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General discussionHeroes of Might and Magic 2, Heroes Chronicles, and a legendary crystal!(42 posts)(42 posts)
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Posted July 24, 2025
The GOG Preservation Program welcomes more titles from one of the most iconic strategy series of all time: Heroes of Might and Magic. With timeless classics and a one-of-a-kind preservation experiment, this update is a tribute to generations of turn-based tacticians!

This month, we’re unveiling something truly unique: the first video game ever preserved on the world’s most durable data-storage medium: a 5D optical crystal.
Created in collaboration with SPhotonix – the very same experts whose technology starred in the recent Mission Impossible movie – this futuristic “crystal coin” can allegedly survive billions of years, extreme conditions, and even a trip through an oven.

On it, we saved one of the greatest gaming gems of all time: Heroes of Might and Magic 3: Complete.

But with that item, comes a lesson – even the most resilient material isn’t a guarantee of eternal preservation. Because nothing is preserved; everything is being preserved. Without care and effort, even the strongest storage fades into obscurity. That’s why the GOG Preservation Program exists: to not only save games, but to keep them accessible and alive.

We’re also proud to announce that Heroes of Might and Magic 2: Gold Edition officially joins the GOG Preservation Program, for you to now enjoy the most complete and updated version available.

Joining it is a lesser-known gem: Heroes Chronicles: All Chapters. Originally released as a collection of eight episodic campaigns, Heroes Chronicles is a story-driven spin-off of Heroes of Might and Magic 3 – all chapters are now preserved and ready for new and returning fans alike.

Meanwhile, Heroes of Might and Magic 5: Bundle receives a major language update in our catalog, now available with Czech, Hungarian, and Simplified Chinese language support!

Check out this month’s additions at glance:
Heroes of Might and Magic 2: Gold Edition
Heroes Chronicles: All Chapters
Time Commando
Dungeons & Dragons: Krynn Series
Rise of the Triad: Dark War
Spycraft: The Great Game
The Humans Bundle
Pushover

Let’s make these games live forever!
Posted July 24, 2025
I hope GOG adds Beyond Good & Evil to the program and add in missing features such as controller support.
Posted July 24, 2025
"This month, we’re unveiling something truly unique: the first video game ever preserved on the world’s most durable data-storage medium: a 5D optical crystal."

Wow (:deadpan:). Amazing (:deadpan:).
I hope you got a Guinness World Record or at least some money for it.

Optical crystals are a "cool" storage tech but a better option is to have geo-redundant mirrors of your files in normal servers because if something happens capable of knocking down all servers in multiple continents the odds are it will also knock down whatever you use to read the crystals and you'll have a better chance of recovering the data from the servers. With crystals you'll also need multiple safe locations to store copies, which will cost a whole lot more than having geo-redundant mirrors. Besides, storing your games for a very long time is useless if you don't also store the hardware and software needed to run it. That requires filling climate-controlled storages with innert gases and people to manage it and periodically test if the hardware is still working, meaning even more cost.

So I hope this is a one time thing some marketing exec came up with because if you signed a contract with SPhotonics to store all your games in crystals you're are literally f***ed.
Post edited July 24, 2025 by AGlezB
Posted July 24, 2025
Uhh, good for you I guess? I would've liked new releases from ubisoft or other studios, or even further fixes for the games already in the preservation program, like Dragon Age Origins or Breath of Fire IV
Posted July 24, 2025
I like how they went about "how do we show and throw away cloud storage?" XD
Posted July 25, 2025
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am1vf: I like how they went about "how do we show and throw away cloud storage?" XD
I think cloud storage is good, but only as part of a redundant diversified storage strategy.

If you use different cloud storage providers with different geographical locations or cloud storage as a supplement to on-site storage with a different geographical location than you have on-site, you are probably ok, but if you rely on a single storage provider or even a bunch of providers storing your data in the same geographical location, I think your storage strategy is not as diverse as it should be and you may be in for a surprise if the, sometimes chaotic, realities of life mess with something that you thought was iron-clad (be it a company or a geographical location).

Personally, I'm biased towards on-site storage (mind you, I'm very competent at operating it, I do this for a living), but I like cloud storage as a backup strategy in case the house burns down.
Post edited July 25, 2025 by Magnitus
Posted July 25, 2025
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AGlezB: "This month, we’re unveiling something truly unique: the first video game ever preserved on the world’s most durable data-storage medium: a 5D optical crystal."

Wow (:deadpan:). Amazing (:deadpan:).
I hope you got a Guinness World Record or at least some money for it.

Optical crystals are a "cool" storage tech but a better option is to have geo-redundant mirrors of your files in normal servers because if something happens capable of knocking down all servers in multiple continents the odds are it will also knock down whatever you use to read the crystals and you'll have a better chance of recovering the data from the servers. With crystals you'll also need multiple safe locations to store copies, which will cost a whole lot more than having geo-redundant mirrors. Besides, storing your games for a very long time is useless if you don't also store the hardware and software needed to run it. That requires filling climate-controlled storages with innert gases and people to manage it and periodically test if the hardware is still working, meaning even more cost.

So I hope this is a one time thing some marketing exec came up with because if you signed a contract with SPhotonics to store all your games in crystals you're are literally f***ed.
yeah. and i think the corpo who makes such crystals are more likely to go bankrupt in the next 10 yrs than an earthquake destroying all the readers and hardware.

anyone remember those stone DVDs that were suppose to last forever too? the company which made them seem to have disappeared over the year.
Posted July 25, 2025
Good to see Spycraft added. That's a great game.
Posted July 25, 2025
I just want to make my perspective on this known: This is a ridiculous waste of your time and effort. We do not want games preserved, we want the games playable and accessible. That crystal is nothing but a pointless PR stunt that brings nothing to us gamers, the devs, or the preservation of games itself.

If this is what we can expect in the future, I am getting less and less likely to become a patron when the program opens. Stop these meaningless actions, actually do things that count and make a difference!
Posted July 25, 2025
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Raventhrone: That crystal is nothing but a pointless PR stunt that brings nothing to us gamers, the devs, or the preservation of games itself.
PR stunts aren't pointless. The point is PR. Bringing more attention to GOG does help bring in new users (sooooo many people out there who aren't aware of GOG yet, hard though that might be to believe for those of us who've been here for over a decade), who'll then go on to buy games, which will help fund GOG to keep going.
Post edited July 25, 2025 by gogtrial34987
Posted July 25, 2025
Czech voice acting for Heroes V? Unprecedented. Nobody ever seems willing to hunt those down (and a surprising amount of games had it).
Post edited July 25, 2025 by idbeholdME
Posted July 25, 2025
Tiny me and Heroes of Might and Magic 2, i'm pretty sure we got a complete edition with PC gamer but ......

and you know, AI is truly gold in these kind of situations (as was PC Gamer for me in those early young days)
PC Gamer magazine's issue #43 included the complete edition of Heroes of Might and Magic II. This edition, released in 1997, contained the base game and the "Price of Loyalty" expansion.

Anyways....

were it all began, sort off!
Posted July 25, 2025
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Raventhrone: I just want to make my perspective on this known: This is a ridiculous waste of your time and effort. I do not want games preserved, I want the games playable and accessible. That crystal is nothing but a pointless PR stunt that brings nothing to me, the devs, or the preservation of games itself.

If this is what I can expect in the future, I am getting less and less likely to become a patron when the program opens. Stop these meaningless actions, actually do things that count and make a difference!
I corrected the Text for you, as you shouldn't talk in behalf of all.
It is PR, but a pretty nice on and i love that Technology, would be cool to see it becoming more widespread.
And PR brings more Customers and more Money to use on Games and Fixes
Post edited July 25, 2025 by kakiss4
Posted July 25, 2025
Preservation program is at 196 games, wonder which game will be number 200.
Posted July 25, 2025
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dick1982: yeah. and i think the corpo who makes such crystals are more likely to go bankrupt in the next 10 yrs than an earthquake destroying all the readers and hardware.

anyone remember those stone DVDs that were supposed to last forever too? the company which made them seem to have disappeared over the year.
You talking of "M-DISC (Millennial Disc))" or what?

At least, M_DISC are the only think I personally was able to in relation to "stone":
https://www.reddit.com/r/photography/comments/2oqeau/anybody_use_mdisc_engraved_in_stone_for_archiving/

Reference link for more info:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-DISC
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Post edited July 25, 2025 by PaveMentman
Posted July 25, 2025
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wolfsite: Preservation program is at 196 games, wonder which game will be number 200.
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General discussionHeroes of Might and Magic 2, Heroes Chronicles, and a legendary crystal!(42 posts)(42 posts)
(42 posts)