Posts from Walkthroughs for custom maps. Auto-translated

Yes, indeed, while playing, the pink player's army looks impressive.

P.S.: I took a look at the army... :smile16:

Yes, indeed, the game freezes when it's the pink player's turn.

P.S.: I looked at the army... :smile16:

Yes, diplomacy is a powerful tool. Victory is already mine, I just can't finish the game.

Xaart, you need to install the SoD_SP plugin. With it, the game won't freeze, and the day will change.

Xaart, you need to install the SoD_SP plugin. With it, the game won't freeze, and the day will change.

I have the regular version of the game, and HDmod still wouldn't install:(
Will the plugin work if installed on the regular version?

Added after 7 minutes
Installed it - didn't help.

Xaart, you need to install the SoD_SP plugin. With it, the game won't freeze, and the day will change.

Well, if the day is changing, just upload the save file, maybe it will continue on its own?)

It doesn't work on its own in the vanilla Heroes. You need to put in some effort and install the HD mod, and then install SoD_SP on top of it.

It doesn't work beyond that point even on a clean installation of Heroes. You need to put in some effort and install the HD mod, and then SoD_SP on top of it.

I've tried it 100 times, I've reinstalled the game, and I've installed all the new versions of HDmod - every time I get an error: crash log file not found. Once, a message popped up saying that Service Pack 4 was needed. I've read a lot of information online, tried to fix the problem - but nothing works. I really want to play in better quality and with more features, maybe I'm just not skilled enough:(

But the idea of killing enemy heroes with Caitlyn is super! I just didn't think of it. I think they can be killed this way at the start, and nothing critical will happen later if it's done at the beginning of the game. It turns out that with this arrangement, you can reach that southern closed respawn much earlier and kill Gunnar without an army, if he's still hanging around Caitlyn.

Still, from a speedrun perspective, this turned out to be a mistake. By week 6, day 1, I cleared the entire accessible map, leaving only 2 anti-magic mains, but they don't cause any problems. And suddenly it turned out that there's no way to get to the southern underground respawn, because the defeated computer didn't open the brown pillar and didn't clear the water obstacle. I'll have to go through 7x9999 azure dragons on cursed ground - it's hard to even imagine how many months it will take to stockpile enough meat to break through them.

Added after 1 hour 24 minutes
I want to recommend a new direction to mapmakers. Along with the map, create a starting save. Firstly, this will avoid unnecessary randomness at the start, both for the author and the players. Secondly, the game allows you to plant many features in the save using a hex editor that simply can't be implemented on the map. For example, you can give a hero any level, up to 32767. Or equip a hero with an impossible combo of artifacts (alliance + aotd). Or draw two Tazars on the map that you can play simultaneously (you can do this in the map editor too, but only one will remain when the game starts). In short, the scope for creation and imagination is significantly wider.

In the end, from a speedrunning perspective, this turned out to be a mistake. By turn 611, I had cleared the entire accessible map, leaving only 2 antimagic main forces, but they don't pose any problems. And suddenly, it turned out that there's no way to get to the southern Dungeon respawn point because the defeated computer unit didn't open the brown pillar and didn't collect the debris on the water. I'll have to go through 7x9999 Azure elementals on cursed land – it's hard to imagine how many months I'll have to spend gathering meat to break through them.

What about walking on water? Or boarding a ship, clearing debris, and dismissing a hero? I don't remember any such difficulties.

I simply lured several heroes behind the cursed land using bait – I let someone get killed, and a chain of 1 fly stood nearby. When the computer unit came out and killed my hero, it remained in an accessible zone and wasn't afraid because there was no army nearby. Then, the army came in a chain and killed that hero.

Upload the save file; maybe we can find an answer.

What about walking on water? Or boarding a ship, cleaning up trash, and dismissing a hero? I don't remember any such difficulties.

Well, it's logical; the computer takes care of everything for you.

Added 1 hour 16 minutes ago
I took a quick look at the code to see how leveling up works after level 75.
It's a 10-line idea in C.
The difference from the previous level is multiplied by 1.2 and added to the current experience. If the difference at the time of multiplication is greater than 2^31 - 1, then the value of 2^32 minus the difference is taken. At the same time, there is a constant carry-over in the 32-bit register, i.e., 0xFFFFFFFF + 2 = 1. This is the trick that causes an infinite loop after level 6424. The experience for each subsequent level must be greater than the previous one (taking into account the sign, i.e., up to 2^31). And with such a calculation, level 6425 is reached at approximately level 70000. BUT the level counter is compared with a 16-bit register, so it is clear that equality is not achieved under any circumstances.

Campaign Name: In Search of the Sword
Author: Maxuta-Phoenix
Downloaded: from this post

I returned to the game after six months and decided to finish off the campaigns by this author. "In Search of the Sword" is the first campaign chronologically. The main characters overlap with those in "The Magnificent Four" and "Risen from Hell": Lord Max, Anastasia, and Vasyok Skull. Additionally, an allied Necromancer, Lord Gena, helps us in several missions. This time, the plot goal is clear from the title itself. The sword that needs to be found is Armageddon's Blade. I can say that this campaign is significantly less demanding than the other two. The style is the same, but this time, with rare exceptions, nothing supernatural is required of the player; therefore, I can recommend "In Search of the Sword" to a wider circle of Heroes players than the subsequent campaigns. It is also noteworthy that during the walkthrough, the author comments on various gameplay moments and even gives direct instructions on what needs to be done, which wasn't noticed before (or rather later, since this is the first campaign). In terms of skills, Lord Max's development is important. If in "Risen from Hell," for example, Eagle Eye was the key skill and we had to figure that out ourselves, here the author says at the start of the walkthrough that without Diplomacy, mission 7 will be impossible. Although I would say not only the seventh :)

Mission 1. The Breakthrough

Lord Max must break out of the Necromancers' encirclement, rescue Anastasia, and obtain the captain's hat. The author immediately introduces us to the original features of his style and makes it clear that one cannot relax here. We essentially have one city (Rampart), which must not be lost. Meanwhile, the AI Necromancers have four isolated castles between which they can move rapidly. This means that in terms of growth, we are far behind in the long run, even despite having a grail from the start. To win, we need to visit a bunch of tents at different ends of the map and sail to the top left corner to the prison where Anastasia is held. Notably, the mission has a double defeat condition: the AI can take the captain's hat itself at its designated spot, or after a certain amount of time, an unkillable Dream Demon awakens and captures our Rampart. The key moment in the walkthrough comes down to the need to kill 5 magic dragons as quickly as possible and receive 300 grand as a reward. After that, victory is only a matter of time. The final days of the mission are curious, as the AI surprisingly boldly rushed to grab its hat behind the black gates.

Mission 2. Showdown by the River

Lord Max and Anastasia sailed away from the Necromancers, intending to meet with dwarves and find out the location of Armageddon's Blade, but suddenly Lord Max saw that Anastasia had disappeared along with the captain's hat. Then the ship crashed against coastal rocks. Lord Max must find his wife and the hat. The mission is notable for the high importance of Diplomacy; in my case, the outcome of the game was decided by joining two packs of unicorns. The key opponent is our closest neighbor, Barbarian Matsui; other rivals are insignificant. It is also noteworthy that we are without mana almost all the time here, as there are non-deactivatable events before the AI cities that strip spell points.

Mission 3. Knee-Deep in the Swamp

The soap opera of the complicated relationship between Lord Max and Anastasia continues. After being freed from prison, she ran away again and even poisoned him. The first symptom is the disappearance of all spells from the book :) Lord Max ended up in a swamp together with his accomplice from the previous mission, Vasyok Skull. Things are very bad for him: he turned out to be a professional alcoholic, spends the whole mission sitting in the tavern drinking our money, and at the same time, he must not be harmed, otherwise the mission will be lost. I was especially amused by the author's message in the mid-game: "Listen, Vasyok!!! Maybe stop drinking? We have a crisis here; we're selling resources every week because of you at prices that make your hair fall out from horror! Please, stop drinking." Gameplay-wise, this mission can be considered one of the author's best calling cards. A positional war against swamp dwellers, which is essentially fought at sea, where it is important to maintain control over beacons, of which there are an immense number here. The key tactic during the walkthrough is fortifying captured islands; otherwise, crushing the enemies is extremely problematic, and protecting our clumsy Vasyok is impossible without this.

Mission 4. Rehabilitation (Path to Revival)

The potion Anastasia used to poison Lord Max eventually turned him into a Necromancer. To return to his former appearance, it is necessary to find a vial of dragon blood and bring it to the mages. This is the only mission in the campaign that I would classify as difficult. The gameplay is specific; the author tests how fast we can run. All because of a special defeat condition. You cannot lose the tower village located next to the orange player, which is guarded by a measly 70 Archmagi. The AI spends some time doing its own thing and then, as if nothing happened, attempts to demolish our unfortunate outpost as early as the 2nd month. Therefore, you have to rush across the map like a madman. Join crosses and minotaurs along the way, fight through black dragons, then run crisscross to visit tents, take down a pack of crystal dragons, and deliver the vial to the tower. The horse was exhausted by the end :)

Mission 5. Alliance

Here we are offered to play as Lord Max's antagonist — Anastasia. And her ally will be her Necromancer buddy, Lord Gena. Anastasia helps the Necromancers improve their situation by fighting forest dwellers led by Vasyok Skull. The mission objective is to capture all mines. The enemy cities are behind red border gates, and we need to solve a small puzzle to visit the red tent in time. The mission carries no other difficulties. Except that one of the enemies has a town portal, which could probably cause some problems.

Mission 6. Anastasia's Brains

Vasyok Skull assured Anastasia that Lord Max is heavy-handed but light-hearted. Vasyok Skull promised to be the parliamentarian in the reconciliation. Another specific mission, which involves playing a game of neutralizing enemy magic. Both the Cloak of Negation and the Red Orb will be useful, as the main enemies have magic stats of 99, and such happiness cannot be countered any other way. A mission whose very title hints at the need to act cunningly. In the instructions, the author mentions the special importance for completion of maintaining control over a tower called "Checkpoint." And hints that the player will understand the importance of the Checkpoint as they go. I must admit, I never did :) But in my case, Anastasia acted so cunningly that I suspect even the author didn't foresee this method. I won't reveal my cards and suggest you try to play it yourselves. I'll only say that during the process, it was critically important to throw all forces into as quickly as possible breaking the external dwelling of the azure dragons, because even one dragon in the early stages of completion is capable of making a difference.

Mission 7. Expert

Lord Max meets Vasyok Skull with news about Anastasia. The description says: "All the malice of the creator was contained in this mission. Very many will break on this mission!!!". It's funny to hear that, knowing what missions he has in subsequent campaigns. And here? There is a task at the beginning purely based on Diplomacy specifics. You need to sequentially join several packs of elves, turn them into snipers, and hand them over to the pass guard. The author warned us right at the start to take Diplomacy, so it's unclear who was supposed to break here and why. Especially since you then need to fight through two Conflux heroes, descend underground, dig up a grail, and deliver it to the starting city, which is done without effort in half an hour.

Mission 8. Armageddon's Blade

The author establishes a tradition of epic finales. XL map, combining the efforts of all heroes from previous missions, the blade guarded by 8000 azure dragons. But it must be admitted that the first attempt was a failure. Diplomacy is too OP, so instead of fighting through the same-type guards of the keymaster's tents (like 100 fairy dragons), you can start joining them very early. The surface enemies are frankly weak and just got in the way instead of creating any tangible problems. And the only serious opponent, the Dream Demon, wandered aimlessly underground, where we didn't even have to descend. But he too could be taken out if necessary. The scenario allows for it.

In conclusion, I can note that Maxuta-Phoenix has occupied a special place in the same-map history I've completed. Even from the perspective of 2020, when these campaigns will soon hit their twentieth anniversary, playing them is still interesting, which cannot be said for the absolute majority of other works from those times. I believe that any player interested in map walkthroughs should experience Maxuta's work themselves, as they have no equals. And if you don't feel like a hardcore player, then you should start specifically with the search for Armageddon's Blade.

P.S. Also completed the author's fourth campaign "Strength and Mind. Mind and Strength." Unfortunately, it cannot be called a full-fledged campaign. These are more like unfinished drafts, work on which stopped almost at the very beginning. The second mission is notable in that it is probably the first puzzle map in the history of Heroes III and is quite high quality for its time and place. You can entertain yourself for about half an hour.

I felt like I was 15 years younger again, thanks, Marlo, those were good campaigns for their time. I replayed "The Restoration of Erathia" a few years ago. "In Search of the Sword" is just okay. In "Heroes of Might and Magic IV," I remember there was a significant bug with the last mission; not only did enemy troops from a previous mission appear, but also your own Necropolis army. All you had to do was amass a large number of Necromancers in the previous mission. And that's what was done, in the amount of many thousands, after which the final mission became a walk in the park.

I'm almost afraid to think about what the author could have achieved if he hadn't abandoned the Heroes series almost 20 years ago.

Apparently, the great medstrax was right, and we didn't understand anything. :smile32: It seems that to atone for my guilt, I will also have to go through them :D

In what was the great medstrax right about? :D Well, the Campaigns really deserve attention, despite the negative publicity he gave them.

Added 2 hours 44 minutes ago

The Magnificent Four – I remember there being a significant bug with the last mission; not only did the opponent's troops from some previous mission transfer over, but so did your own Necromancer army. All you had to do was amass a large number of Necromancers in the previous mission. Which is what was done, in the amount of many thousands, after which the finale became a walk in the park.

The veil of mystery has been lifted over the last mission, and how to complete it "in a human way" :) As far as I understand now, a number of heroes and Necromancer troops are transferred to the mission if they were present at the time of completing one or another mission. Along the Lord Geny branch, you could amass skeletons. And I didn't even give him Necromancy. Apparently, this is the author's intention, not a bug.

Resurrected from the task

:D

Hello, fans of challenging single-player maps. I have one for you, featuring tough battles, intricate logistics, and a dramatic storyline. For a complete playthrough, you'll need Hota 1.5.4. Set the difficulty to 200%. I hope this map finds its target audience here. I'll be happy to receive any feedback.