Posts from 2009 World Championship for Heroes IV Online.

I see no point in worrying about unfamiliar maps. There will be 2 months or, most likely, more to playtest them.

I've attached maps from AS.

No one is suggesting such trash, though :) I'm also against straightforward rush maps!

Dim, there aren't that many options :( So, what would you suggest for the World Championship?

There aren't many options, really. That's why a committee is needed – to choose the most playable maps from all the suggestions.
I would suggest PS, Circle 2.0, Bizarro, Lezkandra, Plains of Despair 1.6, If these walls (debatable, but possible), Spleen, Will and Reason, Showdown (even though I don't like it).

Why only one map? Is the regulation already ready? ;)
I suggested a method for selecting maps. If we choose one map from a group of five, we will miss out on many good ones. It would be more beneficial to first create a large pool of maps, which will be screened by a committee, and then use an automatic draw.

Wanderer, of course, there's time for testing. But we've already seen it. There was already a championship. How many people tested the maps? About 10% of the players.

Understand, I'm trying to prevent trash like Lion's Muzzle or Battle of Underground from being included in the tournament (although, to be honest, I would also send straightforward Iron home :).

I don't remember what percentage of players were testing it. Back then, there was little time before the start, and everything was done in a hurry. Now it's summer, and most people are on vacation. I don't understand what you're getting at. Should we only use familiar maps? But familiar to whom? Everyone will still want to push their own map.

Well, for example, you're criticizing "Iron" for some reason. Why stifle someone else's opinion? I don't understand you here.

Regarding the draw. And an automatic one at that. What kind of beast is that? If it works publicly, tell me how.

Repeating maps in the World Championship cheapens Heroes. It's too easy. I understand, Oxi, that you still like to play in HoMM 5 and probably don't want to bother learning the maps from HoMM 4. I understand that. But it will be boring to play the same thing for another six months that you've been playing for years. To write and read reports that have already been written and read a hundred times. Playing new maps in every World Championship – that's success. I want to play in the HoMM'09 World Championship, not just autopilot through it.

P.S. Yes? And what's so pleasant about "Ekvi"? :)

Of course. I'm all for a reasonable balance between the old and popular and the new. The same "Circule" hasn't been played in tournaments for ages.

Am I saying something wrong? I just expressed my opinion. "Iron" is a map with a single path, meaning there's no strategic depth (routes are figured out in two or three games). For three weeks, you're stuck in a tedious grind against neutral creatures, and then there's one encounter, at most – a reset and a second encounter. In the end, you get a game against the computer plus a huge emphasis on guarding a bridge that you won't even see or be able to reset on the first day. Get a Castle and you're done.

We can program it. How long will it take? ;)

I don't agree that repetition is boring. They've been playing soccer with the same round ball on the same rectangular field for 160 years, and it hasn't gotten boring ;)

Some people even find playing the same map twice to be tedious and boring. It's an old debate between those who prefer randomness and those who prefer fixed maps. The former prefer to orient themselves on the map, while the latter prefer precise calculations and a detailed understanding. It's just a matter of preference. So, I'm for a reasonable balance of both.

From Equi? Fear the Buddha. :D They're pleased with your prize policy. ;)