Posts from Rules for Offline Tournaments + FAQ

Ladies and Gentlemen,
since the previous topic: *** Offline Tournament Rules + FAQ*** is already outdated, I decided to create a new topic that will keep pace with the times.

1. How to participate in a tournament:

1.1. To participate in a Heroes III tournament, you must register on our website and leave an application in the topic where the tournament is being held.

1.2. Tournaments are held on Russian versions of Heroes of Might and Magic III:
The Shadow of Death (Version 3.2) and Complete [Platinum Collection] (Version 4.0) with the installed patch LMPatch (Version 4.1.1.1).

What does the patch do? >>

What happens after installing the patch? >>

The topic with information and discussion about the patch can be found here.
In case the patch is not used during a tournament run, the participant plays and sends the save at their own risk; as a result of the completion or verification of their save, the organizer may determine that the battle was conducted without using the patch, or the organizer is unable to replicate on the patch a full (step-by-step) description of any battle conducted by the tournament participant requested by the organizer.

Reference: as a rule, only the following are subject to verification by the organizer:
• difficult battles;
• battles in which morale rolls, luck, and special abilities of creatures (blind, petrify, death stare, etc.) play a significant role in winning (exiting the battle with minimal losses),
• final battles.

In the event that the organizer becomes convinced that the participant completed the tournament without using the patch, they have the right to disqualify this player's result.

It is permitted to complete tournaments on English versions of Heroes of Might and Magic III: Shadow of Death (Version 3.2) and Heroes of Might and Magic III Complete (Version 4.0) with the installed patch LMPatch (Version 4.1.1.1), but participants do so at their own risk that as a result of completion or save verification, some previously unknown points may be discovered where the Gameplay mechanics in the English version differ from the Russian one (for reference: to date no differences have been noticed and, apparently, none exist). Completing offline tournaments on other versions of the game, for example, Armageddon's Blade or In the Wake of Gods, is prohibited (unless otherwise specified as an exception by the rules of the tournament itself).

1.3. Sequence of actions to participate in a tournament:
1.3.1. Download the save (which is usually located at the bottom of the main post of the tournament topic).
1.3.2. The downloaded save must be placed on your computer in the GAMES folder of the installed Heroes III.
1.3.3. Load from the save and start playing at any time convenient for you. Restarting the game is prohibited, and the map can only be completed starting from the downloaded starter save. At the same time, do not forget to make intermediate saves (at least daily saves should exist). The tournament organizer may request these from you.
1.3.4. After completing up to the last action that results in victory (final battle, capturing a town, taking an artifact, etc.), you must save again.
1.3.5. A full description of the tournament map is encouraged (optional). If such descriptions are provided, a contest for the best description will be held, and 10 of them (the very best) will take their place of honor in the "Hall of Fame" section!
1.3.6. Within the time limit allotted for playing this tournament, send this save to the tournament organizer (the e-mail address should be specified in the rules of that tournament).
1.3.7. Wait for the results.

1.4. Restrictions on completing the save:
The use of any cheats and bugs in a final run is prohibited! The result will be immediately annulled. Thus, it is prohibited to:
1.4.1. Double cast magic in one game turn.
1.4.2. Use magic in anti-magic garrisons.
1.4.3. Sell artifacts and scrolls at inflated prices.
1.4.4. Visit sirens repeatedly with the same hero.
1.4.5. Restart the game (i.e., you can only play from the starter save provided by the organizer).
1.4.6. Use the "dismiss-buyback" trick, i.e., a dismissed Hero cannot be hired on the day of their dismissal.
1.4.7. Buy heroes who died in battle (not to be confused with those who fled); other heroes can be "dug up".

The last two points are explained as follows:

1. Hiring a dismissed hero on the day of dismissal is prohibited. On any other day — it is allowed.
2. Hiring a fled (bought-out) hero on the same day is allowed.
3. Rehiring your own fallen hero is prohibited.
4. Hiring a fallen enemy hero is possible at any time.

1.4.8. Digging up the Grail without visiting all obelisks on the map, i.e., without a fully opened puzzle-map (if the player digs up the Grail, they must make a save immediately before digging and send it to the tournament organizer along with the final one).

1.4.9. Digging up the Grail in 1 day (reference: the manual and the game itself state that the Grail cannot be dug up on the day the hero made a move. However, there is a way to bypass this restriction. This method is categorized as a bug and its use is prohibited during offline tournaments. That is, if your hero has made at least one move, digging up the Grail with this hero on that day is prohibited).

1.4.10. When building the Grail in a Conflux town, using spells learned by a hero who does not have the required level of the secondary skill Wisdom at the time of visiting this town, even if the hero later acquires the necessary level of Wisdom (in the latter case, it is necessary to visit the town where the required spell is available again).

1.4.11. Intentionally weakening non-upgraded neutral armies through repeated defeats if they contain an upgraded unit (reference: when repeatedly attacking a non-upgraded neutral army that contains upgraded units, these units must be destroyed in every attack and additional saves must be made before and after the battle. This point applies to armies standing on the map. This prohibition does not extend to structures such as Crypt, Abandoned Ship, Shipwreck, Dragon Utopia, Pyramid, Monster Dwellings, Griffin Conservatory, Naga-bank, Golem Factory, Conflux, Abandoned Mine, Imp Cache, Dwarf Treasury, Medusa Vault, Cyclops Warehouse and same).

1.4.12. Using the combined artifact "Admiral's Hat" (it can be used in disassembled form). Reference: by repeatedly boarding and disembarking from a boat using the "Admiral's Hat" artifact, it is possible to obtain navigation bonuses. The organizer may, at their discretion, allow the use of the combined artifact "Admiral's Hat" by specifying this as a separate point in the rules of a specific tournament. In this case, the organizer must also specify whether it is permissible to use this artifact without restrictions or only in certain cases (for example, allowing its use only when the main goal is crossing a water barrier necessary for specific player actions, rather than obtaining navigation bonuses on land).

1.4.13. Prematurely interrupting flight when using the "Fly" spell (or "Angel Wings" artifact), for example, by pressing the Space key to attack towns or other objects. Also, at the initiative of the tournament organizer, flying over passage guards may be prohibited. This point is specified by the organizer of the specific tournament.

1.4.14. Using "Neutrals Pass-through" is permitted.
Reference: suppose a hero stands on a swamp, having a neutral unit (sniper, nomad, troll, etc.) and a hydra (native swamp troop) in their army. If the neutral unit (sniper) is placed to the left of the native unit (hydra) in the troop deployment slots, the hero will move through swamp terrain without penalty as if all creatures in the army were native; but if the neutral unit is placed to the right, the hero will move through swamp terrain with a penalty.

1.4.15. It is prohibited to leave a hero without troops through any manipulations. Exception: it is permitted to leave a hero without troops only if they were given for the completion of a quest.

1.4.16. Using any other errors (bugs). In case of any doubts, you should seek clarification via private correspondence with the tournament leader.

1.5. Additional conditions:
1.5.1. In case of a "+5 monsters X" week or "monster X" month roll, the player must replay the single transition of the week/month and achieve a neutral result (this point is left to the discretion of the tournament organizer).

1.5.2. It is permitted to dismiss heroes located in a town via the "Kingdom Overview" -> "Show Towns" menu.

1.5.3. Victory criteria.
As a rule, the winner of tournaments on HeroesWorld is determined using 3 victory criteria.
Tournament organizers are requested to consider this nuance when forming victory criteria. Reference: probably, for some tournament maps, 3 or more victory criteria will be redundant and should not be introduced. For example, in a tournament for collecting the maximum number of skeletons over 3 weeks with the 2nd deciding criterion being the amount of gold in the treasury — a 3rd criterion here is clearly superfluous, as the probability of two participants repeating the result (same number of skeletons and gold) in such a case is negligible. Perhaps one criterion (number of skeletons) is sufficient here.

1.5.4. As a rule, the calculation of the sum of primary parameters of the main hero in the final save on HeroesWorld is carried out after the final battle, taking into account artifacts worn by the hero and experience gained after the battle. Reference: after the same final battle, a hero may receive different amounts of experience and, accordingly, the number of levels raised by the hero after the battle may differ, and therefore, the final parameters of the hero may differ. Thus, a player might have one set of hero parameters after the battle, while during the battle's replication by the organizer — others. The following situations are known where a hero can receive different amounts of experience in the same battle: battles with troops containing spawn of evil (the amount of experience depends on the number of summoned and killed demons) and discrepancies in the moment an enemy hero flees from the battle. In case of such moments (which occur very rarely), a copy of the post-battle screen attached to the save, the player's description of the battle, etc., can be used as confirmation.

1.5.5. It is prohibited to use cheat programs, codes, or additional programs that can change the structure of the game (save).

1.5.6. If a player suspects that their opponent played in violation of the rules, they have the right to contact the tournament organizer and demand that the opponent send the completion saves. The player who sent such a request must themselves send their daily saves to the organizer.

1.5.7. The result of a player who played dishonestly, as well as one who failed to send their description (saves) on time upon the tournament organizer's request, is annulled, and their further participation in tournaments becomes impossible. This will also reflect on their reputation, and not in a positive way.

1.5.8. Two "automators" are permitted in tournaments on our portal:
– Hero-Digger.
– Ballista-Killer.

1.6. Types of tournaments:
There are several types of tournaments; they differ from each other by victory conditions.
1.6.1. The most common tournament is a speed tournament, i.e., it is a regular game against the computer; the faster you achieve the goal, the better (goals: either kill all, or capture a certain artifact, or something else... will be shown below).
1.6.2. Skeleton collection tournament, i.e., as seen from the name, the victory criterion is the maximum number of skeletons in your army. The tournament can be of two types: first — collecting the maximum number of skeletons over a certain time; second — for speed, i.e., collecting a certain number of skeletons in minimum time.
1.6.3. Experience tournament, i.e., as seen from the name, the victory criterion is the maximum amount of experience of a specific hero. The tournament can be of two types: first — gathering the maximum amount of experience over a certain time; second — for speed, i.e., gathering a certain amount of experience in minimum time.
1.6.4. Resource tournament: i.e., as seen from the name, the victory criterion is the maximum amount of some specific resource in the kingdom's treasury. The tournament can be of two types: first — collecting the maximum amount of resources over a certain time; second — for speed, i.e., collecting a certain amount of any resource in minimum time (usually gold serves as the resource, but there may be options...).
1.6.5. Arena. The goal of the game in an arena tournament (duel) is to assemble an army for battle on the arena; that is, within a certain time, the player must choose a main hero, gather maximum troops, buy or win necessary artifacts, and learn the most important spells for battle.
Then the tournament organizer conducts battles between the main heroes of all players in a round-robin. Then the winner is determined — the one whose hero wins with the best battle tactics.

1.7. Rewards:
For participating in tournaments, the player is credited with player rating. You can find out more about it in the topic: PLAYER RATING WWW.HEROESWORLD.RU
Also, players are credited with virtual money in tournaments: Grails. How to use them and what they can be spent on can be found by reading the corresponding topics in the section: GRAILS

1.8. Miscellaneous:
If you have any questions regarding participation in offline tournaments, please ask them in the topic: Who wants to participate in offline tournaments?

If you have suggestions related to tournament organization or suggestions for changing the rules of offline tournaments, please write them in the topic: TOURNAMENT TROUBLES!

If you want to improve your HMM3 level of play, I advise you to visit the section: Hall of Fame, where you will find a lot of useful information.

If this is your first time with us — recommended links:
Help for Beginners (Lectures).
Physics of the Heroes World

Respectfully

Let's continue:

2. How to organize your own Heroes 3 tournament.

2.1. To start, it would be good if you participate as a player in official tournaments on the HEROES WORLD portal.

2.2. You need to decide which version of Heroes will be used for the tournament. I recommend that you hold tournaments on the Heroes 3 The Shadow of Death patch 3.2 version, since it is the most common version, and you will not have problems related to the fact that participants may not have the required version of Heroes.

2.3. You need to determine the type of tournament, i.e., whether it will be a speedrun tournament, or a skeleton collection tournament, or an experience-based tournament, etc.

2.4. You need to decide on the number of stages in the tournament. For starters, I recommend holding tournaments in one stage.

2.5. You need to determine the timing of the tournament. Since players may have little free time, the optimal duration on our portal is considered to be one stage per month. Of course, this period can be shortened, but then you need to make the tournament task easier; otherwise, you risk losing some players.

2.6. You must clearly define the rules of your tournament. If this is not done, instead of a tournament, you will get arguments between players, and you will have a very bad headache.

2.7. You must prepare a starting save file. It should be the same for all participants in the tournament. A tournament without a starting save file is not considered serious.

2.8. And most importantly, you need to take this event seriously. I advise you to consult with people who already have positive experience in running tournaments before organizing it.

If one of these points is not fulfilled, unfortunately, nothing will work out for you.

Also, please note that all discussions regarding the creation of a new tournament should be held in the topic: [DISCUSSION] Let's organize a new Heroes 3 tournament. If a duplicate topic is created, it will be immediately deleted.

If you have any questions about creating a new tournament, ask them in the topic: [QUESTION] How to create a new tournament?

After discussing and agreeing on the rules of the tournament, contact the portal administration and inform them of:
- The date of the tournament
- The rules of the tournament
- Name the organizer
This information is expected from VDV_forever, or vbn, or your humble servant Kyle
And only after that can you create a topic with a new tournament.
Good luck.

Sincerely.