SC2Mapster

@SouLCarveRR: Go

he was saying if i did it the way i did it before...where saved each actor in the variable and used that variable to delete them later....

but omfg this works perfectly lol lol lol. but instead of moving the actual point i did this

Variable - Set PointOffset = 0.2

General - If (Conditions) then do (Actions) else do (Actions)

If

PL: IsPathRunning[Index] == true

Then

General - Pick each integer from 0 to PL: Count[Index], and do (Actions)

Actions

Actor - Send message "Destroy" to actor PL: Actor[Index][(Picked integer)]

Else

Variable - Set PL: Count[Index] = 0

Variable - Set PL: IsPathRunning[Index] = true

General - While (Conditions) are true, do (Actions)

Conditions

PL: IsPathRunning[Index] == true

Actions

General - If (Conditions) then do (Actions) else do (Actions)

If

(Distance between LightSpawnMid and MoveMidPoint2) < 4.0

Then

Variable - Set PL: IsPathRunning[Index] = false

Variable - Set PL: Count[Index] = 0

Else Point - Move LightSpawnMid To (LightSpawnMid offset by PointOffset towards MoveMidPoint2)

Actor - Create actor model PL: LightTypes[Index] at point LightSpawnMid

Variable - Set PL: Actor[Index][PL: Count[Index]] = (Last created actor)

Variable - Modify PL: Count[Index]: + 1

Variable - Modify PointOffset: + 0.1

im still gonna store the points for now till i add the actor events to destroy them a set number a seconds later....

EDIT: w00t w00t thx for all ur help guys...this is perfect...the lights are spaced WAY better. they stop when they are supposed to...u can still put a delay in if u want so they dont just instantly spawn the line...perfect..thx again everyone. hopefully ill have a decent map here in the next couple months to show yall :-) Getting better at it everyday.

Quote from BasharTeg: Go

@Usernameisntworkingright: Go

Actually you can use a Destroy Actors action in a trigger to remove all actors of a specific type within a region.

what did u mean by this? u mean creating on actor after another is a good reason to NOT use waits? because it'll end up buggin out?

I didn't understand what you were trying to do at first, but once you said "Christmas lights" I was like "Oooooh. That's why." That's all.

If you want to avoid using units you can use a point variable and a loop. Create the actor model at the point variable, then move the point with a polar offset toward the end of the line, and repeat. Once the point reaches the end of the line, break the loop. A little clever use with mathematics will allow you to make things like curves and sine waves too.

BOOOOM EXACTLY. thats what i was wondering...so polar offset? lemme see if i can find that really quick...cus thats what i really want...is to not use a unit at all and just make a path. And like u said some cool curves and stuff. Also if any of yall come across any info about how to use and what u can do with polor offset lemme know. cus thats probably what im gonna go with

EDIT: Okay i found it....Sweet that will work great cus u can set the amount between each point move. PERFECT. lol and give me an example of a curve if u dont mind. thinking about it now. curve and whatnot wouldnt be that easy lol

Quote from Usernameisntworkingright: Go

@SouLCarveRR: Go

How do you expect to keep track of each actor created? The number of actors created isnt known, and the only way i can think of is a variable. You cannot destroy them after one loop is complete because they will barely be visible. Unless you have another idea, you will have to have a variable with a huge array and then store each actor and then destroy them when you choose. With units you can just place them and add an effect.

right now im using a huge array to store all the actors... and i havent tried the timed life yet...i will try that though seems like that would work better cus then the delay isnt based on the wait time that could possibly be lagging or something

soul ya iv already learned a good bit about actor events...i do most of the stuff i need to with them...im just wondering how i would place the actors without using a unit....could i do something where it creates lights every couple feet between 2 points without a unit to create the actor on? and if so what actions would do that? or should do i do that all in data?

@synik4l87: Go

Quote from BasharTeg: Go

Having a delay in there is the only reason I can think of for you to not want to create another actor immediately after the first, and this is how you'd do it without creating a delay in your light pathing trigger.

what did u mean by this? u mean creating on actor after another is a good reason to NOT use waits? because it'll end up buggin out?

Also, i know this is kinda aside from the convo we're having right now. but do yall think theres a better way to spawn these lights ina line....like without using a unit. i would love it if i could just make a couple points and say make a actor every 2 in game feet between this 2 points or something. that way i dont have to worry about the unit being to fast or slow or getting stuck on something or whatever.

I still need to know how to make it so the unit does collide with anything but the ground. Make it an air unit with a REALLY set path rofl?

Quote from SouLCarveRR: Go

I already explained how this can be done using 1 unit 1 behavior 1 persistent effect 1 actor for the effect

No triggers involved other then spawning the pathing unit and having it follow the intende path as your prolly already handling in some manner

why do you want to create a second actor? if you really want using my stated method you could have two actors key'd off of the same persistent effect.

ya i just needed it explained in more detail. and i need a second actor because im using 2 types of lights. so i cant use just one actor

ya cus i think. the way u explained it is for one line of lights....i have 2 sets of lights 1 that goes to the point and stays there and one that goes to the end point and then deletes them ina line after they have reached the end point.

its seems the way urs would work, would be interesting if i used it on the blink lights...cus then instead of it creating them all and then deleting them one by one...it'll kinda follow deleting them behind the unit a couple lights depending on the delay Correct?

Quote from BasharTeg: Go

Create an action definition to handle the creation of the second actor. Make a point parameter for the position. In actions, add a wait 2 seconds (or however long you want the delay to be for creating the second actor.) Then use the same Create Actor Model action you used to create the first actor, setting the model to whatever you want. Now go back to your light pathing trigger and use the action definition immediately after creating the first actor, setting the parameter to Position of (Temp Unit).

Having a delay in there is the only reason I can think of for you to not want to create another actor immediately after the first, and this is how you'd do it without creating a delay in your light pathing trigger. You can also add other conditions in your action definition using if/then/else statements if you need to tweak it more.

Oh, and in your action definition you can have another wait time after the actor is created, then destroy the actor. If you get your wait times correct you can loop it to get the "Christmas lights" you're looking for.

Ya i already basically did that...the only thing i was wondering at this point was another way to create the second actors without using another unit. Which if i understand correctly is what u posted here. But the problem im seeing is that when the first actors(landing ligthts) ends what would the second actor have to spawn on at that point...because my first string of landing lights only gets created once...per wave but the omni lights keep highlighting the path of the landing lights over and over. And right now it looks pretty good i just set all my waits in my blink func and my landing lights func. Could be alil better because the units are not always going the EXACT same path to the T. Thats why i had that question about the placing an actor at the position of another ACTOR not a unit.

Also....what do i need to change to make sure my unit doesnt collide with anything beside the ground. no units no building. or is that not possible?

i got it working for the most part. with 2 units...but sometimes my wait times arent great when deleting them...not sure why...like all my seperate light paths use the same unit same function same wait times and everything...and for some reason. my wait time seems to change on its own every couple blink loops....so like the first set of lights come(landing lights) and they stay. and then right after really qucikly the blink loop starts...so then lights come really quickly over the same path as the landing lights...then once it hits the end point it starts a pick each loop, which destroys them from 0 to blink count, waiting like .09 seconds between...but that .09...seems to sometimes be .09 sometimes be 1.5 sometimes 5 ...sometimes 2...i mean litterially im testing 4 paths and the first loop will always be the correct .09. u can tell...but then the more the loop runs the more the wait times seem to start to mess up.and ull notice the blink lights being deleted slower. i want to try sometime like u said soul. but im still alil fuzzy on the data editor....i can do most things but i kinda need a clarification of EXACTLY what u mean. I think i have the general idea though. but u do see what im saying?

blink ends whereever unit is unless the unit made it all the way to the end.

And the blink lights are created and destroyed over a wait time to give the effect that say running christmas lights do....where 1 light at a time is lit up. over a long string of lights really quickly

http://www.youtube.com/user/OneTwoSC#g/c/556FA0CE09DE04B3

theres the link to the tutorial...i think i need to clarify...im not trying to create an another actor on the same drone...im trying to create another actor on the landing lights. that are being created on the drone.

So i really liked another one of onetwos ideas with the pathing lighting from his TD map. For those who havent seen the tutorial or his map....basically theres an invisible drone that speeds across the map...while having an actor(landing lights) created on it every couple milliseconds creating a light path effect. now i have it working. and im trying to add some effect to it by making lights(omni) on lights(landing lights) so i made them seperate action definitions. and for the most part they work fine...although i wasnt able to find something to place an actor at the location of another actor. And because of that. Im using 2 units which obviously are not going to always go the same speed. and sometimes gets stuck on stuff at random points. causing huge light spots in ur map and ruining the effect....does anyone know what action would do that for me? and if u were to do it. Would u use the invisible unit trick or is there another way u could easily make that many pathing lights across a map?

awesome thx guys....about to implement this. ima try out both and see what looks best.

And btw thx alot for all ur tutorials onetwo. They have been my stepping stone toward becoming a map making badass lol. I just now got to the point where i can get around the data editor with no problems. and do mostly everything i want to do in the trigger editor. mainly thx to ur unit dup tutorials and the healing fountain tutorial. and all ur other ones...iv watched them all many times lol. btw i used that healing fountain in my map too :-) lol. ima have to give u credit majoly if i ever decide to release this map fully. Thx for the help guys.

onetwo do u have a gchat acct?

So i have a kinda crazy map where its sorta a wave defense but with heros. and im using onetwosc's hero picker but im customizing mine alil more. and right now when u view the unit i have a text tag that shows the units level, experience and name. but what i really want is. To have a trigger set up, that when the user mouse overs the unit it has a popup dialog that would show the units stats and whatnot. and heres the thing im really wondering. can i make the dialog follow the mouse as long as the user has the mouse pointer over the unit? Thx ahead of time

me neither i feel like i have everything perfect and it only hits one target....and never jumps to the others. HELP PLEASE!!

i realize this post is really old but im having this same problem. and when i tried ur method it works but i get a bunch of warnings in the debug area. I guess its not a huge deal but i cant figure out how to turn them off...i havent tried it actually in game like published and everything to see if it would still do that once im done...but i figured there has to be a way to fix it so it doesnt do that...cus it'll be annoying for me cus i have debug msgs that display there so i know whats going on. so if the warnings are spamming that text area...i wont be able to see anything

ya i meant to post on here i found it like 5 mins later...i just put a line in the spawner trigger that sets the units shield max to 35.(set unit properties) so it works perfectly it sets the property for each unit without having to change all the units in the data editor. and doesnt effect the units built by the human player. Thx tho

So i have a wave defense map that im working on currently and i have a couple of different buffs for my waves. one of which sets the units shields to 50. problem is this buff is randomly picked and so are my units. so some units dont have shields. thus rendering the buff pointless...so my question is. is there an option that im missing somewhere or a trigger i can add, that will add shields to that particular unit spawned. So that if that buff is used, that unit will have shields. because i really dont wanna go thru and data edit all the units that im using in my map to have shields. Not to mention that would also change all the protoss units(which is the human players required race for my map) to also have shields. Unless i duplicated them which ends up just becoming more of a hassle than its worth. Anyways thx ahead of time