Making a Heroes III map

[Crusard]

I've decided to take a step back and make a H3 map. Well, it's for a map contest, actually, and since it's going to be my first I have some doubts. First, I'm not allowed to use the expansions, which restricts my movement a bit.
For this map, I plan to make some AI tricks. The 'Pink' player starts with a castle with few buildings, and I want it to stay there, but have a good chance of defending from the Player's attack.
Then I also want another AI player, 'Red', to stay in his castle too. The difference is that the player can't initially reach it's castle (It's territory is protected by a Border Guard). So I want it to be that at a certain day, this computer player 'wakes up' (I'll disable all dwellings so he remains asleep) and attacks the player ferociously (He has a one-way teleporter). I thought of achieving this by using a timed event that gives that castle a lot of resources and creatures and builds all dwellings the same day. Will this work? Maybe placing some monsters defending the teleporter?

[Corribus]

The easy way to have the AI "wake up" on a certain day is to put a quest tower requiring a certain amount of gold right in front of his castle, remove all the AI's gold each day via an event, and then on the day you want the AI to "wake up", you give it a huge burst of gold (and a bonus every day to counteract the "minus" quantity you still take away each day). I've used this trick a lot in my maps and it works well.

N.B. Make sure you subtract more each day than you would expect the AI to make with a single castle, as some heroes have a gold bonus as their innate ability, which can foil your best laid plans.

[Thelonious]

N.B. Make sure you subtract more each day than you would expect the AI to make with a single castle, as some heroes have a gold bonus as their innate ability, which can foil your best laid plans.

But in HoMM III you can choose the skills heroes begin with, so you can make a hero who can't do estates and choose a hero which doesn't generate (if you do add this to the amount of gold you distract - check it in game -> but actually these skills quite uselles, you can just give the AI extra money after the timed event which will do the same effect, thus enabling the AI to have more usefull skills). Then you can make sure the hero doesn't level up before he 'attacks' - so he can't get estates (or level it up) and then you'll be sure it's ok to just take away what the gold mines and castles give the AI.

Oh, and the hero can allready be level 20 ofcourse - just as long as he hasn't got estates or is able to level it up.

[Corribus]

Right - I only brought it up because if you set it to a random hero, sometimes you get screwed if you don't take that into consideration. It's happened to me before.

[Crusard]

There's a lot of restrictions to what I can use, since I am required to make the map for Restoration of Erathia without expansions
So, to make the enemy not to attack I could cancel the Tavern building, and build it the moment he has to wake up, then at the exit of the castle I could add an event that gives him the desired secondary abilities, and some experience to level up. What do you think?

[Gaidal Cain]

One problem is that the AI sometimes goes to sleep after a while, in which case he won't react to such methods unless there's something that keeps him on his toes. Your solution sounds good in theory, but don't be to surprised if it doesn't work in the end.

[DaemianLucifer]

One problem is that the AI sometimes goes to sleep after a while, in which case he won't react to such methods unless there's something that keeps him on his toes.

Sounds a lot like yoir posting.Hmmm...Perhaps its not Gaidal Cain posting here,but AI from HIII that took over his computer

[Crusard]

Hmmm, and I wonder what are the differences for Warrior, Explorer, and Builder... especifically.

[Corribus]

In my experience there's little difference, if any.

[Pol]

As names indicate, Warriors tend first to build and army, make midle expanses and conquering campaings, they are agile and often able to underestime the power of monsters, the warrior without money support is usually only patiently lurking around without real harm. But here are exceptions, when something kick it out of this the lethargy.

Builder is average good and stable, first build, then slowly start to attack, different start but same ends, like is btw for all types of AI

Explorer build slow, attack slow but still sending its heroes over all map. When see a chance it attacks without hesitating. (It's my favourite on my maps.)

Here is known problem that AI types set by mapmakers aren't respected sometimes. It's happens when you define more then two/three AI, like seven AI and one human. In the last mentioned case it's very possible that carefully set AI types will finally differ.

Made good map under H3 is not so easy as you must know the behaviours of the AI in verydetail. The Cover of Darkness may confuse AI very hard, on the other hand AI see if some resources are guarded or not. Badly placed Mill may also lead to the well know effect when the main army will across the whole map and effectively will visit only this Mill.

Hope that helps

PS Money means much for AI but experienced heroes are else better. When AI is your ally it will send you resoruces when you are looking perspectively, don't misues it, as you may lead your ally to bancrupt, send back what it need, check its town to predict what it's planning to build and send a neccesary resources. Umm, yes, and water walking allow AI to fly sometimes.....

[Crusard]

Interesting. I guess I'll have to make severa test-runs to get used to the Heroes3 AI and learn how to manipulate it appropiately...

[Thelonious]

I wonder what'll come out.

[Crusard]

Another thing, do Neutral Castles get new creatures every week like neutral stacks? Also, how much is the neutral growth compared to normal creature growth (In dwellings)?

[Corribus]

Over time the garrisons of neutral castles and towns will grow (unless you pre-set them, I believe), although it's very slow. There's also no way to prevent it that I know of, unfortunately.

[Pol]

That's, ahem, interesting question. I quess that you meant the garrison in Neutral Towns, so these grow, but it's depend on built dwellings in that town. And therefore it's very slow.... (it could be comletely ignored when you come to the big numbers)

You may, however, boost AI by giving it (in the town owned by AI player) "special" events. These cannot be used by human or noticed. But it works

The Production of unit in Netral Castles is accumulated normally. (So, it may be for your real "flesh" cache later.....)

@Corribus
Well, you may awkwardly prevent it by having no dwelllings in that town. Event - Reinforcement for Neutral Towns are also possible to buff the Town's garrison.

[Crusard]

So if there's no dwellings there's no growth?

[Corribus]

I could be wrong, but I believe the neutral town has a garrison that grows even if there are no dwellings inside. It's been a while since I fooled around with the basic H3 editor (I just have Fnord script something for me if I want something fancy, little slave that he is ), so you might just have to try it in a test map to see.

[Pol]

No dwellings = No grows.

Yes, it should be like this. However when you will create a town with empty garrison, random(town aligned untis of course) lvl1-3 units may be assigned to filll it when the game start. Thus this will completely not depend on the dwellings built inside.

It's long time when I have used it, so will be better to test it before, also one other hint, when you put into town garrison units which cannot be produced in the town(to fill all slots), like hobgoblins when in town is only goblins dwelling, it should prevent the neutral town garrison to grow. Actually I tested it "few" years back but remeber the results only vaguely now, so please, don't bite me for this if it won't be correct.

You may also create for AI player ugly advantage to give into all its towns Capitol. Or do event which will build the Capitol only for Neutral Towns what they conquere. Hence AI will get some money bonus.

[Gaidal Cain]

Easiest, but perhaps a bit ugly, solution is to set up a computer player as "neutral" (tan would work best), and then give him all neutral towns and remove all his money every day so it can't build anything.

[Corribus]

Easiest, but perhaps a bit ugly, solution is to set up a computer player as "neutral" (tan would work best), and then give him all neutral towns and remove all his money every day so it can't build anything.

Not a bad solution! - I never thought of this one!