The Plan

[Miru]

Here is the final plan, quoted form corribus:

Each person (or in some cases, team) gets a faction, and will write a strategy article of some sort, focusing specifically on how their faction matches up against other factions. A possible outline has been presented already. Each week, one person presents their article to the rest of the group in a separate thread. We then have a group discussion. The next week, another article is released, etc., untill all articles are finished. (We can continue discussing older articles if there is still stuff to be discussed).

When everything is done, we will need to determine a way to package the results to be "published" on CH's site. Perhaps Angelspit will have some ideas in that regard.

My personal opinion is that you should wait until your designated time to actually post your article. This allows us to focus on the article of the week. You may of course start your thread and post ideas or solicit information if you desire. I guess it's up to do. Destro, I believe you are inferno, correct? Currently, weeks 3-5 are open, so if you have a preference in there, let me know. nevermindspy and Soviet, I haven't heard from either of you in a while. Are you still with us?

Even though your posting date may be a few weeks, I encourage everyone to go ahead and start drafting their article as soon as you can. THat way when the articles are released you can focus on discussion. If you're ready to start writing now, go for it! You can have it done and then just post it at the appropriate time, modifying as you see fit in the meantime. Also, if we find that a week between articles is too much, we can always adjust the schedule as we go.

Let's make this a final call for modifications of the plan. Elvin and Miru, who are first, have said they would like approximately a week before they post the first article of the series. I have tentatively selected a week from Monday as the date, but we can move it forward if they like.

And the times:
1: Elvin / Miru - Academy on June 18th
2: Winterfate - Sylvan on June 25th
3: Destro23 - Inferno on July 2nd
4: Soviet - Haven on July 9th
5: Nevermindspy - Necropolis on July 16th
6: Omega_Destroyer - Fortress on July 23rd
7: Infiltrator - Dungeon on July 30th

Don't forget, while this is a debate, the point of it is to make a strategy guide, so if you know a weakness in your own plan, or anything else you would otherwise not say, say it! You will get more credit for contributing strategies than "proving" the faction you championed is the best.

[Corribus]

EDIT: Angelspit will you please "sticky" this thread?

Thanks, Miru! I was going to do this but you beat me to it. Let me also add that if you wish to post preliminary versions of your article before your data, that is fine, but I will request that there are no replies made until the faction's data has arrived.

Also, since it's a good idea to put everything important together in an easily accessible place, here is a potential strategy article outline that I posted earlier. Feel free to modify it to suit your own needs.

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I. General Strategies – written for a medium-sized map under a difficulty level of your choice.

1. Faction Overview. Here you will discuss in a general sense the biggest strengths of your faction, and also weaknesses you need to compensate for. Included here may be a brief highlight of skills unique to your hero, or what your army is good at, generally speaking. I would keep this section very brief. Paragraph or so.

2. Build strategy. What are the biggest-priority builds for your faction, separated by week. I.e., what do you go for first week, second week. You can outline it day by day or in a more general sense.

3. Creeping. What is the best way for your faction to eliminate neutrals while at the same time minimizing losses. Divide your discussion into flying neutrals, shooting neutrals, and slow walkers. Is there a priority you should give to mines/artifacts/treasure chests, etc.

4. Hero Development. Self explanatory.

5. Player versus Player. I realize that some of you may not play versus other humans, but you may want to address how playing against another human changes things. For instance – winterfate I like your sprites/hunter strategy for neutrals. I’ll have to try it! But… it would probably never work on a human opponent. Things like this should be discussed.

6. Tactics. Once you are on the battlefield, how do you win a battle against an evenly matched (human and AI) opponent? What creature abilities do you rely on most. Address this in a general sense. Faction-specifics will be discussed below.

7. Map-specific Strategies. Obviously, the type of map will dictate to a large extent what your strategy should be. Address how a small map or XL map will change your strategy. Also, difficulty setting: how do you win on other difficulty settings? Other things you could address are: terrain, time limits, etc.

II. Faction Specific Strategies.

1-7. In part II of your article, you will address how your faction matches up against other factions. You should address each other faction separately, under individual headings. I.e., a section for inferno, haven, etc., etc. You may also want to include a heading for your own factions (i.e., how would you play against someone also playing your faction!) How do you rely on your strengths and compensate for weaknesses against the strengths and weaknesses of other factions. You should speculate on what the weaknesses of the other factions are, and how you exploit them, both strategically (castle/town development, troop movement, etc.) and tactically (i.e., winning battles). In discussing battles, assume armies of relatively equal numerical strength. You can also consider different scenarios, such as whether certain terrains favor you or your opponent, whether you have tier 7 creatures, etc. In these cases, think about how you play against a human opponent.

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If you want to actually test your strategies, either against the AI or, even better, another human (either someone else in the debate or just a friend), that will strengthen your article, but it should not be felt to be necessary. Screenshots may also help color your article and make it more interesting, if you are interested in doing so. If you do not have time to make screenshots, I can help. Since I'm not going to be writing an article, I am willing to provide assistance in things like formatting or screenshots. Also, while it’s fine to mention exploits, try not to rely on them solely. Tactical exploits especially won’t usually work on human opponents.

Remember, try to keep your articles brief but informative. I don’t want to put too many limits on what you write, but be reasonable on your length.

[Infiltrator]

Thanks for putting me last, again if someone is having a hard time writing their article I should still be able to take down any date after I arrive home (aprox. july 4th), as kids/music screaming around me in the cafe make up for a bad strategy writing atmosphere..

[Corribus]

Elvin/Miru - How's it going? Will you be ready in time for next monday? Will that be too much time? The deadline for the first article is flexible, so if you feel you need more or less time, please don't hesitate to state as much.

[Elvin]

It's ready, it just needs a little editing.
How will it be arranged? We'll meet at Monday around a specific time or we'll just be on the lookout for new replies?
Will it be like an open conversation or will each summarize his thoughts in a post?

[Corribus]

I don't think there needs to be an arranged time. Post it when you are ready. We have a whole week (even more, if you want it) to discuss the article.

I think that it would be most helpful - in framing a "final article" - if at least some of the discussion responses were formulated carefully, as if you were making a mini-article. If we have a cacophony of unstructured conversation, it is going to be harder in the end to turn it into a cohesive group-approved strategy for the faction. If that makes any sense...

[Elvin]

It does. So should I modify my article to make it shorter and more cohesive? What things are better to leave out?
There won't be more things to add in my master post so I'm open to suggestions. Will there be a new thread for the group debate?

[Corribus]

You don't have to shorten it now if you don't want. Articles may be edited for length by me, with final version pending author approval, when they are ultimately posted on the CH site. But, I would try to make sure the article is as cohesive as possible while still containing all the points you feel are crucial for your argument. Being concise is not an easy skill to learn (if anyone knows that, I do!). But you will find that people are more willing to read and retain all of what you write if you stick to the important points and do not become side-tracked. There will be enough time for being side-tracked during the discussion, I'm sure.

I think discussion should proceed in the same thread, so this mini-forum stays organized.

[Elvin]

Ok got the point

[Corribus]

Alright guys, it's monday. Let the games begin!

[Corribus]

Would you guys be opposed to me inviting a few more "floaters" to the forum? There were a few people who did not want to write their own articles due to time constraints, but I feel their input may be valuable... like JollyJoker and KingImp.

[Corribus]

Fair point. I don't want this place to become too crowded.

Edit: Hey what happened, O_D!

[Elvin]

Of course their comments would be welcome! Why not after all?

Edit:
Also Sq79 said he had little time to make a review but he's usually in a mood for conversation. Having 200 toh games under his belt he could be of some help
If there are no problems I could ask him and see.

[Corribus]

I already invited him some time ago but he never replied. Feel free to re-invite him if you want. O-D brought up (and then deleted) a few good reservations. I just want to ensure that these discussions end up involving more than 2-3 people. So, we'll give it a couple days to get off the ground, and if we collectively decide we want more people, then we can go down that path at that time.

[winterfate]

So it begins...

That means I'll have to keep working on my article...been kinda lazy these past few days.

Btw, how has the debate been going?

[Omega_Destroyer]

I worked on my a smidge today updating my thoughts on the Heroes. Still have quite a ways to go. I've been fairly distracted recently with Monster Madness and a research paper linking gun control to genocide.

[Corribus]

Btw, how has the debate been going?

So far, very quiet...

[winterfate]

Oh...

I'll keep working on my article soon...so you can expect an update tomorrow or Thursday.

(If I don't set a deadline on myself...I'll never do it. )

[Omega_Destroyer]

I've been slowly adding a little bit here and there.

[Elvin]

I took a look and I rather agree with your ideas

Btw not many of you guys have taken part in the discussion. As much as I'd like to think that I've got everything covered I have the feeling that's not the case