Posts from Introduction of Haven in the Stronghold vs. Dungeon tournaments.

Well, and yes, I've probably suggested to Dave multiple times to play for stakes, or just a season, or even just a match, simply because of fear?:smile04:.

Dave Han is already an established TOP player, and you can't escape him anyway - sooner or later he'll catch up and punish you, and you know it :D :D
I was talking about the fear of new "daddies" appearing :D

Notice that I'm writing everything with smileys.

Many players have returned to (or continue to play) this game solely because of the HD mod, which speeds up the gameplay. After all, Heroes is a very time-consuming game, and if there is a way to speed up the gameplay, you should take advantage of that opportunity.

If you have interesting work, if you have a family and responsibilities, if you have other hobbies or other games with less technical work and more intellectual content, then playing Heroes makes no sense. But if none of that exists, or if you still have time and the desire to train your brain in such a time-consuming way, then that's okay. There are a few isolated cases of financially (relatively) successful streamers like Tvarina, and possibly Hell, Amilu, Toga, Redwhite, and maybe someone else.

Saving an hour per game is a big plus; programmatically introducing a simulation of the opponent's turn during the AI phase, even if only for 2 minutes, would be great, as long as there are no bugs and the AI is set to a minimum probability of encountering the opponent. Why not? I think I haven't mentioned all the valuable suggestions for improving the AI's performance, but they are in our discussion.

Dude. At least check it. All Tournaments state that they are played on the latest version of the HD mod. Provide a link where this is not mentioned.

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2. The use of additional programs that speed up the gameplay process is allowed, in particular:
- A mod to improve the functional part of the interface - HoMM3 HD,

Playing without the HD mod is at least not prohibited by the rules.

Only the part about personal dislike is true in this post, and everything else is your imagination :)

I suggest giving Vika a permanent ban, and that will be the end of it....

I haven't been visiting the forum much lately... It's strange that Kostya doesn't understand such simple things, and the guys have become too set in their ways. Of course, the comments about fearing an influx of new, unskilled players are quite amusing. It's not about a lack of time; I think everyone can adjust to that (the turn-based nature of the game has spoiled people too much...). However, I would most strongly support one of the early posts about free-to-play and pay-to-play models. No matter how small the fee, a newcomer will not play if they are forced to pay in 95% of cases. Imagine a situation where they create a super-amazing game, similar to Heroes (let's say Heroes is dead), and everyone praises it, but Mail.ru buys it, and to even try it, you have to pay 100 rubles to create an account and 1 ruble for each hero! It's pocket change, but the thought will linger that they are trying to squeeze money out of you, no matter how small the amount. So, why would you even bother? It's not something you want to spend most of your time on... In short, until you are willing to pay 168 rubles for each of your opponents, you shouldn't make grand statements about the necessity of a mandatory paywall; otherwise, it's either a lack of awareness or hypocrisy. Thank you for your attention. P.S. As a vivid example, I want to mention the situation with a very popular game like DOTA (back then, the first one), which became famous worldwide, and then VALVE bought it and, after the beta test of the second DOTA, tried to make it a paid game. They released it for a one-time fee of 1.5-2 thousand rubles with a bunch of visual enhancements (while still keeping it freely available at the time), but even the rumors and the possibility of buying clients (which is the only way you could play online soon) caused the online player base to drop sharply (people rushed back to play the first part, which remained free). So, they had to backtrack, retract their statements, and refund money to many buyers. If you think that because our game has popularity based on something else and the numbers are completely different, you are wrong. As someone rightly said, if you don't want a paywall, don't register.

HeroesWorld has always been friendly to all Heroes players, regardless of their level, and in my humble opinion, that's what the forum's longevity is based on. Here, both newcomers and veterans can always find an opponent of their skill level and participate in tournaments of various kinds. Let me remind you of the example of heroes.by, where the top players ran everything, looking down on other players and often cruelly mocking newcomers — everyone knows where that site is now. I would very much hate for HeroesWorld to turn into a similar graveyard, and if the top players forcefully push through their wishes in an ultimatum form, that's exactly where things are heading. A sound idea presented in the format "it will be like this, dissenters can get lost" causes rejection among a large number of people (even those who generally agree with it). For many newcomers, the only chance to play against a top player is the group stage of a tournament; forcing a mandatory OH creates a psychological barrier for a person — it's not about money, but about them being made to do something they might not have done otherwise. A simple example: a person played with OH for a while and was fine with it, but at some point they no longer had time to play and didn't renew the subscription because it was unnecessary. Then a tournament came up, but to play in it they need OH; they can find time for one game every two weeks, money is not an issue, but their reaction is "get lost with your tournament, they're setting conditions, will you look at that." And if several people are turned away from the tournament in this manner, then in my opinion, that's a path to nowhere.
Of everything written in this thread, I like the idea of making OH mandatory in the later stages of tournaments, so to speak, for greater "competitive integrity" of the competition. For those who don't buy OH "on principle" or for some other reason, you could lend them an account for one game if they've reached the stage where OH is required. You could even ask Baratorch to create a temporary technical account for the final part of the tournament (based on his position stated in this thread, he might agree) — a sort of test drive for a player who has proven themselves (who knows, they might like it and start buying it) :) And regarding saving time for parents... Gomunguls made a good point there: you can simply not take your turn, and that doesn't necessarily mean the player is thinking about something; they could just be eating ice cream or drinking coffee to spite an ardent "time-saver," purely as a measure of psychological pressure — well, it's not against the law, is it :)

HeroesWorld has always been friendly to all Heroes players, regardless of their skill level, IMHO that's what the forum's longevity is based on. Here, both beginners and veterans can always find a worthy opponent and participate in tournaments of various types. Let me recall the example of heroes.by, where everything was run by top players who looked down on other players and often cruelly mocked newcomers. Everyone knows where that site is now. I would hate to see HeroesWorld turn into something similar, and if the top players push their wishes in an ultimatum form, that's where it's heading. A sensible idea presented in a "it will be this way, dissenters can go to hell" format causes rejection among many people (even those who generally agree with it). For many newcomers, the only chance to play against a top player is the group stage of a tournament. Forcing mandatory OH creates a psychological barrier — it's not about money, it's about making them do something they might not have done otherwise. A simple example: a person played with OH for a while and was fine with it, but at some point had no time to play and didn't renew their subscription as it was no longer needed. Then a tournament came up, but OH is required to play in it. They can find time for one game every two weeks, money is not an issue, but "go to hell with your tournament, setting conditions as if you're someone." And if several people are turned away from the tournament in this manner, IMHO that's a path to nowhere.
Of everything written in this thread, I like the idea of mandatory OH in the later stages of tournaments, so to speak for greater "competitiveness" of the competition. For those who don't buy OH "out of principle" or for some other reason, you could give them an account to play for one game if they've reached a stage where OH is required. You could even ask Baratorch to make a temporary technical account for the final part of the tournament (judging by his position stated in this thread, he might agree), so to speak a test drive for a player who has proven themselves (who knows, they might like it and start buying it) :) As for saving time for dads... Homunguls correctly noted that you can simply not take your turn, and that doesn't necessarily mean the player is thinking about something — they could just spitefully eat ice cream or drink coffee to annoy the zealous "time-saver," as a form of psychological pressure — well, it's not against the law :)

An interesting thought about accounts for tournaments, but almost always freebies are abused. The only somewhat complicated scheme that comes to mind is to introduce lobby grids for official tournaments, give mod rights (for managing these grids) to the people running them (though full matching of forum and lobby accounts would be required), and then when a game is announced, the stated opponents in the grid create a game and OH will be available in it... well, something like that, but it's very complicated :smile07:, easier not to introduce such rules :smile15: :smile23:

You could even ask Baratortch to create a temporary technical account for the final stage of the tournament (judging by his position, stated in this thread, he might agree). This could be seen as a test drive for a player who has shown promise (and if they like it, they might buy it).

But why only in the final stage? You could give the host N free accounts right from the start of the tournament, so that players without accounts (especially newcomers) could ask the host for one and play the tournament with "full equipment."

This would also be an advertisement for the software's capabilities and lower the barrier to entry. With regular play, it would be inconvenient to ask for a free account every time, so there would likely be little abuse.

HeroesWorld has always been friendly to all Heroes players, regardless of their skill level, and imho this is what the forum's longevity is based on. Here, both newcomers and veterans can always find an opponent of matching strength and participate in tournaments of various kinds. Let me recall the example of heroes.by, where the top players ran the show, looking down on other players and often cruelly mocking newcomers — and we all know where that site is now. I would very much not want HeroesWorld to turn into something similar, and if the top players start pushing their desires in an ultimatum format, that's exactly where things are heading. A sensible idea presented in the form of "it will be this way, and those who disagree can get lost" causes rejection among a large number of people (even those who fundamentally agree with it). For many newcomers, the only chance to play against a top player is the group stage of a tournament. Imposing a mandatory OH creates a psychological barrier — it's not about the money, but about the fact that they are being forced to do something they might not have chosen to do otherwise. A simple example: a person plays with OH for a while and is fine with it, but at some point they no longer have time to play and don't renew the subscription as it's unnecessary. Then a tournament comes up, but to play in it they need OH. They can find time for one game every two weeks, money is not an issue, but the reaction is "take your tournament and stick it, who are you to set conditions." And if several people are turned away from the tournament in this manner, imho that's a path to nowhere.
Of everything written in this thread, I like the idea of making OH mandatory in the later stages of tournaments, so to speak, for greater "sportiness" of the competition. For those who don't buy OH "on principle" or for any other reason, a temporary account could be provided for one game if they reach the stage where OH is required. You could even ask Baratorch to create a temporary technical account for the final part of the tournament (judging by his position stated in this thread, he might agree) — a kind of test drive for a player who has proven themselves (and who knows, maybe they'll like it and buy it) :) As for the time-saving dads... Gomunguls rightly noted that you can simply not take your turn, and that doesn't necessarily mean the player is thinking about something. They might be eating ice cream or drinking coffee just to spite a zealous "time saver" — purely as a psychological measure, and hey, it's not against the rules :)

And I think the forum's longevity is based on the fact that there were simply people who supported it for a long time, like Pit (even though I didn't get to see him) and Dirty.
As for the example given at the end... Misha, sorry, but it's hard to view such behavior as anything other than being a jerk. Besides, such characters with "psychological pressure" exist even without OH — the ones who take almost every turn for 10 minutes. And why not? It's not against the rules, is it?

Before reading this thread, I didn't even think that Heroes of Might and Magic Online could have any drawbacks (other than the payment system).
P.S. I voted for option 2.

Well, it's not prohibited by the rules, is it?

People are different – in their perception, composure, pickiness, and their possible online availability. Some people, after waiting 2-3 minutes for you to make your move, start freaking out, claiming you're a jerk who respects neither them nor anyone else, regardless of the situation. Thankfully, these situations can be resolved within the community by choosing opponents with whom you can communicate normally and who will understand if you need to step away to soothe a crying baby, etc.
It's a shame there aren't tournaments with divisions based on the availability to play during certain hours (e.g., 6 PM - 11 PM; 8 PM - 12 AM; 10 PM - 2 AM). Of course, there's always a grain of truth in every joke.

I agree with those who believe that Online Hotseat (OH) shouldn't be mandatory by default. MicroElf and baratorch made a very valid point: mandatory OH will deter many new players, as well as those who are already used to playing without OH.

I believe that making the "paid aspect," that is, the Online component, mandatory would be a mistake, as everyone has different financial capabilities.

So much negativity from both sides. These are adults, and they are reasonable people. I won't take sides, but I will express my opinion.

1. Supporting the forum does not guarantee the development of the community on it. For the community to grow and develop, there must be administrators, an appeals committee, well-defined rules, tournament organizers, and, of course, the players and viewers themselves. Two people cannot control the crowd. But it is difficult to underestimate the merits of Dirty and Pete – they also allow the community to exist and provide a platform for all of us to develop Heroes. But we also need to make efforts – not just in words, but in deeds.

2. When we want to see tournaments in the format we need and with the rules we need, should we persuade everyone to do this, so that others organize these tournaments, so that others take responsibility, so that others do good for us? Has anyone on this portal ever forbidden you to do something the way you want in terms of tournaments, forbidden you from being organizers, sponsors, judges, assistants, etc.? As far as I know, this platform does not hinder the development of any of the Heroes versions. And the versions are developing thanks to the efforts of many. Yes, we can find out the public opinion, but it is very difficult to convince others, everyone is guided by their own factors (and these factors may seem stupid to us because we are not in the shoes of a particular person). To descend to personal insults against anyone is already too much. Only a foolish person can be offended, who puts their "ego" above others.

3. If you personally do not have enough time to engage in public activities in Heroes, you can always find those who will do it for you, and who share your views. For example, you may not want to play in tournaments that will not give you a medal for winning, or the games are not in the ranking (fun games), or they are not official, or something else – you can always discuss everything with the portal administration. For example, there may be tournaments separately with mandatory Overlord and mixed tournaments (where you can play with and without it). There will probably never be a time when everyone will organize tournaments all over the world according to the same rules and formats. There will always be different ones. The same is true here.

I just don't understand the problem:
1) No matter how hard we tried, we couldn't find the right organizers.
2) We are forbidden to hold the tournaments we want.
3) We are annoyed that people do not support our point of view, and they must accept it.
4) We want all tournaments to be with Overlord, but we don't want to organize them.
5) We want to know the opinion of the community.

If the fifth option is the case, then we just wait for the votes. There will always be those who support or, conversely, do not support any undertaking, no matter how cool it may be for us. Many here have encountered the fact that the new is initially perceived with hostility. Everything takes time, and you should not make decisions in the heat of the moment.

Tournaments for beginners can be held without mandatory Overlord, and the rest of the tournaments can have a variety of options, including mandatory Overlord (but there should also be options without it). Tournament organizers offer you all the options – and the demand depends on you. If there is no demand, then these formats and tournaments will become a thing of the past. As an experiment, you can hold different options and compare them in competition. All tournament options can exist side by side. This will be a real practice – but what we are doing now is just dry theory and the subjective opinions of each of us. There are also invitation-only tournaments where only those who are invited participate, even if many want to. It is good that everyone can express their opinion, but it is bad when personal attacks and all sorts of grievances begin.

Again, I am neutral to everything that is happening here. It would be a shame if adults were arguing over a computer game. It's like strangers' children have gotten into our sandbox.

I myself can play with and without Overlord, and I organize tournaments in a mixed format (as it is convenient for players and viewers). For example, I have problems with blood pressure, headaches, lack of sleep, etc. – so it is difficult for me to think and move quickly in Heroes, but since I do not set high goals, I adapt to my opponent, and I value the pleasure of the game process more (I am a noob). Everyone has different physiology, as well as life and the environment around them, and the speed of thinking is different, not to mention other things (this is a complex topic). Everyone wants to devote time to their favorite game to the best of their ability, but some have to deal with other problems in parallel with Heroes. I'm not even talking about the fact that, for example, Dan_Choi generally does not have the opportunity to pay for the lobby, so what should he do?

Not so long ago, Reddit paid for the lobby for his opponent, in our tournament, viewers paid for the lobby for the players, and so on. You can always find a peaceful solution. You don't want to pay for your opponent's lobby, but you say that it's not about the money (maybe it's about principles)? Well, then do a show match with streams, and viewers can pay for you. Many of you have a lot of followers. Or warn streamers who are willing to do a re-stream, and they may pay for the lobby. What's the problem? Personally, I have not met a single person who would refuse to pay for my lobby. Maybe there is just a lack of diplomacy?))) Either there is an underestimation of viewers and other players, or something else – I don't know... For some reason, my players do not face such problems that cannot be solved in a conversation between them or with me. Or maybe they believe in a fairy tale when everything happens with minimal effort from us. Nothing happens just because we want it to – first something is done, then the result comes.

So, peace to all, friendship, and most importantly: "Make up, make up, make up...", well, you know...

I have few questions for you all:
1. Do you want to transform this forum, site or whatever you want to call it, in a league for professional players?
2. If not, why do you try all the time to make rules that helps skilled players?
3. We all see that from time to time players leave, even very strong players. If you make the game more difficult for noobs and new players, what it will be the future here?
4. We all see that heroes community is now divided: HOTA vs SOD, free vs payed, sim turns vs old style and it became obvious skilled vs noobs and new players. This was the only site alive. The question here is you want to help or the contrary?
Imho heroes without a constant flow of newcomers will dye. Somehow you all here think that your opinion is the solution, but the only think obvious is more and more controversies.