Resources - Changing the hiring cost of creatures.

Based on the fact that opinions on this mod are roughly split, I would do the following: I would leave the original prices for the 1st creature upgrade (and the prices for non-upgraded creatures as well) and create a "resource-based" price option for the 2nd (alternative) creature upgrade (according to the scheme: we add resources to the hiring price, but the price itself is slightly lower than the original).
As a result, in each new game, you can act according to the circumstances: if there is a shortage of resources, buy the 1st upgrade option, if there is an excess, buy the 2nd option.
All this needs to be tested on a dozen diverse maps with different difficulty levels. And then adjust the prices if the test shows that it is necessary. I think that's how it should be. .... In general, I liked the author's idea.

Revealing a military secret:), I will say that when... how long ago was it? 5 years ago, when I was making this mod, the idea of making the hiring prices for 2 upgrades different was also THERE. But the obstacles that arose in my path prevented its implementation :). The problem was that it is possible to make the prices themselves different (bringing even more color to the game :)), BUT, in this case, a serious problem arises when - UPGRADING creatures from one upgrade to another (in the original game, a very symbolic amount is taken for such an action - in gold), here everything will be completely different. For example: one red dragon (RD) cost 3 sulfur and 3 crystals when hired, and then you suddenly decide to transform it into a black dragon, the cost of which in resources is, say, 6 mercury, and what do you think you will pay the difference in price of 6 mercury for this (in reality, you will not pay, but more on that later), and will someone return the 6 units of other resources previously spent on the RD to you? Not really :D, NO. In the end, you will pay twice (yes, yes, like Russian banks work with loans, you take an apartment in a mortgage, after 10 years you will pay for it as if it were two). Exactly the same "awkward" situation will arise if one of the upgrades requires only gold. It will be IMPOSSIBLE to transfer a "resource-based" upgrade to a "gold" one without losing what was spent before. And that's not all:rolleyes:. This very "trick" with upgrades can also be used as a bug for selfish purposes. That is: we buy creatures at the original cost (in gold), and then upgrade them to "resource-based" for which no resources are charged from you anymore:rolleyes:, this is such a cunning trick, but this can no longer be fixed by the mod, as I then understood that such things are already embedded deeper in the game code, to which ordinary mortals have limited access :smile15:.

Added 51 minutes ago

Are you still working on the mod?

No, since the mod did not cause the "stormy ovations" that I expected from the community, support for the mod was completely discontinued:D

CDNA, does your proposal relate only to resources (their availability/shortage), or do you also plan to change the characteristics of those creatures for which additional resources will be required for hiring?

..and I had such a mod, but unfortunately, it never saw the light of day.

Seriously? Do we have hundreds of unnecessary resources on a hero? Or ten Dragon Utopias under the castle. This mod is a freebie for the rich, a mod for players on recruit.
Or for hardcore players.

What "hero" are you even talking about, sir?:). You probably meant that parody of a difficulty level that the developers of the fifth game had the audacity to call a "hero"? The difficulty of the game, even at this level, exists only as long as the AI has an advantage in the form of a pile of resources given to it at the very beginning of the game, and this can be significant for the first month of the game, at most the second, after which the AI opponent actually surrenders :smile15:. And since this mod does not affect this very FIRST time of the game, I find what you said not entirely logical ;). When playing multiplayer with people, yes, criticism would be acceptable, BUT there, no one has this very - resource ADVANTAGE.

Mod review (watch from 35:50): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arKPkSHr4aY

Oh, the author of the video really scared people :). It's not as scary as it seems). In general, if in practice, and not in words, then in order to have, say, all non-upgraded troops from level 5 (they are quite playable and combat-ready, I don't understand why everyone dislikes them so much and considers them some kind of "under-creatures:D"), all that is needed is to capture one single mine with a deposit of the resource needed for that faction, ah yes, and you also need to deign to build a silo in your own castle, that's it. Want cooler troops, pay money, isn't that logical? If I'm wrong, then why aren't we all living/relaxing somewhere in the Maldives right now?:p

Or ten Dragon Utopias under the castle.

Or for hardcore players.

Did you really test it, and did you really need 10 Dragon Utopias?), nevertheless, it is clear that in the now distant 2013, when the mod was created, IMHO, only true fans of the game were still playing the fifth game, and not those who clung to the initial hype of the sixth year), the mod was hardly aimed at beginners or those who wanted to relax after work playing "something simpler".