now more than 144 mines allowed per map

[+] Now more than 48 Seer Huts allowed per map; excess Seers will have recycled names

Miscellaneous

[+] Three new maps, A Cold Day in Hell, Mysterious Ways and From the Depths of Hell, have been introduced

[+] When Artillery skill guarantees increased Ballista and Cannon damage, it will now be displayed when checking potential damage and in AI calculations

[+] Added shadows rendering for terrain part objects

[+] Rocks and Reefs now displayed on minimap

[-] Fixed frequency and speed of the Satyrs' random animation cycles

[-] Map fixes

Version 1.3.7 (06/MAR/2015)

HotA bugs

[-] Fixed wrong Phoenix portrait

Version 1.3.6 (06/MAR/2015)

HotA bugs

[-] Fixed a crash caused by trading between two ally heroes in a multiplayer game

[-] Fixed a bug that sometimes prevented choosing a starting hero for a random map

[-] Fixed Satyr AI casting on creatures that already have Mirth cast on them

[-] Fixed the mistakes in Satyr's spell hint

[-] Fixed the location of the specialization name in the hero window

Gameplay

[+] Kinkeria's learning specialization effect was replaced with the doubled skill effect

SoD bugs

[+] Fixed crash sometimes caused by starting large map after playing on small one

[+] Removed the ability to cast Dispel on a squad that only has Disrupting Ray effect active (Disrupting Ray is indispensable)

[+] Fixed the crash on a saved game load that has more than 128 Signs

[+] Fixed the description of Luck bonuses on a creature when total Luck is more than 3

Map Editor

[+] Fixed the editor crash on Wine

[+] Fixed the unfading object properties tooltip

[+] Fixed a SoD bug with mixed up Blood Obelisk and Cage of Warlords in Fortress

[+] Fixed a SoD bug with mixed up Elemental names in the Conflux events settings

Interface

[+] Added borders and background for artifact images in game messages

Graphics

[-] Updated Cannon image

[-] Added Experimental Shop animation

[+] Added the image of an Experimental Shop for Snow

[-] Updated Black Tower image

[+] Added the images of a Black Tower for Snow and Swamp

[-] Updated Mansion image

[-] Fixed Wolf Raider Picket image

[-] Fixed Wineyard shadow

[-] Fixed and changed the images of Boxes, Bags, Ropes, Abandoned Boats and Bone on Sand

[+] Added new Boxes, Bags and a Corpse on Sand

[+] Added new Yucca Trees for the sand

[+] Fixed the gamma of palm trees on certain Desert Hills

[+] A new Shrub obstacle for swamp has been introduced

[-] Updated Cove hero portraits

[-] Fixed Kalt's portrait

[-] Fixed the misaligned Pikeman's portrait

[+] Fixed the Champion's portrait

[-] Fixed the Pikeman's wrist during battle

[-] Fixed Orc's low contrast image on the map

[+] Fixed Scholar, Monk and Zealot map image shadow

Miscellaneous

[-] RMG templates for maps of new sizes were changed

[+] Land decorative tail level on random maps was decreased from 4 to 1

[+] The name of Sand Trees was changed to Yucca Trees

[-] Some map and text fixes

Version 1.3.5 (02/JAN/2015)

HotA Bugs

[-] Fixed a crash on map startup with a Wineyard

[-] Fixed Wineyard not displaying correctly in the captured dwelling list

[-] Fixed Satyr layout on adventure map

[-] Satyrs controlled by AI now use their spells

[-] Fixed Satyr soundbites

[-] Fixed Satyr AI Value and Fight Value

[-] Fixed Experimental Shop hint in Map Editor

Graphics

[-] Fixed Ironfist of the Ogre layout

[-] Fixed Skeleton Transformer layout on the adventure map

[+] A new Cactus obstacle has been introduced

[+] A new Trees obstacle for Dirt surface has been introduced

Miscellaneous

[-] Ironfist of the Ogre pickup event text has been introduced

Version 1.3.4 (01/JAN/2015)

[!] Save game format changed! Saves in older versions of the game will not be supported by this version. Make sure you have completed all valuable games before upgrading.

[!] All maps created with HotA Editor v1.3.0-1.3.3 will have a new set item Ironfist of the Ogre enabled for random spawning. Map makers are advised to disable it via the new Editor v1.3.4. All RoE, AB and SoD maps, along with maps created with Editor v1.3.4, will have the Fist disabled by default

HotA bugs

[-] Fixed the increased Catapult damage under slow animation setting, which was causing sync problems in multiplayer games

[-] Mage Guild level 1 has been dropped from requirements to build Upg. Roost (Cove)

[-] Fixed the incorrect max kill count on Accurate shot

[-] Fixed the freeze after video has finished playing

[-] Fixed the animation speed for new units

[-] Fixed the shooting and flight animation details for new units

[-] Fixed the errors caused by flags' positioning in campaign map choosing menu

[-] Fixed the faulty bonus resource icon on loading screen when playing as Cove in multiplayer

[-] Fixed the errors while generating random maps of bigger size

[-] Fixed the bug where disabled spells were enabled again after loading a saved game

Gameplay

[+] In order to trigger a guarded object while flying you will now have to first land on an adjacent tile and fight the guardians. It is now impossible to trigger objects without alerting the guard while using Flight or Angel Wings

[+] The combat will start if a hero moves to a guarded tile after casting the Dimension Door. Casting cursor will change its appearance in that case. The Dimension Door will not allow triggering objects or collecting items without alerting the guard anymore

[+] Constructing Upg. Magic Lantern now requires Mage Guild level 1 and Magic University

[-] Cost of constructing Upg. Golden Pavilion is back to 3000 rather than 2000 gp

[+] Cost of constructing Golem Factory went down from 2000 to 1500 gp

[+] Cost of constructing upg. Golem Factory went down from 2000 to 1500 gp

[+] Cost of constructing Mage Tower went down from 2500 to 2000 gp

[+] Cost of constructing Altar of Wishes went down from 3000 to 2500 gp

[+] Cost of constructing Brimstone Stormclouds went down from 5 to 4 sulfur

[+] Cost of constructing Upg. Mausoleum went down from 5 to 4 sulfur

[-] Cost of constructing Upg. Cyclops Cave went up from 5 to 10 crystals

[+] Cost of constructing Upg. Pyre went up from 10 to 20 mercury and from 10000 to 15000 gp

[-] Cost of constructing Waterfall (Cove) was changed to 5 wood, 5 ore and 300 gp from 500 gp

[-] Waterfall (Cove) now does not cost ore to construct

[-] Cost of constructing Shack (Cove) was changed to 10 wood from 5 wood, 5 ore and 1000 gp

[-] Cost of constructing Upg. Shack (Cove) went down from 1200 to 1000 gp

[-] Cost of constructing Gunpowder Warehouse (Cove) was changed from 10 to 5 wood and from 2500 to 3000 gp

[-] Cost of constructing Nest (Cove) was changed to 5 ore, 2 gems, 2 crystals and 2000 gp from 5 ore, 4 gems and 2000 gp

[-] Cost of constructing Upg. Nest (Cove) was changed to 2 crystals, 2 gems and 2500 gp from 10 ore, 10 crystals and 2500 gp

[-] Cost of constructing Tower of the Seas (Cove) was changed to 5 wood, 5 ore, 5 crystals and 3000 gp from 5 ore, 4 crystals and 3000 gp

[-] Upg. Tower of the Seas (Cove) now does not cost sulfur to construct

[-] Cost of constructing Upg Nix Fort (Cove) went down from 10 to 5 ore

[-] Cost of constructing Maelstrom (Cove) was changed to 15 wood, 15 ore, 10 sulfur and 15000 gp from 10 ore, 15 sulfur and 17500 gp

[-] Cost of constructing Upg. Maelstrom (Cove) was changed to 15 wood, 15 ore, 20 sulfur and 15000 gp from 15 ore, 20 sulfur, 5 gems and 20000 gp

[-] Cost of constructing Roost (Cove) was changed to 1000 gp from 2 gems and 1500 gp

[-] Cost of constructing Thieves' Guild (Cove) was changed to 5 wood and 500 gp from 3 wood and 600 gp

[-] Red Tower guard went down from 60-90-120-150 to 50-75-100-125 Fire Elementals

[-] RMG: Red Tower density went down from 80 to 35, now no more than one per zone

[-] Visiting a previously plundered Churchyard now inflicts a -1 penalty to Morale

[+] A new neutral creature, the Satyr, has been introduced

[+] A new creature bank, the Experimental Shop, has been introduced. The player will have to battle 50-100-150-200 Iron Golems for a reward of 1-2-3-4 Giants RMG value is 3500, density is 80

[+] A new creature bank, the Wolf Raider Picket, has been introduced. The player will have to battle 50-75-100-150 Wolf Raiders for a reward of 4-6-8-12 Cyclopes RMG: value is 9500, density is 80

[+] A new object, the Temple of Loyalty, has been introduced. A visiting hero will have all Morale penalties for having creatures of varied alignment in his army removed for the next combat. RMG: value is 100, density is 20, no more than one per zone

[+] A new object, the Skeleton Transformer, has been introduced. A visiting hero will be allowed to turn any creatures into Skeletons. RMG: value is 500, density is 20, spawning only in underworld, no more than one per zone

[+] A new set item, the Ironfist of the Ogre, has been introduced. In order to construct it, a hero needs to have Ogre's Club of Havoc, Targ of the Rampaging Ogre, Crown of the Supreme Magi and Tunic of the Cyclops King in his possession. At the beginning of a combat the Fist will cast Bloodlust, Fire Shield and Counterstrike (all Expert) lasting for 50 turns on all allied troops

[+] Sanctuary now will not be spawning on randomly generated maps

[+] Freelancer's Guild now will be spawning on randomly generated maps. RMG value is 100, density is 50, no more than one per zone

[-] RMG: Only one Den of Thieves now allowed per zone instead of three

[+] RMG: Now only three Taverns allowed per zone

SoD bugs

[+] RMG: Zone size now matches the settings defined by template more accurately

[+] RMG: Object guard tilting bug fixed. It is now impossible to trigger said objects without alerting the guard

[+] RMG: Spawning objects with several entrances has been fixed. Now they are only spawned as solitary objects, not as a part of a group

[+] When flying to a designated guarded tile, the combat will not trigger until the tile is reached. This fix prevents landing on an unplanned location due to interrupting combat

[+] Interrupting the flight above an object's entrance is now forbidden (if the object in question is not a freely passable one, like a friendly Garrison)

[+] Interrupting the flight above a guarded tile will now trigger combat

[+] Fixed a bug with ability of spawn of victory condition artifact on map as random artifact

[+] Fixed a bug with generaiton the same start heroes

[+] Fixed a bug when a player could once again visit the Sirens after combat

[+] It is no longer possible to cast Dispel on a unit that has only been poisoned (when this poisoning cannot be cured by Dispel)

[+] On RoE maps, Conflux heroes are now allowed for hire, while set items, the Armageddon's blade and the Vial of Dragon's Blood have been disabled

[+] Fixed the Storm Elementals' slow movement animation

[+] Fixed the mixed up descriptions of Blood Obelisk and Glyphs of Fear in the Fortress

[+] Freelancer's Guild now has ambient sound and triggering sound effects (missing in SoD)

[+] Fixed the cursor update bugs when casting Dimension Door

Map Editor

[-] Fixed the crash after using Obstacle Brush on a map featuring objects that it is not allowed to place

[-] Fixed the Non-existent object Genie Lamp appearance in the search bar

[-] All doubling and erroneous lines have been removed from the search bar

[+] Now possible to save RMG settings and automatically enforce settings after choosing a template

Interface

[-] For a splash damage shot, the cursor now looks like an arrow when aiming a unit, while new cursor sprites will be used when aiming an unoccupied tile

[-] Clicking a Thieves' Guild (Cove) will now be opening a Thieves' Guild window with info about players in the game

[+] Hyphenation has been introduced for in-game text

Graphics

[-] Pikemen, Halberdiers, Orcs and Orc Chieftains now have completely new graphics

[-] Portraits of creatures from the original game that grew obsolete with the introduction of new ones have been updated

[-] Portraits of Cove creatures have been fixed

[-] Sprite of the Ring of Oblivion has been replaced with a new one

[+] New sprite of a snow-covered Churchyard has been introduced

[+] New snow-covered Hills have been introduced

[+] Standing animation for Sea Serpents and Haspids has been introduced

[-] Combat sprites have been fixed for Efreeti

[+] Hit by a missile animation has been introduced for Monks, Zealots, Titans, Liches on sentry towers, Beholders and Evil Eyes

[+] Dragon Utopia sprite has been fixed

[+] Snow-covered Crypt sprite has been fixed

[+] Snow-covered River Delta sprite has been fixed

[+] Redwood Observatory sprite has been fixed

[+] Fortless Inferno sprite has been fixed

[+] Learning Stone sprite has been fixed

[+] New Fly Agaric fungi have been introduced

[+] Seer Hut sprites have been fixed

[+] New Seer Hut sprite has been introduced

[+] A number of hero portraits have been fixed

Miscellaneous

[+] HotA Launcher and Updater no longer require .NET for working

[+] In-game texts and names have been proofread and corrected

[+] Rock object type has deen divided into three new types: Rock, Stone, Pile of Stones

[+] Map object hints have been improved

[+] The number of objects allowed on a single map has been doubled

[-] The Cannon's recoil animation is now played simultaneously with the cannonball flight

[+] The animation of ray shooters returning to their normal stance after making a shot is now played simultaneously with the target being hit

[+] A new map, Carpe Jugulum, has been introduced

[-] A number of maps have been fixed

Version 1.3.3 (29/JUN/2014)

[!] Save game format changed! Saves in older versions of the game will not be supported by this version. Make sure you have completed all valuable games before upgrading.

[!] Due to some bug fixes in the editor it is recommended to re-save and update you custom levels. Check the correctness of assigned restrictions for heroes and artefacts. The editor supports all of the functionality of the original editor now.

[!] Starting from this version the in-game language of HotA does no longer depend on the language of the base SoD game

HotA bugs

[-] Fixed hero restrictions working incorrectly

[-] Fixed a crash when spells Clone and Remove Obstacle were cast

[-] Fixed a bug which allowed two heroes of the same class to appear in tavern

[-] Fixed rendering freezes during combat

[-] Fixed a bug with possible desync in an online game which was caused buy the construction of a Lodestar and assaulting another player

[-] Fixed a tip bug in Fort

[-] Fixed some bugs related to the limitation of the number of objects in the random map generator

[-] Fixed an issue with Orb of Vulnerability having no effect on Nymphs and Oceanids

[-] Fixed incorrect video file processing

Gameplay

[+] Shackles of War effect applies only when both sides in the battle have heroes

[+] 5 new Two Way Monoliths added (16 total currently)

[+] 2 new One Way Monoliths added (12 total currently)

[-] Restored a 25% chance of a neutral zone in RMG

[-] Restored 12000 cost for Library of Enlightenment

[-] Restored original health (4) and AI / Fight Value for Imps and Familiars

[+] Faerie Dragon AI Value increased significantly

[-] Reduced Sea Dog health to 15

[-] Accurate Shot weakened when the distance penalty applies and does not work on units behind walls

[-] Restored 80 health for Nix and 90 for Nix Warriors

[-] Sea Serpents health reduced to 180 and the defence increased to 16

[-] Vault of Ashes price reduced to 5000 gold and 5 mercury

[-] Grotto price increased to 7500 gold, 15 wood and 15 ore

[+] Cyclops Cave price does not include crystals. Upg. Cyclops Cave has +5 crystals in price

[-] Ring of Oblivion now prohibits undead rising after the battle

[-] Cape of Silence prohibits spell level 1 and 2 casting

[-] Mansion garrison increased

[-] Spit garrison and reward increased

[-] Pirate Cavern and Spits removed from the random map generator

[-] Red Tower RMG value increased to 4000, the occurrence decreased to 80

[-] Hill Fort value increased to 12,000, a limit of 1 per zone was returned

[+] Town Portal, Fly, Dimension Door and (in the presence of water) Water Walking spell scrolls have value of 15000 in RMG

[+] Added a new Cannon Yard object. It allows you to buy a cannon, value 3000 in RMG, 25 frequency

[-] Fixed the drop rate of the primary skills of the heroes of the Cove

[-] Eovacius specialization creates only two clones, but without cost increase

[-] Astra's specialization was changed from Frost Ring to Healing

[-] Changed starting Navigator class skills: Zilare's Water Magic to Resistance, Astra's Learning to Luck, Dargem's Air Magic to Tactics

[-] Nella's initial secondary skills were restored

SoD Bugs

[+] Fixed a SoD bug with a duplicate character in the scenario replay

[+] Badge of Courage no longer grants mind spell immunity

[+] Fixed a SoD bug with the ability to raise undead from summoned creatures

[+] Fixed a SoD bug with double shooting with single remaining shot

[+] Fixed a SoD bug with Harpy return after the Dendroid attack

[+] Fixed a SoD bug: Forgetfulness was mass effective already at an advanced water magic

[+] Fixed a SoD bug with inability to resurrect the corpse at gates hex during the siege of the city

[+] University does not offer necromancy

[+] Fixed an RMG bug with extra paths when generating a multi-connected route

[+] Fixed a SoD RMG bug with a shifted two-cell garrison near the monolith which would also crash while generating a map sometimes

[+] Fixed a SoD random map generator bug with and unneeded extra road path

[+] RMG roads no longer pass through bugged paths and are not blocked by Prisons. Cities within a single zone are always connected with a road net within that zone

[+] Fixed the mixed up icons of View Earth and View Air

[+] Fixed the mixed up external dwellings in the kingdom view

[+] Fixed one of the errors in calculating the cursor movement number of a hero

[+] The damage for spell shown in the spell description now accounts for the hero specialization if the damage is not dependant on the target parameters

[+] Fixed a memory leak after exiting the panel selection menu

Map Editor

[-] Fixed map editor bug with incorrect definition of allowable player orientations

[-] Fixed map editor and game bug with Diplomat's Cloak and Pendant of Reflection enabled by default in SoD maps

[-] Fixed the errors of random map generator in map editor

[-] Fixed a map editor bug with Cove hero portraits when assigning a portrait

[-] Fixed a bug when new heroes and artefacts were ignored after a map check

[+] Fixed a bug with incorrect information passed to the map error log related to absence of free artefacts on a map

[+] Removed the restriction of 144 external dwellings in the map editor

Interface

[+] Added a new route colour that shows where the player would not arrive even with full movement point pool

[+] Many spells' descriptions now have a dynamically calculated effect summary

[+] Fixed preview window sizes on RMB of hero and city

[+] Added separate buttons for closing the save and battle menus

[-] Fixed the selection button for all maps in the map menu

[+] Numerous fixes in custom campaign menu

[+] Map selection fixes

[+] Numerous fixes of trade and sacrifice windows

[+] Fixed the hero trade windows

[+] Fixed integrated campaign selection screen

[-] Fixed hero route arrows

[+] Changed some fonts

[+] Fixed the player flags that would sometimes not fit in the designated area in map and scenario selection menus

[-] Added icon animation in built-in panel selection menu

[-] Hotkey for HotA campaign selection changed from S to H

Graphics

[+] Added an underground battlefield for lava

[+] Fixed the obstacles, battlefield and map depiction of the Holy Ground

[-] Changed the graphics of Fortress on map

[+] Replaced the graphics of War Machine Factory

[+] Replaced visual representation of Hydra Pond

[-] Changed the image of the outer dwelling of the Dragon Lair

[+] Added new images of Hill Fort for all terrains

[+] Added two new reefs

[+] Added two new tree groups for rocks

[+] Added Mounds for snow

[+] Fixed One Way SoD monoliths

[+] Fixed image for Griffin Conservatory

[+] Fixed image of Abandoned Mines on Dirt

[+] Fixed image for Hill Fort

[+] Fixed the image of the Mystical Garden

[+] Added an image of Mystical Garden for Dirt

[+] Fixed the shadow for the image of the Pillar of Eyes dwelling

[-] Fixed the trigger position of the new Wagon

[+] Fixed images of numerous new artefacts

[+] Fixed background image in the creature window preview

[+] Fixed image of Earth Elemental on a map

[+] Fixed Efreeti and Efreet Sultan images in combat

[+] Fixed Troglodyte image in combat

[+] Fixed the image of the Gnoll corpse in battle

[+] Fixed the image of the Gold Golem in battle (incorrect attack and corpse shadow frames)

[+] Fixed the shadow image of the Diamond Golem in battle

[-] Fixed the portrait of Beatrice

[+] Fixed the image of one of the obstacles on the dirt during battle

[+] Fixed Imp Crucible, Upg. Imp Crucible and Birthing Pools animation

[+] Fixed images of Conflux Village Hall, Town Hall, City Hall, Capitol and background

[-] Fixed the image of Vault of Ashes

[+] Added all edits similar to SuperFix_Common

[+] Minor hero portrait fixes

[-] Minor graphics fixes

Miscellaneous

[+] Added 2 maps: Barren Lands and Gambit

[+] Improved spell descriptions

[+] Fixed and improved hero specialty descriptions

[+] Fixed possible obstacle overlay on object images in RMG

[-] Map and text fixes

[-] Some launcher fixes

Version 1.3.2 (11/JAN/2014)

[-] Fixed a crash at map editor start

[-] Fixed a bug of setting monsters treasure in map editor

[-] Fixed wrong buildings in random town in map editor

[-] Fixed many crashes during the game

[-] Finally fixed Dunes quicksands effect during tactic phase

[-] Accurate Shot now cannot affect on battle machines

[+] Fixed AI bug with Death Cloud

[-] Fixed spells chances to appear in Cove Mage Guild

[-] Fixed some typos in game texts

[-] Fixed some bugs in maps and campaign

[-] Some launcher fixes

Version 1.3.1 (04/JAN/2014)

[-] Fixed a crash when generating a random map in map editor

[-] Fixed a crash at game start if SoD was never launched before HotA

[-] Fixed jittering animations in combat

[-] Fixed some of crashes at map start and during game

[-] Fixed a bug related to a chance of occurring of an invisible obstacle during combat

[-] Fixed some icons of bonuses and new artifacts in campaign

[-] Fixed gamma of display buttons in creature window

[-] Fixed a bug due to which the Golden Goose did not include the effects of components

[-] Fixed a couple of launcher bugs, fixed its height

[-] Fixed a couple of typos in game texts; in maps and in campaign

[-] The message in the "Province" map on game start was written in Russian

[-] Fixed the absence of description of Diplomat's Cloak in the editor

[-] Fixed the "Beware of Demons!" map. You had to survive for 1 day for victory

[-] Fixed depiction of Shaman's Puppet in hero screen and depictions of Ring of Oblivion and Cape of Silence on map

[-] Fixed the depiction of fortress on the map

[-] Fixed the bug with the depiction flag of Conflux in the map

[+] Fixed the depiction of fort, citadel and castle of Rampart for according look on the map; fixed some bugs

[+] Fixed some Conflux screen bugs

[+] Plated terrain Dunes was added to map editor, some its bugs were fixed