来源：https://shoutout.wix.com/so/a6NQvD69S，以下由HeavenK翻译。

• Fanstratics Faction #2: Stoutbluds.
• 第二个阵营Stoutbluds介绍
• Our second faction may be a touch surprising to some. They are the Stoutbluds; a largely Dwarven faction, persisting within vast metropolitan civilizations, on and under wintery Alpine mountains. Long-lived and visionary, these noble craftsmen have a predisposition for runic artifacts and clockwork machinery. Anyone familiar with the ‘Tower’ from HoMM3, will find much in common with this wise, honorable, and enduring faction. Currently, the Troop representing them is the Hammersmith, which can be viewed in the Fanstratics Gallery.
• 介绍了游戏中的第二个阵营，Stoutbluds，这是一个矮人阵营，其成员是居住于寒冷山脉上的大型城市中的居民。这些长寿且远视的高贵工匠擅长制作符文神器与钟表机械。整体风格与英雄无敌3的塔楼城类似。其代表性兵种是Hammersmith铁锤工匠。

• What was the Market of Time, which was cut from HoMM3?
• 英雄无敌3中被删掉的时间市场是做什么的？
• Originally, the Market of Time was called ‘Brigadoon’. It would randomly appear after long periods of time, and for a Day, a Hero could purchase very high value artifacts and very cheap resources. It was ‘cut’ because it required new programming functionality, we were running out of development time, and I was worried players would ‘park’ a Hero at the destination and simply wait for the Market. Also, for the record, it was never a place where Heroes could unlearn Secondary Skills.
• 时间市场原本的名字是Brigadoon，作用是长时间间隔后随机一天会出现，当天英雄可以购买高价值的神器或是低价采购资源。删掉的原因主要是工期紧，没时间添加新功能，而且制作者担心玩家会扔一个英雄在刷新的地点一直守株待兔。顺便，时间市场最初并没有洗技能的功能，这个是后来mod加的。

• Why was the Fear Spell cut from HoMM3?
• 为什么英雄无敌3中删掉了恐惧法术？
• The Fear spell was ‘cut’ because it was little more than ‘bad morale’ in another form. Later, I thought it was better to convert the mechanic into the Fear ability for the Azure Dragon.
• 因为效果和士气低落差不多。不过后来这个效果加给了圣龙。

• What do you know about unused artifacts from the Shadow of Death: Diplomat’s Suit, Ironfist of the Ogre, and Mired in Neutrality?
• 死亡阴影中的三个未使用神器外交家制服、食人魔铁拳、恪守中立，是做什么的？
• By the time New World Computing (NWC) began work on Shadow of Death, I was long gone. So, I can`t speak to anything regarding the expansion.
• 开发死亡阴影时作者已离职，并不清楚具体情况。

• What happened to the Mac Port of HoMM3?
• 英雄无敌3的Mac版本发生了什么？
• Similar to Shadow of Death, I was long gone from NWC when these ports were undertaken. For instance, there was an attempt to port HoMM3 to Dreamcast. I didn`t know it existed until earlier this year. As to Ubisoft, I have never worked for them in any capacity, and they have never reached out to me for any reason. So, I can`t say why they do one thing and avoid another. I will say this... if they could make reasonable money from it... only office politics or incompetence would prevent it.
• 同样，当时作者已离职，不清楚情况。

• Do you happen to know the situation with the HD release? Is there any chance whatsoever that an HD version of the full Heroes III Complete might ever appear?
• 英雄无敌3高清版的情况？
• As to the HD release, Ubisoft claims to have lost the original source code for the Armageddon`s Blade expansion, hence the reason there is no HD version of Complete. This does puzzle me. If they let someone like myself, or David Mullich, rummage through their archives, we might be able to dig it up, but there`s no guarantee. Personally, I`d work something out with the guys who made VCMI, but as I just stated... if they could make reasonable money from it... only office politics or incompetence would prevent it.
• 作者也说不清，但是他觉得如果ubi让他们这些老人去翻翻或许能翻到当时的源代码。

• I’m curious about your COVID experience. My symptoms were few and only lasted a couple weeks, but I’ve had friends who stayed in bed for more than a month. Is your experience mild or severe?
• 作者的新冠经历。
• I know this is not game related, but it is relevant to the present day. So... On the day before my birthday, I fell ill with earaches and the inability swallow without intense pain. Initially, I suspected strep throat, as it was going around, but a quick five minute test, at a nearby clinic, produced a negative result. My doctor wanted me tested for COVID, and a couple days later, I took another quick test. Two days after, my COVID test came back positive. For the next five weeks, I took a handful of vitamins every eight hours, and lived on Aleve and Excedrin (not at the same time). I had almost every symptom: fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle aches, headaches, loss of taste, sore throat, lack of appetite, and brain fog. Of these symptoms, fatigue and lack of appetite were the worst. It created a vicious cycle; I’m tired and not hungry... which leads to be being even more tired with even further diminished appetite. It’s difficult to put into words, especially the oppressive weight of the fatigue. I had no energy for work, and when I did muster the strength for thirty to sixty minutes... I couldn’t focus. Browsing the web... watching a movie... quickly gave me splitting headaches. On the day Cyberpunk 2077 released, I made an effort to play, and after thirty minutes, I’d acquired a raging headache and queasiness. In the end, I spent most of my time... existing. I began to wonder if I had ‘Long COVID’, which is measured in months, not weeks. It was demoralizing, and if it wasn’t for family and friends, I’m not sure how I would have managed. Thankfully, on Day 1 of Week 6, I began to feel less miserable, and by Day 1 of Week 7, I was feeling relatively normal. Presently, I’m still working my way back, and experience bad days and good days.
• 略过，欧美疫情那情况咱都了解...

以下是之前说的访谈的第24到34个问答（共58个）。

• What was the conclusion of Seeds of Discontent, the secret campaign from The Restoration of Erathia? There’s a reference campaign in Archibald’s diary in the MM7 manual (perhaps my seed of discontent will grow in these ‘disputed lands’; that also implies that he was somehow involved in the events per his plans to stir up tensions between Erathia and AvLee), but other than that, the game doesn’t mention the events of Seeds of Discontent at all. It indirectly suggests -- in that the lands between Erathia and AvLee are still being disputed -- that the rebels failed to make the Contested Lands independent. Can you provide more details on the outcome of Seeds of Discontent? How was Archibald involved, if at all? What is the eventual fate of Faruk Welnin? Was Ryland severely reprimanded for basically going against AvLee?
• 关于埃拉西亚光复的隐藏战役不满的种子与魔法门7之间的剧情连贯性问题，简单说就是mm7中提到阿基巴德参与其中，但是不满的种子里没提到这点。
• The purpose of the Seeds of Discontent campaign, aside from being the ‘secret’ campaign, was to showcase the ‘upgrade a town’ victory condition. There was no planned ‘official’ story conclusion for the campaign. So, like many lore threads, we laid down enough story to satisfy the design requirements, then left the various elements to be possibly picked up by someone else at a later time. This occurred when the MM7 team decided to give Archibald an undefined ‘behind the scenes’ role in the Seeds of Discontent. So, yes, Archibald did play a role in the Contested Lands becoming independent. In my opinion, as to the conclusion of the Seeds of Discontent, upon making Welnin the Capital in the campaign, the Contested Lands became their own kingdom. Despite the rebels declaring independence, this does not mean Erathia and AvLee acknowledged this reality. It is one thing to declare independence. It is another to remain independent. As for Faruk Welnin and Ryland, their fates were left unresolved, again, to be possibly picked up by someone else at a later time.
• 原因还是当初不满的种子这个战役只是为了演示一下新的战役机制，即把升级城镇作为胜利条件，所以剧情并没有仔细设计。当然，根据作者本人的看法，阿基巴德肯定与这些地区的独立脱不了干系。另一方面，对于不满的种子战役的主角，他们的命运后面没有再提及。

• MM7 focuses on Harmondale – a town and castle in the Contested Lands that has been a key point of human-elven disputes since the Timber Wars, changing hands numerous times. The negotiations to divide Harmondale and other Contested Lands between Erathia and AvLee is a crucial plot point and choice in the game. Harmondale itself can become a small indepenent kingdom, or come under the control of either side. It is established in Armageddon’s Blade that Brandis Fairweather was chosen to be the Arbiter, thus making it clear that the Path of Light in MM7 is canon. Other than Gelu asking Judge Fairweather for advice, Harmondale is unrelated to AB’s plot – the Erathia-Eeofol war never reaches it, with Catherine holding the Kreegan off, and the lords of Harmondale were most likely in an expedition to other planets per MM7’s canonical ending. Thus, no clear indication is given about Harmondale’s political status. The campaign shows that at least some of the Contested Lands, like the Moss Valley near Eeofol’s border, belong to Erathia (which fits with all three outcomes, since the majority of the Contested Lands are divided between the two kingdoms anyway), but nothing is directly said about Harmondale. Lucifer calls Xenofex’s killers those heroes from Erathia, but that can easily be taken as him talking about the heroes place of origin, not their affiliation at the time. Was there a canonical outcome of the choice regarding Harmondale, or was it left entirely up in the air for players’ interpretation and potential further use of any option?
• 还是关于mm7的核心地区哈蒙代尔所有权的问题，以及该地区最后的所有权是走的mm7四种结局（独立、归埃拉西亚、归艾弗里、共管）中的哪一种。
• To my knowledge, there was no canonical outcome regarding Harmondale. This was strictly a MM7 thing, and I suspect, purposefully left open ended for player interpretation.
• 开放结局，取决于玩家。

• A small bit about Harmondale and Welnin. Two maps -- one of HoMM3 promotional images and a map from MM’s strategy guide – mark Welnin as a region, thus implying that the name is also used for the area around the town. In MM7 one of NPCs is mentioned as living in a small village in Welnin, just south of the city of Harmondale, and there’s Welnin Cathedral in Harmondale. Are the two towns located rather close to each another?
• 还是关于哈蒙代尔和维宁城。在h3战役里，维宁城是哈蒙代尔地区的首都，而在mm7里，维宁城与哈蒙代尔城是两个不同的城市。
• This is a tough one. I would reference the following maps.
  • World of Enroth (https://bit.ly/2Viv6oC)
  • Map of Antagarich (https://bit.ly/2AmbN4O)
  • Contested Lands (campaign) (https://bit.ly/2EVzPYa)
  The Map of Antagarich, the one with the Chinese characters, is essentially the map the MM7 team used when they started work on MM7. On this map, you can see within Erathia, three smaller regions colored redish-purple. These were The Contested Lands. Welnin was supposed to be a town, later converted into the capitol of The Contested Lands. When the campaign was created, there was no formal location for Welnin. The Contested Lands campaign map clearly shows it belongs in the upper region, but there is no specific spot indicated within this region. When MM7 was created, the MM7 team placed both Harmondale and Welnin for their own purposes. At this point in time, unless you can reach Paul Rattner or Tim Lang for contrary information, I would run with the World of Enroth map showing Harmondale and Welnin almost parallel to one another. As for the NPC from MM7, I would disregard the line of dialog. It feels like a continuity error to me.
• 这个还是当初制作者没有协调一致导致的情况。mm7最终的地图（就是那张中文地图）里标注出了埃拉西亚周围有三块不同颜色的小地区，那里就是争议地带，哈蒙代尔和维宁都属于争议地带，所以两者应该是平等的。

• MM 6-7 and HoMM3 have several mentions of Phynaxia, a nation that was part of Erathia, but later became independent, forming the Phynaxian Empire. Phynaxia was located to the south of what is now the Contested Lands (thus placing it in the area of Grainrich, Fire Coast and Rionpoint), and Erathia expanding it’s borders beyond Phynaxia was the cause of the Timber Wars. The date of the rise of Phynaxian Empire in the steppes of southern Erathiai is a year after the end of the Timber Wars. Was Erathia and AvLee being weakened after over a century of warfare what triggered Phynaxia becoming independent and rising to power? Considering that Phynaxia fell to the elves, has Avleeans settlers (the ones that we fight in the first Inferno mention of Dungeons and Devils; Ryland is one of them) arrived in Rionpoint around that time, or was that unrelated?
• 在mm6、mm7、h3中有几处提到了菲娜西亚，原本属于埃拉西亚的一部分，后来独立出去的菲娜西亚帝国。关于该地区的具体情况是什么？该地区后来是否被精灵占领，因为在地下城与恶魔战役中，当地的敌人是精灵城。
• This is another tough one. After the Timber Wars, I think is it is safe to assume the armies of Erathia and AvLee were relatively depleted. Under these conditions, you would have an obvious power vacuum, into which Phynaxia would attempt to rise. Under any other circumstances, I couldn’t imagine Phynaxia standing against healthy armies from either Erathia or AvLee. As to Avleean settlers, again, I think you make a reasonable assumption. I see no reason why elvish settlers would not expand from Phynaxia, into other nearby areas, after it fell.
• 在木材战争结束后，埃拉西亚和艾弗里军队撤退，导致该地区出现了权力真空，从而使得菲娜西亚地区崛起。关于菲娜西亚后来出现精灵，你的猜想应该是合理的。

• Was Rionpoint named after Rion Gryphonheart, the founder of Erathia? Was it the region from which he hailed or the one from which he started to unite the humans or something else?
• 里昂点这个城镇的名字是不是来自于里昂·狮鹫心，埃拉西亚的立国者？这里是他登基的地方？还是最初起兵的地方？
• To my knowledge, this was never specified, but it is logical to assume Rionpoint was named after Rion Gyrphonheart.
• 这一点没有明说，不过该名字来自于里昂·狮鹫心的假设是很符合逻辑的。

• Edric’s bio says: Edric`s father was the first man in Erathia to domesticate and train a wild Griffin. Now, Edric continues what his father started by setting up Erathia`s largest Griffin breeding grounds for use in the King`s armies. However, a campaign texts says that the aforementioned first King Gryphonheart tamed the griffins and trained them for war, eventually uniting the divergent human colonies into Erathia. I guess it is a mistake in Edric’s bio and it was instead an ancestor of his who was the first man to tame a griffin, is that correct?
• 艾德里克的传记里提到，他父亲是埃拉西亚第一个驯服狮鹫的人，但是战役文本说狮鹫心国王才是第一个驯服狮鹫并投入战场的人。
• This appears to be a continuity error created by a lack of research or simple miscommunication. It happens. Were I to correct it, your solution, specifying an ‘ancestor’ would be appropriate.
• 这里是剧情和传记前后出现了冲突。

• Sephinroth is introduced in The Restoration of Erathia and described in her bio as the only known woman ever to bear the title of warlock. In MM7, which takes place after RoE, there are female warlocks in Nighon. From the lore standpoint, it means that by the time of MM7, the warlocks have admitted more female members into their ranks. Can you tell us more about this development?
• 萨菲罗斯的介绍里提到她是唯一的女性术士。但是在mm7中，尼贡有很多女术士。是mm7时代尼贡术士也开始男女平权了么？
• I cannot. This is really a question for the designers of MM7.
• 这个你应该问mm7的开发者。

• Did you have ideas on what Vokial’s kingdom was, where it`s located and what is its current status?
• 关于德加尔（死亡骑士英雄）的传记里提到的他统治的王国是什么情况？
• In the course of production, assistant designers routinely create dangling ‘story hooks’. These ‘hooks’ are purposely laid down to later be picked up by the creator of the hook, or someone else. Vokial’s biography was written by Christian Vanover. After HoMM3 shipped, Christian moved onto Legends of Might and Magic, and Vokial’s story was left untold.
• 他的传记是Christian Vanover写的，h3发布后他就去了魔法门传奇的制作组，后续的故事就没再涉及德加尔。

• The Forest Guard is described as having been Erathia`s eyes and ears for centuries. It is also distinct from the rest of Erathian military in that it has worked together with the forces of AvLee numerous, even admitting Avleeans to fight in their ranks. Was the Forest Guard formed before, during or after the Timber Wars?
• 关于森林卫士（格鲁所在的部队），他们是在什么时候建立的？
• This is a tough one. I remember creating the Forest Guard, but do not remember at what point in the timeline they were conceived. Do not hold me to this, but if I recall correctly, they were created during the Timber Wars, specifically to counter the elves of AvLee. Later, after the Timber Wars, Forest Guard evolved and became a general purpose ‘special forces’ group.
• 这个设定具体没提，但是作者记得应该是木材战争期间埃拉西亚为了对抗艾弗里所成立的，但是后来这支部队就同时为埃拉西亚和艾弗里效力。

• There is a scenario map in SoD called Adventures of Jared Haret. In it, the eponymous explorer, Jared Haret the Knight, return from an expedition into subterranean tunnels under a lake to find his castle in the highlands (snowy landscape on the map) captured by the neighboring wizard. Scenarios in Heroes, with only a few exceptions, usually depict some `random` world without any connection to the main setting. Is this the case with AoJH, or could it take place in the game`s world? On the Erathian-Bracadan border, for instance.
• 死亡阴影的一个单关战役地图Adventures of Jared Haret的剧情问题。
• I did not work on SoD, and cannot speak specifically to AoJH, but in general, individual single player scenarios were considered isolated creations. However, as you point out, there are exceptions. Typically, these exceptions had to do with individual Map Makers and the unique storylines they created and pursued. In these instances, as long as what they created did not interface with the over arching story goals, it was permitted.
• 单关地图应该都是独立于主线剧情之外的。

• Can you tell us some additional details on Gelu`s background and potential eventual fate you and/or Marcus Pregent created.
• 关于格鲁背景有没有更多细节，以及他最终的结局？
• Unfortunately, there really is nothing more to tell. What few ideas I had in mind were thrown away and never developed when the Forge was cut, and there was no long term plan beyond the second expansion. Marcus may have had some ideas, but we never discussed them.
• 没有了，当初并没有两个资料片之外的长期计划。

来源：https://shoutout.wix.com/so/cfNOQmhVn，以下由Cyrus翻译。

• Fanstratics Faction #1: Allegiant.
• FST第1个派系：Allegiant
• This first faction should be unsurprising to most. They are the Allegiant; loyal, faithful, and steadfast in devotion. Inspired by medieval Knights, and their chivalric code, this predominantly Human faction makes their homes on the Grasslands. Despite having a moderate lifespan, they are the eldest culture on the continent, and oddly predisposed to forgetting older life lessons. Anyone familiar with the ‘Castle’ from HoMM3, should feel very much at home with the Allegiant. Currently, the Troop representing this faction is the Cavalier, which can be viewed in the Fanstratics Gallery.
• 第一个派系应该不出大多数人所料。它是Allegiant：忠诚，忠实而又忠贞。这个人类为主的派系受中世纪骑士和骑士准则启发，在草原上安家（这个草地是大写，应该是指地名或地形）。尽管他们种族的寿命不短也不长，但他们是大陆上最古老的文化，而且奇怪的是，他们有忘记古老生活训导的倾向。熟悉英雄无敌3中城堡城的人应该会对Allegiant感到一见如故。目前，代表这个派系的部队是骑士，可以在FST画廊中看到。

• Is Fanstratics connected somehow to the lore of M&M or H3 series, or it will be a completely different universe? (adamnavel)
• FST的时空设定是否与魔法门系列或者英雄无敌3有关，还是不同时空？
• Ubisoft owns the legal copyrights to Might and Magic and Heroes of Might and Magic, so I have no choice but to place Fanstratics (FST) in its own unique universe. In previous newsletters, I described Fanstratics as ‘different but familiar’. It will look different, with different characters and different lore, but anyone who has played HoMM3, should feel very much at home with its game play mechanics.
• 育碧拥有魔法门和英雄无敌的版权，所以我们别无选择，只能把FST放在属于它自己的独特世界里。在之前的月更中，我把FST的设定描述为“不同但熟悉”。它看起来会不同，有不同的角色和不同的传说，但是玩过英雄无敌3的人会对它的游戏机制感到非常熟悉。

• What features of Heroes III were cancelled before release? (ABC)
• 英雄无敌3在发售前有哪些功能被取消了？
• Truthfully, other than the controversial Forge faction, I would say 99% of what I wanted in the game... made it into the game. I don’t honestly remember cutting anything of real significance. When we shipped HoMM3, I was satisfied with the work we had done. Is there room for improvement and evolution? Yes. This is what I am attempting with FST.
• 说实话，除了有争议的铸造城，我认为99%的内容都是我想要的，并让它们进入了游戏。我不记得删减过任何真正重要的东西。当我们发行英雄无敌3时，我对我们所做的工作感到满意。那么有改进和发展的空间吗？当然。这是我们意图在开发FST时要做到的。

• How many different types of resources are planned for ‘Fanstratics’? (fen)
• 为FST计划了多少种不同类型的资源?
• Six resources are planned: Timber, Ore, Crystal, Incense, Quicksilver, and Gold. I trimmed the original seven down to six, with the intention to create a natural symmetry, and more rare resource competition, between FST’s 9 factions.
• 目前计划了六种资源：木材、矿石、水晶、熏香、水银和黄金。我将原来的7个减少到6个，目的是在FST的9个派系之间创造一种自然的对称和对稀有资源的争夺。

• Why did you decide to develop a new game now, 20+ years after the release of Restoration of Erathia? (Silent)
• 在埃拉西亚的光复发行20多年后，你为什么现在决定开发一款新游戏?
• This is a big question to answer, but I will try to be concise. When I left game development, I was burned out and unhealthy from years of stressful working conditions and crunch. I tried other professions, specifically, writing, stock options trading, and ultimately... foreign currency trading. It took years to learn how to profitably trade the currency markets, but once I figured it out, I suddenly had spare time on my hands. With this extra time, I began to crave a return to computer game development. Slowly, I started to reawaken my game design skills, when disaster struck. My foreign currency broker collapsed... and I lost everything. I no longer had a choice. It was ‘game dev or die’, and Fanstratics is the hill on which I have chosen to fight.
• 这是一个大问题，我会尽量长话短说。当我离开游戏开发时，多年的工作压力和压力让我精疲力竭，身体也不健康。我尝试过其他职业，特别是写作、股票期权交易，以及……外汇交易。我花了数年时间学习如何在外汇市场上赚取利润，但当我弄懂以后，我突然有了空闲时间。因为有了这些额外的时间，我开始渴望回到电脑游戏开发行业。当我开始渐渐重新熟悉游戏开发时，灾难来临了，我的外汇代理商破产了，我变得一贫如洗。我不再有其他选择，要么做游戏要么等死。FST就是我选择的战场。

以下是之前说的访谈的第12到23个问答（共58个）。

• Can you tell us more about the original version of AB with the Forge? What was the story and its key characters
• 你能告诉我们更多关于带铸造城的原始版本末日之刃吗？这个版本里的故事和主要人物是什么？
• Conceptually, the story went something like this… Following M&M7, Archibald`s former `Advisors` restored production to an ancient wonder called the `Heavenly Forge`. Using the Heavenly Forge, these Advisors could fashion any manner of artifact or technology. Creating a futuristic city (Forge) and an army composed of cybernetically enhanced creatures armed with high tech weaponry, the Advisors set out to conquer the world. Ground zero was Erathia. Following the Restoration of Erathia, Catherine musters the nation’s remaining forces to halt the techno-hordes of the Forge cities. If the line breaks, Erathia will be lost. With Catherine and Roland commanding the front lines, another hero is needed to search for Erathia`s last hope for survival; the fabled Armageddon’s Blade. For this sacred quest, Catherine chooses Gelu, the half-human, half-elf commander of the Erathia`s elite guerilla warriors: Forestguard. Gelu understands the importance of his quest. What he does not know is the truth of his origins. A campaign structure was in place, with Marcus responsible for putting it all together. To the best of my knowledge, the campaign story went something like this…
  1. Deyja solders with ‘strange equipment’ invade Erathia’s northern border. Catherine leads the charge to stop them.
  2. Gelu is enlisted to fight a shadow war on the Deyja-Erathian border.
  3. Roland leads an army to assist and reinforce Catherine’s position.
  4. Gelu is tasked with locating the pieces to construct Armageddon’s Blade.
  5. Gelu is tasked with finding a Grand Smith to fashion Armageddon’s Blade.
  6. Gelu, Catherine, and Roland lead the final push to destroy the Heavenly Forge.
  There was supposed to be an ending cinematic where Gelu drives Armageddon’s Blade into the Heavenly Forge, creating a blast wave destroying only the Forge towns and troops, leaving the land and its people cleansed of its influence. There were additional branch missions involving a Forge hero (so players could experience the Forge town), but I cannot recall specifically the story or mission details. I also had plans to divulge information proving Catherine and Gelu were related by blood. Ever notice both have red hair?
• 从概念上讲，故事是这样的……MM7之后，阿基巴德的前“顾问”恢复了被称为“天堂铸造厂”的古代奇迹的生产。这些顾问使用天堂铸造厂可以制造任何形式的宝物或者科技。他们创建了一个铸造城和一支由拥有高科技武器装备、控制性增强的生物组成的军队，开始征服世界。进攻目标则是埃拉西亚。在光复埃拉西亚之后，凯瑟琳召集了国 家剩余的力量来阻止铸造城的科技部队进攻。如果防线崩溃，埃拉西亚就会陷落。凯瑟琳和罗兰德指挥前线，所以需要另一个英雄去寻找埃拉西亚生存的最后希望：传说中的末日之刃。为了这个神圣的任务，凯瑟琳选择了格鲁，身为埃拉西亚精锐游击战士的半人半精灵指挥官：森林守卫。格鲁明白他的任务的重要性。他不知道的是他出身的真相。
  1. 迪迦军队带着“奇怪的装备”入侵埃拉西亚的北部边境，凯瑟琳带头阻止他们；
  2. 格鲁被招募去打一场在迪迦和埃拉西亚边境的影子战争；
  3. 罗兰德率领一支军队协助并巩固了凯瑟琳的战略形式；
  4. 格鲁的任务是寻找制造末日之刃的碎片；
  5. 格鲁的任务是寻找一个伟大的铁匠来重铸末日之刃；
  6. 格鲁、凯瑟琳和罗兰德领导了摧毁天堂铸造厂的大决战；
  在剧情结尾，格鲁将末日之刃插进天堂铸造厂，制造了一股冲击波，只摧毁了铸造族的城镇和军队，让土地和人民摆脱了它的影响。另外还有一些支线任务是关于铸造族英雄的（所以玩家可以体验铸造城），但是我记不清具体的故事或任务细节了。我还计划泄露一些信息来证明凯瑟琳和格鲁有血缘关系。有没有注意到他们都是红头发?

• Were the five side campaigns and their protagonists different, and to what degree?
• 在前后两个版本的不同方面上，5个阵营和他们的主角有什么不同吗?
• No, the five side campaigns were conceived completely separate from the main Armageddon’s Blade campaign, but there were adjustments after the Forge was cut.
• 不，5个阵营的战役是完全独立于末日之刃战役的，但是在铸造族被砍后进行了调整。

• What was the creature line-up of the Forge?
• 铸造城的兵种线如何？
• Concerning the Forge, this webpage gets almost everything right. What is missing are details for the Tier 7 troop, which was supposed to be dragon-like Mech. Personally, I got a kick out of Ubisoft’s April Fool’s concept art for the Pyro, Jump Soldier, and Tank.
• 关于铸造城，这个网页的内容基本正确。但它缺少7级兵的信息，本来应该是机械龙之类的东西（傀儡龙？）。对我个人而言，我挺喜欢育碧在愚人节放出的喷火兵、跳跃战士和坦克娜迦剑师的设定。

• Since the rise of an entire technological faction in Deyja is a very significant event, what was supposed to happen with the world later? What happens to the Heavenly Forge itself after Kastore and his allies are defeated?
• 既然在迪迦的科技派系崛起是一个非常重要的事件，那么接下来的世界会发生什么呢？在Kastore和他的盟友被打败后，天堂铸造厂本身发生了什么?
• As you can determine from the original story synopsis, in the end, Armageddon’s Blade was supposed to wipe the world clean of all Forge influence. Basically, the world was restored to its pre-Forge state.
• 正如你可以从最初的故事大纲中确定的那样，最后，末日之刃理应是用来清除世界上所有铸造族的影响。基本上，世界恢复到了铸造族出现前的状态。

• Is there a chance that the original maps for the campaign or their texts remain somewhere? It’d be interesting to know the actual plans and progress made by the team head as well as your personal thoughts on the matter.
• 战役的原始地图或文本是否有可能保留在某个地方？很想知道团队负责人的实际计划和进展，以及你个人对这件事的想法。
• Possible, but unlikely. Someone at Ubisoft, with access to the original game assets from the 3D0 auction, might be able to turn up something, but keep in mind, the working AB campaign maps were effectively ‘converted’. There was little reason to hold onto the old material, and if the original working AB campaign maps do exist, I suspect they are in an unfinished form. As for my personal thoughts… I think the cancelation of the Forge content, and its subsequent replacement by the Conflux content… was a blessing in disguise. My answers to subsequent questions reveal my reasons as to why.
• 有可能，但可能性不大。在育碧的一些人，在获得了3DO拍卖的原始游戏资产后，可能会找到一些东西，但请记住，开发中的末日之刃战役地图是有经过的“加密”的。没有什么理由保留这些旧资料，而且如果原始的末日之刃战役地图存在的话，我怀疑它们应该没有被做完。至于我个人的想法……我认为铸造族内容的取消，以及它随后被元素城的内容所取代……是因祸得福。我对随后问题的回答揭示了我为什么这么做的原因。

• David Mullich has mentioned different versions of the Forge town being pitched during the development: We did have some debate about what visual form this technology would take. I advocated more of a Jules Verne glass-and-brass look; others wanted a WWII look. Can you provide more information on these?
• David Mullich提到了在开发过程中关于铸造城的不同版本：我们确实在技术上对视觉设计进行了一些讨论。我更提倡Jules Verne的玻璃和黄铜造型；其他人想要一个二战风格的外观。你能否就此提供更多信息？
• I vaguely remember the initial conversation I had with David Mullich as to the competing visual styles. At the time, year 1999, when David dropped the name Jules Verne, I immediately thought of 20K Leagues Under the Sea, Journey to the Center of the Earth, H.G. Wells, War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, etc. What was being proposed was art deco, and I had envisioned the Forge being a horrifying, corrupting, evil faction. To me, the WW2 option made more sense. Later, Phelan Sykes (HoMM3’s Lead Artist) showed to me a number of different books with ‘oppressive’ art deco architecture. Where David pointed to Jules Verne, Phelan pointed to the movie Metropolis. Phelan wanted a very gritty, very grungy, very squalid conception of what we today commonly call ‘steampunk’. After my conversations with her, I was sold on the direction. Weeks later, I began to realize, what Phelan had envisioned, and what the NWC art staff could deliver, were two very different things. Initial work on the Forge was not promising. After the Forge was canceled, I told David I had doubts about the ability of the NWC art staff to deliver on what Phelan had in mind. David thought, as it was with HoMM3, it would take a lot of effort and numerous revisions to get what we wanted, but he thought it could be done.
• 我模糊地记得我和David Mullich最初关于视觉设计比选的对话。在1999年，当David提到儒勒·凡尔纳时，我立刻想到了他的《海底两万里》、《地心之旅》，赫伯特·乔治·威尔斯的《世界大战》、《时间机器》等等。他们提出的是装饰艺术，我曾想象过铸造族是一个可怕的，腐败的，邪恶的派系。对我来说，二战的选择更合理。后来，Phelan Sykes（英雄无敌3的主美术）向我展示了许多不同的关于“压抑的”装饰艺术建筑的书籍。David想要儒勒·凡尔纳的风格，Phelan指的是电影《大都会》的风格(David想要儒勒·凡尔纳的风格，而Phelan更倾向于《大都会》的风格）。Phelan想要一种我们今天通常所说的“蒸汽朋克”，一种非常冷毅、非常古怪、非常肮脏的概念。和她谈话之后，我对这个方向很感兴趣。几周后，我开始意识到，Phelan所设想的，和NWC的美工所能提供的，是两件完全不同的事情。铸造城的初步设计工作并不理想。在铸造城被取消后，我告诉David我怀疑NWC的美工的能力是否能满足Phelan的设想。David认为，就像英雄无敌3其他内容一样，要得到我们想要的结果，需要花费很多精力和无数次修改，但他认为这是可以做到的。

• What is your opinion: would Forge work in HoMM3?
• 你觉得，铸造城能融入英雄无敌3吗？
• I believe so, but it would not be a trivial task. The Forge can work as a high power, high maintenance, low population, steampunk faction, but artistic execution is absolutely critical and the troop line-up could use conceptual revision. Provided the town and troops were visually exciting and inventive, and fit within the existing HoMM3 art style, I would hope most people would put aside any ‘cross genre’ reservations and simply enjoy the outrageousness.
• 我相信如此，不是一项轻松的任务。铸造城可以作为一个高功率、高维护费用、低人口的蒸汽朋克风派系，但美工的风格是绝对关键的，兵种线可以根据概念设计更改。我们所能提供的城镇和部队是视觉上令人兴奋和具有创造性的，理应适合现有的英雄无敌3艺术风格，我本希望大多数人会放下任何“跨流派”保守思想，并简单地享受这震撼的设计。

• Looking back on it after all these years, was it a concept that could have been realized well?
• 这么多年过去了，现在回过头来看，这是一个可以很好地实现的概念设计吗?
• In hindsight, was NWC capable of realizing the Forge concept? I have my doubts. I could have easily revised the troop line-up to deliver something more traditional, but in the end, my biggest concern was art. Phelan Sykes gets nowhere near enough credit for the work she did as Lead Artist. With David Mullich’s assistance, she, Scott White, Adam McCarthy, and George Almond, carried the NWC art staff to a level of quality they simply hadn’t reached before. With HoMM3, the NWC art staff overachieved. Unfortunately, when it came to the Forge, I think we simply asked of them something they simply could not deliver.
• 事后来看，NWC能够实现铸造城的概念设计吗？我对此表示怀疑。我本可以轻松地修改部队阵容，以提供一些更传统的东西，但最后，我最大的担忧是艺术。Phelan Sykes作为主美术所做的工作远远不够（这句是说Phelan Sykes作为主美，他的贡献怎么赞扬也不为过）。在David Mullich的帮助下，她、Scott White、dam McCarthy和George Almond将NWC的美工提升到了一个前所未有的水平。通过英雄无敌3， NWC的美工取得了优异的成绩。不幸的是，当涉及到铸造城时，我想我们确实对他们是强人所难了。

• And can it still potentially be done well by modders?
• 那你认为它能被mod制作者们完美制作出来吗？
• As for the modders, a small dedicated team with a clearly defined vision could certainly pull it off. My suggestion? Embrace the basic concept, but don’t be afraid to deviate from the original idea, or play around with the troop types. For artistic inspiration, I would point to Ubisoft’s April Fool’s concept art and the miniatures game Warmachine.
• 对于mod制作者们，如果有个有清晰愿景的小团队，那么他们肯定可以完成它。那我的建议是？接受基本概念，但不要害怕偏离最初的想法，或拘泥于最初的兵种线。至于艺术灵感，我会提到育碧的愚人节概念设计和迷你游戏Warmachine。

• Conflux was originally supposed to be the new town in the second expansion. What was the original idea for Conflux’s backstory and the expansion itself?
• 在第二个资料片中，元素城原本应该是一个新的城镇。关于元素城的背景故事和资料片本身，最初的想法是什么?
• Originally, the Conflux was little more than a high concept; Elemental troops in an Elemental town. Prior to Armageddon’s Blade, there was never any unique lore developed for it. Like the Forge, the Conflux was supposed to be a relatively self-contained endeavor, and I did not expect to address it until after the first expansion was finished. After the Forge was cancelled, the work on the Conflux was simply moved forward.
• 起初，元素城是个很烂大街的概念：元素城镇的元素部队。在末日之刃之前，它没有任何独特的背景设定。就像铸造城一样，元素城是一个相对独立的制作，我根本没有打算在第一个资料片完成之前去考虑它。在铸造城被取消后，元素城的开发只得提前。

• The released version of AB establishes the Great Conflux as the union of armies from the four Elemental Planes (plus the fifth and sixth element, thought and magic) that was sent by the Elemental Lords (called the elemental gods by Roland in the campaign) to help stop Lucifer Kreegan from using Armageddon’s Blade to burn the world of Enroth.
• 发行版本的末日之刃，设定了大聚流为被元素领主们（被罗兰德称为元素之神的角色）元素位面的军队联盟（包含第五元素思想和第六元素魔法），来帮助阻止路西法克瑞根用末日之刃毁灭恩洛斯世界。
• The Conflux itself is shown to be composed of elementals who respect mortals, but the reasons of the Elemental Lords themselves for sending them to Erathia’s aid are not made clear (which is highlighted by characters), only hinted at in AB and MM8 (the latter revealing that the Elemental Lords created the planet long ago, and that it’s destruction would victimize their plane), Roland wondering about it and harboring some distrust towards the Conflux heroes. Can you tell us more about the forming of the Conflux and it aiding Erathia against the Kreegans? My conception of the Conflux was relatively straightforward. Conflux Heroes and the associated Elemental troops were defenders of the natural world. When there is a threat to its continued existence, they make their presence known, assert themselves, and attempt to eliminate the threat. They have no allegiance to anyone or anything, other than the preservation of the world. Anything beyond this was developed after I departed NWC.
• 元素城本身由尊重凡人的元素组成，但尚不清楚元素之主派遣他们到埃拉西亚提供帮助的原因（已经由主角强调），仅在末日之刃和魔法门8中有所暗示（后者表明元素领主很久以前就创造了这个星球，而它的毁灭将损害他们的位面），罗兰德对此很纳闷，对元素城英雄有些不信任。您能告诉我们更多有关元素城的形成及其帮助埃拉西亚对抗克瑞根人的影响吗？我对元素城的设计相对简单。元素城城英雄和相关的元素人部队是自然界的捍卫者。当威胁肆虐时，元素就会显灵，声张正义，并试图消除威胁。他们除了维护世界之外，对任何人或任何事物都没有效忠。与这些无关的内容都是在我离开NWC以后才制作的。

• A key leader of the Conflux is Tamar the Wanderer, one of the Elemental Lords of Air, who seeks to gain knowledge and help those in need. He and his compatriots aid Erathia against the Kreegans, and Tamar uses his gift of premonition to warn her about important things regarding Roland, Gelu and Armageddon’s Blade. However, Tamar’s face is described as hidden, only his beard being visible, and it isn’t clarified whether he’s an air elemental, a human, a genie or something else. Can you tell us more about him?
• 元素城的主要领导者是流浪者Tamar，他是空气元素领主之一，他致力于获取知识并帮助有需要的人。他和他的同胞帮助埃拉西亚对抗克瑞根人，而Tamar利用他的预言警告凯瑟琳有关罗兰德、格鲁和末日之刃的重要事情。但是，Tamar的脸被是不可见的，只有他的胡须是可见的，所以也不清楚他是空气元素、人类、精灵还是其他东西。您能告诉我们更多关于他的信息吗？
• Human. This webpage gets the essentials correct.
• 人类。这个网页基本正确。

来源：https://shoutout.wix.com/so/62NLrHBL-，以下由Cyrus翻译。

• Fanstratics Factions?
• FST有几个种族派系？
• I have designed 9 Factions, not including Neutral Troops, which could be considered a unofficial 10th Faction. There are also conceptual markers for 2 or 3 additional Factions, which could be part of subsequent Fanstratics (FST) expansions, assuming the game reaches market and is moderately successful. Note, I say Factions... not Towns. In HoMM3, we should have changed the terminology from ‘Towns’ to ‘Factions’, but we were trying to remain somewhat consistent with the HoMM2 convention (Barbarian Town, Knight Town, Warlock Town, etc.). This is the reason the largely human culture was called ‘Castle’ and not something else, like... the Alliance. In Fanstratics, each culture will have a proper Faction name. How many Factions ship with the initial game, is ultimately dependent on budget. If crowdfunding and Early Access sales meet expectations, it would be reasonable to craft and ship all 9. If crowdfunding and Early Access sales do not meet expectations, we may be forced to craft and ship less than 9. There is always the hope, post release sales would generate the revenue to continue building the remaining Factions, but there are no guarantees. Starting next month, I’ll detail a little about each Faction, but you can already begin to deduce the various cultures from the released concept art. To date, each piece of Troop concept art is taken from 1 Faction, and this will continue until we have revealed 9 Troops. Thereafter, we will start another cycle of 9. I’ll reveal conceptual details for the first Faction, starting with the December Newsletter.
• 设计了9个派系，不算中立兵种，不过中立势力可以视为第十个势力。如果游戏卖座，作为FST的后续拓展，可能还有两三个计划的派系。注意，是派系不是……城镇哦。我们把英雄无敌3的术语“城镇”更改为“派系”，并试图保留一些来自英雄无敌2设计的联系（比如野蛮人城，骑士城，术士城之类的）。这是我们称呼人类派系为“城堡”而非“联盟”之类的原因。在FST中，每种文化都会有个对应的派系名。最终游戏里有几个派系，要看预算。如果众筹和抢先体验销售达到预期，应该会有所有9个派系，反之就没9个那么多了。发售后收入可能用来制作其余派系，但这件事我们也不敢打包票。从下个月起，我们将介绍每个阵营，不过你们也能从已发布的概念艺术中推测出各个文化。迄今为止的每张概设原画都来自一个派系，这种发布方法会持续到9个派系都公开了一张原画为止。之后，我们将开始另一个9派系的原画周期循环。我们将从12月开始公布第一个派系的概念设计细节。

• Will there be a forum for suggestions and feedback?
• 会建个论坛提供建议和反馈渠道吗？
• At this stage, I’m unsure. Typically, if someone likes the game... they tend to quietly enjoy it. If someone plays the game, but is upset with a particular aspect... they join the company forum and vomit verbal poison. I’m looking at the viability of an in-game system to report bugs and give feedback. In this way, we’d get the player evaluations we desire, without the public misbehavior. Regardless, any feedback system won’t happen until Early Access.
• 目前不好说。通常喜欢这款游戏的人喜欢闷声享受游戏。如果有人玩的时候对某些方面感到不满，他们会直接在合作论坛吐槽。我们正在研究如何在游戏内搞个反馈系统，以此满足玩家评估的希望。总之在抢先体验开始前不会有什么反馈系统。

• Will Sir Mullich be in the game?
• 姆拉克爵士会在这款游戏里吗？
• ‘Sir Mullich’ is copyrighted by Ubisoft, and will not be in the game... but it wouldn’t be proper, for a spiritual successor to HoMM, to not have the screwy expression of ‘David Mullich’ somewhere in the game. I have told David, of my desire to put him in the game, and he hasn’t voiced any opposition. Of course, we will need to get a recent photo of him, which shouldn’t be a problem, as he likes to ham it up for the camera.
• 姆拉克爵士的版权在育碧手里，所以不会直接出现在游戏里。但作为英雄无敌精神续作，不带有“姆拉克爵士”这个标志显然不合适。我告诉David（David Mullich），希望能把他做进游戏，他也没提出异议。当然，我们得拍几张他的近期照片，这应该不成问题。

• Would you work with Ubisoft, if they approached you to make another HoMM game?
• 如果育碧邀请你们做另一款英雄无敌系列的游戏，你们会与育碧合作吗？
• I seriously doubt Ubisoft would approach me. If they did, I would want specific guarantees (production, financial, and creative), and I strongly doubt they would acquiesce. Overall, when you consider the collection of Might & Magic games Ubisoft has created, I suspect they have made money, but not the big numbers they desired. Unfortunately, for Ubisoft, Might & Magic has become a middling franchise, suited more for easily marketed spin offs. Which leads into the next question.
• 我觉得育碧不太能会联系我们。如果真的发生了，我会在产品、财务和创意方面提出具体要求，他们也不太可能接受。总的来说，我怀疑育碧制作的魔法门系列游戏应该赚了钱，但没他们预期的那么多。对育碧而言，魔法门就是个用来卖IP做衍生产品的中庸IP，这就引出了下个问题。

• Have you seen Might & Magic Era of Chaos?
• 你玩过魔法门：战争纪元了吗？
• Yes. I have been playing Era of Chaos (EoC), since it became available outside of China. It’s about what you would expect from a F2P mobile game; semi-automated game play, very long progression system, specific pay-to-win elements, etc. This being said... it isn’t bad. In many respects, the HoMM3 lore, characters, and mechanics, are well suited for a mobile translation. I must admit though, it’s a little odd seeing the HoMM3 ‘universe’ given another life in another genre. Once HoMM5 hit the shelves, I thought Erathia and Catherine were at a logical end.
• 是的，毕竟战争纪元在已经发布了国际版，我已经在玩它了。这游戏基本符合了你对F2P手机游戏的期望：半自动化对战，特别长的进阶系统，特定的双赢要素等等。这就是说……还不错。在英雄无敌3的故事概念、角色、机制等很多方面，这游戏的端游化都做得不错。不过看着英雄无敌3宇宙的另类重生，让人感到有些怪。毕竟当年英雄无敌5上市时，大家就觉得埃拉西亚和凯瑟琳的故事已经在逻辑上完结了。

Tavern of Might and Magic, 2019.02.28, Questions 1-11, of 58

This interview was conducted by Tavern of Might and Magic and GoodGame.ru, and published on February 28th, 2019, the 20th Anniversary of HoMM3. It’s a very long interview, almost 60 questions, and delves deep into unresolved lore, as well as other common questions. I’ll be posting between 10 to 15 questions per Newsletter, until we reach the end, after which we will roll into another interview.

以下是Tavern of Might and Magic和GoodGame.ru进行了一次访谈，并于2019年2月28日，即HoMM3成立20周年发布。采访时间很长，涉及将近60个问题，并深入探讨了未解决的知识和其他常见问题。之后每期大概会出现其中的10到15个问题。

Preface. I will answer these questions to the best of my recollection, but please keep in mind, it has been almost 20 years since HoMM3 and HoMM3: AB were created.

前言：我将尽力回答这些问题，但请记住，英雄无敌3和资料片都已经发售了将近二十年了。

• Have you followed the games that came out after you quit NWC (like Heroes Chronicles, HoMM4, etc,) to some degree?
• 你是否关注过你退出NWC以后的英雄无敌游戏（历代记，英雄无敌4等等）？
• I continue to follow the M&M catalog of games. Specifically, I have all seven HoMM titles, and have played each to varying degrees.
• 我一直关注魔法门系列游戏。具体说，我玩了英雄无敌全部七代作品。

• Did you consider the Price of Loyalty expansion for HoMM2 canon?
• 你是否认为英雄无敌2忠诚的代价是正统作品？
• Price of Loyalty was not developed in house at New World Computing, but contracted out to Cyberlore Studios. It was on the shelves before I ever joined NWC, and I do not recall ever having any lore discussions regarding the expansion. With this in mind, I cannot give an authoritative answer to this question… I can only give you my personal opinion. Yes, I consider it cannon.
• 忠诚的代价是外包作品，而且在我加入NWC前就已经上架了，我印象里没什么与该资料片相关的剧情讨论。因此，我不能对这个问题作出权威回答。对我个人而言，只能说：是的，我认为忠诚的代价是正统作品。

• Does Price of Loyalty take place on planet Enroth or just some random world (like HoMM 1-4 scenarios do)?
• 忠诚的代价是在恩洛斯上，还是在某个随机的时空（比如英雄无敌1到4的单关战役）里发生的？
• Succession Wars, Restoration of Erathia, and Armageddon’s Blade all took place on the same planet, but in different locales. For Price of Loyalty, I had no reason to believe it was not on the same planet, but tucked away in a different region so it would not interfere with NWC’s ongoing work. Keep in mind, if in some way it did present a ‘creative or continuity issue’, I could easily imagine a quick conversation among the design leads to retcon it to another world.
• 继承人之战，光复埃拉西亚和末日之刃的故事都发生在同一星球，但非同一大陆上。至于忠诚的代价，我没理由认为它不是发生在同一星球上，某个NWC之后没讲述过故事的区域的。如果它确实涉及了某些“创意或联系性上的问题”，那么我们很容易就能把它重新设计到另一个世界里。

• How familiar were you with the story and lore of the core Might and Magic series (particularly MM7, as it also takes place in Antagarich) and other Heroes titles?
• 您对魔法门系列（尤其是发生在恩塔格瑞大陆的魔法门7）和其他英雄无敌相关系列的故事概念是否熟悉？
• Prior to becoming an employee at New World Computing, I was like most fans. I played the games, followed the story, but was not deep into the lore. After becoming an employee, I focused on ‘big picture’ elements affecting what I was doing. For the gritty details, I relied on Christian Vanover and Jennifer Bullard to notify me of any thorny issues. I had near zero involvement in the development of MM7.
• 在入职NWC前，我就是个玩游戏、追故事的普通粉丝，没深入了解。但入职后，我会在意影响我正在做的东西的大局元素。在具体问题上，我依靠Christian Vanover 和Jennifer Bullard来提点我解决棘手的问题。我几乎没参与过魔法门7的开发。/li>

• How far ahead had you planned the storyline for future installments when working on HoMM3?
• 在制作英雄无敌3时，你设计了多远的未来故事线？
• Officially, there were never any storylines planned beyond the games in production. If we had any goal, it was to loosely tie one game into the next. MM6 into HoMM3 into MM7 into HoMM3:AB, etc. Having a ‘grand plan’ typically requires a singular individual, with the desire and power, to enforce such a long term goal over multiple years and multiple teams. In game development, people come and go, teams come and go, and turnover is high. For example, after HoMM3:AB, 3 of the 5 team leads either left the company or moved on to other projects.
• 除了制作中的游戏，没有任何计划中的故事情节。我们通常只会将故事松散地与另一个故事联结在一起，譬如魔法门6到英雄无敌3到魔法门7，再到魔法门3末日之刃等等。制定“长远计划”通常需要有个有目标和力量的人多年间在多个团队里实践。实际游戏开发中，人员和团队都来来往往，流动率很大。例如，在英雄无敌3末日之刃完成开发后，开发团队中五位主要成员中的三个要么离开公司，要么转向其他项目。

• How much were you involved in the second HoMM3 expansion’s development? The Shadow of Death was released after you’ve already left NWC, but maybe you know something about its story and lore details (so that we know if it’s appropriate to ask you questions regarding SoD)?
• 你参与了多少死亡阴影的开发？你再离开NWC后，死亡阴影才发售，但你可能对他的故事概念有所了解（以便我们询问相关问题）？
• I was not involved in the conception or creation of SoD. As far as I know, Jennifer Bullard was the project’s Lead Designer, and any questions you have about SoD would best be directed to her. In one of pre-release short stories published on the official website prior to the release of HoMM3, the one that serves as a brief introduction to the continent, there’s this phrase: The History of Erathia is long indeed, and like the Ironfists of Enroth, the Gryphonhearts have been the ruling family since before the Silence. However, HoMM1’s manual features letters from Lord Ironfist that established him coming to Enroth from another world and uniting that continent-spanning kingdom under his rule. HoMM2 was stated to take place 25 years after the end of HoMM1 campaign, Roland and Archibald being Lord Ironfist’s sons. That makes Ironfists ruling from around 1126 A.S. Was that backstory subtly retconned (and thus, HoMM1 is just Ironfist fighting other lords to succeed the throne that has already belong to his family)? Was it just a mistake? Or something else entirely? To me, this looks like a simple mistake.
• Fun fact: the part about the Gryphonhearts ruling Erathia since before the Silence was retconned in Heroes Chronicles: Warlords of the Wasteland. That game clearly takes place after the Silence and the downfall of Colonial Government, with technology already being quasi-medieval, the oppressive empire of Bracaduun ruling over most of the continent, and there being a barbarian conquest several generations prior. Granted, the campaign texts never directly state that WotW takes place after the Silence, but the depiction of the world heavily implies that. Plus, Armageddon’s Blade appears on the final map along with its default text about the hero finding the vault of the Ancients from before the Silence.
• 我没参与死亡阴影的概念或创意设计。据我所知，Jennifer Bullard是这个项目的总设计师，死亡阴影相关疑问最好直接咨询她。在英雄无敌3的官网先行小说中，有对大陆的简要介绍，其中有这么一句话：埃拉西亚的历史确实很长，就像恩洛斯的铁拳家族一样，格里芬哈特家族从寂静时代以来就一直统治着埃拉西亚。但英雄无敌1的手册中有铁拳领主的来信，这封信使他从另一个世界来到恩洛斯，并在他的统治下团结了这个横跨整片大陆的王国。据说英雄无敌2的继承人选拔是在英雄无敌1的故事结束25年后进行的，罗兰德和阿基巴德是铁拳领主的儿子。这使得铁拳家族的故事线巧妙地从1126 A.S.左右冲突了（所以说英雄无敌1的铁拳领主只是与其他领主作战，以接替属于他家族的王位？）。这是一个错误，还是有其他含义？对我来说这只是个简单的错误。
• 有趣的是，关于格里芬哈特家族从寂静时代前就一直统治着埃拉西亚的这段剧情，在英雄无敌历代记：废墟战神里重新改写了。废墟战神的故事显然是在寂静时代和殖民政府垮台后发生的，技术已经是准中世纪的，残酷帝国布拉卡顿统治着大陆的大部分地区，而野蛮人征服已经是几代人之前的事情了。诚然，游戏文本没有直接说明废墟战神的故事是在寂静时代之后发生的，但对世界的描述很大程度上暗示了这一点。此外，最后一关地图上出现了末日之刃，而默认的提示文字说明了英雄是在寂静时代前的远古宝物库中找到的末日之刃。

• There’s also an obvious retcon in another HoMM3 short story that deals with the origin of Deyja. It mentions this land being home to necromancers for nearly a millennium. MM6 establishes that Ethric the Mad simultaneously became the world’s first lich and necromancer after being buried in his tomb and rising from the dead. The tomb is said to have been built not very long ago, during the life of Edrics` great grandfather. Another NPC text calls necromancy a very new science. Thus, Deyja’s origin story retcons the time of Ethric becoming the first necromancer, making it take place much further in the past. I find this change to be interesting, as it makes necromancy an ancient menace (although the original concept of it being a new, but still very dangerous science is no less appealing to me), but am curious to know about how it was made, and how the backstory for Deyja was developed. Also, Deyja’s origin story mentions liches having to feed on the living to sustain their existence, which hasn’t been brought up since? Is it something more subtly that a vampire draining its victim, like the lich slowly causing the life around it to die, much as the necromancer did to that part of AvLee which is now Deyja?
• 在一篇关于迪迦（德迦，迪雅，H3亡灵）起源的短篇小说中，也有一个明显的逻辑回溯修订。它提到这片土地是亡灵巫师近一千年的家园。魔法门6则证实了，疯狂的伊西里克（Ethric the Mad，译注：山德鲁的老师，曾在死亡阴影战役提及）在被埋葬在坟墓里并从死亡中复活时，成为了世界上第一个尸巫和亡灵巫师。据说这座墓地是在伊西里克的曾祖父在世的时候建造的，其建成并不太久。不过另一篇NPC的文章称亡灵巫术是一门非常新的科学。因此，迪雅的起源故事追溯到了伊西里克成为第一个死灵法师的时间，使亡灵巫术的发现回溯修订到了更远的过去。我发现这种变化很有趣，因为它使死灵术成为一种古老的威胁(尽管它是一种新的，但仍然非常危险的科学，这个最初概念对我来说同样有吸引力，但我很想知道它是如何制作的，以及迪雅的背景故事是如何发展的)。此外，迪雅的起源故事提到尸巫必须以活人为食来维持它们的存在，但这点从那以后就没有人提起过？吸血鬼吸干了它的受害者，就像尸巫慢慢地让它周围的生命死去一样，就像亡灵巫师对现在属于迪雅、曾经属于阿维利（埃里，H3壁垒）的土地所做的那样，是不是非常微妙？
• Unfortunately, for HoMM3, Deyja had no real backstory developed beyond what is commonly known. The Necromancers` cult was exiled from the nation of Bracada (the southern mountains I mentioned earlier). Wandering the continent, the cult eventually settled in AvLee - a region teeming with life. As for Liches feeding on the ‘living’, I suspect you are referring to the short story, ‘Necromancy Origin’ by Marcus Finch. Your assumptions are generally correct. In the short story, Liches are described as needing to ‘feed on life to survive’. Think of a Lich as something of a ‘lifeforce vortex’, slowly and progressively draining life from its living surroundings. For a Lich, ‘lifeforce’ is the air in which it breathes. This doesn’t mean a Lich couldn’t ‘life drain’ a singular human target, but a Lich certainly has no taste for flesh or blood.
• 不幸的是，对于英雄无敌3来说，迪迦除了耳熟能详之外，并没有什么实际的背景故事。亡灵法师教派被驱逐出布拉卡达(我之前提到的南部山脉)。这个教团在大陆上游荡，最终定居在阿维利——一个充满生命的地区。至于以“活人”为食的尸巫这个设定，我怀疑你指的是马库斯·芬奇（Marcus Finch）的短篇小说《亡灵巫术起源》。你的假设基本上是正确的。在这个短篇故事中，尸巫被描述为需要“以生命为生”。把尸巫想象成某种“生命力漩涡”，慢慢地、逐步地从它的生活环境中吸取生命。对于尸巫来说，“生命力”是它呼吸的空气。这并不意味着尸巫不能“生命虹吸”一个单一的人类目标，但尸巫肯定不喜欢血肉。

• On that note, a question about Armageddon’s Blade. From what is revealed about it both in the original version of the expansion’s story (a fragment of that is the cinematic intro) and the final one, this artifact is an Ancient weapon, either created by the Ancients or stored by them underground. One Armageddon’s Blade is created by Kreegans, forged from demonic relics by Kazandar. The text about another such blade being found in an Ancient vault still remains in the game (and this weapon is already fabled in the world before being constructed by Kazandar). Can you tell us something more about Armageddon’s Blade? Was the one that is deep underground ever found?
• 说到这儿，有一个关于末日之刃的问题。从资料片的原始版本（介绍影片中的一个片段）和最终版本中透露的信息来看，这个神器是一件古老的武器，可能是远古神民创造的，或者是他们储存在地下的。而另一柄末日之刃由克里根人（Kreegan）制造，由卡伦达（Kazandar，译注：游戏内曾使用变体名Khazandar指代，著名的铸剑师）用恶魔的遗物锻造而成。游戏中还保存着关于在一个古老的墓穴中发现的另一把这样的剑的文字（这柄武器在卡伦达铸造之前就已经是世间的传说了）。你能告诉我们更多关于末日之刃的事情吗?深埋地下的那柄曾经被发现过吗?
• If I understand this correctly, ‘context’ appears to have led to a continuity issue. There are Armageddon’s Blade references in the intro movie, the origin campaign, and the single player maps. For the campaign, Armageddon’s Blade was supposed to be a ‘recipe’. A terrible weapon from before the Silence. Anyone could create it with the required parts. The obvious analogy is a nuclear bomb. Anyone can make a nuclear bomb if they have the resources and knowledge. In the case of the campaign, Xeron has the resources and Kazandar has the knowledge. In the case of the intro cinematic and single player maps, Armageddon’s Blade is presented as a singular artifact. When an artifact is collected by a Hero, there is a window displaying a paragraph of flavor text. For Armageddon’s Blade, the text is... “Deep beneath the earth, you find a vault of the Ancients from before the Silence. Inside you find a sealed casket, deeply etched with dire warnings. Ignoring them, you break the seal. Inside, you find Armageddon`s Blade.” How would I resolve all of this? I would say, Armageddon’s Blade was built by Kazandar for Xeron to use in the war between Lucifer and Catherine. This does not exclude other constructions of the same recipe from existing elsewhere. Regarding deep lore, unless there is evidence to the contrary, I would say Armageddon’s Blade was an angelic weapon (note the golden bird on the hilt), forged from demonic weapons, used primarily to exterminate the Kreegans. Knowing this, the Kreegans attempted use of the blade in the campaign is rather ironic.
• 如果我理解正确的话，“文本”似乎导致了连续性问题。在介绍影片、起源战役和单人地图中都有提及末日之刃。在战役中，末日之刃被认为是一类寂静时代之前的可怕武器，有个“武器配方”，且任何人都可以用所需的部件铸造它。一个明显的类比是核弹。只要有资源和知识，任何人都可以制造核弹。就战役而言，塞尔伦（Xeron，译注：地狱英雄）拥有资源，卡伦达拥有知识。在介绍影片和单人地图的情况下，末日之刃被呈现为一件神器。当英雄收集到一个部件时，会有一个窗口显示一段风格文本。末日之刃的提示文字是“在地底的最深处，你发现了一幢历史久远的建筑物，里面放着一个诡异的盒子。你毫不犹豫的挥刀斩断了封印，得到了末日之刃。”。这该如何解释？我想说，末日之刃是卡伦达为塞尔伦制造的，用于路西法克林根和凯瑟琳之间的战争。这并不排除其他地方也有相同配方的其他部件。关于背后的设定，除非有相反的证据，我认为末日之刃是一种天使武器(注意剑柄上的金色鸟)，由恶魔武器锻造而成，主要用于消灭克里根人。要是知道了这一点，克里根人在战役中尝试使用这把剑是相当讽刺的。

• Near the end of the Armageddon’s Blade campaign, Gelu has a dream that involves him uniting Antagarich, doing so with the help of a blade (presumed to be the eponymous sword) and a mysterious steel-haired woman. Who was the woman?
• 在末日之刃战役接近尾声时，格鲁做了一个梦，在一把剑（被认为是同名剑）和一个神秘的短发女人的帮助下，他将恩塔格瑞大陆联合起来。那个女人是谁？
• Marcus Pregent was responsible for putting together the fine details of the Armageddon’s Blade Campaign. If I remember correctly, he was simply laying the groundwork for potential storylines he was hoping to develop in later expansions. Officially, there were no plans for the ‘steel-haired woman’.
• Marcus Pregent负责整理末日之刃战役的细节。如果我没记错的话，他只是在为他希望在以后的扩展中发展的潜在的故事情节奠定基础。官方并没有为这个“短发女人”制定计划。

• Also, Gelu’s dream is revealed to be prophetic, as one possible course of events. The other being that a great destruction befalls the worlds if Gelu’s destiny is disrupted. Was the Reckoning (the destruction of the world depicted in HoMM4) planned way back then, or was it just a potential story branch you guys considered, and the team decided to make it happen later?
• 同时，格鲁的梦被揭示为预言，作为一种可能的事件进程。另一种是，如果格鲁的命运被打乱，世界将遭受巨大的毁灭。大清算(英雄无敌4中描述的毁灭世界)是早在那时就计划好了，还是它只是你们考虑过的一个潜在的故事分支，而团队决定稍后再做?
• Again, this was Marcus laying the groundwork for potential storylines in later expansions. At the time, this ‘story hook’ was unrelated to HoMM4. Lore work for HoMM4, and the idea for ‘the Reckoning’, did not begin until long after I had left NWC.
• 同样，这是Marcus Pregent为以后扩展的潜在故事线奠定的基础。当时，这种“故事挂钩”与英雄无敌4无关。英雄无敌4的故事工作和“大清算”的想法是在我离开NWC很久之后才出现的。