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To-Dos:- Add table of contents.
- Fill in methods for each type.
- Outline Pros and Cons for each type.
Selection systems are the UMS map maker's way of allowing the player to communicate with the map. Since player actions can be detected in numerous ways by triggers, players can be made to perform specific actions in order to make choices. These choices can then be associated with map functions and therefore given meaning. In a nutshell, any kind of player-controllable change to the state of the game that can be detected via. triggers can be used as a selection system. Selection systems often involve making use of the subtle properties of units and their abilities that somehow change the state of other surrounding units or themselves. Location-Based- Location Select (AKA Beacon Select, AKA Bring Unit to Location) - A common selection system where units must be brought to any of a set of fixed locations (usually inside an enclosed area of some sort) to activate selections.
- Method - Create locations. Place a unit or units nearby that are able to enter them. Detect the unit entering the location via. triggers with the Brings Unit condition and activate a corresponding option. Helps if each location is marked or labeled in some way (like by adding Beacons, for instance).
- Pros
- Easy to implement.
- Easy for players to understand.
- Cons
- Slow; units need to physically travel to the location.
- Requires player's focus; player usually must view the location (after having selected the unit) to order their unit correctly.
- Requires locations for each option and may require additional units for option location labels. May also require a designated type of unit for selections, depending upon the application.
- Move Select - A selection system that involves checking if a given unit is NOT inside a given location(s). Often simply used for single option, toggle-only, or always-having-at-least-one-option-constantly-selected selections. A more specific variation of movement select.
- Method - Single Option: Place a unit to use for selections (preferably something small and fast). Place a location AT LEAST smaller than the unit (does 0x0? work correctly?) on top of the unit. To detect when options are made simply detect when the unit is no longer inside the small location (Brings Exactly 0 Unit). For a slightly improved system intended for RPGs and the like where the player has one main unit, have the player hotkey their main unit and the selection unit as a group, and then when the unit casting unit moves, give it to another player and back again, so that the player is left with their main unit selected both during and immediately after the selection is detected.
- Pros
- Fairly easy for players to understand.
- Fairly fast; unit only need travel at least its own radius in any direction to trigger options.
- Fairly easy to implement.
- Improved version allows commands to be executed while the player remains in control of a particular unit.
- Single Option Method - Hotkeyable; can be activated without needing focus (by right-clicking with the selected unit nearly anywhere on the map.)
- Cons
- Requires a designated unit and a designated location.
- May require explanation to the player; non-standard unit behavior implied.
- Non-Single Option Methods - Requires player's focus; player usually must view the location (after having selected the unit) to order their unit correctly, unless they are using multiple hotkeys.
- Unit Select (AKA Bring Unit to Unit) - Another common selection system involving triggers that keep a location centered upon a given unit. Selections are made by either bringing other units within this unit's location or moving this unit itself up to other units. The type and player of the unit brought to it can be detected and used to select a given option. Alternate form includes checking if units are NOT near the given unit.
- Method - Place selector unit. Place option units. Create a location (usually 2x2) on top of the selector unit. Use an Alway trigger with Preserve Unit to Center the 2x2 location onto the selector unit. Detect when option units enter the location with Bring Unit triggers and activate the corresponding options.
- Pros
- Intuitive; easy for players to understand with little explanation.
- Not hard to implement.
- Cons
- Slow; needs unit to physically travel to other units.
- Requires physical space on the map for each options and enough room for the selector unit and location to go between them.
- Requires a unique units for each option for each Unit Selection.
- Requires a location to follow the selector unit (recycling possible with some effort, though).
- Requires a designated unit as the option selector.
Holder-Based- Bunker Select - A Terran Bunker is used as the primary method of this selection system. Terran Infantry units are loaded inside a given bunker via. triggers. Triggers can then detect when the player unloads units from the bunker, allowing for up to 5 unique options per bunker (includes the Unload All option; also detectable). Triggers can be used to automatically reload the bunker to make reselections possible. Alternate form includes checking if units are loaded into the bunker instead of unloaded.
- Method - <how to goeth here>
- Pros
- Cons
- Transport Select - A transport unit (Zerg Overlord, Yggdrasill (Overlord), Terran Dropship, Protoss Shuttle) can be used to hold units inside. Units unloaded from the transport can be detected and used to select up to 8 unique options. Triggers can be used to automatically reload the transport. Alternate form includes checking if units are loaded into the transport.
- Method - <how to goeth here>
- Pros
- Cons
Spell & Ability-Based- Dark Swarm/Disruption Web Select - Using either the Zerg Defiler's Dark Swarm ability or the Protoss Corsair's Disruption Web ability, players can freely target specific points within range of the caster. Both the spell being cast and its exact location can be detected as units (Dark Swarm and Disruption Web units, respectively) belonging to the neutral player (Player 12). Spell units can be removed to allow repeatable selections.
- Method - <how to goeth here>
- Pros
- Cons
- Mind Control Select - Using the Dark Archon's Mind Control ability, non-building units ('men') of different players can be targeted by the spell and detected as a player's selection choice.
- Method - <how to goeth here>
- Pros
- Cons
- Hallucination Select - Using the High Templar's Hallucination ability, non-building units ('men') can be targeted by the spell and detected as a player's selection choice.
- Method - <how to goeth here>
- Pros
- Cons
- Liftoff Select - Any buildings with the Liftoff ability (Terran Command Center, Terran Barracks, Terran Engineering Bay, Terran Factory, Terran Starport, Terran Science Facility, Infested Command Center) can be detected for option selections when either lifted from the ground or landed at a given spot.
- Method - <how to goeth here>
- Pros
- Cons
- Burrow Select - Using any burrowable unit in the game (Zerg Zergling, Zerg Hydralisk, Zerg Drone, Zerg Defiler, Infested Terran, Devouring One (Zergling), Hunter Killer (Hydralisk), Unclean One (Defiler)), triggers can be made to detect whether a player burrows or unburrows a given unit for use with option selections.
- Method - <how to goeth here>
- Pros
- Cons
- Morph Select - Using any morphable units in the game (Zerg Drone, Zerg Hydralisk, Zerg Mutalisk, Zerg Creep Colony, Zerg Hatchery, Zerg Lair, Zerg Spire, Terran Siege Tank (Tank Mode), Terran Siege Tank (Tank Mode), Edmund Duke (Siege Tank), Edmund Duke (Siege Mode), Protoss High Templar (two needed), Protoss Dark Templar (two needed)), option selections can be made by detecting the changed unit.
- Method - <how to goeth here>
- Pros
- Cons
- Cloak Select - Using any cloakable unit or unit capable of making others cloak (Terran Ghost, Terran Wraith, Tom Kazansky (Wraith), Sarah Kerrigan (Ghost), Alexei Stukov (Ghost), Samir Duran (Ghost), Infested Kerrigan (Infested Terran), Infested Duran, Protoss Arbiter), the visibility status of a given unit can be detected through certain methods when cloaking is turned on or off. May also apply for burrowable units, too (not in the same way as Burrow Select, however).
- Method - <how to goeth here>
- Pros
- Cons
Build-Based- Factory Build Select - A selection system where players can use any factories (Terran Command Center, Terran Barracks, Terran Factory, Terran Starport, Protoss Nexus, Protoss Gateway, Protoss Robotics Facility, Protoss Stargate) to build units for use as option selections.
- Method - <how to goeth here>
- Pros
- Cons
- Factory Build Cost Select - Variant of the above optimized for slightly better responsiveness.
- Method - Set each unit at the factory to a unique cost of one resource. Start each player with a certain amount of that resource. In order to avoid bugginess, ensure that the unique resource cost of each unit is more than half the starting amount of the resource. Instead of detecting the presence of a unit at the factory, detect the reserved resource being reduced to the difference between the starting amount and the unique cost. Then perform the action and restore the starting resource amount. Remove produced units as you wish.
- Pros
- Better 'feel' than standard Factory systems because it is detected instantly, rather than after the 1/15th-second build time.
- Always operates exactly as fast as your triggers cycle.
- Cons
- Requires a resource type and your choice of unique unit types or a location.
- Addon Select - Through Terran buildings capable of constructing Addons (Terran Command Center, Terran Factory, Terran Starport, Terran Science Facility), the addons themselves can be detected for use as option selections.
- Method - <how to goeth here>
- Pros
- Cons
- Hangar Select - Any unit with a hangar capacity (Protoss Reaver, Protoss Carrier, Warbringer (Reaver), Gantrithor (Carrier)) can be used to make selections; either by building hangar units (including how many are built), or by deploying hangar units through an attack of some sort.
- Method - <how to goeth here>
- Pros
- Cons
Misc/Advanced/Composite- Kill/Death Select - Through any means available that kills or gets a unit killed/removed (direct attacks/harmful abilities, area effect/splash abilities/attacks, Defiler's consume, Queen's Broodling, Archon Warp, Dark Archon Meld, Infested Terran Explode), unit deaths/disappearnaces can be detected and used to select options. This system comes in a large variety of possible forms. Deaths can be detected by the absence of the unit that was killed, a player's Kill Score increasing, the killed unit's player's Deaths count increasing for that unit, or the absence of a given detectable activity the killed unit was in the process of executing.
- Method - <how to goeth here>
- Pros
- Cons
- Rally Select - An extension to build select. Options built at factories can be set to automatically move to player-selected locations via. setting the factory's rally point. These positions can be detected via. Location Select. Works best with air units.
- Method - <how to goeth here>
- Pros
- Cons
- Mine Tripper Select - A variation of either Location Select, Kill Select, or even Burrow Select that involves triggering a burrowed Vulture Spider Mine to pop up and try to attack.
- Method - <how to goeth here>
- Pros
- Cons
- Heal Select - Injured organic units can be used to con allied medics to attempt to heal them. The medic's automatic move to heal can then be detected (via. Location Selection) when an injured unit is within its heal range. Selections are therefore made by injuring any healable units near a given allied medic in some way.
- Method - <how to goeth here>
- Pros
- Cons
- Detection Select - Functionally the opposite of Cloak Select. Cloaked or concealed units detected through any means (Ally Vision, Scanner Sweep, Vulture Spider Mines, Terran Missile Turret, Terran Science Vessel, Magellan (Science Vessel), Protoss Photon Cannon, Protoss Observer, Ensnare, Plague, Devourer's Acid Spores, Zerg Spore Colony, Zerg Overlord, Yggdrasill (Overlord), Zerg Cerebrate, Zerg Cerebrate Danimoth, Zerg Overmind (each type) <did I miss any?>) can be used to detect any given cloaked or concealed units. Trigger methods can then be used to tell which units were detected and use that to select options accordingly.
- Method - <how to goeth here>
- Pros
- Cons
- Recall Select - The Protoss Arbiter's ability to recall a player's 'men' from anywhere on the map to its position can be used to detect both the movement, type, and number of units recalled away from a given point.
- Method - <how to goeth here>
- Pros
- Cons
- Nydus Select - Using the Zerg Nydus Canal's ability to create an exit point at any given location on the map covered by creep, the creation and position of the exit Nydus Canal can be used to make option selections.
- Method - <how to goeth here>
- Pros
- Cons
- Flag Beacon Select - Using the Flag Beacon's ability to be moved onto any given buildable location on the map once per beacon (but only within the first 5 minutes of gameplay), the movement and position of the Flag Beacon can be detected for option selection use.
- Method - <how to goeth here>
- Pros
- Cons
- Morph/Build Abort Select - Most morphable or buildable units have both a progress meter and a cancel option for their construction/morph duration. Through either the mineral/gas refund incurred from a cancellation of a build, or else the absence of the unit (using an odd property of the At Most modifier of the Brings Unit condition to detect this, usually), aborted attempts to build or morph units can be detected by triggers. Certain units, additionally, can also be set to build/morph indefinitely by setting them with the smallest possible non-zero build time.
- Method - <how to goeth here>
- Pros
- Cons
- Ally/Vision Select - Players can adjust their alliance or allied vision settings to other players in-game. This can be detected.
- Method - <how to goeth here>
- Pros
- Cons
- Upgrade Detection - Detect when players purchase upgrades.
- Method - Very similar to Factory Build Cost Detection: set each upgrade to a unique cost of a certain resource, then detect when the starting amount of that resource is reduced. To reset, give the upgrade structure to an unused player and back again; doing so both cancels the upgrade and restores the resources. If your effect has a cost in the other (non-reserved) resource, you'll want to subtract it with your trigger, because the upgrade cost will be refunded.
- Pros
- Very few triggers are required.
- Works well even in a wait-timing/non-hyper-trigger environment.
- Instantaneous.
- No locations or unit types required.
- Cons
- Requires a resource type.
- Inappropriate for quickly repeated commands because selection is lost in the reset process.
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