Can Someone Explain the Difference Between Duplicating and Linking new units?

[Dangime]

For my project I need to create serveral buildings. The WC3 way was to copy a unit of similar features to what you want, then edit the fields accordingly.

SC2 seems to have gone a little further than this. When I make a new building it asks if I want to have duplication or a linked feature, then lists many of the features of a buildings. Say I'm making a barracks clone. If I duplicate it, it will work fine in the editor, but its fields will be populated with things like MODEL: BARRACKS COPY which makes since I guess if I want the barracks to be smaller or larger or colored or whatever.

What bugs me more is it seems like ALL the fields are being copied. Every sound effect of the barracks, every upgrade, which seems pointless. The new building might need the new model settings, but it can use the same old barracks sounds, upgrades, etc.

On the other hand if I go to link a feature (leaving it unchecked) it doesn't seem to do anything. If I don't duplicate the model, it won't appear in the editor if I try to place it.

Really what I'm trying to achieve is to get a set of basic buildings, that really doesn't need to do anything but exist, and have multiple variants to serve as reference points for triggers. But, so far it seems like I am breaking stuff merely by doing this. Anyone master this element of the editor enough to explain how to achieve my goal better?

 

[SomeRandomDeleted Dr. Cabbage0]

For my project I need to create serveral buildings. The WC3 way was to copy a unit of similar features to what you want, then edit the fields accordingly.

Im working on exactly the same thing, if I figure it out I share

 

[Pharaoh_]

By linking, I think it means:

Units can be "attached" to other units, and units can even be used as special attacks (for instance, modifying spore crawlers to launch banelings as an anti-ground attack).[24]

Source: http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/Galaxy_Map_Editor#cite_note-QA48-7

 

[Dangime]

Well my knowledge thus far is this.

When duplicating the buildings the only thing it seems I want to duplicate for my purposes is the ACTOR. This lets me resize the unit to distinguish it from the other ones.

Duplicating a field makes a new entry for it, a new model, new sound effect, etc. Stuff we probably don't want all the time.

Linking it will allow it to borrow the settings from another unit, I guess if I were to change the parent one it would change them all. But this isn't a problem for something like, a building which is going to use the same model, same sound effects, etc. But the actor needs to be new, at least if my case its working so far.

 

[Element of Water]

I think if you "link" a unit, it works for everything except the actor. You can duplicate the actor and change its unit to your linked one.