Some overplayed maps!!! [7/16]
here is the top TEN count for maps played in June:
1- DESERT WAR 565 <<< leader by a big margin a quater of all games!
2- BATTLE MANIA 206 <<< i'd say surprising 2nd.
3- MEDIUM RANDOM MAP 168
4- BATTLE FOR HONOR 147
5- ALITTLE1ON1 125 <<< I think people are just lazy to put in the right map and
leave alittle1on1 in there. I don't think it's this popular.
6- DECEPTIONS OF GOOD 93
7- CRISSCROSS 59
8- BATTLE FOR POWER 56
9- SHOWDOWN 55
10-LARGE RANDOM MAP 53

400,000 - Some TOH Statistics for those Interested. [7/1]
This TOH mainpage will surpass 400,000 Hits today, since the hit counter was intiated 15 months ago.  We get between 1000-1500 hits a day.   Currently we have over 1000 players ranked. Over the life of TOH we have had 10,000 players registered.  The number of games played in TOH range from 40-100 games a day, and for an example, TOH nations round 1 had 1924 free challenge games played for it!!!!

New and Improved Player Photo Page... [6/24]
Player Photo Page has been growing phenomenally to over 100 different players' photos, so due to the sheer size, with Melissa's help and ideas, we have given the page a new look, and modified the photos into clickable thumbnails.  Visit it today, and submit your photo to Melissa who is responsible for that page :)

Legends of Might and Magic [7/8]
The unseen potential of this game exists, to a point that I am considering opening up a second page for Legends, something to the likes of www.toheroes.com/legends/  etc...  I would like player input on this, as to whether or not they are thinking of purchasing this internet based game.  Possibilities are from independent groups and clans for Legends, to a real ranking and hero system for TOH legends, and finally linking with TOH Heroes III rankings itself.  A lot of it will depend on the popularity of this game & if it acquires a significant fan base.

.... She said yes :)

Melissa & Conduct on the Zone [6/20]
I got sad news yesterday when Melissa (for those who dont know, also a big volunteer and support to the site) decided to quit TOH.  Besides excuses like 'I keep losing games' her real complaint was how rude people on the zone are sometimes.  I cannot help but agree; there have been other honorable players who have left for the same reasons.  So it is simple, anyone signed up with TOH, who shows such conduct, should be reported to me or the honor council, for there will be no tolerance for it.  If you see it happening, copy the chat, and report it in.  It seems, thanks to the players, Melissa has been pursuaded back to play :) 

For the Business Minded:  3D0 [6/11]
There has been a press release by 3D0, basically predicting strong growth in the company for the coming year "....The game publisher said it expects to achieve a 70 percent increase in net revenues for the year ending March 31, 2001. With revenues expected to exceed 200 million dollars, 3DO hopes to lead computer and video game companies in revenue growth rate for a third consecutive year...."  Read the whole article in Adrenaline Vault.  However, the stock has been at an all-time low for the year, with some massive trading of its shares 2 days ago.  I have $4000 ($7000 margin) waiting to be put into a tech stock.  Its stocks peaked went up from $5 to nearly $16 in March, but now its back at $5.5.  Buy 3D0 and get rich, or crash and burn?  

Heroes Fans Homepages!! [6/4]
LOL!  When I wake up this morning, and visit the ToHeroes mainpage, I see a picture of Melissa and a link to her (toned down) homepage!  Before I decided to give her a threatening call, I thought of a better idea.  I will set up a 'player's' homepages link on the mainpage (which will include melissa's), and anyone who wishes to submit a personal homepage to link to this new page, is welcome to.  Just email Vesuvius or Melissa to have your homepage linked on this new page (that should be up in a few days).  You must be a cadet or higher to have a link posted!  Its all part of personalizing and enhancing the Homm community :)

TOH Desktop Wallpapers, download & organize your desktop. [6/1]
Try downloading these two sizes as backgrounds for your desktop, 1024x768, or the cooler looking 1152x864 that I use.  Download this if you ever curious to see how my very busy 1600x1200 desktop looks like every day.  Organize your desktop icons accordingly and you'll be set :)

Important Tournament Information [5/29]
ToH Clans  will have its finals begin on August 1st.   The top 4-8 clans will be able to participate.  New clans can still be opened in any philosophy.
Lords of Erathia land conquest finals begin on July 1st.  All landholders on that date will be matched against their neighbours, until there is one final overlord.  The wealthiest non-finalist landholders will have the first pick on land and hero in the second season of Lords.  Players can continue to participate in lords and pirates throughout the Lords conquest finals.
ToH Nations (160+ participants!) now has a special winloss report button for submitting wins and losses on Nations page USE IT (though do not forget to report on main rankings winloss program as well).  Players who do not report their nations losses in a timely manner can get removed from the nations tournament.
Battlefest Tournament, a new tournament run by Pandora, is now open for registrations.  It consists of fast games that involve using the quick combat option.
Warlords, Grandmasters, and Division Games continue as usual.

Always visit the Tournament page for a complete summary of all the tournaments that are going on in TOH.
There will be second SpeedDeamon, Addicts, Casualties of War, and Cadet/Sergent Tournaments later in the year........

Tournament News - TOH NATIONS [5/27]
ToH Nations  ROUND 1 starts today, and continues for 33 days.  Free challenge for all Nations members, besides reporting it regularly, make sure you report your win or loss to Vesuvius as well for credit to your nation.  New players (cadet or higher) can join up to the deadline for Round1. The more active the members of a nation are, the better chance they have in higher rounds.

Dream of great things .... [5/25]
With the engine and basic code soon to be complete for Heroes4, we are preparing a suggestions box (visit link above).  Good ideas and original concepts will be posted on this site in different categories, and eventually presented to 3D0.

Tournament News - Grandmasters, Nations, St.Petersburg [5/22]
ToH Nations  is now open for registrations.  Anyone may join, choose to represent your country of origin and pride.  Any country can be chosen, and an unlimited number of players can participate in a country. Every TOH member who is active should participate!
Grandmasters now in progress, however there is still room for 4 more captains or colonels to participate!
Also on May 27-28 in Saint-Peterburg, Petergoff,  there is a Local Area Network  Heroes Tournament being held, where Antal, Flamingo, Jarcik, Vex, Raider, Alex Killer, Reannihilator, Trimurti, Skunsling, Loher, and many others will be participating in this Russian tournament. Visit this Tournaments' homepage.  Contact Antal or Flamingo for info.  This tournament does count for TOH points!

Good things on the Horizon with 3D0. [5/20]
Heroes of Might and Magic 4 is being rewritten from the ground up; that is it will be totally new code (Homm3, Homm2 uses the Homm1 engine) and will become a the new standard in turn-based gaming in the year 2001.  Anticipated release date Christmas of 2001.  

The battlefield will be top-view 3D-generated, and will incorporate actual terrain in its design.  Hence the battlefield will be larger than a static screen, scrollable across the terrain.  Gameplay elements and principles remain the same, with potentially 2 new towns & upgrades, but units remixed somewhat as had been done in the Homm2 to Homm3 transition.  Also, Legends of Might and Magic should be out soon, a cross between the Might and Magic series and Everquest; though it can be played single player and multiplayer.  Consideration is being made to incorporate a separate Lords of Might and Magic TOH page for players and character development.

Finally, good news for Might and Magic IX, which will be using the Lithtech2 engine, which will in the least bring its graphics up to par with this century, unlike the terribly made M&MVIII.  Look like fun :)

A 'friendly' reminder...and other news... [5/17]
Take note that a lot of unreported winloss games were removed last night and unreported losers were penalized, and winners credited.  Since there is full control over the unreported winloss file automation now, there will consistent attention made to it.  Players not reporting their losses get penalized in about 3 days, and incur very heavy penalties over many unreported games.  If you have a dispute, contact sindy or vesuvius to alleviate the problem, or if a bigger issue, report to the Honor Council.  If you ignore having a win reported against you, you will lose points.  On the flipside, players who tend to report wins illegally against players will be removed from TOH.

In other news, the French ToH mirror is firing up a clan/team-based tournament which you are welcome to visit called the "Queens Cup".

Also, Visit the new "community message board" button (that replaced the Mp3 button on top) or link available at bottom "Heroes Community"  to take you to a new site which is perfect for players to post messages on their local bulletin board.  I will be visiting the site often, and engaging in relevant discussions.

Tournament News, Grandmasters & Others. [5/15]
Grandmasters Tournament now open for registration, for Captains, Colonels, and Generals only.  Limited space available.  Volunteers also needed as 3rd party hosts for the game, which makes the ultimate learning experience, since you get to see two top players in action from start to finish.
Heroes Addicts Tournament completed with Flamingo with the 1st place Lionhead prize and $40 dollars, and JB239 with 2nd place Addict mask prize and $20 dollars.

Hot Seat Invitational  [4/29]
 A hot seat session is planned at my place in Philadelphia, PA, on the weekend of May 20th.  Players are welcome to stay longer however, either earlier or later.  Contact Vesuvius if interested in showing up :)   Congratulations to some newer players:  Lilo SIlver, The Black Knight, HanibalATportus, Greystole, and Bobbomus who have shown exemplarly Honor and recieve the Medal of Honor. 

Newbies!!  [4/23]
With an influx of a lot of new players, new players should make sure they visit new players info page, and its associated links to questions on automation, & questions on playing in the zone.   Dont forget you can also use the 'ask the wizard' button above for questions.  Info Page also updated.

Lords of Erathia Update - Pirates and Landowners.  [4/22]
Landowners may play 'pirate games' now like non-landowners.  Visit the Lords or Lords Pirates page for list of lands that can be played.  Dont forget that these games get counted for World Rankings points as well as for Lords Denarii.   The maps for lords are unique and fun and are a way to have a change of pace from the usual maps you always play.  You must have a Lords Hero to participtate!  Make sure you report all lords games via regular winloss program for world rankings credit, and through the lords page game report program to get your Denarii!

They Know How to Party.... :)  [4/25] (From left to right) General Flamingo, Captain AlX, General Alex_Killer, Lieutenant Reannihilator, and Sergent Serg_Reaper members of the Drunkmasters Clan drinking Russian Vodka and Koniac in Kiev, Russia.   Which also reminds me....   There will be a Hot-Seat session taking place at Vesuvius' place late May (weekend) in Philadelphia, PA.  Contact Vesuvius if interested in participating, so we can take a picture like the one above :)

Welcome To the New HomePage of TOH!  [4/21]
Now that the Tournament of Honor has its own .com, TOHeroes.com, you cant call it 'simyar' anymore!   For your future games in TOH on the zone, please use 'TOH game' not 'simyar' game for reference to your game rooms and such.
Cadets Round 2 now in progress.
Speed Deamon Round 2 now in progress.
Anyone with a Lords Hero can request to be given several lands that will be opening up soon :)
Visit the new player information, and the associated "automation questions" link there for any questions you may have on recent automation changes and if you are a new visiting player.

Tournament News [3/30]
The winloss report form will be changed for the purpose of reporting only wins and loses for the main rankings.   For ALL tournaments, such as Speed Deamon, Cadets, and Division games, e-mail Vesuvius on the tournament games' results as well as reporting through the winloss program for rankings credit.  Lords report through the unique form on lords mainpage (as well as reporting as regular winloss).  Eventually when the rankings are fully automated, the Volunteers (who were involved in rankings updates before) will be responsible for individual tournaments, and tournament reports will be sent to them.  Cadets Tournament:  the first 32 players will be matched up tonight, and once you know of your opponent, you can start early!

Da PATCH v1.3 At last...... ! [3/23]
Use the gameupdate through your startup menu (or visit 3DO) to download 1.3 patch (4.2 Megabyte file!) for Heroes3, and 2.1 patch (2.8 Megabyte file) for Armageddons Blade.  The bugs listed in the bugs page were all addressed and corrected.  Read all the changes made for the patch HERE.  Make sure you update your heroes, eventually in a few weeks all games in TOH will be 1.3/2.1 only.   1.2 saves may have problems loading with 1.3 over the net.  However, people can load 1.2 saves in a hotseat mode (possibly in single player mode too) and save it under a different name. The new save can then be loaded without problems.

Heroes III: Shadow of Death now available in North America  [3/21]
A standalone package, you do not even need the original heroes III to play.  Besides new campaigns and multiplayer maps, It basically combines the Armageddons' blade expansion pack and the original heroes III into one package.   Many new combination artifacts, new terrain (kind of, not really), some monsters tweaked, moats now do damage, some new land items, some new map editor simplifications.  

New Maps Page! [3/18]
With great relief, the review, setup and linking of all these maps are finally over.  Visit the new maps page, all maps downloadable in zip format.

April- Opening of two Unique Tournaments [3/29]
The Cadets tournament is now available for registration - Players matched up for challenge early April.  All cadets and 1140 pt sergents and lower are welcome (non-vets). The SpeedDeamon tournament is now open for registration, for cadets and higher. Players may start playing each other within their clusters at soon as they wish.  And again, those of you who havent reregistered yet (youll know if you cant find your name in the player search) then REREGISTER or your ranking will disappear when ranks get automated in a week!

Automation: Phase II WINLOSS REPORTING- New links [3/28]
Notice that all winloss reports now have a new form, which requires your password.  This way no one can report a fake game as you.  So make sure youve re-registered.  Also for players reporting make sure you report appropriately with the correct name for your opponent or you will not match up properly.

Automation: Phase I REGISTRATIONS- New buttons  [3/27]
If you havent reregistered, please do!  Also an active buttons available now to change your player info or password to the top right.  
For every player who is listed in the rankings pages at this time, please re-register with new form on registrations page.  There you can put in your password, and add your name/email and other info to the database.  Make sure you fill out all data with exception of icq (only if you have it) or your name will be deleted from the database.  Also keep the exact name you have on rankings page, or you might find your rank missing when the rankings become automated later.  (It does not have to be case-sensitive however). You can search for player information more easily now through the 'players' or 'find player' buttons above.  What name used in reregistering is your permanent name forever.

Statistics for TOH members. [3/16]
For those interested, the international activity on this site is as follows, based on number of visits to the Mainpage.   Also note the percentage in second column, which is the ratio at which players for that country click on the banners to support the site... fascinating  :) 

The Death of the Might and Magic Series. [3/9]
Just returned Might and Magic 8 back to the store today.  It looked like it was finished in a hurry, many lands without even simple terrain details, story without coherence, and so on.  M&M6 and 7 look more advanced than 8 does, even though they are 3 years older!  I can only imagine PCGamer magazines' rating on this game (15% maybe?).   This will kill the Might and Magic series for good. It is 3do's way of milking the franchise without any regards for the long-term consequences.
The Birth of a new Heroes. [3/9]
But fortunately, news is, that Heroes4 (to be released in a year or so) will have a new game engine (heroes 1-3 have used the old heroes1 engine), with better networking code and many new cool features but keeping the same gameplay turn-based system.

Help for Vesuvius [3/15]
Between May and June, I will be taking my Western Dental licensure exam (will allow me to start working in Arizona in July).  It is held in several locations: Cleveland, Ohio  May 11-14        Houston, Texas June 1-4
San Antonio, Texas May 19-22    Oklahoma City, Oklahoma June 9-12     
Portland, Oregon  May 26-29      Seattle, Washington June 15-18
I must choose one of these places to take the exam.... and a hospitable heroes fan may sway me to one of these places.  If you would like to help out, contact me (Vesuvius).   
Good moneh in dentistry means moah prizes in TOH.

General TOH News & Tournaments [3/11]
A new button available at bottom, "Player's Stories" visit it!
Pirates' Cove added to Lords Tournament, a place where landless heroes may participate further in the Lords.
Cadets tournament will start accepting registrations on April 1st, 2000.  It will accept players below 1130 pts in ranking who are not veterans of season I.
Speed deamon tournament will also begin accepting registrations on April 1st.
For you Hungarians out there, visit the Hungarian Heroes Fanpage at http://heroes.jatekok.hu/ .

MAPS input. [3/7]
   The maps page will be revamped soon.  I need players' input on what maps on the maps page should stay, and what should be removed.  Please email me with your recommendations.  This is NOT for submissions of new maps, however!  You may recommend maps on the original CD as well. 
   Also, ATGN is back up and running. Coming soon: a review of HOMM 3 Shadow of Death as well as news on what pulled Christain Vanover off the Heroes team and on to NWC's newest project -Legends of Might & Magic.

General TOH News & Tournaments. [3/4]
    Pandora has set up a page called 'Season I Memories', basically submit any stories of great games to her to be posted on this Page.  To spice it up, it isnt all about the heroes gaming, but say, even stories like 'how I got lucky with that girl because she liked my heroes music' and so on....
    An interesting reference from Zyndor, rogerwilco.com is a site where you can get a program to communicate by VOICE through microphone during heroes games (one especially made for heroes!).
    The Addicts tournament starts after the weekend.  Registrations close after that point, no more registrations will be accepted.  Shamon will be responsible for recieving the reports for this tournament.
    Registration has ended for 2vs2 Winds of War, and round 1 has begun.  $145 dollars in total prize money is being awarded.....
    Casualties of War purchases will be up by the end of the weekend, and battles begin shortly thereafter.

TOH 1- YEAR Anniversary! 
A recognition of The Most Honorable [3/1]
From its humble beginnings, this has site has grown to become the place for Heroes online.   As a 'gift' to many, recognition is needed for many players whom beside being active and addicts of heroes and a history in TOH, have deemed to be very honorable and deliver a measure of good play.  These players you should trust as always fun to play.  The following players get the TOH medal of Honor :)
Valein, Vex, AlX, Stormfire, Endor, Dorn_0, Provost Vahyle, Wrack, Black_Dragon, Queen of Blades, JB239, Ka10000, Philly_Smoke, Ironwill, Khayman, Jester, Woods, Jannypooh, Go_Leafs_Go13, GrandElf, Undeadhamster, W.Paxson, Yawacko, LilacBaeron, and Shane.  A distinction of honor, should be taken not as a 'reward' but as a measure of what TOH stands for:  their efforts to represent what a Tournament of Honor is all about.  Visit the Old News page, to look at the long history of TOH, from day one of its inception.  Oh yeah, the Heroes Addicts Tournament has opened for registrations for those concerned :)

The New Lords Is Finally Here! [2/27]
After countless man-hours to prepare, this is the tournament of all tournaments.   The sheer size of an expansion pack, it will be a new and permanent fixture of TOH.  Players must choose a hero to represent them.  Read the info thoroughly.  Lords Expansion Button above is now accessible.  Even if land is not available, Invasion is easy. Players who are very active in TOH will get priority over all others in the primary registration process.  Enjoy :)

A new patch WILL be released soon. [2/25]
After speaking to both the Producer and Progammer of heroes on several issues (fan support one of them), a new patch will be out to correct bugs both in the original heroes and expansion pack (such as the ballista bug).  The programmer mentioned that the Badge of Courage bug is in fact a manual omission, and should be treated as such.  Visit the bugs page for updates.

The Divisions and their Captains [2/24]
Players like Frank, Flamingo, and Alex_Killer have achieved the rank of Captain, and have restored their old divisions.  Overlord, a newcomer to TOH, has also achieved Captaincy and opened up an entirely new division, Deadly Assassins.  Also, visit the new tournament run by the German Mirror site, anyone may apply.

Universal Commander [2/22]
The final round is finally here; Universal Commander season one is down to Tamanrasset and Levakov.   The winner of this final, will recieve the ultimate award of the Universal Commander Plaque, along with $200 cash reward....

Full Automation looking possible [2/18]
Thanks to two very special volunteers, it may be only a few weeks before rankings and winloss registrations become automated.  This will remove the human error factor and manpower needed for rankings, and allow multiple rankings updates a day.   If this works out TOH may expand again and allow a greater influx of new players beyond its current capacity.  By the way, thanks to all the players, for submitting their wins and losses on time, since season 2 started,  the unreported file is ultra small compared to the number of games played.

Issues of Honor [2/15]
It has been noted by the Honor Council that many players tend to look at saves when an opponent drops, either because they think their opponent is doing the same, or just to take advantage of the situation.  This is Illegal in TOH, and is considered just as much cheating as using a cheat code.  With the terrible networking code of Heroes III this is to be expected, along with general disconnections from ISP & the zone.  Pursue the Honor Council if the drops are extremely frequent, or when a player drops and does not come back for over 15 minutes.  Always remember:  If you look at a save, know that you belong on the Hall of Shame, whether you ever will get caught or not.

Honor Council Update & Other News [2/5]
Familiarize yourself with new guidelines for submissions to the council. The criteria must be followed for your case to be heard.  Notice a German site under construction through links above, and a link to MSN gaming zone. 

Valentines' Day Weekend [2/11]
I will not be able to answer questions or make changes to the website until Monday (too busy :)); however rankings will continue to be posted daily. For casualties of war, Platon is responsible for all questions & updates.  Also remember there is an 'ask the wizard' question button above to make use of! Those of you with wives and girlfriends shut down the computer and go take them out for a treat!

General Updates to TOH - Several new buttons Above [2/3]
Links to the Spanish, German versions of TOH, an "unlinked" button, Ask the Wizard, MP3, and Petitions. Ask the wizard is where most new players should contact for general TOH questions and issues. In other news, the no troop on hero bug is now on bugs page, and is officially illegal in all TOH specialty tournaments (not free challenge). Round 4 Clans Grand Arena challenge details set up for players involved.

Tounament News [2/1]
Warlords is now open; congrats to the players who start with them: others can now challenge these players for their shields. Zud (Silver War Unicorn), Nighthawk200(Silver Battalion), Salpinx(ornamental), Philly_Smoke(Warlord Buckler). Victors in Casualties of War round 2 can now select their round 2 choices. Setups will be made in a week. Read important round 2 notes at top.
Lords of Erathia is in free challenge mode, but a secret project is in the works, more massive than Clans, on a complete facelift for Lords. This will be the last and most massive TOH superproject for the season. Hall of Shame updated.

TOH Goes International [1/25]
Since Heroes is a game popular in more than just English/American communities, there is an opportunity here to make TOH multilingual. Mikeoldfield has taken the initiative to set up a Spanish version of TOH. I recommend any player (Russian, Italian, German, French etc...) with HTML skills to make a mirror site to try it out. Visit the spanish site at http://www.upcnet.es/~jvs/heroes3/

SATURATION POINT- New Player Space Now Restricted [1/23]
Due to the increadibly high traffic (as many as 100 games being played a day), NO NEW UNRANKED PLAYERS CAN PLAY FOR TOH WITHOUT PETITION. If you are listed on any rankings page, new or old season, you are in the green. Otherwise any new player must have a Veteran Player petition (notice the new link to the above right corner) you directly to Vesuvius before games can be counted for free challenge points (you may still register). Any wins or losses reported to an unranked player is discarded as of 1/24. This has two side benefits for TOH; keep traffic to an acceptable and updatable level, and to block creation of fake players/or banished players trying to create a second name.

First with the good stuff...... [1/18]
A new Philosophy for Clans has replaced the Dwarven Philosophy. It is the Demonic Philosophy (evil). Dwarven clans displaced can have first grab at this philosophy, as long as they reply quickly. The Casualties of War tournament is filling up quickly, I may start it earlier; random matchups will be posted soon, for the first registrants. Also, welcome Kreszantas as the new update volunteer for Friday!

Then on with nastier things...... [1/18]
Those players whom have a veteran icon (wyvern,dragon etc) can only play 4 plebes (not cadets) for points before getting a 'cherry'. At 8 plebes two cherries. What does this do? No points awarded for beating plebes after 2 cherries. This is not to have people avoid playing plebes, just not making a habit of it. The unreported winloss file is updated daily, and also non-loss reporters are penalized more severely (after 5+ days of being on nonreported file, and banned in some extreme cases. Check it regularly, someone may have posted a win against you, and you may not know about it. Those of you curious about the reinstatement of Antal and Flamingo, it serves as a test of their integrity. They were abolished from TOH for half a year; with the new season a new trial of Honor, their love of Heroes and TOH hopefully will draw respect in the long run, and their dishonor forgotten. Just remember; no one is forced to play them, but give them a chance. Their actions here will hopefully promote the fact that TOH is not anti-Russian, and that Russians are not 'labelled cheaters'.

The New Season Is Here, Facelift for the Mainpage. [1/15]
All scores have been reset, and the rankings pages/hall of fame reflect this. Notice the more streamlined interface, and virtually every possible main link available to the users on the right. Those of you who have lost your record in rankings because you didnt have 12 or more games, do not despair, all old rankings are intact on Season One rankings link, and can be used to prove to veterans that you have played in TOH before.
And we begin the new season with a Unique tournament; Casualties of War!

Heroes' Finest Honor -The First Season Without exception, Zud (Rare Sir Loin on the Zone) has stood out as not only as the biggest fan of heroes, but also one of the most Honorable. Never stepping into TOH politics, but playing with the utmost integrity and furthering what the heroes community is supposed to be all about. And so he will be recognized as season one's finest , recieving not only the award and prestige, but also a $40 dollar gift certificate to Electronics Boutique, and a copy of Heroes of Might and Magic IV waiting at his door on the day of its release.