Posts from Internals

Dirty and Leader are right; you should listen to their words and opinions. They are also trying to explain that the results cannot be compared until all players are in equal starting conditions, which is achieved with the attached starting save...

But wouldn't I have learned so many different approaches if I had provided a starting save? Considering how quickly the map progresses, I thought it would be more interesting to offer playing it in free mode. The 22 days turned out to be very unusual – I played as Conflux, cleared my entire territory, started accumulating troops, and since the artifact was the Horn of Plenty, I had enough resources to build a guild of mages and get the Flight spell, with which I flew to attack blue and easily defeated him. At the same time, in the downloaded version of Heroes, I have the option not to save the results of a battle if I don't like it, which gave me the opportunity to replay unsuccessful auto-battles.

I started thinking about other starting castles after playing Leonid1. For example, with the Mines, in my very first game, I got a ring with +1 attack and +1 defense, and 3 stacks of about 35 troglodytes – the perfect start!))

Wouldn't I have learned so many different approaches if I had provided a starting save?

There will always be several approaches, as well as different ways to complete the game, even with a starting save, but then all players are in EQUAL conditions, which allows comparing the results...
one will complete the game with 10 fairies, and another will need 20...
one will lose 2 troglodytes, and another will lose 10...
and what is there to learn?
all options can be calculated and understood, the interest lies in the competition...
would you be interested in running, say, 800m if all participants started not from the starting line, but from different points, but the finish line would be the same for everyone? as a result, someone would run 500m, and someone would run a kilometer...
the point of offline mode is to complete a given map faster, but at the same time, the starting save is set initially to ensure equal conditions for all players...
you can't compare apples and oranges...
and in principle, it's already clear which cities with which heroes are the fastest, all the theory has already been written and broken down, so all that remains is the most difficult part - practice...
therefore, it was necessary to: test the map - with which hero it will be faster to complete, then start the game with that city and hero with optimal object and guard generation...
and then upload the map and save for other players to complete as quickly as possible...
as a result, it turns out that it is incorrect to compare the results...
I played the map once and won't replay it, 34 is a very bad result, it was really possible to complete it 2-3 times faster, but I hate restarts and replaying uninteresting maps (some may think it's a silly excuse, but that's their business)...

therefore, it should not be surprising that there are no participants, saves, and everything else, most players are not interested in "how to cheat the AI on difficulty 200%", they need "something special", to create interest and challenge...

Added 3 minutes ago

After completing Leonid1, I started thinking about other starting castles.

It is worth being more attentive and respectful to the players of this forum, especially to such ones....
Leonid1 is one of the few on this forum who calmly and adequately answers all questions and tries to explain things that don't even need to be explained.
and there is no reason to doubt the gaming experience and skill of Dirty and Leonid1, if you look at the forum, the results of online and offline games and tournaments, they are not in the last places there.

Added 6 minutes ago

I am not interested in the results of the player Dirty.

And what is the point of posting the result if the organizer is not interested in the results of other players, especially more experienced ones?

A player's result reflects their skill/abilities. My personal result is important to me: my result divided by the result of the winner, whoever they may be. Therefore, in terms of personal achievements, I'm not really interested in knowing who completed it and in how much time; it's important to know the maximum result relative to my own. Regarding Leader1: Did you read his signature? I find it unacceptable. Also, the incorrect use of his nickname is inappropriate. There's no need to deliberately look for misinterpretations – I was writing the message on my phone, and it was inconvenient for me to scroll back to the previous page of the forum to confirm the accuracy. Meanwhile, Leader1 displays a signature and forces his messages to be perceived through the lens of that signature. I have drawn my own conclusions.

A player's result reflects their skill/ability. My personal result is important to me: my result divided by the result of the winner, whoever they may be.

If this is really the case, then try playing the maps that were used in offline Tournaments, where people showed a real masterclass in the game (both on the map and in battles)...
and improve on maps that are truly suitable for that...
and no one wants to constantly restart and beat a stupid AI - and this is not surprising at all..
here are two zip archives with screenshots and final saves
the first one is for 11 days - with the book of air, the second one is for 8 days - with the power of the dragon father, and with wings, you can easily manage it in 4 days, but it was just too lazy to restart them....
skill/ability is not about beating a stupid AI by 200% and making 100500 restarts to get an uber-artifact and then pass everything with the 1st fake, but about passing one primitive map in a minimum number of days... this is a real opportunity for a player to optimally complete any map..
And if the result is really important to you, as an indicator of ability, then play more thoughtful and complex maps (you can take some of them from the lists and selections of the best Heroes 3 and KS maps, I sent you a message with a list of individual maps from this list) - there will be more interest, pleasure and benefit from the game, and regarding the time - there are saves and you can always continue the game the next day.

Let's not touch this topic; the previous speaker got carried away. The second round will be soon.

- Lider1 and Dirty_Player (in unison): and people believe us!

Golden words! I spent a couple of hours and completed it in 4 days using the simplest plan. It's possible to complete it in 3 days using the same method, but it's not difficult, and I'm not willing to spend time on it. It's impossible to complete it in 1 day because even Moner can't reach the starting point. But it's possible to come up with something for 2 days, but I don't want to waste time on it. In fact, the format of generating the starting save is very interesting, and many different nuances of the playthrough arise. There are both advantages and disadvantages.

Excellent words!

I spent a couple of hours and completed it in 4 days using the simplest strategy. It's possible to complete it in 3 days using the same method; it's not difficult, but I'm not willing to spend the time on it. It's impossible to complete it in 1 day because even Moner can't reach the starting point. However, it's possible to come up with a strategy for 2 days, but I don't want to waste that much time on it.

I assume you spent a couple of hours on restarts...

I was thinking about completing it in 2 days using the Moon faction with a wall, but there's not enough mana left for the last guard....
And you also need to reach not only the AI's city but also its heroes...
I didn't think you would play this game and prove that you can do it!

I think I spent a couple of hours on restarts...

Well, not just that. I was more focused on how to complete it faster. I made a few saves, but didn't find the right one, so I gave up and finished it in 4 days. I even dug up the Grail to get 496 points :D

I was thinking about doing it in 2 days with the Moon faction and a wall, but there isn't enough mana for the last guard....
and you also have to reach not only the AI's Castle, but also its heroes.

For that, you need a very precise selection of guards; it's too much hassle. You don't even need to catch the AI heroes, because they leave the Castle on their turn and can therefore return to defend their Castle.

I didn't think you would play this game and prove that you can))

I decided to spend a couple of hours on it. I wouldn't do it again.

Added 1 minute ago

I think someone from the pro players will complete it in 2-3-4 days.
No, even if you offer a million dollars, it's impossible!

OLEG-USSRNo, even if you offer a million dollars, it's impossible!

A million, you say? :smile54:

Regarding Leader1:
Did you read his signature? I find it unacceptable. Also, the misuse of his nickname is inappropriate.

Ahahaha, oh my )). Leonid is rotating the drum incorrectly.

Leader1 also displays a signature and forces his messages to be perceived through the prism of his signature. I have drawn my conclusions.

And that's how it should be ^^ (I didn't even expect someone to get so upset :D)

Didn't even expect someone to choke :D )

If it's not too much trouble, please avoid discussing individuals in this thread.

Added 2 minutes later

Well, not just that. I was more focused on how to complete it faster. I made a few saves, but didn't find the right one, so I gave up and finished it in 4 days. I even dug up the Grail to get 496 points.

And where is the file for the final battle, at least? Or a more detailed description of the battles? What tactics were used? What was the reasoning behind choosing one town over another? As the winner, you could share that.

Added 2 minutes ago

And where is the file of the final battle, at least? Or a slightly more detailed description of the battles? What tactics were used? As the winner, so to speak...

I'll try to guess for now; I think Dirty will shed some light on it later...

A Conflux is taken with the starting hero, probably a Lunar hero. Then, they immediately head to the artifact and improve the fairies along the way. After that, the monsters guarding the Angel Wings are killed with a wall of fire. By the way, if playing as the Red faction, the obstacles are very conveniently located for this. Then, using the artifact, they teleport to the AI's zone, to the stables. Next, the AI's Castle is captured, and the computer is defeated (most likely, a Necromancer or something similar with a slow starting army and no ranged units was chosen, which cannot offer any serious resistance on days 3-4 yet)...
How he dug up the Grail is a bit of a mystery to me (maybe he took a hero in the captured city from the computer)...
Even a single gray-colored Fairy can defeat a slow stack, but it will take a very long time, so there shouldn't be any problems with the computer at that point...

I'll post it later, once I get to my computer. Battles don't really matter; everything can be won on the first try, with almost no losses. I dug for the Grail following tournament rules; after visiting all the obelisks, there was just a free hero with nothing else to do.

I won't go into too much detail; I'll just post some screenshots, I think that should be clear enough. I started with the blue faction because the gold mines are conveniently located. The starting castle is Dungeon and Shakti for obvious reasons. On the first day, I captured 2 mines (screenshot 1) to improve the economy. I opened the map for the screenshot so you can see the routes. On day 3, I got wings (screenshot 4); the guards die without any problems. The monster is placed as close as possible to the guard. And finally, on the next day, we capture the castle and kill the computer heroes. I'm attaching a starting save so that those who don't believe can try to repeat it.

P.S. Pay attention to screenshot 1, with the open map. The crystal mine is guarded by Green Dragons; if some easier monsters had spawned, it would have taken 3 days, and it would have been easy. But that requires generating a new map, and I'm feeling too lazy for that. Thank you for your attention.

I started playing as the blue faction because the gold mines are conveniently located.

After these words, everything became clear and understandable. Indeed, all genius is simple.

Bonus challenge:
Objective: complete the map in the fewest number of days
Map name: Iron_Islands_You_Die_RU
Map description: XL, difficulty 200%

The map is interesting from the perspective of "how not to die on this map")

I am still in the process of completing it. At first, I spent a very long time selecting the starting conditions, and then, after selecting them, I started developing, but even taking all the refinements into account, life does not become easier.