Before you start reading please note that this thread may be placed in the wrong forums. I did not know where to place it; i assume it may fit in the terrain/doodad/data or trigger section.
What i'm trying to create is a pathable area that are floating in the air on a different height level than the terrain beneath. This area is NOT visible for the players in the game, but any doodad or units that stand on the platform remains visible (Similar to how the doodad "Shakuras Hero Gate" works). Units must be able to walk under the platform without "teleporting" on top of it, and units/doodad on the platform should not be affected from this.
One of my goals with this is to make the roofs of certain buildings pathable by units, but without changing the cliff height to create the pathing. It would also be great for buildings with multiple floors and use an "invisible platform" as a walkable floor.
As far as I know you can't make a bridge/doodad or anything that uses a footprint to be pathable underneath it. The Hero gate works the same way as a bridge works. It has to do with the model itself (has attachments I believe) and the footprint it uses. You can walk on top of it but not under it. I am not sure if that's just how the engine works, in where you can't have multiple layers of pathways (since it's an RTS, it's not meant for layering pathways) in which case it wouldn't be possible at all. I doubt this is possible through means of the model/footprint but feel free to experiment.
With that said, it is still possible to get the effect you want through other means. You would need to create heighting offsets through triggers for units. Units on top of the platform would need to have their height offset to match the heighting of the platform so it wouldn't look like they are floating in mid air. How to prevent them from walking off and float in mid air? Have a region that covers the platform, do a height check (to see if the unit is on top of the platform) when a unit trys to leave the region and then prevent the unit from leaving by moving the unit backwards.
For rooftops its really the same method. For multiple floors you could have a floor entrance for each floor level and when a unit goes to the entrance it will set their height offset to the next floor and the next. Do checks for height offsets to tell where a unit is, if a unit is on floor #1 it will have the height offset for floor #1, if it's on #2 then height offset will be #2, etc.
Anyways hope that gives you an idea of how to do it, good luck.
I spent a lot of time experimenting with this, and i came up with the same conclusion as you did. However i'm sure that i have seen a video where the creator had bridges that you could walk over and under. But i think that he used a trigger solution. I could probably work around the problem with triggers as well, but i suspect that the solutions wouldn't be ideal for a multiplayer map.
As you mentioned the objects seem to have their pathing built into the model, which makes it hard (or maybe impossible) to edit these fields. You can only remove the pathing entierly by editing the "Physical State" field on the model. I've managed to build a floating platform that has pathing and a correct size, but i am unable to hide the object without removing its pathing. The other problem is that the object still either block ground units or teleport them on top of the platform.
I realized that the best way to solve these problems is to change the unit's height when the unit enters different regions, and create pathing blockers to prevent movement outside your area. However, in my case i'll not be able to use regions to keep units within the borders of the region. But i achieved the same effect by modifying the height of the "Ground Pathing" blockers in the doodad tab.
Thanks a lot for your detailed reply :)
I am still interested in a possible solution for this, i would like to include mobile platforms that are floating above ground and that has a pathable area where you can walk around. And platforms in the air that you can blink on top off but not access in any other way. But they still need to be invisible and not affect ground units
Yes, you can add triggers to this. For example: create a bridge that can be walked over like normal, then add a trigger to remove the footprint of the bridge when a unit is near it at the height below it :) The only problem is, if a unit is on the bridge when the trigger fires, I think it will "fall" through the thing... lol.
Yes, you can add triggers to this. For example: create a bridge that can be walked over like normal, then add a trigger to remove the footprint of the bridge when a unit is near it at the height below it :) The only problem is, if a unit is on the bridge when the trigger fires, I think it will "fall" through the thing... lol.
That is why this solution isn't ideal for multiplayer maps, but i am aware of these possibilities :)
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Before you start reading please note that this thread may be placed in the wrong forums. I did not know where to place it; i assume it may fit in the terrain/doodad/data or trigger section.
What i'm trying to create is a pathable area that are floating in the air on a different height level than the terrain beneath. This area is NOT visible for the players in the game, but any doodad or units that stand on the platform remains visible (Similar to how the doodad "Shakuras Hero Gate" works). Units must be able to walk under the platform without "teleporting" on top of it, and units/doodad on the platform should not be affected from this.
One of my goals with this is to make the roofs of certain buildings pathable by units, but without changing the cliff height to create the pathing. It would also be great for buildings with multiple floors and use an "invisible platform" as a walkable floor.
Looking forward to any replies :)
Regards, Infernium
@Infernium: Go
As far as I know you can't make a bridge/doodad or anything that uses a footprint to be pathable underneath it. The Hero gate works the same way as a bridge works. It has to do with the model itself (has attachments I believe) and the footprint it uses. You can walk on top of it but not under it. I am not sure if that's just how the engine works, in where you can't have multiple layers of pathways (since it's an RTS, it's not meant for layering pathways) in which case it wouldn't be possible at all. I doubt this is possible through means of the model/footprint but feel free to experiment.
With that said, it is still possible to get the effect you want through other means. You would need to create heighting offsets through triggers for units. Units on top of the platform would need to have their height offset to match the heighting of the platform so it wouldn't look like they are floating in mid air. How to prevent them from walking off and float in mid air? Have a region that covers the platform, do a height check (to see if the unit is on top of the platform) when a unit trys to leave the region and then prevent the unit from leaving by moving the unit backwards.
For rooftops its really the same method. For multiple floors you could have a floor entrance for each floor level and when a unit goes to the entrance it will set their height offset to the next floor and the next. Do checks for height offsets to tell where a unit is, if a unit is on floor #1 it will have the height offset for floor #1, if it's on #2 then height offset will be #2, etc.
Anyways hope that gives you an idea of how to do it, good luck.
@Bronxsy: Go
I spent a lot of time experimenting with this, and i came up with the same conclusion as you did. However i'm sure that i have seen a video where the creator had bridges that you could walk over and under. But i think that he used a trigger solution. I could probably work around the problem with triggers as well, but i suspect that the solutions wouldn't be ideal for a multiplayer map.
As you mentioned the objects seem to have their pathing built into the model, which makes it hard (or maybe impossible) to edit these fields. You can only remove the pathing entierly by editing the "Physical State" field on the model. I've managed to build a floating platform that has pathing and a correct size, but i am unable to hide the object without removing its pathing. The other problem is that the object still either block ground units or teleport them on top of the platform.
I realized that the best way to solve these problems is to change the unit's height when the unit enters different regions, and create pathing blockers to prevent movement outside your area. However, in my case i'll not be able to use regions to keep units within the borders of the region. But i achieved the same effect by modifying the height of the "Ground Pathing" blockers in the doodad tab.
Thanks a lot for your detailed reply :)
I am still interested in a possible solution for this, i would like to include mobile platforms that are floating above ground and that has a pathable area where you can walk around. And platforms in the air that you can blink on top off but not access in any other way. But they still need to be invisible and not affect ground units
@Infernium: Go
Yes, you can add triggers to this. For example: create a bridge that can be walked over like normal, then add a trigger to remove the footprint of the bridge when a unit is near it at the height below it :) The only problem is, if a unit is on the bridge when the trigger fires, I think it will "fall" through the thing... lol.
That is why this solution isn't ideal for multiplayer maps, but i am aware of these possibilities :)