Posts from Campaign for Shades of Darkness: The Fall. Auto-translated

We’ve reached 200! Hooray, comrades!
A brief history of how humans arrived in the Northern Lands and the consequences.
Before (before humans and elves arrived in the Northern Lands), Necromancers and Demons were constantly at war with each other in these lands. The Demons created their armies from fire and a powerful source of magical energy – the Parcellarium. The Necromancers raised their hordes from former Demons. And so, a great slaughter took place. Both sides lost many soldiers, but they found another way. The lands were divided into ten parts, and ten Necromancer kings competed with ten fire lords (demonic lords) in specific areas. These were parallel micro-worlds created by the Demons using their Parcellarium. It seems, did they have honor? Not at all! They fought one on one, and the Demons constantly set the rules and adjusted the worlds to suit themselves. After the death of three Necromancer kings, the undead came up with a way. They adjusted their artifacts and, in the right place, opened a veil of space, creating portals. Through them, a very large army could pass onto the arena. Thus, four demonic lords perished. Of course, both sides were gathering strength all this time and clashed again. And then... Towards the end of that battle, humans arrived, a large army, to be precise. Thirty huge warships sailed in from the southwest. With a holy word, they dispersed both sides. The undead remained only in the north and east, and the Demons descended back into the underworld.
Here! I myself created problems for myself! When I was finishing the second campaign (the first logical one), I drew a map where humans defeated the undead and Demons... How to fit 30 ships into this!!! Although the map is called "Victorious March," it shouldn't be too easy, although the slaughter takes place on the "Trial" map from "The Fall," but, of course, you won't find anything familiar except for the outlines of the shores. Citizens, be vigilant! Watch out for what you're planning...

I'm interested :) I liked it. So, humans, elves, and other creatures came from Antagarich, and before that, there were only undead and demons? And what was strategically important for them in the Northern Lands? If you don't mind, I can join the development. I can contribute with ideas, plot assistance, and possibly some mapmaking. I guarantee anonymity until the release of a particular product. By the way, regarding the geography of the Northern Lands. As I understand it, they are located north of Antagarich, which is why they are called Northern.

There are no problems with the plot so far; everything is well thought out, and the first campaign (logical), perhaps, will be ready for release soon. Essentially, it's an expanded version of "Beyond Two Fires," with seven chapters, and you can choose the order in which to complete some of the scenarios.
The Northern lands are located northeast of Antagarich.
Is it strategically important? They lived there, and that's it. Perhaps this contradicts the Might and Magic world; after all, it's just an amateur project. We needed a territory to explain the colonial policy of humans and their "alienation" from this world, which will serve as... well, we'll see about that in the third campaign!!!
The only problem is the lack of free time for editing maps. In any case, almost two campaigns are ready, but I'm currently busy developing a map for Heroes 4; I'll return to working on the bonus pack in about a month. Of course, that's the best-case scenario.

They lived there, and that was it. Maybe this contradicts the world of Might and Magic, but it's still an amateur creation.

Why not? :) It's all fine, it just depends on the time period. And it's not such an amateur "creation" after all. Well, I wish you good luck, and if I'm needed (anything can happen:) ) - I'm always ready to help expand my favorite universe ;)

Generally, they are all cool, but I enjoy playing this one the most: XL.UNDERWORLD.8 PLAYERS (one of whom is me, and the other 7 are allies fighting against me), level 100 (medium, because the campaign is set to maximum, but resources are distributed equally).

Added after 15 minutes
In my opinion, "Heroes 3 forever."

Uh... well done. But what does this have to do with anything?

Well, this thread is about a poll: "Which maps do you enjoy playing the most?".
And secondly, you said that mapmaking isn't as relevant in Heroes of Might and Magic III as it is in Heroes of Might and Magic V.

to Monarh
Young man, the poll has three answer options. The point is about the genre of maps, not their physical components.

I just described the map setup that I play with (90% random map).

I'm posting a couple more maps. These are reworked quest maps from the campaigns into multiplayer maps. There isn't much of a plot; it's just for some good old-fashioned battling. ;) 1) **Wall to Wall.** Size **M**, one level. Two camps, each with three players allied, totaling 6 cities. The cities are randomly assigned. 2) **Soul Catchers.** Size **M**, two levels. Necropolis versus Haven, each with two cities under their control. The dungeon only contains bonuses. Enjoy the game.

to sandroxxl
I've been thinking about it and decided to create a map, and if the map becomes popular, then a companion map. Can you give me some advice?

Well, it depends on what you're interested in and what kind of map you want to create. It could be a quest map or a strategic one. I suggest you find the "Mapmaker's Philosophy" thread; it's somewhere in the Heroes 3 section, and it has a lot of useful tips and suggestions, but it hasn't been updated in a while.

SandroXXL: I finished your "Fall" campaign, and I really enjoyed it. I can imagine how much effort was put into it. However, I don't understand what the victory condition is in the first mission of "Between Two Fires."

Added 4 minutes later

Here are some tips on setting the difficulty level. In Chapters 1 and 2, the quest maps should be played at 80% or 100%; otherwise, a large number of monsters may block the road due to weekly growth. In Chapter 3, you can experiment; you should have enough troops to deal with the weekly monsters. In Chapter 4, the troops of the allies and enemies are balanced, so use high difficulty levels. In Chapter 5, the hero is well-leveled, so choose any. In Chapter 6, set the difficulty to the maximum.

I finished the entire campaign at 200%. If I had read this post earlier, I wouldn't have done that, especially in the second chapter.

In the first mission, you need to capture all the mines to secure the material base. And you, Sanchez, actually gave me some motivation! Thank you!!!
But the campaign will be completed and will become a prequel to The Fall, and then there will be a third one. In general, I plan to finish the campaign during the holidays after the semester (in early February). Currently, there are three ALMOST identical maps, S-maps, and in each chapter, you need to complete a specific task. But there are also 2 S-maps, an L-map, and an M-map that is almost finished. Essentially, I just need to finish one more M or L map, and then we'll see. You will be able to play as Karagon and Alucard, but there will be only a few purely quest-based maps (only 2). So you can wait for the release; it's only a month away. ;)

Another question: in my game, only the credits play at the beginning and end of the mission, and the video doesn't show. Is this because it's a pirated version? Can anyone tell me where I can download all parts of Heroes 3 and 5, preferably so that I can watch the videos? Thank you.