How to disguise a unit as a doodad!

[Spacebuns]

Rarely does Furion go against Cenarius's teachings, but when he does, Cenarius will have the most unusual method of punishment prepared.

How to disguise a unit as a doodad

I was messing around with spells the other day when I found a very interesting interaction related to the spell Cyclone. The visual effect is not provided by the spell but rather by the buff Cyclone (Bcyc, Bcy2). Turns out the Cyclone buff creates a model, and Cyclone's target becomes an attachment for the cyclone model's sprite first attachment point. So what happens when we change the cyclone visual effect to something else?

Difficulty: Very Easy

Step 1: Create your spell based on Cyclone.

Step 2: Create two buffs for your new spell based on Cyclone (Bcyc) and Cyclone Extra (Bcy2). You can use the default buffs as well.

Step 3: In the Buff Editor, find your buffs for the custom Cyclone spell. Look at the Art - Effect field and change it to a doodad model. If it's a lone <Base> model (no variations) then add .mdx to the end of the file path, so it will not show up as a blank model in-game

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Some FAQ

Can this attachment point be changed?
Yes, absolutely.

Can you detail some interactions when the Art - Effect field is changed?
If the "cyclone" is a model that...
- Doesn't have a sprite first attachment point: The target unit simply becomes hidden.
- Doesn't have a Death animation: The "cyclone" will disappear when it wears off.
- The Art - Effect field is left blank: No visual effect, the target becomes Invulnerable but at the end of Cyclone duration, the target will play its Death animation.

Is the target paused during Cyclone?
No, you can still give it orders which it will follow after Cyclone wears off.

Can I change the target's height during Cyclone?
No. Its height is affected by the Z coordinate of whatever attachment point of the model that you specify. You can find this Z coordinate using Magos's Model Editor.

Are there any limitations I should know of?
The unit can't move while being Cycloned, obviously.
The UI buttons are not disabled, but you can't give any order, the unit will simply continue its last order before getting Cycloned.
The only way to get rid of Cyclone without using the Remove Buffs trigger is Dispel-based spells.

 

[Chaosy]

It is a pretty cool concept

Though it might be too simple to be a tutorial.
And, structure could be better.

 

[Spacebuns]

I know it's simple, but that's just how it is. No advanced knowledge is required, except maybe about attachment points to unlock full visual potential of this spell. If there could be a Snippet section I would probably post this there, since I don't think many people know this, and posting it in the WE section will cause the info to be buried.

 

[Daffa]

Sadly cyclone retracts movement of said unit. Was thinking of doing Mirage Tanks in Red Alert 2.

 

[PurgeandFire]

Pretty fun idea. Reminds me of the chameleon spell from Dark Souls. I would recommend adding the limitations somewhere in the tutorial (mostly about how it restricts the unit's movement and such).

Awesome nonetheless! Looks pretty good to me. I'd recommend choosing less striking colors (like these colors) so that people don't hurt their eyes, but it is still approvable. Approved! Sorry for the long wait.