Well, I am not new to mapping. I just am not that great with actors that I know all the tricks about them. Though, actors are the most complicated and difficult part of the data editor in my opinion.
At least you can do a lot with only simple actors already.
As for this topic - it's solved and I added an entry into the old wiki about terrain squibs.
I was mainly wondering why some of my units had the effect and some didn't, so I wanted to know what caused them to have it so I can either remove it from all or add it to all. Now we can decide since I figured it out.
There is a field named "Physics - Terrain Squibs" and an actor event "Unit.Birth -> TerrainSquibActivateGroup RippleStandard" and I think this is related to this, but I have to test it.
Edit: Yes, that's it. Copy-paste the Physics Terrain Squibs from any other unit (maybe one of the size of your unit is better) and make the actor event:
Unit.Birth.<your unit>
TerrainSquibActivateGroup RippleStandard
You have to type in "RippleStandard". Now when your unit walks through water there will be a splash effect around it.
I tested it with a blade armor effect and I got amazing results.
The IGNORE field does not mean how much damage will be ignored. It means that any change above that value will be ignored. Aka if you say "Ignore - Life - 50" then any damage over 50 will be ignored entirely.
The MINIMUM field actually does what you think the ignore field would do. I used 50 in the minimum field (NOT minimum clamp, thats a different field) - and when a unit with <50 damage attacks my unit, it doesn't get damaged by the blade armor effect (handled). If it does above 50 it will get damaged.
I assume the ignore field for shields/energy works the same way with energy/shield damage.
I found the issue. You need to set the units affected in the upgrade in the "Affected Units Array" otherwise the actor doesn't get the Upgrade.xxx.Add message.
I forgot that this field in the upgrade actually had a purpose.
Okay, I've been trying around for hours and I can't seem to find the issue. The sentry has nothing special about it and I can't remember adding anything to make the model swap work in particular. Yet it works for the Sentry but not for my zerglings (and by now also roaches - same issue).
The search couldn't help me. In Island Defense 2 I use a model swap to switch the sentry with the dark sentry when a certain upgrade is completed with these actor events - and it works fine.
Upgrade.XXX.Add
Model Swap Dark Sentry
In another map I do the same, but this time with the zergling and the raptor strain - it doesn't work though. I also use an actor event for units that are not already made this time, since the Sentry is a hero unit and you will never get the upgrade without the Sentry already being there - but for the zerglings this is not the case.
ActorCreation
-> Validate Raptor Strain
Model Swap Raptorling
And this works - just not the swap on upgrade. I don't get it. Especially since it works fine on the other map and it seems to work for all the original blizzard actors.
So in short - when I get the upgrade, zerglings that are already on the map do not get their model swapped despite the actor event - newly trained ones have the new model.
Typical case of GalaxyEditor.png or am I doing something wrong?
Great - I would use Blizzards new armor system, if there was a way to make it work only on certain damage types aka not for spell damage as example. As far as I know it will affect all damage types though.
Our trigger-based armor has disadvantages sadly. Behaviors changing armor have to get their own trigger to update the reduction (because "Unit Property Changes" doesnt work when an armor-changing behavior times out) and I like the curve of their system more. It's a lot stronger at low amounts of armor, but falls off a lot harder. At 400 armor our system would give you 99.9% DR, their system only 80-90% (something around that).
You can make a set for the weapon, add two damage effects with the same damage amount. One effect gets a validator. That validator can check for enemy health. "Compare Vital" is the name of the validator type.
You can use percentages, flat values, everything basically.
I have to add something. What I described will work in most cases, but if you have huge spikes of experience and you skip the level that would grant a point, you need to add something.
Change the condition from "Experience Level of Triggering Unit == X" to "Experience Level of Triggering Unit >= X" - and add another condition "Experience Level of Triggering Unit < Y" - where X is the first level that shall grant a point and Y the second. You need to do this for all but the last level that grant points.
This way, even if you skip levels, you will get the points. Even if you jump from Level 1 to e.g. 16 and there are several points inbetween.
Did you try it out with "Location: Attacker" damage responses too? I was trying to make an attack modifier effect with two charges, but it wouldn't work out.
A lot of you guys want a learn ability to give a point only every other level or only at specific levels, like 1 - 4 - 7- 10, like I wanted. Yes you can make abilities require those levels with requirements but you will have unspent points that look ugly in the interface and the player will say "is there nothing I can do with those?"
Fear not, here is the solution to that problem.
Make a learn ability, set the points per level to 0, set the points (at start) to whatever you want - for this example we want our unit to start with 1 point, so set points to 1.
Make a trigger.
Event -> Unit - Any unit gains an experience level
Variables -> None
Conditions -> Comparison, Unit Type of Unit, (Unit Type of (Triggering Unit)) == <insert your hero unit type>
Actions -> General If Then Else If Action, make as many "if then" actions in this as you have levels that grant points, the condition is always "Experience Level of Triggering Unit == X" where X is the level you want the unit to gain a point. The action is "Catalog Field Value Set". Set Value of "Abilities" "<name of your learn ability>" "Points" for player ("triggering player") to Y where Y is the the current points on your learn ability (in this example 1) plus the number you want your unit to gain.
So you basically set the starting points of the learn ability to a higher amount whenever your unit reaches one of the levels where you have a if then else if condition. If you have like 100 levels and want the unit to gain a point every 5 levels, use some math to make the trigger simpler, but my method is more versatile, for example when you want a unit to gain 1 point at level 1, 2 at level 5, 10 points at level 20 and one more at 23 - or something crazy like that.
I hope this helped someone. I couldn't find a good solution with the search so I wrote this.
The Cost field, especially the cooldown and charge ones feel very wonky in their funcionality - did anyone test them and knows what works properly? Trying to make something like the incapacitated buff in the hero mission from WoL, but with a cooldown so that you aren't actually invincible.
I can do it with a dummy behavior and a validator, but if it works with a simple cooldown in the field it would somewhat rock.
0
Well, I am not new to mapping. I just am not that great with actors that I know all the tricks about them. Though, actors are the most complicated and difficult part of the data editor in my opinion.
At least you can do a lot with only simple actors already.
As for this topic - it's solved and I added an entry into the old wiki about terrain squibs.
0
Yes.
I added a wiki entry for the upgrade event.
0
I mostly listen to these:
and
Sometimes it's simply The Seasons from Vivaldi or The Planets from Gustav Holst.
Am I weird for liking classical music over everything when mapping?
0
I was mainly wondering why some of my units had the effect and some didn't, so I wanted to know what caused them to have it so I can either remove it from all or add it to all. Now we can decide since I figured it out.
0
There is a field named "Physics - Terrain Squibs" and an actor event "Unit.Birth -> TerrainSquibActivateGroup RippleStandard" and I think this is related to this, but I have to test it.
Edit: Yes, that's it. Copy-paste the Physics Terrain Squibs from any other unit (maybe one of the size of your unit is better) and make the actor event:
Unit.Birth.<your unit>
TerrainSquibActivateGroup RippleStandard
You have to type in "RippleStandard". Now when your unit walks through water there will be a splash effect around it.
0
I tested it with a blade armor effect and I got amazing results.
The IGNORE field does not mean how much damage will be ignored. It means that any change above that value will be ignored. Aka if you say "Ignore - Life - 50" then any damage over 50 will be ignored entirely.
The MINIMUM field actually does what you think the ignore field would do. I used 50 in the minimum field (NOT minimum clamp, thats a different field) - and when a unit with <50 damage attacks my unit, it doesn't get damaged by the blade armor effect (handled). If it does above 50 it will get damaged.
I assume the ignore field for shields/energy works the same way with energy/shield damage.
0
I found the issue. You need to set the units affected in the upgrade in the "Affected Units Array" otherwise the actor doesn't get the Upgrade.xxx.Add message.
I forgot that this field in the upgrade actually had a purpose.
0
Okay, I've been trying around for hours and I can't seem to find the issue. The sentry has nothing special about it and I can't remember adding anything to make the model swap work in particular. Yet it works for the Sentry but not for my zerglings (and by now also roaches - same issue).
0
The search couldn't help me. In Island Defense 2 I use a model swap to switch the sentry with the dark sentry when a certain upgrade is completed with these actor events - and it works fine.
Upgrade.XXX.Add
Model Swap Dark Sentry
In another map I do the same, but this time with the zergling and the raptor strain - it doesn't work though. I also use an actor event for units that are not already made this time, since the Sentry is a hero unit and you will never get the upgrade without the Sentry already being there - but for the zerglings this is not the case.
ActorCreation
-> Validate Raptor Strain
Model Swap Raptorling
And this works - just not the swap on upgrade. I don't get it. Especially since it works fine on the other map and it seems to work for all the original blizzard actors.
So in short - when I get the upgrade, zerglings that are already on the map do not get their model swapped despite the actor event - newly trained ones have the new model.
Typical case of GalaxyEditor.png or am I doing something wrong?
0
Great - I would use Blizzards new armor system, if there was a way to make it work only on certain damage types aka not for spell damage as example. As far as I know it will affect all damage types though.
Our trigger-based armor has disadvantages sadly. Behaviors changing armor have to get their own trigger to update the reduction (because "Unit Property Changes" doesnt work when an armor-changing behavior times out) and I like the curve of their system more. It's a lot stronger at low amounts of armor, but falls off a lot harder. At 400 armor our system would give you 99.9% DR, their system only 80-90% (something around that).
0
You can make a set for the weapon, add two damage effects with the same damage amount. One effect gets a validator. That validator can check for enemy health. "Compare Vital" is the name of the validator type.
You can use percentages, flat values, everything basically.
0
I have to add something. What I described will work in most cases, but if you have huge spikes of experience and you skip the level that would grant a point, you need to add something.
Change the condition from "Experience Level of Triggering Unit == X" to "Experience Level of Triggering Unit >= X" - and add another condition "Experience Level of Triggering Unit < Y" - where X is the first level that shall grant a point and Y the second. You need to do this for all but the last level that grant points.
This way, even if you skip levels, you will get the points. Even if you jump from Level 1 to e.g. 16 and there are several points inbetween.
0
Did you try it out with "Location: Attacker" damage responses too? I was trying to make an attack modifier effect with two charges, but it wouldn't work out.
0
A lot of you guys want a learn ability to give a point only every other level or only at specific levels, like 1 - 4 - 7- 10, like I wanted. Yes you can make abilities require those levels with requirements but you will have unspent points that look ugly in the interface and the player will say "is there nothing I can do with those?"
Fear not, here is the solution to that problem.
Make a learn ability, set the points per level to 0, set the points (at start) to whatever you want - for this example we want our unit to start with 1 point, so set points to 1.
Make a trigger.
Event -> Unit - Any unit gains an experience level
Variables -> None
Conditions -> Comparison, Unit Type of Unit, (Unit Type of (Triggering Unit)) == <insert your hero unit type>
Actions -> General If Then Else If Action, make as many "if then" actions in this as you have levels that grant points, the condition is always "Experience Level of Triggering Unit == X" where X is the level you want the unit to gain a point. The action is "Catalog Field Value Set". Set Value of "Abilities" "<name of your learn ability>" "Points" for player ("triggering player") to Y where Y is the the current points on your learn ability (in this example 1) plus the number you want your unit to gain.
So you basically set the starting points of the learn ability to a higher amount whenever your unit reaches one of the levels where you have a if then else if condition. If you have like 100 levels and want the unit to gain a point every 5 levels, use some math to make the trigger simpler, but my method is more versatile, for example when you want a unit to gain 1 point at level 1, 2 at level 5, 10 points at level 20 and one more at 23 - or something crazy like that.
I hope this helped someone. I couldn't find a good solution with the search so I wrote this.
0
One more question about Damage Responses.
The Cost field, especially the cooldown and charge ones feel very wonky in their funcionality - did anyone test them and knows what works properly? Trying to make something like the incapacitated buff in the hero mission from WoL, but with a cooldown so that you aren't actually invincible.
I can do it with a dummy behavior and a validator, but if it works with a simple cooldown in the field it would somewhat rock.