Heroes III Combat Simulator
version 2.0.01.0806 (August 6, 2001)
freeware


============
INTRODUCTION
============

   The purpose of this program is to simulate combats between creatures 
   from the Heroes of Might and Magic III: Shadow of Death.


============
INSTALLATION
============

   - Download the latest version at

         http://www.corbina.net/~sss/homm3.html

   - Unzip the downloaded archive to a folder of your choice

   - Rename ReadMeEng.txt to ReadMe.txt if you wish to see English 
     read me file from within the program.

   - Navigate to that folder and start homm3emu.exe

==========
WHAT'S NEW
==========

   *** version 2.0.01.0806 ***

   - Added support for creature special abilities present in HOMM 3.5
     project.


   *** version 2.0.01.0717 ***

   - It is now possible to select which creatures participate in
     championships. This way you may compare say level 1 creatures
     or all ranged creatures. 
     Just go Edit Creatures - menu Edit - Championship list


   *** version 2.0.01.0716 ***

   - The faster creature will now wait and only then attack if the slower
     creature doesn't shot and cannot reach it in one move.
     This way Archangel would beat Ancient Behemoth all the time. :)


   *** version 2.0.01.0708 ***

   - Support for creatures of all levels.

   - Ability to modify creature characteristics or to add new creatures.

   - Support for more special abilities.

   - Interface improvements.


   *** version 1.0.01.0601 ***

   - Russian read me file is provided.


   *** version 1.0.01.0528 ***

   - Fixed a rating calculation bug when count was equal to 1.


   *** version 1.0.01.0412 ***

   - Finally, ranged units can shot during combat simulation. :)
     Both range penalty and the maximum number of shots are taken into 
     account.

   - Ground units or range units with no shots left will now move
     to enemy units before they can deliver direct damage to them.

   - Fixed a bug with Ghost Dragons' aging.

   - Changed the way the rating is calculated (see below).

   - Implemented an option to consider or ignore creature growth rates
     (applies to rating calculation only).


==========
HOW TO USE
==========
 
   You can use this program in two modes:

      1 - to simulate a combat between two single creature stacks,
      2 - to calculate a rating of creatures.

 MODE 1. BATTLE SIMULATION

   In this mode, the program simulates a single combat between two
   specified creature stacks. The battle can be repeated several times.

   To use this mode, perform the following steps.

   - Select an attacker creature and its stack size;
     the attacker is a creature that will move and attack first.
     (see comment below about 'Attacker moves first' option)
   
   - Select a defender creature and its stack size.
   
   - Check the 'Maximum damage' box if creatures are to inflict maximum
     damage during the combat as if they are blessed.

     Uncheck this box if creatures are to inflict random damage (based
     on their minimum and maximum damage characteristic).

   - Check the 'Attacker moves first' box only if you wish the attacker 
     creature to be the first to deliver damage even if its speed is less 
     than the defender's creature speed.

     Uncheck this box to get more correct results as in this case the
     creature with a higher speed will attack first.

     This may not be true if the faster creature can't reach the enemy
     in one move. In this case, the slower creature gets a chance to
     attack first.

   - Set the 'Repeat count' field to the number of combats to simulate.

     Set this field to 1 (one) if you checked the 'Maximum damage' box,
     otherwise, set it to a larger number (say 100) to get more precise
     average results.
   
   - Check the 'Show results only' box if you wish to see only who is a
     winner and a loser.

     Uncheck this box to see a detailed information about each combat.
   
   - Click the 'Simulate Combat' button.

   The information about each simulated combat (if requested) and its
   results are displayed in the 'Log' window on the right.
   
   It may include lines similar to the following:
   
   a) Average for 10 battles
        Black Dragon                Defender Titan
        won 7 combats, left 1.17    combats 3, left 0.39
               
     This displays the average total results of 10 simulated combats. 
     Black Dragons were on the left of a battle fields and they won 7
     combats while Titans won just 3 battles. 

     The average number of survived Black Dragons is 2
     (the top creature on the stack has only 17/100 of its health).

   b) # | attacker   | num | defender   | num |damage| bonus  | special
      1 | Arch Angel |  10 | A Behemoth |  10 |  775 | +55.0% | 
      2 | A Behemoth |  10 | Arch Angel |   8 |  583 | +75.0% | 

     These lines describes one combat round. Most rounds consist of
     two moves, one creature attacks and then the other creature 
     retaliates. 

     Though the columns entitled 'attacker' and 'defender', the actual
     creature that attacks (it depends on its speed) is highlighted in
     red color.

     In this context, 'attacker' refers to a creature on the left side 
     of the battle fields and 'defender' - on the right side.

     In the above sample, the attackers (10 Arch Angels) inflict 775 damage 
     to the defenders (10 Ancient Behemoths). The damage is 55% higher than 
     the base damage (base damage = one creature's damage * stack size).

     8 Ancient Behemoths retaliate (2 were killed) and inflict 577
     damage to 10 Arch Angels delivering damage that is 75% higher than 
     the base damage.

     If a creature uses its special ability during a combat round, the
     'special' column includes relevant characters, as follows,
     A - aging, 
     B - blind, 
     C - curse, 
     D - double damage, 
     F - fire shield, 
     I - acid breath, 
     M - high morale, 
     O - poison, 
     P - paralyze, 
     R - rebirth, 
     S - cast spell
   

 MODE 2. CREATURE RATINGS

   In this mode the program carries out a championship among all 
   high level creatures. Each creature takes part in several combat 
   with every other creature.

   To use this mode, perform the following steps.

   - Select attacker's and defender's stack sizes.

     If you select different sizes, the program will use the attacker's
     stack size. 

   - Check or uncheck the 'Maximum damage' box. 
     (see Mode 1 for the description of this box)

   - Check or uncheck the 'Attacker moves first' box.
     (see Mode 1 forthe description of this box)

   - Check the 'N creatures per week' if you wish the program to take
     creature growth rates into account.

     For example, if the stack size is set to 10 then the actual stack 
     size for level 8 creatures will be 10, for level 7 creatures - 20, 
     for level 6 creatures - 40, etc.
     Phoenixes will have doubled stacks (i.e. 40 in the above example)

   - Set the 'Repeat count' field to the number of battles to simulate,
     the larger this number the more correct the result but the more
     slower is the process.

   - Check the 'Show results only' to see the rating table only.
     Uncheck this box to see a detailed information about each battle
     (recommended only if 'Repeat count' is equal to 1).

   - Click the 'Calculate Rating' button.

   The information about each simulated combat (if requested) and 
   the rating table are displayed in the 'Log' window on the right.

   Combat results include lines similar to the following:

   c) won |  left | attacker     | won |  left | defender     | rate
       59 |  0.82 | Black Dragon |  41 |  0.92 | Titan        |  0.08
       39 |  0.78 | Titan        |  61 |  0.97 | Black Dragon | -0.12

     During this championship Black Dragons won 59 combats of 100 when
     they were on the left of a battle field. The average number of 
     survived Black Dragons is 0.82 (among 100 combats). 
     Titans won only 41 combats of 100.

     When Titans were on the left side, they won 39 combats of 100.

     The 'rate' column displays a coefficient describing the relative 
     strength. Positive number mean that the attacker creature is better.

     The rate coefficient is calculated as follows,
        rate(a,d) = ((won(a) - won(d)) / R + (left(a) - left(d)) / C) / 2,
     where
        R is the value of the 'Repeat count' field,
        C is the stack size.

     When the rating table is created, a sum of all rate(c,x), for all x,
     is calculated to determine the position of the creature 'c'.

   Please note that because most creatures inflict random damage the rating
   table may vary between different championships.

   To get more precise results, assign a large number to the 'Repeat count'
   field, check the 'Show results only' box and wait for the rating table
   to appear :-) This may take a long time...


============
KNOWN ISSUES
============

   - The following special abilities of creatures are not counted by
     this version:

     a) Dragon flies' weakness.

     b) Spell casting of Enchanters.

     c) No range panalty of Sharpshooters.

   
   - When the 'Maximum damage' box is checked all creatures (except for 
     undead and immune creatures) inflict maximum damage. 

   
=======
SUPPORT
=======

   The software and documentation are provided "as is" without
   warranty of any kind.

   Send all feedback (bugs, wishes, etc.) to

         sss@corbina.net

   Check for new versions at

         http://www.corbina.net/~sss/homm3.html


Sergeich
