I'm trying to familiarize myself with various features of the data editor and I was experimenting with importing models. I downloaded an asset off of SC2Mapster and tried to import it. It was described as having the model and textures.
I followed the instructions on various links and imported the model. It seems to have worked properly, but for some reason, the textures in the asset are in .dds form, which seems to be the other file type SC2 uses for textures. Is there something different I need to do to make .dds textures work? Most of the instructions talk about .tga textures.
Ah yes, duplicating objects break all the "implicit" references. You need to fix all these references afterward, I'm just saying it's usually still faster than creating stuff from scratch. If you fix all the broken implicit references, the duplicated unit will work just as new.
I really don't like these implicit references at all either, I'm not sure why Blizzard thought the "feature" was a good idea. In fact, none of my units use any implicit reference anywhere and they could be duplicated without any issue.
Alright. I guess you're right, fixing all the references is still easier than trying to start entirely from scratch.
Generally, what parts of the unit should I be duplicating, and what parts should linked to the original?
There are a few things that can't be done in the GUI and for which one needs to use XML, but it's some very specific stuff.
I would recommend you do as I do : work in the GUI while keeping an eye on the XML. Some stuff is just more convenient to do in XML, and it's the easiest way to clean stuff up ( the editor can make a mess sometimes ).
For creating your units/whatever, don't be afraid of copying or duplicating existing objects, it can be faster than creating them from scratch for an identical end result. When copying, make sure the object's parent is some fundamental type and not an existing object.
I have a major concern with copying units. Stuff tends to break when I use the duplicate feature. Maybe I'm using it completely wrong, but what I do now is select the unit I want to base my unit on, and then select the variables I want to alter to be duplicated as well. For instance, I decided to make a Dark Templar hero at first. I based it off of Zeratul. I checked Actors, Models, Effects, Sounds, and Weapons.
However, that created a lot of problems for me right away. For instance, it had given the editor name of "zeratul5" to the model. At which point it decided it wanted to use the Zeratul5.m3 model, which doesn't exist. Similarly, it changed all the sound effects from "Zeratul_something" to "Zeratul2_something", except the actual duplicated sounds were called "Zeratul_something_copy." It feels like every time I duplicate a unit, I spend 20-30 minutes going through cleaning up, and usually the results are less than satisfactory. For instance, I just went through and made all the changes so that the unit functions properly. I placed a Zeratul on the test map as well, and found that for some reason, Zeratul's actual armor class was renamed...
If I could simply create a separate, working copy of a unit to mess around with, that would be great. Is there some way to get around the way it tries to rename everything systematically (and incorrectly)? Ideally I'd be able to create a complete, working copy of a unit to mess with, leaving the original version completely intact, but it's not clear what should / shouldn't be duplicated, and things have a habit of ceasing to work after duplicated.
Looking at that tutorial, they probably mean the standard unitName token/variable added to the CActorUnit, variable which is referenced by all default events as unitName.
In XML, this is :
<CActorUnit id="MyActorName" parent="GenericUnitStandard" unitName="MyUnitName">
though I'm not too sure how to add such variables in the GUI interface.
Very good call on creating everything from scratch. You can still do so by duplicating or copying/pasting without any interference with existing units/files.
Is it critical that I learn how to work directly in XML if I want to build larger projects in the editor? The GUI for the editor seems a lot more organized than it was when I first cracked it open but it seems like working in XML might be cleaner.
Is there a more recent/complete tutorial on creating units from scratch in the data editor? I want to be able to create a few units for a possible map, without messing with the original units / files in any way.
However, I don't know if it's because it's an older tutorial, or because I didn't update my editor or whatever... I really only reach step 1.2. Then it says, "(LINK : Tower Actor - Tower Unit.)" Simple enough, and I even vaguely remember doing this when I last played with the editor, but I literally can't find the link button anywhere on the menu to the right. I already double-checked to confirm I created this actor as a unit, and everything else matches. Examining another unit actor, the Ghost, indicates that on the bottom-left menu, there's a drop down unit for "Unit" with only one item, "Ghost." However, my created unit does not have this drop-down menu.
The right panel seems to have two menus. On top it has "Token" on the left and my actor name on the right, but for some reason it's been shrunk down and I can't expand it. On the bottom, there's no mention of units or links.
I'd like to simply ask for help but I get a feeling I'll be running into problems like this all over. Is there any way I can find up to date information about this kind of stuff?
I'm not entirely new to the Galaxy Editor. I toyed around with it back towards the end of the beta. However, nearing the end of the beta, I was running out of time so I set the Editor aside for a few months. I just came back to it today, and I was having an amazing amount of difficulty simply creating a unit. At first, I thought I was just remembering the process entirely wrong, so I went to the tutorials section and found the same guide I used way back to get started:
This is where everything started going to hell. I decided to make a Zealot instead of a Marine, figuring it won't make much of a difference. I call my new Zealot "Super Zealot", suggest, so on. Then I duplicate the Actor for the Zealot, per the instructions, and exactly how I remembered this process. I check everything. then I change the Unit of the actor to my Super Zealot.
I place a Zealot. It's half of a white sphere - not what I intended, and not what I should've had, per the tutorial. Not giving up yet, I went to the "Model" value on the actor, and realized that when I changed my unit designation from "Zealot Copy" to "Super Zealot", it changed the model designation from "Zealot Copy" to "Super Zealot (Unknown). There's two ways to fix this that come to mind, and I tried both:
1) I change the unit designation back to "Zealot Copy"
2) I go to the models tab, and change "Zealot Copy" to "Super Zealot"
Either way, it no longer says Unknown. I figure the problem is fixed. Nope. I place the unit, only to see another white half sphere. This happened with both methods.
I go back to the models tab and examine the Super Zealot model more carefully, and I find that the model itself is now "Zealot2." Which... doesn't exist. Okay. So apparently, when I duplicated the actor, it duplicated the model file, which then duplicated the model, but somehow, it duplicated the model incorrectly. I try the entire process again, and the mistake is repeated. As a solution, I simply change the model back to "Zealot."
Voila! I now see a Zealot. I place the Super Zealot, run a test...
My Zealot has 1/1HP, and can not move or do anything else. It has no portrait, no sound effects, and none of the normal Zealots I placed on the map can attack it.
Is this problem new? I have a sneaking suspicion that it may have to do with the recent updates to the editor, but without another computer to test this on, I can't be sure. If this is a bug, how can I uninstall and reinstall a bug-free edition of the editor? If this is just the way it's meant to work now, is there a newer guide on Unit creation?
I just commented on this map on the blog as well, and I hope it comes off as the constructive criticism I was aiming for it to be. Also, in addition to what I posted there, I think there's a problem with the MULE hero. Right now, the MULE hero is very strong because of how the SCVs mess with players. When you try to fight a MULE head on, and the SCVs bombard you, it is very difficult to move at all, let alone attack. Is this intentional? It really feels like a bug to me.
At the same time, the MULE is very weak. Certain attacks force their way through the SCV-inhibited movement, such as Geminus.Boros's Spellstorm. Once that's done, the MULE literally can't do anything but die. In fact, the MULE really can't do anything to the person trapped either. The missile spell does very little damage.
I think this hero needs re-work. It's extremely frustrating to play as or against.
Can someone please help me implement a psionic storm impact effect on a weapon?
This is what I have so far. I have an effect "Set", an effect "Apply Behavior", and an effect "Weapon Damage." The effect "Set" includes both the damage and the apply behavior. The weapon effect is set to the effect "Set."
I couldn't figure out how to create a behavior with an attached model, so instead I duplicated the Nexus - Chrono Boost behavior. I removed the modifications of the Chrono Boost, and changed the model to "Psionic Storm Impact." In the previewer, it looks exactly like I'd like it to look.
When I try to test it, however, it doesn't quite work out. The damage is applied properly. The behavior is applied. The model appears, but it is smaller than even a marine (which looks very odd on a Marauder). I tried changing the model maximum and minimum scale (from 1 to 4) but that makes the model disappear entirely (the behavior is still applied). Does anyone know what's going on? How can I display the model at its proper size?
If someone figured this out could you please explain? I'm trying to give my weapon item charges that are depleted by attacking with it, but I'm having absolutely no luck.
Sorry, I'm not sure if I phrased my question correctly.
I'm actually trying to apply the charges to an item that equips a weapon. I want to make an item like "Gauss Rifle" that equips Marine - Gauss Rifle, and has X charges.
Which do I have to apply the cost to, and which do I link it to? I changed the item to 5 max, 5 start, 1 use, Weap/GaussRifle and Ability, but it doesn't allow me to set it to that (it changes it back to Item/GaussRifle whenever I close that window). In game, it doesn't consume charges to attack, instead using charges whenever I click on it.
How can I give an item the property of giving its owner an attribute when equipped? For example, a piece of armor raising defense, and giving the unit the "Armored" tag?
I've been trying to find an appropriate behavior to implement when equipped but I can't seem to find anything that'll do this.
0
@StragusMapster: Go
Alright. Thank you very much! I'll delete the disaster I managed to create and try this again. Hopefully I'll get it right eventually.
0
I'm trying to familiarize myself with various features of the data editor and I was experimenting with importing models. I downloaded an asset off of SC2Mapster and tried to import it. It was described as having the model and textures.
http://www.sc2mapster.com/assets/more-converted-wmos-wow-building/files/26-female-mage/
I followed the instructions on various links and imported the model. It seems to have worked properly, but for some reason, the textures in the asset are in .dds form, which seems to be the other file type SC2 uses for textures. Is there something different I need to do to make .dds textures work? Most of the instructions talk about .tga textures.
0
Alright. I guess you're right, fixing all the references is still easier than trying to start entirely from scratch.
Generally, what parts of the unit should I be duplicating, and what parts should linked to the original?
0
I have a major concern with copying units. Stuff tends to break when I use the duplicate feature. Maybe I'm using it completely wrong, but what I do now is select the unit I want to base my unit on, and then select the variables I want to alter to be duplicated as well. For instance, I decided to make a Dark Templar hero at first. I based it off of Zeratul. I checked Actors, Models, Effects, Sounds, and Weapons.
However, that created a lot of problems for me right away. For instance, it had given the editor name of "zeratul5" to the model. At which point it decided it wanted to use the Zeratul5.m3 model, which doesn't exist. Similarly, it changed all the sound effects from "Zeratul_something" to "Zeratul2_something", except the actual duplicated sounds were called "Zeratul_something_copy." It feels like every time I duplicate a unit, I spend 20-30 minutes going through cleaning up, and usually the results are less than satisfactory. For instance, I just went through and made all the changes so that the unit functions properly. I placed a Zeratul on the test map as well, and found that for some reason, Zeratul's actual armor class was renamed...
If I could simply create a separate, working copy of a unit to mess around with, that would be great. Is there some way to get around the way it tries to rename everything systematically (and incorrectly)? Ideally I'd be able to create a complete, working copy of a unit to mess with, leaving the original version completely intact, but it's not clear what should / shouldn't be duplicated, and things have a habit of ceasing to work after duplicated.
0
Is it critical that I learn how to work directly in XML if I want to build larger projects in the editor? The GUI for the editor seems a lot more organized than it was when I first cracked it open but it seems like working in XML might be cleaner.
0
Is there a more recent/complete tutorial on creating units from scratch in the data editor? I want to be able to create a few units for a possible map, without messing with the original units / files in any way.
I've been using the tutorial listed here: http://www.sc2mapster.com/wiki/galaxy/tutorials/data-editing/unit/from-scratch-unit/
However, I don't know if it's because it's an older tutorial, or because I didn't update my editor or whatever... I really only reach step 1.2. Then it says, "(LINK : Tower Actor - Tower Unit.)" Simple enough, and I even vaguely remember doing this when I last played with the editor, but I literally can't find the link button anywhere on the menu to the right. I already double-checked to confirm I created this actor as a unit, and everything else matches. Examining another unit actor, the Ghost, indicates that on the bottom-left menu, there's a drop down unit for "Unit" with only one item, "Ghost." However, my created unit does not have this drop-down menu.
The right panel seems to have two menus. On top it has "Token" on the left and my actor name on the right, but for some reason it's been shrunk down and I can't expand it. On the bottom, there's no mention of units or links.
I'd like to simply ask for help but I get a feeling I'll be running into problems like this all over. Is there any way I can find up to date information about this kind of stuff?
0
@Johnzee: Go
Oh, so it's better to duplicate the unit than to create a unit and duplicate the actor, then attach the actor?
Gotcha. I'll test that out and see how it goes.
0
@RCIX: Go
I checked everything as the tutorial instructed.
0
I'm not entirely new to the Galaxy Editor. I toyed around with it back towards the end of the beta. However, nearing the end of the beta, I was running out of time so I set the Editor aside for a few months. I just came back to it today, and I was having an amazing amount of difficulty simply creating a unit. At first, I thought I was just remembering the process entirely wrong, so I went to the tutorials section and found the same guide I used way back to get started:
http://www.sc2mapster.com/api-docs/getting-started-with-galaxy-edit/creating-your/
This is where everything started going to hell. I decided to make a Zealot instead of a Marine, figuring it won't make much of a difference. I call my new Zealot "Super Zealot", suggest, so on. Then I duplicate the Actor for the Zealot, per the instructions, and exactly how I remembered this process. I check everything. then I change the Unit of the actor to my Super Zealot.
I place a Zealot. It's half of a white sphere - not what I intended, and not what I should've had, per the tutorial. Not giving up yet, I went to the "Model" value on the actor, and realized that when I changed my unit designation from "Zealot Copy" to "Super Zealot", it changed the model designation from "Zealot Copy" to "Super Zealot (Unknown). There's two ways to fix this that come to mind, and I tried both:
1) I change the unit designation back to "Zealot Copy" 2) I go to the models tab, and change "Zealot Copy" to "Super Zealot"
Either way, it no longer says Unknown. I figure the problem is fixed. Nope. I place the unit, only to see another white half sphere. This happened with both methods.
I go back to the models tab and examine the Super Zealot model more carefully, and I find that the model itself is now "Zealot2." Which... doesn't exist. Okay. So apparently, when I duplicated the actor, it duplicated the model file, which then duplicated the model, but somehow, it duplicated the model incorrectly. I try the entire process again, and the mistake is repeated. As a solution, I simply change the model back to "Zealot."
Voila! I now see a Zealot. I place the Super Zealot, run a test...
My Zealot has 1/1HP, and can not move or do anything else. It has no portrait, no sound effects, and none of the normal Zealots I placed on the map can attack it.
Is this problem new? I have a sneaking suspicion that it may have to do with the recent updates to the editor, but without another computer to test this on, I can't be sure. If this is a bug, how can I uninstall and reinstall a bug-free edition of the editor? If this is just the way it's meant to work now, is there a newer guide on Unit creation?
0
I just commented on this map on the blog as well, and I hope it comes off as the constructive criticism I was aiming for it to be. Also, in addition to what I posted there, I think there's a problem with the MULE hero. Right now, the MULE hero is very strong because of how the SCVs mess with players. When you try to fight a MULE head on, and the SCVs bombard you, it is very difficult to move at all, let alone attack. Is this intentional? It really feels like a bug to me.
At the same time, the MULE is very weak. Certain attacks force their way through the SCV-inhibited movement, such as Geminus.Boros's Spellstorm. Once that's done, the MULE literally can't do anything but die. In fact, the MULE really can't do anything to the person trapped either. The missile spell does very little damage.
I think this hero needs re-work. It's extremely frustrating to play as or against.
0
Can someone please help me implement a psionic storm impact effect on a weapon?
This is what I have so far. I have an effect "Set", an effect "Apply Behavior", and an effect "Weapon Damage." The effect "Set" includes both the damage and the apply behavior. The weapon effect is set to the effect "Set."
I couldn't figure out how to create a behavior with an attached model, so instead I duplicated the Nexus - Chrono Boost behavior. I removed the modifications of the Chrono Boost, and changed the model to "Psionic Storm Impact." In the previewer, it looks exactly like I'd like it to look.
When I try to test it, however, it doesn't quite work out. The damage is applied properly. The behavior is applied. The model appears, but it is smaller than even a marine (which looks very odd on a Marauder). I tried changing the model maximum and minimum scale (from 1 to 4) but that makes the model disappear entirely (the behavior is still applied). Does anyone know what's going on? How can I display the model at its proper size?
0
If someone figured this out could you please explain? I'm trying to give my weapon item charges that are depleted by attacking with it, but I'm having absolutely no luck.
0
@RileyStarcraft: Go
Sorry, I'm not sure if I phrased my question correctly.
I'm actually trying to apply the charges to an item that equips a weapon. I want to make an item like "Gauss Rifle" that equips Marine - Gauss Rifle, and has X charges.
Which do I have to apply the cost to, and which do I link it to? I changed the item to 5 max, 5 start, 1 use, Weap/GaussRifle and Ability, but it doesn't allow me to set it to that (it changes it back to Item/GaussRifle whenever I close that window). In game, it doesn't consume charges to attack, instead using charges whenever I click on it.
0
@RileyStarcraft: Go
Thanks. Seems kind of odd, but at the same time that explains why I can't find anything. :D
Also, is it possible to add charges / durability to a weapon? Or ammunition?
0
How can I give an item the property of giving its owner an attribute when equipped? For example, a piece of armor raising defense, and giving the unit the "Armored" tag?
I've been trying to find an appropriate behavior to implement when equipped but I can't seem to find anything that'll do this.