Posts from A program for determining luck/morality in Heroes 3!

I'm for a reset of the crafting system.

"Yeah! Yeah! I share the same opinion"

Did anyone try "traffic light"-ing the reset cranim.txt?

And also: is it possible to achieve a complete "freeze" of inactive units by resetting cranim.txt?

According to the results of disassembly, the stack movement time is not an influencing parameter.
I conducted tests on several save files, including a pre-made one, with different animation speeds. As expected, the time delays required to achieve morale, luck, or a specific spell for the mage were completely identical in the case with and without the "cranim." The animation speed itself predictably affected this time.
I think that the unknown author of the "cranim" knew (from experience or also disassembled) which parameters could be changed and which could not.
And if the organizers are interested in my opinion, I am in favor of modifying the "cranim" and holding Tournaments with a strict description of the battles.

Then, if they match and the program supposedly does not change morale/luck during the battle, what is the advantage of this program and why do players use it without modification?
It seems to me that fast animation is just a simple cover for this program-file.

Many things are unclear to me in this file, and I will not be surprised if, in a few months, at the next Tournament, it suddenly turns out that the "cranim" does change the structure of the game, and the computer (for example), when the turn changes, goes in such a direction that the organizer, who does not have this "cranim" installed, cannot repeat the computer's actions.:eek:

I mean that many situations need to be considered, not just on the battlefield, before talking about the fact that the "cranim" does not make changes to the structure of the game in a modified form, except for the animation!
Were the battles conducted only in the pre-made scenario, or on other maps (attacking a monster, a hero, etc.)?

It is necessary to thoroughly understand this "program-file" before talking about introducing it into offline Tournaments!

P.S. Since the "cranim" makes changes to the game (we have determined that it affects the animation), it falls under the Tournament rules, which prohibit the use of such programs!:smile10:

But, if we thoroughly understand it, we can add the program as allowed for use, but in a modified form, taking into account the rules that we ourselves will come up with!:smile03:

Sincerely, VDV_forever

It is necessary to thoroughly investigate this "program-file" before talking about implementing it in offline tournaments!

P.S. Since "kraming" makes changes to the game (we have determined that it affects the animation), it falls under the tournament rules, which prohibit the use of such programs!:smile10:

However, if we thoroughly understand it, we can add the program as an allowed one for use, but in a modified form, taking into account the rules that we ourselves will create!:smile03:

I completely agree with this. I have already started searching for the unknown author. And I think not only I am. But I also really hope for the help of vbn, as a person who first consciously changed this file, and therefore at least figured out which parameters are responsible for what, and how they interact with the executable file.

So, if they match and the program supposedly doesn't change morale/luck during battle, then what is the advantage of this program and why do players use it without modifications?

To speed up the gameplay. The battle time becomes significantly shorter.

Were the battles conducted only in the arena, or on other maps (attacking a monster, a hero, etc.)?

When I said "several," I meant exactly 3: in the arena and on a random map against neutral creatures and an enemy hero.

Many things are unclear to me in this file, and I wouldn't be surprised if, in a few months, at the next tournament, it turns out that "cranim" does change the game's structure, and the computer (let's say), when taking its turn, goes in such a direction that the organizer, who doesn't have this "cranim" installed, won't be able to repeat the computer's actions.

The file is responsible for animations, not for AI. I understand your concern, so I'll tell you about a personal example.
I learned about the existence of "cranim" in the 8th stage of the World Cup because I had a difficult task: killing golems using a ballista. Although I knew exactly how to do it, it was incredibly time-consuming because the golems move slowly. Moreover, they are so slow that the corresponding time parameter entered into the program before launch exceeded the limit, and I would have had to do everything manually in the final playthrough, because asking vbn to change the program would be pure cheating, as it would be impossible to guess why I needed it. And the battles with "cranim" took hours, and without it, it's even scary to think about (by the way, I never hid the fact that I use "cranim," because, for example, anyone who read my description and answers about the duration of battles and at least tried to play a couple of rounds could guess it). So, the selection of the computer's moves for all 6 turns (and if you remember, it was very specific, because 3 enemy heroes on the 7th day lined up in a row to be killed in front of the castle) was done even without "cranim," and in the final version, the computer behaved ABSOLUTELY identically (as you could personally see), and even the time to select the necessary moves was comparable.

I, of course, slightly exaggerated that everyone on the Portal uses "cranim" (Catch says he didn't even know about it), but I am sure that many strong offline players and almost all (or maybe all) top online players use it extensively.
After all, real time is very precious, and "cranim" really reduces it.

to VDV_Forever
Over many years of using this speed-up tool, no one has ever been caught in an "unofficial" battle. The bug (which later became a "fix") was immediately apparent upon the first use of the patched cranim.txt file. Isn't that sufficient evidence?

I may have slightly exaggerated when I said that everyone on the Portal uses Cranium (Catch says he didn't even know about it), but I'm sure that it's widely used by many strong offline players and almost all (or maybe all) top online players.
It really saves a lot of real time, and Cranium actually reduces it.

I simply:
1. Am somewhat conservative and only use the hero editor when playing, along with Sniffer. I haven't even considered downloading other programs.
2. Play Heroes III very rarely, mainly when there's time for a tournament.

I've already confirmed yesterday and today that many people have the file.

In reality, using it is a real time-saver! After playing with it once, it's impossible to play without it! And I'm very surprised that there are still people who don't use it! :eek:
You can't play online without it at all, and even offline it saves hours! And denying this is just silly!

So, creating this program ultimately proved beneficial: a stable display of morale and luck will allow for a clear representation of the battle, and no one will need to prove anything further. It is necessary to test the Heroes with a "zeroed" cranium using a traffic light. If, when the units are idle, the value of R does not change, then everything is OK! I would check it myself, but I don't know what is meant by a "zeroed" cranium.... With a stable display of morale and luck, there will be no need to generate them in excess.

We need to check how Heroes works with a “zeroed” cranium using the traffic light method. If, when units are idle, the number of R does not change, then everything is OK! I would test it myself, but I don't know what is meant by a “zeroed” cranium...

in this post you will find what you need. ;)

So, creating this program ultimately proved beneficial: a stable display of morale and luck will lead to the ability to annotate battles, and no one will have to prove anything to anyone else.

With a stable display of morale and luck, there will be no need to generate excessive amounts of them.

Undoubtedly, it's beneficial! Both for players and organizers!
Now, if this is truly the case (100% matching morale/luck), and a difficult battle isn't won by the tournament organizer, then no excuse like "I got lucky on the 56th try" will work anymore:smile01:
It will also be much easier for players, both in terms of gameplay and description!
In any case, thank you, AlexSpl, for raising this issue.

Sincerely, VDV_forever

Hooray! Heroes 3 has become much better! No animation - no change in R!!! Who said that the traffic light is evil? :) But I suggest bringing back the movement animation, and we'll somehow manage without the animation of the elf adjusting his bow! Hooray **vbn**! Well done!!!

Hooray! Heroes 3 has become much better! No animation - no change to R!!! Who said that the traffic light is evil? :) But I suggest bringing back the movement animation, and we'll somehow manage without the animation of the elf adjusting his bow! Hooray vbn! Well done!!!

Heroes saved vbn and the traffic light!!! By the way, how does the traffic light behave when the acceleration is set to zero?

2Dirty Player: Predicts whether or not morale/luck will be granted to the current unit. The remaining values are constant. That is, if the indicator is not lit, no delays will help in obtaining morale/luck. It will be useful for online play if it is completed...

And from those who will not use Cranim_vbn.txt, we will take away the indicator and generate morale and luck to the maximum (I will only complete the click emulation) :)

Since we're talking about "ura vbn" and "not allowing the result to be invalidated," let me reiterate that vbn, by modifying the game's resource file, violated its mechanics and, as a result, gained not just an advantage in the game, but a decisive one. Moreover, this was done in only one battle – according to him, on a different machine. I'm inclined to doubt that. If an offline player notices something like 100% repeatability in a battle (down to the spellcasting of mages, down to the morale of unicorns – they get demoralized by moving to any (!) cell on the field), they will immediately, first, try to remember if they recently did anything with the game or system – an executable (patch), RMG, trainer, etc. And secondly, they will definitely (!!!) start checking if other battles will repeat as well. But vbn (with saintly naivety!) noticed that the battle in the scenario repeats, was surprised, but didn't check if this happens in other battles. In fact, he didn't even play the tournament on this machine. He only played one battle. Which, as we know, can only be won theoretically with the current army without this modification. I don't believe it. Further. "Women shouted hurrah and threw their caps in the air." The question about the battle with the Titans remains. The battle can only be won theoretically. In order to win it according to the proposed scheme, it is absolutely necessary (i.e., failure to meet any (!) of these conditions leads to failure) that: On the first turn: 1. The top stack of Djinns does not cast spells but attacks the Angels. 2. The Titans do not get demoralized. 3. The bottom stack, after killing the Angels, does not cast spells but waits. 4. The mage casts Haste. On the third turn: 5. The mage casts Haste. Plus incredible luck, simply unreal – 5 out of 6. I didn't waste my time today; I played this battle for 6 hours. On different versions of Heroes. I don't know how many hundreds of attempts there were. On the first turn, I managed to fulfill the first four conditions. In 6 hours of continuous attacks – about twenty times. This is achievable. After that, I managed to fulfill condition 5 only 4 times. So, this event can be considered very difficult, but achievable. But luck! The luck of snipers came – as it should – once in several battles. I repeat. Once. In several battles. I couldn't even get 2 lucks even once. For those who didn't understand – not once in any battle, and not just in those where conditions 1-5 were met. Five out of six is unreal. Trying to repeat this again for a video recording is even more unreal. Dirty_Player, you said that you could easily repeat this battle, even get 6 lucks out of 6, "you just feel bad about wasting time." I'm holding you to your word – repeat it. Without using a semaphore. Play for at least an hour, and you'll understand that it's impossible. I spent the whole evening on this today, and I only confirmed that I was right. Because even knowing the mechanism of morale/luck ("delay"), without programs that emulate clicks at a certain time, it is impossible to consistently (!) catch this for several turns in a row in a long battle. As I already wrote – on the first turn. It's possible – and even on the second. And that's it. Try to catch luck in this battle – but honestly, without a semaphore or other similar programs! So, I can only repeat what I said earlier. vbn is a cheater. I was only wrong in my assumption about how the game's mechanics were violated in the scenario (but I was not wrong that they were violated!). Everything else that I said then, I can only repeat.