HoMM3 HD is a mod (add-on) for the game Heroes of Might and Magic 3.

I have never played Heroes online, and I have never played chess with a timer.
However, I fully understand the beauty of chess clocks. When the time saved on quick moves can be spent on important, long moves. The only thing is, if you make them tick in battles, you need to add time for each battle. I think.
This can be solved by adding time proportional to the number of moves in the battle, i.e., adding time for each move in the battle. That would be very correct, in my opinion. But here you need to find the right ranges for the additions. Starting time + time per move on the map + time per move in battle.

In general, what are people afraid of with chess clocks? You can uncheck the box in Advanced Options for the chess timer and play without a timer.

I will try once again to convey the parasitic nature of the views that change the concept of the game! Heroes 3 was created, millions of people around the world played it, and they got used to what it has! Everything brilliant is simple! We have a normal timer, and many people like it and are satisfied with it; it just needs to be tweaked so that it starts with OK. There is no need to invent a million new things, because there is nothing bad about the old ones; why change it so much? Currently, I am trying to outline a cycle of games, which, if they wish, players from abroad can join. It's like a TOUR; I just can't get real to the computer right now (temporarily). Since it is necessary to involve people from abroad, they will not play on various WTs or SOD + HD mod. I really like the changes up to 2.96 at the moment, but it is already clearly noticeable that there is a desire, when creating the mod, to move away from SOD. First, it will be one introduction, then a second, and so on; then there will be many, there will be many different checkboxes, which means there will be many people who want to play with different checkboxes, all sorts of unnecessary hassles, and it will become like WT, which no one needs, at least not SOD players and most of the world. Let's think about making one version of the game and improving it, not changing it. Improving the timer is not a different kind of timer, but adding a smart feature, making it more useful. You can argue about everything. We always discuss some one nuance for a very long time, so if there are many of them, it will only be more difficult. It is necessary to bring everything to uniform rules that improve SOD gameplay, and not change the game with various new features, especially not to calculate any new additions or subtractions of time; this is very dangerous for the life of the mod and its compatibility with SOD + mod, since they are organic only when they are united. These additions, firstly, will be chosen by someone, accordingly, for themselves unconsciously, which means that there will be less consideration for others. I would like to remind you that chess clocks are PROFESSIONAL in chess, and the time there is also calculated with professional calculations, so they require skill and calculation, and in the Heroes environment, most of the world plays on SOD, they are very simple and brilliant in their own way, in a heroic way, and the players are also simple people who may not know chess, but they know Heroes.
Sanya, keep going with the SOD gameplay and don't make unnecessary things, and don't be tempted by attractive, but foreign features! There is a game! Make it better, not something else from it or with a large number of choices. There is no need to come up with even optionality. The game or mod to the game will live if they coincide and will change as little as possible.

Added 21 minutes ago

to R55Max, when I finish reading the last lines of your posts, I still can't find it - that rational grain that helps to develop the mod. Let it be constructive criticism, of a debatable nature, and not useless (unthematic) polemics.
Formally, any deviation from SoD, which the mod provides us with, is no longer the original gameplay. The mod gives us options for adapting the game in order to save time. So let's not grumble, but help. And there are many topics for discussing battle tactics.

I partially agree; sometimes, there is not enough rationality. The immutability of SOD gameplay is meant in a figurative sense. Any changes, I agree, change the gameplay, but if they do not change the essence, but are only implemented elements for convenience, comfort, bug fixes, and improvement of the old ones, then, in a figurative sense, the gameplay remains the same. Simple examples: in SOD, we separated the units manually, and here, with one button, i.e., the same function, but it is convenient; to see the damage, you had to cast a spell, and here you can see it right away - saving time and again, it is convenient.