HotA 1.8.1 is a large maintenance release. It fixes many bugs, especially in online play, the event system and random map generation. It also adjusts several heroes and objects, adds new Snow terrain graphics, and extends the map editor. The Bulwark campaign is not included yet and is expected in future updates.
Important information
- The in-game tutorial has been updated and no longer requires the printed manual from the installation folder. Some scenarios were edited as well.
- Some of the critical fixes below were already delivered earlier through HD Mod updates.
- The Bulwark campaign is not part of this update. It is expected in future updates.
New content
- Five new maps: The Cursed Legions, Noble Nemesis, Paradise of the Mind, Taming of the Shrew and Help!
- Two new templates: Conquest and Sapphire.
- A new set of Ice Formations for Snow terrain, with matching Crystal, Gold and Abandoned Mines. Ice Blocks were renamed and redrawn to match, and the oversaturation of Glaciers and their mines was fixed.
Gameplay and balance
- Fair cost rises from 1000 gold and 5 wood to 2000 gold and 10 wood.
- War Mammoths: Fight Value and AI Value go from 1601 to 1672, and a standard Pandora's Box now holds 12 instead of 15.
- Dalton's specialty is weaker. The bonus per hero level is halved from 10% to 5%, and it is still divided by the target's level.
- Ergon's specialty improves: the extra movement penalty reduction goes from 5% to 10%, so he crosses terrain with a minor penalty as if on a dirt road.
- Glacius (starting skill Learning) can no longer be picked on three templates: 2sm2c(2), Skirmish(M) and Nine-day Wonder.
- Online play now treats gosolo as a cheat code and disables it.
- The nwcneo cheat accepts a number of levels, for example "nwcneo 20".
- Random maps can now hold up to 10000 events and Pandora's Boxes.
Map editor and random maps
- The Ocean Bottles/Signs limit rises from 128 to 255.
- The old limits of 500 local events and 500 Pandora's Boxes are gone. The combined maximum is now 20000.
- Seer's Huts can be named. Seer's Huts, Quest Guards and Quest Gates can have custom text for time expiration.
- Mouse wheel scrolling now affects whichever area the cursor is over, the map or the object list.
- Fixed crashes during text import and during map verification (town shipyards near map edges). Map verification now accounts for event system errors.
- Banned buildings and those inherited from them were all grayed out in the town interface. This was fixed.
- Fixes for the Resource Silo and Vault of Ashes in the build tree, and for the Shaman's Puppet description.
- Event system editor: improved dialogs on 1366x768 screens, focus moves to newly created elements, drag-and-drop fixes, and the "OR" condition image display was reworked.
- Event system editor: "Hero Ownership" was split into "Hero's Affiliation" and "Current Hero". Random monsters are now supported in the "Monster defeated" condition. Fixes were made to the "If - Then - Else" conversion and to the "Cancel event" action.
- Default event text is no longer saved and exported in extended events.
- Random maps: water zones are no longer often generated empty, and objects with custom settings, such as Pandora's Boxes with set experience, now appear when a template specifies them.
- Campaign editor: fixed special buildings and hordes being removed from bonuses on map update, and added missing level 1 Inferno and Conflux hordes and the Bulwark Spirits of the Forebears.
- Template editor: Haugir and Biarma were added to the default hero availability list.
Event system
- Fixes to silent events, drag behavior, random number generation in neutral town events, and the Learning skill granted by actions.
- Variables and expressions are now limited to the range of -2 billion to 2 billion. Loops restore the counter variable afterward.
- Quest Gates no longer let heroes through without a visit when that would reset quest progress. Extended events now set the Gate's first hint correctly.
- Creature rewards that don't fit in a hero's army now show a single joining dialog with all 7 creatures. Granting creatures to a garrison with a hero present was fixed.
- Crash fixes for defeating a specific hero by neutrals, deleting events with Quest Guards, and visiting an empty Quest Guard.
- Other fixes: the AI now accounts for artifact value, log entries reset when quest stages complete, and primary skill images were corrected.
Bug fixes: HotA
- Biarma's English specialty is now First Aid instead of Archery. Biarma and Haugir are no longer both available by default.
- Runes bonuses now reset when a stack dies, so they can't exceed the maximum after resurrection.
- Online desyncs fixed for the Altar of the Runes construction status and for Lightning Rod damage against an inactive player who built the Grail building that day.
- The Lean-To's visited status now shows the viewing player's state during the opponent's turn.
- Performance problems, most noticeable on the combat screen, were fixed.
- Kobolds in mines and garrisons no longer bring gold to all players.
- Angelic Alliance no longer lowers morale when Bulwark creatures are mixed with good or neutral factions.
- Wights and Wraiths with more than 50 maximum HP now heal fully under First Aid.
- Fixes for removing or taking artifacts and scrolls, and for wrong primary skill values from Pandora's Boxes when a hero wears bonus artifacts.
- AI looping with the Mana Vortex was fixed.
- Fixed a Seafaring Academy crash when too many skills were disabled with Runes and Necromancy on. Banned faction skills are now enabled in that case.
- On SoD maps, banning the Shipyard in a random town no longer bans the Factory's Mana Generator.
- Campaign fixes: creatures are transferred correctly between scenarios, building prerequisites are built properly via bonuses and events, and Bulwark heroes are banned in Forged in Fire and some All In missions.
Bug fixes: SoD
- The AI values Teleport better. Previously it could teleport a stack that then couldn't attack its target, most noticeably with Jotunn Warlords. It also now accounts for Quicksand not interrupting a move.
- Cyclopes can no longer attack castle walls once out of shots.
- AI vs AI battles now trigger checks for "defeat a hero" and "defeat a monster" quests.
- Campaign fixes: the difficulty level no longer resets when the same region is reselected, buildings from bonuses come with their prerequisites, and starting hero bonuses no longer cause crashes or wrong player flags on the region map.
- Resources and income are no longer shown in the cheat menu for neutral towns.
Graphics and interface
- Fixed the Castle's Stables overlapping the Resource Silo, and background noise in the Castle's Training Grounds flags and its Village Hall, Town Hall, City Hall and Capitol animations.
- Fixed outline and hover areas for the Conflux Fort and Resource Silo stages and the Upg. Mountain Embassy.
- Fixes for the Bulwark puzzle map, Factory siege screen, and the Teal player's adventure map frame corners.
- Creature fixes: Mountain Rams, Argali, Yeti, and the Jotunn's palette and horn-drinking animation. The Runes animation is no longer mirrored in combat.
- Portrait and icon fixes for the Satyr, Leprechaun, Sharpshooter, Wyvern Monarch, Azure Dragon, Phoenix and Serpent Fly.
- Map level toggle icons are properly aligned, and spell icons in the HD Mod hero information window were fixed.
- Further fixes to maps, campaigns and texts.