SC2Mapster

I never played Halo myself, but I'm on a website called Wajas which has a Flood Club inspired by the Halo Flood but tailored to the Wajas game, which I became involved with. Being now a high-ranking member of that club and obsessed with our version of the Flood, when I started playing SCII I noticed immediately the similarities between our version of the Flood, especially, and the Zerg. So ever since I've had a hankering to make a map about a Flood outbreak in the middle of a thoroughly Zerg-controlled world. My skills at mapmaking have advanced to the point where I feel up to tackling the challenge, but I still need a bit of help figuring out how to do a few things, at least in the most efficient way possible. I could probably BS a solution to these problems but I doubt it would be particularly elegant or effective compared to what you all can come up with.

Basically, here's how I want the map to work. You start out controlling a single unit, a Flood Spore Cloud. Flood Spore Clouds are an air unit, permanently cloaked and can move, but have no standard attack or weapon. Their one and only ability would be Infection - the targeted unit becomes an "Infected (unit)" and comes under your control. A Spore Cloud can use this ability repeatedly without dying, but if it's spotted by a detector and killed you're SOL unless you've infected a Drone.

Basically, it's Zerg vs. Zerg, but I want to give the Infected Zerg units some special abilities and make them more like Flood units - for example, Hydralisks become Ranged Forms, Ultralisks become Tank Forms, and so forth. The main thing stopping me right now is Infection, though. I tried to use Neural Parasite as a base for the ability but got lost very quickly LOL. Some guidance there would be highly appreciated. I'll post more questions as I move forward with the map but right now just solving the Infection thing would be very helpful.

Basically, I need Infection to do two things - cause the targeted unit to become the player's unit, and transform it into a different unit entirely, the Infected form of the unit. I was planning to make separate units to represent the infected Zerg so they could be different from normal Zerg in ways beyond cosmetic changes. If that won't work for some reason, alternatives would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time!

@zeldarules28: Go

That's exactly where I got stuck. I do NOT want the two units 'tethered' together like with Neural Parasite because what's going on biologically is very different. Instead of a temporary controlling of the target's mind, its whole biology is being reworked until, while it may resemble its original form in many ways, it's really a totally new organism. The transition into Infected Unit has to be instant and permanent while still allowing the Spore Cloud to move on and infect other targets.

Also, the player will only get one Spore Cloud ever, to get the game started. I'm thinking of having it die after, say, five minutes, to force the player to use other units so it won't be too easy. The Spore Cloud is meant to allow the player to snag a few Drones so they can start building and get the game going.

I'm going to have to create a whole set of units and structures for this... man, biiiig project. It'll be worth it though if I can pull this off. I love the idea of the Zerg getting overwhelmed from within by a totally unexpected assault from a life form SO similar to them... >D

@DrSuperEvil: Go

Actually, killing the unit and spawning a new one would be the most accurate reflection of what's happening biologically anyway. According to Halo canon, when a Flood spore comes into contact with the exposed flesh of a vulnerable organism, it instantly begins growing into the organism's flesh, threading Flood cells between the native cells to form a hybrid tissue. Within milliseconds, newly-sprouted neuronal "myceliae" follow chemical signals to the organism's spinal column or equivalent, killing it more or less instantly. However, long before the organism's cells run out of oxygen and begin to die, the Flood cells spread throughout its anatomy, supplying nutrients and energy to keep them alive until the Flood superstructure finishes growing. The unneeded parts of the original organism are allowed to die and decay, while the necessary portions are symbiotically merged with/enhanced by Flood biomass. (This can cause observers to mistake the Flood-infected for zombies.)

So having a kill-then-spawn thing might actually be the best way to go about this if only because it's literally the way Flood infection works! How would I disguise the switch? And, indeed, is it even desirable to do so? If I do it right it will seem like the Zerg unit dies, only to get back up again different.

Now here's a question - should I treat both sides as being the "Zerg" race? Or should I make a new "Flood" race and assign all the new stuff (infected units, structures, and so forth) to it? It would be simple enough to keep the uninfected Zerg from getting the Flood stuff; only Infected Drones can build Infected Hatcheries can build Flood structures can build Flood units. And the only way to get an Infected Drone is to have a Spore Cloud. Which only the player will start with. So I'm not worried about the computer building stuff it's not supposed to have. But maybe it'd be easier to just have them be different races. Or would that be harder? Advice from more experienced players would be awesome.

Thanks for your time BTW, both of you!

EDIT: I also just discovered that I suck much worse at making units than I thought I did. Two specific questions; how exactly would I go about making the Infection ability so I can attach it to a unit? And how do I assign models to a unit without copying from an existing unit? I haven't been able to figure that one out. I know I ought to figure this out on my own, but links to some kind of Idiot's Guide to New Unit Making would be really appreciated. x.x

@DrSuperEvil: Go

Aha! I knew I was forgetting something. Thanks! Any advice about the race question?

@DrSuperEvil: Go

I suppose that answers that question! :p I'll just treat both sides as Zerg and control who can build what through unit access. If I just make sure the AI never gets control of units it needs to build "Flood-only" stuff and that the player never gets ahold of a normal Drone to build "normal Zerg only" stuff, the problem is moot.

@DrSuperEvil: Go

Could you please explain more in depth more like a step-by-step tutorial because i cant seem to get the (behavior - player -value) buff to show so more on a where i go to so i can find the buff plzthxbai

@KnifeSmile: Go

There are some nice blood splash effects in the data that could be used to cover the quick shift of units. if the default blood color is unfavorable perhaps tinting the actor could help. Also in my experimentation in trying to get a custom loading bar i was able to create a fourth race, how every the UI was very buggy for the race in game so it may be a matter of just having the right art assets now.

It seems like this would be easier with triggers. Just give your Flood Spore Cloud a dummy ability, which basically does nothing, and then have a trigger that activates whenever the ability is used, kills the targeted unit, and creates an infected version of that unit at the same location, but under the player's control. The blood splash from killing the unit would cover the change.

I'd recommend using a "Switch" operation to select the unit type, i.e.

Switch (unit type of targeted unit) If (Zergling) Create 1 Infected Zergling at (point) for (player) If (Hydralisk) Create 1 Infected Hydralisk at (point) for (player)

and so on for each unit.