Posts from Illusion of victory.

We played through the map together with my father, using a hero. The storyline is quite good, with some very interesting ideas and their implementation (especially the summoning of troops). The map turned out to be very interesting. It was enjoyable to play. The only downside for me is the lack of difficulty. The game was played calmly and leisurely (except for the first week, where you rush to kill the monks). But when you reach the dungeon with the captive demons... that's it. All the battles become just a walk in the park. But this is just my personal opinion; maybe I've just played too many scenarios (and campaigns) from Master and RedHeavenHero :)
Overall, I liked the map, and it's nice to play as the evil faction for a change. A screenshot of the completed playthrough is below.
https://vk.com/photo176599447_457241668

In other words, only the author understands the game mechanics.

If you scroll through the thread, you can come to the conclusion that the mechanics are understood by almost everyone except you.

There is no Castle.

This is the map's design. You will be able to obtain a Castle during the game, but the main Walkthrough will be without it. You will have to learn how to manage your troops effectively.

As I understand it, Blue and Yellow are allied with me, so they are unusable?

Allied with you are the Renegade troops, around the city where the game begins. Helping to defend this city is your key task. The rebel troops are your enemies. Their cities must be destroyed.

I tried to capture a gold mine, and a whole army joined me.

Loyal allied units will also join you. Their help may be useful if you lose all your demon army and it will take a long time to call for reinforcements.

There are no clear descriptions in the quests.

Everything is quite obvious if you read all the descriptions carefully. After capturing the monastery, your top priority is to destroy all the rebel cities and find a way to break through the bridge to the second half of the map.

Should I capture the mines of Yellow and Blue, because I need money and resources somewhere to summon troops?

You can capture the rebel mines; this will help you accumulate resources to summon demon troops. There is also a secondary quest associated with them. You cannot capture the mines of your allies.

Otherwise, I feel like a terrible psychic.

It is very unfortunate that the Walkthrough caused you such inconvenience.

Take, for example, one nuance: I have demon troops allied with knight troops (allies are supposed to strengthen the armies of allies, but they might not): how am I supposed to know that?

The fact that demons are allied with renegade troops is clear from the videos.
The fact that demons use illusion magic to hide from humans is clear from the videos and the description of the quests.
The fact that allied units join a friendly faction is an obvious conclusion that follows from all of this.
Deciding whether to accept them, kill them, or leave them to the allies is your personal in-game decision and does not require any prior explanation.

In my opinion, it doesn't make sense to over-explain very simple things if there is no desire to spend a small amount of time carefully reading.

I finally managed to complete the map. I played with a hero – to be honest, it wasn't easy. I played with the EWA mod. This is definitely a special scenario. I'll add that in 2013, this scenario took 1st place, becoming the winner in the map-making contest. The unique feature and highlight of the scenario is that it will be interesting for both fans of simple single-player playthroughs and hardcore players who love challenging playthroughs. If you decide to delve into the world of magic, then this map is for you! The author put a lot of effort into it, pouring their soul into this map. An interesting, dynamic plot with a large number of cutscenes made at the level of the Nival studio creates the necessary atmosphere. The design and terrain are well thought out and made to a high standard – see the screenshots below my post. The map reveals an incredibly wide range of strategies and hero upgrade options to the player. The balance of power allows you to choose the difficulty level already in the game. If you remove the joining demons and reinforcements, it will turn into a pleasant walk, and victory will be inevitable. However, hardcore fans will not be disappointed either – refuse the demonic troops and use only the troops of the red Imperials. And then... then you will take a step into the abyss, going beyond your limits, and streams of your sweat will mix with rivers of adrenaline. The path to the top of victory will lie through mountains of despair. You will face battles where even a single peasant is precious! But it's worth it! The author put a lot of work into the fort – there are 4 upgrade options for creatures, at least in EWA. I liked the introductory cutscene with beautiful music by the author. The scenario allows you to develop the hero to level 38 and even 40. It's a pity that there is no mentor. The map contains a huge number of artifacts, from minor to relics. There are many assembled artifacts – if you try, you can collect a dragon set or a dwarf set, and it is also possible to fulfill the dream of an archer; there is also a set for combat spirit, and others. The scenario has several additional quests – they are interesting. If your so-called ally captures the mines before you, you will no longer be able to complete the prophet's quest about capturing the mines – this must be taken into account. Yes, your ally is your inner enemy. The map will allow you to spend several evenings pleasantly. No crashes or bugs were found. Many thanks to the author for the interesting scenario. And good luck to the players in completing it on Veteran or, if there is a fire inside, on Hero! May the force be with you!

Thank you for such a detailed and positive review!

I played with the native demonic troops. There are 3 tomes of dark magic on the map, just in case, hinting that you won't be able to pass by. Overall, it's a good scenario, but it's easy with demons. I didn't understand why three game days and 5 real minutes of my life were taken away at the end, when I was watching some kind of creature trudge towards the castle.
Thank you for the game.

a very cool map

a very cool map

a very valuable comment