Posts from Druid Island REMASTERED Auto-translated

To post 14: I also noticed the passivity of the demons and orcs. I decided not to bother them until I take everything I need on my territory. Result: I'm level 28 with a set of archer items and 100 master-level units, but I haven't even seen any enemies yet. I won't start over for now; I'll finish the game this way.
P.S. Maybe place some neutral orcs and demons on the elven territory, even if just a few? Just so you can choose your sworn enemies in advance.
P.P.S. In some places, the neutral units on the mines block the road, which is a bit annoying. Maybe you could move them somehow?

I've added the option to choose heroes/starting bonuses again - I haven't changed anything else, although it wouldn't hurt to do a thorough edit of the text for spelling and punctuation ;) (you can upload this file to your message later)

Thank you very much, I will now use this version as a basis.

Added 18 minutes ago

Regarding post 14: I also noticed the passivity of the Demons and Orcs. I decided not to interfere with them until I take everything I need on my territory. Result: I'm level 28 with an Archer set and 100 Master units, but I haven't seen any enemies yet. I won't start a new game for now, I'll finish this one.
P.S. Maybe place some neutral Orcs and Demons on the Elven territory, even if just a few? Just so that it's possible to choose sworn enemies in advance.
P.P.S. In some places, the neutrals on the mines prevent passage along the road, which is a bit annoying. Maybe move them somehow?

The Orcs are the most passive. I don't know what the computer is waiting for, but it's very reluctant to conquer territory.
The Demons are playing very well. Today, while playing as the Orcs, I observed them. They have taken back all three of their Castles and have almost cleared their territory. By the end of the second month, they were the most numerous Faction and were already preparing to sail to my shores. By the way, during the game, they also repelled an attack by the Elf on their territory. Although they are not very eager to attack others.
The most aggressive, as I already wrote, is the Elf. He immediately rushes to other territories and doesn't hesitate to approach the Castles. On the one hand, this is good, but on the other hand, if he is defeated a couple of times, he will still sit on his island and build up an army for the next attack, but will still ignore the Castles. That is, in the long run, he can be easily defeated by a war of attrition, repelling a couple of his rushes.
Although, when the Demon defeated him today, the largest army and the strongest hero, if you believe the rumors in the tavern, were still Elven.

I am now thinking about opening passages in the mountains towards the Elven Castles and placing shipyards there. That is, there will be three exits from the island, not one. This will encourage the computer to behave more in accordance with the storyline and capture the Castles of its Faction, and may also reduce its tendency to rush.
I think I will remove the one-way portals.
In general, I will try today - if the idea is successful, I will implement it.

Regarding the Orcs and Demons on the Elven territory...
Well, it's possible in principle, although what Orcs, let alone Demons, could be on the island, which is inaccessible to them. Perhaps I will place a couple somewhere near the Castle on the left. And it would be quite generous to allow the Elves to choose their sworn enemies in advance. As it turns out, the Elves are quite strong.


And regarding the neutrals...
It is possible to move them, although the Elves have very little space - the island is small and there is not much room to maneuver. And there is also not much territory around the other Castles.
In addition, these monsters perform two tasks at once - they block the road and prevent access to the mine.
But I will take a look, maybe I will find some serious problems with this.
Just yesterday, playing as the Orcs, I made a couple of such changes so that the player does not stand idle for too long at the beginning of the game in front of strong monsters on his path.

I always played as the Elves. The Orcs were a real nuisance. They kept coming through the portals, while the demons had already been captured by the Orcs by that time. Basically, the Orcs first defeated the demons and then invaded the island, just as the scenario describes.
On the island, you don't need to imprison the "sworn enemies," the Orcs and demons, otherwise it will be too easy.

Okay, noted. Valuable information – I was already thinking that the orcs were completely wiped out.

PS – by the way, regarding portals.
This is another reason to open a passage on the side of the elven castles and remove the portals, because if orcs or demons capture elven cities before the elves do, or recapture them, they will then end up right under the elves' "capital" on the island through the portal.
I don't think that's a good idea.

On the contrary, this is what keeps things exciting. You need to have a strong enough hero on the island. If there is no portal, catching the orcs at sea is not difficult. But without a portal, it will be boring: you develop two heroes and crush the evil on their lands, without thinking about your own.
Also, I noticed: the two orc cities are not captured by them; they strive for the main one - on the island.

By the way, even in the first version (I played as elves and without the AI mod), the orcs first dealt with the demons – while I was clearing the island and preparing my hero... By the way, like me, the AI didn't take the remaining elven castles and immediately sailed "to visit" the orcs. So, the AI is acting logically. I think it would be worth making it easier for the elves to reach the castles by using two-way portals – otherwise, the point of conquering them is lost: by the time you go around the island and set up, the opponent won't be sleeping...

I don't know if this will please you or disappoint you, but here's the news...
Today, I played as the Elves on Veteran difficulty. I noticed that it's easiest to play as the Elves because their territory is small, and everything is very compact. Consequently, in a shorter amount of time, you can accomplish much more. As a result, the effectiveness of each turn is higher for the Elves than for all the others, because, among other things, the others have to cover considerable distances.
Furthermore, it's easiest to clear the map with them, thanks to their archers. Throughout the game, playing as three different factions, I had the fewest losses while advancing with the Elves.

As a result, I decided that the number and quality of monsters on the island need to be changed, which I did. As a result, the number of most monsters increased, and some were replaced with higher-level monsters.
Everything was done without excessive zeal, and overall, playing as the Elves is now no easier than playing as any of the other factions. The computer didn't seem to notice these changes much; it still rushes as before, but personally, I liked the latest unit placement better. As a reminder, I'm playing on "Veteran." I think it was even easier on "War."

The second significant change is that instead of one shipyard, the Elves now have two. You can find out where they are located, but I removed the old shipyard. This slightly slowed down the computer-controlled Elves and directed them towards the free cities. It seems to have worked.
I haven't touched the portals yet; they remain one-way and in the same locations. I don't know if I did the right thing or not. Initially, I placed them so that the Elves could quickly transport caravans to their capital, but with the current location of the shipyards, the portals are no longer that necessary. We'll see.

By the way, can you tell me if the portals actually fulfill their function, i.e., if caravans pass through them? If not, then they are completely useless.

And thirdly, I accidentally found a serious problem: the bridge didn't work for the Orcs; it was impassable. I didn't understand why; I checked it for passability in the editor many times, and there was no blockage. Perhaps the stones under the bridge interfered, which I removed. Now everything is fine.

In the first post, I made a note to download this version because it is the latest and, to date, the most revised for the better.

By the way, can you tell me – do portals actually fulfill their function, i.e., do caravans pass through them? If not, then they are completely useless.

Yes, they do.

ATTENTION!
Major update!

Dear friends, since the last update, I have been working on the map as much as possible, and I want to share the results of my work with you.
This time, the update is truly significant. I won't promise that this is the last update, because that's always what it seems like, but we're getting close.
The map has been played through by me several times for all factions on "Veteran" difficulty. Some minor technical issues were identified, for example, some monsters/resources were located in red zones, and some areas were impassable. All of this has been fixed. The balance has been significantly revised. This is where the main changes lie.
I will try to briefly describe the changes in this version:

- A lot of attention has been paid to the friendly/hostile/wild parameter of monsters, which determines the monster's mood and willingness to join a hero. Since most monsters on your territory will initially be from your faction, there was a lot of randomness. In other words, 66 druids or 50 archers could suddenly join you. Or they might not. This, in turn, significantly affected the balance. Now, the randomness is strictly limited, and the number of monsters that can join is controlled and approximately the same for all factions.

- The number of buildings in cities that need to be captured has been revised and changed in accordance with the time when these cities can be captured by the player. In other words, if one player has the opportunity to capture a castle earlier, and another later, then the latter's castle will initially have a larger number of buildings already constructed.
The garrisons in the castles have also been adjusted.

- The number of gold mines has been revised and changed in accordance with balance considerations. Now, if all three factions have completely cleared their territories and control them, they will receive approximately the same amount of gold. Some randomness is present, as someone may receive an additional, unplanned gold bonus of +1k on the map, or someone may find gold in an abandoned mine, but in general, the balance has been maintained.

- Inferno and Elves have been given a few more external structures for recruiting units.

- One of the most important changes in this version:
The Tear of Ash has appeared on the map. However, its location is designed so that only Orcs can find it.
This is because the Orcs have only two cities instead of three. As practice has shown, additional gold mines and external structures for recruiting units cannot fully compensate for the lack of a third city. That is why the Orcs now have the opportunity to find the Tear of Ash, which balances the game and adds a lot of variety.

- Inferno and Orcs have received bodyguard units. They join the hero at the very beginning of the game, don't miss them! For Inferno, it's the "Archdemon," and for the Orcs, it's the "Warlord" squad. This was done for a faster and easier start, as the monsters on the map are difficult.
The Elves do not have bodyguards.

- The key monsters on the map have finally been given dialogue.
Many thanks to Ment for spending the time and writing the scripts skillfully.

These are the main changes. In addition, I have changed the number or position of some monsters so that there is no situation where a strong unit stands in the hero's path first, followed by a weaker one. This was the case in some places and interfered with the game, as sometimes it was necessary to skip several turns to gather an army and avoid unnecessary losses.
Now the map is more dynamic.

By the way, the fog of war actually works on the map; it's just that if you open the fog of war, it's not visible, but when the hero sails into an area with fog, it's there. If you remember, in the first post, I complained that this effect didn't work.

The next major goal for the map is to make it multiplayer.
If anyone knows how to do this, please write to me or do it yourself and upload it.
In its current form, this map is more suitable for multiplayer, as the map is interesting, and the computer will always be slow and not use most of the tactical moves/opportunities/advantages.
It would be great to play this map with real people.

I have also included a mod in the archive with the map, which I use to play this map.
This is a mod to improve the AI for the computer, so that it more often takes the necessary skills and uses them more often.
I also recommend a mod to change the appearance of Ents to the beta model and a mod to unlock heroes from the campaign.

The map was tested on "Veteran" difficulty. I adjusted everything specifically for this difficulty, so don't say that it's easy to play if you play on "War."

Thank you all!
I look forward to your comments.

Since you’ve just started, it’s too early to ask for more. My impression of the map changed with each new playthrough.

Specifically regarding mercury – wouldn’t it be too much for the Orcs to get so many resources at the start? The mercury mine was deliberately placed further away to somehow control the number of Cyclops that can be produced as early as the first week.
Hint: build a warehouse, and you’ll have mercury.

Regarding overabundance – it’s better to have too much than too little.
And seriously, the number of monsters is high because players start with developed cities, plus there are many external structures for hiring. If there were fewer monsters, the map would be cleared too quickly.

Added 3 minutes later
By the way, of all three factions, the Orc start is the most difficult. Be prepared to defend against demons around the end of the third week. However, in the long run, it’s easiest to play as Orcs in the later stages of the game.
In general, I’ve played this map several times with all three factions; it’s just easier to play as some, and more difficult as others.

I can only say that you are probably very skilled, because by the end of the third week, I am usually level 17-18.
By the way, a +10 Cyclops increase is only possible if you have fully upgraded two castles, and if, in addition to them, you have captured all 4 outer dwellings scattered throughout the territory. If you achieve these results by the end of the third week, then I take my hat off to you.
For example, by this time, I only manage to capture one (maximum two) out of the 4 dwellings, and my Cyclops increase is +4.
By the way, a very angry Inferno hero, level 22, usually comes to visit me around this time, and a battle with him will make me forget about boasting about a large army for a long time.
In general, I don't understand - what are you complaining about? It seems like you are saying that the game is easy, but you are asking for mercury. This is the condition that limits your incredible skill.

Regarding the large number of outer dwellings.
The Orcs have a lot of them because they don't have a third castle. This is compensation for that. Others have fewer, but still enough.
The map is not small; each Faction has two paths for attack, and according to the plot of the battle, it is large-scale, so the armies will be large.
Regarding

running around with legions in your army

, I didn't understand, because I haven't seen these legions even once. There was a time when I accumulated 1k goblins closer to the end of the second month... But if you don't like large armies, maybe this map is just not for you.

In any case, I am currently away on business, as I wrote in previous posts. During the next month or so, I will not be able to make any changes to the map.
I hope that during this time, someone else will provide feedback on the map, because I don't really want to change anything in the map based on the feedback of only one person.

I'll come and we'll figure out what and how to change.
Right now, I can't, even if I wanted to. Maybe in the meantime, a couple more suggestions will come in.

And by the way, I'll say it again - the map was conceived as a large-scale battle, with large armies and cool heroes, so don't be surprised by the large bonuses.

Added after 8 hours 20 minutes
By the way, I have a question - I still don't understand if external dwellings also increase the bonus in castles, in addition to the fact that you can recruit units in them? I'm interested in how much and how?

For each type of monster in the outer dwelling, there is a +1 bonus to the growth of the corresponding unit in the Castle. In other words, if goblin huts are placed outside, the Castle will have a +1 bonus to goblin growth. If there is an outpost with several monsters, there will be a +1 bonus to each of those types in the Castle.

Something doesn't add up. I have a fully upgraded Castle and 4 Orc Outposts (where you can recruit Cyclops). The Castle provides a +7 bonus to Cyclops recruitment. What is the standard Cyclops recruitment bonus in a fully upgraded Castle? +6, I think? Where does the seventh Cyclops come from then? Or does the number of these outposts not matter? Meaning, whether there's one or ten, the city still only gets a +1 bonus?

the math is simple: 2 Cyclops per Castle, 4 per outer dwellings (1 per dwelling). So, where does the extra one (the 7th) come from? And here, I think, there was no magic involved – there must be a Tower of Han built in this city ;) (2 + 1(50%) + 4 = 7)