Posts from Walkthroughs for custom maps.

Watched the battle. The damage output of the Wizards is simply monstrous (and that's against Mefala).

Yes, but I only have 650 wizards, not 1000, and only 4 months.

Added 3 minutes later
Actually, I think I'll go for the tent, and then with 850 wizards, I'll attack it, but I don't have enough damage to kill the titans. 100-200 titans remain, and the antimagic disappears, and I can't wear the Mage's Ring, because then the titans will attack first.

And Mephala has fewer troops there. 850 wizards should definitely be enough to break through that horde.

[/U]

The Forces of Evil

This map is originally called "Les Forces du Mal"; it is French, but a translation made by themselves was posted on the celestialheavens.com website.

Leaving all troops in the town except the archangels (I had 320 of them), I doubled my mana pool and set off to wrest the Angel Wings from the black dragons. With the Sphere of Vulnerability and Berserk, it was easy. I defeated the first 4000, but there were still 2 stacks of 4000 each. After killing the dragons, I boldly reached for the Wings, but... it turned out they were also guarded by invisible titans! Oh well, I'll beat the titans too. Though there were actually 2 stacks of 9000 each. But Forgetfulness and Berserk gave them no chance.

Result: 115 days.
At the end of the game, Adelaide's skills were: 84/85/98/84. After visiting the Magic Spring, she got 3360 mana! Oh, if only Yog had that much in Wayfarer!

Marmot, good day!

I played this map twice, both in the French (Castle) and English versions (as Necropolis).

Playing as Castle, I only managed to take the Wizard's Hat (couldn't get the spell scrolls or the wings). Teal stayed put on his 3 islands.

Playing as Necro with Vidomina and Isra, I recalled some moments from a previous walkthrough and decided to grab the artifacts I failed to get last time. Leaving Teal alone, I eliminated everyone else by month 3.

Then I embarked on the most tedious path: a narrow, long island littered with monsters and one-way gates, which couldn't be approached from the water, and no Fly spell.

Scouting revealed the presence of archangels, gold and black dragons, and titans willing to join on the islands. After spending 2 months navigating between the monsters (I know, masochism :D) and leaving 700 vampires and 600 black knights in my stacks, I started recruiting archangels, titans, and dragons into my army. By the time I entered the portal, I had gathered about 400 of each, and with the island troops, I got roughly 1200 of each.

Then I broke through the garrison with water elementals and captured one of Teal's islands with the bonus of the Wizard's Hat. For the wings, I had to resort to a trick — they are located near a lighthouse and can be stolen without fighting the dragons. After disembarking from the boat behind the lighthouse, I flew to it and reached for the coveted wings. I sort of tricked the dragons, but I didn't expect such a guard of titans ((. After a tough fight, the Cloak of the Undead King I had assembled by then gave me 63,000 liches in return. Isra had learned the town portal from Vidomina earlier, so I didn't bother going back for the air and earth spell scrolls. Then a flight to Teal's 2 remaining islands, and the end.

Notable on this map are the Pandora's Boxes. The guards are legion-sized, but the reward is a dud: here, have 10 chaos hydras. I did open one, but I suspect the others are similar.

Question for those who have played maps by Maxuta-Phoenix (I read the corresponding thread, which was closed due to an argument :D). Is there anything interesting in them by today's standards? Or is the situation similar to maps like Unleashing the Bloodthirsty, Empire of the World II, Jedi Story (which are no longer very engaging to play today)?

I just did a Google search and couldn't find Maxuta's maps on heroesportal, although I distinctly remember downloading them from there at one time. Besides, baratorch himself praises one of the campaigns: http://213.140.231.54/index.php?showtopic=19273&st=20&p=495458&#entry495458 It even made me want to check out what's there.

Added 16 minutes later
With some difficulty, I found the author's rare campaigns here: http://www.artifactheroes.narod.ru/pages/camp_shadow.htm This might be the only source where they are still available.

+ Some are scattered across other sites.

Here it seems to be what you're looking for.

/topic/at/335548/

The link with praise from Baratorcha doesn't open

Fixed the link.

Yes, that's it. I checked out the "In Search of the Sword" campaign, and the beginning looks like an RPG map. The tavern is blocked. The author says that it's impossible to complete without diplomacy. Marlo, this is a challenge, you understand, right?:D

On one hand, I'm feeling lazy, but on the other hand, it seems interesting :D

I remember those campaigns too; I have all four of them saved, if needed. In a nutshell, they offer extreme difficulty + specific humor + a bit of mockery directed at the player. The standard approach of "gathering troops and crushing everyone" doesn't work in any of these scenarios. The player is left to figure out what's needed to win each specific mission and try to do it as quickly as possible.
I'm planning to finally play "Unleashing the Bloodthirsty," "Empire of the World" 1 and 2. And right now, I'm working my way through "The Uprising"; it's a bit tough, but I'm making progress...

Started the "Rise of the Necromancer" campaign. I already have an idea of how to complete the first mission, although it won't be quick. The only thing I don't understand is which secondary skills the main heroine should have, and whether it's necessary to invest in support skills.

Added after 10 hours and 12 minutes
Is there a way to see which heroes can be transferred to the next mission in the campaign? I haven't had to delve into the campaign editor before.

(I read the relevant thread, which was closed due to an argument :D).

I remember how the person who started that argument was willing to pay $200 to anyone who could complete the "First Blood" map in under 3 months. But then, as expected, he disappeared. :D

Is there a way to see which heroes can be carried over to the next mission in a campaign? I haven't really had to dig into the campaign editor before.

In the campaign editor, when you click on a piece of the map, it should be visible. I usually tested these things using a win cheat (or the code nwcredpill).
You can also break down the campaign into separate maps and view them with the regular editor (just in case someone didn't know).

I remember how the person who started this argument was willing to pay $200 to anyone who could complete the "First Blood" map in under 3 months. But then, as expected, they disappeared. :D

I haven't read anything funnier on this forum than the posts of the mentioned user. :D

In the campaign editor, when you click on a piece of the map, it seems to be visible. I usually tested such things using a cheat for victory (or the code nwcredpill)
You can also break down a campaign into separate maps and view them with the regular editor (just in case someone didn't know).

Thanks for the answer. I somehow didn't think of nwcredpill, and yesterday I figured out how to export individual scenarios from campaigns.

Question for those who have played maps by Maxuta-Phoenix (I read the relevant thread, which was closed due to an argument :D). Is there anything interesting in them by today's standards? Or is the situation similar to maps like Unleashing the Bloodthirsty, Empire of the World II, Jedi Story (which are no longer very engaging to play today)?

It's a very specific type of hardcore gameplay. It's very much a matter of personal preference.

I think the discussion should take place here, where mapmaking is done, don't you think?