Heroes of Might & Magic V Public Beta Released

[Everlost_MI]

The public beta for Heroes of Might and Magic V has begun as of Monday, January 23rd at 10 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. However until Thursday, it's only open to Gamespy subscribers. Full details and the software can be found at the official Heroes of Might and Magic V website. (http://www.mightandmagic.com/us/)

Thanks to Worthplaying (http://www.worthplaying.com/) for the tip.

Nice! I'll have to snag this after Thursday.

[Returner]

I wish it would have been a single player demo, not really liking the multiplayer.

[Lexicon]

I wish it would have been a single player demo, not really liking the multiplayer.

I agree with you, wish they had at least included one single player map to get a feel for that part of the game.

[Captain Awesome]

Looking very forward to this!

[woodentaco]

In the closed beta at least you could mess with the files a little bit and unlock single player, don't know if thats still true though

[Nameback]

I think it should be mentioned that this is a subscriber only feature until thursday

[[Jez]]

avoid if your trying to keep Starforce free

[Abash Alarmist]

Question:

Does this require a key to play, or is the 'exclusiveness' only for the file itself?

[Nameback]

I think theres a key, but thats only my guess

[net7runner]

It uses StarForce. 'Nuff said.

[Zurik]

Why the hell are downloadable demos using StarForce now!?!? Is it just to keep the smart people away from the game, or are they really afraid of people stealing a demo now.

[Kefkataran]

I would be all over this if:

a. It was singleplayer

b. I hadn't just ordered myself a copy of Civ IV that should be here by Thursday.

[Tia]

Why the hell are downloadable demos using StarForce now!?!? Is it just to keep the smart people away from the game, or are they really afraid of people stealing a demo now.

Demo??

*Looks at the subject.... *Looks at the website....

B... E... T... A...

Yup, this is how I also spell demo.

[[Jez]]

Why the hell are downloadable demos using StarForce now!?!? Is it just to keep the smart people away from the game, or are they really afraid of people stealing a demo now.
Demos or in this case beta using files that will most likey be used in the retail game so companys are now banging on copy protection to stop pirates... witch it doesnt really do, it just makes it so I cant run my DVD edition of F.E.A.R witch I bought on release day because of some fucking arsehole and his delusions of stoping pirates. I now run F.E.A.R fine after download a nocd crack ths turning me into a fucking pirate and making sure I will NEVER buy a game with the recent copy protections on it.

[IndependentGMR]

Here is a dumb question: What is StarForce? And does the beta include hot seat multi-player, or just online play?

[Nameback]

Here is a dumb question: What is StarForce? And does the beta include hot seat multi-player, or just online play?

Starforce is a form of copy protection that instrall drivers and other software that analy rape your computer. Think sonys rootkit. As for what the beta includes, I dunno, because I like to keep my computer healthy.

[Abash Alarmist]

']Demos or in this case beta using files that will most likey be used in the retail game so companys are now banging on copy protection to stop pirates... witch it doesnt really do, it just makes it so I cant run my DVD edition of F.E.A.R witch I bought on release day because of some fucking arsehole and his delusions of stoping pirates. I now run F.E.A.R fine after download a nocd crack ths turning me into a fucking pirate and making sure I will NEVER buy a game with the recent copy protections on it.

It doesn't make you a pirater to crack your legally obtained game...

[Bushido]

It doesn't make you a pirater to crack your legally obtained game...


Amen!!!!!!!

[IndependentGMR]

Starforce is a form of copy protection that instrall drivers and other software that analy rape your computer. Think sonys rootkit. As for what the beta includes, I dunno, because I like to keep my computer healthy.

Haha, thanks. I guess I won't be downloading the beta.

[Zawath]

The new Starforce doesn't cause any problems. I have had it for months now.

[Varsity]

Why the hell are downloadable demos using StarForce now!?!? Is it just to keep the smart people away from the game, or are they really afraid of people stealing a demo now.
Because, smart person, the releasing an unprotected version of protected code has fairly obvious consequences.

[normyk]

This would have been a lot better with single player. There is a learning curve involved and having some time to figure things out is important.

That said I can see a number of improvements that have been made and a number of things that really need work (least of which is the vast list of items that have "todo" listed on them in game). Based on the number of broken items and missing features it felt more like an alpha than a beta. Still, I'm pretty excited based on what I saw last night. The little I played was fun and felt like a classic Heroes game and looked beautiful, even with the somewhat limited visual settings that are forced on you by the crashiness of the beta. It promises something better than Heroes VI in my estimation, though whether it's on par with Heroes III (very good) or Heroes II (the pinnacle of excellence) is yet to be seen. And I really want single player.

I'm annoyed by the Starforce crap, though. It just isn't necessary on a public beta.

[YoungAlCapone]

I have been doing my best to remain starforce free, but this one hurts.

Shit, the way they do it nowadays you could have the Rootkit or starforce for a while before you know. Especially if you don't know much about computers. Fucking rights removing invader-ware.

I hate that shit, I understand that they want to protect thier property, but they are becoming more invasive. I am sure that the people who write this software know there are always ways to circumvent it, and it is only a matter of time before other people discover them.

CD keys work best. They are not perfect, in fact in some cases very easy to get around, but nothing has worked better so far. They are non-invasive and you cannot activate the software without one.

[Speed_D]

just ordered myself a copy of Civ IV that should be here by Thursday.
Kiss your weekend goodbye :D

[Kefkataran]

Kiss your weekend goodbye

That's about what I expcted. :p