For many of us Disciples became the strongest, perhaps the best antidepressant. This, of course, is a shameful escape from reality, but it is difficult to come up with the best way to get away from the autumn spleen: you start Disciples 2 and meditatively move the heroes on the map. The process is so delaying that after some time the respondent guaranteed to forget about his own problems. How Fedor Chistyakov sings in such cases, and sadness will retreat, and longing will pass.
Unfortunately, this fall the antidepressant is clearly delayed. The development of a third part of a healing strategy has turned into a long -term long -building. Taking advantage of the official position, the individual employees of “Gambling” literally broke into a closed, equivalent to secret tests of the beta test nuclear bomb and were saved there from inevitably impending autumn.
Red on black
Fascinating, almost hypnotic gameplay is a characteristic property of all good step -by -step strategies working on mechanics Heroes of Might and Magic And King’s Bounty (and Disciples – their direct relative). But Disciples always had a number of unique features that sharply highlighted the game on the general "heroic" background. The basis is standard: we hired the hero in the castle, equipped him with an army and released him on a global map, where he captured cities, plunged the lands of oncoming heroes and developed. For hiring and upgrade of troops in the family castle, various buildings were built. There was a simple diplomacy that allowed alliances to conclude and trade with allies.
But at the same time, Disciples, perhaps, got the closest to the RPG genre. It’s not even the presence of the hero’s parameters, a full -fledged “doll” of the character and inventory with potions – all this was also with competitors. The fact is that Disciples is arranged in such a way that you simply have to go through the card with one hero, download it, cherish and cure it. You can hire other leaders (divided into classes), but they, as a rule, play the role of cannon fodder, designed to loosen enemies before your main Uberger will be launched on them. It, along with the whole belonging of a belonging, we carefully transfer the mission to the mission.
Thinking in Disciples was necessary first of all about pumping. About what ability to endow the hero when obtaining a new level or by whom, for example, will be an elven centaur-a centual-cop who is causing huge damage, but does not have protection, or a quentant-roller who has a weaker, but the skin is thicker. Each (!) Unit there are two alternative development branches (sometimes the most opposite). Getting around the whole game between various options for pumping, the player periodically felt like a famous monkey from a joke, which is both smart and beautiful.
It was easier with everything else. We built only buildings that allowed us to study spells, treat units, hire and improve troops: no markets, farms and other economic heresies. Resources were replenished automatically, but only if their source was on your land. Otherwise, he was to capture. Even the battles in Disciples 1-2 at first glance were as close as possible to a simple exchange of blows. Units could not move along the combat arena: they simply lined up in two rows and in turn pounded each other. All the tactics came down to putting forward close combat fighters, hid the archers and magicians behind their wide backs and to feed the troops as potions as much as possible with a variety of doping. In fact, in such a combat system there was also a place for a kind of tactic, but in general everything depended on the level of pumping fighters.
Another feature of the game is a huge role assigned to thieves. They ran by alone, without a detachment, often died, but they also brought a lot of benefits: the thieves were masters of sabotage, they could poison an entire city or group of enemies, call the opponent leader to the duel and even bring the confusion to the construction of the enemy detachment (the frightened archers found themselves right before ominously smiling infantrymen).
Finally, the Disciples series was perhaps the most beautiful and atmospheric step-by-step strategy: cold Gothic beauty, black and white tones, increased attention to thin, aspirated lines, oriental ligature of patterns.
Gothic against boredom
What Muscovites from the company are going to do with all this .Dat , We knew two and three years ago. First, the game will go to full 3D. Secondly, units will be allowed to move around the battlefield. Thirdly, in " Disciples 3: Renaissance »There will be even more role elements. But now, finally, we were able to at least partially evaluate all this without outsiders: “Akella” and .DAT started closed beta test.
With all the desire to not meet the “Renaissance” by clothing is impossible: not to look away from its beauty. Having secured technology support, the game has preserved the corporate identity and, it seems, even increased it. On the spot, branded dark red tones, a black and white palette in the plot rollers, the lines directed into the sky, the gloomy greatness of the Gothic architecture. At the same time, the game acquired in special effects: now the use of spells on the global map looks like local Armageddon, performed by bewitching, frightening beauty.
The plot, its presentation and the atmosphere in general – all this is also designed in traditional Gothic colors. Rise of Eves , The last addon to Disciples 2, ended that the elves led by the messenger of his god Gallean arranged a bloody bath to all other nations. The third part starts with the fact that the residents of which are recovering after the elven focuses, the messenger of another god, an angel of Inoel, around which the spring of a new intrigue is descending to the lands of the nonsense. To tell this story, .DAT will require three campaigns: for elves, empire and demons. Two other races (gnomes and undead) will appear in addons.
With the transition to 3D cards, of course, there were fewer events, enemies and cities on them also diminished, but the concentration of action increased. Throughout the mission, we were ambushed several times, received an unexpected invitation to meet with an inquisitor, forced to leave Iniel in a foreign city under guard, then chased after those who abducted her … And then they were wildly offended-that the beta version ended.
RPG against the strategy
The basis of the game remained untouched. We still wander around the global map, build barracks, stables, temples and libraries, hire and develop troops there: most buildings and units smoothly moved from the second part to the third (along with all alternative development branches).
But at the same time, the roll towards Heroes of Might and Magic became more noticeable. First of all, this applies to fights. The troops run around the battlefields, armed with the Active-Time Batts system well familiar in the "heroes": the arena is divided into hexes (10 to 14), the features of the landscape (relief, soil) affect tactics. Regarding such cardinal changes among fans of the series, terrible disputes flared up, but the beta version puts everything in its place. The battles in the dynamics really look tactically saturated. Largely due to the fact that points are scattered in the arena, which increase the power of the blow, magical attack or the striking power of the arrow. Accordingly, new tactical concerns appeared: how to take a certain area faster or not allow the enemy to do this. In addition, now you need to cover your units – in this case you can intercept the attack of the enemy and, consuming special covers, cut it ahead.
The new combat system, of course, demanded to reconfigure the balance. Heroes can take much more troops with them, and the units themselves significantly added to their health, the power of attacks, and also received a number of new parameters: https://space-wins-casino.co.uk/ these are covering glasses, and dexterity, and dexterity.
Another tribute to the “heroes” – the appearance on the map of points that temporarily increase the range, protection or attack, restore health, etc.D. Here, on the map, you can clean up small liles with resources.
Speaking of resources. Now their sources are not only golden or ore -bearing veins, but also farms, mills and other household structures. It is not necessary to build them, fortunately, it is still enough to capture the land on which they stand. But if earlier for this we used specially trained units with wands, now the hero does everything himself. And he leaves the guard to protect such a control point – a grandiose statue that painfully spits with magic and has a huge reserve of health. And now the enemy needs not only to destroy the defenseless rod, hooking his own in his place, but to stand in a battle with a huge Makhina. By the way, supporting spells can be applied to the guard, he also gets experience and levels. On the one hand, this added speakers, on the other hand – the game lost the last hints of strategy. After all, if earlier we hire special units with wands and the very process of their hooking cost a lot of money, now everything is free: know the arranged the statues of the statue-churiates.
In motion
On the other hand, all this fits into the framework of the conscious movement of the series to the plot RPG. Firstly, now the passage of each campaign is harshly attached to a specific hero, which by default goes from the mission to the mission. In people, this is a knight Lambert, in the damned legions – a demon Haarkhus, for elves – commander Erion. We can still hire other leaders, equip them with the army, but now the authors directly say that it makes sense to do this only for the protection of cities and control points near the source of resources. Secondly, both the protagonist and the rest of the leaders now have Diablo Daimeters: strength, dexterity, intelligence, endurance-upon obtaining a new level, they can be developed at their discretion. Thirdly, we were given the opportunity to completely equip the leaders: a complete set of weapons and armor appeared in the shops, which can be changed on the “doll” of the character arbitrarily.
Finally expanded the perk system. Each leader is allocated for seven dozen (!) skills that are strictly divided into active and passive. The latter are united for all, they increase various indicators, including attack power, protection against various types of magic, etc.D. Gradually studying them, we seem to pave the way to active skills that are unique to each class. The leader-mage can call the assistant-lumpman directly on the battlefield, the leader-ray-to poison his arrows, and the leader-leader-repel the enemy. Rumors that the development of heroes will be quite free and we will be able to train a warrior, for example, throw fireballs, have not been confirmed.
By the way, thieves have lost their significance. In the third part, they can walk with a detachment, but initially they do not know how to love them so loved by Disciples 1-2. Diversion techniques need to be studied like the rest of the perks, while they are hidden at the very end of the branchy tree of skills. Given that we are mainly developing the protagonist, the chances of the fact that during one mission the thief will have time to learn his branded tricks, strive for zero. On the other hand, a thief, like the rest of the leaders hired during the completion of one task, can be called under their banners as follows: a special tab “Veterans” appeared on the city menu, where all the heroes from past missions are presented. But even in this case, you have to go with the thief of more than one or two tasks before he fully expands his sabotage activity. In fact, there is logic in this: after all, before thieves' receptions were almost legalized cheats that allowed to cope with almost any enemy.
But cut off from the final release of diplomacy is really a pity. She, like multiplayer, promises to add to the addons.
* * *
As for the main question-when the beta version will turn into the final-producer Disciples 3, Alexei Ilyin, the following answered the following: “The decision on this will be made according to the results of a closed beta test”. But even three missions were enough to understand: in a stopped form, without diplomacy and multiplayer, this game will still brazenly tear us out of reality. It remains only to wait.
We will wait? The third part of the cult strategic series finally reaches the finish line. On the way, she lost something, acquired something, but did not lose the main thing-the branded Gothic atmosphere and hellish fascination.
Percentage of readiness: 70%