1. Heroes of Science and Fiction
  2. News

Heroes of Science and Fiction News

Heroes of Science and Fiction - The Psyker Update is Live!

[p]Hi everybody, we're happy to announce that we just released the next major content update for Heroes of Science and Fiction! The main focus is on the new Psyker skill and the PSY combat abilities it brings, but there are also new maps, events and the usual round of improvements and bugfixes.
[/p][p]In the meantime, most of the team has been already working on the next big expansion, which will bring Tumori Tribes (working title: Hive Mind) as the 5th playable faction and the next campaign/storyline, so this is not even the biggest update this fall!
[/p]

[h2]Psyker Skill and PSY Abilities[/h2]
[p]A new skill with 13 combat abilities for your commanders, all about manipulating your and your opponent's units in different ways. This also includes faculties at academies at all bases.


[/p]
[h2]New day night cycle rules[/h2]
[p]These bring more variety to what happens on the map and some come with active events at the start of the cycle!
  • Eclipse - night during the whole cycle
  • Cerebral clarity - more XP from battles
  • Each faction gets their own festival with a few different bonuses
  • Dead rising - some neutral armies respawn
  • Rain of resources: some of the treasures on the map get replenished. Can only happen once per map.
  • Workers strike: everybody loses ownership of some of their resource-generating buildings. Can only happen once per map.
  • Resource collectors - these creatures are hungry for resources and will appear around some of the mines

[h2]New interactive objects[/h2]
  • Escape module - contains various treasures
  • Traveling merchant - if you catch him, you'll be able to trade for the best prices
  • Mysterious wanderer - if you catch him, you'll get to improve one of your attributes

[h2]Content, features and improvements[/h2]
  • New skirmish maps: Blue Border & Sudden Death
  • Map generator with more variety, configuration options and various improvements
  • 5 new loading tips
  • Increased size of tooltips and some panels in large UI mode, fixed a couple of layout issues on the Steam Deck
  • Added info about remaining force field HP to force fields status effect tooltip in unit info card
  • Implemented a custom effect for cloned units in unit order panel
  • Added hint about "unequipping items by right clicking" to item tooltips
  • Enemy commanders on the minimap are now better highlighted
  • \[EDITOR] New environment assets and brushes for Orbit
  • \[EDITOR] When running a playtest from map editor, there is now a way to go straight back to the map editor with a button it the top left corner of the screen
  • \[EDITOR] Re-enabled neutral faction as an option for level-based random units in editor

[h2]Fixes[/h2]
  • Fixed orbit not uncovered when starting a playtest from map editor
  • Fixed army tooltips not taking into account modified army counts when showing exact or iron-mole army sizes
  • Fixed stack can be healed over max HP when attacking with AOE on multiple stacks with walking rations
  • Fixed consumables highlight effect rendered under roads and cliffs
  • Fixed random units could sometimes choose fewer units than slots and end up with 0 unit count
  • Fixed base UI erroring out after putting a unit into the gateway 'send to outpost' slot, closing the base and opening it again
  • Fixed units from a defeated army showing that some have been saved by the renewed spirit skill
  • Fixed custom unit hire buttons at UNSS bases sometimes not available when they should be thanks to Radiant discount
  • Fixed tutorial text animation breaking with very high frame rates
  • Fixed map completion not saved to player profile for scenarios that you win from a map event
  • Fixed typing w-h-a-c-k in main menu wasn't much fun
  • A few fixes in different campaign levels
  • Fixed a few typos


[p]Last but not least, thanks to everybody who helped us test the build before release and special thanks to the community translators! If you'd like to join the community, we'll be happy to have you on our Discord server: [/p][p]

[/p]

Silence of the Siren renames to Heroes of Science and Fiction to pull in more HoMM fans

Heroes of Science and Fiction is the new name for Silence of the Siren from Oxymoron Games, as they try to pull in more fans of Heroes of Might and Magic.

Read the full article here: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2025/07/silence-of-the-siren-renames-to-heroes-of-science-and-fiction-to-pull-in-more-homm-fans/

Map editor, random maps, workshop and...HoSaF?

[p]Hi everybody, we have some big news today: the next major update is out, with the Map Editor & Workshop, a beta version of the much requested Random Map Generator, new maps, units and features![/p][p][/p][p]To address the elephant in the room first though, your eyes are not misleading you - after carefully considering this step for months, we decided to change the name of the game from Silence of the Siren to the long-term working title, Heroes of Science and Fiction. You're no doubt curious why, so here are the main reasons:[/p]
  • [p]It was really easy to mix up the name with other games in the genre, and we saw too many cases of for example Youtubers struggling to remember the name[/p]
  • [p]The new name should make it much more obvious to HoMM fans that this game is in the same genre as the beloved classic, which is really important when players see it on any list on Steam and decide whether to have a closer look. [/p]
[p][/p][p]And what happens to 'Silence of the Siren'? The name lives on as the name of the campaign/storyline of Heroes of Science and Fiction![/p][p][/p][p]Now, back to the update itself - let's have a look at all that's included![/p][p][/p][h3]Map Editor[/h3]
  • [p]The Map Editor we used to create all the maps in the game (there's an official Steam Guide)![/p]
  • [p]A powerful Event/Scripting Editor battle-tested by creating the different campaigns (there's also a Steam Guide for this part of the editor)[/p]
  • [p]A simple Steam Workshop integration so you can share your maps directly from the Editor[/p]
[p][/p][h3]Content[/h3]
  • [p]A new planet with a 6-phase day-night cycle[/p]
  • [p]7 new maps (plus some older maps can now be found on the new planet). New maps are marked with a 'new' icon for your convenience! :) This includes the map from the Next Fest Demo 2024 and an even older demo map uploaded as an example to the Workshop![/p]
[p][/p]
  • [p]New neutral units: Luminovores, self-destructing F1-Crackers and Slugtors and Malarions as a vanguard of the Tumori Tribes faction. [/p]
[p][/p][p][/p][h3]More new features and improvements[/h3]
  • [p]BETA version of the Map Generator that can create simple maps for up to 4 players (you can find it under Custom Scenarios -> Generate Map)[/p]
  • [p]Random commander selection for scenarios and skirmish[/p]
  • [p]Statistics for the victory screen with army strength graph[/p]
  • [p]Eyeball tower building with exploration statistics[/p]
  • [p]New commander list UI[/p]
[p][/p]
  • [p]Added error messages to main menu in case of errors after map load[/p]
  • [p]Neutral armies from other factions will sometimes offer to join the commander[/p]
  • [p]Tooltip for datascrolls shows the details of the skill you can learn from them[/p]
  • [p]Added custom tooltip text for friendly buildings that can't be taken over, fixed friendly bases showing the eye cursor[/p]
  • [p]Commander action selector now shows usable consumables first[/p]
  • [p]Limited-range (run-and-gun) units now also show a specific icon above their portraits in the unit order panel in battles[/p]
  • [p]Added a 'dismiss units' button also to dialog panel with armies used for outposts and defended mines[/p]
[p][/p][h3]Game balance tweaks[/h3]
  • [p]UNSS balancing pass (lowered trooper AoE damage, lowered chain lightning damage for consecutive hits, shield is more expensive)[/p]
  • [p]Bloodlust skill can now only be used once per round and 1-3 times per battle[/p]
  • [p]Engineer skill replenishes more EP (+10 +20 +30 instead of +5 +10 +15)[/p]
  • [p]Scout skill replenishes +10 +20 +30 MP according to skill level instead of always +30[/p][h3][/h3]
[h3]Fixes[/h3]
  • [p]Fixed cancelling special attacks of units didn't play a smooth transition back to idle[/p]
  • [p]Fixed only one of the not-selected skills in level up dialog could be shown again during the next level up[/p]
  • [p]Fixed hero 'can move' property and movement bar in right panel not refreshed after activation from events[/p]
  • [p]Disabled handling of submit events from gamepads as they might have caused random errors at bases[/p]
  • [p]Fix AI cannot go through building zone if it can't afford to build anything[/p]
  • [p]Fix day/night cycle doesn't affect units in garrisons and bases[/p]
  • [p]Fix Casting exploration ability near map border causes error[/p]
  • [p]Fix field promoted units switch to not-dead basic version when killed[/p]
  • [p]Fixed war machine hire custom panel was showing animated unit even when its building wasn't built yet[/p]
  • [p]Fixed Schließen in German localization not shown correctly as SCHLIESSEN when rendered in uppercase[/p]
  • [p]Fixed camera not following moving AI commanders to their map layer[/p]
  • [p]Added black cover behind neutral army join panel so the player can't open hero card behind it and break the armies and UI[/p]
  • [p]Fixed slots of the neutral army in neutral army join dialog could get a activated for unit placement by splitting one of your stacks or dropping a unit by right clicking twice to one of your army slots[/p]
  • [p]Fixed difficulty of previous campaign level applied to next campaign level before selecting difficulty in the UI, causing wrong neutral unit numbers; the UI now automatically selects difficulty from previous map[/p]
  • [p]Fixed dismissing units from their info panel opened from hero card wasn't updating armies in hero list[/p]
  • [p]Fixed Plant Mammas could spawn multiple babies on the same hex at start of the battle[/p]
[p][/p][p]We hope you will enjoy this new version and as always, let us know if you come across any issues or have any feedback to share. Also, we'll be looking forward to see all the different ideas you will come up with in your own maps![/p][p][/p][p]And, last but not least, here's an updated roadmap for the road to full release:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p]

The Map Editor is ready for testing!

[p]Hi everybody, we managed to get the editor to a ready-to-be-tested state relatively early, so we're happy to share it a bit in advance compared to the release of the next update.[/p][p][/p][p]So, what is included? Well, this is really all about the map (and event) editor! You can now access it directly from the main menu. Other than that, you should be able to continue your saved games and play normally. Other content from the upcoming update is mostly WIP, so you shouldn't encounter it (apart from markers on the planets in Skirmish mode which show where new maps will be). One exception is that large maps now have a 6-phase cycle, so feel free to give these a try too![/p][p][/p][p]So, how to participate?[/p][p]
Just switch to this branch on Steam (Properties -> BETAS): editor-beta-test-2025
Version: 39e0494f
[/p][p][/p][p]There's also a written guide available here on Steam:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3493125391 [/p][p][/p][p]We will appreciate any feedback, especially about what parts of the workflow need more explaining, what parts of the UI you found confusing etc. Also, should we add anything to the guide? Fell free to share any thoughts in the discussions or on the Discord: https://discord.gg/DAeGEtqHNS [/p][p][/p][p]Also, while we haven't enabled Steam Workshop yet in case we need to change something in the map format, feel free to share your maps on the Discord too! In either case, have fun building! [/p][p][/p][p][/p]

Silence of the Siren - The Iron Mole Update

Hi everybody, we're happy to bring you the next Early Access content update of Silence of the Siren!
This version brings new maps, content and various fixes and improvements.
In the meantime, the team is also working on the "next big thing", the map and campaign editor and the first version of random map generator. Enjoy the update and stay tuned! :)

Content
  • Iron Mole Mode as a new difficulty setting that only allows one save per map and replaces enemy hazard rating by a rough estimate of actual unit counts
  • 10 new items
  • 2 new skirmish maps: Multiverse Madness and Doom of Eden
  • New neutral units: Molvarks, slightly familiar mole beasts and Trifids that spawn their seedlings
  • New campaign level select screen


Features and improvements
  • Added the option to retry battle from victory and loss dialogs, disabled retry battle from pause menu and from end battle dialogs during tutorial
  • Units in unit list in combat get highlighed when targeted by an attack or an ability
  • Friendly units on the map get highlighted in blue instead of orange, handshake cursor on friendly neutral armies
  • Overall UI polish (layouts, backgrounds, unnecessary scrolling, one-frame glitches, smooth fade-in of dark background behind base panels, exploration map building tooltips)
  • Improved buying abilities panel in the Academy
  • Improved the different crosshair combat cursors
  • Added a few missing UI sounds to different buttons
  • Implemented switching to lower resolution energy field mesh and less dense energy field particles with the low quality terrain option
  • Added difficulty info to the load dialog
  • Added custom combat log message for bloodlust giving an extra move
  • Vortex mines end moves
  • Worm's 'buried' status effect can be dispelled
  • Added a few new status effect icons
  • Added missing info about status effects to a few unit ability descriptions, added more info about unit types affected, improved orbital bombardment description and changed empty base text to be more clear about no garrisoned units; changed vanquishers to cause shock instead of bleeding
  • Re-enabled the "player lost" message when AI kills itself during its turn
  • Updated credits


Fixes
  • Fixed controllers with stick drift causing the ingame camera to move
  • Fixed skipping turn in battle could be sometimes activated during Custodian's end of turn ability, causing the next unit to skip its turn
  • Fixed traveling between bases via gateways was skipping the teaching of abilities from the destination academy
  • Fixed using resource beacon from the commander card in base would exit the base but keep the commandercard there open
  • Fixed special academy panels would stay active after switching to another base
  • Fixed buying and selling items at a base wasn't refreshing the state of the item buttons and army upgrade buttons
    Fixed lost war machines are not shown in the combat results
  • Fixed commanders marked as dead when losing at the Warrior Monk Temple
  • Fixed small random armies with only one unit in each stack would end up with zero units on easy difficulty
  • Fixed a long pause between Bountyhuntress' casting special ability and teleporting
  • Fixed a few issues with long texts in the layout of the right panel: AI turn, player name, end of turn button
  • Fixed data fragments and data fragment chests were allowed to be used by max level commanders (level 30 or map-specific max level)
  • Fixed commander auto-garrisoning at the end of turn would override active commander at the start of next turn
  • Fixed shield war machines get a turn when the commander has a war hawk skill
  • Fixed a rare campaign blocker: keys held by enemies who died against player's bases or guarded mines got lost
  • Fixed equipped deep scanner causing discovered objects to rebuild their graphics with every commander move
  • Fixed overlapping paths and tracks from the scout skill would glitch out
  • Fixed camera not centered on active commander at the start of the turn (this got broken by another fix in the update)
  • Fixed base statistics texts wrapping in German
  • Fixed wrong resistances of 50-Cals and Crowd Suppressors
  • Fixed a rare case of insane AI enemy army growth related to the radiant discount building you can build at UNSS bases
  • Fixed resources gained from a scripted event at the end of combat wouldn't get correctly added to the numbers displayed in the top panel