SpellForce 3

SpellForce
SpellForce: The Order of Dawn	2003
SpellForce 2: Shadow Wars	2006
SpellForce 2: Faith in Destiny	2012
SpellForce 2: Demons of the Past	2014
SpellForce 3	2017
SpellForce 3: Soul Harvest	2019
SpellForce 3: Fallen God	2020
SpellForce 3: Versus Edition	2020
SpellForce: Conquest of Eo	2023

SpellForce 3 is a singleplayer and multiplayer bird's-eye view RPG and RTS game in the SpellForce series.

The base game is known as SpellForce 3: Reforced as of the update from December 6, 2021. The original version is kept in a separate depot.

The Soul Harvest and Fallen God releases are advertised as standalone expansions, but are in essence the same game with different content unlocked to the player based on the owned licenses. The Versus Edition is a free-to-play variant with 3 of the 6 factions in available in skirmish and 1-on-1 multiplayer, but with singleplayer content absent; an upgrade allows complete faction access, but not the singleplayer content.

General information

Official Discord server for game series

Official Scripting Wiki

GOG.com Community Discussions for game series

GOG.com Support Pages - Legacy | Reforged | Soul Harvest | Fallen God

Steam Community Discussions - Reforced | Soul Harvest | Fallen God | Versus Edition

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail
Amazon.com
Epic Games Store		Reforced. Soul Harvest and Fallen God also available.
Epic Games Store		Versus Edition (free)
GamersGate		Soul Harvest and Fallen God also available.
		Soul Harvest and Fallen God also available.
GOG.com		Reforced. Soul Harvest and Fallen God also available. Combining base game with DLCs doesn't work with this version.
Green Man Gaming		Soul Harvest and Fallen God also available.
Humble Store		Soul Harvest and Fallen God also available.
Microsoft Store		Reforced. Soul Harvest, Fallen God, and Complete Edition also available.
Steam		Reforced. Soul Harvest, Fallen God, and Loyalty Pack also available.
Steam		Versus Edition (free)
EA app (unavailable)		Base game. No longer sold since June 13, 2022.^[1]
EA app (unavailable)		Soul Harvest. No longer sold since June 13, 2022. ^[1]

All versions require an optional THQ Nordic Online account to play online, unlock achievements, and level up the player profile.

Version differences

The Versus Edition is a limited free-to-play version with access to offline skirmishes and online 1-on-1 multiplayer with 3 factions (Humans, Orcs, Elves). It can be upgraded to include the remaining 3 factions for a fee.

The retail-only Soul Harvest Limited Edition includes the base game, Soul Harvest, the soundtrack on CD, an artbook, an amulet, a leather bracelet and a figurine.

The Loyalty Pack (Steam) / Complete Edition (Microsoft Store) includes Reforced, Soul Harvest, and Fallen God.

Monetization

Type	Notes
DLC	Minor DLC includes skirmish maps, heroes, and audio.
Expansion pack	The expansion packs are advertised as standalone releases that are mutually compatible online with the base game and each other. In reality, they are the same game with different segments available to the player, but with all files on all players' computers. Full access to all content requires ownership on the player's account, but no further downloads are required.
Free-to-play	The Versus Edition is free-to-play with 3 of 6 factions in skirmish and 1-on-1 multiplayer. An upgrade can be purchased for remaining factions, while access to the rest of the content is acquired by purchasing one of the main games.
One-time game purchase	The game requires an upfront purchase to access. The base game includes multiplayer access to the Human, Orc and Elf factions, and a singleplayer campaign.

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
Mod Kit	Free. Included by default in GOG.com version.
Soul Harvest	Standalone; includes multiplayer access to the Dark Elf and Dwarf factions, and a singleplayer campaign.
Soul Harvest: Oktoberfest	Free. Includes a new skirmish map, a Human hero, Bavarian voice sets and inspired music.
Fallen God	Standalone; includes multiplayer access to the Troll faction, and a singleplayer campaign.
Versus Edition Full PvP Upgrade	Unlocks remaining factions for multiplayer in the free-to-play Versus Edition.

Skip intro videos

Use the in-game options^[2]
Launch the game. In the main menu, navigate to Options followed by General. Enable Skip intro videos.

Game data

In-game general settings.

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\config_*.txt^{[Note 1]} %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\SpellForce 3 SH\config_system.txt %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\SpellForce 3 SH\config_user.txt
Microsoft Store
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/311290/pfx/^{[Note 2]}

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\save\^{[Note 1]} %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\SpellForce 3 SH\save\ %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\SpellForce 3 SH\characters\
Microsoft Store
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/311290/pfx/^{[Note 2]}

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Epic Games Launcher
GOG Galaxy
EA app
OneDrive		Requires enabling backup of the Documents* folder in OneDrive on all computers.*
Steam Cloud
Xbox Cloud

Video

In-game display settings.

In-game user interface settings.

Graphics feature	State	Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen		Hor+
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)		See Field of view (FOV).
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)		FXAA, SSAA via resolution scaler (x0.50 - x2.00).
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS and 120+ FPS
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.
Color blind mode		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.

Field of view (FOV)

Edit visual.txt^[3]

Go to <path-to-game>\bin_win32\configs\visual.txt (base/Reforced), <path-to-game>\bin_exp1_win32\configs\visual.txt (Soul Harvest) or <path-to-game>\bin_exp2_win32\configs\visual.txt (Fallen God).
Search for the Camera section
Here you can customize the camera, all values are clearly labeled in the file, including FOV (Default value is 21)

Notes

You must restart the game for the changes to take effect.

FOV at 16:9 resolutions
FOV at 21:9 resolutions

Input

In-game controls settings.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping		Allows mapping of two different control schemes.
Mouse acceleration		Mouse acceleration follows system setting.
Mouse sensitivity		Only applies when not using "hardware cursor" setting.
Mouse input in menus
Keyboard and mouse prompts
Mouse Y-axis inversion		Applies to camera movement and rotation.
Controller
Controller support

In-game remapping settings

Audio

In-game sound settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Master, Ambient, Effects, Dialogues, Voices (outside of dialogues), Voiced notifications, Music, Combat music, Interface, Buildings
Surround sound		7.1
Subtitles		Dialogue box position and font size can be adjusted. Speaker icons displayed, NPC chatter displayed above character.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost		Enabled by default, but can be disabled through the Sound settings.
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Simplified Chinese
Czech				Fan - 1
French
German
Italian
Polish
Russian
Spanish

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
LAN play		6	Versus, Co-op
Online play		6	Versus, Co-op Requires a THQ Nordic Online account.

Connection types

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

Ports

Protocol	Port(s) and/or port range(s)
UDP	5432, 9182, 9183

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

Network settings can be configured in <path-to-game>\config_network.txt.

VR support

3D modes	State	Notes
Nvidia 3D Vision		See Helix Mod: SpellForce 3 - Soul Harvest- 3D-Vision Fix - Losti - V1.00.
vorpX		G3D User created game profile, see vorpx forum profile introductions: Reforced, Soul Harvest, Fallen God

Issues fixed

Base game and DLCs don't detect each other (GOG.com)

Normally, the base game should seamlessly detect an installation of standalone expansions and load their content, allowing for mixing content between those. This, unfortunately, doesn't work in the GOG release of the game.

Move standalone expansion's files into the base game folder^[4]

Install the base game and standalone expansions.
Copy EXP1_Campaign, EXP1_KOR and DLC_Bavaria folders from SpellForce 3 - Soul Harvest\bin_addons_win32 into <path-to-game>\bin_addons_win32.
Copy EXP2_Campaign and EXP2_KOR folders from SpellForce 3 - Fallen God\bin_addons_win32 into <path-to-game>\bin_addons_win32.
Replace thqnocfg.dat found in the <path-to-game>\wrapper with the patched version.

Notes

This solution also works when one of the expansions is not installed. In such case, simply skip the part of it that includes instructions for the expansion that is not present.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	11

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Physics	PhysX
Audio	FMOD

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	7	8, 10
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core i5-3570 AMD FX-6350	Intel Core i7-4790 AMD FX-8350
System memory (RAM)	6 GB	8 GB
Storage drive (HDD/SSD)	15 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 AMD Radeon HD 7850 2 GB of VRAM DirectX 11 compatible	Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 AMD Radeon R9 290 4 GB of VRAM

A 64-bit operating system is required.

Notes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1
Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
- File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.
- Games with Steam Cloud support may also store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/311290/.
- Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.
- The app ID (311290) may differ in some cases.
- Treat backslashes as forward slashes.
- See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Upcoming Changes to the EA Origin Catalog - last accessed on 2024-12-07
↑ Verified by User:Aemony on 2019-05-28
↑ Verified by User:Bluemax on 2019-09-10
↑ SOLVED: Starting expansion campaigns from the base game :: GOG Forum - last accessed on 2025-06-20

[gamedir-3] 1.0 ^1.1 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).

[Proton_path_note-4] 2.0 ^2.1 Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.
Games with Steam Cloud support may also store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/311290/.
Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.
The app ID (311290) may differ in some cases.
Treat backslashes as forward slashes.
See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

[3] File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.

[4] Games with Steam Cloud support may also store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/311290/.

[5] Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.

[6] The app ID (311290) may differ in some cases.

[7] Treat backslashes as forward slashes.

[8] See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

[Origin-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Upcoming Changes to the EA Origin Catalog - last accessed on 2024-12-07

[2] Verified by User:Aemony on 2019-05-28

[5] Verified by User:Bluemax on 2019-09-10

[6] SOLVED: Starting expansion campaigns from the base game :: GOG Forum - last accessed on 2025-06-20

[1]

[2]

[Note 1]

[Note 2]

[3]

[4]

Developers

	Grimlore Games
Publishers
	THQ Nordic
Release dates
Windows	December 7, 2017
Reception
Metacritic	73
OpenCritic	74
IGDB	74
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase, Expansion pack, DLC
Microtransactions	None
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	Bird's-eye view
Controls	Multiple select, Point and select
Genres	RPG, RTS
Themes	Fantasy
Series	SpellForce