Posts from Offline tournament "Evil Lands".

Greetings everyone!

Since my result turned out to be an order of magnitude better than the others, I simply feel compelled to provide a description of my walkthrough.

The last tournament I participated in and won was the conquest of all Europe from the shores of Iceland. The map was a Giant map (Vikings Ahead XL), but I completed it in 14 days (which is more than 35 towns and 7 computers).
The main conquest strategy was a strike through the center of Europe.

The tactics here are quite logical and similar.

I. Breakthrough.
Goal: break through the Yellow player's line of defense and penetrate deep into their defenses as quickly as possible.
Means:
1. Without buying anyone in the Castle, the main Hero rushes to the border with yellow.
2. A secondary Hero is hired to collect resources.
3. We approach the border (Gargoyles) and hire 50 thieves.
4. The Yellow Hero defeats the Gargoyles on their last breath – we spring from the bushes and kill him!:)
5. Another one of his Heroes is within our field of vision, but it is NOT WORTH attacking him (he is 5 times weaker, but it's impossible to win because his powerful magic knocks me off my feet). There is only one conclusion – forget about the Hero and run to his Castle for magic. It was like horse racing at a Hippodrome – we ran TOGETHER (side by side) nose to nose toward his castle. IT WAS FUNNY! He reaches the Castle first, buys a boat, and gets in it. This was a JOY for me, since it is already day 121 (for me, this is the start of the week, but for him, it is NOT yet).
6. We take the castle, and with magic, we can now easily kill the Hero on the boat, BUT…
I thought that killing him wasn't worth it because there were 2 options: he would realize his Castle had been taken and land (since the boat would NOT HURT me, and I couldn't afford my own); or he might risk taking the blue player's castle (which would undermine the latter).
7. He chose the first option, which allowed me to keep the boat.

Result: We have 2 Castles and 3 Heroes, 2 ships, and a good bridgehead for further attack, and all this by the 8th day (121)!

II. Two Fronts
Goal: open two fronts in the direction of two potential opponents.
Means: Creating 4 mobile units
1. We give the first Hero the weekly Castle growth Socres + Magic, but we leave only one of each unit in the Castle. And we send him toward the Red player.
2. We put the second Hero (Socres) on a ship without an army.
3. By this time, the collector reaches the castle and will defend/attack from land.
4. Later, we hire a 4th Hero in the home Castle and put him on a ship.

I went after Red immediately on that same day 121.
But I was afraid to go after Blue – it was already too late… day 122 + one more day for landing - that's already the middle of the week (the least FAVORABLE time).
But the "Red Button" was ready - a Hero on a ship!
There wasn't enough army to SIMULTANEOUSLY hold the defense of the Yellow Castle and lead an attack on the Blue Castle. A very powerful Blue player was approaching me from the north while I was planning to attack him from the south.
Gargoyles joined this Hero, and his army looked quite impressive:
25 Gargoyles
15 Griffins
10 Archers
30 Peasants

I, on the other hand, had one of each (Druids, Elves, Goblins, Centaurs) + 45 Thieves + 30 Butterflies that joined me.
And I decided that as soon as I repelled his attack, I would immediately go on the offensive!
I gave the main forces to the Hero who went on the offensive against Red.

Result: In the newly conquered areas, we hold the defense without the help of offensive forces and prepare additional positions for attack.

III. Counter-attack
Goal: switch from defense to offense and deliver a crushing blow to the enemy.
Means:
1. To fight the advancing enemy (Blue Player) – I had to make a "Kamikaze Hero" (Mage Sandro with an army of single units)
2. As soon as I repelled his attack – 2 of my Heroes collided at sea and, joining their Army into one – one of them landed on the Blue Player's shore. This entire operation took exactly one day after the DEFENSE! (That's what a "Red Button" means). This was day 127
3. After that, it was just a matter of technique. Again, my favorite FIRST day of the week, on which I capture Castles.
4. On the Red player's front, everything is more than calm and without problems. 2 Castles have already been captured and one Red village remained (he has no Heroes left!).
5. Blue has one Hero left, who is near his last village. We surround him from 2 sides, and it so happens that one Hero takes his Village, and the other manages to reach the Hero (all this happens SIMULTANEOUSLY in one day)
6. Red's village is also captured on THIS same day – 133

Result: Everything worked out smoothly and synchronously – 2 villages and a Hero on the last day!
And I played only ONE TIME, replaying 10 times while fighting one very POWERFUL Blue player, but otherwise everything went smoothly and without stress – EASY!;)

One more tip:
When playing for speed – FORGET that you need to build anything!!!
You need to take what you have and run FORWARD!

While playing the Conquest of Europe, I captured more than 35 Castles using level 1-2 creatures!

It's the same here!
The only ones I built were OGRES – AND I DIDN'T EVEN NEED THEM!
Of level 4 and higher creatures – I only saw Hydras, but after capturing his Castle, I didn't need them anymore!

I hope this information proved USEFUL to someone!
And I created it NOT FOR THE PURPOSE of complete copying of my actions, but as a demonstrative example of a speed walkthrough of the map.

Respectfully,
Prorock.

In some ways, I got lucky: the sprites joined. The yellow Castle was capturing territory without a hero.
But mine got stuck there, and no matter what I did, I couldn't get him out. That's why I lost almost my entire army.

You didn't mention the Djinns.

I was lucky in some ways: the sprites joined me. The Yellow Castle was capturing territories without a hero.
But in my case, it got stuck there, and no matter what I did, I couldn't get rid of it. This is why I lost almost my entire army.

You didn't mention the Djinns. :)

If you move quickly towards the Yellow Castle, it won't take you seriously and will decide to take a "Sea Cruise":)!
And this is not a COINCIDENCE - I checked, it constantly made the same move.
Another move you could make is to bring your secondary Hero closer (within a move or slightly more), then the Yellow Castle will attack him, bypassing the Main Hero.
But I didn't like that, because I lose my secondary Hero, and I don't get the Boat, but I really NEED it!

Regarding the sprites:
I didn't even think about attacking them - I didn't need them, especially since they were guarding the passage from the north from the Blue Castle.
But when I found out that the Blue player, who wasn't a threat to me, was joining a pack of Gargoyles, capturing a Village, and buying Archers and Peasants there, and also, when approaching my Castle, he captures 30 sprites while breaking through the passage - I realized that I NEEDED TO DO something...
I replayed one day - and I attacked the sprites myself, and they were already on my side:).
This was the only time someone joined me, and even then, I did it so that they wouldn't go to the Blue player, because his Army was the most difficult thing I encountered during this Tournament!

Regarding the Djinns... I didn't encounter them at all... maybe I was lucky, and the Red player didn't decide to conquer the Sands too much... he only captured a mine there!

THANK YOU ALL FOR THIS GREAT TOURNAMENT, I HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT AS MUCH AS I DID!

We will definitely organize another one, and you will have a chance to show better results and get even MORE enjoyment!:)

Sincerely,
Prorock.

The only thing that bothered me was IronAxe's DEMAGOGUERY! But when I learned about the method he chose to win, it MADE ME LAUGH, and I realized there was nothing to be afraid of. :)

:) Don't you think it's inappropriate to comment on a player who took second place in the tournament in such a tone? What would you say about players who took lower places?

Added 7 minutes later
[/U]IronAxe - do you want to learn?!
THEN LEARN!
Why did I say that it made me laugh (NOT WITH MALICE, AND WITHOUT SARCASM) - you will see it yourself now.

Yes - I agree to learn! Therefore, would you consider it intrusive if I could offer to view your save files, not only for me but also for other players? Not all of them, of course, we need to think about which ones - I'm a bit tipsy right now and can't figure out which ones. I think this would be your invaluable contribution to the training of players on this portal so that they can overtake and outpace everyone else. Are you against it? I believe the answer "NO, I'M NOT AGAINST IT" would be worthy of you. I think the description is not quite sufficient - there are questions. You asked about the desire to learn - I answered. I think your save files will not be in vain for us and will enrich this portal - because I personally think that such a Walkthrough is worthy!

Good job, guys! It will make the game discussion portal better, not a place for arguing. So, Prorock, IronAxe, take a break! You both did great, and you have excellent results. To put a final touch on it – there’s a tournament for the second game. Whoever wins is right! This is a Heroes portal, not a philosophical one. Good luck!

:) Don't you think it's inappropriate to comment on a player who took second place in a tournament in such a tone? What would you say about players who took even lower places?

Yes, I agree to learn! Therefore, would you mind if I could take a look at your save files, not just for me, but for other players as well? Not all of them, of course, I need to think about which ones – I'm a bit tipsy right now and can't figure it out. I think this would be your invaluable contribution to training players on this portal to surpass and outperform everyone else. Are you against it? I believe the answer "NO, I'M NOT AGAINST IT" would be worthy of you. I think the description is not quite sufficient – there are questions. You asked about the desire to learn – I answered. I think your save files won't be wasted for us and will enrich this portal – because I personally think such a Walkthrough is worthy!

I APOLOGIZE to everyone for saying that it amused me!
I probably did wrong by explaining the REASON for my laughter only in my next message.

You, IronAxe, seem to me to be an experienced player, although I haven't met you anywhere – and it seemed STRANGE to me that you waited a whole week to start acting!
WHY, when 1 week was lost? – and that was half of my time.
And I don't understand why you rejected your second option – because it was faster!?:)

I APOLOGIZE IF I OFFENDED YOU IN ANY WAY!

I would like to hear your logic, which guided you in rejecting your 2nd option – maybe it was really faster, just not fully implemented!

And I will gladly provide any of my save files to ANYONE who wants it!
Just be warned that if you want me to reveal my strategy, I will POST the save file for everyone to see, FOR EVERYONE, and not for just one person (i.e., directly in this thread)

Sincerely,
Prorock.

Added after 1 hour 3 minutes

Good job, guys!
Discussions about the game will enrich the portal, not settling scores.
So, Prorock, IronAxe, let's call it a truce!
You are both great, you have excellent results.

To put a final touch – there is a tournament for the second game.
Whoever wins is right!
This is the Hero Portal, not a philosophical one.

Good luck!

Everything is FINE!

We are already adults and civilized people – we will resolve everything peacefully, and we don't need rematch matches to figure out who is cooler and make up!

I have already APOLOGIZED!

And I will play the second game anyway.;)

Sincerely,
Prorock

The day the Boat arrives and you board it, I already have a Hero (Socress) in the boat near the Yellow Castle... so, the Yellow Castle is ALREADY mine.

You are IronAxe, and you seem like an experienced player to me, although I haven't met you anywhere - and it seemed STRANGE to me that you waited a whole week to start acting!
WHY, because 1 week was lost? - and that was half of my time.
And I don't understand why you rejected your second option - because it was faster!?:)

Did I understand correctly that you captured the Yellow Castle on day 1-2-1 (and the Yellow player hadn't moved yet)? I have no doubt that this is possible. Because I managed to capture it even on 1-1-7. At that time, the Yellow Castle didn't have a hero defending it, but there were 10 sprites, 2 gnomes, and 1 elf, against my 3 gargoyles, 44 thieves, 38 green creatures, and 3 pigs. However, when I looked inside the fortress, I saw that there was no level 2 magic, no Stonehenge, and no horses. Also, the Yellow Castle didn't have a boat. I didn't even consider this run as a valid option. And in my officially first attempt, I started taking the Yellow Castle slowly on the first days of the second week, on 1-2-2 or 1-2-3, when, in my opinion, everything would definitely be built there. However, even in this case, the Yellow Castle didn't have a boat. Then I started looking for a save where the boat arrived to me. It was a save where my main hero was standing in front of the gargoyles on the border of the Yellow Castle (day 1-1-7). In order for me to board the boat on my shore, I had to spend two more turns (I tried to replay to avoid wasting extra turns boarding the boat, but then, seeing my hero one turn away from the shore, even without troops, the Yellow player didn't disembark :) The boat arrived on 1-1-7, and I boarded it on 1-2-2, giving up on attacking the Yellow Castle by land. And from that moment on, I decided who would be better to attack from the sea - the Blue or the Yellow. In this attempt, it turned out that it was better to attack the Blue, which I wrote about. I stopped looking for other options.
After reading your description, I tried again to go through the first week in the same way as I tried my zero attempt, which I didn't even consider a valid option. I found something interesting! By the way, both times I had to defeat the gargoyle on the border of the Yellow Castle myself. And I was shocked when, after taking the Yellow Castle again on 1-1-7, I saw level 2 magic and Stonehenge there. However, there was still no boat at the Yellow Castle.
I tried to replay, slowing down the hero a bit, and took the Yellow Castle on 1-2-1. The same buildings remained. I searched for that first save where I first took the Yellow Castle on 1-1-7. I couldn't find it, I must have deleted it or not saved it. So you will have to believe me about this trick with the buildings in other people's castles, maybe you will notice it yourself someday.
After that, no matter how I reloaded, every time I take it on 1-1-7, those buildings are there. If this had happened in that zero attempt, I wouldn't have replayed with an attack on the Blue. I could have tried to build a boat myself, there was a port there. But I wouldn't be able to spend money on a boat, magic, and Stonehenge. Yes, I still don't understand at what point in this game the randomness breaks and what it depends on.

I would like to hear your logic, which you used when rejecting your second option - maybe it really was faster, it just wasn't fully implemented!

I don't understand what you're talking about, the second option? My first option was to take the Yellow Castle, but on 1-2-2 or 1-2-3, there was no boat, there was a hero in the castle, and there were big losses when taking it, then they attacked in a group from two sides, the Blue and the Yellow and the Red on that central castle, and enemies were also coming from the sea and by land to my home castle. The second option - I replayed from the end of the 7th day from the first option. I boarded the boat at my place and sailed to the Blue. And in this case, the Yellow Castle captured a village in the winter, which greatly prolonged the playthrough in the option of taking the Blue first. Of course, you can say that I was unlucky, that you were luckier with the boats. I come to the conclusion that in Heroes, that's how it is. It depends a lot on luck. But that's what the game is for, and all sorts of situations happen. But it's not the case that nothing depends on the player, and everything depends only on luck :) So, congratulations on the victory, you made good use of your luck :)

I would gladly provide any of my saves to ANYONE who wants it!
Only, I warn you in advance that if you want me to reveal my secrets, then I WILL UPLOAD the save for everyone to see, FOR EVERYONE, and not for someone individually (i.e., directly in this thread)

Well, I would like to see a set of saves: at the end of the days:
1-1-5, 1-1-6, 1-1-7, 1-2-1 and also the one when you just landed on the shore of the Blue to attack its castle.
These saves are interesting to study, at least to try to understand how the computer players act and try to play these turns from your saves. Are there no other people who want to learn? I think these saves would be good to put in this thread or create a special thread for this.

I HAVE ALREADY APOLOGIZED!

Okay, it's accepted.

Added 15 minutes ago

Good job, guys!
You will enrich the game discussion portal, and not just argue.

Well, I wouldn't say that cool saves and detailed or brief descriptions of playthroughs are completely useless for the portal and its participants.

To put a fat period - there is a tournament for the second Heroes.
Whoever wins is right!
This is the Heroic portal, not a philosophical one.

What does it mean to be right? And it's not a fact that the one who wins is right :) I refuse to play the second game, and I already wrote why. By the way, we need to find out a couple more things about the third game. So let's go there :)
We are not going to figure out who is cooler, but we just want to play in tournaments, and if we are lucky to win, share with the other participants how the leaders do it. Otherwise, if it turns out that we are going to figure out who is cooler, then there will be only 2-3 people participating in the tournaments and sorting out their relationships with each other :)

Dear Prorock! It's strange that you've never encountered such an experienced player as IronAxe! By the way, IronAxe's idea regarding the save topic is not without merit! I would also like to learn from you. ;) P.S. Moreover, saves for the first game are not as large as saves for the fifth game. ;) Sincerely, VDV_forever

Dear Prorock!
It's strange that you've never encountered such an experienced player as IronAxe!

:) VDV_forever, stop overpraising me. I'm not falsely modest, so I'll say it again, I'm only experienced in the fourth game, and even then, I can only show a really good result with unlimited time :)

In the fifth game, at your tournament, you saw what happens to experienced players :D
I suspect the same will happen to me in other versions of Heroes. So, I need to keep learning and learning. Live and learn, and you'll eventually die :)

To IronAxe

I had no idea that such a situation could arise with the buildings.
I REPEAT ONCE AGAIN:) - I sat down one evening and decided to conduct a reconnaissance in force. I decided to have some fun and rush to the rampart on the map, without waiting for anything (THIS IS THE TACTIC OF THE COMP!).
And I choked on my bread when the rampart tactic gave me a Yellow Castle with 121 (with 2nd level Magic and Druids, but without Gnomes).

I don't know about luck, but I know one thing: if everything works out well, then be sure to take advantage of it 100% - as if it were your last attempt. THIS IS TRUE!

Once, I was lucky, and the Blue player decided to delay the attack on my Castle a little, and I was happy! I forgot to save, and I had to reload...:(...I forgot about this rule...:(
I then did everything I could - I probably spent an hour trying to make him repeat his previous move, but I couldn't...:(...I could have finished earlier:)

This system works in all Heroes games.

Sincerely,
Prorock.

Dear Prorock!

It's strange that you have never met such an experienced player as IronAxe!

By the way, IronAxe's idea regarding the topic of saves is not without merit! I would also like to learn from you.;)
P.S. Moreover, saves for the 1st game are not as large as saves for the 5th game;

Sincerely, VDV_forever

Who is against it???:)

I didn't refuse - I suggested it myself!
I was just choosing the basic set.

I picked out the most interesting moments.
Days from the most key moments.

If anyone needs anything else, write!

121 - We took the Yellow Castle while he was setting up in the Boat.
125 - The Kamikaze hero Sandro is waiting for his victim in the snow; The Yellow Castle is ready to defend against Yellow and Red at the same time; The main Castle of Red was taken.
127 - The last and most difficult battle for the Yellow Castle; The Red Castle is preparing to defend; The hero is going to the remaining Red Castles; The second hero has already landed near the Blue...on 131 - the Blue Castle will fall!

I hope they HELPED you!;)

Sincerely,
Prorock.

To IronAxe
I had no idea that such a situation could arise with the buildings.

Me neither. My mistake was that I didn't try to take the Castle on 1-1-7 right away, because I incorrectly concluded that the computer wouldn't have time to rebuild by that time anyway :)
So, I decided to play the blue variant. Well, at least I found something useful for the next tournament for the 1st heroes, regarding the computer's tactics and its random choices :)

Added 1 hour 24 minutes ago

I didn't refuse - I was the one who suggested it!
I was just selecting the basic set.
I picked out the most interesting moments. Days from the most key moments.
If anyone needs anything else, let me know!

The collection is good - I downloaded it - I watched it. Everything is clear. Thank you. I'm giving you a plus :)
The ending of the game is quite logical. But I was more interested in the first week, because that's where I messed up myself :) Could you add more saves to the collection like these: 1-1-5, 1-1-6, 1-1-7. I think that anyone can use them to repeat your walkthrough of the 1st week, and that would be interesting, because no one has taken the yellow Fortress in such a short time. And I personally would like to see from a bird's eye view how the computers were acting in their rear during that time in your saves. I don't need anything else for complete happiness from this tournament :)

The collection is good – I downloaded it and took a look. Everything is clear. Thank you. I'm giving you a plus :)
The ending of the game is quite logical. But I was more interested in the first week, because that's where I messed up myself :) Could you add more saves like these to the collection: 1-1-5, 1-1-6, 1-1-7? I think anyone could use them to try and repeat your playthrough of the first week, and that would be interesting, because no one seems to have taken the yellow fortress in such a short time. And I personally would like to see, as if from above, how the AI was acting in its rear during that time in your saves. That's all I need for complete happiness from this tournament :)

Personally, I don't see anything interesting in these saves – they were the most boring game days...:)

But since it will help you, here you go:;)

Sincerely,
Prorock.

Personally, I don't see anything interesting in these saves – those were the most boring gaming days...:)
But if it helps you, here you go:;)

:) This will help me see how the computer players behaved during your playthrough. Perhaps it will be useful in the future if I participate in another tournament for the first game.

:) This will help me see how the computer players behaved in your playthrough. It might be useful in the future if I participate in another tournament for the first game.

Glad it helped you!

But I can only say one thing: the only thing that can be fixed from all this is that the computer behaves differently in different situations, and IT DOESN'T ALWAYS DO IT RANDOMLY!

Sincerely,
Prorock.

I read your comments about the tournament... I wanted to suggest a small map for consideration in Knight's Quest with maximum settings. It's a map for 1 hero from 1995, in English. I played this map in 2005, starting from this point (assuming I did everything correctly and the file loaded). I'm curious how quickly skilled players will complete this map. (Actually, I was trying to repeat my record from 1997 - 310 points, but I couldn't :cool:).