pHOMM
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A question... does dealing damage in the dark with a random chance to hit a zone with unbroken guards still count as "teching"?
In general, transitions from one zone to another should always be contested (if there is no transition, then there is nothing to contest, except for a bugged passage, in which case you can use the "buyout" procedure, see below, or simply allow passage). If there is a choice, choose the guards. If you don't see a choice and want to pass through, attack the available guards (asking the opponent is not very honorable, and the assumption that the opponent has already cleared the guards is not a valid excuse), because the zone offers a benefit, and that's what you're fighting for (even if it's an opponent's zone and they've already cleared it, you still need to attack!!! because the benefit of passing through that zone is contact with the opponent, and if you want to pass through, you're looking for that contact).
I think allowing jumps and flights between zones should be allowed, but only for regular zones (i.e., not for flying from zone 1 to zone 2 and back on a 2x4 map (3)). But here's a suggestion: if there are two consecutive gates (like a teleport, portal, or just two gates in a row), you could fly/jump in such a way that you can choose which set of guards to attack. After breaking through any gate, you can use any control spell. For example, you could throw 100+ creatures into the darkness and then fly over 20 archers or black dragons.
The argument for the above is that if you already have a Hat of the Magi 5, Wings, or a Key of the Void, it means you've already defeated a Utopia with 10k value guards and the Utopia itself, or you've defeated relic guards with 20k value (or maybe it's 20, but I might be wrong, but it's still a lot), which means you're not a noob, and breaking through a gate shouldn't be a major problem (and if you barely managed to defeat the Utopia/relic, then you were the one taking the risk).
I think resource points should not be given for regular gates. For a single road leading to a gate, they should be given. Otherwise, searching for secondary resources is a complete waste of time.
As for blocking, this is the most difficult question. But the formulation about 1 day and access to a normal part of the map (let's say, with a screen size of about 20x20 cells) blocked by level 2 archers and 20+ and level 3 20+ flying units, except for upgraded golems, seems reasonable.
Please forgive me, comrades.
P.S. I forgot to describe the buyout procedure. I suggest introducing a buyout for certain bugs. It works like this: if there is a market (it must be a city market, not an external one), you can buy any valuable resource for gold. Alternatively, you can buy a hero and disband him on the same day (the hero can be fully used). If there is no tavern or market anywhere, you can either fire one of the weak units or fire 2 level 6 units, 3 level 5 units, or 4 level 4 units. Almost all of these calculations are equivalent to 2k to 5k gold (but 5k is very rare - only if there is 1 market for the entire kingdom; it's better to build a tavern and buy a hero - 3k).
I'll add that this clever method is only for the case of a bugged passage without guards and the desire to pass through that specific passage, and such passages are rarely found on the campaign map. But the idea of such a buyout can also be used for other features that have yet to be invented, just so the idea isn't lost
Инфа о разных моих проектах, по большей части геройских, тут http://phomm.narod.ru
