Mortar ability

[PrisonLove]

Hey, so I was wondering if someone could tell what the best way to make a mortar-type ability is? Essentially it's an ability that targets the ground and launches a projectile in the air toward the target point. Upon landing the projectile would deal area of of effect damage. Can this be done in the data editor, and if it can, how so, or would it be better to trigger it?

I don't need a super in-depth tutorial, just a basic overview like I would need a weapon with this type of effect that has this type of behavior, etc.

I'm new to the editor, but modded on WC3 for a while, so I want to get into the SC2 editor.

Thanks

 

[Siretu]

This is definitely doable in the data editor and I suggest you don't do it with the trigger editor.

You need an "Effect - Target" kind of ability. Use a "Launch missile" effect to launch it towards a point. Upon reaching the point, you want a search effect that applies a damage effect(this is the AoE damage. You can find a more detailed tutorial made by Dave312 here).

Now, the launch effect takes a unit that it will actually launch. This means you'll need to create the mortar projectile that will be fired. This is basically just a unit with an actor.

However, you'll have to modify the mover to make it move up in an arc instead of going straight to the target. Modifying movers can be hard and I personally hate messing with them because they never do what I want, but they're a very powerful tool when used correctly. Blizzard wrote a great page to explain the different fields that can be found here. I think you want a ballistic motion driver.

If this overview is too basic, I can explain it more in-depth. Everything except the mover is pretty basic data editor stuff but it can still be hard to understand if you're new to the SC2 editor, despite your previous WC3 experience. Don't worry though, the data editor is not as scary as it looks.

 

[Kyuft]

Actually, not that Siretu is incorrect, but I think you only need to change the arc field. I think it is in the actor. However, i'm not sure.

 

[Siretu]

In this case, I think you're mistaken. I could not find an arc field in either the actor or unit. However, there is one in the weapon data type. The arc in the weapon data type does not control the path of the missiles but rather at what angle that the weapon can target and aquire units without the attacking unit having to turn or losing the target.

So if a unit had a weapon with an arc of 180, it could attack units that are 90 degrees to the left or right of it without turning.

 

[Dave312]

Siretu is correct about arcs.

The other thing you need to make is an Action Actor. These are used to create all the audio and visual effects and to have them play at the correct time.

Personally I would try duplicating an existing ability (something like Raynor - Toss Grenade) and just adjust the values as need be. This will make things easier for you to learn and will reduce the number of properties you need to edit.

 

[Kyuft]

Okay.