DISCUSSIONS on “Rules for online games in HoMM3 and formulas for calculating player rating.”

...I am also interested in the specific punishment for violating any rules...

The topic about the new version of the rules I raised now is not so much to radically change anything in the rules for CM; we have been playing by them more or less normally for over a year, but rather to make necessary changes to the structure of the rules.

I propose the following structure:
I. General organizational issues.
II. Rules for online games on the 2SM4d(3) template and SoD version.
III. Rules for online games on other templates and the SoD version.
IV. Differences for the WT version.
V. Non-standard and controversial situations. Judging.
VI. Regulations for the seasonal Rating Tournament.
VII. Formulas for calculating ratings.

And the main additions are sections III (those who do not participate in tournaments often do not know additional rules for other templates), section V (resolving disputes, which we seem to have too many of lately), and section VII (I cannot simply remove the old formulas and replace them with new ones because the rating was calculated based on them for about 2 years).
We will discuss judging and specific penalties when I write section V in draft form.

Here is section III written, I collected the rules for other templates, we play by them in tournaments, and they have become established. Please read it and identify any inaccuracies or errors.

III. Rules for online games on other templates and the SoD version.
Descriptions and text files of the most popular templates, as well as information on how the random map generator works, can be found in the topic Useful info: templates, maps, programs
When playing on templates different from 2SM4d(...), it is recommended to adhere to the general rules set out in Section II, with individual differences for each template.

1. Differences for 8mm6/8mm6a, 8xm12/8xm12a, 6LM10/6LM10a, Spider:
- Map settings: XL+U, 2 players + 6 computers, difficulty 160%.
- Restart due to slow paths. It is taken if at least one of the opponents wants it immediately after map generation.
- Allowed to pass from respawn to respawn without breaking through a shifted guard.
- If level 1, 6, or 7 upgrades are made in the Conflux or level 4 upgrade in the Necropolis on the computer's castle, then upgrading your troops of these levels and hiring upgraded versions of creatures is prohibited. If an Anti-Magic Zone has been built, vampire upgrades are prohibited, and additional skeletons do not need to be disbanded.
- Restart at the player's request who has only one path leading to the treasure zone guard. It is taken on the day this fact is discovered, but no later than turn 114.
- Restart at the player's request who has a strong block that cannot be bypassed. How strong the block is is determined by mutual agreement between the players or by the judges. It is taken on the day this fact is discovered, but no later than turn 113.
- Restart at the player's request who does not have a road leaving the castle (castle in the middle of nowhere, very rare). It is taken immediately after map generation.

2. Differences for Jebus cross:
- Standard map settings: XL-U size, two players, no water, monsters - strong, difficulty 160%, time limit per turn – 8 minutes.
- Restart at the player's request who has only one path leading to the GO. It is taken on the day this fact is discovered.
- Restart at the player's request who does not have a path to the central treasure zone. It is taken on the day this fact is discovered.
- Restart due to slow paths. It is taken if at least one of the opponents wants it immediately after map generation.
- Using "Angel Wings" and spells "Fly" and "Dimension Door" when moving from one zone to another is allowed only if the guard between them has been broken through.
- In case of buggy passages appearing between zones, you can pass to the neighboring zone only if the GO to the center has been broken through from both zones.

3. Differences for Panic and Balance:
- Standard map settings: L-U size, people - 2, computers - 0, no water, monsters - strong, difficulty 130% (battleship).

4. Differences for Nostalgia:
- Map settings: XL+U, 2 players + 6 computers, difficulty 160%.
- Restart at the player's request who has only one path leading to the GO. It is taken on the day this fact is discovered.
- During restarts, it is recommended to ensure that there are at least two paths besides the GO.
- Prohibited to pass by a shifted GO (this does not apply to other passages).
- Restart due to slow paths. It is taken if at least one of the opponents wants it immediately after map generation.

5. Differences for Mini-Nostalgia:
- Map settings: L+U for 8 players (i.e., with 6 computers). You can also play in pairs; then neutral castles will be placed instead of the computers.
- To avoid double builds, the choice of castles for the computers is made by the players alternately, one at a time. The blue player starts choosing. There should be no repetitions or coincidences with the players' castles. Before starting the game, the host assigns the selected castles to the computers.
- Allowed to run to neighboring respawns past shifted guards (except for the GO), as the computers ignore the shifted guard and, moreover, breaking through to the computer is much easier than taking its castle.

6. Differences for Anarchy (only SoD/TE-light):
- Map settings - L+U, two players.
- Difficulty - 200%, for TE-light start with 2500 gold, 5 wood, and 5 stone.
- All rules are canceled except for fair play.
- Restarts - 111, 113, and due to a hero not on level one. No restarts due to encounters or blocks.
- EVERYTHING ELSE IS ALLOWED! That is, there are no restrictions on diplomacy, shifted guards, profile castles, using scrolls, red rush, etc. There are also no restrictions on necromancers and flux.
- There are two options for choosing starting castles: either a normal draw or full random, that is, a random starting castle, hero, and resource. In the second option, when each subjective restart is taken, the players switch colors; in objective restarts (hero level, bugs, etc.), the colors do not change.

We will continue discussing the rules for CM... then I will put everything together and try to systematize it.[/B]