The Heart of Fire, hot off the presses…
I do love receiving packages – even more so when they have the promise of books inside. Yes, Amazon have done very well out of me these past few years, but it’s nice occasionally to get a bunch of ‘free’ books and when they happen to be DestinyQuest… wooh, it's time to party!
So, I’ve finally got my (singed) hands on the upcoming mass market paperback edition of The Heart of Fire. This version will be available from 11 July. To recap, the mass market paperbacks are a lot smaller (and lighter!) than the ‘collectors’ editions’. They also have the benefit of incorporating all the ensuing tweaks that didn't make it into the first editions.
With The Legion of Shadow, I used the second reprinting as a chance to fix a number of game-balancing issues. These changes (known as patch V3) were primarily aimed at addressing the difficulty level, making Act 1 and Act 2 a little less arduous for first-time adventurers.
For the new edition of The Heart of Fire, you may be pleased to know there are no game changes. I was really happy with how the game-side of things worked in HoF. I felt the items were well-balanced, the opponents (on the whole) were not too challenging, and the flow of combat was quicker and more satisfying. My only niggles were with the errors that crept into the first edition. With such a huge book (over 200,000 words and nearly 900 sections), it was inevitable that something was going to slip through the net – but thankfully, with this new edition all those gremlins (sorry Gizmo) have been well and truly caught, and mercilessly sacrificed to the Lords of Chaos.
It's smokin' - The new Heart of Fire in all its "mini" glory
To coincide with the re-release of The Heart of Fire, I’ve now uploaded the HoF ‘hero builder’ – a database of all the items that can be found in the game. Both novice and veteran gamers should find the data helpful in planning their builds; particularly useful for tracking down items to min/max those crucial stats or to balance out a hero’s abilities.
On a final note, the cover for The Heart of Fire, by the talented Dominic Harman, joins an illustrious line-up of excellent fantasy covers that have been long-listed for a Gemmell Ravenheart Award. You can vote for this (or The Legion of Shadow) by heading over to the Gemmell Award site.
Wouldn’t it be great for a gamebook to win that coveted trophy? ;)
Stay tuned for a Heart of Fire competition – to win copies of the new edition and some of those limited-edition loot cards. You know you want them!
Until then, keep on rolling!
MJW