r/heroes3 • u/G_-_M_O_N_E_Y_ • 3d ago

Can someone explain how the MOD was created?

Pretty much this. I loved heroes growing up and this HOTA update is amazing.

What exactly happened for this to occur?

5 Upvotes

78% Upvoted

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13

u/kansetsupanikku 3d ago

Decades of guessing file formats, memory mapping, runner development, and extensive trial and error. Starting later, but mostly included in that decades: work on balanced rules and artwork that would match the bar of the legendary originals.

But time itself isn't enough. You won't do that without a team of people with diverse skills.

1

u/G_-_M_O_N_E_Y_ 3d ago

That’s so crazy. Why would they not be able to talk to original developers and expand like that? Seems like all the guessing, etc could have been avoided but I don’t understand any of this stuff

8

u/imnotsospecial 3d ago

The Hota team doesnt have the source code, and they dont even have modding tools either, it's basically a hack job for the good. 

6

u/Irydion 3d ago

The original devs most likely don't have the source code and wouldn't really be helpful.

I've been a game dev for only 10 years, and I already would be totally unhelpful if you'd ask me anything about the first games I worked on. So imagine how it would be for a 25+ years old game.

3

u/Legal_Weekend_7981 2d ago

Through high quality unpaid labour, also known as enthusiasm.

An anecdote. Long ago, somewhere in 2012-2014, someone started a theme on a forum. He asked how the hell does one write net code for heroes and he had no idea where to start. Several years later this guy released online lobby for SoD and HotA.

1

u/G_-_M_O_N_E_Y_ 1d ago

That man deserves a medal and a blowjob

4

u/SrTrogo 3d ago

I woukd say that something similar to AoE2, which was forgotten by Microsoft and mantained by fans, until they rediscovered it in 2013.

HotA is in that scenario where loving fans are maintaining it.

1

u/G_-_M_O_N_E_Y_ 1d ago

How is something rediscovered? Like there is a chance we rediscover the Heroes 3 stuff and it gets a lot easier for them?

2

u/SrTrogo 1d ago edited 1d ago

Microsoft saw that the fan mod was popular. Investigated and discovered there was a wide community still playing AoE2 (which they couldn't track, as many of those games were on lan or lan simulators) .

They talked with the fan mod team and hired them to relaunch the game (AoE2 2013). After the success and some dlcs/balance patches, they fully commited to the saga. AoE 1 Definitive edition was launched as a test. After learning from the mistakes, they did the same with AoE2, AoE3, they released AoE4 and recently they launched Age of Mythology Retold.

And that is how you rediscover your game xD

3

u/Jokerferrum 3d ago

Idk. But WoG is exist too.