Posts from Final sprint.

It's strange, I can't seem to beat Victor on the hero in version 1.1. Compared to the previous version, he's much more active (he takes out almost all the snipers with his second shot) and fights very strategically (he covers the approaches to the archers, preventing the birds from flying in, and methodically shoots down everyone approaching). Is something wrong with the Danish Kingdom?

He wasn't affected by the changes.

It's strange, I can't seem to beat Vittorio in the hero quest in version 1.1.

I can confirm RedHeavenHero's words – the battle with Vittorio in version 1.1 looks the same as in the previous version. I've replayed it many times (for reasons explained below), and I always win. It seems there are some unfinished aspects during the battle. For example, the birds that fly in – they die very quickly and don't have much of a positive impact. I tried playing the hero quest in 1.1, but the first Castle becomes Varens's tomb. Miv is assigned to the Castle, and she refuses to leave (at least for a week). While she's in the Castle, the garrison's strength is combined with her army. Varens doesn't have enough strength (all units from Cassandra have been taken) to break through the combined force. Out of numerous replays (more than six, starting from the beginning of the map), I managed to win the battle only once, and I was left with 2 spearmen. I attacked the Castle on days 5-6 from the start. In this case, Miv is in a well-defended, quite intelligent defense. If you wait and attack the Castle on days 8-9, the defenders will actively attack. They have more than enough strength to defeat Varens. In the earlier version, Miv appeared near the Castle, around day 7. Accordingly, you could defeat the garrison separately, and then meet Miv in the field or inside the Castle. The losses in this scenario are much lower than in the new version. Back to the battle with Vittorio. A lot depends on it, and replaying it is extremely inconvenient. I've already written about the usefulness of saving before this battle. I don't think it's reasonable to test the player's patience in this part. If certain hopes are placed on the randomness of the battlefield and the AI's behavior in this battle, then that's not the case.

I completed version 1.1 on veteran difficulty in 103 days. The AI has become noticeably more aggressive and, in battle, has started to use dark magic effectively, which creates well-known difficulties for the player. The Dwarf and Ranger are strong and, overall, fight well. But, it seems, there is a bug: after capturing the Dwarf castle, the demon-pursuer does not appear. It's a pity that this version cannot be played on the Hero difficulty (judging by the review of 13ga and my sad experience with Vitya). What if Vitya was weakened at the beginning or if it was possible to combine the forces of Varens and Cassandra?

I finished version 1.1 on "Veteran" difficulty (since I couldn't manage it on "Hero" – see above). Most of the changes made were pleasing. The AI started to actively put pressure on me: it combines its heroes' armies, sending the strongest one to attack the player's Castle, while the others don't just sit around. Strategy has appeared in the game. The built-in obelisk counter, combined with "clairvoyance," is very good. I liked the added Sanctuary. It's what was missing in the previous version. The final elf has transformed from an obscure character into a charming and attractive one. Although I didn't want to win against him, I couldn't resist and defeated him. Now, about the drawbacks. As with "Hero" difficulty, Myv stubbornly refuses to leave her Castle. On "Veteran," it's not difficult to get her out: the defending army is smaller, and the computer doesn't plan the defense very well. But how do you get her out of the Castle on "Hero"? Another point: I found one fragment of the map, and it was immediately stolen (the counter faithfully showed the change). When I touched the second obelisk, I saw the notification again that the puzzle map is difficult and won't be shown to me. Perhaps such a message should only be displayed once per game. The timing of the appearance of the scouts has become more logical, but the process of catching them is not inspiring, and they don't stop wandering around even after completing the task. There is something to think about here. In general, the gnome has become more appealing. But, even considering the difficulty level, his army is too small. The presence of "Chaos" in his arsenal is more of a hindrance than a help. It would be better if he cast mass "Light" or "Darkness" spells. There seems to be a problem with the runes – he uses them, but they don't seem to work (the rune didn't have any effect on the unit under my control). Sometimes, when assassins fire and the stun effect triggers, the message about it doesn't appear in the text line. Overall, I have some questions about the map progression. I was always able to buy Myv in the tavern – is this intentional, or is it just a recurring coincidence? Does she have "Fire Arrows" programmed, or is it the AI's "Creation"? The map would be difficult without Myv, but the "arrows" are useless to her. In the appendix, there's a battle with Vittorio from the "Hero" playthrough and a battle with Erling from the "Veteran" playthrough. P.S. On "Hero," I managed to capture the first Castle with acceptable losses. This happened due to two major AI errors in the defense. Now, a month of game time has passed, and I haven't noticed any particular difficulties yet. Development is going well. So, if Myv's behavior is adjusted, playing on "Hero" will become possible.

A new version has been released: v1.1.1 (12/26/2014)
- Miv has been weakened: her army and level have been reduced.
- The message when visiting the 1st obelisk is displayed only once.
- The game saves before the battle with Vittorio.
- Vittorio's troops are less dependent on the difficulty level.

I played the map (in 1.1) on "Hero" difficulty and it took me 110 days. Compared to "Veteran" difficulty, I don't see any new suggestions or comments that would make sense to write, and besides, the map version has changed. I liked the map much more on "Hero" difficulty. The AI uses the available resources better. I was able to fully utilize Cassandra. The purchased Myv had such a good build that I would have done it myself for her. The final elf is magnificent. The battle with him is incredible and breathtaking. It was definitely worth playing the map just for that. Thank you to the author for the hard work.

I played the map (in 1.1) on "hero" difficulty and it took 110 days. Compared to "veteran" difficulty, I don't see any new suggestions or comments that would make sense to write, and besides, the map version has changed. I liked the map much more on "hero" difficulty. The AI uses the opportunities provided to it better. I was able to fully utilize Cassandra. The bought-out Myv had such a good upgrade that I would have done it myself for her. The final elf is magnificent. The battle with him is incredible and breathtaking. It was really worth playing the map just for him. Thank you to the author for the difficult work.

Myv's upgrade is random, as is the fact that she appears in the tavern.
And thank you for such a high rating.

I completed version 1.1.1 with a hero in 104 days. Both the game and the final battles are excellent. Thank you to the author. And yet, the initial battle with Vitya is always different: it all depends on the artifact the player receives (preferably one that increases luck) and the AI's troop placement (I was lucky; the cavalry was blocked by his troops and some kind of obstacle, and my birds were able to attack the archers quite successfully). I didn't see the point in buying Miv with her useless skills; instead, I preferred to quickly level up a new hero to prepare troops and give Varen a free hand. Thank you again to the author. Happy upcoming holidays to everyone.

...decided to load the save, and then I was in for an unpleasant surprise - none of the saves work...

Kudos to the map author. Don't mess around in the editor.

I managed to complete it after several attempts, playing as the Hero, with the HOF Renegades mod. Vittorio is difficult to defeat. But, as I understand it, many things, including the AI's behavior (even who it will target first), depend on the initial troop placement. The arena had some logs. I placed archers there, protected by a few armored units. I lured the griffons out to draw the paladins, and then the zealots, onto the mines. I immediately maxed out Waren's Luck skill (bringing it up to the "Luck of the Road and Spoils" level). This made building the castle much easier. And I developed combat machines (Catapult, Ballista). The combat machine market kind of hints that they are needed. They are perfect against neutrals. Attack with ranged units, and of course, logistics. (Without logistics, you can't do much here. In war, speed is life, and life is speed. In this sense, demon scouts + the Path of War are very helpful.) And, of course, an experienced commander. Archers are our everything. I didn't have any particular problems with Myv. As soon as Darkness became available, I took it, and in combination with Mass Dispel, I successfully defended against Dugald. If he came with too large an army, I met him in the castle. Underground passages complicate things (which is good from a gameplay perspective) because enemy heroes emerge from them at the most unexpected moment. I finished off the turquoise hero towards the end of the fourth month, or rather, at the beginning of its fourth week, then went to look for obelisks, explored the caves, killing everything that moves, or tries to move. I visited the mentor, took Education, and went to defeat the gnomes, towards the end of the 7th month. I defeated them, although I lost almost all of my paladins (Divine Retribution is a terrible thing). Vampirism, combined with Mass Dispel, helped me win. The paladins and adepts saved me from the enemy's dark magic. You attack your subordinate unit with adepts, and they are very likely to cleanse it. Fleeing from Groll, we ended up with the elf. And here, I simply didn't have enough of an army. After the gnome "affectionately" battered it, and there was almost no time left for the last reinforcement gathering... I had to replay, starting from the moment I attacked the gnome. I gathered reinforcements from all the castles and reworked Waren, focusing on defense and magic, abandoning logistics and attack. I besieged Hottabych for a week and a half so that Magic would finally become available. Perhaps it would be good to add the ability to learn it on the map. It's a very useful skill. In the battle with the gnome this time, I used Berserk a lot. I still suffered from Divine Retribution, lost 90 Fallen Angels, and all the archers. But I saved about 400 of Isabelle's knights, and they, being vampirized, finished off the elf. Towards the end of the battle, the elf started using Divine Retribution, but the number of Isabelle's knights turned into quality. Overall, I really enjoyed the map; thank you very much to the author. Suggestions: 1) I would like to see more events after the death of the turquoise hero or the prophet druid. For example, the appearance of demonic heroes who would destroy cities when entering them would add more dynamics to the game. 2) Allow the ability to learn magic. Perhaps not at the beginning of the game. It is needed by both Waren and Cassandra. 3) Slightly reduce the elf's army growth depending on the time. Otherwise, the army that was beaten by the gnome is not enough.

My early game experience was quite unique, I think.
Seeing the army of neutral creatures standing behind Vittorio and blocking the path, I thought, "Okay, I need to go around." I fought my way through the Enchantresses (not without losses, of course), and ventured into the Dungeon. Imagine my surprise when it became clear that there was no way around:D And now I had to break through them again with a weakened army. Fine, I headed towards them, and that's when "Week of the Sword and Magic" began :eek: (in four months of playing, it happened twice, and "Week of the Sword" happened twice more – is this a coincidence, or is it rigged?). In the end, only two Witches remained:D And then I thought, "Great, that's how it should be, now they'll give me free troops," but in reality, it meant that I had to somehow break through 70 Archers + 50 Knights with two Witches, and I was in a large world where the Blue faction would seriously come after me. By some miracle, Cassandra managed to do it, and even captured the fortress city, which didn't have any Mivos. She immediately appeared and was killed by Warren – a unit from the new "Week," although she took out half of them. And now I was completely without an army, I read about the terrible Bertrand, who wasn't finished off in the prologue, and I sat there waiting for him:D But he came late and was quite weak. After that, things generally normalized, but the heroes from different factions kept me on edge almost all the time.

The Dwarf and the Elf are something else. It's as if they aren't AI: they both used "Divine Retribution" on my every move. "Antimagic" on all units is the only way out. And if I managed to debuff the Dwarf carefully, then everything happened much faster with the Elf – I could only manage to throw Berserkers... If he hadn't cast all sorts of nonsense like Phantoms and tried so hard to kill the archers, it would have been much worse.

Cassandra seemed like a wise woman at first. She was wrong to think so, very wrong.



In terms of difficulty, it reminded me of the third mission of Raileigh from the original game, the same intense feeling:D In this sense, I really enjoyed the whole campaign, but this epilogue was especially good. I don't even need to talk about the plot and how engaging it was

Thank you very much! The map is well-designed and thought-out in every detail, and it's of the highest quality. Thank you for your hard work! Your maps are always very interesting to play.

Downloaded the archive, extracted it, but couldn't find the file. Thanks, had a great time playing.

You didn't search properly if you couldn't find the only file in the archive.

And who said that he downloaded that specific archive?