Not sure how to make the town or what editors to use, already have the concept and images and i dont need to create any units or images, just need to know how to actually create the town.
If anyone who has made one of the dozen custom towns ive seen (cove, fairy, abyss, gods… etc) can point me in the direction of how to make the town into the game would be helpful (spent a couple days looking and i haven’t found how to make a town into the game, or find a town editor.
So any help/advice on doing that would be appreciated.
The easiest way to learn how to add a new town in VCMI is dowloading existing new town and view and studying all files in it. You must have: notepad++ to view json files, defViewer to view def files and any graphic software to view bmp and pcx files. But it’s better to start to learn how mods work at small mods, like Mountain Dwarf mod. You can make it, we can help you 
I propose to add more RPG-like features to artfacts modding.
Such is entry “requirements” in artifact configuration.
This field is voluntary, if not exists, than artifact use is non-limited.
If requirements are set, artifact will not be allowed to placed in “slots” places (maybe it also be drawn with some half-transparent red box on it).
Example of full “requirements” setting:
"requirements":
{
"alignment":"evil"], //can be "evil","good","neutral",
"affinity":"might"], //can be "might","magic"
"class":"deathKnight"], //list of classes that can use artifact
"gender":"male"], //list of genders "male","female", "neither","both":-) joking
"primarySkills":
{
"defence":5, //if hero's defence <5, than he/she cannot use artifact
"attack":8,
"knowledge":7,
"spellPower":5
},
"secondarySkills": //skill and level of it required to use item
{
"skill":"armorer",
"level":"advanced"
}
],
"heroLevel":10, //level of hero to use art
"experience":10000 //qulity of experience gained required
}Each field is voluntary, of cause
What do you think of it?
The pair of days will suffice 
Monsters bank and google picture search will be enough.
Sounds quite good. It’s fresh idea for overpowered artifacts like Angel Wings. It will be no use to get rid of them from the map, but will be harder to use them. I like it.
I’m starting to search monster banks over the internet and try to gather 17 upgrade’able units and give them new town from Another Rampart mod. But, it’s not so easy and still, lots of missing graphics will be needed to polish it!
So this is about suggestions? Ideas? Well, i have more than enough of them 
Let’s start with the most simple one: Dwelling creature accumulation is generally a good idea. But please only as long as the dwelling is owned. Non-owned dwellings should not accumulate creatures.
Next: What about garrisons have a growth similar to free stacks? As long as they are not owned. This way garrisons could adapt to gameplay time.
Now to the more complicated things:
Contrained artifacts. That is, givving artifacts some bonus only if some constraints are met. This might be only for some faction, or only if hero has some skill, or only to stacks with certain flags (or having certain flags not set), and one of the most interesting ideas: Artifacts that give a bonus during battle, but vanish after battle.
The idea behind the last: Think of Factory or Cimmeria. These stacks are meant to be really powerful. But then this would lack any balance. Give them an artiface, let’s say a “nuclear power battery”, and they will be really powerful. But after battle the pattery is used up. Also this artifact is limited to mechanical stacks only. Just an idea
Next two ideas are related. I already did some scripting for WoG to give some extra bonus depending on skill combinations. Like combo artifacts, which give extra bonus, but this time for skills. Here especially those skills could be used that are normally not worth getting them.
What about tactics? Limited usefulness. But combine it with pathfinding to add additional battlefield speed. Or with offense to add AT, or with armorer to add DF. Or with learning to get more exp after battle.
These skill combinations could be summed up into some kind of extended hero class. Or the extra bonus might even be tied to that extended class. Possibilities are nearly unlimited.
Just some ideas to make game more interesting, to add variety and possibilities.
It can be partially available. VCMI has some (new) limiters:
Exposed limiters:
CREATURE_NATIVE_TERRAIN - predefined, works if creature is on its native terrain
CREATURE_FACTION_LIMITER - customizable, creature is from specified faction
CREATURE_ALIGNMENT_LIMITER - customizable, creature is from specified alignment
CREATURE_TERRAIN_LIMITER - customizable, creature is on specified terrain, if not specified then works like CREATURE_NATIVE_TERRAIN
So you can set bonuses to given artifact that work diffirent on diffirent terrain or faction for example.
Most vcmi town are unbalanced (mostly overpowered) because now hard to test and make some better stats. When multiplayer will be better and more popular maybe there wil be discussion about updating mods with better numbers.
Not possible at this moment, but do you know you can write completelly new secondary skills now?
You can also alter existing secondary skills. But I like the idea of combining one SSkil with another to create fresh new SSkill.
Hmmm, combioning SSkills to get a new SSkill? Interesing idea. I only thought of giving extra bonus if skill combination work.
Well, then, these new skills might be interesting, if they cannot be given automatically like other skills, but only if some prerequisites match (f.ex. having both (or more) prerequisite SSkills). And they should only be upgradable to the minimum of the prerequisite skills.
Another idea might be to limit some extra SSkills to some faction and/or hero class (or even hero). Or extra SSkills that can not be obtained in any way except be seers huts (or similar) after completing a subquest. And then obviously only once per map and seer.
Generally i like the idea of adding more diversity, more options. Not primarily for battle but for long-term strategy and RPG-like hero development. Plus adding personality and story to a hero.
I just rediscovered VCMI and i like it a lot but i have been playing h3 hota with cheat engine speedhack x2 that basically makes it run 2x fps and its really really smooth.
im wondering is it possible to make a mod out of it and add it to VCMI?
Big thanks to anyone who answers 
Just find settings.json file, open it in any text editor and manually change speed.
its not the same as using CE speedhack… cause it makes all the game move faster. menu opens faster smoother, you open up castle faster smoother, trees move alot smoother, heroes and untis all move smoother and so on and on… its not about the regular settings of the game.
Guys, i’ve read a good tutorial how to change monsters in game. But now i dont know where is possible to get 3d models. Is it necessery to have 3d model or there is another way? I wish to join modmakers comunity. help me understand how to do it.
Most assets in vcmi mods are ripped graphics from other games. There are some graphics from 3D models - they were made mostly in Blender software. There are many tutorials how to make 3d graphics in Blender at youtube. After learning basics you must contact somehow with @fiorin or @Andruids or @By003 but first steps are watching blender tutorials.
Or first you can use ready-to-use creatures from other mods or ERA mods or creature banks like this: Bank Stworów - In The Wake of Gods - Komnaty Kwasowej Groty
Many creature models in Bank Stworów are not suit for HoMM3 style, and it is hard to find suitable ones which are not used in any other mods. A large number of models in this bank are used in ERA mods or some other VCMI mods, so I prefer to making new models, even if it will take me long time.
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Thanks you. I will try!
Ben Yan Hello man. I really so glad you appeared in forum. I’m your fan. I love your cathedral. It is the best town for me not among only mod town i mean better then Castle, Rampart and rest. Idk why Hota team refused idea to add this town. Actually Cathedral is the main reason why i decided to test VCMI. But i want to change 2 monsters. I replaced coatles to werewolves and i want to find some model instead dogs lvl 1.
If you have some other sprites you tested on lvl 1 creatures, can you share it please?
I think these guys with bats is very good for 1lvl for Cathedral. Maybe you have def files or model?
It is just for me. i dont want to steal your mod or tell you that you’ve made something wrong. Your work is great! I just wanna try to do something for myself. And i would like to create my own city. I want to use your dwarf castle and make elves castle from the start and somehow change rampart. I always dislaked that rampart has only 2 elf and 1 dwarf creature. It would be great to seperate such popular and imporatant fantasy races. This is my idea long time. But modding in heroes was always imposible for me till i found VCMI.
I learned how to replace units, change their characteristics, ability, sound, else. I agree with you most of sprites is not for HoMM3. But i dont know how to make sprites by myself. Can u give some advices about which soft i should use? Actually i’m 3d artist and i work in 3ds max so i could make the town models there. But this program is very bad for creating monsters, or people. So u use blender? I understand it is really long and hard work and i dont want to just waste a lot of time without any result. So i need to have some plan how to get succes.
By the way this is werewolf from wog and tides of war instead coatls) i dont want to take upgrade version from tides of war cause undead is really bad in this castle
And i dont even imagine how to make the same size for them like all default and upraded sprites in the game…
Basics: first you must learn how to browse and extract graphics from vanilla h3 as references.
In Data folder you can see two files: h3bitmap.lod and h3sprites.lod.
H3bitmap.lod contains bitmaps (.pcx .bmp)
H3sprites.lod contains graphics in .def format.
For browsing and extracting assets from .lod and .pac files - use MM Archive
For viewing and extracting bitmaps from .def files - use Def preview
For making new .def files - use Def Tool
All these tools you can dowlnoad from here: Heroes 3.5 In the Wake of Gods – Sergey "GrayFace" Rozhenko Homepage
After being familiar with them, come back here for further steps 
Thank you! Really 
i thought it is imposible to find somebody who would want help someone without any experience in modding HOMM3. I asked Hota team and their forum to give some advices, but they refused. I hope VCMI will continiue to improve.
Actually i’ve already got it. I know about def viwer and MM Archive. Didnt test Def Tool cause i have noone model now. I only replaced couatles to werewolves but i’ve made some aquaintance with mod construction and files.
Now i want plan how to create elven town. make a sketch. Looking for a background.
Also I found a lot of free 3d elf models. I think i should learn blender to fix them maximum as it possible for me to h3 style. Ben Yan is absolutley right about this. We should try to save h3 style.
I want to keep evle archer and pegas(only 2 elven creature in game) and take dryad from tides of war. maybe keep unicorns also. So i need to make 3-4 models. But i hope i’ll handle to fix some free models and save time. Then i would keep Rampart with another creatues. But i don’t know what to do further. How do you think : can i remake autumn Rampart and add new town in one mod or it is not possible?