Notes:
You can click on ANY picture to enlarge!
Pictures are from different beta versions so differences in interface and textures many be observed.
Some shots are pure eye candy shots where the interface is deliberately hidden so do not fear that there is none.
I've had to split my posts due to a images per post limit on this forum which unfortunately doesn't differentiate between big pictures and tiny heavily compressed pictures.
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Hi guys..

That’s right the release of Heroes of Might & Magic 5 is getting closer & closer, and the Demo has just been released to the public!

http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...oolThumb01.jpg.http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...oolThumb02.jpg.http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...oolThumb03.jpg.http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...oolThumb04.jpg

I’ve have been a Heroes fan since 1996 when as a teenager I accidentally stumbled across a demo of Heroes 1 on PC Gamer CD and instantly fell in love with it! The idea ruling over beautiful castles (While developing them up), launching heroes out (that could level up & collect artifacts RPG style), control large armies (of beautiful fantasy creatures from all your favorite books & movies), and explore a large world (of dwellings, monsters, and other rival castles) just blew me away & everyone else I showed it to.

Since then I’ve collected every game plus its add-ons in the series. I enjoy playing many genres of games, First Person, RPGs, RT Strategy, & TB Strategy and have many favorites over the years but Heroes takes the crown. Never has a series of games caused so many sleepless nights with the old ‘just one more turn..’ mentality LOL!

For those of you who don’t know the unfortunate tail I’ll say it really briefly here. In 2001/2 when the rushed out Heroes 4 & its addons were released 3DO fell bankrupt taking Heroes creators New World Computing with them and it looked like all was over for the Heroes series. But then European company UbiSoft bought the Heroes name and in 2003 a Nival project leader made an unofficial announcement in a popular Heroes fan forum that work had begun on Heroes 5.

Since then Ubisoft/Nival have been pumping out all sorts of juicy hints & FAQs, and then finally pictures and game play video’s over the last year so I thought I’d drop by some of the forums that I browse to show how good the game is looking now!

The game’s 3D engine is looking gorgeous and creates some amazing game environments for your heroes to walk, collect treasure, & fight in:

In the Haven Faction grasslands
The Human heroes ride on armored horseback while trees & flowers & crops sway in the wind, and sun light pours through the trees. In the castle screen the castle glows with holy light surrounded by reflective rippling water.
http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...manThumb01.jpg.http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...manThumb02.jpg.http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...manThumb03.jpg.http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...manThumb04.jpg

In the Inferno Faction volcanoes
The Demon heroes run through massive deep lava pits & flowing lava rivers, while steam & fire spews out through giant cracks. In the castle screen the fortress burns and flaming lava chunks fall from the sky leaving smoke trails in the air!
http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...vilThumb01.jpg.http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...vilThumb02.jpg.http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...vilThumb03.jpg.http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...vilThumb04.jpg

Continued in next post...

In the Undead Faction swamps
The Necromancer heroes ride their undead horse surrounded in the darkness of a foggy night while green gasses flow & seep out of deep pits. In the castle screen the black towers have an eerie green glow (LOTR Mordor dead city style).
http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...eadThumb01.jpg.http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...eadThumb02.jpg.http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...eadThumb03.jpg.http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...eadThumb04.jpg

In the Sylvan Faction forests
The Elven heroes ride unicorns through giant trees towering up into the sky, while rivers & waterfalls flow around them. The castles are built in & out of giant trees that drop their leaves gently down into a beautiful reflective lake.
http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...ElfThumb01.jpg.http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...ElfThumb02.jpg.http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...ElfThumb03.jpg.http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...ElfThumb04.jpg

In the Dungeon Faction underworld
The Dark Elven heroes ride giant lizards in a hidden world that exists under the regular map surface containing many tunnels with castles & dwellings & underground rivers lit up in various beautiful colors by the surrounding monsters, crystals & treasure in the caves.
http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...eonThumb01.jpg.http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...eonThumb02.jpg.http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...eonThumb03.jpg.http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...eonThumb04.jpg

Continued in next post...

In the Academy Faction deserts
The Wizard heroes ride war elephants through giant canyons stretching between rolling sandy hills while their castles magically float in the sky above resting in the clouds and glowing sunlight.
http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...ardThumb01.jpg.http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...ardThumb02.jpg.http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...ardThumb03.jpg.http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...ardThumb04.jpg

Combat Screen
The new Battle screen is fast and action paced on a square grid (not hex anymore), spells are cast in beautiful detail, and Heroes 3 fans will be pleased to know that Ballistas/Aid tents/Ammo carts/Catapults are all back (were gone in Heroes 4).
http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...tleThumb01.jpg.http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...tleThumb02.jpg.http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...tleThumb03.jpg.http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...tleThumb04.jpg

Videos
At E3 2005 we were blown away with an amazing FMV showing a demon attack on a human castle showing Devils, Archangels, Ghost Dragons, and a powerful human hero. Here are some snapshots I’ve taken from the video:
http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...lerThumb01.jpg..http://users.esc.net.au/~blake00/Her...lerThumb02.jpg

Link to the video itself:
ftp://ftp.ubi.com/emea/homm5/videos/HOMM5...railer_EMEA.zip

Afterwoods a series of informative gameplay videos were released which you can get from here:
Town-
ftp://ftp.ubi.com/emea/homm5/videos/HV_E3_demo_1.wmv
Adventure-
ftp://ftp.ubi.com/emea/homm5/videos/HV_E3_demo_2.wmv
Battle-
ftp://ftp.ubi.com/emea/homm5/videos/HV_E3_demo_3.wmv

Links
One of the biggest Heroes series fan sites is Celestial Heavens and they have collected many Heroes 5 pictures which you can check out here:
http://www.celestialheavens.com/viewpage.php?id=417

For those of you familiar with Heroes of Might & Magic there is also a good review of the gameplay features posted at Celestial Heavens too:
http://www.celestialheavens.com/viewpage.php?id=511

THE DEMO!
The much anticipated Heroes of Might & Magic 5 demo (700MB) which contains:
- Two maps from the Haven and Inferno campaigns
- One custom single-player map: "843 YSD: Falcon’s last flight"
- Duel Mode: 6 heroes out of 18 are available for selection in this brand new online mode

Easiest if you’ve got a download manager-
UBISoft FTP

Alternative locations-
3DGamers
Worthplaying
Filefront
Gamershell
Gamespot
Boomtown
Gamedaily
Xfire
Espace.ch

Uhm yeah, I tested the Beta a while ago and it was utter crap, I really expected more.

The graphics engine is really sloppy and in no way adjustable yet.

The sound was so much of a pain in my ears I had to disable it.

The multiplayer function, which is so far the only function in the game, is so bad coded, that it takes hours to find someone to play with and to find someone who doesn't actually disconnect after some time (due to the engine).

The AI is disabled, so you can't just make a quick testplay to test the game, no, you have to wait hours for someone to play with. And then you have to wait hours for him to make his turn.

Overall, this is one of the crappiest demos I've ever played. Don't get me wrong here, I love HoMM and I can't wait for the final release, but this is really just crap.

And just for the note, since the HoMM fan-community was equally turned off by the demo and boycotted the release, Ubisoft delayed the release, so I don't think it's as "here" as you think.

http://www.saveheroes.org/

Oooooh, a big advert! Downloading the demo as I type this, but if I'd seen this first it might've put me off - how much are they paying you for this?

Well do give us a report when you try out the demo, I can't download 700MB...

Took me 4 minutes to extract it - crikey! Will get back to you once I've played it :)

It isn't really worth the download anyway.

Edit:
If anyone's reading this, ignore it, I mean the Beta, not the Demo.

Damn, sounds bad, very bad...

Just read my first post here. I have really big expectations for the final version, but the Beta/Demo is just one big disappointment.

Edit:
And again, I only mean the Beta, not the Demo, didn't know there was a difference, really sorry about that.