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Heroes Chronicles Guide

Discussion in 'Guides' started by Daerandin, Dec 8, 2013.

  • by Daerandin, Dec 8, 2013 at 1:46 PM
  • Daerandin

    Daerandin Well-Known Member

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    The Heroes Chronicles games are a bit of an oddity. In almost all ways, these games are exactly like Heroes of Might and Magic 3. They were originally released as separate games, each game with only a single campaign, no single scenarios and no multiplayer. These games are much easier than Heroes 3, and as such are an excellent entry for new players to the series. There is also heavy focus on the story through each campaign, with lots of story text as you play.

    hc_title.png

    This guide will explain how to install the digital edition of the game available on GOG.com

    Tips & Specs

    To learn more about PlayOnLinux and Wine configuration, see the online manual: PlayOnLinux explained

    Arch Linux 64-bit
    PlayOnLinux 4.2.1
    Wine 1.7.6

    Downloading from GOG

    GOG games can be downloaded on Linux by using a web browser, just make sure the "GOG.com Downloader mode" is OFF

    hc_gog1.png

    Or you can use the lgogdownloader, which is my personal preferred choice. It is a very useful program for downloading GOG games. There is no graphical interface for it, but it is very fast and provides error free downloads.

    For some Linux distros it may be found in community repositories or similar community provided packages. Installation and usage instructions are located here: lgogdownloader

    On first use, you must log in by opening a terminal and using the command:

    lgogdownloader --login

    You will be prompted for your gog.com account email and password, which you must type in correctly before you can use lgogdownloader to download games.

    To list all games you own, type:

    lgogdownloader --list

    If you only want to see specific games you own, for example any games with 'heroes' in the name, then type:

    lgogdownloader --list | grep heroes

    hc_gog2.png

    To download Heroes Chronicles with no extras and no cover artwork, just the actual installer:

    lgogdownloader --download --game heroes_chronicles_all_chapters --no-extras --no-cover --directory /path/to/folder

    Setup PlayOnLinux

    Launch PlayOnLinux and select 'Tools' and 'Manage Wine versions'

    hc_01.png

    In the new window that appears, scroll through the 'Available Wine versions' box to find '1.7.6' and click on the right pointing arrow to install it, now it will be visible under 'Installed Wine versions' on the right side
    If you have a 64-bits system, make sure you have selected the 'Wine versions (x86)' tab above

    Just close the window. Back at the main PlayOnLinux window, select 'Install'

    Click on 'Install a non-listed program'

    hc_02.png

    Select 'Install a program in a new virtual drive' and click next

    hc_03.png

    Name the the virtual drive "Heroes_chronicles" and click next

    hc_04.png

    Select "Use another version of Wine", "Configure Wine" and "Install some libraries" before you click next

    hc_05.png

    On the wine selection window, select 1.7.6 and click next. Make sure you select '32-bits window installation' if you are on a 64-bit system.

    hc_06.png

    When the wine configuration window appear, select the 'Graphics' tab, and click the checkbox for all four options, just like in my screenshot. The resolution is not that important is it will change to the game resolution when you start it.

    hc_07.png

    Note: Even though the language is Norwegian in my screenshot, the layout will look the same for you

    When you come to the selection of libraries to install, select: POL_Install_gdiplus

    hc_08.png

    Then click 'Next'

    When you are asked for the install file to run, navigate to the GOG installer and select it. Then click 'Next'

    hc_09.png

    Installing the Game

    hc_10.png

    Click on options, then you can uncheck the Foxit reader install as it is not required and will just take space. Then click to accept the UELA and click 'Install'

    hc_11.png

    When the installation is complete, 'Exit' the installer

    hc_12.png

    You will now be asked to create a shortcut

    hc_13.png

    Since this is actually 8 smaller games combined into one, you will have to create shortcuts for all 8. To make all 8 appear next to each other in the PlayOnLinux window, it might be ideal to name all with similar starting names, here is a suggestion to naming the 8 different shortcuts based on what number they are in the series:

    • Warlords.exe --> HC1 - Warlords of the Wastelands
    • Underworld.exe --> HC2 - Conquest of the Underworld
    • Elements.exe --> HC3 - Master of the Elements
    • Dragons.exe --> HC4 - Clash of the Dragons
    • WorldTree.exe --> HC5 - The World Tree
    • FieryMoon.exe --> HC6 - The Fiery Moon
    • Beastmaster.exe --> HC7 - Revolt of the Beastmasters
    • Sword.exe --> HC8 - The Sword of Frost

    When you are done, select 'I don't want to make another shortcut'

    Now you should have 8 shortcuts for all the 8 games

    shortcuts.png

    Note on game resolution

    This game runs in 800*600 resolution, so the game window will appear very small if you run a high resolution on your desktop. One way to work around this is to lower your desktop resolution to make the game window appear larger. Some window managers have the option to display a window full screen so that it will appear over everything else without window borders. If your window manager supports this, then you can set your desktop resolution to 800*600, launch the game and make the game window fullscreen.

    If you have a desktop zoom feature available, that also offers a possibility for making the window appear larger.

    Screenshots

    hc_14.png hc_15.png
    hc_16.png hc_17.png

Comments

Discussion in 'Guides' started by Daerandin, Dec 8, 2013.

  1. booman
    Dude you are the Retro Guru!
    Thank you for posting these guides for old Heroes games.
  2. Daerandin
    There is a reason why I'm such a good customer on GOG.com, apart from the no-DRM policy. I love older games, and still play them. I think most of my guides here will involve older games. However, I still play many new games and will certainly do guides for new games too.
  3. booman
    I have no problem with that. There are few older games that I absolutely LOVE!
    Its a great mesh for us to cover old and newer games.
    This will attract all kinds of gamers to GamersOnLinux.

    I actually have Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator games too. Original and even newer ones.
    I don't play them, but maybe I should test them because there are huge communities built around those games. Lots of maps and additional planes.

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