HEROQUEST - COMPANION APP discussion

[HispaZargon]

Well, not sure about it... other language versions of the app than English shew the Commanders of the Guardian Knights, the Rogues and Online quests however they were only officially released in English, so I think the app is not a good reference to forecast further realeases in other languages, unfortunatelly.

[Kurgan]

Oh interesting, I hadn't thought of that... so using the App you can play quests (& use heroes) in other languages for which there is no physical copy in those same languages?

I guess the guardian knight would be translated now via ROTDM. Surprised about the Rogue... five cards still in need of official translation? But if the App lets you do this, that kind of serves a purpose of what I was thinking of, if it's too hard to release them physically they could just release translated PDFs (I guess they'd have to do card text too) for those languages.

[Aki]

I'm in Italy and yes we have the app in italian but when Mentor or Zargon speaks for example, they are still in english

[HispaZargon]

Same in the Spanish version of the app. Texts are in Spanish, but audio is in English.

I would like to also point that the terms in Spanish written in the app are not exactly the same ones used in the physical boardgame, which sometimes could be a bit confusing. For example "Goblin" is translated in the app (and only there) as "Trasgo", but there are other many terms with the same mismatching.

[Kurgan]

I wonder if they will have localized versions with audio in other languages? I suppose they have to pay a voice actor or at the very least take up resources using someone in-house to do that vs. a fast and easy text translation. Interesting to hear they don't use the same words as the physical versions.

I don't recall listing the odd things I noticed in the app here in total before... Some of these have inspired people to change how they play, but I think they are a reflection of hasty mistakes or simply limitations in how it works. I can only confirm this stuff as of c.1.79 (I know we are up to 1.82 now but please anyone let me know if you are able to verify further).

1) Treasure chests don't impede movement. Even with "intangible furniture" slider turned off (I think this was intended for debugging not as a literal rule variant), monsters and heroes are able to freely pass through Treasure chests (not sure if they can remain on top of them).

2) Player character that enters solid rock instantly dies if you lift your finger (or cursor I suppose) off of the icon even if you had movement squares left. The App of course doesn't know how much you really are able to move and thankfully now they added an "undo" feature if you stopped there in error.

3) The app can't tell which corridor you are searching for traps/secret doors if you are doing so at a crossroads. I haven't verified to see if it would reveal something that was in both corridors simultaneously.

4) Bard Hero's profile says his starting weapon is a dagger.... but then his attack tutorial explains how his Rapier works. The physical card says he starts with a Rapier, but those who didn't own the Mythic set (or the upcoming SQT) might be confused. It also makes it seem like the Rapier can ONLY hit the diagonal squares (instead of merely highlighting that it has the ability to hit them as well as adjacent).

5) Until recently (and this was another tip off that SQT/PoT were coming to retail finally) all of the Spell cards for the Druid, Bard and Warlock were featured inside the app, which was essential for anyone who wanted to use them but didn't own a copy of the Mythic box. Otherwise they would have to scour the internet looking for pictures of the cards. This was a problem for the Guardian Knight as NONE of his Skill cards are depicted in app (instead a text box pops up in instances where his skill might be applicable), but finally the Guardian Knight was re-released with Rise of the Dread Moon so people can find his skills more easily again.

6) In the Guardian Knight's favor his "Knight's Challenge" on the card says "room" but the App allows him to use it in corridors, which is very helpful in FH and MOTM which feature many "wandering monster traps" in hallways. He is also prompted I believe for Shield Block when adjacent to an ally in a corridor which again goes beyond the cards.

7) If a hero wants to move through a door, but there is another ally standing adjacent to the door in front of him, he can't pass through! The obstructing character has to be moved out of the way first (this is not how it works in the physical remake game's rules... characters on the same team never block each other... except the Ogres in ATOH so it will be interesting to see if they retain that in the remake version but I digress!).

8) Sir Ragnar's profile declares that his movement is "2 squares" when in fact it is supposed to be 1 red die.

9) For Frozen Horror quests, I forget if it's in the Hints or app notes for each quest, but the word "Stolen" is misspelled when referring to what Ice Gremlins are able to do.

10) Technically the Rise of the Dread Moon's mercenaries should be able to be hired in the group quests of MOTM (according to the EQP's own quest book) yet you can only use the Frozen Horror ones in the app.

11) This may not be a strict error, but rather an interpretation... many items in MOTM are called "Elven" or the card text says "allows the Elf" (but lacks the line "may only be used by the Elf"). The App takes a strict approach that any of these items are only usable by the Elf hero (and of course the Rogue is not counted as an Elf nor are the ROTDM mercs I presume but I haven't tested that). Any other character trying to use them will get an error saying "no line of sight" (even for the "Elven Cloak of Passage" from the Treasure deck).

12) "Unable to search if you can see a monster" is taken very literally in most cases. So if you're a hero (or I suppose a Scout searching for traps) in a corridor facing an open door, and inside the room is any monster even in the far corner.... then you are unable to search the corridor. If you are in a room with LOS to an open door and in the next room is a monster (even one that is not adjacent to you) you cannot search. In both of these cases however if an ally stands in the way (blocking clear LOS to the monster) the hero is allowed to search again. However, if in any of the above scenarios the door is a SECRET DOOR the hero is able to search even if monsters are visible through the opened secret door! The EU rules were careful to say you couldn't search a room or passage inhabited by monsters OR if you were adjacent to any monster but the NA version does not include that last bit, it almost sounds like they are saying the way that the App interprets it but it does lead to some weird situations. Also despite how many people choose to play, a monster under the effects of "sleep" can still be seen and thus impedes the search (maybe the room's treasure or trap is directly under his body? doesn't explain if it's hidden inside furniture).

13) The rule clarification has long been that if a Hero chooses to stand on the stairway (and not exit the quest) to hide from monsters, that is fine, but if he tries to attack them, monsters are able to defend (and fight back). I tested this several versions ago where I was able to hide from the Witch Lord on the spiral staircase. This may have been fixed, but the monsters should be able to step onto the stairway and attack, even if the hero is hiding in the far corner (most monsters lacked ranged ability).

14) The Rescue of Sir Ragnar is forced to end the instant he lands on the staircase (or dies) instead of when the last surviving character has exited the quest. In real life many players choose to loot the dungeon (especially if all the monsters are defeated). Maybe a better option would be to have the prompt ASK if they want to end or continue playing... (of course you can just ignore the app at this point and keep doing that even without such a prompt). I haven't checked to see if there are other quests like this. Some quests are supposed to end the instant the main bad guy is killed and in that case it is appropriate (not every quest ends with the heroes having to walk through a door or down the stairs).

15) Many of us wondered how the Frozen Horror would be treated since he now takes up four board squares (unlike the original miniature that took up 2). However in actual practice it seems for purposes of movement he functions like a single square character, and only becomes a four square character when he needs to have the reach to attack someone since he can also hit diagonally, but I see his token overlapping the heroes at times especially in corridors.

16) The Ancient Staff artifact from MOTM says on the card that the spell effect rebounds not only against the evil spellcastor but also to the rest of the other monsters in the same room. The app ignores this and applies it against the spellcastor only.

17) Elven Cloak of Passage doesn't function the same as Pass Through Rock (this treasure lets the Elf walk through walls but not through stone blocks... and neither can pass through triggered falling block traps?).

Several card images that were formerly in the App have been removed, as most of these rely on the honor system to use (and it makes it faster to scroll through the list and reduces file size). Not really an errata, just an observation.

[Kurgan]

I've heard reports of Elven Archers shooting heroes through walls and Specters ending their turn in areas they shouldn't (solid objects or unexplored areas).

[Aki]

I can confirm and also, with the final bosses does obscene things like walking through heroes or casting spells without line of sight

[HispaZargon]

PoT and SQT are already being received at homes. How long would take having those quests in the App? A couple of weeks or maybe they will wait until being released in other languages around March 2024?

[Kurgan]

The pattern seems to be exactly 2 months from official release date that we see them appear in the App, so I'm going to predict second week in January.

Another issue we've seen is with Rise of the Dread Moon and the disguises. The quest book's rules say that Disguises go away if you use a Spell (the Wandering Monk isn't added yet, so it isn't clear if his "Styles" are to be treated exactly the same as magic spells... I have not checked to see if the Rogue or Knight's "Skills" break disguises, as they are harder to trigger in-App) which also extends to Spell Scrolls. Additionally using armor other than helmets & bracers (cloaks are not considered armor) break disguise but those are on the "honor" system much like the type of weapon used (attacks with other than barehanded or the following weapons: shortswords, hand axes, daggers and the staff break disguise). However the App goes further and has POTIONS (only a few are featured in the app: Potion of Vision, Airwalk, Wolfsbane Potion) and "magical" Treasures (like the Elven Cloak of Passage) or Artifacts (Ring of Return, Dust of Disappearance, Rod of Telekinesis, Bone Wand, Cloak of Shadows) AND various Equipment (Caltrops, Smoke Bombs) break Disguise as well.

Also ROTDM Quest 2 (potential small spoilers) doesn't say it in the book (or PDF) but the App tells you that you can't visit any shops at the end of this quest (which I guess could be implied since you have an opportunity to shop and visit a Hideout mid-quest, though there's a question whether the last hero to leave gets this same opportunity). There's also apparently a bug when even after you've found the key, you can't go through the door, though you can cheat to force the quest to end by passing through rock, though oddly the genie can't be used to accomplish your goal. Here I think the group would decide in favor of the maximal position because otherwise they might think they can shop and then find out they missed their opportunity (putting them in the mood from then on that they should shop and rest whenever they have the opportunity because they don't know when the next one will come). Usually however the App is easier and more generous than the booklet, but here it is stricter and tougher.

[Kurgan]

Unfortunately, in the last update of the HeroQuest Companion App or so (forget which one, we're on 1.82 as of this writing) they removed two of the three spell cards from the Druid's inventory (I mean the images of what's on the card). thus to know how to play the character you may want to consult this page: (archived version of the later stage playtest from haslab campaign), the Druid's "Shapeshift" spell (popularly called 'bear form' by fans is slightly different but it seems only to have been a more confusing attempt to clarify that the spell doesn't increase damage at range; the developers have also clarified they intended that the spell does not nerf the hero's defense). You can also see that the other formerly mythic exclusive heroes had some of their spell descriptions removed from the app, but at least now they are available in retail). see Bard's Healing Song & Inspiring Tale, Warlock's Dark Wings & Demon Form. The Rogue and Knight's abilities are always active powers or situational and so the App gives pop-ups most of the time when they can be used though having the real cards is still helpful. the guardian knight and rogue heir of elethorn's skill cards can be seen on various online previews still on the web.

I presume all this time the "mythic" heroes were included for the benefit of those owners of that set to use in the App, but also as a side benefit to help gauge interest in their future re-release into retail. Now that they know people could be buying them, they probably took these bits out to make the app less a replacement for the physical aspects of these characters and more of a tease to would be buyers. Though they might also have done it to save memory since these reference cards that are based on functions not normally handled by the app anyway (hero attack & defense for example) are no longer strictly needed. But speculations aside, there you go.