Heroes of Might and Magic II

Heroes of Might and Magic II

Developers
	New World Computing
Expansion	Cyberlore Studios
Publishers
1996-2003	3DO
2003-present	Ubisoft
Re-release	Sold Out Software
Release dates
DOS	October 1, 1996
Windows	October 1, 1996
Mac OS (Classic)	October 1, 1996
Windows (DOSBox)	August 20, 2009
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase, Expansion pack, Subscription gaming service
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Turn-based
Perspectives	Bird's-eye view, Isometric
Controls	Point and select
Genres	TBS
Themes	Fantasy
Series	Heroes of Might and Magic

Heroes of Might and Magic II is a singleplayer and multiplayer bird's-eye view and isometric TBS game in the Heroes of Might and Magic series.

General information

GOG.com Community Discussions for game series

GOG.com Support Page

HoMM II section on Age of Heroes

Celestial Heavens forums for game series

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		The Windows version of the game is 32-bit, but the installer is 16-bit.
GOG.com		Comes with multiple bonuses, including the expansion "The Price of Loyalty". Includes the native Windows version as well as the DOS version pre-packaged with DOSBox.
Ubisoft Store		Gold Edition is included with Ubisoft+.

A free demo version is available from Archive.org.

Monetization

Type	Notes
Expansion pack	The expansion pack includes campaigns and maps.
One-time game purchase	The game requires an upfront purchase to access.
Subscription gaming service	Available via Ubisoft+.

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
The Price of Loyalty	Included in the Compendium edition (DOS and Windows version) and in the Gold edition (DOS and Windows)

Essential improvements

GL Wrapper by Verok

Changes the graphics renderer of the original version, fixes performance on newer systems.

fheroes2

An open-source, written from scratch recreation of the Heroes of Might and Magic II game engine.

Provides significant improvements to the gameplay, graphics and logic, including support for high-resolution graphics, improved AI, numerous fixes and user interface improvements.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
DOS
Windows
Mac OS (Classic)

Save game data location

System	Location
DOS	<path-to-game>\GAMES
Windows	<path-to-game>\GAMES
Mac OS (Classic)

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
GOG Galaxy
Ubisoft Connect		List of exceptions from Cloud save support on Ubisoft+

Video

General settings menu

Graphics feature	State	Notes
Widescreen resolution		Use fheroes2.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD		Use fheroes2.
Field of view (FOV)		Uses 2D sprites with a fixed perspective.
Windowed		Toggle with Alt+↵ Enter (when using DOSBox). For Windows version, toggle with F4.
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Vertical sync (Vsync)		For DOSBox use an unofficial build (see the glossary page for other workarounds).
60 FPS and 120+ FPS		Framerate fluctuates, does not reach 60 FPS.
High dynamic range display (HDR)

Input

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping		Use fheroes2.
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity		For DOSBox, set in the DOSBox configuration file
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support		For DOSBox use the DOSBox Mapper (see the glossary page for other workarounds).

Audio

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Music and sound effects can be toggled on/off, but can not have volume changed.
Surround sound
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost		For DOSBox, use priority=higher,pause in the [sdl] section of the config file
Royalty free audio
Red Book CD audio		On Windows, CD music might not play correctly; see the troubleshooting guide for solutions.

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
French
German
Polish
Russian				Unofficial localization by «PC Boheme/Fargus»

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
Local play		6	Hot seat
LAN play		6
Online play		6	The official multiplayer service has been shut down.

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP

Issues fixed

Installing the Windows version on 64-bit systems

The original disc release uses a 16-bit installer.

Use winevdm
Insert the game disc. Download and extract winevdm. Run otvdmw.exe use it to open SETUP.EXE from the disc. In case of an "SEGV" error just click on continue. Follow the prompts.

Playing the Windows version on modern systems

Instructions[citation needed]
Download DDrawCompat and extract it to <path-to-game>. Set HEROES2W.exe to run in compatibility mode for Windows 98 / ME, 16-bit color mode and as administrator. Run the game.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
WinG
DOS video modes	SVGA	256 colors mode (8-bit) for Mac OS

Executable	PPC	16-bit	32-bit	64-bit	ARM	Notes
Windows						64-bit requires the fheroes2 source port
macOS (OS X)						Requires the fheroes2 source port
Linux						Requires the fheroes2 source port
Mac OS (Classic)						The original version supports: 68K + PPC (FAT) аrchitecture, From Mac OS 7.1 up to Mac OS 9.2

System requirements

DOS

Windows

Mac OS (Classic)

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	95
Processor (CPU)	486DX2-66
System memory (RAM)	8 MB	16 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	60 MB
Video card (GPU)	SVGA-compatible	DirectX 3 compatible
Sound (audio device)	MIDI controller	2x CD-ROM whith CD-DA format support

DOS
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	5.0
Processor (CPU)	486DX2-66
System memory (RAM)	8 MB	16 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	60 MB
Video card (GPU)	SVGA-compatible	DirectX 3 compatible
Sound (audio device)	MIDI controller	2x CD-ROM whith CD-DA format support

Mac OS
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	7.1	9.2.2
Processor (CPU)	68K + PPC (FAT)
System memory (RAM)	8 MB	16 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	60 MB
Video card (GPU)	SVGA-compatible
Sound (audio device)	MIDI controller	2x CD-ROM whith CD-DA format support