Static GriddingThis was the first type of gridding I learned how to do, and it has proven to be useful for saving and reusing locations and making things look more complicated than they really are.
First off, static gridding uses burrowed units, hence the word "static;" they're there, on the ground, a fixed area.
Let's start with a 2x2 sized grid, using Zerg Lurkers. With this, we are going to create a bound-type obstacle. For simplicity, let's just make the bounding area like you would see on Bound Defense 2.
Now place your units. The order of placement does in fact matter. There have been many rumors and theories about how SC reads units in order. Here is my theory, which, to this day, has proven to be true:
Starcraft reads from left to right, meaning that the unit furthest to the left is read first, and the unit furthest to the right is read last. So, if you had a preserved trigger killing "1" marine, the marine furthest to the left would be chosen to die first, and the marine on the right would be the last one chosen to die.
But what if the units are perfectly vertical from each other? Well, then it's a little more complicated. For gridding, all you need to know is this: The first unit placed will be the last unit to be chosen, and vice versa. So if you place the lurkers from the top left to mid left to bottom left, the lurker at the bottom would be chosen first, and the lurker at the top will be chosen last.
I like to place them from top to bottom, so that they are chosen from bottom to top. Place your lurkers in your desired order.
(On a side note: I prefer to use player 9 when placing static units. This is because burrowed units owned by players 9-11 don't show on replays, and unlike computer players, they have no AI that interferes with the gridding process, such as unburrowing.)
I labeled them based on the order I placed them. If you're confused about order placement, well, either copy my example or do your own and see what happens
There, now you have nine lurkers. Time to place the locations.
There, that's all you need. You can name them whatever you want, obviously, but you only need those two locations for the whole bound area.
--- Make sure you've researched burrowing for player 9! If you can't select tech abilities for players 9-12, either switch to SCMD2 or check "Researched by default"
Time for triggers. Of course, get some hyper triggers and whatever else you must have. Create these triggers:
Players:
- Player 8 (or your choice)
Conditions:
- Player 8 has suffered at least 1 death of Uraj Crystal
Actions:
- Modify Deaths for Player 8: Subtract 1 for Uraj Crystal
- Preserve Trigger
- Comment "Death Counter (So I don't have to use waits)"
Players:
- Player 8 (or your choice)
Conditions:
- (Your choice of activation condition, if any)
- Player 9 brings at least 1 Zerg Lurker to "B Grid Zone"
- Player 8 has suffered at most 0 deaths of Uraj Crystal
Actions:
- Center location "B Gridder" on Zerg Lurker owned by Player 9 at "B Grid Zone"
- Create 1 Protoss Arbiter at "B Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all Protoss Arbiter at "B Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all [men] at "B Gridder" for Force 1
- Give 1 Zerg Lurker owned by Player 9 at "B Gridder" to Player 10
- Modify Deaths for Player 8: Set to 3 for Uraj Crystal
- Preserve Trigger
- Comment "Create Explosions"
Players:
- Player 8 (or your choice)
Conditions:
- (Your choice of activation condition, if any)
- Player 9 brings at most 0 Zerg Lurker to "B Grid Zone"
Actions:
- Give All Zerg Lurker owned by Player 10 at "B Grid Zone" to Player 9
- Preserve Trigger
- Comment "Loop"
There we are. If you placed your lurkers just like I had placed mine, here is what the final result should look like:
Tada! That's the simplest form of static gridding.
Grid Example Map 1.scxAlright, if you're still not comfortable with static gridding, I'll show you another trick it has up its sleeve. Let's start a new map. Create a 10x6 tile area on the map and place burrowed, oh, let's say Infested Terrans at 1x1 tile intervals. (Note: If you're using a computer player for the gridding process, I would recommend using lurkers or spider mines.)
Again, I placed mine from top to bottom, but for this, it isn't really important what order you place them in.
Now place your locations. For this technique, we need to use a total of four locations.
BM GridZone and BM Gridder are familiar. The two new locations "BM Vertical" and "BM Horizontal" are used for creating a "Bomberman" type game. Be sure that they are
at least twice as long as the actual playing area. For convenience, I cut off their actual length in the screenshot.
Now it's time to make the triggers.
Players:
- Player 8 (or your choice)
Conditions:
- Player 8 has suffered at least 1 death of Terran Missile Turret
Actions:
- Modify Deaths for Player 8: Subtract 1 for Terran Missile Turret
- Preserve Trigger
- Comment "Death Counter"
Players:
- Player 8 (or your choice)
Conditions:
- (Your choice of activation condition, if any)
- Player 9 brings at least 1 Infested Terran to "BM Grid Zone"
- Player 8 has suffered exactly 0 deaths of Terran Medic
- Player 8 has suffered at most 0 deaths of Terran Missile Turret
Actions:
- Center location "BM Gridder" on Infested Terran owned by Player 9 at "B Grid Zone"
- Center location "BM Horizontal" on Infested Terran owned by Player 9 at "B Gridder"
- Center location "BM Vertical" on Infested Terran owned by Player 9 at "B Gridder"
- Give All Infested Terran owned by All Players at "BM Horizontal" to Player 11
- Give All Infested Terran owned by All Players at "BM Vertical" to Player 11
- Create 1 Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8 HALLUCINATED
- Kill all Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Modify Deaths for Player 8: Set to 1 for Terran Medic
- Modify Deaths for Player 8: Set to 15 for Terran Missile Turret
- Preserve Trigger
- Comment "Show Example"
Players:
- Player 8 (or your choice)
Conditions:
- (Your choice of activation condition, if any)
- Player 8 has suffered exactly 1 deaths of Terran Medic
- Player 8 has suffered at most 0 deaths of Terran Missile Turret
Actions:
- Center location "BM Gridder" on Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "B Grid Zone"
- Create 1 Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all [men] at "BM Gridder" for Force 1
- Give 1 Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "BM Gridder" to Player 10
- Center location "BM Gridder" on Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "B Grid Zone"
- Create 1 Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all [men] at "BM Gridder" for Force 1
- Give 1 Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "BM Gridder" to Player 10
- Center location "BM Gridder" on Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "B Grid Zone"
- Create 1 Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all [men] at "BM Gridder" for Force 1
- Give 1 Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "BM Gridder" to Player 10
- Center location "BM Gridder" on Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "B Grid Zone"
- Create 1 Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all [men] at "BM Gridder" for Force 1
- Give 1 Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "BM Gridder" to Player 10
- Center location "BM Gridder" on Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "B Grid Zone"
- Create 1 Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all [men] at "BM Gridder" for Force 1
- Give 1 Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "BM Gridder" to Player 10
- Center location "BM Gridder" on Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "B Grid Zone"
- Create 1 Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all [men] at "BM Gridder" for Force 1
- Give 1 Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "BM Gridder" to Player 10
- Center location "BM Gridder" on Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "B Grid Zone"
- Create 1 Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all [men] at "BM Gridder" for Force 1
- Give 1 Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "BM Gridder" to Player 10
- Center location "BM Gridder" on Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "B Grid Zone"
- Create 1 Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all [men] at "BM Gridder" for Force 1
- Give 1 Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "BM Gridder" to Player 10
- Center location "BM Gridder" on Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "B Grid Zone"
- Create 1 Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all [men] at "BM Gridder" for Force 1
- Give 1 Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "BM Gridder" to Player 10
- Center location "BM Gridder" on Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "B Grid Zone"
- Create 1 Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all [men] at "BM Gridder" for Force 1
- Give 1 Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "BM Gridder" to Player 10
- Center location "BM Gridder" on Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "B Grid Zone"
- Create 1 Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all [men] at "BM Gridder" for Force 1
- Give 1 Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "BM Gridder" to Player 10
- Center location "BM Gridder" on Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "B Grid Zone"
- Create 1 Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all [men] at "BM Gridder" for Force 1
- Give 1 Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "BM Gridder" to Player 10
- Modify Deaths for Player 8: Set to 2 for Terran Medic
- Preserve Trigger
- Comment "Create Explosions 1"
Players:
- Player 8 (or your choice)
Conditions:
- (Your choice of activation condition, if any)
- Player 8 has suffered exactly 1 deaths of Terran Medic
- Player 8 has suffered at most 0 deaths of Terran Missile Turret
Actions:
- Center location "BM Gridder" on Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "B Grid Zone"
- Create 1 Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all [men] at "BM Gridder" for Force 1
- Give 1 Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "BM Gridder" to Player 10
- Center location "BM Gridder" on Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "B Grid Zone"
- Create 1 Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all [men] at "BM Gridder" for Force 1
- Give 1 Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "BM Gridder" to Player 10
- Center location "BM Gridder" on Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "B Grid Zone"
- Create 1 Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all Zerg Scourge at "BM Gridder" for player 8
- Kill all [men] at "BM Gridder" for Force 1
- Give 1 Infested Terran owned by Player 11 at "BM Gridder" to Player 10
- Modify Deaths for Player 8: Set to 0 for Terran Medic
- Modify Deaths for Player 8: Set to 15 for Terran Missile Turret
- Preserve Trigger
- Comment "Create Explosions 2"
Players:
- Player 8 (or your choice)
Conditions:
- (Your choice of activation condition, if any)
- Switch 1 is cleared
- Switch 2 is cleared
- Player 9 brings at least 1 Infested Terran to "BM GridZone"
Actions:
- Randomize Switch 1
- Randomize Switch 2
- Preserve Trigger
- Comment "Randomize 1"
Players:
- Player 8 (or your choice)
Conditions:
- (Your choice of activation condition, if any)
- Switch 1 is set
- Switch 2 is cleared
- Player 9 brings at least 1 Infested Terran to "BM GridZone"
Actions:
- Randomize Switch 1
- Randomize Switch 2
- Give 1 Infested Terran owned by Player 9 at "BM GridZone" to Player 10
- Preserve Trigger
- Comment "Randomize 2"
Players:
- Player 8 (or your choice)
Conditions:
- (Your choice of activation condition, if any)
- Switch 1 is cleared
- Switch 2 is set
- Player 9 brings at least 1 Infested Terran to "BM GridZone"
Actions:
- Randomize Switch 1
- Randomize Switch 2
- Give 2 Infested Terran owned by Player 9 at "BM GridZone" to Player 10
- Preserve Trigger
- Comment "Randomize 3"
Players:
- Player 8 (or your choice)
Conditions:
- (Your choice of activation condition, if any)
- Switch 1 is set
- Switch 2 is set
- Player 9 brings at least 1 Infested Terran to "BM GridZone"
Actions:
- Randomize Switch 1
- Randomize Switch 2
- Give 3 Infested Terran owned by Player 9 at "BM GridZone" to Player 10
- Preserve Trigger
- Comment "Randomize 4"
Players:
- Player 8 (or your choice)
Conditions:
- (Your choice of activation condition, if any)
- Player 9 brings at most 0 Infested Terran to "B Grid Zone"
Actions:
- Give All Infested Terran owned by Player 10 at "B Grid Zone" to Player 9
- Preserve Trigger
- Comment "Loop"
Damn, that's a lot of actions. But if you look at it, it's just the same five actions copied 12 times in the "Create Explosions 1" trigger, and 3 times in the "Create Explosions 2" trigger. It's really not that much work, and the effect is well worth it.
Okay, let's go over this. I am using two death counters, Terran Medic and Terran Missile Turret. The Missile Turret is used as waits, while the Medic is used to control trigger sequence.
Why did I give to player 11? Well, I have to make SC able to recognize the Infesteds without it being interrupted by the giving triggers between Players 9 and 10.
At the same time it gives the Infested Terrans to player 11, the trigger creates a hallucinated death at the point of intersection (BM Gridder).
When the death counter runs out, "Create Explosions 1" triggers and centers, creates, and kills over 12 Infested Terrans
at the same time. But why only 12 when we need 15?
Why do we even need 15? Well, if you pick any point on the grid, your Horizontal location covers 10 units, and your Vertical location covers 6 units. They intersect over 1 unit, so it's basic math. 10 + 6 - 1 = 15
"Create Explosions 2" is directly below "Create Explosions 1" and its conditions are met as soon as its predecessor is finished, so it fires off, oddly enough,
at the exact same time. There, now you have 15 explosions.
That's all there is to it. So why are there four "Randomize" triggers? Well, if you just had "give 1" and preserve, the pattern would become predictable. I used two switches to randomize how many Infested Terrans to give to Player 10 in a single trigger loop, ranging from 0 to 3. If you have a larger area, you can increase the range, but for this size, 0 to 3 works well.
That's it, you've just stolen my Dash 6 minigame! The finished product should look like this:
Grid Example Map 2.scxWell, that should do it. Static grids aren't too complicated, and you can have fun with them.