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

III. Map setting options, additions and differences in game rules for popular templates (SoD version).

Descriptions and text files for templates, as well as information on how the random map generator works, can be found in the topic Useful info: templates, maps, programs.
It is recommended to adhere to the general rules set out in Section II, with individual differences for each template.

1. Template 2SM4d(3):
Map setting options: map size L+U; players – 2; computers – 0; teams – 0; no water; strong monsters; difficulty 160%; turn time limit – 6 minutes.

2. XL+U size templates: 8mm6/8mm6а, 8xm12/8xm12a, 8xm8/8xm8а, 6LM10/6LM10a, Spider:
Map setting options: map size XL+U, players – 2; computers – 6; teams – 0; no water; strong monsters; difficulty 160%, turn time limit – 8 minutes.
Additional:
- Restart for slow roads. Taken at the request of at least one opponent immediately after map generation.

3. Template Jebus cross:
Map setting options: map size XL-U, players - 2, computers – 0; teams – 0; no water, strong monsters, difficulty 160%, turn time limit – 10 minutes.
Differences:
- In the Necropolis castle, Galtran can be chosen as the starting hero.
Additional restarts:
- Restart for slow roads. Taken at the request of at least one opponent immediately after map generation.
- Mandatory restart if a player has no ГО at all between their starting zone and the center, i.e., there is no ГО on any passage to the center. Taken on the day this fact is discovered.
- Mandatory restart if a player has not a single passage from their starting zone to the center. Taken on the day this fact is discovered.
- Restarts at the player's request,
a) who lacks ГО in the passage through which the road leads to the central treasure zone;
b) who lacks a road to the central treasure zone,
taken on the day these facts are discovered.
If subjective restarts remain, then a subjective restart of the player's choice is used (e.g., for 124 one can take the remaining restart 111).
If subjective restarts have run out, the player is entitled to request an additional restart.
Additional rules for transitions between zones:
- In order to exit your zone into the central treasure zone (zone 5), as well as to pass from the central treasure zone to other zones, it is necessary to break through the corresponding ГО. Using bugged passages between the central treasure zone and a specific zone is prohibited until the ГО between these zones has been broken.
- Passing through bugged passages between two zones 1-4 is only allowed if same ГО have been broken between the central zone 5 and both of these zones.
- Transition between zones using the Angel Wings artifact and Fly and Dimension Door spells is permitted:
a) between any of the zones 1-4 and the central zone 5, if the ГО of any passage between the corresponding zones is broken;
b) between two zones 1-4, if same ГО have been broken between the central zone 5 and both of these zones;
c) in cases of several ГО for one passage - to approach the ГО chosen by the player, provided that the first action in the new zone must be the liquidation of this ГО.

4. Templates Panic and Balance:
Map setting options: size L-U, players - 2, computers - 0, teams – 0; no water, strong monsters, difficulty 130% (rook), turn time limit – 6 minutes.
Additional:
- It is prohibited to enter treasure zones (10 on the Balance template, 6, 9, 12 on the Panic template) through bugged passages.
- Use of Fly and Dimension Door spells is prohibited.
- On the Panic template, heroes Solmir, Dimer and Aislinn can use their signature spell against opponent's heroes only if the player has built a level 4 Mage Guild in one of the cities or captured a city with a built MG4. Visiting this castle with a hero is not mandatory. If the condition is met, it does not matter whether castles with built MG levels are subsequently controlled.
- the corresponding spell was obtained by any of your heroes after visiting the Scholar;

5. Templates 2sm2с, Balance(200), skirmish at 200% difficulty - M-200% tournament rules:
Map setting options: players – 2; computers – 0; teams – 0; map size M; no water; medium monsters; difficulty 200%; turn time limit – 4 minutes.
Choice of castles and bonuses is random.
Additional restarts:
- Restart for generations with identical castles. Taken at the request of at least one opponent immediately after map generation.
- Restart on the Balance template at the request of a player who lacks a road to the second castle.
- Restart at the request of a player who has a stone or wood mine, and on the Balance template the second castle is guarded by monsters of level 3 and above or archers of level 2.
After each restart, players switch colors.
Additional rules.
- Use of Fly, Town Portal, Dimension Door spells, as well as the Angel Wings artifact, is prohibited.
- Heroes Solmir, Dimer and Aislinn can use their signature spell against opponent's heroes only in cases:
a) if the player has built a level 4 Mage Guild in one of the cities or captured a city with a built MG4. If your castles do not have the corresponding MG level, it is necessary to fully build MGs of all levels in any two castles that belong to you.
Visiting these castles with a hero is not mandatory. It does not matter whether castles with built MG levels are subsequently controlled.
c) if the corresponding spell was obtained by any of your heroes in Pandora's Box (even if this hero does not have sufficient wisdom skill to learn this spell);
d) if a Magic Book of the required element is found.

6. Template Nostalgia:
Map setting options: size XL+U, players - 2; computers - 6; teams – 0; no water, monsters - strong, difficulty 160%, turn time limit – 8 minutes.
Additional:
- Restart for slow roads. Taken at the request of at least one opponent immediately after map generation.
- It is prohibited to pass by a shifted ГО. Passing by shifted guards of other passages between zones is allowed.

7. Template Mini-Nostalgia:
Map setting options: map size L+U; players – 2; computers – 6 (or 0 - in this case, neutral castles will be used instead of computer players); teams – 0; no water; strong monsters; difficulty 160%; turn time limit – 8 minutes.
To avoid double-builds, the choice of computer player castles is made by human players alternately one by one. The blue player starts the selection. All starting castles must be different. Before the game starts, the host assigns the chosen castles to the computer players.
Additional:
It is prohibited to pass by a shifted ГО. Passing by shifted guards of other passages between zones is allowed.

8. Template Anarchy:
Map setting options: map size L+U; players – 2; computers – 0; teams – 0; no water; strong monsters; difficulty 200% (recommended) or 160%; turn time limit – 6 minutes.
Castle selection can be done:
- either in the usual way - by choice,
- or randomly (full random) - random starting castle, hero and resource. In this case, after each subjective restart players switch colors; for objective restarts (hero level, bugs, etc.), no color change occurs.
Restarts:
Restarts for first encounter and strong block are cancelled.
Rules:
All rules except the Fair Play rule and the prohibition of using bugs (clause 5.13) are cancelled.