Posts from How to effectively use quick battles (autobattles)?

should the same apply to the Psionic faction?

P.S. I investigated what happens in Quick Combat when fighting the first Hydra in the Hive against 5 x 12 Vipers. In the first round, all the Flies attack the Hydra, just like in a normal battle, but in all subsequent rounds, the Flies don't make a single attack on the Hydras (probably due to the Hydra's ability to attack everyone around it). The same thing happens when fighting 2 Hydras in one stack against a Hive of 5 x 18 Vipers. In the first round, the Flies kill 1 Hydra, and then they "hesitate" to attack it again and don't attack the Hydras at all.

I think vbn is right. The Flies surround the Hydra from all sides and are afraid to attack because of the retaliatory attack on the entire stack. Perhaps this is something like a trick: 1 Hydra against 250 Mighty Gorgons, only with Blinding added.

This is somewhat similar to how harpies behave with archers. I think many have encountered this: when a harpy, instead of attacking, flies towards the archers to block them. And it only attacks on the next turn. But what pleased me most was this trick with the ballista, because it drew the attention of 3 harpies, and they just stood there doing nothing.

In Quick Combat, 5/6 unupgraded psychic elementals with a hero having 0-0-3-3 stats, without spells, and without combat skills, can take out a Hive of 18 x 5 = 90 Vipers (12 Vivs) with a loss of 4/3 elementals;

Under the same conditions (hero with zero stats):

2 elementals take out a Hive of 06 x 5 = 30 Vipers (4 Vivs) with a loss of 1 elemental;
3 elementals take out a Hive of 09 x 5 = 45 Vipers (6 Vivs) with a loss of 1-2 elementals;
3 elementals take out a Hive of 12 x 5 = 60 Vipers (8 Vivs) with a loss of 2 elementals.

Obviously, a hero with the Defense skill or a non-zero defense stat may lose even fewer elementals.

I lost the thread on the quick combat topic, so I'll write it here. I wrote a "plugin" for the battle log that records the battle, including quick combat. The output is a text file with a notation of the battle. Compare two logs of the same battle, one on auto and one on quick combat. Difficulty: 200% Crag Hack lvl2 (5-0-1-1, Expert Offense) 19 goblins, 7 wolves, 15 orcs against Gurnisson lvl2 (5-0-1-1, Expert Tactics) 5 orcs, 25 hobgoblins, ballista. On auto combat, the following happens: [Tactics Phase] cm_move: (9, 11) cm_move: (1, 15) [Battle] cm_move: (2, 6) cm_shoot: (2, 6) cm_shoot: (9, 11) cm_shoot: (2, 6) cm_move: (8, 6) cm_attack: (8, 8) -- (8, 6) cm_move: (5, 10) cm_move: (2, 11) cm_shoot: (2, 11) cm_shoot: (1, 15) cm_shoot: (2, 11) cm_attack: (2, 14) -- (1, 15) cm_attack: (1, 15) -- (2, 14) On quick combat, the same battle looks like this: [Battle] cm_attack: (8, 8) -- (8, 6) cm_attack: (2, 14) -- (1, 15) cm_attack: (1, 15) -- (1, 14) cm_shoot: (1, 15) (the first number is the vertical coordinate, the second is the horizontal coordinate). The battle for the hive on level 60 looks even shorter. I'll finish the program and post it. You'll be able to see what's really happening on quick combat.

(the first digit is the vertical coordinate, the second is the horizontal coordinate).

Where is the origin of the coordinate system?
Could one of the digits be replaced with letters? It might be more visually appealing... although, of course, it's a matter of taste.
Interesting. I understand that there is no ballista on the quiver? :confused:
And the orcs somehow didn't shoot as often.... :confused:

2Dirty_Player: The starting point is the top-left hex. It's quite convenient (though it can be confusing with the letters). Anyway, it's still unclear how the quick mode works (especially the lack of cm_move is confusing, although sometimes units just move without attacking in quick mode). Later, I'll add information to the log about who is moving and attacking whom, as well as how many units remain after the attack (I think this will clarify the situation).

2 AlexSpl: When are you planning to work on the program? I'm also interested... Kostya, it seems quite clear. I did the same when I was describing the battle: a cell vertically and a cell horizontally.

Here's an example from one of my games: I needed to defeat the Hobbits. My army consisted of 25 Gogs. There were either Lots (around 40 of them) or even a whole Horde – I don't remember exactly now. I managed to defeat them, losing only 1 Gog. The hero was Orrin, level 4-5, and I think he also took out a couple more Gogs. I can't say for sure right now, but I think the idea is clear.

I have a question: Are obstacles taken into account on the battlefield?

When are you planning to work on the program? I'm interested myself...

The beta is already ready. Limitations: it doesn't record morale, luck, abilities, weight, defense, or skipped turns. The log only displays information about turns, attacks (hand-to-hand and ranged), and cast spells. I'll upload it today. If you have any opinions on how to organize the log, please share them in the appropriate thread. In any case, battle reports will now be generated automatically.

2Dirty_Player: I can't say anything about obstacles yet. It seems that in quick combat, it's not quite a battle, but rather something like an exchange of blows.

2Dirty_Player: I can't say anything about the obstacles yet. It seems that in quick combat, it's not exactly a battle, but rather something like an exchange of blows.

So, if that's the case, does it mean we attack archers, and they shoot at us? :eek:

It seems that in quick battles, they attack instead of shooting.

No, it's been checked, they definitely shoot.

What is the secret of quick-combat?

Those who tested the traffic light version 3.81 beta in quick-combat mode have likely noticed that the program shows far from the entire battle log. This is because quick-combat takes place at a truly rapid pace! The traffic light simply doesn't have time to read all the information from the game's RAM. To see the quick-combat log, I had to resort to the help of the IDA debugger, specifically by setting a breakpoint immediately after the procedure that generates a stack's move in battle. Thus, the following log was obtained.

Tazar lvl1 (0-4-1-1) 1 Chaos Hydra vs 18x5 = 90 Dragon Flies. 160%

cm_attack: 18 Dragon Flies [3, 7] @ [4, 6]
cm_attack: 18 Dragon Flies [4, 8] @ [4, 6]
cm_attack: 18 Dragon Flies [5, 5] @ [4, 6]
cm_attack: 18 Dragon Flies [4, 5] @ [4, 6]
cm_attack: 18 Dragon Flies [5, 7] @ [4, 6]
cm_attack: 1 Chaos Hydra [4, 6] @ [4, 5]
Everything is clear here: the flies attack, then the hydra attacks, and everyone takes damage.

cm_move: 15 Dragon Flies [1, 8]
cm_move: 17 Dragon Flies [5, 8]
cm_move: 17 Dragon Flies [6, 6]
cm_move: 17 Dragon Flies [4, 4]
Four stacks of flies scatter.

cm_wait: 17 Dragon Flies [5, 7]
But here is the glitch: one remaining stack of flies waits!
As we can see, after the retaliation and the hydra's first strike, 15-17-17-17-17 flies remained.

cm_attack: 1 Chaos Hydra [4, 6] @ [5, 7]
The hydra attacks. In theory, only one stack of flies at [5, 7] should suffer (all the others have scattered).

cm_defend: 15 Dragon Flies [5, 7]
cm_wait: 14 Dragon Flies [1, 8]
cm_wait: 15 Dragon Flies [5, 8]
cm_wait: 15 Dragon Flies [6, 6]
cm_wait: 15 Dragon Flies [4, 4]
cm_wait: 15 Dragon Flies [5, 7]
But, as we see, after the second hydra strike, 14-15-15-15-15 flies remain!!! This means the hydra "reached" everyone anyway, despite the distance!

cm_attack: 1 Chaos Hydra [4, 6] @ [5, 7]
cm_defend: 12 Dragon Flies [1, 8]
cm_defend: 13 Dragon Flies [5, 8]
cm_defend: 13 Dragon Flies [6, 6]
cm_defend: 13 Dragon Flies [4, 4]
cm_defend: 13 Dragon Flies [5, 7]
cm_wait: 12 Dragon Flies [1, 8]
cm_wait: 13 Dragon Flies [5, 8]
cm_wait: 13 Dragon Flies [6, 6]
cm_wait: 13 Dragon Flies [4, 4]
cm_wait: 13 Dragon Flies [5, 7]
After the third strike, 12-13-13-13-13 flies remained. Again: how can a hydra at [4, 6] reach a fly at [1, 8]???

cm_attack: 1 Chaos Hydra [4, 6] @ [5, 7]
cm_defend: 10 Dragon Flies [1, 8]
cm_defend: 11 Dragon Flies [5, 8]
cm_defend: 11 Dragon Flies [6, 6]
cm_defend: 11 Dragon Flies [4, 4]
cm_defend: 10 Dragon Flies [5, 7]
cm_wait: 10 Dragon Flies [1, 8]
cm_wait: 11 Dragon Flies [5, 8]
cm_wait: 11 Dragon Flies [6, 6]
cm_wait: 11 Dragon Flies [4, 4]
cm_wait: 10 Dragon Flies [5, 7]

cm_attack: 1 Chaos Hydra [4, 6] @ [5, 7]
cm_defend: 7 Dragon Flies [1, 8]
cm_defend: 9 Dragon Flies [5, 8]
cm_defend: 8 Dragon Flies [6, 6]
cm_defend: 9 Dragon Flies [4, 4]
cm_defend: 7 Dragon Flies [5, 7]
cm_wait: 7 Dragon Flies [1, 8]
cm_defend: 9 Dragon Flies [5, 8]
cm_wait: 8 Dragon Flies [6, 6]
cm_wait: 9 Dragon Flies [4, 4]
cm_wait: 7 Dragon Flies [5, 7]

cm_attack: 1 Chaos Hydra [4, 6] @ [5, 7]
cm_defend: 5 Dragon Flies [1, 8]
cm_defend: 6 Dragon Flies [5, 8]
cm_defend: 6 Dragon Flies [6, 6]
cm_defend: 7 Dragon Flies [4, 4]
cm_defend: 5 Dragon Flies [5, 7]
cm_wait: 5 Dragon Flies [1, 8]
cm_wait: 6 Dragon Flies [5, 8]
cm_wait: 6 Dragon Flies [6, 6]
cm_wait: 7 Dragon Flies [4, 4]
cm_wait: 5 Dragon Flies [5, 7]

cm_attack: 1 Chaos Hydra [4, 6] @ [5, 7]
cm_defend: 2 Dragon Flies [1, 8]
cm_defend: 3 Dragon Flies [5, 8]
cm_defend: 4 Dragon Flies [6, 6]
cm_defend: 5 Dragon Flies [4, 4]
cm_defend: 2 Dragon Flies [5, 7]
cm_wait: 2 Dragon Flies [1, 8]
cm_wait: 3 Dragon Flies [5, 8]
cm_wait: 4 Dragon Flies [6, 6]
cm_wait: 5 Dragon Flies [4, 4]
cm_wait: 2 Dragon Flies [5, 7]
Now there are 2-3-4-5-2 flies.

cm_attack: 1 Chaos Hydra [4, 6] @ [5, 7]
cm_move: 1 Dragon Fly [5, 9]
A fly finally flies away.

cm_defend: 2 Dragon Flies [6, 6]
cm_defend: 3 Dragon Flies [4, 4]
cm_wait: 1 Dragon Fly [5, 9]
cm_wait: 2 Dragon Flies [6, 6]
cm_wait: 3 Dragon Flies [4, 4]
Three stacks of 1-2-3 remain.

cm_attack: 1 Chaos Hydra [5, 3] @ [4, 4]
The hydra from cell [5, 3] attacks [4, 4]

cm_attack: 1 Dragon Fly [6, 5] @ [5, 3]
And the last fly dies from retaliation.

So, in quick-combat, units behave inadequately.

And here is the battle log for Tazar lvl1 (3 Chaos Hydra) vs Calh lvl1 (1 Archangel, 50 Gogs). 160%

cm_move: 1 Archangel [9, 14]
cm_move: 3 Chaos Hydras [7, 7]
cm_shoot: 50 Gogs [7, 7]
cm_defend: 1 Archangel [9, 14]
cm_attack: 3 Chaos Hydras [8, 14] @ [9, 15]
cm_wait: 36 Gogs [9, 15]
cm_defend: 36 Gogs [9, 15]
cm_creature_cast: Resurrection [9, 15]
cm_attack: 3 Chaos Hydras [8, 14] @ [9, 14]
cm_wait: 32 Gogs [9, 15]
cm_defend: 32 Gogs [9, 15]
cm_move: 1 Archangel [10, 15]
cm_attack: 3 Chaos Hydras [8, 14] @ [9, 15]
cm_wait: 18 Gogs [9, 15]
cm_defend: 18 Gogs [9, 15]
cm_wait: 1 Archangel [10, 15]
cm_attack: 3 Chaos Hydras [8, 14] @ [9, 15]
cm_attack: 5 Gogs [9, 15] @ [8, 14]

Can you guess how 3 hydras on the 8th vertical were able to kill an archangel on the 10th via retaliation from the gogs? :) :)

From this, the conclusion: in quick-combat, hydras reach EVERYONE; that is, if they can hit at least one enemy unit, all enemy units take the hit!