Projectile Weapons/Abilities with 'no Targets'

[jleips2600]

I know this is a bit of a hot topic (especially with all the TPS/FPS games being developed) but I still cant seem to find a good tutorial/information on this topic.

To explain in detail, I want to make a weapon that you press say the space bar, and your unit fires a weapon that shoots a projectile that goes straight until it hits something.

I also want to make this weapon/ability/effect through the data editor and not through triggers (as that seems to me to be the 'right' way of doing it now).

I understand the concept that it should be something along these lines:

Shoot Ability (Effect Target)
-> Shoot Effect (EffectType: Launch Missile)
-> Button (so you can put it in command card)


Shoot Effect
-> Ammo Unit (the actual projectile or 'bullet')

Ammo Unit
-> Actor for the bullet
    -> A Model to display
-> A Buff Type Behavior
    -> Periodic Effect (Search area for targets)
    -> Impact Effect  (Do damage when target found)

and then have a trigger so when you press space bar, it orders the unit to use ability targeting the ground at point of unit with polar offset of unit's facing angle.

With this, my unit doesn't fire anything, doesn't turn, no animation, no projectile create, nothing.

I basically tried to replicate what overload119 did here so I could alter it as I need:

http://www.thehelper.net/forums/showpost.php?p=1238361&postcount=31

If anyone could help explain his ability (or if overload119 himself would like to chime in ^^) I'd be very appreciative.


---Also---
I realize there should be a Mover to denote how the projectile moves, but I am unsure if the Mover should be under the Shoot Effect or the Bullet Unit.

 

[Ancanus]

Note that Overload119 did use triggers as well as the data editor.

The only part of your scheme that I'm having trouble visualizing is how will you get the missile to move forward. Naturally, it will target a point, but I'm not sure you can just arbitrarily change the target point using effects. There is an issue order effect, but I don't think that's going to help the case.

Solving this part would render the rest of your effect trivial as per the skill of the forum regulars.

Edit: I just noticed you're going to handle that using triggers, my bad. (What happened with the all-data-editor policy? )
Think you could try to replicate what you got so far in a test map and attach it?

 

[jleips2600]

I was under the impression that the Effect "Launch Missile" would somehow instruct the 'bullet unit' to move forward according to it's Mover? (again, making me unsure of where the Mover should go: the launch missile effect, or the bullet unit.)

As for the all-data-editor policy, what I meant to say was I want to use the data editor to its fullest potential, and only use triggers when completely necessary.

I'm not on my main computer at the moment (this computer unfortunately has trouble running sc2/ge), but when I do get on a bit later I'll upload my test map

 

[Advice D.]

The way I'd do it would be to have the LM (Launch Missile) ability take a target point, then use a trigger to turn a spacebar press into an order to use the LM at an arbitrary point in front of the unit. The rest would be easy dumbfire projectile effects and validators in the data editor. Oh, and the mover for a projectile goes in the LM effect. You can apply different movers to existing units using LMs with no ammo unit, but they die after reaching the target point.

 

[jleips2600]

The way I'd do it would be to have the LM (Launch Missile) ability take a target point, then use a trigger to turn a spacebar press into an order to use the LM at an arbitrary point in front of the unit.

I already hashed that part out, and that part made sense to me, I understood it and could implement it. My difficulties come with the "easy" part you mentioned.

I'm having a hard time really distinguishing between what is necessary for the effect I want (not just in what actors/effect/etc i all need, but also which fields in all of those are required to be set to something), and what else I can add to make it prettier. I guess in the end I need a dumbed down explanation of the bare essentials of each object I need to make the desired effect I explained above.

 

[wingdnosring]

This is all a matter of what you deem 'necessary' triggers. For instance, I started out with the trigger editor, since I was more familiar with it, but upon looking at the data editor, I've found my triggering system actually provides a better experience.

Three dimensional effects, variation in bullets, scoping, zooming...you CAN use the data editor for most of those but its still far easier to use the trigger editor. And the trigger editor does certain jobs better too.

I'll admit, I don't know enough about the data editor to really know what I'm talking about, but from what I've seen, triggers will still play an integral role in just about everything.

 

[Advice D.]

My difficulties come with the "easy" part you mentioned.

This thread contains a few demo maps on dumbfire projectiles that collide with walls, and IIRC one of them also collides with units.

 

[jleips2600]

This thread contains a few demo maps on dumbfire projectiles that collide with walls, and IIRC one of them also collides with units.

That's exactly the thread I was referencing in my original post. But like I said, I can't dissect the one made by overload119 correctly.

Here's an example map of what I got so far. I did manage to get the projectile to show now, but for some reason the behavior seems to not be working.

(the behavior being> Periodic Effect search area with a Damage Effect when a target is found)