Meat Hook v4.0

[Moderator]

Meat Hook v1.0.2 | Reviewed by Maker | 20th October 2013 [COLOR="gray" [COLOR="gray" [COLOR="gray" [COLOR="gray" [COLOR="gray" [COLOR="gray" Concept[/COLOR]] A thrown hook that grabs an enemy to drag it toward the hero is a cool concept The idea has been seen and done may time over with varying results Triggers[/COLOR]] Leakless, MUI, good instructions and configuration options Good coding overall If the whole struct is private, you can leave private keywords out from struct members and methods. It does not make any kind of difference though Sometimes the target is dragged too close to the caster and one of the units jump a bit as they occupy the same space You could check flying height of targets and filter out allies by default Objects[/COLOR]] Most of the things are set correctly and there are no unneeded objects You can remove Invulnerable ability from the dummy, Locust makes the unit invulneralbe There is no learn hotkey The tooltip could list the stats per level Effects[/COLOR]] The sounds and models match the theme of the spell nicely The spinning axe might not be the perfect match for the head model, though it is good. You could try the other spinning missile models or the chain head model in the model database Rating[/COLOR]] CONCEPT TRIGGERS OBJECTS EFFECTS RATING STATUS APPROVED Links[/COLOR]] Chain Head model [COLOR="gray"

[/TD]

 

[Kam]

What would you say are the differences and/or benefits of yours over the GUI version?

 

[MortAr]

dummies used for the chain first appear behind the caster (nearby leg)

 

[BPower]

What would you say are the differences and/or benefits of yours over the GUI version?

To name only a few: Faster execution, less code and lag, Dummy, ... Whereas if you stick to GUI while map-making this has no real benefits.

dummies used for the chain first appear behind the caster (nearby leg)

If something more grave occurs, I'll fix it along with that. fixed

 

[Ofel]

wow, last time i see this was in GUI (i think)
so, that make me think that you're a GUI-er (beginner)

 

[Maker]

-Null the effect in destroy for the link
-CTLNull is optional, you are not doing anything there so don't implement it
-Units are dragged too close, units are inside each other
-Put some effort in the tooltip, look at standard Blizzard abilities for reference
-I would like to be able to configure how far the hook goes
-Units with Locust do not need invulnerability ability

Overall it looks very well done.

 

[msongyboi]

Its not bad, but I think it's a bit lack luster compared to Kenny's meathook

 

[BPower]

-I would like to be able to configure how far the hook goes

function GetRange takes integer level returns real

-Units with Locust do not need invulnerability ability

Its the default setting of particle provided in the attached map of the Dummy snippet.
Fixed everything else mentioned. Thank you.

Its not bad, but I think it's a bit lack luster compared to Kenny's meathook

It's not posted on hiveworkshop. I didn't even know such a resource exists, also it uses outdated resources. I'll improve the eyecandy upon serious suggestions.

 

[Lambdadelta]

Hmm. This makes me want to isolate the Meat Hook from the Pudge Wars map and submit it. But I have no time :'(

Firstly, some minor random housekeeping / cleaning issues:

- The learn ability hotkey is different from the use. I suggest just keeping them the same for consistency (as every other spell in wc3 does). Have both hotkeys as T. Not like the M hotkey actually works.
- The icon is Finger of Death? I suggest the Impale icon like it is for other Meat Hooks.
- Improved tooltips.
- Maybe make the hero the Abomination, rather than the Paladin. At least the model.

Now onto the more deeper stuff.

Its not bad, but I think it's a bit lack luster compared to Kenny's meathook

This I agree with.

1. Although Kenny's Pudge Wars Meat Hook uses "outdated" resources, it's so smooth.

I'm probably biased towards the Pudge Wars Meat Hook (probably since I worked on the map and always been a fan of it), but I feel this version is lacking. I suggest you take a look at the Meat Hook from the above link to see what makes this appear lackluster compared to it.

2. It seems you are aware that having each hook component return to the caster rather than being linked to the previous hook component is odd.

'The angle of all Links will now be determined between the Link instance and the caster, which is not perfect
Better solution: calculate the angle between the current Link and the one behind that one.'​

If you do this, it'll feel more like the hook.

3. The hook doesn't pick up units as it is retracting?

4. The speed of the hook should be customisable based on level rather than a constant. It should also be in Warcraft III units. So it would appear as 640 rather than as 20.

5. If you Blink or are displaced, there is a gap in the hook. I would suggest code to fill in any gaps created when necessary and then remove them if there's an excess of hook components.

6. I didn't test this, but what happens if two units are hooked at the same time?

7. Hardcoded values that should be configurables ("chest", 75, etc.)

 

[BPower]

These are valid arguments. I will put some more effort in this. Don't approve it until further update.


2, 5, 7. I will fix that.

3. This depends strongly on the philosophy, which opportunities hook should cover. Like straight or curved, bouncing or not, destroy destructables!? I'll consider adding statif if GRAP_RETRACTING.

6. I have no clue, yet

 

[Lambdadelta]

These are valid arguments. I will put some more effort in this. Don't approve it until further update.


2, 5, 7. I will fix that.

3. This depends strongly on the philosophy, which opportunities hook should cover. Like straight or curved, bouncing or not, destroy destructables!? I'll consider adding statif if GRAP_RETRACTING.

6. I have no clue, yet

3. I generally try to make my spells as customisable as possible. But that's me

6. I tested it just now. The unit will be stuck to the first hook. The unit is then moved to the second hook if it's still active after the first ends. I wonder what the best approach is. Should the unit be detached from the first hook and move with the second? Should it be killed instantly like in Pudge Wars? Or should the second hook do nothing except damage (this means just discarding the target and retracting the hook -- not bringing it along).

 

[nhocklanhox6]

When you use: call RegisterSpellEffectEvent, you don't need to return boolean on the function thistype.run .

 

[BPower]

When you use: call RegisterSpellEffectEvent , you don't need to return boolean on the function thistype.run .

Quotation from PurgeandFire

It returns boolean because RegisterSpellEffectEvent actually passes the function into a trigger condition, rather than a trigger action. Thus, all of the checking and functionality is consolidated into one function. PJASS may throw an error if you provide a function that does not return boolean. If you have an older version of JNGP, though, you might not get that error.

 

[nhocklanhox6]

Hmm, cool 0.0, i never returns bolean before, aw, thank , now i get it..

 

[BPower]

Unfortunately I'm short of time at the moment. Therefore I won't improve this spell any time soon.

 

[Lord_Marrowgrath]

Cool! +rep

 

[G A T E]

Just like in Heroes of Newerth ! Devourer ! A hooker hero !
I like the concept !

Image

 

[BPower]

I'm going to enhance the spell behaviour of MeatHook as soon as I solve an issue with backwards iteration, which currently double frees the dummy.

• Hook will be curved depending on the casters position
• Will fill existing gaps if required
• A hooked target can be unlinked by hitting it with another hook
• New model for the hook head

Edit: Updated

 

[Anachron]

I have attached an error that I got after 1 minute of testing.
What happened:
I threw a hook at computer, at the same time the computer also tried to throw a hook at the position.

 

[BPower]

Really .....

It was my first attempt with linked list and there was no real tutorial or template on THW how to use it.

Well luckily ErrorMessage isolates the problem to small piece inside the whole code.

I'll later look into it and try to find the mistake I made.

Thank you, for reporting that bug.

Ok I was also able to reproduce the error with ease and it only occurs if you double hook a unit, so maybe the bug is where I free a unit from a hook if hooked by another hook.

Finally found it here, its because I reused node here ...:

                     loop
                        exitwhen cur == cur.sentinel
                        set node = cur.prev
                        //irrelevant code
                        set i = GetUnitId(u)
                        if table.has(i) then
                            set node = thistype(table[i])
                            set node.aim = null
                            set table[i] = this
                        else
                             set table[i] = this
                        endif
                         //irrelevant code
                         //node may be not part of this list ....
                         //cur may not even exist anymore ...
                         set cur = node
                     endloop

Works now but I found another bug. Allowing to target units while retracting the hook can cause hillarious damage, if both hooks are casted in one line because they detach the unit each loop and attach it again.

 

[BPower]

• Fixed both bugs
• Table is now optional along with SpellEffectEvent
• Slightly improved the performance
• Replaced Table with a static thistype array
• Now filters out flying units
• Added some docs
• Now works properly without SpellEffectEvent
• functions are now constant

 

[Shanghai]

+ rep

 

[BPower]

I've made some stress tests and decided to add a maximum boundary of created links per cast in the next update to prevent an overflow of Dummy, allocation or List.
It will influence the spell performance slightly.

If you port a huge distance while throwing a hook it will crash Alloc and Dummy at a certain point.

 

[BPower]

Small update and slight changes. There is no need to update Meat Hook within your map if you use v.3.2

 

[Kazeon]

Very cool!

I'm going to enhance the spell behaviour of MeatHook as soon as I solve an issue with backwards iteration, which currently double frees the dummy.

• Hook will be curved depending on the casters position
• Will fill existing gaps if required
• A hooked target can be unlinked by hitting it with another hook
• New model for the hook head

Edit: Updated

That update makes this hook spell very different from another one. And literally a sweet addition as well!

 

[BPower]

Can somebody check if the uploaded test map can be saved?
I can't at the moment because I don't have a world editor on this computer and no wc version for a mac.

 

[pusha1999]

spell causing problems with wc3 vex map optimizer, violation access when i use optimize script. when i off spell, map optimizing without problems, spell works good. but qoz this problem i cant put into map. ;\

 

[IcemanBo]

Can somebody check if the uploaded test map can be saved?
I can't at the moment because I don't have a world editor on this computer and no wc version for a mac.

Too late? But yes, I can save and test it. ^^

 

[ownlyme]

it requires 6 libraries? omg.. but i need this so much...

 

[Ilexa]

Works perfectly, using it in my map. Will credit you!