Easier Spawning For TD

[Clawdruid]

So for my TD im having to spawn all my units by:

• Lvl 1
  • Events
    • Time - LvlTimer expires
  • Conditions
  • Actions
    • Game - Display to (All players) the text: |cff7777aaLevel|r 1...
    • Set loc = (Center of Red Start <gen>)
    • Unit - Create 1 Lvl 1 for Player 7 (Green) at loc facing Default building facing degrees
    • Custom script: call RemoveLocation(udg_loc)
    • Set loc = (Center of Blue Start <gen>)
    • Unit - Create 1 Lvl 1 for Player 7 (Green) at loc facing Default building facing degrees
    • Custom script: call RemoveLocation(udg_loc)
    • Set loc = (Center of Teal Start <gen>)
    • Unit - Create 1 Lvl 1 for Player 7 (Green) at loc facing Default building facing degrees
    • Custom script: call RemoveLocation(udg_loc)
    • Set loc = (Center of Purple Start <gen>)
    • Unit - Create 1 Lvl 1 for Player 7 (Green) at loc facing Default building facing degrees
    • Custom script: call RemoveLocation(udg_loc)
    • Set loc = (Center of Yellow Start <gen>)
    • Unit - Create 1 Lvl 1 for Player 7 (Green) at loc facing Default building facing degrees
    • Custom script: call RemoveLocation(udg_loc)
    • Set loc = (Center of Orange Start <gen>)
    • Unit - Create 1 Lvl 1 for Player 7 (Green) at loc facing Default building facing degrees
    • Custom script: call RemoveLocation(udg_loc)
    • Wait 0.25 seconds
    • //(Then that 9 more times for 10 units at 6 places.)
    • Trigger - Turn on Lvl 2 <gen>
    • Wait 0.01 seconds
    • Trigger - Turn off (This trigger)

Is there any easier way to make it spawn each level, 10 units each, except bosses. Like a variable that increases, if it equals "x" then spawn "x" units in "x" locations?

 

[Garfield1337]

Use

• For each (Integer A) from 1 to 10, do (Actions)
  • Loop - Actions
    • Set TempPoint = ((Player((Integer A))) start location)
    • Unit - Create 1 Lvl 1 for Player 7 (Green) at TempPoint facing Default building facing degrees
    • Custom script: call RemoveLocation(udg_TempPoint)

 

[Clawdruid]

Would i use that for each level? And the "For each (Integer A) from 1 to 10, do (Actions)", The 1-10 is the amount of creeps right?

 

[Garfield1337]

1-10 means it will be executed 10 times,first time,integer A will be 1,which means it will spawn 1 creep at starting position of player who has index 1 = Player Red.
Next time,integer A will be 2,and it will spawn 1 creep at blue's position and so on 'till 10.

 

[Dr Super Good]

You use itteration to reduce the ammount of code needed.
Additionally the creation of functions can further streamline the code by allowing spawning under different conditions etc.

 

[Garfield1337]

@Dr Super Good
Try explaining in way one can understand

 

[Clawdruid]

So i need to set the Index for each player? In an INT trigger or something, set Integer A (1) = red. Then so on so forth or is there no need in this case?

 

[Garfield1337]

The function i wrote can replace nearly whole your trigger,except the ending. It covers all players with indexes from 1 to 10. Index = Player number (Red-1,Blue-2,Teal-3 etc...)

 

[Clawdruid]

Cool, So in your code it says starting point, can i replace that with a region? Or is it easier to just move the starting position?

 

[Garfield1337]

You can set it to region. Create a region array variable and at initialization trigger set it like this:

• Init
  • Events
    • Map initialization
  • Conditions
  • Actions
    • Set RegionArray[1] = Region 000 <gen>
    • Set RegionArray[2] = Region 001 <gen>
    • Set RegionArray[3] = Region 002 <gen>
    • Set RegionArray[4] = Region 003 <gen>

RegionArray[1] should be region that is for player red,region 2 for blue etc...
And use:

• For each (Integer A) from 1 to 10, do (Actions)
  • Loop - Actions
    • Set TempPoint = (Center of RegionArray[(Integer A)])
    • Unit - Create 1 Lvl 1 for Player 7 (Green) at TempPoint facing Default building facing degrees
    • Custom script: call RemoveLocation(udg_TempPoint)

 

[Clawdruid]

And this will help reduce some lag problems in my game right?

 

[Garfield1337]

Hmm...maybe,but lag reduction would be so tiny,that it wouldn't be recognizable. So it's actually same,but my way takes a bit less work.

 

[Clawdruid]

Alright. Can i just put a "Wait .25 secs" Then copy the action 10 times? i wanna spawn 10 units at each place. .25 seconds apart

 

[Dr Super Good]

Garfield1337, you never wrote a function. You wrote a piece of code.

This will not reduce any lag at all. Lag is usually caused by poor connections or too may net traffic actions, find the cause of the lag and then work on a solution. If you mean reduced framerate, it will only reduce the frame rate further acording to logic as it is now doing a loop however this should not be causing any framerate reduction as it is hardly an intesnive opperation (leaving windows live messanger open in the background will eat up more time). Any low framerate must be from some other cause.

Alright. Can i just put a "Wait .25 secs" Then copy the action 10 times? i wanna spawn 10 units at each place. .25 seconds apart

No as the wait function in WC3 (TriggerSleepAction) is not very accurate and so is always longer than the specified time. Infact in multiplayer it gets even worse reaching nearly twice as long as the time specified with no real constant multiple.

I advise using a timer to time the spawns as those are always accurate to a high degree. Just run a function with that code in it every time the timer expires and set the timer to perodic mode with a timeout of 0.25 seconds. Use a global integer to keep track of the number spawned and turn the timer off/destroy the timer when 10 units are spawned.

 

[Garfield1337]

@DSG
Well,i said that even if it does reduce lag,it would be tiny,but i thought it probably wouldn't. And yes,you're right that i've mistaken lag for framerate.

@Clawdruid

• StartSpawn
  • Events
  • //When you want your units to spawn
  • Conditions
  • Actions
    • Set IntegerVar = 0
    • Countdown Timer - Start TimerVar as a Repeating timer that will expire in 0.25 seconds

• Spawn
  • Events
    • Time - TimerVar expires
  • Conditions
  • Actions
    • Set IntegerVar = (IntegerVar + 1)
    • For each (Integer A) from 1 to 10, do (Actions)
      • Loop - Actions
        • Set TempPoint = (Center of RegionArray[(Integer A)])
        • Unit - Create 1 Footman for Player 7 (Green) at TempPoint facing Default building facing degrees
        • Custom script: call RemoveLocation(udg_TempPoint)
    • If (All Conditions are True) then do (Then Actions) else do (Else Actions)
      • If - Conditions
        • IntegerVar Equal to 10
      • Then - Actions
        • Countdown Timer - Pause TimerVar
      • Else - Actions

 

[Clawdruid]

Another quick question, how do you make it so once all of the units on the map are killed, it sends the next wave?

 

[Garfield1337]

• WaveEnd
  • Events
    • Unit - A unit Dies
  • Conditions
    • (Number of units in (Units in (Playable map area) matching ((Unit-type of (Matching unit)) Equal to Footman))) Equal to 0
  • Actions
    • Trigger - Run StartSpawn <gen> (ignoring conditions)
    • //or whatever actions you want

 

[Clawdruid]

Then once the IntegerVar is equal to 0 resume timervar?

 

[Garfield1337]

IntegerVar is set to 0 so when timer starts,it will start counting from 0. The function after it starts timer again repeating each 0.25 seconds.
Sidenote: IntegerVar is integer variable and TimerVar is timer variable (i hope you got it)

 

[Dr Super Good]

(Number of units in (Units in (Playable map area) matching ((Unit-type of (Matching unit)) Equal to Footman))) Equal to 0 leaks a group everytime a unit dies.

 

[Garfield1337]

This one is leakless

• WaveEnd
  • Events
    • Unit - A unit Dies
  • Conditions
  • Actions
    • Set GroupVar = (Units in (Playable map area) matching ((Unit-type of (Matching unit)) Equal to Footman))
    • If (All Conditions are True) then do (Then Actions) else do (Else Actions)
      • If - Conditions
        • (Number of units in GroupVar) Equal to 0
      • Then - Actions
        • Trigger - Run StartSpawn <gen> (ignoring conditions)
      • Else - Actions
    • Custom script: call DestroyGroup(udg_GroupVar)

 

[Dr Super Good]

Well it might a handle index but thats nowhere near as bad as a whole object. Then again you can not not leak them using GUI due to the functions it calls having internal leaks.

 

[Garfield1337]

Don't blame me,blame GUI programmers...

 

[Clawdruid]

Thanks for the triggers. You really helped!