In case you aren't aware, Missile actors essentially are full-capacity Unit actors, just with different defaults, especially Events. Coupled with a few flags on the unit itself to create the untargetable object we know as a "missile".
You'll have to manually mix-and-match the fields based on what exactly you need: A targetable "unit"-like missile will at the very least require a wireframe, healthbar and an armor icon, and the "Flyer Helper" position marker on air units is handled by its actor events (copy from existing units). If players aren't supposed to click it or shoot at it just copy a regular "Projectile" class unit.
So an old "arcade-style" missile, good. No player input solves the greatest problem.
What you could do is make the unit an actual missile and create it via a Launch Missile effect aimed inside the "destruction region". Then you can use motion overlays to your heart's content, the collision check is an aura-type setup that acts independently, and if you need it to be targetable/AoE-destructable that also works without problem.
You should maintain the "destruction region" though, because if the missile's base trajectory reaches the target point and the actual missile doesn't (due to being displaced by the wave) it will sit idle/teleport or otherwise glitch out.
Do you need to redirect the missile mid-flight, or is it enough to do one constant wave motion?
Ability waypoints are set on the ability itself, you can probably unset all visuals there (but you'd have to do it for every single ability individually)
The actual cursor might be loaded directly without a data object. Either you can mess with the Asset list files, or import an invisible model with the same name as the animated cursor. You can probably also get rid of waypoints this way, but then you'd have to re-import the visible model if you want it on specific abilities.
How do you deactivate the "fly-in-wave" force-motion/Issue Order? You can't use validators for Speed, UnitOrderQueue or the like because the force-wave-line makes the unit move past its original order.
It should be possible somehow, but you'll probably need an actual arrival check or a very clever design of the wave driver itself.
Non-straight-line Movers only work for missiles. If you only want the wave as a visual effect you can use actor SiteOps to move the model around, actually forcing the unit itself to move in a wavy pattern will be fairly difficult (especially since you probably don't want it moving left and right when it's stationary)
The relevant part probably is the Attachment field at the top. Ensure the actor "AttachmentArtilleryTurret" is already created at the time this turret activates, which most likely isn't the case if the turret is set on the main Unit and the corresponding actor creates its attachments.
The Turret actor itself will have the standard hosting fields. If you specify a host there just reconstruct its identity based on the scope. If that host is "Implicit" you'll have to read up on the "standard" behavior I guess. "Host=Creator" works very reliably if you can afford to tie actor creation to some precursor/"main" actor (which should work with your attached model, since you don't need the turret actor before that's created)
Indeed the standard "assign turret to weapon on unit" approach might fail, because the turret actor will most likely be hosted on the main unit's actor (or if you didn't change anything, might even be set to explicitly host on "_Selectable", aka the main unit)
1: Probably one of the many, many flags you can set on the unit itself. Maybe a Model issue, if you're using a model that wasn't intended for a unit try switching to one that was as a test.
2: I think those are hardcoded, though you can rename the existing ones. Simple things like a raw damage bonus you can simulate with Validators: Using a dummy buff as a custom "attribute" (not an Attribute behavior!), or a plain unit type whitelist on the bonus damage effect. Nothing will sync up with the UI though.
3: There's a flag on abilities, I think it was "Wait To Spend". Either cast the ability instantly in the direction of the target, or move within range of the actual target position first. If you have additional Validators on the effect immediately produced by the ability those could also be messing you up (LocationRange and EnumerateArea being obvious culprits, anything else is probably hard to mess up specifically for long ranges)
Oh, forgot about that sorry. You changed the language settings didn't you? All strings displayed ingame are saved seperately for each language, and if you don't set the other languages (or bulk copy) you will get these "missing string" displays. There are tutorials on how to copy everything over, but that's usually done when the map is ready to be published. Alternatively you could set your game to the same locale as the editor, or, since you only need English settings to find specific fields, create the objects in English, then switch your editor back to French before assigning names/tooltips/hotkeys.
No idea on the double+1, or how that would even trigger, are you sure your dummy upgrades don't give stats and you're using the correct ability keys for the Issue Order?
Regarding the actual problem at hand, leave the monitor buffs non-Hidden for now and check if they're present on the buff bar. If you messed up the validators they might very well all activate immediately, and whichever one is processed last by the game will set its icon.
There's a type that transforms Requirements. Probably even called Requirement, and might be used for Marauder Concussive Shells or other upgradable bonus effects.
Remember to put a NOT bracket around your "have lvl5" check, either within the requirement itself or by inverting it with another validator (several types have "invert" options, Combine is one of them)
Also, can Raynor take any other actions while developing the upgrade? The Issue Order effect will either override existing orders or delay the icon change until he is idle, and I'm not sure if you can set Research abilities to Transient (a flag that, when ticked, causes them to activate instantly and bypass the order queue)
Is the primary loop a Persistent effect or a Buff behavior? The former you can launch via an Effect - Instant ability, the latter with the Behavior ability class or an Effect - Instant using an Apply Behavior effect (might give more options for autocasts or levelable abilities)
The flickering is usually caused by a duration that is slightly shorter (or sometimes exactly equal to) the reapply period. If the buff isn't stackable you shouldn't get any reverse problems if you make the duration a bit longer.
2s as the update pulse rate is exceedingly long, for hero abilities you can usually go as low as a single game tick (0.0625) without causing lag. That will automatically fix the "move out of range" issue too. Otherwise there's LocationRange validators, which you can use to check the distance between Raynor and an individual Marine (can't think of a good prebuilt example for that one, sorry)
Sounds and visuals are handles by Actors. All you describe can be copied over from the Sentry's Guardian Shield ability, except for the Stimpack on-target visuals which you got working already. If the Pylon power field model doesn't provide a "fade out" animation by itself you'll have to fake one via actor events: Replace the "AnimBracketStop" or "Destroy" event with a timer + SetOpacity event and destroy the actor when the timer expires)
"Issue Order" is a type of effect which sends a single command at the target. It's linked to the ability ID and not the button, but otherwise it's essentially "Raynor: press X now". Also works if you don't have a button on the command card, so you can hide the entire setup from the player.
"Buff" is the behavior type that handles pretty much all passive effects on units. Stimpack, Cloak, Chronoboost, all those "passive" special effects. By assigning a Buff to a unit directly you can give that unit type unique passive abilities like the Mothership's Cloaking Field. In this case you just want the buff to "monitor" the unit and activate when the specific upgrade level is reached. Buffs have the same effect-triggering capabilities as Persistent effects, minus position offsets. You want to use one of those to trigger the Issue Order, combined with a condition enforced via Validator or Requirement. Note that the validator fields on buffs trigger their action (disable/remove) if the validator returns FALSE.
A conceptually simple version for one-shot effects is to use the Remove validator field with a validator that's the opposite of your trigger condition, i.e. "NOT have upgrade lvl5". If this is False you DO have lvl5, and the buff will remove itself. Then you use the Effect - Final field to launch the Issue Order. Since I don't know the French names be warned, there are two fields that trigger "upon ending": One is "Expire" and only triggers if you set a timer on the buff and that runs out. The other is "Final" and executes if the buff is removed in pretty much any way, which you want. Banelings should be using the Final field since they explode upon death (death of the unit being another way the buff can be "removed")
Regarding the language barrier I can only suggest you go to Preferences->General and switch to English. I'm German myself but I switched the editor over a long time ago after getting fed up with a few horrible translations ("training" units once was translated as "locomotive" or "pull", and "charge into battle" doesn't use the same word as "electric charge" in German...)
Research ability: since those can't be autocast you can use one for all icons, just keep adding to the Info+ field
Dummy upgrade: the only effect of this is to set the icon on the unit. Instant, cost-free research, no score award or player alerts or anything.
Requirement: This checks the exact conditions under which you want the icon to be set. You can use "OR" brackets (lvl1+bonus OR lvl3 standard, both give +3 weapon damage in your example)
Issue Order effect, which orders the unit to research the hidden dummy upgrade
Buff behavior: maybe there's a simpler way (autocast would be one for regular abilities), but use this as a "monitor" to check when the upgrade is researched. My go-to method is to use the "Validator - Remove" field and "Effect - Final" for a guaranteed one-off trigger, but you can probably also use the Requirement field with one of the other effect triggers. I don't think you can remove the buff based on a requirement, but in the worst case you can check the Requirement within a Validator and use Remove+Final
The rest is copying that setup over for each additional icon. Also note this setup will only work once (no easy "back to square one" triggers without resetting the upgrades and respawning the unit with the buffs), and unlike your actual upgrade you have to add all the "monitor" buffs to a unit, along with the dummy Research ability.
0
In case you aren't aware, Missile actors essentially are full-capacity Unit actors, just with different defaults, especially Events. Coupled with a few flags on the unit itself to create the untargetable object we know as a "missile".
You'll have to manually mix-and-match the fields based on what exactly you need: A targetable "unit"-like missile will at the very least require a wireframe, healthbar and an armor icon, and the "Flyer Helper" position marker on air units is handled by its actor events (copy from existing units). If players aren't supposed to click it or shoot at it just copy a regular "Projectile" class unit.
0
So an old "arcade-style" missile, good. No player input solves the greatest problem.
What you could do is make the unit an actual missile and create it via a Launch Missile effect aimed inside the "destruction region". Then you can use motion overlays to your heart's content, the collision check is an aura-type setup that acts independently, and if you need it to be targetable/AoE-destructable that also works without problem.
You should maintain the "destruction region" though, because if the missile's base trajectory reaches the target point and the actual missile doesn't (due to being displaced by the wave) it will sit idle/teleport or otherwise glitch out.
Do you need to redirect the missile mid-flight, or is it enough to do one constant wave motion?
0
Ability waypoints are set on the ability itself, you can probably unset all visuals there (but you'd have to do it for every single ability individually)
The actual cursor might be loaded directly without a data object. Either you can mess with the Asset list files, or import an invisible model with the same name as the animated cursor. You can probably also get rid of waypoints this way, but then you'd have to re-import the visible model if you want it on specific abilities.
0
@Ahli634: Go
How do you deactivate the "fly-in-wave" force-motion/Issue Order? You can't use validators for Speed, UnitOrderQueue or the like because the force-wave-line makes the unit move past its original order.
It should be possible somehow, but you'll probably need an actual arrival check or a very clever design of the wave driver itself.
0
Non-straight-line Movers only work for missiles. If you only want the wave as a visual effect you can use actor SiteOps to move the model around, actually forcing the unit itself to move in a wavy pattern will be fairly difficult (especially since you probably don't want it moving left and right when it's stationary)
0
The relevant part probably is the Attachment field at the top. Ensure the actor "AttachmentArtilleryTurret" is already created at the time this turret activates, which most likely isn't the case if the turret is set on the main Unit and the corresponding actor creates its attachments.
0
The Turret actor itself will have the standard hosting fields. If you specify a host there just reconstruct its identity based on the scope. If that host is "Implicit" you'll have to read up on the "standard" behavior I guess. "Host=Creator" works very reliably if you can afford to tie actor creation to some precursor/"main" actor (which should work with your attached model, since you don't need the turret actor before that's created)
Indeed the standard "assign turret to weapon on unit" approach might fail, because the turret actor will most likely be hosted on the main unit's actor (or if you didn't change anything, might even be set to explicitly host on "_Selectable", aka the main unit)
0
1: Probably one of the many, many flags you can set on the unit itself. Maybe a Model issue, if you're using a model that wasn't intended for a unit try switching to one that was as a test.
2: I think those are hardcoded, though you can rename the existing ones. Simple things like a raw damage bonus you can simulate with Validators: Using a dummy buff as a custom "attribute" (not an Attribute behavior!), or a plain unit type whitelist on the bonus damage effect. Nothing will sync up with the UI though.
3: There's a flag on abilities, I think it was "Wait To Spend". Either cast the ability instantly in the direction of the target, or move within range of the actual target position first. If you have additional Validators on the effect immediately produced by the ability those could also be messing you up (LocationRange and EnumerateArea being obvious culprits, anything else is probably hard to mess up specifically for long ranges)
0
Oh, forgot about that sorry. You changed the language settings didn't you? All strings displayed ingame are saved seperately for each language, and if you don't set the other languages (or bulk copy) you will get these "missing string" displays. There are tutorials on how to copy everything over, but that's usually done when the map is ready to be published. Alternatively you could set your game to the same locale as the editor, or, since you only need English settings to find specific fields, create the objects in English, then switch your editor back to French before assigning names/tooltips/hotkeys.
No idea on the double+1, or how that would even trigger, are you sure your dummy upgrades don't give stats and you're using the correct ability keys for the Issue Order?
Regarding the actual problem at hand, leave the monitor buffs non-Hidden for now and check if they're present on the buff bar. If you messed up the validators they might very well all activate immediately, and whichever one is processed last by the game will set its icon.
0
There's a type that transforms Requirements. Probably even called Requirement, and might be used for Marauder Concussive Shells or other upgradable bonus effects.
Remember to put a NOT bracket around your "have lvl5" check, either within the requirement itself or by inverting it with another validator (several types have "invert" options, Combine is one of them)
Also, can Raynor take any other actions while developing the upgrade? The Issue Order effect will either override existing orders or delay the icon change until he is idle, and I'm not sure if you can set Research abilities to Transient (a flag that, when ticked, causes them to activate instantly and bypass the order queue)
0
Is the primary loop a Persistent effect or a Buff behavior? The former you can launch via an Effect - Instant ability, the latter with the Behavior ability class or an Effect - Instant using an Apply Behavior effect (might give more options for autocasts or levelable abilities)
The flickering is usually caused by a duration that is slightly shorter (or sometimes exactly equal to) the reapply period. If the buff isn't stackable you shouldn't get any reverse problems if you make the duration a bit longer.
2s as the update pulse rate is exceedingly long, for hero abilities you can usually go as low as a single game tick (0.0625) without causing lag. That will automatically fix the "move out of range" issue too. Otherwise there's LocationRange validators, which you can use to check the distance between Raynor and an individual Marine (can't think of a good prebuilt example for that one, sorry)
Sounds and visuals are handles by Actors. All you describe can be copied over from the Sentry's Guardian Shield ability, except for the Stimpack on-target visuals which you got working already. If the Pylon power field model doesn't provide a "fade out" animation by itself you'll have to fake one via actor events: Replace the "AnimBracketStop" or "Destroy" event with a timer + SetOpacity event and destroy the actor when the timer expires)
0
"Issue Order" is a type of effect which sends a single command at the target. It's linked to the ability ID and not the button, but otherwise it's essentially "Raynor: press X now". Also works if you don't have a button on the command card, so you can hide the entire setup from the player.
"Buff" is the behavior type that handles pretty much all passive effects on units. Stimpack, Cloak, Chronoboost, all those "passive" special effects. By assigning a Buff to a unit directly you can give that unit type unique passive abilities like the Mothership's Cloaking Field. In this case you just want the buff to "monitor" the unit and activate when the specific upgrade level is reached. Buffs have the same effect-triggering capabilities as Persistent effects, minus position offsets. You want to use one of those to trigger the Issue Order, combined with a condition enforced via Validator or Requirement. Note that the validator fields on buffs trigger their action (disable/remove) if the validator returns FALSE.
A conceptually simple version for one-shot effects is to use the Remove validator field with a validator that's the opposite of your trigger condition, i.e. "NOT have upgrade lvl5". If this is False you DO have lvl5, and the buff will remove itself. Then you use the Effect - Final field to launch the Issue Order. Since I don't know the French names be warned, there are two fields that trigger "upon ending": One is "Expire" and only triggers if you set a timer on the buff and that runs out. The other is "Final" and executes if the buff is removed in pretty much any way, which you want. Banelings should be using the Final field since they explode upon death (death of the unit being another way the buff can be "removed")
Regarding the language barrier I can only suggest you go to Preferences->General and switch to English. I'm German myself but I switched the editor over a long time ago after getting fed up with a few horrible translations ("training" units once was translated as "locomotive" or "pull", and "charge into battle" doesn't use the same word as "electric charge" in German...)
0
Primarily on the beam actor itself, but also tested the beam model. Even tried SetScale events once, to no avail.
0
@samourai23: Go
Well, yeah, since each dummy upgrade can only set 1 icon, and Upgrades are the only way I know of changing those icons at all.
0
For one icon you'll need:
The rest is copying that setup over for each additional icon. Also note this setup will only work once (no easy "back to square one" triggers without resetting the upgrades and respawning the unit with the buffs), and unlike your actual upgrade you have to add all the "monitor" buffs to a unit, along with the dummy Research ability.