One might say that there are other worthy and memorable maps out there in the Gold edition, like Lost Relic, or New Enemies, and that they can be considered classic as well, I still think that they are a tier below the pinnacle Beltway/Broken Alliance/Enroth etc maps.

The other classic Homm2 maps that Are considered the epitome of aesthetic achievement are, besides Beltway, the following: Broken Alliance, Enroth, and Seven Lakes. I've been thinking on my own spare time about what makes Homm2 so great, and I think I've excelled.īut back to the beginning of this discussion. I spend a lot of time uhh doing nothing, so I managed to formulate some design concepts that even apply to other games, like Doom2/Zdaemon. Even poor map with grate locations is always a hypnotizing trip to wonderland, while a locations-poor map with some abstract challenging encounters, uhh, I'm just too old and too experienced for that. Now' I'm a veteran of HoMM2 and also Homm3/4, I even played some MMHO even, and while it's interesting to face 600 Vampire Lords in the end levels of the PoL campaign, I only play HoMM2 for the aesthetic kicks and not for the challenge. If you offer me a map with whatever possible gameplay pearls, be it killing 38000 peasants in one blow or facing 6000 hydras, well I must state that whatever is in it, I'll skip it if it has fug design flaws like huge poorly decorated empty spaces or things like 5 mercenary camps on the same screen. Now my train of thought is that a great mapmaker is also a great designer. Now in order to quite understand what is so great about Beltway, lets mention some other well-known and respected maps that feature the same trait: absolutely captivating, mesmerising surroundings. It is a map of romantics, adventure, fantasy and quest.

I believe the standard is set by the Beltway map. I've given a lot of thought to what constitutes a good Homm2 map, what distinguishes the good from the epic, and what exactly it is that we love about the maps we love.

Best heroes of might and magic 3 maps