Posts from "Operation Capture"

I needed to carefully review the entire map using the editor first. But now, I know the approximate location of the castles – and I’m ready to go. I tried going through the water, and it took 21 days, but that’s better than 61!

I should have carefully reviewed the entire map through the editor first. But as it is, I learned the approximate location of the castles – and went for it. I tried going through the water, and it took 21 days, but that's better than 61!

The time spent analyzing the map (in the case of playing for a result, of course) is approximately a quarter (!) of the total time spent completing the game... This applies to large maps with many objects and events, which leads to many different paths for completing it. So, scouting offline is the cornerstone of success... Without it, it's impossible... For small maps (like this one, for example), scouting is not as time-consuming, and there are not many possible solutions, but it still wouldn't hurt...

Well, here's how it went...

For the first two days, I didn't do anything special—I'm sure you're not interested in that.. I just trudged to the 2nd archer dwelling; I needed recruits... After taking them, I went straight for the thieves, gave them a good thrashing, and then headed to the pawnshop to sell my mana amulet, but devaluation... all that stuff... I had to take paper instead, which is still better than nothing.. And then the horse suddenly felt like going for a swim.. so I had to ride over there... on the way, we took a little copper hat off a skeleton... thought maybe we could trade it for something, and meanwhile, while I was taking the helmet, the horse snagged a pile of gold under its hoof...
And so, while the horse was swimming, I decided to read that yellow press they gave us at that pAwnshop... And Bam!.. a ship sailed up to us (it almost crushed my same damn horse).. I actually thought(!) if I were hallucinating, but I boarded anyway.. (and in childhood, my dad was a pirate, he taught me seafaring... he called it navigation)... so I sailed somewhere south—the horse imagined the smell of roasted meat(after first taking a chest and one pile of debris containing 5 wood to sea)... And on the 2nd day of my voyage, we arrived (me and the horse, as well as some green Robin Hoods) in the sandbox...
"Oh, a miracle!" I thought when I saw a red tent with provisions. "Let's get some food," I shouted to my warriors... though on the way I had to destroy a little tower for this, but it wasn't difficult..
Meanwhile, on the other side of the border, comrade Ain was already waiting for me. She brought me more snipers(carrying 14 snipers and a stack of fairies taken from Mr. Elemental), and she also intended to teach me slow, which she had learned along the way from Grindan... Grinya, in turn, set out on the 8th ****ry(with ten archers and one fairy)... And their handy Mr. Elemental was meanwhile gathering everything that lay around, everything he could find in these wilds somewhere in the far reaches(running with a fairy)... Grinya found it so unbearable to go 8 ****ry toward the archer house that, taking ten juniors, he moved in my direction...
As for me, on the 7th, 8th, and 9th, I rampaged along this route:
Having refreshed ourselves, we went to visit the medusas for tea.. "Phew, sand" snorted my faithful horse. And then Ainka, as if on purpose, gave me a sand horse(nomad), and well, what can I say, I took it and rode... But he was kind of creepy, so I decided he'd better spend the night with Anka, while I meanwhile trained the recruits..
Morning. The 8th. Anka decided to show me her wonderful butterfly collection. "Amusing," I told her—"I'll take them with me and treat them to tea at the medusas'." I gave the horse some water from a well(40 mana) and started knocking on Aunt Medusa's door and her friends'. But no one opened, yet we needed tea! "Shall we go drink?" someone suggested... "well alright, let's go... I hope the lady won't mind.." I chirped, sensing something bad.. And of course it happened... We were almost leaving when a very, very angry lady opened the door with her friends from Preferance... Oh how angry they were, and when she saw a crowd of shod peasants in her house, she flew into a rage and bam—hit me over the head with a frying pan... "Ow, damn that hurts"—it escaped me.. And she didn't want to stop... we were backing further and further from the front door... no more time to lose.. and I had to give the order: fire... what started then... words cannot describe... "Oh, no! They grabbed Anka's butterflies! FIRE from ALL guns!!" I commanded!! Everyone fell... both medusas and butterflies(there were only four stacks of fairies with one in each, also a couple of snipers were lost, but this didn't affect the rest).. oh how I pity you all.. but what happened, why did they act like that???... Anyway, need to move on, the enemy won't wait.. And to understand what actually happened here, I'll leave a couple of sly Robin Hoods..
Meanwhile, we moved forward, toward the attractions(+1 cs)... well, I promised my pony Pyotr that I'd take him for a ride on the Ferris wheel at the first opportunity... "uff... we made it. Go ride, Petka, and we'll head back to the ship meanwhile, catch up"...
The overnight stay wasn't the most successful; we had to sleep on the damp road... Pyotr was still not there... "It's okay, smart horse, he'll return" I thought and fell asleep...
"Snort... snort..". I woke up to those sounds and to Pyotr washing my face with his scratchy tongue..."it's too early Pet... alright enough, I'm getting up, I'm getting up... damn it, you're annoying, won't let me sleep... eh damn, why are you so fired up for same deeds?? the swings? .. ah well then that explains it.. company awake!" I ordered... and when I stood up, I realized—I don't even have a company, I don't even know what to call it, more like a squad.. oh well, forward!...
We were already passing my aunt's house when I barely noticed 2 fighters sleeping by the road: "Wake up. What did you find out?"... "Commander. That wasn't your aunt at all; she only returns tomorrow with her friends—the Preferance championship was delayed."... "Then who was it?"... "Those were Urko-thugs. They put on carnival masks and green sleeping bags and decided to catch some sleep in that house."... Alright, jump into the baggage train, we have no time to wait. So much time has been wasted. We must get into the boat before sunset"..
"Wait, Wait!" someone shouted from behind me... "Oh, Grinya, glad to see you, but I have no time, we're missing the ship... Give me everyone you recruited, I'll train them in marksmanship on the way.." ..."Commander, I can't keep up with you, let Ain hand them all over to you, her horse is faster.."... "ok"...
And so evening, the 9th. The clouds gathered like never before... Ain finally caught up with us.. I received more recruits and butterflies from her; they will be safe with me... The archers had to take an accelerated boot camp course(total of 46 snipers and a few fairies, the pony was with Ain).. And I still needed to retrieve my hidden gloves..
Many sand ponies jumped out from the forest... "Guys, I need to get my gloves, let me pass" I threw toward them. But they didn't seem to think of moving from my path.. "WELL alright, you asked for it".. The battle was hard.. not easy... But victory was mine.. There was no time left; I had to run to the ship to sleep(no fairies left, and they weren't needed anyway, only slow things down, a few more snipers lost (from 2 to 4), 20 mana spent—morale didn't help much because it was low)... Giving final orders to Ain, we got into the boat..
Morning came, a lovely morning... There was some tension in the air, a sea freshness could be felt.. and Ain was right there with my completed errand—she brought my hidden gloves and a shield left from one of the sand horses.. "Let's sail! We need to reach the southern port within the day—the weather forecast for tomorrow isn't bright. And I wouldn't want to get caught in a storm..."
Eh dad, you're great! Thanks for teaching me seafaring.. If not for you, I wouldn't have made it in a day... and aunt left me a couple of tips scratched on some strange scroll in her house..
I needed to drink fresh water and gather courage—the Oasis and Fountain of Youth helped us a lot...
Trolls were ahead... But what obstacle are they after such adventures??.. Besides, Anka's spell came in very handy(minus 10 mana and a few more lost snipers)... "Why didn't you fill the flasks with water??" I asked the provision manager... but never received a sensible answer... had to go back... both to the oasis and the fountain of youth.. filled the flasks... "And now forward to the enemy!!!"... On the way we encountered some lumps of mud, but the brave army swept them away without even noticing(absolutely no losses)...
And so we are in the Dungeon... It's so dark... scary... "It is not in our rules to be afraid, soldiers!".. We flew past a crystal deposit... "Look at that terrible ghoul-Necromancer" Petka whispers to me... "Don't get spooked, Petrukha... Squad! Speed up!".. And so we approached this stronghold of Filth and Undead.. we came close and stood(forty-one snipers and twelve mana)... but in vain! There were urko-dragons in the city garrison... They caught us off guard, the forces were uneven... We were saved once again by the wonderful slow spell... we barely survived! But we all did it!... And now nothing could stop us!.. After the battle with the dragons, only the most hardened warriors remained(about seven-eight)... nothing scared us anymore... And the Castle fell.. the skeleton standing at the gates could do nothing more.. VICTORY!!!
P.S.
P.S.S. A lot of gold is required for the reproduction of this tale, please help however you can..
The account number is located in my ICQ... Thanks :cool:

So, it was like this...

How many snipers were there in the battle against the bandits?
In the battle against the nomads?
In the battle against the dragons?
What was the troop deployment tactic?
What was the mana reserve?
What were the losses?
What spells did you use?
On what day did you build the tavern?
Where did you get the resources?

etc.

[Moderated] lopetos gave a clear step-by-step instruction, and it was shorter and easier to understand.

Conducting Operation "Capture". Told by Jelu.

Day 1.
1) I collect nearby gold.
2) At the estate, I hire 7 elves and immediately upgrade them to snipers.
3) I visit the oasis.
4) I attack 40 ghosts.
5) I visit the oasis again.
6) I recruit 5 elves and upgrade them to snipers (note: the oasis should have been visited after recruiting the elves; this would have saved 1 movement point; it doesn't affect the outcome, but it was still a mistake, and only noticed during the description creation).
7) I attack 100 zombies, after which I reach rank 3 (navigation + advanced archery).
8) I continue eastward along the road, setting up camp near the well.

Day 2.
1) I visit the well (reaching rank 3 increased the number of possible knowledge points to 20).
2) I leave the road, continuing to move east.
3) I discover another estate, where I recruit 7 more elves and immediately upgrade them to snipers.
4) I end this short day by heading south.

Day 3.
1) Under my command, 24 snipers destroy 120 bandits to the northeast, after which I reach rank 4 (advanced earth magic) and find the Amulet of Mana among the many corpses.
2) I head to the seer's hut to the southeast, where, in exchange for the Amulet, I learn how to summon sea ships using magic. Feeling very tired, we decided to spend the night here, in the hut (fortunately, the hospitable hosts didn't mind, and somehow managed to accommodate not only me but also my 24 snipers).

Day 4.
1) With renewed strength, the snipers easily deal with a hundred zombies (rank 4, advanced earth magic).
2) I head north towards the bay, finding some gold along the way (yes, walking through the desert is difficult; the bandits couldn't carry the gold away, they dropped it; they could have at least buried it).
3) I spend a long time and diligently casting spells, trying to summon a ship, and the water element finally obeys me.
4) It was clear that the ship's captain was also quite tired, so we decided to drop anchor and set sail tomorrow.

Day 5.
1) Before setting sail into the open sea, we decided to inspect the wreckage of sunken ships that had washed ashore. We managed to collect some salvaged wood and acquire gold (apparently, a bandit ship, destroyed by us the day before yesterday, had crashed, and this gold also belonged to them).
2) The ship's captain advised us not to delay and stop rummaging through the wreckage, so, without fully exploring everything, we headed southeast, into the open sea.
3) On this day, to support the ongoing operation, 3 commanders were additionally deployed from the castle:
3.1) Roland (a good addition to the army - 23 centaurs).
3.2) Grindan (a merchant, but above all, an excellent mage, knowledgeable in spells that help slow down the enemy's reaction speed in battle).
3.3) Ain (another merchant and an excellent teacher of magical schools).
4) Roland collects gold and heads to the sawmill.
5) Grindan sets off along the road to the northeast.
6) Ain, riding a magnificent pegasus, follows him.

Day 6.
1) On the second day of sailing, we finally managed to dock at a deserted shore, not far from the shipyard.
2) At this time, Roland recruits 7 elves and returns to the castle.
3) Ain takes books on slowing magic from Grindan.
4) Grindan continues to fly north, along the road.
5) Ain settled down for the night in front of the red guard gates; she was not allowed inside, as I had not yet been informed and given the order.

Day 7.
1) We head west, and, managing to break through the guard of the quest, we finally reach headquarters.
2) After this, Ain successfully unlocks the passage guard, recruits 7 nomads, and returns south, closer to the castle, to meet Roland tomorrow and take new recruits from him.
3) Grindan, searching for gold and resources, continues to move north.

Day 8.
1) Grindan captures the mine and continues to collect resources.
2) Roland takes all available recruits from the castle and gives them to Ain, the guide.
3) Ain leads the army in support.
4) I decided to let the newly arrived recruits rest and only used the nomads, their excellent knowledge of this desert terrain (I heard that there was a well-guarded gold mine nearby).
5) It turns out that the nomads not only know the desert well but can also provide invaluable support in battle (the snipers managed to break through the mine's defenses without difficulty, thanks to their excellent moral and physical training, as well as the nomads' perfect knowledge of the local sands - in general, the stupid mummies, numbering 220, were completely confused by our attack, torn apart between the snipers and the nomads). Yes, unfortunately, we did lose two nomads.
6) But now the mine is ours, and I have reached rank 9 (advanced navigation, basic water magic).
7) There is only one task left for today - to capture the rider's gauntlets from 220 nomads and board the ship. With the support of 50 centaurs and 10 pegasi in Ain's army, we moved south, towards the hordes of nomads. After a long and grueling battle, with the help of slowing magic, all the nomads, all the centaurs, and the pegasi perished. The nomads' sabers also claimed the lives of 6 snipers. But now the gauntlets are ours, and we boldly summon our ship, board it, and stay there overnight.

Day 9.
1) Roland, Grindan, and Ain collect nearby resources in every possible way.
2) We, in turn, sail south with all sails, managing to land in the bay to the southeast (advanced logistics + advanced pathfinding) before the end of the day.

Day 10.
1) Roland, Grindan, and Ain collect the remaining resources, after which they exchange all this for gold in the royal treasury and retire.
2) I, in turn, on this important day, first properly watered my horse with living water from the Oasis, and I drank water from the fountain of youth and watered my 42 snipers.
3) Under the blows of clubs, hundreds of trolls left us with 5 more snipers, but now the road to the east is open.
4) After bathing in the fountain of youth and the oasis again, we rushed towards the earth elementals (basic tactics).
5) And finally, we are in front of the Necropolis. It no longer matters how many snipers were lost in the battle with the 5 spectral dragons. I released the surviving warriors to live freely; they will tell their descendants about their exploits. I, with the support of the most loyal sniper, who did not want to leave me, raise the red flags over the newly captured castle.

Victory!

Added 1 hour 22 minutes ago

Gentlemen, the description of the game is of interest, not fairy tales... it is very difficult to figure out what is what in your description, not to mention repeating the walkthrough...

Well, regarding the possibility of repeating the walkthrough based on the description - I agree,
it might not be possible to do it immediately without some extra brain work.
But in any case, I like the description by user BotINKi. Well done! ;)

Gentlemen, the description of the game is what's interesting, not Uncle Remus's tales... :) This is just chatter that has nothing to do with the game. I'm sorry, but it's very difficult to figure out what's what in your description, let alone repeat the walkthrough... lopetos gave a clear, step-by-step instruction, and it's shorter and easier to understand.

I would say that the chatter is very much related to the game. But it's really hard to understand. Botinki, just add some statistical tabs to the description, and it will be great.

[/U]to AmberSoler:
don't be offended by Bootin, he's from Yan-Lu-Vanei, they have an image of villains :D

We're waiting for the third description from these villains and looking for differences... :)

[Moderator removed]
to AmberSoler

Don't be mad at Boots; he's from Yan-Lu-Vanei, and they have an image of villains :D

Regarding the description: I've added everything I could into the text.(which is above)..

I'll note some subtleties during the Walkthrough:
After getting the scroll, I went up to the skeletons, and in one of them (I don't remember which one), I found a hat +2 knowledge. I also took a bunch of gold.
On the water, I first swam to the chest, then to the branches, and then to the sand...
Ain opened the passage, hired 1 nomad (she was standing at the entrance), and gave him and the archers to Jell, when he was moving from the swamp to the sand...
I attacked the medusas with three stacks of archers (approximately equal in number) and with 4 stacks of 1 fairy each...
I always crossed the sand only with nomads...
I ended each day only with snipers....
I cast slow 4 times on the nomads, 2 stacks of 22 and 24 snipers, and also 5 stacks of fairies...
Ain picked up the gloves and shield and gave them to Jell on the 10th day (when he sailed away)...
I used 2 large stacks and 5 stacks of 1 sniper against the trolls... I chased the trolls around the map with single units; some of them were killed, 2 slows..
I chased the earth elementals around the map without slow, after shooting down the magma men....
Dragons - stacks (19 1 1 20) 12 mana... victory is guaranteed, but with Significant losses (!), which could have been avoided...

Economy. Jell picked up only 1 pile of gold on land and 1 chest on the water. The rest was picked up by the "weak" heroes. Elemental picked up everything above the main event area, Grindan picked up crystals and wood (and took the mine first - extra +2 wood, but still...), Ain picked up a lot of gold and a pile of wood near the black tent... and gold and resources in the sandy-swampy area.
Tavern - 5th day.
Heroes - all three on the 5th day
On the last day, Ain, having taken "Walk on Water," crossed to the opposite bank and took a pile of wood...
I think that's all... and of course, the resources were exchanged for gold...

After reading the descriptions, I realized exactly where I made a mistake, and the reason for it is that I don't know how to use the hero editor. In principle, I'm happy with my result, considering that this is my first completed tournament.

by the way, I haven't used "Heroes Map Editor"! And I don't even really know what it is! I've never used any helper program and I won't. I don't understand why it's needed. Everything that can be done fairly doesn't require any programs!!

Added after 1 minute
Don't think I'm bragging, I'm just saying how I think the game should be played!

Everything that can be done fairly doesn't require any programs!!

On this tournament, using "heroecopalka" is allowed, which means using it is fair.

and I have never used any assisting program and I won't, I don't understand why it's needed

This program simply saves the player's time. In other words, it just clicks on buttons instead of you.

I just expressed how I think the game should be played!

Whether to use "heroecopalka" or not is a personal choice.

As it turned out, it can be captured on the tenth day, although capturing the Castle is a technical matter. The task of the map was to reach the Castle as quickly as possible, having an army large enough to overcome the obstacles in the way... The tactic is very simple. The shortest path is through the water. Personally, I managed to land on the enemy shore at the end of the ninth day - and I was only two steps away from capturing the empty Castle on the next, tenth day... I tried everything, but it didn't work out. :(
I had to go for two days at a leisurely pace so that the stupid AI would do me a favor and leave the Castle...

I have a question for you personally, Amber:
first you write that you were just a little short of moves to capture the EMPTY Castle, and then you write: "the stupid AI did me a favor and left the Castle..." - I think there is some inconsistency!!! Please explain how that happened?

to Kamikaze: please write a description of your Walkthrough - it would be interesting to read :)
P.S. but not a huge one ;)

I just noticed that the tournament leaders used specific heroes, for example, Ain. And Jelu didn't have to rush to the city to gather magic, while I did exactly that.

I just noticed that the tournament leaders used certain heroes, for example, Aine. And Jelu didn't have to rush to the town for magic, while I did exactly that.

Aine doesn't need much digging, even without the "hero digging" skill. :)
P.S. Your result is quite good...

P.S. your result is quite good...

Thank you)):o And I'm also the only girl in the tournament (among those who finished)...:o