“Almaric”

samatron, moving diagonally through the forest is permissible: according to the generally accepted classification, the map is open (except for the spawn points of Blue and Turquoise). Unless we're talking about the Heroes of Might and Magic option to "walk through forests and mountains." Couldn't you get to Ygg by doing that?

pHOMM, if 2 people have figured everything out, then you probably have too. I have provided players with almost all the necessary information.
But especially for you, I will briefly repeat myself.
The map fulfills two tasks that I set for myself when creating it:
1. Clearly demonstrate the process of creating a map.
2. Adapt the final part of the novel for the "heroic" world.
This map, like all my writings, does not claim to be a model to follow, let alone an ideal.
I have never set myself the goal of pleasing everyone, as I consider this to be practically impossible.
The map is naturally played as a strategic one, with the exception of the beginning and the end: only at these stages are the player's actions rigidly predetermined by the plot. Or do you have some special understanding of the term "strategy"?
By the way, if you really want "pure" strategy: my first (chronologically) map, "A Matter of Honor," is exactly that. When it is ready, I will offer it to your attention.
The difficulty in the map is set and mentioned in 2 more places: in the first message of this topic and in the description of the map creation.
Why the Dungeon is so poor here, I said "in black and white." In almost all of my other projects, the underground level is "full-fledged," and in one of them, it even plays a key role! But if I fill it here, it will not help in achieving the set goal (the liberation of Alth).
The loss of "some guy" is made a condition for defeat deliberately for 2 reasons:
1) this does not correspond to the plot of "some Howard's" novel;
2) to prevent the player from "breaking" on the very first day, after which he will immediately calmly buy Cairn in Koth; again, in "someone's" novel, this did not happen: Isau reached his city for several days "on his own."
What you wanted to show with your message is not news to me. I cannot and do not want to force the player to read what is written and do only what is required. But if he, having a description, wants to do everything his own way, that is his problem, not mine. This applies to choosing the difficulty level, capturing Akka on the second day, and everything else that someone might come up with. In general, on maps, you can, of course, максимально ограничить "самодеятельность" игрока, оставив ему узкую тропку, с которой он никак не свернет, но играть на такой карте, определенно, будет невыносимо скучно (особенно если сюжет вам знаком). I have already thought about this.
By the way, I once downloaded your "Unica," but I haven't tried to play it yet.
Wisdom Isau receives in the witch's hut. And the scholar in the Dungeon is placed there just in case, because when creating the map, it was not yet clear whether the hero would be able to upgrade his wisdom to an expert level. Personally, I managed to do this, but how it might be for others is unknown, because the strength of the game and the time it takes to complete it vary greatly from player to player.
Now I will move on to reasonable comments.
I will definitely reduce the strength of the guards of valuable artifacts: it would be a pity to waste them!
I moved the Gnolls guarding the shield: now they do not interfere with passing and visiting the Garden of Revelation. The same goes for the trees opposite the angels guarding the necklace. I will re-upload it when I reduce the artifact guards.
The guard of Ygg and Akka is minimal because after Cairn's escape, the enemies will take these soldiers and run around the map. It is undesirable to strengthen the guard, as this will affect the balance: Blue and Brown already have an initial advantage due to the geography. During testing, these enemies also developed quite well.
I have placed almost no free resources on the map, because my heroes during testing were busy holding the Strongholds and collecting and transferring troops. Then the enemies would collect wood and other resources.
I will make other necessary corrections, but I am currently much more concerned with working on other maps: I want them to see the light of day someday.