Posts from Tournament edition for online play in Heroes of Might and Magic V.

TE is going mainstream, and that's a good thing.

In my humble opinion, it's still too early for it to go mainstream. Much has been done, much remains undone, and much has been done, but not quite as it should be. If the difference between the mediocre TE and Shades of Darkness is huge, obvious at first glance, and in favor of the amateur version, then for the fifth installment, everything is not so clear-cut. If in 3.1 they cosmetically fix at least half of what is expected, then I don't see any point in TE (in its current version) at all, except for a significant complication of the OS path. And the brutal reshuffling of heroes and monsters causes, at the very least, polite bewilderment.

I understand that there will be a lot of criticism and so on. But I want to immediately note that THEY are strong online players, that is, the best of those who could work on balancing. Therefore, I would advise not to be skeptical from the start, but to try it first. Second, it has already been tested in online tournaments, and players like it. The variety is increasing. The mod is supported by Aurelain (the author of SkillWheel), and the documentation is also constantly growing. I'm not saying that the version is already final, but a start has been made, and THEY is already much more playable than the standard version. In addition, the mod fixes bugs made by the developers (roads on snow, wells, Silanna's trees, stables, etc. in the Random Map Generator). Regarding the drastic changes to the monsters, each change is justified by balancing. If it is not clear at first glance, you can ask a question, and you will be happy to receive an answer. There is no need to perceive everything with hostility. And the standard version with invisible units, overpowered units, machines in general, and the lack of variety in monster selection is falling further and further behind. Perhaps some of the changes from THEY will be included in 3.1; there was a dialogue with Nival about this, but it is unknown how soon this will happen. Moreover, when 3.1 is released, the mod will also evolve. This is a fact.

I understand that there will be a lot of criticism and so on. Therefore, I would advise not to be skeptical from the start, but to try it first.

I tried it (I always try it first), and my impression is mixed. Moreover, I have some doubts about the second part of the statement.

But I want to immediately note that the best online players are doing this, that is, the best of those who could work on the balance.

But let's leave that for now, because the discussion won't be too constructive.

Secondly, it has already been tested in online tournaments, and players like it. The variability is increasing.

And in how many tournaments? It seems that there was the first (trial) tournament on the League quite recently. Although, if the variability is really increasing, and not just
that they haven't found the top options yet, that's good.

Among other things, the mod fixes the developers' bugs (roads in the snow, wells, Silanna's trees, stables, etc. in RMG).

It's unlikely that anyone will object to this.

Regarding the drastic changes to the monsters – each change is justified by balancing. If it is not clear at first glance, you can ask a question, and they will gladly answer it. You should not perceive everything with hostility.

Even if I don't understand the balance of the fifth game (although I would argue with that), another question worries me: why was this particular path of "balancing" chosen? Initially, the most unbalanced part of the heroes was brought to a divine state by Horn and Co. without changing the stats of the units, only the speed of the phoenix was reduced by 2. Or am I forgetting something?

And now, to the point. There are many things that definitely need to be fixed in 3.0. I will list my own. 1. OS. It was done in TE, and I personally liked it. 2. Invisibility of hunters. It was removed, and that's good. 3. BM. It was reduced, but was there any point in lowering it to level 4? It's debatable. 4. Fix the rage that goes into the negative when absorbing damage. It wasn't done. 5. Reduce the Shield of Rage itself. It was done. 6. Armageddon should hit alternate golems. Well, at least they removed BDP from the mages, and
that's something to be thankful for. 7. BDP for necromancers. It was removed, but in a brutal way. Wouldn't it be easier to make RD not reduce HP below 20%? 8. Weaken the bonuses of Morale and Luck. It was done. It seems that many of the things that people wanted to see in the mod have been implemented, but there are also frankly disturbing moments. 1. The presence of micro-scopic changes, the testing of which should take hundreds of games:

"changeable mana" now requires "sense of the elements".

Chaos

Increased damage at the advanced level!!! For the following spells, Armageddon – 20+20*spellpower, Earth Shock 30+30*spellpower. Advanced Deep Cold 20+20*spellpower,

Gave earth elements an aura of courage (minimum 3 morale)

The list can be continued. 2. Dangerous changes that introduce new imbalances.

Lucretia was given attack and eternal slavery instead of spellcasting. All vampires were given 6 life points per level. The stats of old vampires were changed to 12/6, and new ones to 6/12. Life drain now gives 75% instead of 50%. The initiative of old vampires was made 12.

Dira was given the master of the phoenix, gave the lord of the earth, gave mines in the book.

Kragg Hack increased the bonus damage to 7.5% per level.

Again, the list can be continued.
Summing up all of the above, the idea of TE itself is wonderful. But for now, at least, we should remember the school course of physics and mathematics and act by the method of SUCCESSIVE APPROXIMATIONS. First, fix the most obvious things + bugs, and then test it thoroughly, maybe for a year. And then make more minor changes.

I'm glad there's a constructive attitude. This is a completely different conversation. I can't answer all the questions, but I will definitely invite Lyosha to join this discussion.

And how many tournaments? It seems like there was a first (trial) tournament on the League quite recently. Although, if the variety is really increasing and not just that they haven't found the top options yet, that's good.

As far as I know, HP is also playing on the Test Environment extensively.

my ICQ is 395049982 - if you have any questions, feel free to contact me there. I'll respond to the Fireball's comments: 1. "Minor changes that need to be tested in 100 games." (I'll say right away that we've already played far more than that.) I personally played about 30 games, and that's the minimum. So: "Mutable Mana" requires a sense of the elements (previously, the Warlock's gameplay revolved around "Arcane Wave"), and there isn't a single faction where any of the native perks play a role anywhere. Plus, this is an incentive for Warlocks to actually level up "Sense of the Elements" because it's powerful. "Chaos blah blah blah." I only changed the damage at the advanced level (meaning the damage at the expert level remains the same); otherwise, the Orc's "Chaos Dampening" would reduce the damage too much, making it much more of a priority than other skills (in my opinion, all dampening skills should be "equal"). "Gave Earth elements +3 morale always" - Earth elementals used to be the most desirable for ALL factions, and this is at level 4 (where there are many dangerous creatures like Archmages or Druids). Since level 4 often appears on pathways, it often created an "unfair situation": one Archmage for one player, Earth elementals for another. Now, not only will overpowered random heroes with 1 Fury (or Pixies) not be able to easily kill level 4 creatures, but it won't be such an easy advantage for the main hero either. But I didn't make them overpowered (Archmages are still much more dangerous). 2. "Dangerous changes" "Lucretia with attack" and "Vampires with changed stats and improved healing" - The Necropolis faction is inherently very difficult to balance. You could say that on most maps (especially on many fast-paced templates), the Necropolis faction is already unbalanced, and the fact that I slightly improved Lucretia doesn't really change anything. And even where the Necropolis faction can be effective, Lucretia doesn't guarantee victory. But even so, Lucretia is good, but Orson or Casper are no worse; before, she was essentially a useless hero. I just brought her up to par with the others. "Dyra with mines" - I don't understand how Dyra could be dangerous: her spellpower is zero (it grows slowly for the Elf, and Blue Druids won't appear anytime soon). Plus, summoning is very strong for the Elf (for example, in combination with Rain, the Hive turns into Hell), but it's a risk - because you might not find the spell - I think that there should be at least some incentive to take that risk. "Kragg" is strong, and everyone is used to the fact that he is very strong in 3.0. But first, I slightly weakened the Orcs, so Kragg automatically stops being overpowered (the troops are weaker, the Shield of Fury is smaller, there are much fewer "good" features, and it's harder to get to them). And here's a hero who will almost never cast spells (because damage is his priority). So, I think (and numerous games specifically against and with Kragg on the test server also showed) that if he isn't buffed, he will start to fall far behind Haggeesh.

The version for Tournaments 1.4b is now available – this is the latest version.
http://heroesleague.ru/show/2726/TE_1.4b.rar

For dedicated fans – two new templates have been added: Letos and Solntse. Let's play and enjoy.

Here is a link to a separate RMG folder (it is zipped) for those who will not play on TE:
http://www.heroesleague.ru/show/2580/Template_TotE.zip

And here is a link to all the schemes (including the schemes for the two new templates):
http://www.heroesleague.ru/show/2588/Template_schema.zip

There is also a working skill wheel for TE.
Here is the link: http://heroesleague.ru/show/2703/Custom_Skillwheel.zip
Download and use it.

P.S. I apologize that the files are uploaded on the league, but I have easy access there, plus the files will not disappear from there. If the Heroes Community management decides, you can re-upload the links on the Heroes Community website.

So, I decided to review the mod, and Moz kindly agreed to play (I, of course, lost). TE has many advantages over 3.0; it replaces a lot of things (including the long-awaited patch), and it incorporates many ideas and unfinished concepts from the developers.

In my opinion, TE looks better than 3.0 (but this is just my opinion); I understand that many people simply need to get used to it, but it's still worth trying.

P.S. Valhalla, good luck with the event! There will soon be a tournament on TE; I advise everyone to try playing it.

This was Warmonger, with respect.

Something amazing happened, which personally made me think a lot.
Several people from the Hive contacted me on ICQ and asked for help in figuring out the Tower of Eternity. Without any hesitation, not fearing to lose. I can name 5 people. And the management keeps saying that "we won't play Tower of Eternity, and no one here is interested in it." I don't want to bring up the past, but it really looks strange. So, does the management decide what games people play, or rather, what they "want" to play and what they "don't want" to play?
I would like an answer to this question. If it turns out that players can still be free in their right to choose what to play (and 5 people is already a significant number, if they want it, many others will want it too), maybe then such statements shouldn't be made????

I am very happy for those 5 people who contacted me and decided to figure out Tower of Eternity; what to play, how, and with whom is everyone's right, and no one has tried to use their administrative resources or impose their will. Dear sir_moz, try to abstract yourself from your vivid fantasies and return to the original source, and I very much hope that you will understand that the Hive is not against Tower of Eternity (this is a product of your imagination); it's just that, during this specific period of time, the Hive cannot field a prepared team for an online Tower of Eternity tournament, which was clearly explained to you in black and white. However, this topic is now closed, not least thanks to your "outstanding" negotiation skills. With respect, Leolopus.

Added after 17 minutes
As for me personally, I spend 90% of the time I dedicate to Heroes on the UBI forums, where the original version 3.0 is used. I just play and enjoy the game outside the framework of various tournaments; perhaps this is what explains my conservatism.
P.S., To avoid bringing a ballista as support, it is enough to simply discuss this before the game. Wolf, thank you for increasing the build limit:D If it were up to me, I would ban the machine control skill altogether:smile35:

I've reworked the mod for 3.1. Here's the link: http://www.heroesleague.ru/show/2752/TE_2.0.rar I also updated the skill wheel mod in the game: http://www.heroesleague.ru/show/2753/Doc_Skills_TE_2_0_HQ.rar - in high resolution, http://www.heroesleague.ru/show/2754/Doc_Skills_TE_2_0.rar - in low resolution. Here's what's been done: 1) The templates have been reworked to prevent the generation of relics with an absurd number of creatures (e.g., 20 bears). 2) The army generation has been reworked - now it generates not only upgraded units but can also mix them up. 3) The "weights" of objects have been reworked, so the maps should be more balanced. 4) I updated the skill wheel mod in the game (I haven't finished the separate skill wheel yet, but it will be ready soon). Here's what hasn't been done: 1) I couldn't solve the problem with the Dwarven Metro. It still doesn't generate free units with reasonable parameters, so the conclusion is: either agree to restart the game when spawning in the Dwarven Metro, or generate the map without it. P.S. I definitely recommend generating "resources" with -3 and "experience" with -3. This prevents an overabundance of free units but also avoids a shortage. It's the perfect balance. To get a "homeland" for each player, you need to: NOT check the "random cities" box (slightly below the "hide minimap" option), but instead, check the "random cities" box for each player individually. In this case, you will know in advance who will start with which race, but it's not a big deal (you would find out anyway). But to avoid cheating, I recommend asking a neutral person to create the map when playing "free-for-all." With the race selection system, this will work perfectly - in this case, again, don't click "random cities" for everyone, but separately check the selected races for each player.

Okay!!!!
After 2 months of waiting and constant communication with the author, I will finally do it!))
I've refined it (about 80%) to create a much more convenient, balanced, and enjoyable random map generator:

http://www.heroesleague.ru/show/2787/IRMG.rar

I highly recommend it to all players who enjoy random maps. For those who have tried it, I'll say that this version takes into account almost all of our suggestions and fixes almost all the bugs (at least all the ones we found while using the old version). Now, the maps really turn out great. And most importantly, now that the bugs with creating stacks of 500 units (e.g., 500 zombies) have been fixed, there is a real opportunity to balance and refine the template to perfection.

So:
1) This random map generator does NOT depend on the game. You can use it even when Heroes is not running. It does not affect the game itself, there are no mods. It simply creates maps and places them in the folder you specify.
2) This random map generator allows you to create your own templates and refine them to perfection (and there is a much more customizable interface here, so you can edit and change almost EVERYTHING).
3) It is very convenient to add your own templates; there are also some nice features, such as "homeland" or the ability to choose castles.

What you need to do:
1) To simply use the generator (without creating your own templates), you need:
I) Download it from the link above.
II) Install it wherever you like (it doesn't have to be in the game folder).
III) !!! Then, look at the screenshot (please forgive me for making it so simple; I just got tired of answering the same questions)).
http://img80.imageshack.us/my.php?image=startovayastrgskmx8.gif
1 and 2 on the top left are: 1 - various settings, 2 - template creation.
Now, point by point:
a) - the option to name the map (if you leave the checkbox checked, the program will name the map itself) - it's better to use your own unique names for maps, such as: "it will make demons cry and turn zombies into sausages".
b) Here, you specify the folder where you will put the maps.
c) Here, you specify the folder with the templates (the button on the left is a mega-awesome button that allows you to enable "choose a random template from that folder").
d) Here, you specify the path to the editor (in principle, you can ignore it); it's just for convenience.
e) Who's here? There's no "d".
f) - a button to choose the number of roads (not really, there are only roads between cities, roads to cities, and roads to mines). I use the third option, and I recommend it to you.
g) Map size. Here's the thing: this generator doesn't have a metro, so if you're going to generate "known templates" like a smile or a spider, remember that you need to choose a larger size (for example, for a smile, a diamond, chaos, you need Large. For a spider, a labyrinth, a shield, Letos, the Sun, M3, you need Extra Large).
h) Advanced options (I highly recommend checking the box; a small window will appear in the center where you need to set ObjectDensity to 0.110 - 0.115 - if you set it lower, it will be too empty; for example, 0.8 is almost completely empty). If you set it higher, it will be like an anthill; I personally use 0.110.
i) - additional features, such as: Chaos Week, play music when the map generation is complete, disable astral gates (a level 4 spell).
!) - Press the button to generate a map based on the selected template.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that you can also choose races at the top.

!!!! Currently, I have fixed and balanced 1 template (I'm working on it; all of them will be ready by Saturday). The Smile.
Download it, unzip it, put it in the templates folder for IRMG, and enjoy.
http://www.heroesleague.ru/show/2788/smile.zip

2) If you want to create your own template, click 2 (top left) and go for it. I won't write an instruction here because it would be "too long." For everyone who is interested, my ICQ is 395049982. I will write an instruction for creating templates later.

So, for the moderators: if you think it's necessary, create a "Random Map Generator" topic because I anticipate a lot of questions about this generator. I will also post templates there

Due to a bug found in the griffons' behavior, and simply because it was time, I updated the mod: http://www.heroesleague.ru/show/2810/TE_2.3.zip 1) Returned the water creatures to the lairs. 2) "Protect us all" now requires "Resistance" (+2 defense) from the defense skill branch; "Readiness" requires "Endurance," "Evasion," and "Tactics." 3) Weakened the "Dominate" and "Blind" spells at the advanced level (so that the "Silence" spell works properly)!!! I didn't touch the expert-level "Darkness" and "Blind" spells. 4) Returned level 6 creatures to the lairs, removed level 3 creatures from there, and placed guards on them. (Guards are only generated on IRM maps). All level 6 creatures are un-upgraded, except for the Orcish ones, which have "Power of the Orcs." 5) Returned the red griffons' behavior. 6) Returned the "Deadly Luck" spell (since it couldn't be properly implemented); it's now -1 again. 7) Returned the "Sanitary" spell (now it has "Arcane Wave" and "Chaos Wave"). 8) Gave all creatures "Education." 9) Gave Elayne back "Leadership" with "Gathering." 10) "Storm Wind" is now -20% initiative and -2 speed, as in the standard game. 11) "Lord of Storms" now pushes back 40% of the distance traveled by the affected unit

!!!I have re-uploaded all links (and simultaneously updated all files) related to TE and IRMG to the League's new FTP

http://heroesleague.ru/public/homm5/TE/Changes.doc - a file with changes.

http://heroesleague.ru/public/homm5/TE/TE_3.0.rar - The latest version of the TE mod
from 31.12.2008, called TE_3.0

Scripted additions to the mod are also available for the game:
http://heroesleague.ru/public/homm5/TE/TE_script_addition_0.62_reduced.rar
everything that the scripts add is contained in the file with changes (see above - it is highlighted in pink in the text)

!!!wheel-mod for the game
http://heroesleague.ru/public/homm5/TE/Doc_Skills_TE_3_0_1.rar

And this is everything related to IRMG, which we are actively developing and improving.
http://heroesleague.ru/public/homm5/IRMG/irmg.rar IRMG latest version 1.24

I also uploaded templates:
http://heroesleague.ru/public/homm5/IRMG/Largetemplates.rar - Largetemplates (templates for the large size)
http://heroesleague.ru/public/homm5/IRMG/Hugetemplates.rar - templates for the Huge size

Here are the template schemes separately, which will definitely be of interest to many:
http://heroesleague.ru/public/homm5/IRMG/shemi_shablonov.rar

This is the General pack:
http://heroesleague.ru/public/homm5/TE/obshi_pack.rar.

Information updated.
TE_5.2
Wheel Mod version 4.17
TE Manual
IRMG version 1.6.5
Template Schemes
Large size Templates
Huge size Templates

Why not add a feature that would allow players to somehow find out what's behind a portal without losing a unit?