HEROES OF MIGHT AND MAGIC III: HORN OF THE ABYSS
HotA is a global add-on for Heroes of Might and Magic III that extends and fixes gameplay elements, keeping the classical Heroes III spirit in every tiny detail from code nuances to overall gameplay. On a more conceptual level, HotA is an attempt to continue the legendary series RoE-AB-SoD as close to the original as it could have been done by the original team of New World Computing.
HotA started as a mod for Heroes III SoD, but ended as a full expansion of the original game. The russian team that made this wonderful expansion had worked a tremendous amount of time to iron out the bugs of the original game and make the expansion itself which now in 2024 features two full new towns with units and buildings. They really succeeded!
Now Heroes III have these full expansions:
1. Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia (RoE)
2. Heroes of Might and Magic III: Armageddon's Blade (AB)
3. Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Shadow of Death (SoD)
4. Heroes of Might and Magic III: Horn of the Abyss (HotA)
Installation instructions and launching the game:
- Install Heroes III Complete or Heroes III Shadow of Death full game. It can be bought from here: http://www.gog.com/game/heroes_of_might_and_magic_3_complete_edition. Regular price is €9.19 at the beginning of 2024, but GOG.com sometimes offer amazing deals.
- Install Heroes III Horn of the Abyss over it in the same folder. Download the installer preferably via torrent from https://h3hota.com/en/download
- The last to install again in the same folder, is Heroes III HD. Download the installer from https://sites.google.com/site/heroes3hd/ The latest version @2024.01.15 is HoMM3 HD 5.4 R83.
Launch HoMM3 HD (the exe is HD_Launcher.exe) and on the launcher window select from the top-left corner h3hota HD.exe to play Horn of the Abyss, or Heroes3.exe to play Shadow of Death or Heroes 3 Complete.
Resolution: select your monitor's default resolution, otherwise the image will be blurred. Here are the most common resolutions in today's monitors:
- 720p known as HD or HD Ready == 1280 x 720 pixels.
- 1080p known as FHD or Full HD == 1920 x 1080 pixels.
- 1440p known as QHD or Quad HD == 2560 x 1440 pixels, four times of 720p.
- 4K or 2160p known as UHD or Ultra HD == 3840 x 2160, four times of 1080p.
- 8K or 4320p == 7680 x 4320 pixels, 16 times of 1080p.
Having a monitor with lower density, larger pixels, actually helps in Heroes III because the image displayed is bigger overall. For example a 27" monitor with a 1080p resolution should be perfect.
Full Screen Mode is recommended (you can anytime press F4 while in game to play in windowed mode)
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Heroes of Might and Magic III: Horn of the Abyss v.1.7.0
On December 31, 2023 the HotA team wrote on Facebook:
"
Happy New Year, friends!
We would like to thank everyone who has been waiting and believing.
We are proud to present you with the largest update in the project's history.
It features the Factory, the new long-awaited town, a campaign dedicated to it, a huge amount of graphics, audio and video content, new game mechanics, countless fixes, major and minor improvements, and much more.
We are pleased to share the result of our long, hard work with you. Trust us: we have been waiting for this moment just as eagerly as you.
The journey continues. Jadame is waiting!
The update is available here:
https://h3hota.com/en/download
"
What's new in v.1.7.0:
● A completely new city, Factory, together with new heroes, units (all eight) and habitats;
● A new campaign, Forged in Fire, describing the fate of Henrietta. The campaign has eight maps and is described as difficult. It'll take your best skills to help the Factory establish itself in the world of Heroes;
● Completely overhauled Campaign Editor and support for custom campaigns; new background and region maps for campaigns;
● From now on you can sail not only on the blue of the seas, but also on the blue of the sky with the new Airship a balloon allowing heroes to fly. And the equivalent of a shipyard where such a ship can be bought (generally is unavailable in random templates);
● Nerphs: the stable now gives 300 movement, recalling the elements of fire and earth has reduced efficiency, Luna's specialization gives only 25% bonus;
● Seven new scenarios;
● Changes in random objects;
● Changes awaited by PvPers - the characters have traffic recalculated when they appear in the tavern and guaranteeing the appearance of the city portal and the gate of dimensions in the guild draws from the first to the fourth;
● A new button on the adventure map - allows you to visit the object again or leave the aircraft;
● A LOT of bug fixes from HotA and SoD.
The full changelog can be found here: https://download.h3hota.com/upd/changelogs/eng.txt
