Thanks for the reply. I tried implementing something like that, but I received a Too Many Threads error. I ended up rethinking/replanning my 2nd option, and managed to get that working.
I'm trying to get a new ability working for a unit, but I'm not quite sure where I should be starting with it. I am looking for one of two things:
1. I want to give the unit a buff where any damage taken is converted to a DOT over 10 seconds. So, if the unit gets hit for 10 damage, it takes no initial damage and would take that 10 damage as 1 damage a second for 10 seconds. If it gets hit for 20 damage, it takes no initial damage and would take 2 damage a second for 10 seconds. Etc.
2. If that's not possible, I'd like the buff to instead delay any damage taken by the unit by 3 seconds. So, if the unit gets hit for 10 damage, it takes no damage initially, and after a 3 second delay, it gets hit for the full 10 damage.
Make sure you also set your Damage Response - Required Effect Array to include the damage effect. Otherwise, it will modify damage from all sources (which I don't think you want).
The Protoss wish to regain footing on their lost planet of Aiur. With the help of Jim Raynor and his elite forces, the dreams of the Protoss may once again be a reality. However, Kerrigan has sensed Jim's motives and will not give up the planet without a fight. As one of the elite fighters under Jim Raynor's command, you must take back the planet and cleanse the Zerg infestation from Aiur once and for all.
Description
Zerg Assault: Homeworld (ZAH) is a 6 player defend the base, action and survival map with an emphasis on hero development and teamwork. Each hero has a primary role with which it was designed around, and each role has a primary attribute assigned to it.
Tank: Focused around taking damage, having a large hit point pool, and staying alive.
Support: Focused around keeping their allies alive, granting temporary boosts to their allies, or weakening their foes.
Ranged DPS: Focused on dealing high amounts of damage consistently.
Caster DPS: Unique to each other but still share an appropriate set of generic-use abilities.
In addition, all heroes have a set of 6 abilities, 2 of those abilities are shared between heroes of the same role, 3 are unique to each hero, and 1 is shared between all heroes. While playing, you can choose to unlock more abilities or focus on increasing your hero's attributes. Heroes also have a set of passive talents they can take to further customize their playstyle. All passives are available to all heroes, so go wild!
ZAH also allows you to amass an army unlike any other map of its kind. Your army is cheap to produce, but this is certainly by design and will require frequent upkeep, especially against the powerful Zerg bosses you'll encounter. You'll have to carefully select which units will be most effective against the onslaught of Zerg and use them wisely. The most expensive unit will not be the most effective unit in all situations.
What am I looking for as far as feedback goes?
Anything! I am mostly interested in how the game is balanced for more than 1 player, and I am especially interested to see if the game is still challenging for a team of 6 players. Any bugs, typos, or inconsistencies you find can be posted here. I'd appreciate it if you did not post a review of the map as I am aware there should be things that need to be fixed or adjusted. I've only been able to test this map in single-player mode, so I can't comment about how the gameplay changes with more than 1 player. If you must post a review of my map, please give me enough information to fix whatever problems you encountered.
Future Plans
While the current version is nice, here are some things to look forward to over the next weeks and months (in no particular order):
Extra Heroes: I believe quality should be focused on more than quantity. I want players to be able to hit the random button and get a decent, well-designed hero no matter what they end up getting. There will be a few more extra heroes added to the game to help in areas that I think are lacking or that I have already planned out and have just not implemented yet. After about 15 heroes are in the game, no more will be added. Currently, there are 9 heroes in the game, so you can look forward to seeing a maximum of about 6 more.
Abilities For All Units: Each unit needs to have something that makes it stand out against the rest aside from being situationally better than its closest counterpart. All non-hero units will be given at least one active ability to make it all the more useful. This will also make lower tiered units more valuable for the end game. The same goes for Zerg units >:)
More Upgrades: I know certain things are missing, mainly pertaining to non-hero units. This and the above will probably be worked on simultaneously.
Frequent Map Layout Changes: One thing to help keep the map fresh is to alter its layout. Sometimes even the slightest change or addition can completely change a map's strategy. I'm thinking roughly every 6-8 weeks of altering the map some once the map is in a finished/polished state, but this could change.
More Bosses/Final Surprises: Once the current end boss gets fine tuned and gets some abilities added, I will work on getting a second boss out. I'm hoping to eventually get at least 3 epic final boss encounters in the game (each playthrough will yield 1 random encounter).
Balancing and Bug Fixing: I know the game isn't perfect by any means. I will be fixing bugs and inconsistencies as soon as I find them/am made aware of them.
Another Map: If the demand is there for one, I will make more maps featuring the heroes you've come to know and love.
Add More Protoss Units: This is probably one of the lower priority things for me, but it will be done eventually. You won't need to buy a separate set of upgrades for them once they are added, though, as that makes about as much sense as having Zerg units in a kill all Zerg game. At least two of the new heroes I am planning on adding will be Protoss, though, so you will probably see them before anything else.
FAQ Q. If the game is still under development, why is it now public?
A. I've tested the game as much as I can on my own. I want to see what the community's feedback is regarding the direction is the game going and what else needs to be done to it that I am missing. When the game finally hits the big 1.0 mark, then everything (or just about everything) should not only be in the game but in perfect working order.
Q. How does the ability system work?
A. In order to gain new abilities, you need to have vespene. In order to gain vespene, you need to either level up or complete certain bonus objectives. Every time you level up, you will receive 1 vespene. You can either use this vespene to increase an attribute of your choosing by +2, increase all attributes by +1 or unlock a new ability for your hero.
Q. What the heck are passives and how do they work?
A. Passives are similar to hero upgrades in they do not require action on your part; they are just passive bonuses applied to your hero. However, unlike hero upgrades, passives are tied in directly to your hero's attributes. Any hero can take any passive as long as they meet the attribute requirement for the passive. Passives cost terrazine to train, and you get 1 terrazine at levels 2, 8, 15, and every 7 levels thereafter.
Q. What is the bonus I receive for selecting a random hero?
A. You will receive a 5% boost to all minerals gained during gameplay.
Q. What is the maximum level for upgrades?
A. Generic upgrades that affect all units (+attack, +armor, +hit points, etc.) have 50 levels associated with them. Hero upgrades either max out at level 1 or 3.
Q. What are the bonus mission rewards?
A. All bonus missions give your hero some experience, minerals, and vespene depending on their difficulty. The later into the game the mission is, the more difficult and rewarding of a mission it is. Here are the current bonus mission rewards and penalties:
• Rescue the Ancient Defender: the Ancient Defender joins the player who rescued it OR Kerrigan opens a Nydus Worm or two near the base.
• Defend the Ghost Marine Squad: a small squadron of Ghost Marines joins each player's army OR Kerrigan spawns a special Zerg boss at the base.
• Defeat the Mind Eater: a small squadron of Ghost Marines joins each player's army OR Zerg forces receive a major upgrade.
• Find a way to defeat the hybrid: Thor's can be produced by each player. There is no penalty for this mission as failing to defeat the hybrid results in a loss.
Q. Why can't I buff my units?
A. You can buff your units by killing the queen's the spawn from hatcheries and lairs as well as from killing the various bosses who spawn during the game. Your hero is meant to be your most powerful unit under your control. There will never be any other buffs for units as those buffs deteriorate the gameplay. I could either design the game around the buffs and make the game too hard to complete without them OR not design the game around buffs and make the game too easy with them. See the active Special Forces maps as my proof of this.
Q. Who is this game's targeted audience?
A. At the conception of this game, my target audience was folks who just had WOL and were tired of Jason's map (or should I say Lanz's) being neglected and not being given the attention it deserved. Now with the free Arcade, it is a more "hardcore" version of the genre, and those types of players should enjoy the challenge the game presents.
Q. Are there any special commands I can use in the game?
A. There's a few. Type "-help" for a listing.
Q. My hero sucks! Is it possible for it to both suck and blow at the same time?
A. Maybe. The game is new and everything still needs to be balanced and fixed.
Q. Are there any bonuses to playing with less people? I soloed the game and got killed right away!
A. No. The game becomes harder with less people, and the supply cap for all players is reduced (ie. 390 for 6 players and just 200 for 1 player). The game was meant to be played with more people, and to maintain the integrity of the game, it becomes harder with less folks in it like any normal team-based map should.
Q. Player X is being a jerk! Please ban him from the game!
A. While not a question, I have implemented a vote kick system for all to use. It can be used once per game by each player and requires 50% + 1 of votes to be positive in order to remove someone from the game.
Q. Why is Tier 3 Zerg Air so hard? Freakin' Spotters...
A. They are just saying "Hi" in their own, unique way... and you are probably not using the appropriate counter for them.
Q. I found a bug! What can I do?
A. Post it here, and if you can, please include a screen shot of the bug in action. I will get to it as soon as I can. If it is a game breaking issue, you can expect a quick fix for it.
Q. I have a suggestion for a new hero/unit/ability/upgrade. Will you use it?
A. If it offers something unique to the game that is not already in it, then maybe. I am open to new hero and ability ideas for any Protoss or Terran units. New units are something that I will probably not be adding unless the planets align and the gods smile upon it (quality > quantity).
Q. Why is this FAQ so long?
A. Why is the sky blue? Why is the grass green? Why are the stars so big and bright? Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?
Q. How can you have a FAQ without being asked any questions?
A. These are questions I anticipate I will be getting from the community, so I figured it would be best to just answer them now instead of later.
Q. What do I think of the Doge Coin?
A. TO THE MOON!
Q. Why don't you do what Map X does? It makes Map X 1337!
A. ch4nc32 R, 1'm N07 4 P4R71cul4r ph4n 0F m4P X. 1f J00 L1k3 M4p X 83773r 4ND 1 M 5h0W1n' N0 519n2 0f 4D0p71n' m4P X'2 Pr4C71c32, 7h3N pL332 PL4Y m4p x 1n5734D.
I followed this tutorial a month or 2 ago and got it working. This method will not update the texture in the editor - only in-game. Perhaps that's your problem?
I'm also pretty sure whatever damage the unit takes is factored into this formula even if the damage effect ignores armor. So an effect that normally would bypass armor completely would instead be reduced by whatever armor the formula you use calculates.
I think I got it working. I edited the unit's actor ability sounds (was looking for a flag or something in the ability) and set that to use no sound for the ability. Seems to be working, so that's good enough for now I guess :)
So, I have a Taunt ability. When the unit uses this ability, the unit will play one of it's _Pissed sounds; this is all working fine. However, when I command my unit to use the ability, it will also play it's acknowledgment sound as well. Is there anyway to prevent the acknowledgment sound from playing?
The other thing you could do is have the Intelligence attribute actually do nothing, but then scale the effects and such via catalog triggers whenever the unit's attribute increases or decreases. I'm using a combo of what Kueken suggested (damage fraction vs specific damage amount) and this method since abilities that don't use damage effects don't instinctively become stronger with attribute increases. For these abilities like heals or those that make use of buff behaviors, I update the ability's catalog entries to scale appropriately (5 points of intelligence increases the amount healed by 1%, shield buff ability gives +1 shield point and +0.1 shield armor per intelligence, etc.).
My unit has an ability that causes him to teleport from point A to point B. Nearby enemies to points A & B take damage when the teleport is used. This is all working correctly.
However, since making the actor visual for each effect (both damages are handled through create persists), the actors are, for some reason, being created about 4-5 squares under my unit. I've tried modifying a bunch of different settings, but nothing I change seems to do anything.
Here's a screenshot of what's happening (the bolts should appear on the same y-axis as the unit):
Here are my current settings for each actor.
Any help would be appreciated!
Edit:
After some commonsense thinking, I realized I could just duplicate the Planet Cracker beam. After modifying the site operators, I was able to get it to work.
I actually got it to work and the solution was a bit easier than I thought. Although her selectable area is a bit small, it definitely works. All I did was create a model with animation style continuous, set the model to Kerrigan(Char) and set the following:
Thanks for the reply. That would be the way I would do it if I couldn't get it to work otherwise. Is there anyway I can tell the burrowed actor to have it's height set in the Kerrigan actor, IE:
So in my map, Kerrigan is a controllable unit and one of her abilities is burrow. Whenever Kerrigan burrows, she turns invisible and in order to reselect her, you either have to select-drag over her or click on her hero icon.
I'm know this is either an actor problem or a model limitation. I've setup several other custom units with burrowing (hydralisk and infested terran) the same way I set Kerrigan up and those are working fine. I did notice that the hydra and IT had some extra events in their actors, but when I copied those into Kerrigan's, nothing happened other than an actor error saying more than one cactor exists (or whatever its called).
I want to get something that looks like this for Kerrigan: http://images.ctrustnetwork.com/static_pages/gaming/starcraft/races/zerg/zerg.burrow.jpg, IE: you can see the upper part of her body (head, wings/claws, whatever) and you can actually click on her. I got the burrow hole to appear just fine but keeping some part of Kerrigan visible and interactable while she is burrowed is the part I am totally stuck on.
0
@FunkyUserName: Go
Thanks for the reply. I tried implementing something like that, but I received a Too Many Threads error. I ended up rethinking/replanning my 2nd option, and managed to get that working.
0
I'm trying to get a new ability working for a unit, but I'm not quite sure where I should be starting with it. I am looking for one of two things:
1. I want to give the unit a buff where any damage taken is converted to a DOT over 10 seconds. So, if the unit gets hit for 10 damage, it takes no initial damage and would take that 10 damage as 1 damage a second for 10 seconds. If it gets hit for 20 damage, it takes no initial damage and would take 2 damage a second for 10 seconds. Etc.
2. If that's not possible, I'd like the buff to instead delay any damage taken by the unit by 3 seconds. So, if the unit gets hit for 10 damage, it takes no damage initially, and after a 3 second delay, it gets hit for the full 10 damage.
0
Make sure you also set your Damage Response - Required Effect Array to include the damage effect. Otherwise, it will modify damage from all sources (which I don't think you want).
0
The Protoss wish to regain footing on their lost planet of Aiur. With the help of Jim Raynor and his elite forces, the dreams of the Protoss may once again be a reality. However, Kerrigan has sensed Jim's motives and will not give up the planet without a fight. As one of the elite fighters under Jim Raynor's command, you must take back the planet and cleanse the Zerg infestation from Aiur once and for all.
Description
Zerg Assault: Homeworld (ZAH) is a 6 player defend the base, action and survival map with an emphasis on hero development and teamwork. Each hero has a primary role with which it was designed around, and each role has a primary attribute assigned to it.
In addition, all heroes have a set of 6 abilities, 2 of those abilities are shared between heroes of the same role, 3 are unique to each hero, and 1 is shared between all heroes. While playing, you can choose to unlock more abilities or focus on increasing your hero's attributes. Heroes also have a set of passive talents they can take to further customize their playstyle. All passives are available to all heroes, so go wild!
ZAH also allows you to amass an army unlike any other map of its kind. Your army is cheap to produce, but this is certainly by design and will require frequent upkeep, especially against the powerful Zerg bosses you'll encounter. You'll have to carefully select which units will be most effective against the onslaught of Zerg and use them wisely. The most expensive unit will not be the most effective unit in all situations.
What am I looking for as far as feedback goes?
Anything! I am mostly interested in how the game is balanced for more than 1 player, and I am especially interested to see if the game is still challenging for a team of 6 players. Any bugs, typos, or inconsistencies you find can be posted here. I'd appreciate it if you did not post a review of the map as I am aware there should be things that need to be fixed or adjusted. I've only been able to test this map in single-player mode, so I can't comment about how the gameplay changes with more than 1 player. If you must post a review of my map, please give me enough information to fix whatever problems you encountered.
Future Plans
While the current version is nice, here are some things to look forward to over the next weeks and months (in no particular order):
FAQ
Q. If the game is still under development, why is it now public?
A. I've tested the game as much as I can on my own. I want to see what the community's feedback is regarding the direction is the game going and what else needs to be done to it that I am missing. When the game finally hits the big 1.0 mark, then everything (or just about everything) should not only be in the game but in perfect working order.
Q. How does the ability system work?
A. In order to gain new abilities, you need to have vespene. In order to gain vespene, you need to either level up or complete certain bonus objectives. Every time you level up, you will receive 1 vespene. You can either use this vespene to increase an attribute of your choosing by +2, increase all attributes by +1 or unlock a new ability for your hero.
Q. What the heck are passives and how do they work?
A. Passives are similar to hero upgrades in they do not require action on your part; they are just passive bonuses applied to your hero. However, unlike hero upgrades, passives are tied in directly to your hero's attributes. Any hero can take any passive as long as they meet the attribute requirement for the passive. Passives cost terrazine to train, and you get 1 terrazine at levels 2, 8, 15, and every 7 levels thereafter.
Q. What is the bonus I receive for selecting a random hero?
A. You will receive a 5% boost to all minerals gained during gameplay.
Q. What is the maximum level for upgrades?
A. Generic upgrades that affect all units (+attack, +armor, +hit points, etc.) have 50 levels associated with them. Hero upgrades either max out at level 1 or 3.
Q. What are the bonus mission rewards?
A. All bonus missions give your hero some experience, minerals, and vespene depending on their difficulty. The later into the game the mission is, the more difficult and rewarding of a mission it is. Here are the current bonus mission rewards and penalties:
• Rescue the Ancient Defender: the Ancient Defender joins the player who rescued it OR Kerrigan opens a Nydus Worm or two near the base.
• Defend the Ghost Marine Squad: a small squadron of Ghost Marines joins each player's army OR Kerrigan spawns a special Zerg boss at the base.
• Defeat the Mind Eater: a small squadron of Ghost Marines joins each player's army OR Zerg forces receive a major upgrade.
• Find a way to defeat the hybrid: Thor's can be produced by each player. There is no penalty for this mission as failing to defeat the hybrid results in a loss.
Q. Why can't I buff my units?
A. You can buff your units by killing the queen's the spawn from hatcheries and lairs as well as from killing the various bosses who spawn during the game. Your hero is meant to be your most powerful unit under your control. There will never be any other buffs for units as those buffs deteriorate the gameplay. I could either design the game around the buffs and make the game too hard to complete without them OR not design the game around buffs and make the game too easy with them. See the active Special Forces maps as my proof of this.
Q. Who is this game's targeted audience?
A. At the conception of this game, my target audience was folks who just had WOL and were tired of Jason's map (or should I say Lanz's) being neglected and not being given the attention it deserved. Now with the free Arcade, it is a more "hardcore" version of the genre, and those types of players should enjoy the challenge the game presents.
Q. Did anyone help you with the game?
A. Everything in the game has been done solely by me with the exception of a few models I downloaded from sc2mapster.com. Give these guys some lovin':
• Thrikodias' Assets @ http://www.sc2mapster.com/assets/dark-protoss/
• Custom Turret Models @ http://www.sc2mapster.com/assets/turret-models/
Q. Are there any special commands I can use in the game?
A. There's a few. Type "-help" for a listing.
Q. My hero sucks! Is it possible for it to both suck and blow at the same time?
A. Maybe. The game is new and everything still needs to be balanced and fixed.
Q. Are there any bonuses to playing with less people? I soloed the game and got killed right away!
A. No. The game becomes harder with less people, and the supply cap for all players is reduced (ie. 390 for 6 players and just 200 for 1 player). The game was meant to be played with more people, and to maintain the integrity of the game, it becomes harder with less folks in it like any normal team-based map should.
Q. Player X is being a jerk! Please ban him from the game!
A. While not a question, I have implemented a vote kick system for all to use. It can be used once per game by each player and requires 50% + 1 of votes to be positive in order to remove someone from the game.
Q. Why is Tier 3 Zerg Air so hard? Freakin' Spotters...
A. They are just saying "Hi" in their own, unique way... and you are probably not using the appropriate counter for them.
Q. I found a bug! What can I do?
A. Post it here, and if you can, please include a screen shot of the bug in action. I will get to it as soon as I can. If it is a game breaking issue, you can expect a quick fix for it.
Q. I have a suggestion for a new hero/unit/ability/upgrade. Will you use it?
A. If it offers something unique to the game that is not already in it, then maybe. I am open to new hero and ability ideas for any Protoss or Terran units. New units are something that I will probably not be adding unless the planets align and the gods smile upon it (quality > quantity).
Q. Why is this FAQ so long?
A. Why is the sky blue? Why is the grass green? Why are the stars so big and bright? Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?
Q. How can you have a FAQ without being asked any questions?
A. These are questions I anticipate I will be getting from the community, so I figured it would be best to just answer them now instead of later.
Q. What do I think of the Doge Coin?
A. TO THE MOON!
Q. Why don't you do what Map X does? It makes Map X 1337!
A. ch4nc32 R, 1'm N07 4 P4R71cul4r ph4n 0F m4P X. 1f J00 L1k3 M4p X 83773r 4ND 1 M 5h0W1n' N0 519n2 0f 4D0p71n' m4P X'2 Pr4C71c32, 7h3N pL332 PL4Y m4p x 1n5734D.
0
@Bommes: Go
I followed this tutorial a month or 2 ago and got it working. This method will not update the texture in the editor - only in-game. Perhaps that's your problem?
0
@zaysite: Go
http://www.thehelper.net/threads/armor-formula-question.55630/
I'm also pretty sure whatever damage the unit takes is factored into this formula even if the damage effect ignores armor. So an effect that normally would bypass armor completely would instead be reduced by whatever armor the formula you use calculates.
0
@penguinwars: Go
I have an upgrade that has 113 elements to it... Are you sure you aren't doing something silly like hitting cancel instead of OK?
It's also possible your upgrade got corrupted and needs to be recreated.
0
@Fullachain: Go
Update the button's tooltip using triggers and the Catalog functions.
0
I think I got it working. I edited the unit's actor ability sounds (was looking for a flag or something in the ability) and set that to use no sound for the ability. Seems to be working, so that's good enough for now I guess :)
0
So, I have a Taunt ability. When the unit uses this ability, the unit will play one of it's _Pissed sounds; this is all working fine. However, when I command my unit to use the ability, it will also play it's acknowledgment sound as well. Is there anyway to prevent the acknowledgment sound from playing?
0
The other thing you could do is have the Intelligence attribute actually do nothing, but then scale the effects and such via catalog triggers whenever the unit's attribute increases or decreases. I'm using a combo of what Kueken suggested (damage fraction vs specific damage amount) and this method since abilities that don't use damage effects don't instinctively become stronger with attribute increases. For these abilities like heals or those that make use of buff behaviors, I update the ability's catalog entries to scale appropriately (5 points of intelligence increases the amount healed by 1%, shield buff ability gives +1 shield point and +0.1 shield armor per intelligence, etc.).
0
My unit has an ability that causes him to teleport from point A to point B. Nearby enemies to points A & B take damage when the teleport is used. This is all working correctly.
However, since making the actor visual for each effect (both damages are handled through create persists), the actors are, for some reason, being created about 4-5 squares under my unit. I've tried modifying a bunch of different settings, but nothing I change seems to do anything.
Here's a screenshot of what's happening (the bolts should appear on the same y-axis as the unit):
Here are my current settings for each actor.
Any help would be appreciated!
Edit: After some commonsense thinking, I realized I could just duplicate the Planet Cracker beam. After modifying the site operators, I was able to get it to work.
0
@jabbedxorz: Go
I actually got it to work and the solution was a bit easier than I thought. Although her selectable area is a bit small, it definitely works. All I did was create a model with animation style continuous, set the model to Kerrigan(Char) and set the following:
0
@SoulFilcher: Go
Thanks for the reply. That would be the way I would do it if I couldn't get it to work otherwise. Is there anyway I can tell the burrowed actor to have it's height set in the Kerrigan actor, IE:
0
So in my map, Kerrigan is a controllable unit and one of her abilities is burrow. Whenever Kerrigan burrows, she turns invisible and in order to reselect her, you either have to select-drag over her or click on her hero icon.
I'm know this is either an actor problem or a model limitation. I've setup several other custom units with burrowing (hydralisk and infested terran) the same way I set Kerrigan up and those are working fine. I did notice that the hydra and IT had some extra events in their actors, but when I copied those into Kerrigan's, nothing happened other than an actor error saying more than one cactor exists (or whatever its called).
I want to get something that looks like this for Kerrigan: http://images.ctrustnetwork.com/static_pages/gaming/starcraft/races/zerg/zerg.burrow.jpg, IE: you can see the upper part of her body (head, wings/claws, whatever) and you can actually click on her. I got the burrow hole to appear just fine but keeping some part of Kerrigan visible and interactable while she is burrowed is the part I am totally stuck on.