Did anyone encounter this problem? HOMM3 installs and runs fine, except that I can't skip the intro movie - every time I start the game, I must endure the whole movie before I can play. I thought perhaps a firewall is blocking the game from polling keyboard, but that is not the case - I get the same behavior on a completely different computer with no firewall installed. The older versions of the game (with copy protection - that's why I bought GOG version) are able to skip intro easily.

I don't use GoG Galaxy myself so do not know how it installs. However ...

Clearly GoG Galaxy should install, by default, into a C:\ folder of its own, not Program Files. When letting us override the default, it should refuse, with a message, to let us choose Program Files. The same for individual games whether under Galaxy control or by offline install.

Installers should finish by checking that everything has installed, including registry entries, and that the game can update everything it needs to. Even better would be for it to identify the anti-virus and (subject to confirmation) set whatever Windows options (such as Administrator) and anti-virus exemptions are needed (at least for the more commonly used AV products).

This would require GoG to have several PCs of their own, each with a different AV, on which to test their game installers. Is that too much to ask?

This thread is bugged. messages swapped, cant answer here (but it also happedn recently for me in ery differ threads and sub-forums, looks more global GOG issue). I try again. Yes it is. Since GOG lost my prev. answer i try answer shorter.

Installer, GOG-Glaaxy and game are WORK as they should on any OS. Issue with some specific AV installed on someones machines. Or something else. It is not normal symptoms and solving that - is beyond GOG staff job. If something prevent installer and game do waht they should - that cannot be fixed from installer and game side.

There is minor issues came from GOG. Half-broken validation mechanics in GOG-Galaxy 2.x (after worked as it should in 1.2), no hlp-chm convert for help files (old hlp files still required in game fodler to game+editor working, chm should be as addition).

This probably depends on your computer setup, but there are multiple registry entries for HOMM3
If you use the Find feature with "New World Computing" as your search, you may find three or more places in the registry for it. Confusingly, First Time appears more than once.

For me, the correct location had many many entries (~25) and the incorrect ones had only two

In this case
Computer\HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-2575934200-3897663191-1310459744-1003\Software\Classes\VirtualStore\MACHINE\SOFTW ARE\WOW6432Node\New World Computing\Heroes of Might and Magic® III\1.0
was the correct one

Computer\HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-2575934200-3897663191-1310459744-1003\Software\New World Computing
Computer\HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-2575934200-3897663191-1310459744-1003_Classes\VirtualStore\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW64 32Node\New World Computing
Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\VirtualStore\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\New World Computing
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\New World Computing
All four of these were wrong and did not fix the issue. I was frustrated that I keep changing values for 'first time' and 'show intro' and it never worked.

Some strange - you put working section also to not working list.

There is two place : HKLM/Software/ and HKCU/Software/Classes/VirtualStore/Software/
Second one is mirror to HK_Users/{user-id} so it will be listed 3 times in search (if you remove one -it will remove both).
Game entries for GOG can be listed more, but it not required to game working (HKCU/Software, HKLM/Software, HKCU/.../VirtualStore)(there is also compatibilities fix package installed to OS that have few local files and few entries in Registry in Microsoft sections).

Normally manual editing mentioned in answer #2 here not required. Depend on some circumstances you can see intro 1 time more than it should, but after that it anyway should become skill able. If not it is not registry, game or installer issue. Something else interfere that.
But if you do manually edit settings there - do it twice for both section - HKLM and HKCU (aka Current User).

Okay, so after having not played the game for some months, I replayed it again tonight, and guess what happened?

That's right, the unskippable intro bug is back again, as always, and once again, the registry key which I had manually set to disable the intro (which I have had to do multiple times now) has somehow magically undone itself yet again, even though I never opened my registry again at all whatsoever since the last time when I had to reset that game registry key for this fundamentally broken game.

Contrary to some of the bogus counter arguments given to my point: there is nothing whatsoever wrong with my OS or my system or my UAC settings or any of that kind of stuff. Trying to blame those things is a red herring and an attempt to scapegoat the issue of this game-breaking bug onto things that actually have no relevance to it whatsoever.

I am using an official version of Windows 10 and official GOG version of HOMM 3 Complete. There is no monkey business going on here that would lead to such a bug occurring were it not to be a bug that is indeed & in fact infesting the official version of the game itself.

This is something wrong with the game itself that is causing it to change its registry key values on its own, which therefore as I said previously, and I again now re-emphasize the points:

1) GOG desperately need to patch this bug out of the game and also

2) This problem is not actually "solved," even though the OP has inaccurately marked it as being solved, because changing the registry value is not a permanent solution, since the game constantly undoes the registry key value change on its own for no logical reason.

And I haven't seen anyone offer any solution on how to prevent the game from continuing to do that, ergo this problem definitely remains 100% unsolved as of now in January 2023.

As for the counter-argument that it's not game-breaking because the intro ends eventually: I beg to differ. This bug is one of the most aggravating things ever in a game, and it makes the game totally unplayable since one feels very disincentivized to ever run it in the first place knowing that this problem is going to keep reoccurring forever (or until GOG patches the bug, like they need to do, so that it no longer exists in the patched version).

And it also makes the game unplayable because it's almost impossible not to ragequit out of the unskipple intro (via ALT TABBING and then manually terminating the game from the OS) after you have been a victim of this bug dozens or hundreds of times, and after you have manually reset the registry key many times, only to have to the game metaphorically spit in the player's face by automatically undoing that tedious manual registry editing work.

Likewise, time in life is very valuable and therefore it is not to be wasted endlessly & repeatedly ad infinitum waiting out this very long & very aggravating unskippable intro for all of eternity, which ought not to be ever occurring at all, yet it keeps re-occuring endlessly. And time in life is also way too valuable to be endlessly locating and then resetting the same registry key that you've already reset multiple before.

And if GOG doesn't want to track down this bug in order to eliminate, then at the very least GOG needs to patch the game so that the intro can be skipped with the press of a key (i.e. the ESC key), and that method to manually skip the would need to work always, 100% regardless of the status of how the game has automatically misconfigured its own registry keys.

EDIT: I realized I forgot to mention that I have manually went back to the "FirstTime" registry key tonight after making this post, and sure enough, the game has, on its own, without every being told to by any computer user, changed its value back to "1," even though I had manually set it to "0" many times before.

As I said before, you are complaining to fellow players. If you need GOG to change this, then you need to contact GOG Support and make your case to them. I highly doubt they will see your complaint in this thread.

Not a GOG fault, still. There is more. If intro first time play not saved in registry - all in game settings also not saving. This is major issue indeed need to be solved. Not a GOG fault. So they should try to do something, ask UbiSoft try to do something. And together with players try to find a solution. It almost unplayable without settings saving.

When exactly entry go to default state? After next game launch? Did it saved until that? Do you try HKCU(VirtualStore) and HKLM? What if reinstall game to D:\Games\Heroes-3\ (admin promt popup should appear for installer, better force it to adminrun)?
Did Heroes 3 Complete Compatibility SDB appear next to game in Windows Applications (uninstall) menu?

Are we talk about clear GOG version (installer with valide digital sign, and checkbox to validating on pre-setup screen, so no downloading issues) and no mods installed?

Maybe Editor's reset game settings to default? As I remember they did not do that for me. But I have no issues with game game either. If there is issue - anything can be source of it.

At first try GOG offline or try to solve GOG version. And Eng installer. Then move to localised (if needed) or GOG Galaxy version. Client based versions always require more tweaking. It is not like on console - press button and play. Install client to X:\Games\, configure game path to X\Games\. Make sure client use same settings in admin run mode and without it. To install games relaunch client in admin run. At the end of downloading force client to validate game. Twice in a row cause currently Galaxy won't report (still better twice for Steam as well).

First launch of game in admin mode come from Galaxy admin run. Then relaunch client without admin and start game without admin (if nothing installed to Program Files).

Game initially originally always require admin run. Cause it store own settings to HKLM/Software WinRegistry. On nowadays Windows it should silently redirected to HKCU VirtualStore for next launches. Shouldn't be any issues with that.

Technically it should work also from Program Files. More been redirected to VirtualStore. But more restrictions come to apps in that folder, from 3rd party security services as well. Also, this is only for games. Galaxy from Program Files - bad way anyway. This is why first to GOG version, then try with GOG Galaxy version.

#2 message here marks all solution becaueit is. Maybe Microsoft broke something again (as always). This one is more unusual issue than initial OP mention here and first response here suggest solution for. Depend on when exactly it is switch back to 1. Did it at least work once at next relaunch? It is very strange if game do that and do that all the time. It is same game as decades ago. Nothing changed here.

Another one suggestion. Game can first generate new entries and then Windows redirect it to VirtualStore. Not sure if this is normal for Windows. That one probably something broken by Microsoft some time.ago. Because initially UAC work redirecting to VirtualStore immedit at app launch. You can keep HKLM/Software clear of Heroes 3. But if there is some Win issue with that, and HKLM Software is no entry for Heroes 3 - game first generate default config then Win redirect it to HKCU then replace prev config there.
But installation and first launch should be in admin. So there is HKLM entry.
_-----
I say GOG and UbiSoft should try to solve this, cause I doubt they have much ways to do something with it. It require rewrite some game code, and if there is issues come from Win updates...

Put first time play 0/1, even disable intro by default do not solve this. Best solution if force game to HKCU so Win never redirect it to VirtualStore (it only for HKLM). At the end Win redirect it to own location whatever be there initially.

It appears to be fixed on my PC. Did the following:

Navigate to -

C:\Program Files (x86)\GOG Galaxy\Games\HoMM 3 Complete

goggame-1207658787.script


Open the script file in notepad. Search for this chunk of code. Change the valueData from 1 to 0. Save the file, and run the game through the GOG app.

"install": {
"action": "setRegistry",
"arguments": {
"root": "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE",
"subkey": "Software\\New World Computing\\Heroes of Might and Magic\u00ae III\\1.0",
"valueData": "1",
"valueName": "Show Intro",
"valueType": "dword"

None of the fixes work. So disappointing.

This file although present in GOG version is actually for GOG Galaxy version (you can convert it to Galaxy using client any time). This script allow Galaxy "install" game. First default pre-config.

Your working solution suggested here many times. Manually edit Win Registry. Reinstall every games and games clients outside of system drive. Or set clients (and standalone games) main exe files to be in admin mode all the time. They NEVER do work properly without that.

Use only D/Games/Steam/ D/Games/GOG/ for clients and X/Games/ X/Games/SteamApps/ for games. Even that require admin mode run of clients and games time to time.

So as it never clearly reported. Looks like there is no issues with GOG Galaxy client/game version, not with uptodate Win10/11. Still users failed of properly use clients and follow solutions to solve it. No one report here what he try to fix it, no one report did admin mode used or program files folder involved, did he use W.Defender only or 3rd party. Only screamin "fix it for me!!111" and not want to read when fixes provided from the very first thread answer of this long lived thread.

This is what finally worked for me. Thanks!

(The "correct location" for me had essentially the same path as yours, with different numbers. I first tried editing the HKLM entries mentioned in post #2. At the time, there were only a few entries there. After I edited the entry in the "correct location", I noticed that there are now ~25 entries in the HKLM location too. I don't understand exactly how the different registry locations relate---just mentioning this in case it's useful for others.)

You da real MVP! 10/10 resolution.

Works perfectly fine for me. Of course the "S-1-5-21-2575934200-3897663191-1310459744-1003" is different (because of the ID), but rest is clear. Just use REGEDIT (Windows tool -> start -> type rededit and press enter). Cheers mate!

I'm having the same problem now. I downloaded and played this about a month ago. Had to watch intro the first time but after that it could be skipped. Haven't played in a few weeks and restarted it. This time the intro couldn't be skipped. I've set the regedit values to 0 according to info on this thread but none have worked. Also tried running regedit and game as Admin. Still can't skip.