Posts from The second stage of the "Van Kanighem" tournament.

I'm sorry, but I simply don't have enough time. It's a shame that, in theory, I worked everything out, but I lacked the real time to implement it. After all, theory is not enough; constant practice is also needed. I congratulate the winner in advance.

Sorry for the absence, I was hardly at home during the weekend. Therefore, I will start checking submissions only in the evening, and the results will most likely be published tomorrow evening.

I will now correct the main page in the table, making the names of those who submitted saves bold.

THANK YOU ALL FOR PARTICIPATING!!!

I sent the save file to g-andrew@mail.ru on the 29th, but the nickname isn't in bold. Was it necessary to ask for confirmation (it doesn't seem to be mentioned in the rules)? Please let me know what happened to it, because the result seemed pretty good...

I sent the save file to g-andrew@mail.ru on the 29th, but the nickname isn't in bold. Was it necessary to ask for confirmation (it doesn't seem to be mentioned in the rules)? Please let me know what happened to it, because the result seemed pretty good...

You should ask for confirmation for your own peace of mind. To avoid situations like this. The save file isn't here; I just checked my email again.

The tournament results have been announced. You can find them in the thread OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT RESULTS!

Thank you all for participating!

Sincerely, Alan

7 days!!!! That's impossible!

Yeah, I guess...
9 days is understandable. Although, I really want to see a walkthrough, preferably even a few. :)

But 7 days?!
Computer-controlled castles were definitely taken by heroes starting from their initial castle. It's impossible to run from a captured castle to another castle within 7 days.
Moreover, the last hero had to be rescued on the 4th day. It's impossible to reach any castle in less than 4 turns.

Well, I'll provide the description,
as well as save files for the end-beginning of each game day.

Yeah...
Well, 9 days is understandable. Although, I really want to see a walkthrough, preferably even a few :)

But 7 days?!!!
Computer-controlled Castles were definitely taken by heroes from the starting Castle. It's impossible to reach another Castle from a captured Castle by the 7th day.
Moreover, the last hero had to be rescued on the 4th day. It's impossible to reach any Castle in less than 4 turns.

Regarding the seven days, I agree that it was more of a JEWELRY-like task, and there's nothing special about nine days; it could have been reduced to 8 days, but that would have required replaying a couple of long turns, because my entire ninth turn was spent chasing a single Barbarian.
If anyone is interested in my third-place finish, I can upload the final save and the entire walkthrough.

P.S. There are other additional files, but they didn't fit in the archive; I can send them to those who are particularly interested via email!!

Also, download the final save; it's not included in the complete walkthrough!!!

It's strange, I considered myself a pretty good player in Heroes II, but I can't find any way to complete it faster than 9 days... :(

I'm posting the save files; I'll send the description to Alan later via e-mail.

It's strange, I thought I was a pretty good player in Heroes 2, but I can't find a way to complete it in less than 9 days... :(

:) The saves have already been uploaded. It's still better to wait for vbn's description. It's really cool. I don't know how he managed it, but he's doing well – so everything is okay. We just need to figure it out based on his description :) I think we can leave the "9-day" challenge for now :)
Of course, I haven't played Heroes 2 for several years (probably more than 5), and after getting a result of 13 days on my first try, I happily stopped trying to improve further because I didn't see how :) Let me explain why. In the Fortress, I didn't build anything; I just bought heroes to recruit troops. First, I went to the Barbarian Fortress. And I managed to defeat it quite successfully. I killed one hero; he had a weak army, and I easily took the Fortress. The second Barbarian hero was defeated by a Gargoyle, and I was told that the Barbarian was finished. This hero ran from the Barbarian Fortress to the Necropolis. On the way northeast, another hero defeated the Wild Boars and received troops from the Barbarian Fortress in a chain, and then continued to the Necropolis. While he was taking the Necropolis Fortress, the other heroes simultaneously defeated the Mage Fortress in the south. In the Necropolis Fortress, I bought two Bone Dragons. And I used them to bribe the Necropolis hero and fled to my own Fortress. Another of my heroes finished off the last Necropolis hero. The Bone Dragons were taken on the same turn and given to the hero near the Wild Boars (the hero who bribed the Necropolis hero didn't move). And this hero, with the Bone Dragon and Dragon, somehow defeated the Life Fortress. Again, he easily defeated the Fortress and one hero. In the Fortress, I bought a Mage and learned the Raise Dead spell (if it weren't for this, I would have been completely doomed :) and attacked the last Life hero. He cast Raise Dead twice and only then was able to win the final battle. Because there were already three Knights, a bunch of Pikemen, etc.
PS. So, what am I getting at? :) I don't understand how to complete it in 12 days, let alone 7 or 9 days :)

I actually saw the first two heroes for the first time only starting with this tournament. But the thing is that all versions are quite similar to each other. I played a lot of the 3rd game, a little of the 4th, and also gained some experience playing after the tournament for the 1st game (also played it for the first time, but the versions are very similar). I think the key here is effort. 1st run - 18 days, managed to improve it to 16. 2nd run - 8 days. 3rd run - 7 days, but for this, I had to completely replay the map. In the fortress, I also didn't build anything, only bought heroes: Barbarians - movement speed + attack; and Necromancers - gargoyles (battle speed) and centaurs (meat). To achieve the result, I had to plan the movements of almost every hero, starting from the 1st day. In the first 2 days of the game, the most important thing was to buy as many heroes as possible, that is, to gather the largest piles of gold, and on the 1st day, I managed to buy 4 heroes (and in total, there were 5). It was also important to correctly divide the small army available so that it could cope with the boars and the capture of castles. And on the last day of the game, there was still so much gold left that it allowed me to collect almost all the mercury near the castles. The most important thing I learned from this game is that you need to break through as quickly as possible, without being afraid to lose some of your army. Because before, I always messed up because of this (for example, in the tournament for the 1st game, I was afraid to take out the ogres). You sit there, accumulating an army, and only to come out of the battle without any losses at all. But this can cost you several days of the game.

It was also important to properly divide the small army available so that it could handle the boars and castle captures.
...
The most important thing I learned from this game is that you need to break through as quickly as possible,
without being afraid to lose some of your army.
...
Because before, I always messed up because of this (for example, in the 1-on-1 tournament, I was afraid to attack the ogres).
You sit there, building up your army, only to end up with no losses at all. But that can cost you several days of gameplay.

Well, I don't understand anything yet :) I hope this isn't the description yet - you can send it to Alan later so he can post it for us to see? Because right now, it's just general phrases - divide the army, break through. I would like to see in the description HOW exactly to divide the armies and where and how to break through. That is, I understand that you immediately went for 4 castles at the same time? Or will this be visible from your saves, and everything will be clear from the saves? Because I haven't downloaded it yet, as I need to get them at home, not at work. Will it be possible to repeat the Walkthrough based on the description? Well, not for me, because I didn't have much luck with the second game :) but for those who completed it in 9 days?

Yes, the description for 5 days is already ready. I will finish it completely in the evening. It will describe how to divide armies and how to break through. On the 5th day, 2 castles are captured, and on the 6th day, 2 more. The already uploaded save files contain the end and beginning of each day. This will confirm that the save files were not cheated during the turn transition. And the final description, with some effort, will allow you to repeat the walkthrough.