Posts from Walkthroughs for custom maps. Auto-translated

Dear experts! Question: can the AI cheat in battle?
While playing the "Matrix" map, which kolotok has already reviewed, I observed the following phenomenon in two battles: an enemy, whose units are under the Berserk spell, suddenly stops attacking its own units and starts casting healing spells, and then attacks my units! Last time, I decided to record a video to figure it out, but when I repeated the attacks, due to different random factors, it didn't happen again. And today, with a different enemy, it happened again. I repeated this battle and recorded a video, where I captured the described strangeness, although it happened in the 2nd round, not the 1st (the relevant moment starts at 1:05). But I still don't understand what happened, and I want to know: "is this even legal?"
At the beginning of the video, I show the hero's skills and artifacts.
The enemy has magic resistance, but it definitely didn't work in the 1st and 2nd rounds; all 4 units were under the Berserk spell. According to the turn order, the Archdevils should have attacked first. What happened?
Here is the video: https://cloud.mail.ru/public/2Wtc/2G7Sgj8iB
(The original quality is actually excellent; it's just that in the online player, it's reduced to the nearest smaller standard 480p; if you want, you can download it to your PC and watch it.)
If you need the save file, I can upload it too.

Judging by the video, the archdevils simply skipped their turn, and the shield and healing spells were cast during the turn of the Sultan, which doesn't contradict the game mechanics. I can't explain why the archdevils didn't attack while berserk. This usually happens with two-hex units. If possible, please upload the save file so we can take a look.

Okay. Here is the save file before that battle: https://cloud.mail.ru/public/RPZ6/2b7RG6tv4
It’s strange, because in a similar earlier battle with Korback, the enemy doesn’t cast healing every time. When this first happened, I opened the battle log, but there was nothing special there, it just says "[This_Goat] casts Healing." But I remember that if a stack is waiting, it is reflected in the battle log ("[fighters] hesitate and wait for the right moment"). And that definitely didn't happen! Here is a screenshot of the log from an earlier battle; it clearly shows that the archdevils attacked first, and then the ifrits attacked!
https://cloud.mail.ru/public/58b5/32uhx46xd
Yesterday, something else happened: I had just uploaded the video, wrote a post, inserted the link, and even managed to edit the post, adding "the right moment starts at 1:05," when a few seconds later, the power went out in our house and the neighboring building! I went to bed, and the power didn't come back on for a couple of hours.

I tested the battle. Most often, devils attack either pets or demons. If resistance triggers, they immediately cast a spell and attack someone. But sometimes, a situation occurs as in the video. The Berserker passed, our dragons are waiting, and the devils simply skip their turn: they don't wait, they don't go into defense, but simply skip it. It's also clear that they are immediately highlighted, and the turn immediately passes to the snakes. In the next round, during their turn, they already attack someone. I don't know what causes this.

There's a bug where a creature under the Berserk effect doesn't choose the nearest target for attack; this bug was fixed in one of the recent Heroes of Might and Magic updates (it's mentioned in the log of fixed bugs).

I experienced a situation where a single-hex creature got stuck with a stack of harpies in a test battle. Perhaps something similar is happening here.

Thank you for checking. So, it's not just happening to me.
Also, I should probably add that I currently have the SOD_SP v1.15b plugin installed and the HD+ option enabled. As for artifacts, Zidar only has the Spyglass (this is visible at the end of the video).
A little earlier on the same map, during a battle with Korback, the same strange phenomenon was observed (he also had the Magic Resistance skill, and I initially thought that was the cause). In any case, this doesn't save the enemies from death, but it does lead to greater losses on my side. Due to various random factors, I had to replay both battles several times to achieve fewer losses.

I've encountered this behavior specifically with Archdevils. It seems to be some poorly researched feature of the Berserk spell. As a rule, a unit refuses to attack a nearby enemy while under the effect of Berserk if there is an obstacle (terrain element, fortress wall) on the tile from which the attack should originate. Also, for some reason, the AI prefers to attack two-hex units with its flying units in the rear hex, and if the front hex of a creature is blocking the way, it also gets stuck. But there seems to be a third factor here, since the units nearby are single-hex.

Added 11 minutes later
And healing, yes, it arrives while the Ifrits are moving, so that's fine. I had a different issue related to Berserk. I cast Berserk on enemy creatures that were standing next to Titans. As a result, the enemy didn't attack with the Titans on their turn, but instead ran forward across the entire field and attacked me in melee. So, we can't immediately attack with a ranged unit in melee, but the AI can :)

Added 24 minutes later
I suspect that the AI wants to attack the nearby enemy from behind and doesn't have enough space on the battlefield to do so.

There is a bug where a creature under Berserk chooses not the nearest target to attack; this bug was fixed in one of the recent Heroes of Might and Magic updates (it is mentioned in the log of fixed bugs).

Perhaps there is some trick to it. Because in approximately 8 out of 10 times, it still attacks one of the neighbors.

I suspect that the AI wants to attack a nearby unit from behind and doesn't have enough space on the battlefield to do so.

I also thought so at first. But I have never seen a creature under Berserk attack from its current position while also moving.

Regarding the failure to display message texts found by the forum's built-in search, I've been meaning to mention it for a while, but I keep forgetting. Thumbnails of images and attachments are displayed, but not the message text itself. It's unclear and inconvenient; you have to manually edit the address each time to see the desired messages. And most importantly: I'm sure that everything used to work correctly, but it broke at some point. Anyone know how to fix it?
ArtemmYa, it's probably possible to kill the Abyss Devil if you find the right tactic, but since I haven't played this map, I'm not sure if it's possible now: it's possible that something is missing.

Moved the latest posts about "Way home" to the topic for this map.

After capturing the third tower, the game didn't seem that difficult, and I saved almost everything in one save file.

One day (especially likely on Chinese maps), the game will severely punish you, and you will stop doing this when you realize that you will have to abandon the map or start playing from the very beginning!
Also, I wanted to know how players who name their save files "1", "2", "3"... orient themselves? Okay, streamers, they are in a hurry and save time, so that's understandable. But you're not streaming... or are you?

I don't cheat. For the game to save properly, it needs to be a complex map, something like Unregistered Author of Maps. And here, it saved normally at the beginning of the game, and then there are a couple of saves (1, 2, 3). And let's go. And now I'm waiting for Paragon 3; I'll finish this one and have to forget about the game for a while again. It only gets better with time.

For the game to save properly, it needs to be a complex map, something similar to Unregistered Author of Maps.

What is this collection of words?

I can assume that ArtemmYa believes that maps from unknown authors are particularly challenging. Yes, it's a strange criterion. And the approach to saving. Whether a map is difficult or easy, it's easy to make a mistake that will force you to replay a certain section. Especially when you're not playing continuously, but rather sit down to play a map after a break. Well, there are two types of players in "Heroes": "casual players" and those who adhere to a systematic approach.

Marmot, I don't play that often, but when I do, I try to complete a map in one go. I rarely take breaks, and usually, my interest fades, so I might even replay it from the beginning. What are some of your favorite maps? If you have time, we could play something together.

Actually, if you're feeling particularly lazy, you can simply enable "Save every day," and the system will automatically record each day as the turn progresses.