Posts from - A reference guide and manual in Russian for Heroes 3.

This is an amazing reference guide... a truly monumental effort!

Yes, yes... years and years of work... :)
Thank you for the flattering feedback, but the signature under your post looks a bit ambiguous after your words... read your previous post as a whole... ;)

Greetings to all fans of the Heroes of Might & Magic III universe!

Allow me to invite you to participate in a project dedicated to creating a reference guide for HoMM III.

The topic itself is not new. There are many separate resources devoted to describing the physics of the Heroes world, but no matter how hard you try, it is extremely difficult to find an information source that can be unequivocally classified as a reference manual.

This work does not claim originality and is the result of compiling various official (Player's Manual) and unofficial (forums and websites) sources dedicated to describing the inner world of the game.

You can find the file in Excel format at this link:
http://homm3world.narod.ru/index.html

At the moment, work on the project is not yet fully completed, if it is even possible to complete it... :) Therefore, I would be grateful if anyone wishes to take part in it and share their opinions, knowledge, and advice. The updated version of the document will be posted at the specified address for all those who wish. A link to the author will definitely be included :)

Not all the information indicated in this reference book can be considered official, because it contains observations and assessments of players who wished to share their opinion about the features of the game. But nevertheless, in general, it достаточно realistically reflects the Physics of the Heroes World and will undoubtedly be useful to any beginner.

Given the above, any comments, clarifications, and explanations are welcome. Also valuable will be any suggestions regarding a more optimal form of presenting the information provided.

Sincerely,
AmberSoler

Thank you very much. I've been trying to do something like this for a long time. I have collected a little more information, including strategies for developing various Castles, descriptions of Campaign walkthroughs, tips on conducting battles, etc.
I can send it if needed.

I posted the reference guide on our forum: /topic/at/32321/

Dear AmberSoler, I have a few thoughts on how to improve this incredibly useful guide.
-The brief descriptions of the specializations are a bit unclear. For example, you could explain that "Attack" increases the percentage of the "Attack" skill by 5% per level, rather than the attack itself.
-The "Magic" skill - it's interesting that the percentage of creatures resurrected is not based on the number of creatures killed, but possibly on the amount of HP of the creatures killed. I'm not sure. It's also unclear how many undead creatures are resurrected when the "King of the Undead's Cloak" artifact is present, since fewer ghosts are resurrected than skeletons, and fewer liches than ghosts.
-The specialization for a specific type of creature adds +1 to speed (this is clear), and also "Increases the Attack and Defense skills of any creatures of this type for each level reached after level X" - how is this to be understood? Does it mean that every X levels, +1 is added to attack and defense, i.e., at level X, +1, at level 2X, +2, etc.?
-Specialization for a spell: "Enhances the spell, in comparison to the hero's level and the target's level (the bonus is higher when used on weak units)." How much does it enhance it? It's not based on the difference between the hero's level and the target's level (I've tested it).
-I'm curious, where can I find the "mysterious MP" (movement points) for heroes? It would also be helpful to have information about the correlation between MP and the fullness of the "green bar." How many MP does each plus sign above the full bar represent? Can the number of MP be greater than with 3 plus signs?
-On page 26 (Determining the size of a neutral army for different versions of HMM III), in the column for 'The Shadow of Death', 1-4 is indicated as "few," but in my version of SoD, it's "several." Could a patch to version 3.2 change the name of the size? (I have version 3.00).
-On page 46 (Analysis of the effectiveness of units of each castle and overall impression), in my opinion, a more detailed description of the features of city development, tactics, and strategies when playing with them could be added. I want more!

I haven't been playing Heroes for very long to make discoveries in the "physics of the world," but as a beginner, I can appreciate the accessibility and functionality of this guide (I think I phrased that well :)).
P.S. This guide is simply amazing!!!

With all due respect to you, AmberSoler, on page 21 (Damage Calculation in Battle), the damage calculation is not entirely correct. I suggest the following formulas: Let U = from (Number of creatures * minimum damage of one unit) to (Number of creatures * maximum damage of the unit) Then: ......{U*(1+K/100)*(1-[D-A]*0.025) when A is less than D U1={ ......{U*(1+K/100+[A-D]*0.05) when A>=D where K=0 if our hero does not have the "attack" skill K=10 basic "attack" K=20 advanced "attack" K=30 expert "attack" K=K*(1+L*0.05) if our hero's specialization is "attack" (L is our hero's level) A - attack value D - defense value U2=U1*(1-P/100) where P=0 if the enemy hero does not have the "armorer" skill P=5 basic "armorer" P=10 advanced "armorer" P=15 expert "armorer" P=P*(1+L*0.05) if the enemy hero's specialization is "armorer" (L is the enemy hero's level) U3=U2*(1-S/100) where S=0 if the "shield" spell is not cast on the attacked unit S=10 if our hero has the "earth magic" skill at the basic level (the "shield" spell must be cast) S=20 advanced "earth magic" S=30 expert "earth magic" When calculating U1, U2, U3, if a fractional result is obtained, simply discard the fractional part. If the attacking unit is a ranged unit, the calculation is similar for the "archery" skill (0, 10, 25, 50), the "air shield" spell (0, 25, 50, 50). ======= Example: Let 99 Knights attack a Dryad Guardian, our hero has the "attack" skill at the expert level, the "attack" specialization, and the hero's level is 11; the enemy hero has the "armorer" skill at the expert level. The "Bless" spell of the basic level is cast on the Knights. Thus, U=99*9=891 K=30*(1+11*0.05)=46.5 1) Let the attack of the Knights be 15, the defense of the Dryad Guardian be 12, then: a) according to the formulas above U1=891*(1+46.5/100+[15-12]*0.05)=1438 U2=1438*(1-15/100)=1222 U3=1222*(1-30/100)=855 b) according to the reference U1=U U2=U1+U1*(A-D)*5%=1024 taking into account the difference AD U2=U2+U1*46.5%=1438 taking into account the "attack" skill U3=U2-U2*15%=1222 taking into account the "armorer" skill U3=U3-U3*30%=855 taking into account the "shield" spell As you can see, so far everything matches 2)1) Let the attack of the Knights be 15, the defense of the Dryad Guardian be 27, then: a) according to the formulas above U1=891*(1+46.5/100)*(1-[27-15]*0.025)=913 U2=913*(1-15/100)=776 U3=776*(1-30/100)=543 b) according to the reference U1=U U2=U1-U1*(D-A)*2.5%=623 taking into account the difference AD U2=U2+U1*46.5%=1037 taking into account the "attack" skill U3=U2-U2*15%=881 taking into account the "armorer" skill U3=U3-U3*30%=616 taking into account the "shield" spell By conducting a practical experiment, we are convinced that answer a) is correct, unlike b) P.S. An interesting observation: peasants ignore the "shield" spell on the attacked unit! Perhaps because of their single damage (it can't be any lower :))

Dear AmberSoler, I have a few thoughts on how to improve this most useful reference guide.

Thank you for that. You're doing a useful thing, indeed :)

- the brief descriptions of specializations are slightly unclear

Hero specializations are a topic worthy of a dissertation, nothing less. :) I'll be honest—I simply haven't had the time to dig in and verify this math, because 20% is ideas, and 80% is verifying statistics in practice and adjusting the idea... although it is interesting, there isn't always time.

for example, you could specify that "Offense" increases the percentage value of the "Offense" skill by 5% per level, rather than the attack itself.

By the "Offense" skill, you mean damage, do I understand you correctly? That is exactly how it works; you are right.

- the "Wizardry" skill - it's interesting that the percentage resurrected is not from the number of killed creatures, but perhaps from the amount of HP of the killed creatures, I don't know for sure.

If the victim's health is less than the health of the unit being raised, the calculation is based on the total HP of the victim's stack. Otherwise—on the number of units in the stack. Each stack is calculated separately (rounding down to the nearest whole number) and then the results are summed.

It's also unclear how many undead are resurrected when having the "Cloak of the Undead King" artifact, because fewer ghosts are resurrected than zombies, and fewer liches than ghosts.

The calculation is simple: we take the total HP in the victim's stack and divide it by the HP of the unit we are raising. This gives us the maximum number that can actually be raised in this case. (Or we simply take the number of units in the victim's stack—the difference between these options was written above). Then we multiply this number by a coefficient (which depends on the level of the Wizardry skill, the Wizardry specialization, and the presence of Necromancy Boosters). The result is the number of skeletons/guardians/liches... The difference lies in the fact that they have different HP values.

A chapter has already been written on this topic and will be published with the release of the new version—v.1.11

- a specialization for a certain type of creature adds +1 to speed (this is obvious) and also "Increases Defense and Offense skills of any creatures of this type for each level reached after level X"—how should this be understood—does an increase of +1 to attack and defense occur every X levels, i.e., at level X +1, at level 2X +2, etc.?

Roughly so... Attack and defense grow every X levels, where X is a variable number. I think there's a non-linear function here, and the determining factor is not only the hero's level but also the unit's level, or maybe something else... But it hasn't been possible to identify a strict dependency. In the "Discussions" section of my site, you can find a polemic on this topic; there is a lot of information there, but it still hasn't been consolidated into one piece. That's why I haven't touched upon this issue yet.

- specialization for a spell: "Strengthens the spell by comparing the hero's level with the target's level (the bonus is higher when used on weak units)." By how much does it strengthen? Clearly not by the difference between the hero's level and the target's level (checked through experience).

In theory, most hero specializations develop as the hero's level increases. But it's not a fact that this applies to spell specialists. It is quite possible that a spell specialist has a standard fixed bonus given initially which remains unchanged thereafter. I don't know for sure—it needs testing.

- I wonder where one can see these mysterious MP (movement points) for heroes?

Technically, of course this can be done, but only at the software level by creating a utility that returns these coefficients from the program's own core. Obviously, variables exist that account for the MP reserve during movement, but why do you need them? The initial movement allowance is determined based on the speed of the slowest unit. MP consumption during movement follows strict laws and depends on the terrain type, the presence of roads, and MP boosters along the way. The presence of artifacts, secondary skills Logistics and Pathfinding, as well as a Logistics specialization also matter. That's it—there are no other modifiers, and the calculation is not very complex if you know the basic principles.

Information on the correspondence between MP and the fill level of the "green bar" would also be useful. How much MP does each plus sign beyond a full bar symbolize? Can the amount of MP be greater than with 3 plus signs?

This is all just tinkering :) The indicator is quite rough and is intended to help those who don't understand the basics of logistics. Otherwise, there isn't much sense in relying on it. Two heroes starting the day with "three pluses on a green background" will be able to travel completely different distances. And this will depend on many factors.

- on page 26 (Determining army size for neutrals in different versions of HMM III), the column for 'The Shadow of Death' lists 1-4 as "few", whereas in my version of SoD, it is "several"; perhaps a patch to version 3.2 changes the name of the quantity? (I have 3.00)

I have SoD 3.2. And in my version, for a unit count of 1-4 it says "couple", and for 5-9 it says "few".

- on page 46 (Analysis of unit efficiency for each castle and general impression), in my opinion, a more detailed description of city development features, tactics, and strategies when playing them could be made. I want more :)

The format of the reference guide (please note—not a textbook) does not allow for long text expositions, and Excel is not suited for this either. There are an infinite number of tactics and strategies, while the reference guide is created only to present information that has a strictly fixed value set by the developers and is not disputed.

Do you know even one tactic regulated by the game manufacturer? :) Here—as many people as there are opinions, agree?

With all due respect to you AmberSoler, on p. 21 (Calculation of damage dealt in battle), the damage calculation is not entirely correct.

Well, let's assume the calculation is actually correct! :)\
It's just that, in my view, you presented it incorrectly:

Your version:

b) according to the reference guide
U1=U
U2=U1-U1*(D-A)*2.5%=623 considering the AD difference
U2=U2+U1*46.5%=1037 considering the "Offense" skill
U3=U2-U2*15%=881 considering the "Armorer" skill
U3=U3-U3*30%=616 considering the "Shield" spell

Below is how you should have presented it:

b) according to the reference guide
U1=U
U2=U1-U1*(D-A)*2.5%=623 considering the AD difference
U2=U2*(1+46.5%)=913 considering "Offense", or like this: U2=U2+U1*46.5%*(1-[D-A]*2.5%)=913
U3=U2-U2*15%=776 considering the "Armorer" skill
U3=U3-U3*30%=543 considering the "Shield" spell

Because the text says literally the following: "If the attacker has the Offense skill, then damage U2 is increased by... 30%" (or 46.5%, as in our case). In other words, you added a portion of base damage without reducing it by the corresponding coefficient considering the AD difference. After all, in cases where offense is less than defense, the victim's "defense bonus" reduces all attacker parameters... Review carefully once more what is written in the reference guide and compare it with your interpretation.

And another thing—you consider the spells "Shield" and "Air Shield", but you don't touch upon ones like "Stone Skin", "Precision", "Bloodlust", etc. In my view, they shouldn't be included in the formula at all. Spells modify initial conditions and each acts in its own way. For the same reason, the effect of Offense specializations is not mentioned there, as they simply modify the secondary skill Offense...

But damage calculation depends on the attack and defense of units, as well as the secondary skills Offense and Armor for heroes... The topic was dedicated specifically to this fundamental question. And I wouldn't want to complicate it, because in that case, many more things would need to be added.

Now, as for the form of presenting the calculation itself—it is not entirely strict, not mathematical... :) And here I agree with you.

Initially, I had the thought of modifying it by linking it to formulas. However, over time, I decided that a step-by-step description of the mechanism is still more visual and acceptable for understanding. And this is more important than the strictness of formulas. But I like your way of presenting the material. Let's just have me provide your calculations and unified formulas as a system of equations below :) Those who need it will figure it out!

- I haven't been into heroes long enough to make discoveries in the "physics of the world", but as a Новичок, I can appreciate the accessibility and functionality of this reference guide

Thank you and good luck in your battles!

P.s. I will be glad for any questions or comments...

Respectfully,
AmberSoler

Another update to the guide.

2.13.2 Neutrals. Troop Distribution Across Stacks During Battle

This article reveals the relationship between the number of neutral troop stacks and the strength of your army. It also shows the influence of the grid cell coordinates on which the neutral unit is located.

2.15 How Necromancy Works: The Shroud of the Lich King in Action

Essentially, this is one of the most reckless and overpowered artifacts in the game. This article reflects the main laws that govern this artifact, and also provides a detailed "post-mortem analysis" that will help you assess in advance how many of which units your hero will raise after successfully completing a battle with an opponent.

2.16 Resources at the Start of the Game

Here you can see many numbers that are usually hidden from the player. What quantity of resources your kingdom initially has, and most importantly – the computer opponent's kingdom, depending on the difficulty level you choose at the start.

As always, any questions and comments are welcome.
http://homm3world.narod.ru/index.html

Sincerely,
AmberSoler

Yes, the guide is excellent. Thank you for the titanic effort.
Regarding the guide:
1. On page 51, I think it wouldn't hurt to add that if the hero has all unit stacks full, and the skeletons, zombies, ghosts, and liches are already upgraded, then the summoned units will also be upgraded.
Also, in my opinion, the effect of the Cloak of the Undead King is ambiguous in this case - example:
We kill 1000 Arch Devils with Isra (upgraded and with the Cloak of the Undead King):
- we raise 1000 Liches - if the Liches in the army were unupgraded;
- and apparently 60% - if the Liches are upgraded.
2. It would be nice to add a page describing the bugs.

Yes, the reference guide is excellent. Thank you for the titanic effort.
Regarding the guide:
1. On page 51, I think it would be useful to add that if the hero has all unit stacks filled, and the skeletons, zombies, ghosts, and liches are already upgraded, then the summoned units will also be upgraded.
Also, in my opinion, in this case the effect of the Cloak of the Undead King is ambiguous — example:
We kill 1000 Arch Devils with Isra (upgraded and with the Cloak of the Undead King):
- We raise 1000 liches — if the liches in the army were unupgraded;
- And apparently 60% — if the liches are upgraded.
2. It would also be nice to add a page describing the bugs.

In my opinion, not 60%, but one and a half times less — meaning 66,(6)%, although to be honest, this indicator may depend on the level of the specialty upgrade. Yes, honestly, this point — the calculation for upgraded units — I can't explain yet, unfortunately... :) That's why I didn't include it. I need to dig into it, but there isn't enough time for everything.

Regarding bugs — initially the project was created within the framework of Heroes Portal — discussion of bugs is prohibited there, and that's why I didn't touch on that topic... And now I probably would include it... Only I don't have a complete enough list of bugs, which is why I'm not adding this section. If such information happens to come my way, I will definitely add it :) Or maybe I should specifically start a topic on our forum? Let everyone who knows anything about the subject write down their observations...

No sooner said than done. Everyone, please come here:
/topic/at/51590/

Or maybe the number of upgraded units isn't calculated as a percentage of the non-upgraded ones, but depends on the number of hit points of the upgraded units relative to the hit points of the non-upgraded ones? (i.e., the number of non-upgraded units depends on their strength and the number of units killed, while the number of upgraded units depends only on the number of non-upgraded units, converted to hit points, plus rings and potions are also taken into account).
Did I make myself clear? :) :) :)

Or maybe the number of upgraded units is not calculated as a %% of the unupgraded ones, but depends on the number of hit points of the upgraded ones recalculated to the number of hit points of the unupgraded ones? (i.e., the number of unupgraded units depends on the "fatness" and number of slain enemies, while the number of upgraded ones depends only on the number of unupgraded units recalculated to hit points, plus various rings and vials are factored in).
Did I express the thought clearly? :) :) :)

I see. :)

Only at first glance, the math doesn't seem to "add up"... The difference in "fatness" for Liches is 30% (30 HP vs 40 HP), whereas in the case of the unupgraded version, Cloak of the Undead King raises it by 50% more... There is an indirect relationship; we need to test it under different scenarios (specialist in Necromancy vs non-specialist, different skill levels, presence of Necromancy amplifiers, etc.). Later, maybe we can derive an empirical relationship...

Well yes, most likely 66.6%. I didn't remember exactly, because I experimented with the Cloak of the Undead King a long time ago, and the results got lost somewhere. I only remember that for specialists (Isra and Vidomina), upon reaching a certain level, the resurrection rate rises to 100% of the hit points of the killed army (converted to the hit points of the raised units, of course) or the number of creatures, and then it doesn't increase further.
As for the bugs, I didn't mention them by chance - the "Best of the best" Tournament is currently underway, and using known game bugs is prohibited there. I don't know them, so I asked the question in the relevant thread, but I still haven't received an answer :(

Are you sure that the Cloak of the Undead King works the same way when raising Liches and when raising Zombies? :) Especially regarding the risen/non-risen ones :)

Or maybe the Cloak of the Undead King doesn't affect the number of risen at all? Perhaps Necromancy governs that, and the Cloak of the Undead King only adds a +% to Necromancy?

But maybe the Cloak of the Undead King doesn't affect the number of raised undead at all? Maybe it's Necromancy that rules, and the Cloak only adds +% to Necromancy?

Necromancy turns a certain percentage of destroyed units into Skeletons - the math is simple there... But modifying those Skeletons into other units - that's the work of the Cloak of the Undead King and only it...

Necromancy turns a certain percentage of destroyed units into skeletons - the math is simple there... But modifying these skeletons into other units - that's the job of the Cloak of the Undead King and only that...

Ehhh, nooo, my good fellow, that's not what I mean :)
Because even without the Cloak of the Undead King, if all your stacks are full and there are no plain skeletons, after the battle they will give you upgraded skeleton archers. :)

That's what I mean :) and the Cloak of the Undead King might not affect the number of upgraded skeletons, but only the number of non-upgraded ones, from which all this samba-lambada then proceeds. :)

After all, even without the Cloak of the Undead King, if all your stacks are full and you have no basic skeletons, the game will give you basic skeleton minions after the battle. :)

A basic test showed that in a case where all of your hero's stacks are full, and among the units there are only upgraded versions of the ones we are considering (Skeleton Warrior, Zombie, Wraith, Power Lich), then the number of units raised with the Cloak of the Undead King will be one third less, i.e., 2/3 of the calculated amount.

Moreover, this factor does not depend on any other conditions.