Disciples III: Renaissance

Disciples III: Renaissance
Developer(s)	Akella (.dat studio)
Publisher(s)	Strategy First Akella (Russia) Kalypso Media (UK and Germany) Fx Interactive (Italy and Spain)
Distributor(s)	Strategy First
Series	Disciples
Engine	Virtual Dream
Version	1.06.2
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows
Release date(s)	December 11, 2009 (Russia only) [1] June 25, 2010 (UK, Poland and Germany) [2] July 16, 2010 (Australia only) [3] July 13, 2010 (North America) [4] September 27, 2010 (Italy and Spain)
Genre(s)	Turn-based strategy
Mode(s)	Single-player Multi-player
Rating(s)	ESRB: E10+ PEGI: 16+ USK: 12+
Media/distribution	DVD
System requirements Minimum: Windows XP / Vista, AMD 3000+ or Intel Pentium 2 GHz, 512 megabytes of RAM, ATI Radeon 9600 or NVidia (DirectX compatible), 4 gigabytes of free hard drive space Recommended: AMD 4800+ X2 or Intel Core 2 Duo 2600, 1 gigabyte of RAM, ATI Radeon 1900 or NVidia 7600 (DirectX compatible)

Disciples III: Renaissance is a turn-based strategy game. The publisher Strategy First changed the developer from Game Factory Interactive to Akella's studio .dat. It has been working on this project since the summer of 2005.

The player assumes the role of one of the lords of Nevendaar. This new episode contains three playable races, 'The Empire', 'The Legions of the Damned' and the 'Elven Alliance', with the remaining factions making an addition in planned expansions. The battle system is completely different from that of previous Disciples games. Units are able to move around the battlefield and make use of terrain for fortifications.^[5] The player's hero is highly customizable. His abilities as well as his armor and weapons can be changed. All of the equipment changes are noticeable on the actual character model.

Disciples III: Renaissance uses .dat’s in-house Virtual Dream engine.^[6]

Controversy

An unknown number of disc based copies of the North American release featured an issue with the Disc Detection Software that made it impossible to play the game after installing due to the game not recognizing the presence of the disc in the drive. Kalypso reports that it is a known issue. On July 30, 2010 a Kalypso representative stated that US customers who were affected and who had contacted support would receive instructions by e-mail on where to download the patch.^[7] The patch was then released publicly on the Disciples III official website.^[8] Although, the publicly released patch alone does not resolve the issue and contacting their email support is required.

Leaders

The Thief leader type is now a full featured leader who is able to command squads of units and gain new abilities when leveled. In previous games they were lone agents of sabotage who could not lead their own units.

The Rod Bearer leader type, which was used to claim resources and "terraform" land, has been removed in Disciples III. They are replaced with Guardians who are placed on special "wells" on key points of the map. The Guardians' strength grows with time. Any leader can use these.

Units

Disciples 3, presents the same units and growth paths in the three playable races as the previous game, Disciples II, but it changes most of their statistics as the combat gameplay has changed, it also completely enhances the graphics and general appearance of all units.

Main Characters

• Inoele: mysterious messenger from the heavens. A beautiful and pure angel, whose mission and purpose remain unclear.
• Lambert: supreme commander of the Imperial Guard. Known amongst the warriors of the Empire as a brave soldier and an honorable leader, earning him the Emperor's favor. This man lives by simple rules: loyalty, courage, and bravery.
• Haarhus: the right hand of Bethrezen and his most loyal servant. He is a great demonic warrior, ready to perform any task in his master's name. His heart is filled with hate for all he sees, and his soul is darker than night. He used to be an elf but was turned into a demon by Bethrezen after his death.
• Arion: commander of a small elven border squad. Despite his young (for an elf) age, he has already earned himself a name for his bravery and judgement.

Story

The Highfather has turned away from the land of Nevendaar and its inhabitants. His mind is occupied with the coming fate of his world. During this time, a star falls on the border of the Empire and is seen as a sign by the people. Wise men and prophets attempt to solve its mystery, while humans, elves, and demons send their own heroes to find it. Bethrezen above all others wishes to possess the heavenly messenger and use its power as his own.

Thus begins the journey of the mysterious messenger from the heavens named Inoele. She becomes a symbol of hope for many inhabitants of Nevendaar. While traveling the world with representatives of three ancient races, Inoele begins to experience emotions previously unknown to her. Her soul begins to thaw, and in her heart grows love for the strange, turbulent, but also beautiful world of Nevendaar.

Expansion

The Russian language version of Disciples III: Resurrection of Mortis has been released featuring the 'Undead Hordes' faction. It is available in standard, gift pack and deluxe editions. The english version was released on October 7, 2011.

Reception

The game was met with average reviews and compared poorly with it's predecessor. Most of the reviewers and community criticized the game's abundance of bugs, lack of polish and other technical problems.

References

1. ^ http://ru.akella.com/Game.aspx?id=378
2. ^ http://www.kalypsomedia.com/en/games/disciples3/index.shtml
3. ^ http://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/PC-Games/Disciples-III-Renaissance/1541308/
4. ^ http://www.gamershell.com/news_98994.html
5. ^ Disciples III ^{[dead link]}
6. ^ Strategy First - Strategy - Disciples III: Renaissance^{[dead link]}
7. ^ http://forum.kalypsomedia.com/showthread.php?tid=5406
8. ^ http://www.disciples3.com/download/download_eng.htm

External links

• Disciples 3: Renaissance - Akella
• Disciples 3: Renaissance - Official Site
• Disciples 3: Renaissance - Official Forum