Earth Spellpack V1.2b

[Moderator]

12.12
IcemanBo: For long time as NeedsFix. Rejected.

Bribe

Set A_Temp_Loc = (Position of (Picked unit)) -> does not get removed, so there's a lot of memory leaks :O

(Owner of (Triggering unit)) -> (Triggering player)

(Elapsed time for RC_Timer[RC_Index3]) -> store this into a variable as you reference it a lot.

• Set A_Temp_Loc = (RC_CenterPoint[RC_Index3] offset by (Random real number between 0.00 and RC_Range[RC_Index3]) towards (Random angle) degrees)
• Set A_Temp_Group = (Units within RC_EffectAoe[RC_Index3] of A_Temp_Loc matching (((Matching unit) belongs to an enemy of (Owner of RC_Caster[RC_Index3])) Equal to true))
• Unit Group - Pick every unit in A_Temp_Group and do (Actions)
  • Unit - Cause RC_Caster[RC_Index3] to damage (Picked unit) dealing RC_Damage[RC_Index3] damage of attack type Spells and damage type Normal
• Special Effect - Create a special effect at A_Temp_Loc using Abilities\Spells\Orc\WarStomp\WarStompCaster.mdl
• Special Effect - Destroy (Last created special effect)
• Custom script: call DestroyGroup(udg_A_Temp_Group)
• Custom script: call RemoveLocation(udg_A_Temp_Loc)
• Set A_Temp_Loc = (RC_CenterPoint[RC_Index3] offset by (Random real number between 0.00 and RC_Range[RC_Index3]) towards (Random angle) degrees)
• Set A_Temp_Group = (Units within RC_EffectAoe[RC_Index3] of A_Temp_Loc matching (((Matching unit) belongs to an enemy of (Owner of RC_Caster[RC_Index3])) Equal to true))
• Unit Group - Pick every unit in A_Temp_Group and do (Actions)
  • Unit - Cause RC_Caster[RC_Index3] to damage (Picked unit) dealing RC_Damage[RC_Index3] damage of attack type Spells and damage type Normal
• Special Effect - Create a special effect at A_Temp_Loc using Abilities\Spells\Undead\Impale\ImpaleHitTarget.mdl
• Special Effect - Destroy (Last created special effect)
• Custom script: call DestroyGroup(udg_A_Temp_Group)
• Custom script: call RemoveLocation(udg_A_Temp_Loc)
• Set A_Temp_Loc = (RC_CenterPoint[RC_Index3] offset by (Random real number between 0.00 and RC_Range[RC_Index3]) towards (Random angle) degrees)
• Set A_Temp_Group = (Units within RC_EffectAoe[RC_Index3] of A_Temp_Loc matching (((Matching unit) belongs to an enemy of (Owner of RC_Caster[RC_Index3])) Equal to true))
• Unit Group - Pick every unit in A_Temp_Group and do (Actions)
  • Unit - Cause RC_Caster[RC_Index3] to damage (Picked unit) dealing RC_Damage[RC_Index3] damage of attack type Spells and damage type Normal
• Special Effect - Create a special effect at A_Temp_Loc using Abilities\Spells\Other\Volcano\VolcanoDeath.mdl
• Special Effect - Destroy (Last created special effect)
• Custom script: call RemoveLocation(udg_A_Temp_Loc)
• Custom script: call DestroyGroup(udg_A_Temp_Group)

^ Run this through a loop and avoid so much duplicate text.

Set RT_CasterLoc[RT_Index2] = (Position of (Triggering unit))
Set RT_TrailLoc[RT_Index2] = (Position of (Triggering unit))

^ Why duplicate the location?

• If (All Conditions are True) then do (Then Actions) else do (Else Actions)
  • If - Conditions
    • (Current order of (Last created unit)) Equal to (Order(harvest))
  • Then - Actions
    • Destructable - Kill (Picked destructible)
    • Unit - Remove (Last created unit) from the game
  • Else - Actions
    • Unit - Remove (Last created unit) from the game

In the above, you should move the "remove unit" line outside of the if-block, that way you only have to include it once instead of twice.

 

[WherewolfTherewolf]

Is an ability....

Yes we know it's an ability, just remove this and go straight to:

"Causes the caster to"

-Earth Rend is a bit spammy in effects, maybe reduce the amount a little so it doesn't lag up slower computers, looks nice though. Same with Ruinous trail, you don't need the explosions to be so frequent - slow them down a bit.

-Ritual of Chaos is a too random to be effective imo, I used it right next to the ogres and it barely did any damage to them at max level because it missed too often.

Sunder Earth: This had to be my favorite in terms of usefulness even though it was overall the most simple
Effects: Nothing more then it needs to be - 4/5
Usefulness: This spell is great as it's multi-purpose - it can prevent a fleeing enemy, dealing massive damage to a group or even knock a unit down from a cliff to your position - 5/5

Ritual of Chaos: This spell was a bit meh as I had a hard time actually dealing damage with it, small enemies could be killed with it, but that was because it needed 1 hit to kill them - the larger Ogres prove that this spell isn't accurate enough to be useful in larger situations.
Effects: A bit spammy and random imo - 2/5
Usefulness: I explained in the overall review of this spell, it's like a step below normal AoE - 2/5

Ruinous Trail: This spell was simple in concept, but still useful. The delay for when the trail starts is a bit much, but this spell could easily be mixed with other spells to increase your damage output, and is simple to use in the right situation.
Effects: Reduce the rate at which the ground explodes, it starts to slow down the framerate a little - 2.5/5
Usefulness: It's simple and can easily be used - 4/5

Earth Rend: can tell you really wanted to make this eye-candy, from the explosions to the rocks going everywhere you went all out with this - which makes this the most laggy spell of the bunch, like I said with Ruinous Trail, reduce the rate of the explosions, you don't need so many of those per-second as you have. The delay makes it a bit of a challenge to time right, but that could be a plus to the spell as it could make a good ultimate, dealing massive damage but a challenge to time and use right.
Effects: As I said before, reduce the lag facter - 2.5/5
Usefulness: The delay makes it difficult to use, other then that it's a fancy shockwave spell - 3/5


Overall Triggering:
I looked it over pretty quickly and didn't notice any major errors or problems in it, you seem to know how to remove leaks and trigger MUI so It's fine here.

4.5/5


It lags a bit with a few of the spells, but other then that I don't any reason to reject it.
I vote approval

 

[Greedforce]

Well I´ve tested the spells and i like the Earth Rend spell. But I´ve found out that if you start Ruinous Trail and then use Earth Rend you´ll get the damage from both, wich will lead to...

Massive Destruction!!!


Btw you should remove the "type reset thing". It doesn´t work. But it´s pretty cool when the new trees start to grow.

5/5 +rep
Keep up the good work!

 

[D4RK_G4ND4LF]

really nice and unique spells

suggestions:

• don't use an array as an index because arrays are slower
• try to avoid selection stuff since it uses local player script and might cause desync in combination with other things
• cut down the number of special effects (Earth Rend lags on my pc although it can run starcraft 2 on ultra)
• instead of checking the type of an destructable you can create a hidden dummy unit with harvest ability and order it to attack a tree, then check the dummys order (if it is equal to "harvest" the destructable is a tree) and you should also check if the tree is dead already which will save lots of performance
• you can avoid all pause unit actions and their bugs if you use channel as your base spell instead
• instead of copy&pasting code 3-4 times you should use a loop (might even be faster since the game does not have to load that much code, also easier to modify and much more readable)
• you don't have to change the value of your arrays to stuf flike 100, 999 or anything (this is just how many of them should be setted to the initial value (be careful with unitgroups))
• to change a units flying height it does not have to have the storm crow form ability all the time (you can remove it directly after you added it and chaning flying height will still work)
• why are you hiding and showing the hero in earth rend spell? to keep selection it would be enough to raise him miles up into the air
• use a variable to check the time instead of a countdown timer
• the avatar of earth mother dummy is selectable (add locust ability or at least change the peon icon)
• your spells leak dummy units if spammed (see screenshots)

 

[Sandbox Rpg]

Thanks for the opinions all, and DarkGandalf, thanks for your list, I'll try to address each item on it.

• don't use an array as an index because arrays are slower

So use a different variable for each index? Like ER_Index1, ER_Index2 etc.?

• try to avoid selection stuff since it uses local player script and might cause desync in combination with other things

I was using that as I'm lazy and liked having the hero selected for me, still i'll remove it if it's better off that way.

• cut down the number of special effects (Earth Rend lags on my pc although it can run starcraft 2 on ultra)

Yeah, I thought that I should, I'll cut Earth Rend down to 1 VolcanoDeath per loop, which should ease things up quite a bit.

• instead of checking the type of an destructable you can create a hidden dummy unit with harvest ability and order it to attack a tree, then check the dummys order (if it is equal to "harvest" the destructable is a tree) and you should also check if the tree is dead already which will save lots of performance

I knew there was an easier way to kill trees!! Will do, thanks!

• you can avoid all pause unit actions and their bugs if you use channel as your base spell instead

Well, Ritual of Chaos is the only one that would actually need that, and it's done on purpose, once you cast it, you HAVE to see it through till the end, death being the only way to stop it early.

• instead of copy&pasting code 3-4 times you should use a loop (might even be faster since the game does not have to load that much code, also easier to modify and much more readable)

Done!

• you don't have to change the value of your arrays to stuf flike 100, 999 or anything (this is just how many of them should be setted to the initial value (be careful with unitgroups))

Well that's the thing, I only realized I didn't have to AFTER I modified them, and after that I can't seem to reset them.

• to change a units flying height it does not have to have the storm crow form ability all the time (you can remove it directly after you added it and chaning flying height will still work)

Yeah, I'm having a problem with that, as I was going to make the caster dig move underground in the first second of Earth Rend, but flying height refused to change, made it so that he kept storm crow form, and it didn't work so I forgot about it.

• why are you hiding and showing the hero in earth rend spell? to keep selection it would be enough to raise him miles up into the air

True, I'll change that.

• use a variable to check the time instead of a countdown timer

Why? It works fine and a variable has to be constantly updated, wouldn't a timer work better? (I know nothing of this so I'm probably wrong)

• the avatar of earth mother dummy is selectable (add locust ability or at least change the peon icon)

I'd of sworn I'd given that dummy locust. Fixed.

• your spells leak dummy units if spammed (see screenshots)

Oh god... Look, remember I defined the arrays for the variables (Ye I know, that was stupid)? Well, Earth rend makes a minimum of 63 Boulder dummies, and they are looped together, and Ruinous Trail makes a minimum of 167, and average of 250 boulder dummies. Now each dummy takes up 1 array slot so let's say you cast Ruinous trail 5 times, you will almost definetly exceed 999, which will then cause those problems.

To Greedforce: You have to type reset, not -reset, in case that's what you were typing.

Will update the pack after having made all the changes.

 

[Adiktuz]

really nice and unique spells
you can avoid all pause unit actions and their bugs if you use channel as

so you're not using channel as a base... I suggest using channel as base spell for all since it will be easier to use it since you can have multiple channels in one hero... because some user might have hero spell he made and then puts it into a hero that has one of the skills in this pack that has the same base ability which will cause a bug...

ayway, AWESOME!

 

[Sandbox Rpg]

So I should make all the spells have a channel ability as base? Will do!

Edit: I tried with Blizzard as base for Ritual of Chaos, but I think I'll need a non-targeting channel ability, and still have to pause him as i don't want the caster to be able to move when casting the spell.

 

[Darkzealot_128]

Great spells. I can use this for my map.

 

[Zealon]

Great spells. I can use this for my map.

likewise 4/5

 

[Maker]

Sunder Earth:

Damage equation

If (All Conditions are True) then do (Then Actions) else do (Else Actions)
If - Conditions
(Level of (Ability being cast) for (Triggering unit)) Not equal to 5
Then - Actions
Set SE_Damage[SE_Index[2]] = ((30.00 x (Real((Level of (Ability being cast) for (Triggering unit))))) + 70.00)
Else - Actions
Set SE_Damage[SE_Index[2]] = 245.00

It results in: 100, 130, 160, 190, 245, 250, 280...maybe consider changing that. The damage equation is done having only 5 levels in mind. That goes for all spells.

Leak:

Trigger

• Unit Group - Pick every unit in SE_Targets[SE_Index[3]] and do (Actions)
  • Loop - Actions
    • Unit - Turn collision for (Picked unit) On
    • Animation - Change (Picked unit) flying height to (Default flying height of (Picked unit)) at 0.00
    • Unit - Cause SE_Caster[SE_Index[3]] to damage (Picked unit), dealing SE_Damage[SE_Index[3]] damage of attack type Spells and damage type Normal
    • [B]Set A_Temp_Loc = (Position of (Picked unit))[/B]
    • Special Effect - Create a special effect attached to the origin of (Picked unit) using Abilities\Spells\Orc\WarStomp\WarStompCaster.mdl
    • Special Effect - Destroy (Last created special effect)
    • Unit - Unpause (Picked unit)
    • Unit - Remove Sunder Earth buff from (Picked unit)

I'd like to se the loop period set to 0.03 because 0.04 looks jerky to me. 0.04 period is only 25 fps. Same for all spells that involve moving objects.

Avoid using Integer A and Integer B in loops, they can bug. Use custom variable instead.

You could make the spells more easily configurable, use variables instead of hard-coded values in damage equations, distances, speeds, timers and so on.

 

[Sandbox Rpg]

@ Maker: I did that If/Then/Else because I always have the last level of the spell do a little extra damage, and in this case that level is 5. As for the 0.04 periodic, I use it as it goes perfectly into 1 second, unlike 0.03, but that's personal preference, if it's generally better though, I will change it.

Updated the pack and added changelog.

 

[WherewolfTherewolf]

K, finished review

 

[Sandbox Rpg]

Yes we know it's an ability, just remove this and go straight to:

"Causes the caster to"

-Earth Rend is a bit spammy in effects, maybe reduce the amount a little so it doesn't lag up slower computers, looks nice though. Same with Ruinous trail, you don't need the explosions to be so frequent - slow them down a bit.

-Ritual of Chaos is a too random to be effective imo, I used it right next to the ogres and it barely did any damage to them at max level because it missed too often.

Sunder Earth: This had to be my favorite in terms of usefulness even though it was overall the most simple
Effects: Nothing more then it needs to be - 4/5
Usefulness: This spell is great as it's multi-purpose - it can prevent a fleeing enemy, dealing massive damage to a group or even knock a unit down from a cliff to your position - 5/5

Ritual of Chaos: This spell was a bit meh as I had a hard time actually dealing damage with it, small enemies could be killed with it, but that was because it needed 1 hit to kill them - the larger Ogres prove that this spell isn't accurate enough to be useful in larger situations.
Effects: A bit spammy and random imo - 2/5
Usefulness: I explained in the overall review of this spell, it's like a step below normal AoE - 2/5

Ruinous Trail: This spell was simple in concept, but still useful. The delay for when the trail starts is a bit much, but this spell could easily be mixed with other spells to increase your damage output, and is simple to use in the right situation.
Effects: Reduce the rate at which the ground explodes, it starts to slow down the framerate a little - 2.5/5
Usefulness: It's simple and can easily be used - 4/5

Earth Rend: can tell you really wanted to make this eye-candy, from the explosions to the rocks going everywhere you went all out with this - which makes this the most laggy spell of the bunch, like I said with Ruinous Trail, reduce the rate of the explosions, you don't need so many of those per-second as you have. The delay makes it a bit of a challenge to time right, but that could be a plus to the spell as it could make a good ultimate, dealing massive damage but a challenge to time and use right.
Effects: As I said before, reduce the lag facter - 2.5/5
Usefulness: The delay makes it difficult to use, other then that it's a fancy shockwave spell - 3/5


Overall Triggering:
I looked it over pretty quickly and didn't notice any major errors or problems in it, you seem to know how to remove leaks and trigger MUI so It's fine here.

4.5/5


It lags a bit with a few of the spells, but other then that I don't any reason to reject it.
I vote approval

Ritual of Chaos was meant more for waves of little enemies, not for 3-5 strong ones.

Have you downloaded the updated version? In that one Earth Rend is much lighter in terms of effects, and it's a bit more than fancy shockwave.

But thanks for the review, the 4/5 and the vote of approval.

 

[Adiktuz]

So I should make all the spells have a channel ability as base? Will do!

Edit: I tried with Blizzard as base for Ritual of Chaos, but I think I'll need a non-targeting channel ability, and still have to pause him as i don't want the caster to be able to move when casting the spell.

I did not mean that you use a channeling ability as a base... I said use the Channel Ability, its a hero ability named Channel...

and please make a damage equation that supports any level of the ability...

 

[Sandbox Rpg]

I did not mean that you use a channeling ability as a base... I said use the Channel Ability, its a hero ability named Channel...

and please make a damage equation that supports any level of the ability...

Made all changes, added more configurability, can it get approved?

 

[Adiktuz]

Made all changes, added more configurability, can it get approved?

if the triggers are fine I dont see a reason why it shouldn't be approved... the spells are nice and useful... 4/5

 

[.OmG.]

Very nice... But it cause lag=(

 

[Sandbox Rpg]

I have tried to cut down on effects, and unless you have 3 or 4 people cast one the spells on the same screen, at the same time, the lag shouldn't be excessive.

 

[Bribe]

The lag would be reduced significantly if you converted this to (efficient) JASS instead of (garbage) GUI.

 

[Marcos DAB]

Pretty nice.