Posts from Heroes 5.5 WarGame Edition - Tactical Edition.

While balancing the human Castle in the Arena is in progress.
I wrote a program for automatic build optimization and testing, which helped balance the prices of some buildings, as well as starting bonuses.

Now players will start with the following resources:
6000 gold, 4 wood and ore, 2 mercury, sulfur, crystals, and gems. In the Arena, starting gold is reduced to 500, simulating the purchase of 2 heroes (amounting to 5500), which is almost mandatory in the early days.
The second player receives an additional 3000 gold.
Starting bonuses:
- 3000 gold
- 2 wood and ore each, 1 mercury, sulfur, crystals, and gems each
- 2 minor artifacts (the latter is not yet implemented via scripts, as it does not affect building)

Also, based on test results, I concluded that paid training is still too situational; the only effective use for it is training Monks into Knights. Furthermore, the maximum squad of Knights turns out to be too large (stronger than the rest of the army combined).
This means it is necessary to revert to free training, but with the weekly limit halved from 10 to 5. I also considered an option with a "natural" surcharge of 40% of the cost, but it wasn't effective enough for low-level units.

I also removed the additional requirement of a level-2 mage guild for Angels, leaving only the requirement from Monks. This significantly increased the popularity of building Angels, which was previously too low.

I think I'll upload the mod and Arena update this evening so players can try out what I'm talking about regarding the human Castle build (other factions have not been balanced yet).

Some statistics on the human Castle in the Arena:
- average size of the redeemable army in effective builds (top-100 out of 10,000 automatically generated by the program) ~ 65,000 gold
- maximum size of the redeemable army obtained manually ~ 88,000 (with the old training; with the new one it will be 84,000)
- army size in duels = 42,000 (for comparison)
- maximum possible redemption of Peasants = 12,000 (80 units), Farms +60% up to 19,200 (128 units)
- maximum possible redemption of Archers = 15,000 (60 units), training +25% up to 18,750 (75 units)
- maximum possible redemption of Swordsmen = 20,000 (50 units), training +30% up to 26,000 (65 units)
- maximum possible redemption of Monks = 21,000 (35 units), training +43% up to 30,000 (50 units)
- maximum possible redemption of Knights = 28,000 (28 units), training +36% up to 38,000 (38 units), as training Knights in week 1 is impossible due to pace
- maximum possible redemption of Griffins = 21,000 (14 units)
- maximum possible redemption of Angels = 24,000 (8 units)

Notice how significant Farms are.
In the original, Farms gave a measly +5 peasants per week at 25 gold each, an absolutely worthless building.
Here, Farms give up to +24 peasants per week at 150 gold each, meaning the bonus is almost 30 times (!) greater.

Added 18 hours 32 minutes later
I'm publishing the map (a set of 3 files - map, mod, and executable):

WGE Arena

A fresh bug - you can perform Training each "turn" of building. This will be fixed in the future; for now, it is "legal" to perform training only on turn 7 of each "week."
The training limit was increased from 5 to 6 (based on automatic testing results).

At the start of the map, choose the city - human. Difficulty - standard.
Then, at the start of the mission, the game puts the player in the city.
Here you need to build.
After each build, the turn counter increases, the town is rebuilt, allowing building again, and the player receives an income from the town + 10 batches of random resources/gold (the player receives this income at the start of building as well, on "day" 1).
Each batch contains either 500 gold, or 2 wood or ore, or 1 mercury, sulfur, crystal, or gem. The more actively the player spends a particular resource, the faster it is replenished (the higher the chance of receiving it).
The day-of-week counter is the last digit in gold (from 1 - Monday, to 7 - Sunday).
Building the Marketplace currently means skipping a building "turn" (the marketplace returns unbuilt, without increasing the town level).
At the end of day 7, 14, and 15, the player receives an additional weekly income from the garrison of the previous week (+10% if the Blacksmith was built by that point) and the current mage guild.
That is, on day 7 the player receives no income from the garrison (there is no garrison from the previous week yet), but they do receive income from the mage guild of week 1.
On these same days, the player can buy troops in the garrison (and legally conduct training by bringing the hero to the town).
Unredeemed troops burn at the start of the next week (so it is critical to track the gold level for the week to ensure enough for hiring).
If desired, the player can leave the town and visit one of two objects with the hero: the external Marketplace (for exchanging resources) and the external Tavern.
Through the external Tavern, you can skip "turns," moving directly to the next week.
Transition to the next week happens automatically as soon as all troops are redeemed.
If the player was unable to redeem part of the troops, or if they have built training grounds, then the transition to the next week must be done manually by visiting the external Tavern with the hero.
Also, at the end of building, you can exchange all resources for gold in 1 click at the external Marketplace and get an efficiency rating for your build by visiting the external Tavern:

BuildRating = (CostOfAllTroops + CostOfStrongestSquad / 2 + Gold / 2 + BuildingBonus / 2) / 1000 - 20%, in percent
BuildingBonus: each level of the mage guild gives 1000 bonus per level (i.e., a level 1-5 guild gives a total of 1000/3000/6000/10000/15000 bonus).
Additionally, the Blacksmith gives 3000 bonus. 

Growth system: the Fort (present at start) doubles the weekly growth of tier 1-3 creatures, and the Citadel triples it. The Castle doubles the growth of tier 4-6 creatures. Fortifications do not affect the initial troop arrival when a building is constructed (as in the original). Upgrading creature dwellings "refresh" the growth of the base dwelling (grant an additional one-time arrival of creatures equal to the growth). Fortifications also accelerate this bonus from upgrades (this works both when building the upgrade and when building the fortification).
Redeemed creatures at the end of the next week provide income at a 1:1 rate of their cost (10% more with the Blacksmith). This is a feature of the Arena, simulating the effectiveness of redeemed troops in combat.

The second player starts with +3000 gold, but cannot build on "day" 15 and does not receive daily income for it (but does receive the weekly income from the garrison/guild and can redeem the third week's troops).

Added 11 hours 48 minutes later

I conducted 400 thousand auto tests, selecting the top 100 strongest. I compiled statistics:

80-86% ratings for top-100 builds
Maximum army - worth 82,900 (with 20,000 gold remaining, with a level 1 mage guild)
Maximum gold - worth 71,000 (with a minimal army worth 46,000, and a level 5 mage guild)

Popularity statistics for buildings:
Town Hall = 100% (present from start)
Village Hall = 97%
City Hall = 91%
Capitol = 78%
Blacksmith = 89%
Farms = 24%
Stables = 37%
Training Grounds = 15%
Fort = 100% (present from start)
Citadel = 87%
Castle = 45%
Mage Guild 1 = 83%
Mage Guild 2 = 49%
Mage Guild 3 = 29%
Mage Guild 4 = 21%
Mage Guild 5 = 13%
Peasants = 100% (present from start), upgrade 80%
Archers = 96%, upgrade 34%
Swordsmen = 80%, upgrade 46%
Monks = 78%, upgrade 35%
Knights = 37%, upgrade 38%
Griffins = 78%, upgrade 42%
Angels = 65%, upgrade 38%

I like everything here, except that the top mage guild is built infrequently, and the income branch is too popular.
However, the statistics were collected for the poorest build scenario (choosing starting artifacts, not gold or resources). Under such conditions, obtaining income is extremely critical (otherwise there might not be enough to redeem troops), and building the mage guild is harder. Presumably, with other bonuses, the balance will shift toward the guild.
Update: I checked; for the second player (+3000 gold) with the starting gold bonus (another +3000 gold), the popularity of the income branch was significantly lower (63/53/38%), and the mage guild branch was higher (80/50/44/39/18%).

Statistics for troops redeemed by value:
Peasants = 10.3 thousand gold
Archers = 10.6 thousand gold
Swordsmen = 11.2 thousand gold
Monks = 7.0 thousand gold
Knights = 8.7 thousand gold
Griffins = 9.9 thousand gold
Angels = 11.6 thousand gold

Everything here is absolutely ideal.

After retesting and collecting statistics on the top 100 builds (using the average metric), I decided to reduce the starting gold bonus, as well as the second player's bonus from 3000 to 2000 gold.
In the coming days, I plan to balance the construction costs for other factions. The tool for automated testing is already in place, so the tuning process will be much faster than for the first city.
Also, I plan to add a working Market-Warehouse mechanic (by disabling the free external market), and tie skipping a turn to the Shipyard.

Starting armies have been configured for all heroes (not relevant yet, but for the future). The cost of such armies is 2250-2500 gold, including combat units (if available).
Each such army is a unique combination of 1-2 units of different creature levels (from level 1 to 4, some specialists have level 5).
I believe that fundamentally different starting armies are an important and interesting aspect of the game.
However, the question of upgrading these armies remains open: should all armies be the basic "color," or should each hero class have its own upgrade?
The downside of the second approach is that upgrades do not mix with the base, and thus the player will either have to build upgrades of the same levels in the city, or merge these starting units during exploration (otherwise, the remnants will only take up slots in the army).
Such a choice is unlikely to please players. Therefore, at the moment, I am leaning towards leaving everything in the basic color: compared to the original, this is a definite improvement in the diversity of starting armies, without any excesses or drawbacks.

From the point of view of upgrades, according to Arena statistics, about 60% of buildings are built relative to the basic dwellings, that is, you can start from this figure.
I am proceeding from the fact that upgrades are built either to change the color (50%), or to strengthen the unit (50%), and in the second case, the chance for each color is equal, 1:3.
Hence, the total chance for the basic color = 40% (no upgrade) + 10% (there is an upgrade - 60%, and in this case, the upgrade is for strengthening - 50% of this chance, and the basic color is chosen - 33% of this chance) = 50%.
And the chance for an upgrade or alternate color is 25% each.
Thus, the prevalence of the base, upgrade, and alternate color should be approximately 2:1:1.
Yes, this is inequality, but is there any point in making all colors equally likely? In my opinion, it is enough that each color is simply popular enough.

Work is underway on the Dungeon scheme.
Unique buildings for this Castle:
- Chamber of Intrigue: +1 Knowledge to all Necromancers, Witches, and Assassins; on the Arena, an additional income of +2000 gold at the end of each week.
- Altar of Elements: enhances the "Sense Magic" ability of Necromancers, allowing them to deal elemental damage with their troops; Witches and Assassins instead receive +1 to Luck (indirectly enhancing their "Magic Luck" ability); on the Arena, an additional income of +2000 gold at the end of each week.
- Trading Guild: an additional artifact shop (refreshes once a month), as well as an income of +3000 gold on the first day of each week (instead of a random resource).

Also planned is a change to the mechanics of several buildings on the Arena:
- Forge: the ability to purchase siege weapons, as well as an income of +2000 gold on the first day of each week (only on the Arena, simulating the bonus from siege weapons in breaking defenses).
- Stables: an income of +10 portions of resources on the first day of each week (only on the Arena, simulating the bonus to hero logistics).
- Angels: the building is "moved" from day 5 to day 7 (requires city level 10).

Attached are the city schemes for the Castle and the Dungeon, with prices.

Comparison of growth rates (growth x price of 1 creature):

Castle
1 Militia (8-48) x 150
2 Archers (6-18) x 250
3 Swordsmen (5-15) x 400
4 Monks (5-10) x 600
5 Knights (4-8) x 1000
6 Griffins (2-4) x 1500
7 Angels 2 x 3000

Dungeon
1 Scouts (6-18) x 250
2 Beasts (4-12) x 400
3 Minotaurs (3-9) x 600
4 Predators (4-8) x 750
5 Witches (4-8) x 1000
6 Hydras (1-2) x 3000
7 Dragons 1 x 6000

Testing has shown that cities with stronger buildings have a higher rating, despite the higher prices. That is, the total strength of all buildings in cities should remain at the same level. For this reason, the growth rate of Minotaurs was reduced by 25% (from 4 to 3).

Currently, work is underway on the prices in the Dungeon; at the moment, the popularity of Hydras is inexplicably declining, while the Dungeon, despite the nerf, still shows slightly higher ratings than the Castle.
In the coming days, there will be an update to the map for the Dungeon.

Probably, as part of the Dungeon nerf, the growth rate of Scouts will also be reduced by 17% (from 6 to 5), with a slight reduction in the building's cost.

Faction-specific resources:

Humans = Wood, Ore, Crystal
Orcs = Wood, Ore, Mercury

Mages = Sulfur, Crystal, Gem
Dungeon = Mercury, Sulfur, Gem

Elves = Wood, Crystal, Gem
Demons = Wood, Mercury, Sulfur

Necropolis = Ore, Mercury, Gem
Fortress = Ore, Sulfur, Crystal

The need for faction-specific resources when building a town will be twice as high as for the others (I will adjust the prices in the Castle and Dungeon).

The main logic for choosing faction-specific resources: correspondence with the faction's magic (Mercury - Darkness, Sulfur - Chaos, Crystal - Light, Gem - Summoning).
Exceptions have been made:
- for the magical factions - Mages and Dungeon (three rare resources: Mages without Darkness (Mercury), Dungeon without Light (Crystal))
- for the combat factions - Humans and Orcs (one rare resource: Humans with Light (Crystal), Orcs with Darkness (Mercury))

Specialized resources:

Humans = Wood, Ore, Crystal
Orcs = Wood, Ore, Mercury

Mages = Sulfur, Crystal, Gem
Shadows = Mercury, Sulfur, Gem

Elves = Wood, Crystal, Gem
Demons = Wood, Mercury, Sulfur

Undead = Ore, Mercury, Gem
Dwarves = Ore, Sulfur, Crystal

The need for specialized resources when building a town will be 2 times higher than for the others (I will adjust the prices in the Castle and Dungeon).

The main logic for choosing specialized resources: correspondence with the specialized magic (Mercury - Darkness, Sulfur - Chaos, Crystal - Light, Gem - Summoning).
Exceptions have been made:
- for magical factions - Mages and Shadows (three rare resources: Mages without Darkness (Mercury), Shadows without Light (Crystal))
- for combat factions - Humans and Orcs (one rare resource: Humans in Light (Crystal), Orcs in Darkness (Mercury))

It was interesting to read about your changes. When can we expect the new version? Or should we continue playing the current version for now?

Regarding the duel mode, the old version is still актуален.
Regarding the Arena mode, which is currently under development, the version from June 15 is актуален. However, in this mode, only the building phase has been implemented so far (currently, only the Human castle).

Update: I've added 2 updated layouts for the Castle and Dungeon in the attachment, with recalculated prices.
Please note that the Human Mage Guild is formally more expensive to build than the Dark Elf one. This is because rare resources are much more in demand for the Dungeon, and therefore their value is higher – if Humans can build the Guild using leftover rare resources, it's much more difficult for the Dungeon.

The actual "cost" of resources for the Castle:
Wood = 300
Ore = 300
Mercury = 400
Crystal = 600
Sulfur = 400
Gem = 400

The actual "cost" of resources for the Dungeon:
Wood = 200
Ore = 200
Mercury = 600
Crystal = 400
Sulfur = 600
Gem = 600

I remind you that, unlike the original, the number of resources in stacks has been reduced by 3 times, so the value of resources has increased significantly.

Cosmetic features have been added:
- The required resources for the Castle are multiples of 5 (except for the guild)
- The required resources for the Dungeon are multiples of 3 (except for the guild)

This does not apply to gold prices, which are always multiples of 500.

I think that each Faction having its own individual "pricing style" will add to the atmosphere.

Regarding the duel mode, the old version is still relevant.
As for the Arena mode, which is currently under development, the version from June 15th is the most up-to-date. However, in this mode, only the building aspect has been implemented so far (currently, only the Human Castle).

Update: I've added 2 updated schemes for the Castle and Dungeon in the attachment, with recalculated prices.

Cosmetic features have been added:
- The required resources for the Castle are multiples of 5 (except for the guild)
- The required resources for the Dungeon are multiples of 3 (except for the guild)

This does not apply to gold prices, which are always multiples of 500.

I think that having its own individual "pricing style" for each faction will add to the atmosphere.

Thank you, I will be closely following the updates. And if I want to play single-player campaigns on various maps, which version would you recommend?

The old one. Just make sure that the scripts on the map are enabled (or enable them manually).

Old one. Just make sure the scripts on the map are enabled (or enable them manually).

Thanks, and how do I enable them?

In the map properties within MapScript, create a new xdb script. In the script properties, select a link to the lua file. You can simply go to Map Properties => EditScript => type --, and save the map (it might crash).

In the map properties in MapScript, create a new xdb script, and in the script properties, select a link to the lua file. You can simply go to Map Properties => EditScript => type --, and save the map (it might crash).

Thank you, I'll play the original maps for now.

@Nargott, Hello! First of all, I want to express my respect for such a tremendous amount of work.

I have a question: where did you get the executable file that is in the header? I looked at several mods (meaning not H5U) for Heroes, and everywhere the executable files are different. I would understand if they were all the same – the one that was made by the old man who acquired some of the source code. But how the others appear is a mystery to me. I would also like to have the ability to easily change something in the code (those mechanics parameters that are not configurable).

Hello, the mod looks interesting, and I want to try it, but I'm new to modding. The links in the discussion thread require access that I don't have. So, where can I get the mod files?

Hello, the mod looks interesting, and I want to try it, but I'm new to modding. The links in the discussion thread require access that I don't have. So, where can I get the mod files?

I don't know what kind of access you need, but you're clearly doing something wrong. The links lead to Google Drive, where you just click the download button in the upper right corner. That's it.

I don't know what kind of access you need, but you're clearly doing something wrong. The links lead to Google Drive, where you just click the download button in the upper right corner. That's it.

The first two links give me a "no access" error, but the links to the visuals and interface work normally.