SC2Mapster

I can't find any way to make a siege tank attack ground. In warcraft 3, siege units could "Attack Ground" which gives you a targetting cursor and would let you constantly shoot the ground there which was effective with splash damage.

You could effectively use this to kill ghosts without a revealer.

But how can I add this?

@Radgh: Go

Hopefully you'll get a better reply than mine when it comes to this topic, but i would modify its weapon, making it so its effects does not need a "target" thus letting you target anywhere. Thats about as much help as I can think of on this (not my area) but maybe that will get you in the right direction till someone else with more knowledge on this posts.
or maybe modifying the "attacK" ability.
all of which is in the data editor.

I'm having the same problem.

I've tried changing all of the weapon settings (including damage, persistent, etc) to Target Point, instead of Target Unit, and I still can't get my unit to attack that point.

The only other option I can think of is turning the attack into an ability, and casting that ability every time I want to fire...

well, it would have to be an ability if you think about it. all the previous rts by blizz the attack ground functioned quite differently than just attack. if attack ground was an option it would auto attack. i agree that it would make sense that with the GE being what it is, we should have the option to target a ground with an aoe/search effect attached to a basic weapon, which would only go off if targeted on the ground, otherwise would target units normally. the hardest part i think about making an ability that did the same thing as 'attack' to ground is to make it auto-fire non stop like it did. from what i know about how the abilities work you would have to keep 'attacking-ground' or trigger it (and its time to steer clear of triggering abilities if at all possible i think). there is always the auto-cast option which maybe would work to attack ground, but i doubt it. and ive got bigger things on my plate than attack ground to work with atm personally. but if you all figure it out or make something work id love to hear your short hand way of making it work!

Well, here's where I am with this:

I have an ability that deals 60 damage (+ splash) to any location within 9 range of a Siege Tank.

Problems:
1. I can't get the tank to face the direction of the attack - I'm looking at some other abilities (Ghost snipe, etc) to see if there's an easy way to do this.
2. I can't get it to keep attacking the ground. I don't have much of an idea of where to go with this though...

Thx

EDIT: I've managed to set it up so that it's in autocast mode and has a 3s cooldown, but #2 is still a problem...

There is various ways to do this.

Add a custom/copy of a siege attack to your unit.
Create a dummy unit.
Create/copy a custom ability with an AoE cursor (like EMP).
Make a trigger similar to this :

AttackGround
    Events
        Unit - CustomUnit is issued an order to Ghost - EMP Round
        ------- EMP Round is used here because my custom ability would based on EMP and would have the command EMP Round to be used.
    Local Variables
    Conditions
    Actions
         ------- The Dummy is a unit that can't be seen/selected in game and doesn't have any model or sounds.
       Unit - Create 1 Dummy for player 0 at (Target point for (Triggering order)) facing (Position of (Triggering unit)) (Ignore Placement)
       ------- The dummy should be created at the center of where your ability has been ordered ("casted").
        Unit - Add 1 Infestor - Infested Terran Timed Life to (Last created unit) from 1
         ------- This trigger add a timed life to the dummy unit, this way you won't have multiple dummy unit standing around.
        Unit - Order CustomUnit to ( Attack (Last created unit)) (Replace Existing Orders)
         ------- This order the unit to attack the invisible dummy creating a smiliar effect to shooting the ground.

I used something similar once and worked perfectly.
NB: Using multiple weapons might get weird results.

@Deltafox:

It sounds like it would work, but I'm trying to get this to work without using triggers - I want to make this exclusively using the data editor.

I got it to the point where it attacks a given point (without the use of a dummy unit btw), I just can't get it to attack that point more than once.

Thanks, but... how did you do THAT? :)

It's for my tank... which shoots nuke shells. That shouldn't require a unit as target...!

Quote from Deltafox: Go

There is various ways to do this.

Add a custom/copy of a siege attack to your unit.
Create a dummy unit.
Create/copy a custom ability with an AoE cursor (like EMP).
Make a trigger similar to this :

AttackGround
Events
Unit - CustomUnit is issued an order to Ghost - EMP Round
- EMP Round is used here because my custom ability would based on EMP and would have the command EMP Round to be used.
Local Variables
Conditions
Actions
- The Dummy is a unit that can't be seen/selected in game and doesn't have any model or sounds.
Unit - Create 1 Dummy for player 0 at (Target point for (Triggering order)) facing (Position of (Triggering unit)) (Ignore Placement)
- The dummy should be created at the center of where your ability has been ordered ("casted").
Unit - Add 1 Infestor - Infested Terran Timed Life to (Last created unit) from 1
- This trigger add a timed life to the dummy unit, this way you won't have multiple dummy unit standing around.
Unit - Order CustomUnit to ( Attack (Last created unit)) (Replace Existing Orders)
- This order the unit to attack the invisible dummy creating a smiliar effect to shooting the ground.

I used something similar once and worked perfectly.
NB: Using multiple weapons might get weird results.

Why not just add an ability (Effect Target) with target location; Damage Effect = Unit's damage effect? I'm confused... Make the weapon share cooldown
Alternatively remove the weapon altogether. Put UI - Weapon as your own weapon, give your ability autocast. O_O

Make a persistent ability that triggers the same effect as your unit's weapon, set the period to whatever the weapon's attack speed is and flag it as channeled, and the period count to -1, then make a new Effect - Target ability "Attack Ground."

Then when you give the order to attack the ground the unit will channel the effect until you give it any other orders (which will automatically interrupt the channeling.)

Quote from margeman2k3: Go

@Deltafox:

It sounds like it would work, but I'm trying to get this to work without using triggers - I want to make this exclusively using the data editor.

I got it to the point where it attacks a given point (without the use of a dummy unit btw), I just can't get it to attack that point more than once.

How did you got the ability to even attack ground without triggers? And did you got it to attack multiple times?

Quote from RileyStarcraft: Go

Make a persistent ability that triggers the same effect as your unit's weapon, set the period to whatever the weapon's attack speed is and flag it as channeled, and the period count to -1, then make a new Effect - Target ability "Attack Ground."

Then when you give the order to attack the ground the unit will channel the effect until you give it any other orders (which will automatically interrupt the channeling.)

There is not such thing as a persistent abiltity. Effects are the one with persistency.