However, I had an idea: create a simple arena map (without neutral creatures), but where each player has a choice (at least 2-3 options) of what to take and how to surprise their opponents, and the game boils down to collecting freebies and having a final battle in the first week – which is what's needed in an online game, in my opinion. In Heroes 3, there's Tactical Corners (TC) – a similar alternative to the overused fixes (and random events:)) – and it's quite a popular thing, with its main advantage being saving game time;) (either spending half a day or a day on a game, or at most 1.5-2 hours). Moreover, the fact that players don't have to deal with neutral creatures doesn't seem to bother anyone:D.
In general, I've started sketching it out in the editor, but, of course, I'll need help from skilled mapmakers. The general approximate scheme is as follows: a 2-level small mirrored map, with a fenced-off area for the final battle in one of the corners, with one-way exits for each player; in the center, a starting hero – Guildmaster (Lord 1/1, Rogue 3/5 – with such useless skills so that he wouldn't be taken to the final battle:) ) – with gloves and boots, and various boosting objects nearby; there are several prisons with a huge selection of heroes, levels 15-20 (well, there should be more than 10 different types, I think, at least...); and, probably, like in TC, there should be the possibility of choosing creatures for at least a couple of slots (with a restriction on the castle, apparently). After gathering an army (to make the choice somewhat ambiguous, resources could be spent on everything, and you always have to sacrifice something), go to the "treasure" for magic and artifacts (it could be done like in TC – in exchange for something strictly limited in quantity) – everyone jumps through teleporters and, finally, the final battle on neutral ground (all of this should fit into 5-7 days). The main thing that interests me is the balance of artifacts, magic, units, classes, etc. – I'm completely clueless about this, and I'm definitely not an expert in mapmaking...
Кто к нам с пером придёт, тот от пера и погибнет!:smile51: