Posts from Dominion

I liked the map's design (as I mentioned before, I'm already sick of GSC maps because of their terrible, schematic design). I also liked the dynamics (after some adjustments) and the constant relevance of resources due to the destruction of buildings (usually, after the first month of the game, only gold remains valuable). Despite all this, the AI moves quickly.
Regarding the dungeons, I opened them with a hero of level six – the main hero didn't have time. The problem with the dungeons is that there's no point in going down into them, as the goal of the game is to defeat the opponent, not to get a level 40 hero adorned with relics like a Christmas tree. Spending a week just clearing one of these dungeons is an artificial way to prolong the game. As a result, the main hero didn't go into the dungeons, and the level six hero was too weak to fight what was down there, meaning the dungeons didn't serve their purpose.
In general, I would gladly play again if:
- the dungeons were reduced in size so that you don't have to wander around in them for weeks (not the ones that are part of the Shadow League's territory, but the ones that contain various valuable items).
- the restriction on starting resources was removed, and the balance was adjusted (see below).
- garrisons were removed, and the number of entrances/exits was equalized (for example, the Necropolis has 4 exits, while the Elves have 3).
Regarding the balance, when capturing a city, not only the city itself changes, but also the two adjacent tiles. This rule doesn't apply to everyone; when capturing a Dwarven city, the city was converted, but the tiles remained Dwarven, while for the Necromancer, everything works as intended. Access to some objects, such as starting mines (forest/ore), is blocked by units that are guarding something completely different, but due to the narrow passages, they become an obstacle to capturing vital objects (when I started the map for the first time as the Elves, it turned out that to reach the mine, I would have to fight a squad of Djinns (they were actually guarding the resources)

Update from 09.09.2017, version 1.4

- Fixed incorrect calculation of Sar-Issa relic collection.
- Corrected two paths to mines that were blocking high-level creatures.
- Now garrisons are only filled on the following difficulty levels: recruit, warrior, veteran.
- Added to the main objectives: collect a set of dragons.

I played as Humans in the "Hero" mode, version 1.3 of the map. I liked the work done on the landscape and the placement of monsters. The AI moves without any freezes, which is a plus. The map has a unique feature – the destruction of captured Castles, which adds interest to the game. Overall, I enjoyed the map, and I thank the author for it. Now, let's talk about some specific shortcomings. The debate about the garrisons, which disappeared in version 1.4, is completely unfounded. Whether they exist or not, it won't change the interest in what's happening. I found the garrison more of a hindrance, preventing my heroes from meeting the AI heroes, and everything would end faster. The destruction of Castles can be viewed in different ways, but considering the risk of losing a city, the AI becomes very passive. Its main hero doesn't want to move further than the garrison gates (which is perfectly reasonable), and the small "creatures" don't create anything other than chaos. The AI doesn't rush to retake captured and destroyed Castles, preferring to attack my Castle, which it never has time to reach. Many of the AI's main heroes simply disappeared over time. The idea of destroying Castles and then rebuilding them again and again, spending resources on it, is not viable. Why build it if it's practically impossible to hold? You can't transfer your main hero to defend each Castle, and a secondary hero in a half-destroyed Castle can't withstand a siege. Mines don't become neutral, even if there's no Castle and no hero of that faction. Only after a week does the flag reset. For the Dwarves, only the Castle itself transforms into a Human one, not the external buildings. For the Necromancer, it's not a territory, but rather a transit point. Considering that the Necromancer develops and builds up rather slowly, his presence on the map is short-lived. Something needs to be changed here. The purpose of the garrison directly near the Castle remains unclear. The caravan from the archer dwelling gets stuck right at the garrison gates, blocking all movement. It would be better to get rid of this. Forcing the player to collect artifacts to win is not a good idea; it shouldn't mix Multiplayer maps with scenarios. By the middle of the game, the heroes are already overloaded with artifacts. It would make sense to add an altar to the map and a "hot-tabich" (a reference to a specific item or creature).

The idea of destroying castles down to their foundations and then rebuilding them over and over again, spending resources on it, is not viable. Why build it if it's practically impossible to hold? You can't move your main hero to defend each castle, and a secondary hero in a half-built castle can't withstand a siege...

Nonsense! - in my opinion, of course. In reality, we get a situation where losing a castle is an unacceptable luxury, and mines that don't produce gold remain in demand throughout the game, not just in the first 3 weeks. This encourages controlling territory, developing secondary heroes, and playing a full game throughout the match (usually, after the main buildings are built, the need for resources disappears, and so does part of the gameplay - capturing and controlling mines, city building). And there's simply no point in fully rebuilding secondary castles - it's enough to partially rebuild a couple of castles and hold them with secondary heroes (with the right distribution of forces, it will work). In this case, you can go for capturing a Necropolis and rebuilding and holding it with a secondary hero focused on defense (I invested in Mentoring and created three secondary heroes), or you can capture some corner castle and push back the enemy, having a couple of protected cities behind you. I agree with the comments about the unnecessary quests (this is Multiplayer, not a single-player game), as well as with the comment that there is no conversion of dwellings for the dwarves (the conversion happened for the Necropolis, but I don't remember about the others)

Perhaps it's nonsense, but I'm not the only one who thinks so...

Losing a Castle is an unacceptable luxury.

When considering the risk of losing a town, the AI becomes completely passive. Its main hero doesn't want to go further than the garrison gates (and rightly so).

Further,

Why build it if it's practically impossible to hold?

It simply doesn't make sense to fully build secondary Castles – it's enough to partially build a couple of Castles and hold them with secondary heroes.

That is, no more than two Castles are built. One of which is already almost built (your own), and the second – “in this case… Necropolis” – is absolutely correct.
What “demand” for mines are we talking about if, at most, only two sets are needed? In reality, one set of mines is enough because your own Castle is largely built.

Stimulation to control lands, develop secondary heroes.

The map is controlled from the Necropolis; one secondary hero is needed there, who manages to intercept everyone who leaves the main hero. As a result, we have two mandatory heroes, and the rest are up to you. This arrangement exists for almost all standard maps.
With destructible Castles, losing the game flag inevitably follows the loss of the main Castle. By capturing any other Castle, it only gains illusory opportunities to win in the future. The AI correctly assesses all of this and simply gives up if it loses its main Castle. Is there any “full-fledged game throughout the entire match” here?

when considering the risk of losing a Castle, the AI becomes completely passive. Its main hero doesn't want to move further than the garrison gates (and rightly so).

I freely moved further than the gates.

What kind of "demand" for mines are we talking about if, at most, only two sets are needed? In reality, one set of mines is enough because your Castle is largely built.

The key word here is "needed" - they are needed throughout the game, not just in the first three weeks. I wasn't saying that 100% of them are needed. It's easier to kill the enemy than to capture all the mines, meaning they remain in demand (even if it's just one or two sets). Usually, after a month of playing, you only need gold.

The map is controlled from the Necropolis; you need one secondary hero there, who can intercept everyone who leaves the main hero. In total, you have two mandatory heroes, and the rest are up to you. This setup exists for almost all normal maps.

But that's a matter of personal preference. I had a main hero and two secondary heroes - one defended the Necropolis, and the other defended the capital. Each of the secondary heroes made small sorties to neighboring locations when enemies appeared there, which could take time away from the main hero if he had to go after them himself.

In my opinion, destroying Castles diminishes the strategic depth of the game. In the standard version, the enemy's Hero and their Castle are almost equally valuable targets. When structures can be destroyed, the Castle becomes the primary target, as capturing it allows you to hand it over to the enemy and ultimately crush them after some time. On this map, I captured three flags simply by taking Castles, and afterward, when encountering their Hero, I either fled or surrendered with minimal losses. After encountering my Hero, the AI didn't return to reclaim its Castle, preferring to lose after 7 days. One of these "homeless" Heroes approached an empty Necropolis Castle under my flag on the 7th day but didn't attack, stood at the gate for a day, and then disappeared. As I've mentioned, the AI focuses more on defense than attack. There's also a peculiarity in the AI's behavior: it doesn't keep a large garrison within the Castle itself, making it easy to capture. Knowing these details turns the game into something very straightforward and easily predictable. The fact that mines are used more often doesn't affect the game's appeal, but the AI being in a vulnerable position certainly does.

You can't keep playing in the same format all the time – a map should have its own unique features and characteristics. Besides, you're describing a game against the AI, but that's still multiplayer.

As an experiment, the map deserves a lot of attention. I myself was interested in seeing how the AI would behave in non-standard conditions. Therefore, in this part, everything I wrote should be considered not as criticism of the author, but as notes for future reference. It is very possible that someone else will want to create a map with destructible castles.
As for the question of whether it is possible or not to play "in the same format," there are many answers, which depend on the tasks set. To avoid creating a universal off-topic discussion, it is better not to touch upon it.

Update from 02/13/2018, version 1.5

- The quest for collecting the dragon set has been moved to optional tasks and is no longer mandatory.
Download the Lords' Dominion map, version 1.5

Downloaded, thanks. Let's play online.

Update from 02/13/2018, version 1.5
Download the map "Dominion", version 1.5

Map type: Multiplayer

Not very multiplayer-friendly. The script for regulating resources among players (at the start of the map) is not working; resources are only set at the bottom for the first player, and all subsequent players receive as much as the computer opponent does (if the number of players is not full, <8).

There seems to be something missing in the army garrisons, but it was supposed to be available on all difficulties except for the hero's difficulty. (because there is a variable uiDiff that doesn't exist? And if you fix it, it still doesn't work if the number of players is <8)

Having one hero of your own race also doesn't work if there are <8 players.

The artifact distribution is amusing when you spend 6 weeks on an Ent forest and get nothing because the chance of getting an artifact is too low, and resource generation also doesn't work...
It's roughly the same with Utopias.
(and also, artifacts are stored in an array, like this: artifactarray[n] - and in some cases, there's an error where n=0, but by default, Lua indexing starts from 1, i.e., because of this, some artifacts cannot be obtained)

Artifact collection quests are impossible to complete.

And overall, there's a bit of strange imbalance on the map – others have written about this before – someone captures the wood, ore, and first creatures in 2 days while simultaneously clearing out 2/3 of the monster packs, while someone else does the same thing in 7 days. Because of the distance.

Okay, never mind that, but: Mentor and Spell Mentor are only available for mages, artifacts are only available for Necromancers. And Wood (+1 level) is only available for Elves; who cares about Wood.
Over time, it gets to the point where the Necromancer is the only one on the map with artifacts; in the third month, he is simply covered in them and easily defeats any other computer opponents (if, of course, you give him enough time to develop by placing monsters in garrisons, because, as I said earlier, the script doesn't work).

I forgot the most important thing - resources are not given from Utopias and Vaults. It says that they are giving them, but they aren't. warning: scripts are not allowed, and so on...
It works in single-player mode. But still, it's strange that artifacts are distributed in multiplayer, but resources are not.

Ma_aelKoT, thank you for testing it in multiplayer mode; version 1.6 should fix everything described above.

Update from 04/15/2018, version 1.6

- Fixed errors in scripts
Download the Lords map, version 1.6

Update from 05/23/2021, version 1.7

Tavern in cities is built at the start.
Garrisons in border zones with neutrals are now available in all difficulty levels.

Download the Dominion map, version 1.7

Update from 05/23/2021, version 1.7 standard

All the features of the original Dominion map, but without castle and dwelling conversions.

Download the Dominion map, version 1.7 standard

Good map. Thank you for your work. I noticed two bugs. After the "remodeling," the creature recruitment buildings in the castles in the upper left corner and in the center become inaccessible for capturing. I haven't completed the map yet; can someone spoil who has the ability to reset skills? :)