Update on the map I'm making:

Surface is basically complete, and is a desert with a lot of mountains, oases, and lava lakes. The lava lakes have azrac towns on, with bronze-coloured bridges leading into them, and bizarrely enough desert crops around them.

Just decided what to do with the other two map levels;
One will be a lake of fire, with semi-enclosed caves like this (first draft) https://i.imgur.com/tciuiwj.png

And the other will be a lake of water, with similar cave redoubts. Both will have a pall of randomly moving smoke and poison, like in the surface of Maugogom. Normally it's not possible to place these in cave levels but I can mod them in, since this map may have two versions; one that's basegame compatible, and the other that's compatible with my S&S mod, and will have dragon heroes and sheeeit.

Just conducted a Warp Party test.

Out of 101 warps, 31 landed on a different map level. However this was on a 3-level map. It may be that you're more likely to warp to a different level when you're in the middle level, so a second test should be done.

Also, you can never place roads on dirt, even when it's on the surface. Additionally, Fire Halo lets boats (and other swimming-only units) move on dirt, but not on other land terrains. It doesn't matter which map level. In other words, both behaviours are tied to the terrain, no the map level.

Nearly finished my next mod, which I'll try to harangue everyone else into using. Featuring nerfed archery/hurlstones/poisondarts, DEF costs 10 points to levelup for heroes, and Spellcasting costs 12.

I've finished the unit alterations (mostly the same as in my S&S mod but with some changes removed since the archery-poisondarts/hurlstones nerf makes them unecessary), spell changes, ability ATK/DAM changes, racial relations changes, and hero levelup costs.

What I have yet to do is: raze defender lists, dungeon lists, spell changes to what they actually do instead of just mana/research, new item set, hero changes to fit the new costs, different racial base stats for heroes

So, is looting bugged - even in the base game, unmodded - such that you initially lose 30 points in race relations, but when the looting is complete, you gain the 20 points for cancelling looting??
Looks that way to me.

Based on my testing of the warp party limits, you can move up to 19 hexes away on the same level, or +/- one level +9 hexes.

If you look at the number of hexes in an array with "r" as the maximum number of hexes away from the origin you can count the hexes in rings:
function at "r" = origin hex (1 hex) + first ring (6 hexes) + second ring (12 hexes) + ... + final ring (6*r)
f(r) = 1 + 6*1 + 6*2 + 6*3 + ... + 6*r
= 1 + 6(1+2+3+ ... +r)
= 1+ 6((r+1)*r/2)
= 1 + 3(r^2+r)
f(r) = 3r^2 + 3r + 1

For +19 hexes (excluding the origin because warp party doesn't use count the origin as a valid hex) that's 3(19^2)+3(19) = 1140 possible hexes. For +9 hexes, that's 3(9^2)+3(9)+1 = 271 possible hexes. Or about 19% chance that a surface warp party will land you in the underground (assuming all of the hexes in range are valid). If you're going from underground, you have a 32% chance of ending up on a different level (surface or depths).

If you were testing from the underground to get 31/101, that would be a pretty close distribution. The catch is that many of the calculations in AoW are only pseudo-random (part of the game's charm), meaning you could hypothetically see strange repeating patterns if you save, warp, then reload, warp, reload, warp, etc. Pseudo-randomness would throw off predictions that are based on the distribution of true random models.

We know the theoretical probability and we know the pattern is likely pseudo-random here, but I'm just not sure how the calculation is done. Does it generate a number and count on the spawn spiral? Does it chose a random location and reroll if the hex isn't valid? Are all hexes weighed equally? It's an interesting puzzle.

The interesting part with FH boats is that you can move through some light debris / vegetation, including unholy woods that has been placed in the underground with the map editor, but not unholy woods that has been cast. There is that black terrain in the Deveditor that also allows FH boats to move over it. And of course, it is always interesting to see underground terrain on the surface melt with altars, etc. Meaning you could have firehalo boats be crushed by an altar of life, etc when the terrain suddenly becomes invalid.

I still find the surface terrain used underground interesting. You can build roads on them with builders so long as you start the build on the surface, and you can use that healing rain spell underground to turn blight/desert to steppe and then to grass. I never thought to check how crops grow on surface terrain used in the underground. It would be interesting to test that interaction to see if there is any value in healing rain for underground towns surrounded by surface terrain

Thanks, nice to have the answer for certain!

I saw some RNG-related stuff when digging around in PE Explorer with AoWEPack.dpl, maybe you could load it up (in the disassembler part) and crtl-F 'WarpParty'


crops occur based on terrain, not map level; I have some surface mushroom crops in my upcoming map.

I'll start a new PBEM based on my new mod, Ziggurat (featuring 10 point-cost DEF for heroes, Spellcasting levelup at 12 points, etc) once I've finished adjusting the values of various spells in the hex editor.

New map is complete!!!
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/753371706458112021/805952121945456650/The_Mind-Forges_of_Phrapilad.hsm
(aowheaven link coming soon)

BEST EVER MAP FOR AGE OF WONDERS !?!?!?!?!?!?!?

THIS MAP REQUIRES THE ZIGGURAT MOD TO RUN PROPERLY: http://aow.heavengames.com/downloads/showfile.php?fileid=1231

6 Players. Playable races are Dwarves, Halflings, Highmen, Dark Elves, Humans, and Azracs.
Map features no recruitable/summonable heroes other than 'Mind Vessels', and 'Dragon Golems' which can be found in the prisons.

INTRO:
The petty sorcerer-warlords of the Talpachar Desert constantly vie for advantage. Each commands a hundred spies, and offers bounties for whatever magical relics might give advantage in the next caravan raid.

Recently, one discovered how to decipher the magical runes inscribed in the caves beneath Phrapilad. The others soon met with similar success on the advice of their agents, using scrying spells to copy the first. By legend, these runes held the secret to create false minds, vessels which can wield magic and obey commands, yet lack the soul.

One of the most powerful magics of the ancient wars, this was also one of the most forbidden under the treaties signed with shadeward Sevasteia and its Arcane Court. Yet Sevasteia is in chaos and the inquisitors of the Court have turned against each other. Vaneward, the Dragon in Kenofor still sleeps, and none of the tributes offered by her priesthood have yet awakened her. The lesser sorcerers of Talpachar are free to claim whatever powers they may find, and damn the consequences!

Besides the great power of the runes, Phrapilad also holds many prisons in which 'dragon golems' were stored after their use in the Ziggurat Wars came to an end. Their masters were assassinated by their own slaves, and none have dared breach the vaults since. Perhaps that is about to change.

Aowheaven link:
http://aow.heavengames.com/downloads/showfile.php?fileid=1233

Sounds fun, I'd definitely be up to sign up for this one.

THE NEW MAP ALREADY HAS SEVEN (7) DOWNLOADS WHICH IS JUST BEGINNING ITS GLORIOUS RULE AS THE BEST EVER MAP MADE FOR THE ORIGINAL AGE OF WONDERS

I just wanted to add that I have seriously been enjoying all the effort and time Southern has been putting into this mod and maps. If anyone is reading these threads and kind of lurking and on the fence with interest, do yourself a favor and just come on out and play. Great group of folks to pbem with also.

Agreed! I am glad this is generating interest in the community as well as AOW1 will always have a special place in my heart.

Well done!

Finally figured out how to implement 3/6/9/12 upkeep formulae in aow1 through hex editing.