
                   HEROES IV SCENARIO

Map Name:	ZmineZ (ZmineZ v1.3.h4c)
Version:	1.3	
Map Maker:	Laelth (Alan Taylor)
E-mail Address:	laelth@vandea.com
Domain:     vandea.com

Map Type:	Single or Multi (2 human)
Map Size:	M (with underground)
Game Version:	HOMM IV Standard
Language:	English

Description:	The only way to reach your enemy is through ZmineZ, but the entrances are hard 
		to find in the maze of a forest you call your home.

Special Win:	None.
Special Loss:	None.

Difficulty:	Intermediate.

Notes:		"Zmines" is a randomized-layout Heroes IV map.  In version 1.3, 30 possible 
		layouts (called "variants") are included, and more may be added later.  The map 
		is intended to be completely resistant to set patterns of play, requiring 
		players to make important choices and revise their strategies during the course 
		of the game.  Gates into enemy territory do not open until day 40 (day 12, month 
		2), but early interaction with your opponent is encouraged by the structure of 
		the map's underground.

Testers:	Sha' Plet (dad@samanthafisher.net)		

Spoilers:		Heroes: You begin with one hero.  There are also 3 imprisoned heroes 
		on each side of the map.  2 are lords.  One is a random lvl. 5 hero.   
			Towns:  There are 2 towns on each side of the map that are linked 
		to the players' native alignment.  A third town on each side is linked to 
		the player's opponent.  This insures maximum balance.  The fourth town on 
		each side is random, but its lvl. 4 dwellings have been disabled to prevent 
		one player from benefiting too greatly from an alignment match.
			Skills Disabled:  Charm, Sorcery, Summoning, Necromancy, Resurrection, 
		Diplomacy, Seamanship, and Stealth.
			Spells Disabled:  Mass Cancellation, Mass Dispel, Pathfinding, 
		Sanctuary, Steal All Enchantments, Summon Ship, Town Gate, and Visions.  
			Artifacts:  too many disabled to list.
			Quests:  Five huts per side allow players to alter the terrain layout 
		by removing blocking objects.  One hut sells a basic level might hero skill 
		(either combat, scouting, nobility, or tactics) that can be selected.  Some 
		huts sell magic items (randomly determined), and a number of huts sell spells 
		(also randomly determined).  Huts in the corners of the map give rewards.  One 
		of the four on each side will give shackles of war to a victorious player army.
		One hut allows a single hero (with troops) to "run the gauntlet," fighting six
		consecutive combats against armies of all six alignments.  If victorious, the
		single hero will earn a significant early-game experience award.  Finally, the 
		"cave of consequences" charges 1,000 gold in exchange for a random effect--
		bonus troops, artifacts, experience, skill advancement, or, on occasion, combat.
		Note that you can keep risking your luck at the cave until your luck (at each
		one) "runs out."
			Pandora's Boxes:  These give random artifacts.
			Cacti:  Cacti are good (similar to the Pandora's Boxes in "Imperial 
		Prison").  Just make sure a hero is present when you step on them.  Note that 
		"Boots of Travel" are a possible cactus reward.
			Attacking Your Enemy:  Until day 40, interation is possible only in the 
		mines.  On day 40 the border guards are destroyed, all at once, opening three 
		routes into enemy territory.
			Hint:  The only way to know what to do on this map is to scout it out 
		well before making a firm plan.  Unlike my earlier map, "Bizarro," there are no 
		bandits wandering the forests above "ZmineZ," though bandits do guard each 
		player's linked town.  
			Logic of Map (How It Works):  Each side of the map contains 28 
		"squares," arranged in a 4 square wide by 7 square high formation.  In 
		total, the map is 8 squares wide and 7 squares high.  The "sides" of the 
		squares are closed off by blocking terrain features.  As the map is being 
		loaded, only the two squares around the player's home town are 
		accessible.  On day 1, though, before either player acts, the computer 
		randomly chooses one of 30 layouts for the "paths" that will be formed through 
		the map.  The blue-side layout and the green-side layout are effectively 
		the same, allowing for maximum balance.  Bombs then explode, creating holes in 
		the "sides" of the squares that allow access from one square to another as 
		determined by the variant that was randomly selected. All areas of the map 
		should be accessible every game.  The variant merely determines how easy (or how 
		difficult) it will prove to get to each area.  In addition to the randomized 
		layout of the map, the locations of key structures (gold mines, beastmaster's 
		huts, witch's huts, war universities, level 4 creature dwellings, trading posts, 
		and portals) are randomized.  As such, it's virtually impossible to play the 
		same game twice on ZmineZ.    
			The Variants:  There are 30 programmed paths through the map.  They vary 
		in both complexity and difficulty.  In each of them the game will delete from 26 
		to 30 of the 43 possible blocking objects, randomizing the layout of the map.  

		Enjoy!

Version 1.2 Notes:  Found a bug.  Repaired.

Version 1.3 Notes:  Changed the day that the gates open from 42 to 40.  Increased the strength
		of the guards near the Logbook of the Master Sailor.  Insured that all the 
		appropriate arties and skills were banned.

Version 1.3 Notes: minor negation and Angels Blade are disabled