I reached the max number of locations allowed limit in my map, and was wondering if people have any creative procedures for continuing work regardless?
I have considered that one location can be centered on one unit, utilized, then on another, and utilized again, for certain situations, reducing the need for more locations. But this has various limitations.
currently the remaining triggers I have in mind to implement involve creating certain units/buildings at certain places, and moving units at specific places to other specific places.
What other possibilities are there?
Thanks
ben
None.
update: I found a file which lets you make a "mobile grid" to place a location anywhere, I modified it so that you can literally pick any exact tile you want to place a location on, check this out:
http://www.staredit.net/sc1db/file/3718/
None.
Each location has a high/low flag corresponding to high/low terrain, which allows you to have grid precision (for detection) and nonstandard locations in an otherwise larger location.
You can use burrowed units or buildings as location holders for a single location. Since they never die, you know exactly how many you need to give away.
If the mobile grid worked for you, then that's great.
"Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Chairman - do we have to call the Gentleman a gentleman if he's not one?"
An artist's depiction of an Extended Unit Death
You can use burrowed units or buildings as location holders for a single location. Since they never die, you know exactly how many you need to give away.
Specifically, this method of location recycling is called a static grid, which has its pros and cons compared to mobile grids.
There are also location grids, which use the map boundaries to position a location to specific X/Y coordinates. This again has various pros and cons over the other two grid systems.
Wiki article on grids:
http://www.staredit.net/wiki/index.php?title=Grid_Systems
hmmmm...
can you explain what you mean by the high/low flags on locations being used for precision or detection?
I think the mobile grid will be good for placing units, as I don't need them placed instantly (you can see it's a bit slow in how it moves)
but I woke up this morning pondering how I'm going to transfer units from one location to another -- that needs to be instant.
In my map, basically it's kind of like an adventure map where you move your unit to a cave entrance, for example, and it instantly teleports it to "inside the cave" type of thing.
I suppose I can have borrowed units to center a location on when a unit gets close to the entrance, so that it will be ready, but then again this will be tricky without additional locations to determine that.
Yes, borrowed units help, but, there are only a few different types of zerg borrowed units, and if I use the same unit twice, the map seems to choose whichever unit it farthest to the left. is there no way of differentiating (trigger-wise) between two of the same units? I had this question earlier in my map, for other purposes as well..
None.
An artist's depiction of an Extended Unit Death
is there no way of differentiating (trigger-wise) between two of the same units? I had this question earlier in my map, for other purposes as well..
You can distinguish them by player owner. To get a specific unit, give X number of units to a different player and then center the location onto the next unit. This is called unit cycling, and it is now static grids work. The wiki link goes into more detail on how this works.
If you need to distinguish two similar units that can move around, you could consider LIDs if applicable:
http://www.staredit.net/topic/11454/
ah yes... I just read this article you posted.. I see how it manages giving X zerglings to player to pinpoint one of them..
heh, I see they already came to the same conclusion in the other section about placing both scourges and observers to make a grid-accurate mobile grid.. took me quite a few trial and errors to figure that one out on my own.
oh.. this LID topic looks eye-raising.. I will be reading and downloading the map files right now, thanks a bunch
None.
hmmm.. you know, observers would be very useful for placing buildings on a static grid. The problem is how they get pushed around if you bring other air units in their space.
I tried using map revealers as a static grid, for placing buildings, however I think the triggers don't want to respond to centering locations on them, if I'm correct.
Are there any other units that can be used to place buildings, which will remain perfectly in place without wandering? or are there any tricks to keep observers in place, without using more locations?
None.
We can't explain the universe, just describe it; and we don't know whether our theories are true, we just know they're not wrong. >Harald Lesch
hmmm.. you know, observers would be very useful for placing buildings on a static grid. The problem is how they get pushed around if you bring other air units in their space.
I tried using map revealers as a static grid, for placing buildings, however I think the triggers don't want to respond to centering locations on them, if I'm correct.
Are there any other units that can be used to place buildings, which will remain perfectly in place without wandering? or are there any tricks to keep observers in place, without using more locations?
correct @ map revealer.
Haven't tried if it actually works, but you can try to move the observers constantly to a location outside of the map. They will be frozen in place, but I'm not sure it prevents drifting.
You could also use the sides of the map, basically using a burrowed unit for each axis to mark the x and y coordinates. Then center long, thin locations on them, so the locations will intersect somewhere on the map. This is where you place your building.
There's a number of practical limitations of this approach, but maybe we can work something out. If you have both unwalkable terrain and air units along those paths it can be difficult to find the intersection via mobile grid, for example. But it's at least useful to detect if your observer left its post and maybe there's a way to mark its original position (combination of burrowed unit and building) to order it to move back.
Observers/scourges are best used for mobile grids. Static grids are almost always burrowed units. You can also make a secondary static grid using disabled Ion cannons (they give no shadows) on places that ground units can't spawn.
As for high/low ground, this location would only "trigger" when the unit that it's detecting via bring is over the water, on the high temple, or on the low dirt. Since I deselected the "mid ground" and "mid air", it won't trigger if the unit is in the high jungle/dirt, since that's a medium level.
"Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Chairman - do we have to call the Gentleman a gentleman if he's not one?"
correct @ map revealer.
Haven't tried if it actually works, but you can try to move the observers constantly to a location outside of the map. They will be frozen in place, but I'm not sure it prevents drifting.
You could also use the sides of the map, basically using a burrowed unit for each axis to mark the x and y coordinates. Then center long, thin locations on them, so the locations will intersect somewhere on the map. This is where you place your building.
There's a number of practical limitations of this approach, but maybe we can work something out. If you have both unwalkable terrain and air units along those paths it can be difficult to find the intersection via mobile grid, for example. But it's at least useful to detect if your observer left its post and maybe there's a way to mark its original position (combination of burrowed unit and building) to order it to move back.
hmmm.. just might work.. but how do you define moving/placing a unit based on where locations intersect?
Observers/scourges are best used for mobile grids. Static grids are almost always burrowed units. You can also make a secondary static grid using disabled Ion cannons (they give no shadows) on places that ground units can't spawn.
As for high/low ground, this location would only "trigger" when the unit that it's detecting via bring is over the water, on the high temple, or on the low dirt. Since I deselected the "mid ground" and "mid air", it won't trigger if the unit is in the high jungle/dirt, since that's a medium level.
That makes me wonder a little bit..
See, this here is the setup I'm working with and having trouble. I have an "underground compound" where most of the terrain is building-unplacable. So I created those little 2x3 mud patches you see, and those are where bunkers are meant to spawn.
Right now I'm using a system where if a bunker is present, an observer is over it, and when the bunker dies, it creates a burrowed unit in it's stead. But this is complicated, buggy, and I'm still wary of observer wandering, even though there are almost no air units in my map.
my thought was if I changed those "mud patches" to low ground (vs the mid ground of the compound terrain around them) then, maybe in combination with location terrain height detection it can help "snap" those bunkers into place, or something. (or frankly any other ideas you guys got for this, I'm just throwing odd thoughts out there.
Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on Jun 9 2017, 7:12 am by yamatoclan.
None.
Haven't tried if it actually works, but you can try to move the observers constantly to a location outside of the map. They will be frozen in place, but I'm not sure it prevents drifting.
I believe it prevents drift.
yamatoclan, it doesn't contradict with anything to have burrowed units under buildings: center location L on a burrowed unit, move it elsewhere, make a building, move the burrowed unit from elsewhere back to location L (under the structure).
Moreover if you afterwards issue the patrol order for the burrowed unit at L to patrol to L, the unit will unburrow and
keep staying on top of the building. Issuing any further orders to that unit will break that and the unit will be displaced from the building.
I'm not sure if it will work, but if you take hydra and then constantly move it to the unwalkable location (out of bounds location works too) probably you can hold it standing on the bunker's roof like a hydra-cannon or something :-)
Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Jun 9 2017, 9:24 am by Wormer.
Some.
We can't explain the universe, just describe it; and we don't know whether our theories are true, we just know they're not wrong. >Harald Lesch
hmmm.. just might work.. but how do you define moving/placing a unit based on where locations intersect?
That's the ugly part... If at all possible try the alternative: use it only to detect if your obs left at least one of the locations, and use the burrowed unit or building there to refind the spot.
If you have to use the ugly part:
Create a "finder unit" on one of the long thin locations and use a
mobile grid to move along that location towards the other side of the map until you detect it inside your other location.
That makes me wonder a little bit..
See, this here is the setup I'm working with and having trouble. I have an "underground compound" where most of the terrain is building-unplacable. So I created those little 2x3 mud patches you see, and those are where bunkers are meant to spawn.
Right now I'm using a system where if a bunker is present, an observer is over it, and when the bunker dies, it creates a burrowed unit in it's stead. But this is complicated, buggy, and I'm still wary of observer wandering, even though there are almost no air units in my map.
my thought was if I changed those "mud patches" to low ground (vs the mid ground of the compound terrain around them) then, maybe in combination with location terrain height detection it can help "snap" those bunkers into place, or something. (or frankly any other ideas you guys got for this, I'm just throwing odd thoughts out there.
Location flags only help for the bring condition. They are ignored for actions. If you try to make a bunker, it will try to make the bunker in the middle.
There's nothing stopping you from using burrowed lings instead of observers. You can move buildings on top of lings and vice versa, just create them somewhere else first.
"Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Chairman - do we have to call the Gentleman a gentleman if he's not one?"
if you guys weren't saying it I wouldn't believe it, you really can move units back under buildings huh? well that should work just perfect then, I'll try it out.
Wormer - Yeah, the move to unwalkable thing... That one is great, I actually have a feature in this map where the tanks will run out of gas, and the way i figured to make them "stop" if you have more than one of the same tank type, was to constantly move them to unwalkable area.
I found out that cocoons and disruption field (from the units menu) (and probably dark swarm too) also hold their position above ground indefinitely, and will respond to triggers. And you can even cloak a cocoon with a nearby arbiter.. but.. I couldn't find a way to hide the arbiter. (I even tried constantly moving it to and from another location, but it needs to sit for a second to cloak the cocoon.)
None.
