来源：https://www.fanstratics.com/fstnewsletter14，以下由HeavenK翻译。

• ​Fanstratics Troop: Gawker.
• 兵种介绍：邪眼
• Where the Chimerans are believed to be the unfortunate remnants of archaic arcane experiments, the Zubhewens are a sub-human faction born from intentional evolutionary corruption. While there are clear evolutionary connections between Elves and Goblins, when it comes to the Gawker, there is one obvious question, “From what did the Gawker evolve, and what is its mysterious relationship to the other Zubhewen folk?”
  In 1997, when I began building HoMM3’s various rosters, TSR’s original hard cover Monster Manual was a primary resource. To this day, it is still valuable. It is quite literally, a ‘manual of monsters’ gleaned from mythology, folklore, and fantasy fiction. To avoid extended creative research, any author can jumpstart their work by thumbing through TSR’s Monster Manual. Most of the depicted creatures couldn’t be copyrighted by TSR, but the Beholder was different, and I wanted something like a Beholder in HoMM3. While the idea of a ‘floating eye’ is not necessarily original, TSR’s stylistic conception could be copyrighted. In fact, to avoid any potential copyright issues, Ultima’s version of the Beholder was initially called Wandering Eyes, before it eventually became the Gazer. I had no idea Beholders were specifically copyrighted by TSR, and I should have avoided naming HoMM3’s Beholders/Evil Eyes as such. Perhaps TSR didn’t know, didn’t care, or didn’t think a ‘cease-and-desist’ letter was worth the turmoil. Perhaps we were on safe ground. I simply don’t know. Regardless, I am happy a Beholder-inspired Troop remained in the game. As for Fanstratics... we have a Gawker. For those of you who want to see Justin actually render the drawing, you can watch a VOD of his Twitch stream.
• Chimerans据信是远古神秘实验的不幸受害者，而Zubhewens则是蓄意进化污染所诞生的亚人种族。对于精灵与地精等等种族，它们都有着明确的演化关系，但是对于Gawker，问题就来了，这玩意到底是由什么进化出来的，又和其他Zubhewens之间有哪些神秘的联系？
  剧情外的部分：1997年我们还在制作英雄无敌3时，我们的一个主要参考来源就是TSR的怪物手册。但是当时也存在一个问题，尽管其他怪物TSR是没有版权的，但是眼魔不一样。所以当初英雄无敌3没有直接照搬名字，而是像创世纪把眼魔改名为徘徊之眼一样，用了邪眼这个名称。最终不知道TSR是不知道，不想管，还是懒得管。反正最后没被寄律师函。现在到了FST，我们就有了Gawker这玩意。

• Fanstratics Feature: Artifact Upgrade System.
• FST特性：宝物升级系统
• When I was designing HoMM3, my primary guideline was, “If it is not in the spirit of HoMM... remove it.” When designing Fanstratics, I have a couple different primary guidelines. One is, “When possible, create competition for resources.” Anyone who has built a HoMM3 map, should know there is repetition in the various Artifact groups. For instance...
  • Centaur’s Axe: Attack +2
  • Greater Gnoll’s Flail: Attack +4
  • Sword of Hellfire: Attack +6
  At the time, this approach was derived from TSR’s Dungeons & Dragons, and was quite common. I couldn’t say when, but at some point, the concept of upgradable Artifacts (in one form or another), took root, began to spread, and eventually overtook unique Artifacts. With Fanstratics, I am modifying the Artifact system. As an example, consider the aforementioned ‘Attack’ Artifacts. While there will still be 3 individual Attack Artifacts, a player will have the option to spend resources (Common, Rare, and Gold), to upgrade an Artifact. For example...
  Centaur’s Axe > Greater Gnoll’s Flail >> Sword of Hellfire.
  Hopefully, with each turn, a player will be faced with the following budgetary decisions...
  • Should I buy Troops?
  • Should I buy a Town Structure?
  • Should I upgrade an equipped Hero Artifact?
  Hopefully, this ‘system adjustment’ will create some additional strategic avenues, which should create additional competition for a player’s resources.
• 简单说，在英雄无敌3里面有大量同类型宝物，比如攻击+2的人马战斧，攻击+4的狼人连枷，攻击+6的火神剑。当初这一设定也是学的龙与地下城。但是当前游戏设定中更偏向可升级的神器宝物。所以在FST里也会有类似设定，比如可以花费一定资源把低等级宝物升级成高等级的。

• Will it be possible to add custom hero portraits in the Fanstratics map editor, or will it be possible to use only portraits of existing heroes, as in HoMM3?
• 地图编辑器会开放自定义头像么？
• Hero Portraits will be limited, and the reasoning for this is simple. If we give the community the ability to import any picture they want... well... I think you can imagine someone will eventually import adult material. From a developer perspective, it’s best to keep this feature un-customizable.
• 不会，原因你懂的，一旦开放就会有大量R18要素出现。

• Will Fanstratics have a campaign editor? Will Fanstratics use a campaign map where territories are highlighted where the scenario takes place, just like HoMM3? If so, will it be possible to load a custom campaign map and highlight territories on it?
• FST会有战役编辑器么？
• As to a Campaign Editor, I’m leaning against it, but it’s presently undecided. Why? Community Campaign tools simply aren’t used very much. If you look at Map4Heroes.com, there are over 2000+ HoMM3 maps. Of these maps, ~30 entries are multi-map campaigns. This translates into ~1.5%. We’ll see what happens.
• 个人倾向不会，但目前未定。因为根据过去经验，做战役的玩家很少，比如在Map4Heroes.com上，地图有2000+，但战役只有30左右，比例很低。所以后续再决定。

• HoMM3 Recollection: Nick Ferrari.
• H3拾遣: Nick Ferrari
• 点击展开长文
• 

• As you said in the earlier interviews, Angels are highly advanced technological (biotechnological?) constructs. What about Monks and Zealots? Are they human or maybe something else? One of the tavern rumor states: “Have you heard? Zealots are beings of pure energy.”
• 之前的采访中你提到，天使是高科技构造体。那么僧侣和祭司呢？它们是人类么。有一个酒馆传言说祭司是纯粹的能量体。
• Monks are human, and Zealots are ‘ascended’ Monks; essentially higher-level Monks able to control and project energy. I wouldn’t say they are beings of pure energy, but they are luminous.
• 僧侣是人类，祭司是升华的僧侣。这些高级僧侣能控制并投射能量，但并不是纯能量生物，只是会发光而已。

• What are your favorite computer games? Of course, excluding the games that you developed yourself :P
• 你最喜欢的电脑游戏是什么？
• When people make lists like these, in my mind, there are three types: Best, Influential, and Favorite.
  • Best: Best games are quite literally, the best games currently available to play. These lists are heavily weighted toward recent games... because recent games incorporate lessons learned from their predecessors. This is why it is difficult to compare one generation of games to the next. While Space Invaders is a favorite, and arguably the most influential video game ever made... does it belong on a ‘best of’ list? No. I love Space Invaders, but I can’t play it for more than five to ten minutes before I get bored. It’s antiquated.
  • Influential: Influential games may not be the best games, or my favorite games, but they are ‘pioneering’ games. They lay the path on which subsequent games tread. In my opinion, Ultima is not the best RPG ever made, but it laid the groundwork for all of my favorite RPG’s. It’s difficult to underestimate its influence.
  • Favorites: Now to answer your question, “What are my favorite computer games?” Favorite games are not necessarily the best... or the most influential. These games hold a special place in my heart, because they affected me on a level, other games did not.
  These games tend to be older, because when you are younger and inexperienced, it takes far less to ignite your imagination. For example, most people, when they see Fall Guys, they a Twitch driven success story. Me? I see a modern incarnation of Mario Party, which was released in 1998. Now... onto my list of favorites.
  • Space Invaders: I heard the sounds of Space Invaders before I saw it. After I saw it... and played it... my life was different.
  • Robotron 2084: In my mind, the legends of coin-operated arcade gaming were Space Invaders, Pac Man, Robotron, Dragon’s Lair, and Street Fighter 2. Robotron was true sensory overload, the birth of bullet hell, and the best implementation of the two-stick control scheme.
  • Dragon’s Lair: Dragon’s Lair appeared in 1983, the same year the as the start of the Video Game Crash in the USA. I’d felt the crash coming, as arcades were diminishing, and the Atari 2600 was everywhere... to an almost sickening degree. Dragon’s Lair was a primitive, ‘learn by death’ collection of what we now call ‘quick time events’, but it was funny... dramatic... artistic. It showed what games could become, and the sound... wow... the sound was exhilarating.
  • Legend of Zelda: Like many of my generation, with the video game crash of the early 1980’s, I began to think video games would end up little more than a wonderous fad. Then Nintendo produced the Nintendo Entertainment System... and Shigeru Miyamoto’s Legend of Zelda. I played Legend of Zelda, in 12-to-16-hour marathon sessions, until I finished the game. I would forget to eat, and because I would forget to eat, my mother would make sandwiches and lay the plates next to me.
  • Might and Magic 3: Colorful. Complex. Vast. Deep. Open world. Surprise twist ending. I was hooked from beginning-to-end. Might and Magic 3 was the first non-arcade, non-console game, I ever played. It was overwhelming.
  • Wolfenstein 3D: For most people, Doom was a revelation. For me, it was Doom’s predecessor... Wolfenstein 3D. I still remember starting the game, moving the joystick, and witnessing the smooth 3D rendering of a virtual world. I audibly uttered ‘Woah’.
  • X-Com: I first played X-Com, as a game demo, taken from a 3.5 floppy disc, packaged with a copy of PC Gamer magazine. It, more than any other game, solidified my desire to become a video game developer. Creative. Mysterious. Creepy. Violent. It took disparate game mechanics, and blended them into a truly unique game for its time. X-Com is the perfect example of a game, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
  • Quake: While I enjoyed the Quake campaign, it was Quake multiplayer where the game became mythical: Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Team Fortress, etc. I went into work on the weekends to play some form of Quake multiplayer via LAN. With my coworkers, we played, ordered in pizza, and played more. Suddenly, it was Sunday night, and we had to go back to work in the morning.
  • Fallout: I bought Fallout as a ‘research project’ (because of my familiarity with the GURPS role-playing game system), and did not have the faintest clue as to the adventure I was about to undertake. I’ll never forget, the moment my character decided it was more beneficial to be evil instead of good. I’ll never forget, being denied re-entry into the vault. In my mind, it was the first truly ‘consequential’ RPG.
  • Diablo: Dustin Browder and I played marathon sessions of co-op Diablo, with the shared goal to defeat the devil, on the hardest level of difficulty. We did it. Lots of randomly generated memories.
  • Half-Life: While I played and finished the final release of Half-life, I re-played the demo numerous times. I even gave the demo to my friends, just so I could watch them play and react to it. Half-life was the birth of the cinematic, action-adventure shooter. It was the first game to begin delivering on the promises made by Dragon’s Lair.
  I’m going to stop here. There are others, but these are the highlights.
• 太空入侵者，机器人2084，龙穴，塞尔达传说，魔法门3，德军总部3d，X-com，雷神之锤，辐射，暗黑破坏神，半条命。

• How did you came up with names for Heroes towns and characters? Conflux names bear resemblance to Old French, Old German, Latin, Greek etc. words connected with the elements (Wazzar, Igne, Magmetin, Brissa, Lacus).
• 你是怎么给英雄无敌的城镇和角色起名字的？
• With the emergence of the internet, crafting an original name is more difficult now than ever before. To arrive at something... somewhat original... I typically start with a basic word description, then work backward, digging into the etymological origins. For instance, the Conflux is an Elemental faction; air, earth, fire, and water. Water descends from the Old High German word of... wazzar. Sometimes I will push or pull a word’s spelling to arrive at something unique, or in the case of Fanstratics, amalgamate different syllables to arrive at a new word. Perhaps the best example of this approach is Darth Vader from Star Wars. ‘Darth’ is a spelling variation of ‘dark’, and ‘Vader’ is Dutch for ‘father’. Hence, Darth Vader means... Dark Father.
• 简单说就是把一些常见事物用其他语言或是近似发音代替。

• The last but not least: David Mullich said that his favorite cheese is cheddar. Do you agree with him or do you prefer a different one?
• David Mullich最喜欢的奶酪是切达干酪（一种英国干酪，产自英格兰西南部的切达村），你呢？
• My grandfather was a dairy farmer, and when I was very young, he introduced me to ‘fresh cheese curd’. There’s nothing quite like it. ‘Fresh’ being the key.
• 略...

来源：https://www.fanstratics.com/fstnewsletter13，以下由HeavenK翻译。

• Fanstratics Troop: Mammoth Bone Crusher.
• 兵种介绍：猛犸碎骨者
• No other Troop enjoys up close and personal melee combat more than the Mammoth Bone Crusher. Disgusted with the idea of traditional weaponry, their iron ‘knuckle dusters’ give additional mass and momentum to their assaults, while serving to protect their heavy hands. In their presence, few opponents can mount a sustainable defense. Just as Fanstratics (FST) has Factional parallels to HoMM3, FST also has Troop parallels. When it came to replacing the Behemoth, I needed a massive monster embodying brute force.My first thought was ‘elephant’. My second thought was ‘mammoth’. My third though was, “This one’s going to be a lot of fun.” Once again, Justin nailed it. VOD of his Twitch stream.
• 没有那支部队比猛犸碎骨者更擅长近距离肉搏了。有别于传统武器类型，它们的钢铁指虎让攻击变得更具冲击与威力，同时也能起到保护自身厚重手掌的作用。当它们上场的时候，很少又对手能够持续地防御。FST不仅阵营与英雄无敌3类似，部队也是一样。当我们想设计一个类似于比蒙的兵种时，我脑海中闪过了各种大体积并且勇猛的怪物。我的第一想法是大象，第二个念头则是猛犸，最终我想，“这家伙肯定能带来不少乐子”。

• Fanstratics Feature: Battlefield Artifacts.
• 游戏特性：战场神器
• While this is another old and somewhat logical idea, I am a touch embarrassed to admit it didn’t occur to me until I started preliminary work on HoMM4.Initially my thoughts were... ‘more war machines... different war machines’. After thinking it through, the concept quickly evolved into ‘Battlefield Artifacts’. While War Machines are the Ammo Cart, Ballista, Catapult, and Medical Tent... Battlefield Artifacts are unique. Their individual effects only trigger when specific conditions are met on the Battlefield. Please keep in mind, this particular feature is a work in progress, and if the result isn’t as envisioned... it will be removed. In my brainstorming for Fanstratics, I have created numerous Hero Attributes, Hero Skills, Hero Spells, Troop Attributes, and various Artifacts. When one of the aforementioned doesn’t ‘make the cut’, I try to work it into the game as a Battlefield Artifact. We’ll see what happens. I’m relatively hopeful.
• 虽然这是另一个并不新鲜且合情合理的想法，但我不得不尴尬的承认直到我开始英雄无敌4的初步设计工作时才想到。起初，我想的是更多的战争机器，不同的战争机器。但是随着想法的深入，这个概念很快进化成了“战场神器”。战争机器不过是弹药箱、弩车、投石机和医疗帐篷这些，但是战场神器则更为独特。它们的效果只有在战斗中满足特定条件之后才会触发。请注意，这些特性还在设计中，最终结果尚未确定，且有可能被移除......

• Question: I have one question about one of the heroes from HoMM3...Kyrre. What gender this hero is supposed to be? Kyrre looks like he is a man, name Kyrre is a common Norse male name, there is a standard scenario in the Shadow of Death expansion - Battle of the Sexes, where male heroes play against female heroes, and Kyrre on this map represents the male side. Also in HoMM4 there is also Kyrre, a man. But at the same time, technically in the game this hero is female, and in the description of the hero there are words "Her ability to navigate...".So, Kyrre became a woman by a mistake, or there is no mistake?
• 提问：英雄无敌3的英雄凯琳到底是男的女的？她看起来像男的，名字也是男名，而且在性别大战地图中，她也是出现在男性一边；在英雄无敌4里她也是一个男英雄。但唯独在3代里她是个女性。
• Regarding ‘Kyrre’... there is a mistake. This particular memory is rather fuzzy, but if remember correctly, I originally specified the Hero as Male. Soon thereafter, Chris Vanover wrote the Hero’s biography and I named the Hero. After this was accomplished, the Hero’s portrait, as rendered by George Almond, was put into the game. When I saw Kyrre’s portrait, it created some confusion, as myself and others thought Kyrre didn’t look male. I did a quick survey amongst the HoMM3 staff, and more people, at first glance, thought Kyree looked female. So, I went with the majority opinion and made Kyree female (as defined by the manual). In hindsight, I should have also changed Kyrre’s name as well. So, yes, it appears there is an error/bug, which carried over into HoMM4.
• 哦，那是个错误。如果我记得没错的话，起初设定是男性英雄，但是后面看到头像的时候，设计组的大多数成员都觉得像是女性，于是少数服从多数，我就把她设定成女性了。马后炮来看，我应该把名字也改掉的，也正是这个错误一直带到了4代。

• HoMM3 Recollection: Lobstrosity?
• 英雄无敌3拾遗：Lobstrosity
• In Newsletter #09, I addressed a question from Behemoth Cave, where they asked about the ‘Lobstrosity’. At the time, my reply was, “this concept drawing. While I never saw the modeled Lobstrosity, and never knew it was in the game as a ‘secret’ Troop, I do recall seeing the concept art. As it is now commonly called, the Lobstrosity was George Almond’s first attempt at the Behemoth (the concept art file is appropriately named). After Phelan showed the sketch to me, I told her, “No.” She then shrugged and asked, “Well? What’s it supposed to look like?” told her, “Something like the Rancor from Return of the Jedi.” With this new information, she departed and spun up the game’s final result. As for the Lobstrosity, I had no idea the creature had been modeled and I never saw the final result. This would explain why I didn’t remember it.
• 在之前的文章中有人提了关于Lobstrosity的问题。我当时回答是没见过这个部队的设定。后来我仔细看了看设定图，想起来这应该是当初George Almond关于比蒙设计的初稿，后来Phelan问我的时候，我觉得这玩意看起来更像绝地归来里的兰苛，而不像比蒙，所以这个初稿就毙掉了。我没想到他们后面还做出了模型，而我也没见过这个最终版模型，所以这就是我之前不记得的原因。

• HoMM3 Recollection: 3500 Naga Queens.
• 英雄无敌3拾遗：3500个娜迦女王
• 点击展开长文
• 
• 简单说就是当初在难度调试的时候，作者一上来就击败了别人都觉得不可能击败的3500个娜迦女王关卡，并最终影响到了游戏设置的难度。

• We’ll now ask you some quick questions: Did you plan on creating an introduction film to Shadow of Death, similar to Restoration of Erathia or Armageddon’s Blade?
• 当初是否打算给死亡阴影制作一隔开场影片？
• Originally, after the Restoration of Erathia, three expansions were planned.
  • Armageddon’s Blade. Forge faction. New campaign. New solo maps.
  • Unnamed expansion. Conflux faction. New campaign. New solo maps.
  • Unnamed expansion. No new faction. No new campaign. New solo maps. This expansion eventually became Shadow of Death.
  After the Forge was canceled, the story was revised to utilize the Conflux as the substitute faction. This effectively eliminated the planned second expansion, and moved the third expansion up. Shortly after Armageddon’s Blade was shipped, I left New World Computing, and when I left, the Shadow of Death expansion didn’t have a name, and there were no plans for an introductory cinematic.
• 当初在埃拉西亚的光复后，计划出三个资料片，分别是：
  • 末日之刃，出铸造族、新战役、新单人地图；
  • 未命名资料片，出元素族、新战役、新单人地图；
  • 未命名资料片，无新种族、无新战役、新单人地图
  其中最后一个资料片才应该是死亡阴影。但是后来由于铸造族事件，元素族提到了末日之刃资料片中，原本的第二个资料片取消，死亡阴影提到了第二个资料片的位置。由于当时我已经离开了NWC，至少在我走的时候，死亡阴影资料片还未命名，也没有计划出开场影片。

• Which town / hero / creature in Heroes III is your favorite?
• 你最喜欢英雄无敌3里的哪个种族、英雄、生物？
• I don’t really have favorites, but specific towns, heroes, and creatures do stand out as iconic. Castle, Dungeon, and Tower towns are all beautiful. Astral, Crag Hack, Dracon, Sandro, Solmyr, Tazar, and of course... Sir Mullich... all stand out. I never thought Ancient Behemoths, Gorgons, and Troglodytes would become fan favorites.
• 我其实并没有特别喜欢的，但是一些特定的种族、英雄和生物确实成了游戏的代表。城堡、地下和塔楼都很漂亮。艾斯却尔、肯洛·哈格、德肯、山德鲁、索姆拉、泰泽，还有姆拉克爵士都很杰出。而我没想到比蒙、蛮牛和穴居人会成为粉丝的最爱。

• What was the biggest challenge in the development of Heroes III?
• 英雄无敌3设计中的最大挑战是什么？
• In ‘project’ terms, art was the biggest challenge. Thankfully, David Mullich and Phelan Sykes shielded me from the perpetual tug-of-war with the art staff. In ‘personal’ terms, the biggest challenge was dealing with the constant second guessing from anyone who thought they knew what was best for the game design. This included everyone from management to testers. From the outset, it was tough, as I had to prove myself, but as production moved forward, most people chose to leave me alone. Only occasionally, did I feel compelled to put someone in their place. Most of the time I was gentle.
• 在整个项目中，美术是最大的挑战，多亏了David Mullich和Phelan Sykes的帮助。而对我个人来说，最大的挑战是当人们觉得他的想法对游戏设计最有利时，如何冷静下来仔细思考。

• After all these years - is there anything you would like to change in Heroes III?
• 多年以后，你觉得英雄无敌3还有哪里是需要修改的？
• In general, “No.” By the time Armageddon’s Blade was published, everything I wanted, with the exception of the Forge, made it into the game. It felt complete. Only with Fanstratics, after 20 years of reflection, am I able to find undiscovered areas for improvement.
• 整体来说没有，末日之刃发售时，除了铸造族以外，其他一切我设想的都完成了，可以说完美。而对这20年来的其他想法，我会在FST中实现。

来源：https://www.fanstratics.com/fstnewsletter12，以下由HeavenK翻译。

• Fanstratics Troop: Lich.
• 兵种介绍：巫妖
• Filled with all-consuming ego, the Lich is a self-proclaimed ruler of the undead. Powerful and ruthless, this wicked skeletal mage feeds on the lifeforce of the living to prolong its existence. It is truly something between and beyond. One of the wonderful things about working with Justin, is seeing how he will ultimately render a familiar fantasy archetype. As always, he didn’t disappoint. I'm looking forward to seeing this one on the Battlefield. For those of you who want to see Justin actually render the drawing, you can watch a VOD of his Twitch stream.
• 自命不凡的巫妖认为自己是亡灵的主宰。这些强大而无情的邪恶骷髅法师以汲取生者的生命力来延长自己的寿命。它们半生半死却又非生非死。你可以在Twitch频道上看到Justin的作画过程。

• Fanstratics Faction #9: Chimerans.
• 阵营9：Chimerans
• An ancient cosmopolitan faction, the Chimerans are associated with the exotic Runic terrain. Believed to be the unfortunate remnants of archaic arcane experiments, their origins are directly tied to the establishment of the present cultures. Up to this point, each of the preceding 8 Fanstratics Factions had a familiar association with an existing HoMM3 Faction. Some will try to tie the Chimerans to the Conflux, but in truth, the Chimerans are a unique culture with no HoMM3 parallel. Representing the Chimerans is the Medusa Vanguard, which can be viewed in the Fanstratics Gallery.
• Chimerans是一个远古的世界性阵营，其背景扎根于奇异的镌符之地。据说它们是一场庞大的魔法实验的不幸后裔，这种出身也塑造了它们如今的文化。到目前为止，前8个阵营都与英雄无敌3的已有阵营近似，因此可能有人会把Chimerans类比为元素族，但实际上Chimerans是与英雄无敌3不同的独特阵营。Chimerans的代表是Medusa Vanguard。

• Fanstratics Feature: 9 Playable Factions.
• Fanstratics特性：9个可选阵营
• If you have been keeping track, you would know I had 9 Factions planned. In revealing the Chimerans, all 9 are now known. Here they are in alphabetical order...
  • Allegiant
  • Boggish
  • Chimerans
  • Infernals
  • Krasadox
  • Necrotics
  • Stoutbluds
  • Thornwood
  • Zubhewen
  Some of you may be wondering why 9... from the start? HoMM3 shipped with 8 Factions, with the 9th Faction, the Conflux, being added with the expansion. Truthfully, it all comes down to expanded cultural knowledge of the fantasy genre. Prior to 1999, the public’s ‘cultural knowledge of the fantasy genre’ was limited to classical architypes. Since 1999, due in large part to video games, the public’s ‘cultural knowledge of the fantasy genre’ has expanded. In 1999, if I had proposed a spell casting, anthropomorphic alligator (Gatorkin Caster), I’m relatively confident JVC would have given me a sour glare and shot it down. Today... most people wouldn’t blink. While Fanstratics will continue to adhere to classical fantasy architypes, there is more room to play around at the edges, and embracing this additional freedom goes an exceptionally long way to helping FST distinguish itself from HoMM3. So, from the start, I was able to construct a comfortable 9 Factions.
• 目前9个可选阵营已经全部公布。
  • Allegiant - 忠义军 - 对应城堡
  • Stoutbluds - 劲醇宗 - 对应塔楼
  • Thornwood - 荆木集 - 对应壁垒
  • Necrotics - 奈落窠 - 对应墓园
  • Krasadox - 剋砂教 - 对应据点
  • Zubhewen - 斫鄙窟 - 对应地下城
  • Infernals - 炎焚狱 - 对应地狱
  • Boggish - 泊蜥泽 - 对应要塞
  • Chimerans - 奇魔廊 - 无，元素out
  • 别问为什么翻译这么奇怪，解释过的，原文就很奇怪，所以翻译搞起事来就停不下来了，反正汉化又不是我们来负责，但是所以如果谁有正经合用还能让强迫症患者接受的统一格式的翻译欢迎塞过来。
  你们可能会想知道为什么一开始就是9个阵营？英雄无敌3代开始是8个族，资料片里又加了第9族元素族。实话实说，这一切都可以归因于对传统奇幻文化的认知上。在99年，大众对传统奇幻文化的认知还局限于经典奇幻，而从那以后，各种电子游戏扩展了大众的认知。比如说，如果我在99年拿来一个会施法的人形短尾鳄设计，我很肯定JVC会用死亡凝视打消这个念头。但是现在绝大多数人对这种设计早已见怪不怪。尽管Fanstratics还将继续传统奇幻风格，但我们也有更多的机会来拓展传统奇幻的边界，同时也可以帮助FST走出自己的风格。所以，我决定游戏开始就设定为9个阵营。

• Question: Hail from Poland! We love the series here! I was introduced to Heroes 3 as a kid, playing on a pirate version with my 3 brothers on a hot seat mode. It been a wild fun experience. We did eventually buy official copies of the game. I still have official cd-disk of the Shadow of Death and Armageddon Blade. Nowadays GoG version. Seriously, we all still play the game, we always have it installed. Heroes 3 for me is precious. A game that shaped my childhood. Something we always return to. There’s very few games like this I treasure and always come back to. Genuinely from my heart. Thank you for it.
• 来自波兰玩家，介绍了自己对英雄无敌3的感情。
• Thank you very much for your story. Believe it or not, I actually enjoy the tales people tell me, regarding HoMM3, and how they discovered it. I suspect I would do something similar, if I ever met Tomohiro Nishikado, and could tell him my Space Invaders story. Speaking of Game Design legends...
• 非常感谢你的故事。不知道你们信不信，其实我很喜欢听别人讲述它们自己与英雄无敌3的故事。如果有一天我能遇到西角友宏，我也会向他讲述我当初玩到《太空入侵者》的故事。

• HoMM3 Recollection: My HoMM3 Job Interview.
• 应聘英雄无敌3工作的经历。
• 点击展开长文
• 
• 略。

以下是Behemoth Cave的采访问答，共18问。

• Heroes III is not the only game in the series. Can you share with us your opinion on the Heroes’ games that came after the 3rd installment? How do you rate Heroes 4 and Ubisoft trilogy set in the world of Ashan?
• 你对英雄无敌3之后的系列有什么看法？
• Regarding this question, I am going to respectfully decline to respond. Anything I say about the other HoMM game, positive or negative, will create controversy.
• 无可奉告。因为无论我说正面还是负面的意见，都会产生曲解。

• Do you think Ubisoft will continue with Heroes 8?
• 你认为育碧还会出英雄无敌8么？
• Unlikely. After three attempts, Ubisoft has been unable to replicate the success of HoMM3. From a business perspective, they have other franchises, in which they have more expertise, and better success (Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Watch Dogs, Rainbow Six, etc.). Why pour resources into an underachieving franchise you don’t understand? This is how older game franchises are put out to pasture.
  • Command & Conquer?
  • Dungeon Keeper?
  • Everquest?
  • Legacy of Kain?
  • Medal of Honor?
  • Prince of Persia?
  • Ultima?
  • Virtua Fighter?
  • Wizardry?
• 不太可能。育碧出的三部英雄无敌都没能复制英雄无敌3的成功。从商业角度来看，育碧自己有很多品牌并且取得了不错的成绩（刺客信条，孤岛惊魂，看门狗，彩虹六号等等）。所以为什么还要花费资源去搞不懂的品牌上。很多老品牌都已经吃灰了，比如命令与征服，地下城守护者，无尽的任务，凯恩的遗产，荣誉勋章，波斯王子，创世纪，VR战士，巫术等等。

• This is a good moment to talk about your newest project: Fanstratics. Name of the game is composed of words: Fantasy, Strategy & Tactics and as you said yourself - it is a spiritual successor to Heroes of Might & Magic 3. Fanstratics status is currently pre-alpha and to this moment we haven’t seen any graphics or screenshots, excluding three concept artworks. In September’s newsletter you wrote that visually it will resemble Heroes 3. 3D models converted to 2D graphics, squares on adventure map, hexagonal battlegrounds and town interiors on a separate screen. Can you say a little bit more on the topic?
• 回到Fanstratics，关于图像部分还有什么消息？
• Firstly, one correction. Fanstratics uses true 3D models with 2D interaction. 3D models are not converted into 2D sprites/graphics. For an example, I have pointed to Ori and the Blind Forest, which is a 2D platformer, rendered in 3D. I guess you could think of Fanstratics as a 2D TBS, rendered in 3D.
• Fanstratics采用的是3d建模2d交互，而非3d转2d。举例而言，就像奥日和黑暗森林一样。你可以理解成Fanstratics是一个2d的TBS但是渲染成3d。

• Will Fanstratics contain sci-fi/futuristic elements or will it be strictly set in fantasy canon?
• Fanstratics会包含科幻/未来要素么？
• While I want Fanstratics to be thought of as spiritual successor to HoMM3, I don’t want it to be viewed as a Might and Magic ‘rip off’. For this reason, I have chosen to avoid science fiction or futuristic elements. I have already laid the creative foundation upon which the Fanstratics world is based, I am happy with what I’ve done, and I look forward to its gradual reveal. While it is strictly fantasy... it is not stereotypical fantasy. Hopefully, you will like it, and enjoy it. :-)
• 尽管我把Fanstratics定义为英雄无敌3的精神续作，但又要剥离一些魔法门要素。所以Fanstratics会避免科幻和未来主义要素。目前Fanstratics的基石已定，在之前的文章中也展示出来了。不过，虽然Fanstratics属于奇幻，但也不是老一套的那种奇幻。希望你们喜欢。

• For example what factions and magic schools are planned? Please, share with us everything you can! We are Fanstratics news-hungry :).
• 阵营和法术学派是怎么设计的？
• Nine factions are planned, and starting with the December Newsletter, I plan to start a slow trickle of details. Currently, the landing page gallery showcases concept sketches for four Troop types, each from a different faction. A draft of Adventure and Battlefield Spells has been completed, but not finalized. So, at this time, I would say ‘no comment’ regarding Magic Schools. Please believe me when I say, I want to reveal everything I have designed and everything currently in development, but we have a very long way to go before launching a crowd funding effort. Were I to divulge everything I have planned... there would be nothing to discuss for months. I know it’s a lot to ask, but please be patient. We’ll get there. Hopefully, you will find it worth the wait.
• 目前关于冒险和战斗法术的设计草图已基本完成，但还欠缺打磨。所以当前还属于“无可奉告”未来时机成熟会公布。