[H3SW 0.8.1] Stench from Below

Dear H3SW players,
Allow me to introduce my fourth map - Stench from Below.

Size: M
Players: 3 (2 playable)
Suggested difficulty: At least hard

Description:
You up to an misty smelly morning. You wonder what brought that kind of moist wicked stench into your bedroom. Doesn't matter moch anyhow, there is a neighbour to subdue!

Preview:


Download here:
https://ulozto.net/!VdVNgI2IJGlN/h3sw-0-8-1-stench-from-below-h3m#_ga=2.209850076.878754758.1560886505-2020915797.1539888492

Have fun and should you have anything to say, any commentary is welcome

Just completed this one as well. It was quite the open concept map, which I enjoy. Plenty of resources to push things fowards very quickly (taking gold from all the chests). I was able to land Crytus as a hero, so that always speeds things along as well. Had several red dragons join me at one point as well, which pretty much clinched it. Took me 26 days to clear the map.

Suggestions:
You probably should guard the obelisks (or a bit better if you already are)? I was able to locate and collect the ultimate artifact very early on, got the Golden Goose so money wasn't an issue all game. Summon boat spell eliminated the need for killing the creature stack guarding the boat and very early on I sent a hero up that little stream and discovered the gold area and ultimate artifact. Might even want to guard the end of that stream with a low level creature stack so you cannot enter the center quite so early?

Not sure if you meant to keep the necromancer player cooped up so well? You guard his red tent with crusaders when he only has undead, maybe swap the crusaders out for another guard so they have a better chance to get out? Another option would be to give him two of each special resource mine instead of one so he has a chance at Bone Dragons earlier in the game? When I won at 26 days he had every building in everytown except he was missing a dark tower in one, probably a wood shortage? May need a third lumber camp as well. And he only took his single gem mine on day 25, so no chance to start storing up gems until very late game. At least in my game I played. I am sure it will be different with different seeds.

Thanks again for your work on the map!

My sincere gratitude for yet another feedback

Just~Another~Lemming wrote:

Suggestions:
You probably should guard the obelisks (or a bit better if you already are)?  I was able to locate and collect the ultimate artifact very early on, got the Golden Goose so money wasn't an issue all game.  Summon boat spell eliminated the need for killing the creature stack guarding the boat and very early on I sent a hero up that little stream and discovered the gold area and ultimate artifact.  Might even want to guard the end of that stream with a low level creature stack so you cannot enter the center quite so early?  

I have no idea, how you got Summon Boat, since the spell is (among other map-travel spells) banned, and shouldn't be obtainable. The supposed way to get into the middle is through the devils (since you can kill them without losses opposed to the phoenixes), which I expected to hold the way at least 3-4 weeks.
Goose breaks the game everytime, so that is just a seed thing

Quote :

Not sure if you meant to keep the necromancer player cooped up so well?  You guard his red tent with crusaders when he only has undead, maybe swap the crusaders out for another guard so they have a better chance to get out?  Another option would be to give him two of each special resource mine instead of one so he has a chance at Bone Dragons earlier in the game?  When I won at 26 days he had every building in everytown except he was missing a dark tower in one, probably a wood shortage?  May need a third lumber camp as well.  And he only took his single gem mine on day 25, so no chance to start storing up gems until very late game.  At least in my game I played.  I am sure it will be different with different seeds.

I tested the map several times on hard and expert, which mostly ended in green coming to surface and obliterating the other AI, which let me alone against a player with 7 towns - a hardly winnable situation. Necromancer is there just to spice things up, so that you have to watch your back.

In following versions of the map I will probably boost a bit the AI on the surface with resources, so that it is a bit more dangerous.
Though I am a bit sceptic about this one map - if I make necro stronger, skilled players will enjoy the challenge, but it may make the map basically unplayable for the casual player. I am a bit torn on this one. But at least I like the visuals, that's for sure!

Thanks for playing, I am glad you liked the map

Now that I think about it, I hired Gem as a hero and she comes with it, can you ban certain heroes as well? If so, Gem should be banned and any other hero that starts with the Summon Boat spell.

Just~Another~Lemming wrote:

Now that I think about it, I hired Gem as a hero and she comes with it, can you ban certain heroes as well?  If so, Gem should be banned and any other hero that starts with the Summon Boat spell.

I will do exatly that! And the fact that some heroes start with adventure-map spells took me a bit by surprise, since there weren't any like these in any of the HoMM games if I remember correctly.

Ctesiphon wrote:

Just~Another~Lemming wrote:

Now that I think about it, I hired Gem as a hero and she comes with it, can you ban certain heroes as well?  If so, Gem should be banned and any other hero that starts with the Summon Boat spell.

I will do exatly that! And the fact that some heroes start with adventure-map spells took me a bit by surprise, since there weren't any like these in any of the HoMM games if I remember correctly.

In Homm2, heroes was starting with 1 spell. 1 different spell for each faction.

GodRage wrote:

In Homm2, heroes was starting with 1 spell. 1 different spell for each faction.

Exactly! And none of them were adventure-map spells such as summon boat, sink boat, dimension door, etc.

There weren't no such heroes even in HoMM3 or HoMM5. In HoMM4 druids could start with Terrain Walk, I think, but that luckily enough doesn't break the game that much

Ctesiphon wrote:

GodRage wrote:

In Homm2, heroes was starting with 1 spell. 1 different spell for each faction.

Exactly! And none of them were adventure-map spells such as summon boat, sink boat, dimension door, etc.

Aww my bad, i misread your post! Shame on me.
I agree, adventure-map spells was not in the book at start...

Ctesiphon wrote:

GodRage wrote:

In Homm2, heroes was starting with 1 spell. 1 different spell for each faction.

Exactly! And none of them were adventure-map spells such as summon boat, sink boat, dimension door, etc.

There weren't no such heroes even in HoMM3 or HoMM5. In HoMM4 druids could start with Terrain Walk, I think, but that luckily enough doesn't break the game that much

However, both of you are mistaken on that part. Summon Boat is the native starting spell for Gem the Druid in HoMM3.

Orzie wrote:

However, both of you are mistaken on that part. Summon Boat is the native starting spell for Gem the Druid in HoMM3.

Well, I'll just add Gem to banned-stuff list, I guess.
Who even plays first-aid heroes anyways, right?

For now this will be the best solution.

In future gameplay, First Aid skill is supposed to work in a different way, and its effects are supposed to be more important for the gameplay.