Info about Heroes of Annihilated Empires:

Official game description:
Heroes of Annihilated Empires - is a fantasy-based game from GSC Game World in the genre of RTS vs RPG for PC.  
A new proprietary 3D-engine is used to power the game. Episode one is set on Atlans island, the historical homeland of elves. The world of the game is living and huge, full of magic, mythical creatures, heroes and powerful forces involved in a large-scale conflict dating back to the past. The gameplay enables the player, controlling one of the heroes, as to lead thousands-strong armies into battle, so as combat with the hero alone, making use of the entire arsenal of possibilities and powerful magical spells. The possibility to upgrade your hero, improve his abilities, find artifacts and get random quests serves to hugely diversify the gameplay.  
*   Innovative opposing of two genres in one game - RTS vs RPG  
*   New 3D engine  
*   Detailed game world, including support of 5 novels from Europe-renowned writer Ilya Novak  
*   Mass-scale battles of thousands-strong armies  
*   Four unique races, individual skills, spells and artifacts  
*   12 heroes, 12 neutral races, 100 units and 150 various buildings  
*   Excellently developed character types and impressive unit animation  
*   Over 150 magic items and over 100 spells  
*   Original and involving story of the campaign  
*   Classic multiplayer over LAN or the Internet, up to 7 players in a game. Mix of two genres in the game: RTS vs RPG with a possibility to blend or choose in between during the play.  
*   Original card system of magic spells, equally interesting to both hardcore gamers and newbies. Over 50 spell cards  
*   Involving process of character level-ups throughout the entire game  
*   Stunning intros and cut-scenes. Comics in-between missions to give a deeper story insight

Release date: Nov 22, 2006

Categories: Real-time Strategy, Role-Playing Game, Character Progression, Base Building, Multiplayer, Campaign, Resource Management, Faction System

Feature scans:
- Steam Deck: score 50; verdict: Tinkering Required; summary: The game experiences significant compatibility issues, particularly with black screens during gameplay and loading screens. However, there are workarounds such as adjusting compatibility settings or waiting. Notably, the game reportedly runs better on Linux than on Windows, providing a positive experience for some users.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Highly praised game quality (weight 0.56): The game is frequently described as having great potential, impressive animations, and a good mix of genres. Players appreciate its engaging gameplay, beautiful graphics, and deep storyline.
- Successful RPG and RTS blend (weight 0.49): The game is noted for its excellent combination of real-time strategy and role-playing game elements. Players enjoy commanding large armies, hero progression, and the deep RPG system.
- Positive technical aspects (weight 0.22): The game is praised for its straightforward gameplay, simple controls, and pleasant music. Additionally, it includes features like cheat codes and a map editor, and it works well on Linux.
- Unique factions and races (weight 0.19): The game features four unique playable factions, each with distinct armies, resources, and mythologies. This variety adds depth and replayability to the game.
- Engaging story and campaign (weight 0.17): The game is praised for its cool and engaging story, pleasant presentation, and long campaign. The AI is also noted for being clever, adding to the overall experience.
- Variety in gameplay elements (weight 0.16): Players appreciate the variety in items, spells, enemies, and bosses. The game offers numerous spells and tactical applications, enhancing the gameplay experience.
- Hero-centric gameplay (weight 0.16): The hero in the game is often seen as overpowered and capable of handling various situations. Hero progression, skills, and equipment play a significant role in the gameplay.
- Dynamic and engaging gameplay (weight 0.15): The gameplay is described as dynamic and interesting, with different experiences for various races and classes. The combat mechanics and missions are engaging and well-designed.
- Large-scale battles and multiplayer (weight 0.14): The game shines in its large-scale battles and functional multiplayer mode. Players enjoy the smooth gameplay with large armies and the strategic depth offered by large maps.
- Durable and impressive graphics (weight 0.14): The graphics of the game are frequently mentioned as holding up well even after many years. Players appreciate the high resolution and the overall visual quality.
- Character progression and customization (weight 0.09): Players enjoy the character building, gear hunting, and customization aspects of the game. The progression system and loot collection add depth to the gameplay.
- Challenging enemies (weight 0.07): Enemies in the game are noted for doing solid damage, having plenty of health, and being numerous. This adds a layer of challenge to the gameplay.
- High replay value (weight 0.05): The game offers high replay value due to its strategic depth and variety in missions. Players appreciate the different gameplay experiences and unique abilities.

Common complaints:
- Numerous bugs and technical issues (weight 0.87): The game suffers from a plethora of bugs including crashes, progress loss, and compatibility issues with modern systems. Players report frequent game crashes, memory allocation errors, and problems with video playback on newer operating systems.
- Lack of updates and support (weight 0.76): The game lacks ongoing support and updates, leading to unresolved bugs and missing features. There is no widescreen support, limited audio tracks, and no additional downloadable maps, which affects the game's longevity and player satisfaction.
- Poor level and game design (weight 0.68): The game design is criticized for being confusing and poorly executed. Issues include ineffective towers, strange camera controls, and a lack of unit subtypes, which make the gameplay feel incomplete and unsatisfying.
- Multiplayer and pathfinding issues (weight 0.67): Multiplayer mode has several issues, including pathfinding problems where units get stuck or freeze. The game also lacks features like a button to mark idle units, which affects the overall multiplayer experience.
- Outdated graphics and visuals (weight 0.67): The graphics are considered outdated and not visually appealing on modern systems. The game lacks widescreen support and has poor quality animations, which detracts from the overall visual experience.
- Slow and unsatisfying gameplay (weight 0.13): The gameplay is often described as slow-paced and unsatisfying. Players report that the game progress feels slow, and the late-game combat can be difficult and tedious.
- Localization and language issues (weight 0.08): There are difficulties with language localization, including issues with changing the language to German and the lack of Polish localization on Steam. This affects the accessibility and enjoyment of the game for non-English speaking players.
- Repetitive and boring quests (weight 0.05): Quests in the game are often repetitive and boring, lacking depth and variety. This makes the gameplay feel monotonous and quickly boring for players.
- Requires specific hardware and software (weight 0.05): The game requires specific operating systems and hardware for an optimal experience. This includes the need for Hamachi for multiplayer and compatibility issues with newer Windows versions.
- Commercial failure and lack of sequel (weight 0.04): The game was a commercial failure due to a poorly planned ad campaign and lacks a sequel despite being part of a planned trilogy. This has left players feeling disappointed and unsupported.

Gameplay feedback:
- RTS and RPG hybrid gameplay (weight 0.97): The game combines real-time strategy (RTS) elements with role-playing game (RPG) mechanics. Players can enjoy both RTS and RPG modes, with a focus on strategy, tactics, and hero progression.
- Four unique playable factions (weight 0.94): The game features four distinct playable races, each with unique units, strategies, and resources. This adds variety and replayability to both single-player and multiplayer modes.
- Multiplayer and skirmish modes (weight 0.91): The game offers multiplayer functionality with different factions and heroes, as well as a skirmish mode with creeps. This provides a variety of gameplay options beyond the single-player campaign.
- Resource management and base building (weight 0.6): Players must gather resources, manage their base, and train units. Buildings have different functions based on the faction, and base building mechanics affect gameplay strategies.
- Campaign and mission design (weight 0.59): The campaign is described as short and sweet, with a focus on one hero. Missions involve delivering resources, fighting through enemies, and clearing maps. The campaign is challenging but may feel lackluster to some players.
- Combat and unit mechanics (weight 0.51): The game features large-scale battles with diverse units, high unit limits, and unique combat mechanics. However, some issues like units getting stuck and enemies losing agro have been noted.
- Game pacing and difficulty (weight 0.51): The game can become slow-paced, but building costs are adjusted to avoid this. The gameplay is challenging, especially on the hardest difficulty, and requires strategic thinking and tactics.
- Hero progression and customization (weight 0.25): Heroes can level up through combat and building, find equipment, spells, and potions, and choose between hero development or settlement building. This allows for deep character customization and progression.
- Equipment and skill system (weight 0.15): Items and potions play a significant role in character progression, with skill points providing small stat boosts. This system allows for customization and strategic choices in gameplay.

Performance notes:
- Compatibility issues with Windows 10 (weight 0.17): The game experiences significant compatibility problems on Windows 10, including videos and comics not playing, and the game not starting at all. It functions better on Windows 8.1 but still has issues with modern systems and 64-bit architectures.
- Game crashes and resolution issues (weight 0.12): The game crashes frequently, including crashes to desktop, and has resolution issues where it displays in 1024x768 resolution. Additional options do not help resolve these issues.
- Performance issues with high RAM and AI units (weight 0.11): The game crashes on systems with more than 2GB RAM and when there are too many AI units on screen. It also experiences lag with many troops and memory allocation errors.
- Specific OS and hardware requirements (weight 0.07): The game requires specific OS and hardware to run properly. It works well on Linux but has issues with newer video cards and cannot use engine.exe to fix problems.
- Sound glitches and looping (weight 0.05): There is a sound glitch that causes a loop of every sound, leading to a poor audio experience during gameplay.
- Minor graphics bugs (weight 0.05): Some players have reported minor graphics bugs, although others have not encountered any bugs during gameplay.
- Blank cutscenes (weight 0.03): There are issues with blank cutscenes, which detract from the overall gaming experience.

Recommendations:
- Good value for RTS fans (weight 0.31): The game is often praised for its value, especially for fans of real-time strategy games. It is recommended for those who enjoy large-scale battles and base building, though some suggest waiting for a discount if unsure.
- Recommended for specific audiences (weight 0.3): The game is particularly recommended for nostalgic players, fans of Lord of the Rings, and those who enjoy hack-and-slash RPGs. It is also suggested for players looking for something different within the RTS genre.
- Considerations for purchase (weight 0.23): Some reviews suggest that the game may not be as good as other titles like StarCraft or Armies of Exigo, but it still holds its own. It is recommended to buy the game if you plan to play multiplayer with others.
- Support the project (weight 0.03): Some reviews recommend supporting the game project, indicating a positive sentiment towards the developers and their efforts.
- Buy for specific features (weight 0.03): The game is recommended for its skirmish and fantasy elements, which are highlighted as key features that make it worth purchasing.

Other player notes:
No miscpoints

Emotions:
- Disappointment (weight 0.24): Players feel disappointed due to numerous bugs, lack of modern compatibility, and an overall sense of the game being unfinished. The campaign mode, story, and graphics did not meet expectations, and the game's performance issues further detract from the experience.
- Frustration (weight 0.22): Frustration stems from technical issues such as game crashes, lost progress, and compatibility problems, particularly on modern systems like Windows 10. Players also struggle with the game's mechanics, balance issues, and performance problems, including lag and difficulty in managing city builders.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.19): Players enjoy the game for its engaging gameplay, beautiful graphics, and strategic depth. The dynamic and interesting gameplay, along with the game's unique hybrid of RTS and RPG elements, contributes to a positive experience.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.18): Nostalgia is driven by fond memories of playing the game in the past and a desire to relive those experiences. Players reminisce about the game's unique features and the positive emotions it evoked during their childhood or earlier years.
- Appreciation (weight 0.04): Players appreciate the game's innovative mix of genres, unique features, and lasting graphics. The game's variety and story are also recognized as standout elements.
- Enthusiasm (weight 0.04): Enthusiasm is generated by the game's unique race concepts, engaging mechanics, and the multiplayer experience. Players are particularly excited about the game's music and factions.
- Confusion (weight 0.03): Confusion arises from the lack of in-game guidance or tutorials, as well as the presence of modern military elements in a fantasy setting, which players find disorienting.
- Admiration (weight 0.03): Players admire the game's diverse unit types and the interesting blend of fantasy elements. The game's design and mechanics are also highly regarded.
- Disgust (weight 0.01): Disgust is caused by poor level design and repetitive dialogue, which detract from the overall gaming experience.}