The open source project Fheroes2 is advancing towards its first major release. We decided to play the latest version 0.9.7 and found out that it’s already a near-perfect recreation of the original Heroes of Might and Magic 2 (HoMM2). Moreover, Fheroes2 adds high-resolution support and dozens of UI improvements together with a much improved AI when playing standard campaigns against computer-driven enemies. It looks like Fheroes2 is actually more playable than the original commercial game that we once had to emulate or run under a virtual machine on Windows.
Very much like Julius for Caesar III (see LXF233), Fheroes2 provide a completely reverse-engineered engine with the game’s mechanics for HoMM2. This means you still need to have the original game copy with all its artwork. However, the Fheroes2 build comes with the demo_unix.shscript, which downloads the demo package of HoMM2: Succession Wars and sets things up in such a way that the game instantly works. Effectively, the game copy is abandonware, so it’s entirely legal for personal use.