Fanstratics月报#5#2021-01

来源：https://www.fanstratics.com/fstnewsletter05，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。