Posts from General discussion about Heroes of Might and Magic II.

I just didn't know what could be discussed in that thread. I thought it was only for guides. After such a preliminary exploration of the second game, we won't forget to spend another hour on the first one. After all, everything is much simpler there.

Has anything specific regarding tactics for particular scenarios appeared? Especially for the first 36 maps, what's the fastest way to win? Like on Pyramid.

As requested by users in the corresponding thread, a walkthrough for the "Pyramid" map in 7 days has been added: /topic/at/246279/

Well, if I switch to playing against the computer like that, it will just kill my interest. I used to play some scenarios and complete them in 40-50 days without knowing any cheat codes, and that was fine. But now I feel ashamed of such results.

There's absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. My son comes to visit, and we play hotseat together, forming an alliance against the computer. Or my good friend comes over, and we do the same – play hotseat, forming an alliance against the computer. Of course, there's no talk of records, and the playing style is completely different from tournament play. These are just different things.
You're probably a chess player, maybe with a first-category rating or a candidate master title. But the mindset is completely different when you sit down with a friend to play blitz or when you participate in a serious competition! Offline tournament play is compared to a chess composition, where you need to achieve a certain result (checkmate, draw) from a given starting position (save). That is, playing "just for fun" is great; it's just that in tournament play, this "fun" is of a slightly different kind – perhaps like polishing a diamond. But one doesn't negate the other – many "very serious" chess players love to play blitz.
By the way, even in tournaments, there are online and offline versions. It's true that you can only achieve great results in both cases if you know the map well.
P.S. We have outstanding programmers on our forum, for example, AlexSpl. He has started working on a high-quality random map generator for the second Heroes game. If he succeeds, it will give a new impetus to online play, meaning you can play a new, unfamiliar map (the feeling of being a pioneer) against an opponent who also doesn't know it! I think it should be very interesting.

Good luck to him in this endeavor. I only had a 2nd rank. And for 2 Heroes, I was roughly at the same level (if we consider that there are also ranks above 1st, like Candidate Master, Master, and Grandmaster). A tournament map is like getting 1 point for a 1st rank.
And by the way, what's needed for online play? It's not just having the game on your computer, but there's something else you need to connect to.

For online play, you need:
a second set of heroes;
internet access;
ICQ;
download the free Hamachi program;
2-4 hours of free time, or more, depending on the map;
be prepared to play the "Slagfest" map or any other map by agreement with your opponent;
an opponent;
connect with your opponent via Hamachi.
Don't forget to set "Compatibility with Windows 95" through the Heroes shortcut.
According to standard rules, the game is played at the chess rook level.
Among the players in Heroes II online, Gynnar is most often present in the network.

Is Hamachi absolutely necessary, especially if I have a dynamic IP address?

2 Drill
You can try playing without Hamachi, but experience shows that crashes occur more often without using Hamachi. You need to experiment with a specific opponent: unfortunately, much also depends on the characteristics of the internet provider...

Where can I find information about a hero's movement range, taking into account all bonuses? Is there a maximum movement range?

I wanted to specify the exact location (down to the byte) where the movement value is defined, but I decided not to. Three plus signs in the movement column mean 16 tiles (or more) of movement across terrain with a coefficient of 1. There is a maximum, but it is practically impossible to use it all in a single turn (the value allocated for movement is FFFF).

Thank you, but I would prefer a simpler approach, like a regular hero without logistics moving a normal army X turns, and the maximum possible turn for the most logistical hero being, say, 2X turns (I used the number 2 as an example), just to have a reference point and avoid wasting time trying to increase the movement range further. I don't want to change anything in the program.

Actually, I lied; 3 movement points equal 21 tiles. A regular hero without Logistics moves 14 tiles of terrain with a coefficient of 1.
In general, check out the Heroes 2 library on HP (the world physics section) – everything is well described there.

Announcement.
At my son's suggestion, this year I will write an article on the topic of "What can be achieved with a starting hero and a starting army, and variations on this theme" (I will, of course, come up with a shorter title).
This article will be in the context of a strategy for playing on small maps, although some elements may also be useful in larger projects.

Yes, that would be helpful. We'll wait...

Siege in Heroes of Might and Magic II

This material does not claim to be original and is intended primarily for future compilers of a full reference guide for Heroes of Might and Magic II. For Heroes of Might and Magic I, there is a handbook by the esteemed VDV_forever; for Heroes of Might and Magic III, there is PhysMiG by the esteemed AmberSoler. I hope that someday something similar will appear for "the two"! At the moment, the best source of information on Heroes of Might and Magic II, in my opinion, is the FAQ from the FIDO era, compiled by users of the RU.GAME.STRATEGY echo:

"Oracle | A puddle between the rocks (where is their SQL server, in a puddle?) :) | Full info on opponents" (c)

If anyone doesn't have it, download it from here (61754 B)

Well then, let's begin...

I Defensive Shooting Towers (Ballistae)

Defensive shooting towers can be viewed as units of shooters that cannot be blocked. The attack of the central tower is 2, and the damage is (2-3) * k, where k is the number of buildings in the town. The attack of the left and right towers is 2, and the damage is (2-3) * [k/2].

Note: the castle itself is also considered a building, so the value of k can range from 1 (empty castle) to 20 (fully built castle).

The turn of the defensive shooting towers occurs before the turn of the fastest defending unit. First, the central tower fires, then the left (upper), and finally the right (lower).

The attack of the shooting towers can be increased by:
1) the number of levels of the mage guild built in the town (+1 for each floor);
2) the attack of the defending hero or captain.

Notes:
1) The mage guild is considered a single building regardless of its level;
2) Upgraded creature dwellings are not buildings in this context;
3) The values of k and [k/2] can be found in the information window of the central tower.

The damage of a shooting tower can be increased or decreased depending on the difference between its attack and the defense of the attacking unit of the besiegers. For each unit of difference A - D, the damage increases by 10% if the tower's attack is greater than the enemy unit's defense, and decreases by 5% for each unit of difference D - A if the defense is greater than the attack:
Damage = [Base_Damage * (1 + 0.1 * (A - D))], if A >= D;
Damage = [Base_Damage * (1 - 0.05 * (D - A))], if D > A.

Notes:
1) The coefficient 1 + 0.1 * (A - D) is capped at a maximum value of 3, which is observed at A - D = 20;
2) The coefficient 1 - 0.05 * (D - A) is capped at a minimum value of 0.2, which is observed at D - A = 16.

Thus, depending on the attack/defense ratio, the resulting damage can exceed the base by three times or be five times lower than the base, but not less than 1 HP.

So,

Base_Damage = (2-3) * k (for the central tower),
Base_Damage = (2-3) * [k/2] (for the left and right towers),

A = 2 + Hero_Captain_Attack + Mage_Guild_Level,

Delta = min(A - D, 20), if A >= D,
Delta = max(A - D, -16), if A < D,

Damage = [Base_Damage * (1 + 0.1 * Delta)], if A >= D;
Damage = [Base_Damage * (1 + 0.05 * Delta)], if A < D.

Note: [x] denotes the integer part (for example, [1.99] = 1), meaning the resulting tower damage is an integer and the fractional part is truncated, unlike the damage of regular units, where it is rounded, i.e., for regular units Damage = [x + 0.5]

Since a tower is formally a shooting unit with a number of combat units equal to the number of constructed buildings in the town, base damage is generated separately for each combat unit (it can be 2 or 3), so damage from the center of the range [Min_Damage..Max_Damage] is more likely. Damage near the boundaries of this segment is unlikely (the higher the value of k, the higher the probability of damage from the center of the range and the lower the probability of damage near its boundaries: the probability distribution curve resembles a bell).

II Defensive Moat
The defensive moat serves as an obstacle for foot units and is crossed by them in two turns, i.e., to cross the moat, a unit must first enter it (this applies to units of both sides). Unlike the third part, units inside the moat receive no damage and no penalties to their stats. A unit receives a +3 attack bonus if it attacks a unit standing in the moat (exception - shooting towers: they do not receive the specified bonus). In order for foot units to enter the castle bypassing the moat, it is necessary to either force the enemy foot unit to open the gates, use the Teleport spell, or wait for them to be destroyed by a catapult.

I will describe the gates in more detail later and separately.

III Penalties for Shooting Units of the Besieging Side

The fortress wall provides protection from shooting attacks to all units of the defending side, meaning that the shooters of the besieging side receive a penalty when firing at enemy units sheltered behind the fortress wall. Visually, the presence of a penalty is displayed as a cursor in the shape of a broken arrow when hovering over an enemy unit. When firing with a penalty, the damage dealt by shooters is halved. There are rules that allow one to determine in which cases the penalty is absent (everything is quite complex here: the penalty may be absent even with half-destroyed sections of the fortress wall, i.e., when no section is completely destroyed!)

To be continued...

...
[II Defensive Moat
The defensive moat serves as an obstacle for infantry units and takes them two turns to cross, meaning that to cross the moat, a unit must first enter it (this applies to units on both sides). Unlike the third part, while inside the moat, units do not take any damage or receive any penalties to their stats. In order for infantry units to be able to enter the castle without crossing the moat, you need to either force the enemy infantry unit to open the gates, use the Teleport spell, or wait for them to be destroyed by a catapult.

I will write more about the gates later and separately.
....

Actually, the defense of a unit standing in the moat is reduced by 3. This is not visible in the stats, but it can be easily tracked by the damage dealt by the same towers. Therefore, blocking an attacking unit in the moat is often a useful tactic when defending.