Posts from Diamond Monster

03/09/2013
Iamsamstan (blue, Stronghold, Gurnisson) def. Sevan_80 (red, Necropolis, random, ?) 135
Thanks for the game!

Confirmed, thanks for the game.

Another question: can you use the Diamond DD twice in Warlord Tuesday?

Another question—in WT on Diamond, can you use Dimension Door 2 times?

In WT you can always use 2 Dimension Doors

For a _quality_ game with all heroes on all fronts on a map like, say, 8x6, a good timer is needed: 8 minutes in the stronghold or 4000+400 in the town, and anything less is just for fun, moving units around, or if the opponent is clearly weak. I won't comment on Diamonds yet, as I haven't played it even once; I'll share my impressions later.

For a _quality_ game with all heroes on all fronts on a template like, say, 8mm6, a good timer is needed: 8 minutes in the stronghold or 4000+400 in the war tower, and anything less is just for fun, moving units around, or if the opponent is clearly weak. I won't say anything about diamonds yet, I haven't played it even once, I'll write later about my impressions...)

Kobra, are you reading what Vik-Prid wrote? You'll have to sacrifice something and play faster, maybe reduce one front... And don't make a lot of useless moves, which many people really like to do now (for example, wasting time in battles, etc.). I myself played 4-5 games in this format - the last game was against a pre-sorcerer, for example - I seemed to put up a decent level of play, and I managed everything, and there was still time left on the timer - the same can be said about... Yes, this is a different format - you can't be slow and sluggish, you can't pick your nose... which, however, I like the most:smile20:

More hate!!! :)

But seriously, Heroes should be developed in this direction. Yes, there will be a few more glitches and other issues, especially at first (over time, you'll get used to it), but the ability to spend about twice as little time on the game makes a big difference.

I, on the other hand, like that it's 4 minutes. I personally played 4-5 Diamond maps, and IMHO, you don't need to think too much here. You almost always get a lot of towns, and difficult battles only happen in the late game, but when you get into one, you have time to weigh everything while the opponent is taking their turn. And 6 minutes would just drag out the game, again IMHO. For example, I found that 4 minutes was enough to move 8 heroes and build up my town.

CJIOHuK (blue, danj, shakti) def Paradox (red, Rampart, Kyrre) wt -1500 (I think) 134
I found almost no artifacts :( it was late, so I went to try casually. At 126 I saw Kyrre with large stats on 4 and 5 Wyverns, especially magic, but as it turned out later, there were only shooters there. I attacked, cast Haste on the Troglodytes, but the Wyverns still had higher speed :( I thought, now they'll cut down 1-2 of my Angels and run away. But I positioned poorly. The Troglodytes ran up and took down the Wyverns! All artifacts are mine. In the end, that was the end. Then 4 days of running around, and finally the opponent attacks a Dragon Utopia and either dies or kills it, but there were Boots and КВ. Which is lying on the side behind the Liches. In the end, he left and ГГ. And so, because of a ridiculous accident, I won :) I won't do it again :)
That's about it, thanks for the game!!!!

CJIOHuK(blue,danj,shakti) def Paradox(red, Rampart, Kyrre) wt -1500 (I think) 134
Practically found no artifacts :( it was late, so I went for it recklessly. At 126 I saw Kyrre on 4 and 5 Wyverns with high stats, especially magic, but as it turned out later only the shooters were there. I attacked, cast Haste on the Troglodytes, but the Wyverns still had higher speed :( thought they'd cut down 1-2 of my Angels and run away. But I positioned poorly. The Troglodytes reached them and took down the Wyverns! All artifacts mine. That was the end. Then 4 days of running around, eventually the opponent attacks a Dragon Utopia and either loses or kills it, but there were Boots and КВ inside. Which lies to the side behind the Liches. In the end he gave up and ГГ. So it was due to an absurd coincidence that I won :) I won't do it again :)
I think that's all, thanks for the game!!!!

Confirmed.
I didn't take a restart because of the external dwelling of Elves right under my nose, the respawn turned out crooked in the end, but I wasn't complaining about my situation. I split up, took 5 Pandora's Boxes, collected some artifacts, upgraded 11 Dwarves, and on the way I ran into Shakti who came out of a portal. Earth, Attack, Defense, Archery, Logistics — all at Expert. Better hero, more artifacts, stronger army, but within 1000 MP of dad.
In the battle I made the dumbest mistake in my entire history of playing HoMM3 online. I could have easily bought him off, brought troops from two fronts, and destroyed the opponent, but instead I decided to hit him with magic and take some bites, as a result I exposed my Dwarves to the Troglodytes' attack. Failed to calculate nine hexes correctly... 4 AM, the fifth bottle of beer, and a naked woman next to me took their toll)

Thanks for the game)

10.03.2013 JustObserver (red, Conflux, random, Ciel, Ciel) def zoog (blue, Tower, Ain, Ain) Diamond 117

Started with Ciel, in the Bless and Haste guild, and on the very first turn, through the outer tavern, captured a Rampart village. Tyraxor wants to be in the main lineup, there's Air in the university, but I decide to postpone buying it. I spread out in all directions, and found all the necessary resources for birds on the first map without any problems. Inferno village on day 114, Inferno computer on day 116, 1k in all villages and on the computer, markets, and a +2/+2 sword. Ciel with a logo + and Tyraxor went through the stat-boosting locations, resulting in 7 SP and good prospects for next week, but the opponent didn't have enough time to capture the Naga hideout, and he decided not to continue.

March 10, 2013 JustObserver (red, Conflux, random, Ciel, Ciel) def zoog (blue, Tower, Ain, Ain) Diamond 117

Started with Ciel, in the guild with bless and haste, through the outer tavern, on the very first turn, I captured a village-rampart. Tyraxor is asking to be added to the main heroes. There is air magic in the university, but I decide to postpone buying it. I expanded in all directions, easily found all the necessary resources for birds on the first map, Inferno village on 114, Inferno keep on 116, 1k in all villages and at the keep, markets, a +2/+2 sword was captured. Ciel with a log and Tyraxor went through the stat-boosting locations, resulting in 7 skill points and good prospects for next week, but the opponent didn't have enough time to capture the Naga hideout, and he decided not to continue.

Before the game, I thought I wouldn't have enough time, but I got so much money and roads that I managed to complete it in 2-3 minutes.
I haven't played Diamond in a long time - I made 2 mistakes, giving Flux on the richest template and not taking 111 (I only had 1 road, and <3x is a must-have rest), I fell for the native village and Alkyn.
On 117, I broke through 11 horns, losing a devourer for the Naga hideout, I stood on it, started selling everything to have at least enough for 1 Naga, and missed a turn

10.03.13 c0nn3c71nkK.ppL (red, dung, Shakti, Shakti) def ariputra (blue, ramp, Ivor, Ivor) diamond 126

We started without restarts. 2 native in the tavern. The only road turned out to be blocked, no external dwellings, no cons, decided to rush on re for a meeting, but found no passage to the opponent. On the second week, 4 Dragon Fly Hives, an external dwelling of Firebirds, developed quite well, but the opponent dies to 49 Air elementals.
Thanks for the game and your time!

10.03.13 c0nn3c71nkK.ppL (red, dung, Shakti, Shakti) def ariputra (blue, ramp, Ivor, Ivor) diamond 126

Started without restarts. 2 native dwellings in the tavern. The only road turned out to be blocked, no external dwellings, no conflux, decided to run to the re for a meeting, but found no passage to the opponent. On the second week, 4 Dragon Fly Hives, an external dwelling of fire birds, leveled up quite well, but the opponent is killed by 49 air elementals.
Thanks for the game and your time!

Looks like things were really bad there...usually on 126 on diamond, Dragon Utopias are already breakable)

A small manual on fast play.

Players who only practice long controls often simply do everything faster when playing short controls, rather than actually changing their approach. However, one often needs to do things slightly differently...

I am writing this for the WT version and WT hotkeys, so some ideas might be missing or may require adaptation for SoD+HDmod.

Suggestions and feedback are welcome; the topic is quite fresh and underdeveloped.

1. General thoughts.

When playing with long controls (4000+500 and the like), players usually spend a significant portion of their time as early as the 1st week; some hit time pressure in the middle of the 2nd week, and by the middle of the 3rd, most are there.

This approach seems fundamentally wrong to me, as the most complex moves requiring deliberation occur precisely during the 3rd and 4th weeks. Therefore, I personally try to accumulate time, approaching the 3rd week with a reserve of at least 2000 seconds. Thanks to this, I have won many "running" endgames — opponents in time pressure would expose themselves, make suboptimal decisions, or only manage basic actions, missing out on additional ones. While catching a "free" papa or taking the main castle didn't happen often, killing noobs and taking secondary castles from opponents in time pressure happened constantly.

But overall, the strategy of spending time preferentially at the start of the game is quite viable, if only because so many players follow it. However, it is designed for a classic scenario: collect everything, move to the center, and crush the opponent at the end of the 2nd or middle of the 3rd week.

On short controls, however, the "cockroach races" begin from the first few days, and the accompanying mistakes do too. Therefore, what becomes important here is not so much the tempo, but the absence of "out-of-nowhere" fails — simple and reliable play can bring many victories simply based on opponents throwing the game, even before the first contact.

Also, since long moves will be required from time to time, it is desirable to have a time reserve for them. This is also needed for correcting mistakes — for example, if you accidentally enter a dangerous battle, the cost of an error increases sharply, and time is needed to make the correct decision.

Specifically on Diamond, there is an additional feature: the road network is quite rich and branched, so the phase of fighting noobs and snatching castles from each other can be very intense and time-consuming. That is, if one player reaches the contact phase with zero on the timer, and the second has accumulated 1500, it will give them a serious advantage in guerrilla actions.

To summarize, the main factors on short controls are:

a) Reliable play, absence of errors on level ground.
b) Simple play, absence of complex maneuvers requiring deliberation and accounting for non-obvious risks.
c) Economical execution of game actions, allowing time to be accumulated for complex moves in the mid-to-late game.

2. Planning actions.

You should think about your plans for the turn during your opponent's turn. That is, upon receiving your turn, you should already know exactly what you are going to do — which heroes will go where, in what sequence, and what they will do.

Similarly with battles — the formation for them should be thought out in advance, so as not to waste an extra 10-30 seconds on your own turn.

If you plan to build a chain, the placement points for the heroes should also be determined before the turn begins.

If the information allows, you can even calculate castle buildings, especially those that will be built at the beginning or middle of the turn, before the heroes finish moving.

And it is also useful to estimate how many and which resources will be available in the morning, primarily gold. If a resource trade is planned, it should also be calculated — how many and which resources to sell; sometimes this takes up to a minute. If it's unclear exactly how much money is needed, you can simply designate a "untouchable" resource reserve that cannot be traded.

3. Hero Specializations

I am referring not to in-game specializations, but to the functional role of these heroes in your game.

In games with long controls, most heroes usually act in various capacities — collecting resources, scouting, transporting troops, and even fighting. This allows for a strong game but spends a lot of time creating the optimal algorithm of actions.

Therefore, on short controls, it is desirable to give heroes a narrower spectrum of authority, specializing them in something. Obviously, depending on the situation, they can be used differently, but there should be a "default" specialization for each hero, which they will implement if there isn't enough time to find a more reasonable application.

The main specializations are: scout/free-loot collector, transporter, combatant.

Usually, it's necessary to separate the roles of scouts and transporters; often it's more profitable to simply place a hero in a chain than to calculate whether they can also snag a pile of wood off-road before that. If this is not a critical resource for building, spending 30-60 seconds here is usually not justified.

to be continued ...

Good info. For Warlord Tournament players, you could add a ranking of castle strength in quick battles, based on the ratio of attack power to losses.

... continued ...

4. Memorizing hero positions.

I often see people scrolling through the hero list looking for a specific one. This wastes time that could be saved if you remember who is where and what they are doing.

This is especially critical with 7-8 heroes, where the time lost searching for the right hero can sometimes reach 20-40 seconds per turn. The correct way to find the needed hero is with a single click right on their face.

For example, when building a chain, you need not only to remember that there is a 3-hero chain over there, but also to know each hero by sight and by name.

This saves a lot of time especially when your "loch" (fodder/decoy hero) is attacked by the computer or an opponent — knowing exactly where the attacked loch is allows you to calmly think over the changed situation on the map (the timer does not tick).

Therefore, after ending your turn, you should first click through all your heroes, memorizing who is where, with what army, artifacts, etc. Besides the goal mentioned above, this also allows you to quickly spot mistakes like forgetting to give an army/artifacts to idle heroes.

5. Sitting posture at the computer.

As a person who got into esports through StarCraft and shooters, I was surprised by the typical Heroes player's posture at the computer — left hand propping up the chin, right hand lazily clicking the mouse, body either lounging back in the chair or slumping to the right/left, etc. As if they weren't playing a competitive esports game, but browsing porn sites.

The correct posture when playing on short control should be roughly that of esports players in real-time games — back straight or slightly tensely hunched, left hand playing chords on the keyboard, right hand clicking the mouse sharply, eyes staring intently at the screen, the whole demeanor illustrating tension and concentration.

Specifically regarding the left hand's position — it should be resting near Ctrl-Alt-Shift almost all the time, not only moving there when the need arises. This saves about one second per action, which is a lot.

The same goes for other keyboard buttons — the hand should move there in advance. For example, when performing the last action in combat, you should simultaneously move your hand to the Enter key to immediately accept the battle results as soon as they appear. And don't stare at them — those extra 2-3 seconds per battle will add up to a significant amount of time by the end of the game.

6. Hotkeys

Much has been written about them, but not everyone knows/uses them even now. I've seen top players manually splitting stacks, dragging the slider, etc., more than once.

The general principle is — if a hotkey exists, you need to use it. There are few useless hotkeys even in the original Heroes, and in their extensions (WT and HDmod), there are none at all.

Everyone seems to use splitting single units and gathering them, but not everyone uses, say, the transfer via Ctrl-Alt.

Example — the very start of the game, you put your starting hero into the inner garrison and buy a second hero, and you need to transfer his army to the first hero. Here's what I've observed many top players, including Alex, doing — click elves, click elves, click dwarves, click dwarves, click centaurs, shift-click centaurs, drag the slider all the way right, click OK. That's 7 clicks and 1 slider.

When playing with short control, you shouldn't do that.

The correct algorithm: ctrl-shift-click Centaur, ctrl-alt-click Centaur, ctrl-alt-click Dwarves, ctrl-alt-click Elves. That's 4 clicks. Moreover, these clicks are ergonomically arranged in a row from left to right, not up-down-diagonally, which forces longer aiming time.

In general, the slider should not be used under any circumstances — fast keys suffice for almost all tasks, and for non-standard stack splitting, you should type the quantity on the keyboard, which is faster even considering the time spent on calculations.

Also, not everyone uses the ctrl-alt-shift key (splitting evenly among free stacks). For example, if you need to split 36 wolves into stacks of 1-1-17-17, you do it as ctrl-shift-click + ctrl-shift-click + ctrl-alt-shift-click (if the other 3 stacks are filled with goblins/orcs), which with fast hands takes 1-2 seconds, while using the slider takes at least 5 seconds, or more.

In HDmod, by the way, this operation is even more refined — ctrl-click + ctrl-click + shift-click, the same number of actions, but easier to press, and there's no dependence on the number of free slots.

I'll also note that many people fail at standard SoD hotkeys — ending the turn, viewing the opponent's turn, sending a hero on a route, putting a hero to sleep/waking them, switching underground/overworld, Enter for various confirmations, etc. All of this should be done from the keyboard, not by clicking icons on the screen.

to be continued ...