Sorry for the repetition, but what's new in WarGame compared to the standard 3.1? I read somewhere that in 3.1 there was a lot of cheating with abilities, and then I saw somewhere else that in 5.5 they removed and cut out almost half of the game...
Enlighten me, those who have played and tested it, because I haven't had the time or opportunity(((

Let's start with the fact that, at the current stage of development, WGE only applies to duels, although there are plans for the entire game (standard), but all this is going through the alpha testing phase (it is not yet clear whether there will be a ban on chains, whether there will be penalties for battles, a ban on fleeing, etc.).
And tell me, what exactly were the "cheating" abilities that were cut, if a huge number of combat perks of units were strengthened many times over, and magic was strengthened many times over (except for mass spells and Chaos)? For example, the difference between +150% initiative acceleration and +40% initiative acceleration, or the difference between 100% cavalry bonus per tile and 5%, speaks for itself. And all this is within the balance.

What was actually cut:
- influence of luck (50%/150% damage instead of 50%/200%)
- speed of infantry (only flyers retain class mobility), previously speeds were reduced for everyone (it seems that this version was published here)
- the ability to focus is limited by the introduction of heavy-class units, which, on the other hand, made it possible to introduce super-damage dealers of the "one hit = minus stack" class into the game, because they can now be blocked
- ammunition for archers, which makes the supply wagon relevant and prevents building the entire game on shooting from a corner
- mana reserves of heroes, because spells have much greater power
- mass versions of powerful spells are replaced with area-of-effect spells (4x4), because see the example of buffs above
- spell durations are reduced - this makes Sorcery more playable
- less "meat" in duels, the difference between top-tier units and numerous squads is emphasized, the micro-management element for the HP of top-tier units is emphasized
- formally, the damage from a hero's direct attack has been reduced, but in fact it has increased, due to the amount of "meat" (but now you can't kill an entire dragon with just one hit)
- formally, the levels of duel heroes have been reduced, and artifacts and hero perks are not used (except for schools, silences, and luck), simply because in this format there are troops and magic, but not progression (unlike the future Arena format)

Added 8 minutes ago

It's not that there's a lot of new stuff in WarGame Edition, it's just that everything has been completely reworked, everything. It's all that the technical possibilities of modding and the author's imagination could come up with.

For example, there are 177 new units. Of course, we're not talking about models, but about stats and abilities, but nevertheless. In some cases, there is a similarity to the original, approximately the same as the similarity between creatures from Heroes 3 and Heroes 5. There are also new models: all light (emerald, gold, azure) dragons, ice dragons, lizard upgrade, ifrits.

Added 1 hour 55 minutes ago
Regarding the game on the map, what direction is being taken (in future development):
Strategicality. And this is:
1) distribution of resources between multiple objects:
- many cities
- many armies
(against the RPG-ness, when 1 fist is pumped up, and 1 city is developed for it)
2) game dynamics, allowing for such classic strategies as:
- rush (the ability to arrive in week 1)
- harass (weak passage guards, the ability to arrive with combat cockroaches)
- expand (the ability to quickly move into several cities in week 1)
- development (various builds that give an advantage at different stages of the game)
- reconnaissance (the ability to quickly scout the map with cockroaches to track the opponent's actions)

The problem of chains is currently being tested. A chain is the ability to instantly teleport troops from any point on the map to any other, which makes it very easy to gather a "fist". This simplifies breaking through, allowing you to break through huge armies of neutrals as many times as you want per turn (with the same army, but with different heroes). This reduces the outcome of the game to the results of one "final" battle of such super-fists.

On the other hand, here is a perfectly normal game with accelerated dynamics. By the end of week 1, both players already have 6 cities. However, the first player was lucky enough to capture the second home castle, and 2 more home dwellings of level 6. And on day 8 (red rush), he arrives with 15-20 units of level 6, teleported through a chain, and simply wins the game, because the second player could not gather the same "fist". An obvious contradiction between balance and chains.

If chains are canceled, this same super-fist, gathered from 2 identical castles, will no longer be able to win the game, because it is not all-powerful (it does not have super mobility). It can be successfully opposed by many armies, gathered from different castles, because these armies faster "eat" the map and capture more objects and other cities.

On the other hand, without chains, the supply of troops is very difficult (as in a real strategy). This can lead to a large dispersal of troops (breaking through with "beggar" troops). That is, there are 2 extremes: breaking through with a "fist" and breaking through with "beggars", which we would like to avoid.

Another element, the introduction of a 50% turn penalty for battle. With accelerated dynamics (the range of movement of heroes), the number of battles per turn is skyrocketing, which increases the time spent on a turn. The introduction of penalties solves this problem, but reduces the pace of breaking through. Also, the introduction of penalties slows down combat heroes, but the logistics of "cockroaches" remains at a high level, which allows you to quickly transfer troops or scout the area before breaking through.

The ban on fleeing solves the problem of teleporting heroes through neutrals, as well as free "cheats". But it solves it too harshly; it is possible that in the end, a variant like in Dota will be adopted, where killed heroes are resurrected only after a certain time.

In short, these elements of the game on the map have both advantages and disadvantages, so they need to be carefully worked out. At the moment, I cannot say that these elements will definitely be implemented exactly in this form.