NVS 对 Fabrice Cambounet 的采访
来源：https://vk.ru/@homm_ashan-intervu-s-fabrisom-kambounet-fabrice-cambounet
- 1. How did you become involved in developing Heroes of Might and Magic 5? Were you familiar with the series before you began development?
- 1、你是如何参与《英雄无敌5》开发的？在开始开发前，你熟悉这个系列吗？
- I came back to Ubisoft in 2003, right after they bought the M&M licence from 3DO. I was assigned working on the title immediately, with the mission of finding a developer who could create a sequel worthy of the HoMM series. It was a great assignment, as I played Heroes 3, and a bit of 4, so I wasn't coming in blind. I wouldn't have called myself a hardcore fan, but I understood the soul of the gameplay, and that felt like the right starting point.
- 我于 2003 年回到育碧，就在他们从 3DO 手中买下《魔法门》版权的不久后。我立刻被指派参与这个项目，任务是寻找一家能够打造出配得上《英雄无敌》系列的续作的开发商。这是个很棒的任务，因为我玩过《英雄无敌3》，也玩过一点《英雄无敌4》，所以我并非一无所知。我不会称自己是硬核粉丝，但我理解游戏玩法的精髓，而这正是正确的起点。
- 2. Why did you decide to launch a new universe? How deeply and complex was the research into the old universe, and why did you ultimately decide to abandon its development?
- 2、为什么你们决定开启一个全新的宇宙？对旧宇宙的调研有多深入和复杂，最终又为何决定放弃它的开发？
- The core reasoning was about control and sustainability. We wanted a foundation we fully owned and understood- one we could build on confidently, whether for future Heroes titles, Might & Magic RPGs, or anything else down the line. Trying to patch and extend the old universe would have meant inheriting a tangle of lore we hadn't written, and risking both internal confusion and fan backlash when we inevitably got things wrong. Beyond that, it simply felt like the right moment to refresh everything- the factions, the characters, the world itself. That said, it was no small undertaking. Both games were being developed in parallel for a while, and that created real tension across the teams for months. Looking back, I think it was the right call, even if it was the harder one.
- 核心原因关乎控制权和可持续性。我们想要一个我们完全拥有并理解的基础——一个我们可以自信地在其上构建的基础，无论是未来的《英雄无敌》作品、《魔法门》RPG，还是将来其他任何东西。试图修补和扩展旧宇宙意味着要继承一堆我们未曾编写的复杂背景故事，并且当我们不可避免地出错时，冒着内部混乱和粉丝强烈反对的风险。除此之外，这感觉就像是刷新一切——派系、角色、世界本身的恰当时机。话虽如此，这绝非易事。两款游戏曾并行开发了一段时间，这在几个月内给团队带来了真实的紧张压力。回首往事，我认为这是一个正确的决定，即使它是更艰难的那个。
- 3. What were your inspirations for creating the Ashan universe?
- 3、创建亚山宇宙的灵感来源是什么？
- There are a lot of them, but you'd be better asking Erwan le Breton, who was in charge of this work. What I can say is that there was real ambition behind it, and the result was a world with its own internal logic, which made everything easier to build on.
- 灵感有很多，但你最好去问负责这项工作的 Erwan le Breton。我能说的是，背后有着真正的雄心壮志，其成果是一个拥有自身内在逻辑的世界，这让在此基础上进行一切扩展都变得更容易。
- 4. How were the factions chosen for the game?
- 4、游戏中的派系是如何选定的？
- We went with the most iconic and recognizable ones, which honestly didn't spark a lot of debate. The choices felt natural. We were also deliberate about holding a few back for expansions, which is exactly what happened with the Orcs and the Dwarves. It was a case where the obvious answer was also the right one.
- 我们选择了最具标志性和辨识度的那些，老实说这并没有引发太多争论。选择感觉很自然。我们也刻意留了一些派系给资料片，这正是后来兽人和矮人加入的情况。这是一个显而易见的答案同时也是正确答案的例子。
- 5. Hexes or squares?
- 5、六角格还是四角格？
- Hexes, for me. They open up more strategic angles, though they do ask a little more from the player to read at a glance. In this case, it was a decision made by the design team at Nival, and I think they got it right. It gave the combat a satisfying tactical depth that squares simply wouldn't have matched.
- 如果是我，我会选六角格。它提供了更多战略角度，尽管玩家在扫视战场时需要多花一点精力去判读。不过在这个项目里，这是 Nival 设计团队做出的决定，而我认为他们做对了。它赋予了战斗一种令人满足的战术深度，这是四角格根本无法企及的。
- 注：这一段后面看起来有点奇怪，但是英文和俄文原文机翻出来都是这个意思。
- 6. What is your favorite faction and hero?
- 6、你最喜欢的派系和英雄是哪些？
- I always loved Agrael/ Raelag: the writing gave him real dimension, and Ledroit's art for that character is just stunning. As for factions, Inferno would be close to the top for Haven. There's something about the contrast between those two that captures a lot of what makes the game interesting.
- 我一直很喜欢阿格雷尔/雷拉格：文案赋予了这个角色真正的立体感，而 Ledroit 为该角色创作的艺术画简直惊艳。至于派系，地狱会排在圣堂之后。这两者之间的某种对比捕捉到了让这款游戏变得有趣的许多精髓。
- 7. A key strength of HoMM is that it combines various game mechanics very smartly, which makes a competent AI essential for the single player experience. How did you approach this from a producer's perspective?
- 7、《英雄无敌》的一个关键优势在于它非常巧妙地将各种游戏机制结合在一起，这使得一个称职的 AI 对于单人游戏体验至关重要。作为制作人，你是如何处理这个问题的？
- This is an area where I left Nival lead the charge. They were very confident early on that they could provide a meaningful level of difficulty, while giving the player options to answer. There was a few fans of the series in their team, including the lead designer, Alexander Mishulin. I think they did a very good job overall.
- 在这个领域，我让 Nival 带头主导。他们很早就非常自信地表示，他们能够提供有意义的高难度，同时给玩家提供应对的选项。他们的团队中有几位系列的粉丝，包括主设计师 Alexander Mishulin。总体而言，我认为他们做得非常出色。
- 8. It seems AI development for H5 started initially with the H3 source code. What were the difficulties Nival encountered to have them include cheats on the harder difficulty modes like double creature growth, infinite gold and build twice a turn in a castle? Did you approve these?
- 8、似乎 H5 的 AI 开发最初是参考了 H3 的源代码。Nival 在更高难度模式下加入诸如生物产量翻倍、无限金币和城堡每回合建造两次等"作弊"手段时遇到了什么困难？你批准了这些吗？
- To be clear: we never used the H3 source code directly. It was there as a reference, alongside a couple of boxes of CDs I spent many hours going through, but reverse-engineering someone else's code is rarely worth the effort, and almost always more work than starting fresh. As for the difficulty modifiers, I'd hesitate to call them "cheats". They're a necessary part of testing a game of this complexity properly, and making sure challenging modes actually feel rewarding rather than just unfair.
- 需要澄清的是：我们从未直接使用过 H3 的源代码。它当时是作为一个参考存在的，连同我花了好几个小时翻阅的几盒 CD 一起，但逆向工程别人的代码很少值得这样做，而且几乎总是比从头开始做更多的工作。至于难度修改器，我不太愿意称它们为"作弊"。它们是充分测试这种复杂游戏以及确保挑战模式感觉有回报而非仅仅不公平的必要组成部分。
- 9. A modder with the name Quantomas claims that he contacted you after Hammers of Fate was released and offered to improve the AI. What is the story behind this?
- 9、一位名叫 Quantomas 的模组作者声称，在《命运之锤》发布后他联系了你，并主动提出改进 AI。这背后的故事是什么？
- I do have a vague memory of that. Fan passion like that is genuinely moving, it cared deeply about the game. But for a company, integrating external code from an unknown individual into an official release is a serious risk, legally and technically. Mods are one thing, and we were supportive of that culture even though the game wasn't originally built around modding. But shipping a paid DLC built on outside code is a very different proposition. It just wasn't something we could responsibly do.
- 我确实对此有模糊的记忆。像那样粉丝的热情真的令人感动，他们非常关心这款游戏。但对于一家公司来说，将来自未知个人的外部代码整合到官方版本中，无论是在法律上还是技术上都是严重的风险。模组是一回事，我们也支持这种文化，尽管这款游戏最初并非围绕模组构建。但是发布一个基于外部代码的付费 DLC 则是完全不同的事情。这根本不是我们能够负责任地去做的事情。
- 10. In the summer of 2008 just days before Nival and Ubisoft parted ways you posted a comment that the 3.2 patch is on the way and it will have a good surprise for the fans. Why wasn't it possible to publish this patch and what would it have brought to the game?
- 10、2008 年夏天，就在 Nival 和育碧分道扬镳的前几天，你发帖说 3.2 补丁即将到来，并且会给粉丝们一个惊喜。为什么没能发布这个补丁，它原本会给游戏带来什么？
- I don't have a clear memory of that specific post. The timing of the split with turbulent, and a lot of things that were in motion didn't make it across the finish line.
- 我对那篇具体的帖子没有清晰的记忆。与 Nival 分手的时机很动荡，许多正在进行中的事情都没能走到最后。
- 11. In the artbook image, the Inferno Tower, mountains, and land-in the game, these objects have the suffix "conquest" in their names. Usually, this refers to a mode, or I think it could be terraforming. Perhaps something similar was planned for Heroes 5 at some point?
- 11、在设定集图片中，地狱塔、山脉和陆地——在游戏里，这些物体名字的后缀是"conquest"。通常这指的是一种模式，或者我认为是地形改造。也许《英雄无敌5》在某个时间点计划过类似的东西？
- I do remember though, that there was indeed a higher strategic game mode planned, maybe named conquest, where you would have a higher view of the map and cities etc. But we didn't get to it.
- 不过我确实记得，确实曾计划过一个更高层面的战略游戏模式，也许命名为"征服"，在这个模式下你可以从更高的视角俯瞰地图和城市等。但我们没能实现它。
- 12. Unused lizardmen and naga models found in the game. Was there ever a planned Sanctuary faction or any other faction that we never saw in Ashan? Or any other additional content that we never saw?
- 12、游戏中发现有未使用的蜥蜴人和娜迦模型。是否曾计划过瀛洲派系或任何其他我们在亚山宇宙中从未见过的派系？或者是否有任何其他我们从未见过的额外内容？
- Nival did a lot of exploration and prototyping to figure out what was possible. But there was very little actual waste. Most things that were built found their way into the game in some form. The main exception, and this is something I pushed back on more than once, was concept art that strayed too close to other licences. Early on, the team didn't always have a clear sense of where those lines were, and we spent considerable time working through that. It was one of those unglamorous but genuinely important parts of the production.
- Nival 做了大量的探索和原型设计，以弄清楚什么是可行的。但实际上几乎没有真正的浪费。大多数构建出来的东西都以某种形式进入了游戏。主要的例外——这是我多次反对的一点——是那些过于接近其他版权的概念艺术。早期，团队并不总是清楚地知道这些界限在哪里，我们花了大量时间来解决这个问题。这是制作过程中那些不起眼但真正重要的部分之一。
- 13. Are there any interesting memories from working at Ubisoft or with Nival that were fun or pivotal in the creation of HoMM V?
- 13、在育碧或与 Nival 工作期间，有没有什么有趣的回忆，是充满乐趣或在《英雄无敌5》创作过程中具有关键意义的？
- There are a lot of them! One that stands out is bringing community leaders to Paris to discuss the game and the upcoming beta phase. That direct dialogue with the players shaped things in real ways. Another was the internal fight at Ubisoft to get more time before release. Bugs were piling up and the pressure to ship was intense, but with the community's support, we managed to get a green light for a couple more months. That extra time was essential. The game that came out was meaningfully better for it.
- 有很多！其中一个突出的是把社区领袖带到巴黎，讨论游戏和即将到来的测试阶段。那种与玩家的直接对话以真实的方式塑造了游戏。另一个是育碧内部为了争取更多发布时间而进行的斗争。Bug 越积越多，发售压力巨大，但在社区的支持下，我们成功获得了几个月的延期绿灯。那段额外的时间至关重要。最终发布的游戏因此有了实质性的改善。
- 14. Were you involved in other games in the Might and Magic universe besides Heroes 5 and Heroes Kingdoms? Perhaps the initial development of Heroes 6?
- 14、除了《英雄无敌5》和《英雄无敌王国》，你是否参与了魔法门宇宙中的其他游戏？也许是《英雄无敌6》的最初开发？
- I touched the very beginning of H6 before shifting focus entirely to Heroes Kingdoms. One thing I remember clearly from that period is Nival becoming quite aggressive in their demands for the H5 sequel. That was ultimately the main reason we decided to part ways. I also produced Clash of Heroes, which remains one of my favorite experiences in the industry. The collaboration with Capybara was fantastic, and what they achieved was remarkable: taking an existing, rock-solid puzzle mechanic and making a Might & Magic game out of it, and having it work, brilliantly. Clash of Heroes is one of the best games on the DS, ranked right after the internal Nintendo games.
- 在完全转向《英雄无敌王国》之前，我接触了 H6 非常早期的阶段。那段时期我清楚记得的一件事是，Nival 对 H5 续作的要求变得相当咄咄逼人。这最终成为我们决定分道扬镳的主要原因。我还制作了《英雄交锋》，这至今仍是我在业内最喜欢的经历之一。与 Capybara 的合作非常棒，他们的成就令人瞩目：采用一个现有的、扎实的益智机制，并以此为基础制作了一款《魔法门》游戏，而且效果非常出色。《英雄交锋》是 DS 上最好的游戏之一，排名仅次于任天堂内部的游戏。
- 15. Have you followed the further development of the series, and what is of subsequent games?
- 15、你关注过该系列的后续发展吗？对后续游戏有什么看法？
- I have only played just a bit of H6, but not much to get an opinion. After 10 years of working on the license, I think I had just enought:)
- 我只玩过一点点 H6，但不多，不足以形成看法。在这个 IP 上工作了 10 年后，我想我受够了：）
- 16. Would you change anything in the game now? For example, factions, creatures, or anything else?
- 16、你现在会想改变游戏中的什么吗？比如派系、生物，或其他任何东西？
- Nothing significant, honestly. I'm still proud of the gameplay, the art, and the breadth of content the team created. There's a real balance to the whole thing that I think holds up. The one mixed memory is a difficulty spike in an early map that had to be fixed with a day-zero patch. This story has already been told.
- 老实说，没什么重大的。我仍然为团队创造的玩法、美术和内容的广度感到自豪。整个游戏有一种真正的平衡感，我认为它经得起时间的考验。唯一的复杂回忆是早期一张地图的难度陡增，这必须通过首发当天补丁来修复。这个故事已经讲过了。
- 17. Tell us how you left the brand and [at] Ubisoft.
- 17、告诉我们你是如何离开这个品牌和育碧的。
- I spent a few years working on Heroes Kingdoms, maintaining the game live for 3 or 4 years, while in parallel developping another free to play game, that never got released. This was a relatively smooth transition: working on a different license but on a similar (and over-ambitious) project. Leaving Ubisoft has been more difficult, there was quite a bit of turmoil for me, and I thought it was better to do something else. So I took a few months off, and biked through the USA, coast to coast.
- 我花了几年时间做《英雄无敌王国》，维持该游戏运营了 3 到 4 年，同时并行开发另一款免费游戏，但从未发布。这是一个相对平稳的过渡：在不同的 IP 上工作，但项目类似（且过于雄心勃勃）。离开育碧更困难一些，对我来说有过不少动荡，我认为做点别的事情更好。所以我休息了几个月，骑着自行车穿越了美国，从海岸到海岸。
- 18. What are you currently doing? Are you open to working on a Might & Magic game again or a similar turn-based strategy game? Maybe even a remake of Heroes 5?
- 18、你目前在做什么？你是否愿意再次参与制作《魔法门》游戏或类似的回合制策略游戏？也许是《英雄无敌5》的重制版？
- The past couple of years have been rough for a lot of people in the industry, and I haven't been spared. I'm actively looking for a producer role, ideally remote or at least hybrid. And yes, strategy games are where my heart is, both as a professional and as a player. If the right project came along, whether that's a new M&M, a remake, or something entirely fresh in that space, I'd be very open to the conversation.
- 过去几年对业内很多人来说都很艰难，我也未能幸免。我正在积极寻找制作人的职位，最好是远程或至少是混合办公模式。是的，策略游戏是我内心的归属，无论是作为职业还是玩家。如果有合适的项目出现，无论是新的《魔法门》、重制版，还是该领域全新的作品，我都非常愿意参与讨论。
