Random Encounters

Not sure if you have already solved it. Just in case, that's how I would do it.

If I understood correctly, you want a quest that once accepted enables one or more "sub-quests" to appear as random events. One of the triggers for events is <TriggerType>FactionResourceLevel</TriggerType> (you can find it in the new CoreRandomEvents.xml file). I would créate a special hidden resource called something like "QuestPath" and after accepting the starting quest would give the player 1 of those resources. Then the sub-quests get enabled. For subsequent sub-quests I woul do the same, giving the player new resorces each time a subquest is finished.

So they are resources, but you are using then as flags or variables. An imaginative way of using them

Wow, smart! I didn't realize I could use a hidden resource with FactionResourceLevel, I wondered what that was for. If I can use that for subquests, that would be preferable. I am still working on making A or B choices that "continue" the quest down a different line. A quest might have 6 tasks before complete, each step offering a choice on how to proceed.

Quests are more difficult than anything i have done before, so I am still learning how to get started on that. Once I figure it out, I can have City Hubs, Buildings or killing a Unit reward the hidden item, triggering the quest. I want as many ways into quest progression as I can to allow each possible end to serve a new beginning.

Sounds like you have something big in your hands. I am sure the result will br awesome. Please if you need some help don't hesitate to come to the forum. Is not that I know more than you, but at least we can brainstorm together I have learned a lot doing my (still unfinished) population mod myself, and I am happy to share what I've learned.

Everyone seems to know just a bit more than me, and between all the helpful people like you, heavenfall, sean and parrottmouth, I think any project, even painful ones, can be completed by amateurs.  

I enjoy putting my ideas together and sharing them because my own idea might help someone else finish their project as well.

Currently, my project has a design goal to work as a scenario more than a mod. The world would start with no monsters spawned. Then, events and other things would trigger them to spawn. The idea is to simulate a true RPG. For Example. The game starts and you get a quest to enter town and talk to the Mayor. Mayor tells you blacksmith has been kidnapped. Go save her. 5 bandits spawn, and the Bandit Base appears. Once you defeat the base spawn, you rescue the blacksmith. Rescuing the blacksmith causes leather items and basic melee weapons to appear at the shop.

I am still struggling to make an enemy faction for this mod (with a Dragon Sovereign and trainable monster units). The plan for balancing monster units with minimum work is to have a series of buildings pre-placed in each town. Those buildings will then unlock the unit designs and provide resources to build them (in spite of what is or isn't on the map).

Once I get the enemy faction finished, I can begin the quest editing (I am also hoping for any and all patch goodies for quest improvements to be released if one is to be).  It seems like I am bouncing around all over, however I am working in 5 stages. Stage 1 (Improvements, Spells) is 80% Done. Stage 2 (Sovereign/Units) hasn't been started because I am struggling with the art. Art is my worst enemy. Stage 3 (Items/Weapons/Armor) is about 20% Done, I am creating new items which are mostly done. If I can go the route of hidden resources, Stage 3 hasn't even been started. Stage 4 (Making the Map) is in crude form, and I will wait to finish it until I have finished QuestLine1. Then, I can finish the map, add the rest of the quest lines, finalize the world and release.

I am in no hurry at all, the art alone could take me months. However I can say that working with FE/LH has taught me a lot I didn't already know, and given me a renewed confidence. I don't need perfection, and anything I do is likely to be done better by someone else which I look forward to seeing and playing.  Every patch I have a little bit more to learn, however I am learning it.  My biggest setback is...

Tags. I am still figuring out the limitations of what I can give to Player, Self, Unit, Army. I have noticed for instance, it is all but impossible to create a spell like Destinies Insight that gives Experience Per Turn - it is also all but impossible to give a hard number of experience points to a whole army. I am also learning how to make my enemy more intimidating. So far, I have re-created Eerog's Token and made him a token that will spawn a Lich every time he is attacked in melee. (I might have a bunch of nastiness occur when he is attacked, i don't know how to make him respond to taking spell damage yet).

I suppose my next step is to ignore what I can't do, and find a workaround while doing what I can and struggling with the Art to make my Monster Sovereigns work. I am less concerned about their "abilities" and more concerned about the first step of "making it".

Thanks for your interest, and if you ever want to use any of my work (already existing or upcoming) then I am glad my ideas could contribute to your game.

Looks like a mix between Kings Bounty and some story deep maps in HoMM 3. I like you idea a lot

The main problem that I see is that I don't know any way to affect other faction from a random event / game event. There are not even ways to create proper global events other than spawning things in the map. I hope I am wrong and there is a way.

But perhaps you don't need another faction for this to work, although I suspect you need at least two players for a game. You could always have an inaccesible city with the second faction that becomes your boss fight. I have seen things similar to that in HoMM maps.

I plan on having 8 - 12 total "players", 4 which are playable. the 4 players will be human/ai controlled with faction exclusive events granted through unique resources, buildings or something else. The remaining 8 will preferably spawn from events.

One idea is to have your faction "conquer" a fourth city, and 2 specific cities will be event conquered. Another is to have the extra factions have no starting point and spawn a city (or pioneer) at a certain point. Of course, this is all speculative. The AI factions could also be wildlands as a last resort. If I can't have a city or pioneer appear, I could have a city start on the map and have a negative buff to give it -100 growth and production. Then, when any player completes QuestLine2, that city will lose the negative buff. AI players should sit relatively quiet until "called upon". I am still figuring out how to achieve all this.

One thing in the game I enjoy is quests that involve a cave with 3-4 tactical battles in a row, with a "left or right", "go further or turn back" type of choice. I want to have "caves" on my map that do this. I haven't even begun to meddle with tactical maps yet. However, my object for that is to create a "cave" or "dungeon" with fog of war, and have it old school Dungeons and Dragons style. You walk in to the cave, there are 20 or so monsters in it varying in level, you beat the first level, and are offered to go deeper or leave. If you leave, you can come back and the monsters on cleared levels stay cleared.

This allows monsters to exist without messing up the world and determining the outcome, this brings in the RPG element by using monsters differently. The "cave" would have a "boss" at the end, and each region would have 1 - 2 cities, and 1 - 2 caves. I would deviate; some regions will have 3 cities of which one is hostile and produces units while a cave holds a friendly unit at the end to rescue (who is immobilized and invincible until players "cross the line" with a unit, and the unit would be scripted to "die in 6 turns".

I want to wait for the scenario for LH to be released so I can pick it apart and compare to the FE scenario and make something neat. The best mods weren't made overnight, and some modders were relatively inexperienced at the time they made great work. This is all speculative, however the ideas, once finished, could be released modular.

Therefore, someone who wanted "Caves" or "Dragon Faction" without the rest of the mod could do that.