Hi lord haart,
Thanks for the suggestions. The enhancements would make perfect sense in the original H3. However, if we do implement them, we’ll have to also put in place code for the WoG Living Scrolls, because the player may want to keep those spells in the active artifact slots also after learning the spell. 
**108 **(NEW) - If we highlight the opponent’s creature in battle screen, the hexes could be shaded for the oponnent’s creature not ours. it works this way in newer versions of heroes and is pretty informative. In H3 I have from time to time count the hexes to know if meelee unit could attack me after turn or not.
**109 **(NEW) - Add secondary skills scrolling buttons and make it work.
I attached a file with positions, two defs for scroll buttons (up and down), and a screenshoot (or rather modified graphics) how it would look. It should scroll one page at once. In era it’s implemented via script (the script scan for buttons during mouseclick and if found it scrolls skills a page) but there’s no problem to make it hardcoded in VCMI and add the two pretty defs to the package
EDIT: the secskills.btn file is text file it contains button names, positions, handle numbers and a few less important stuff. I attached it with the other files for you to not make you pixel-search for position of those.
secskills.zip (204 KB)
In ERA 2 is not working, the buttons crash in various situations.
As for my wishes as player, I would love to see in VCMI all wog scripts which simplify redundant tasks, as buy all, view quantity of creatures in dwellings, rename towns and heroes, scroll additional skills, view movement points, no creature spawns, no plague.
I am rather against stack queue because it removes big part of the checks and calculations we love so much in complex battles. I also disliked the improved pathfinding because, as I saw it, it removes the possibility to hide paths for mapmakers. Did not test it so I just speak about the screens I saw, maybe I am wrong.
Mouse scroll is nice, but IMHO is just cosmetic. What we need is open spots for new ID’s, mines, resources, creatures and towns. Heroes III is very good game and has good game-play. What it misses badly is modding openings, how to add this and that and make it functional, not just work around with clumsy scripts as WoG does.
The WoG scripts, as well as open spots for various elements, will definitely come - that’s the main purpose of this project. We just don’t see much of that yet I guess, because the first target is recreating H3. Once that is done, but with an open source end product, the limitation WoG coders had to face will not be a problem anymore.
As for stack queue & enhanced pathfinder, those are features asked (and coded) from the pov of the player, with the purpose of further reducing what some may consider micromanagement. Personally I don’t make much use of the stack queue, but I’m happy with the enhanced pathfinder. But I’m not a map maker to realize what the disadvantages can be. So it’s great you raised it. In that case, I think the enhanced pathfinder should be optional (just like stack queue), not mandatory. Maybe even code it as such that the map maker would be able to set for the map whether the player should be allowed to benefit from it or not.
@Valery19
pathfinder doesn’t detect paths which come through visitable objects
(I mean the situation when you need to enter object and exit it from another side)
so mapmaker could place invisible visitable objects on the hidden path… but it still leaves the problem of visit-cursor… it can be additional feature for VCMI that in future mapmaker there could be some editable extra properties for the fields on adventure map (so “show blocked” for walkable or visitable tiles, “show walkable” for non-walkable tiles, “ommit in pathfinder”, “high priority in pathfinder” and some more special ones)
I’m asking about WOG feature.
Werewolves in WOG had ability to turn enemy stack to werewolves.
Do VCMI have this type of ability now (have not found it in help), or it will be implemente later?
I mean something like
“type”: “LYCANTROPY”,
“val” : 10, //possibility to convert enemy stack after attack
"subtype" : “creature.zombie”, //creature to convert to"
“additional info”: 50 //hit points of enemy stack needed to make 1 zombie
I believe werewolves aren’t supported yet, but should be implemented in one of the next releases. Normally most (if not all) WoG 3.58f features should be gradually implemented before the 1.0 release.
On a separate note, here’s an OVERVIEW OF NO-HARM REQUESTED FEATURES (post under construction):
IMPLEMENTED:
5 - Visiting hero can meet garrisoned hero, by using the Split button in town screen.
7 - New hotkeys:
CTRL+T for Trading Post / Marketplace, from any game screen but Battle, if player owns at least one town with Marketplace
T in Town Screen opens Tavern; if Tavern is open, T opens Thieves’ Guild
G opens Thieves’ Guild from any game screen but Battle, if player owns at least one town with Tavern
19 - Numpad 5 centers map on selected hero (all other Numpad keys move the hero in the 8 directions as in H3)
39 - Restart Scenario from Adventure Map. Hotkey CTRL+R.
45 - Multiple AutoSaves & NewGameSaves (currently 5 of each). Like this we can go a few days back if we end up in a situation of no return, where nothing can be fixed with the last AutoSave. Unlike H3, games also AutoSave in the beginning of the turn, to save time/resources and avoid the exploit of loading and AutoSave over and over again, hoping the enemy would make a different move.
49 - Arrow keys to move sliders: in creature recruit/split windows, marketplace, etc. Also implemented for mouse wheel, albeit that, together with the up/down arrows, currently feel counter-intuitive to me and may need to be reversed - see #1277
Suggestions from other threads or MantisBT implemented:
VCMI Cheat Codes:
→vcmiistari - gives all spells and 999 mana to currently selected hero
→vcmiainur - gives 5 Archangels to every empty slot of currently selected hero
→vcmiangband - gives 10 black knight into each slot
→vcmiarmenelos - build all buildings in currently selected town
→vcminoldor - all war machines
→vcminahar - 1000000 movement points
→vcmiformenos - give resources (100 wood, ore and rare resources and 20000 gold)
→vcmieagles - reveals FoW
→vcmiglorfindel - advances currently selected hero to the next level
→vcmisilmaril - player wins
→vcmimelkor - player loses
→vcmiforgeofnoldorking - hero gets all artifacts except spell book, spell scrolls and war machines
By the way, I just made faction and found, that VCMI acts same as H3 - so when in faction there are undead and living creatures, their morale falls by 1 point.
It’s will be good, if this is corrected (units of one faction will not loose moral of undeads).
This will be good for Forge, for example.
Inferno Castle Gating Didn’t work for me. Unsure if it is a bug or it has not yet been implemented but should be looked at. You don’t want to forget about features that the original game had.
Looks like a bug. Thanks for report, will fix this one.
UPD: fixed 
HD mod has better layout for it, but depends on how you re-design Heroes screen.
The only thing I added as extra to HD mod was the backpack and switch it. Some large maps are a hell when your backpack has 60 artifacts and need to scroll one by one. Of course VCMI should have it IMO, such buttons save a lot of time in a long game.
This one is a must. Everyone is playing with these improvements since years.
An addition to this, a better backpack manager is needed. Even with the latest additions in HD mod, backpack sorting is still clunky. I propose to use 2 rows for backpack for resolutions that allow that.
Also another addition is HD mod is: “exit this screen by selecting the clicked hero”. Very useful!
Another nice addition would be Equipped Artifact Sets. At the end of the day you change your artifacts quite often (to get some more movement, mana, fly, hide your stats from opponent). So this is how this functions: You equip your hero with wanted artifacts, press a button (a small 1) and current configuration is saved. You equip your hero with other artifacts press another button (a small 2) and this configuration is saved under that button. Now when you press first button (small 1) your hero gets equipped with 1’st combination, when you press 2’nd button (small 2) with second.
Was just thinking… when you have a lot of heroes the only way to select them is via the right hand bar. Allow direct hero selection on map if a certain key is pressed! this way you do not need to right click hero on adventure map to see who that is and then go to righthand bar and click on the portrait of that hero.
These buttons are very comfortable in the course of the game. Any for a quick or long, with a person or a computer. Anyone who used to play with them, without them is not able to play comfortably
IDK if this is the right place to put this but the AI in my game is not buying creatures from the towns and instead buying a crap ton of heroes to get troops instead. Also not upgrading towns at all.
I have some questions about Stone and Obsidian Gargoyles. According this site: heroes.thelazy.net/wiki/Non-living
*Stone and Obsidian Gargoyles are also considered non-living, but they are still affected by morale and mind spells. What that means in practice is that they are not affected by Vampire Lords life drain and cannot be resurrected. *
In vcmi config we have for these creatures only “type” : “NON_LIVING” ability, so they act like other non-living creatures f.e. elementals. It is a bug, TODO thing or am I wrong and all works correctly?
Is there somewhere more adequate summary about what is missing in VCMI than just object list, allowing potential players to judge would they e.g. rather play VCMI than regular SOD, losing X, but gaining e.g. new towns?
Putting stability, WOG and campaigns aside, the only element that is missing are adventure spells, and from gameplay perspective AI is still experimental, both adventure and battle? How playable is VCIM? Few minor, but acceptable elements lacking, or still just a toy for modders that will be ready for wide audience in undetermined future?
Functionality to add portals that make you choose which city in your control to return to
make overall game faster like speedhack mode.
PS! fix engine hickups when starting hero movment.
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