CIS-2014 in Minsk.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but still... The point here was that in HL+U on VT, the strongest player is identified rather than the luckiest one, since everyone can build control and there are no one-way paths. But the vast majority of losses "by layout" occur because, for example, the starting respawn consists of 60% mountains, the road network is terrible, one person has a couple of high-level caches while another has nothing, one has cons, and another has ranged guards everywhere. The probability of gaining an advantage as a result of these initial factors is certainly higher than the absence of control for one and its presence for another in the late game. These probabilities are not taken into account at all in the VT version, except when playing on a mirror template. It turns out that the truly great features refining the balance are the Mage Guild rebuild and the absence of one-way paths + the availability of mirrors can undoubtedly be considered pluses. A debatable point is the sea artifacts in the Dragon Utopia. As for the rest of the fluff, like creature experience, banks, lack of GS, morale, etc., which is presented as "VT pluses" — it's simply a matter of taste and has no effect on balance.