[Solved] Ordering dummy unit to cast Cloud

[Archideas]

I have a hero ability based on Channel and triggers set up so whenever the hero in question uses the ability, a dummy will be created, get the Cloud ability and channel it at the targeted point.

However! It won't work. I've fiddled around with the ability settings to no end and still it taunts me. Below are the triggers set up for when the ability is cast.

Triggers:

• Events
  • Unit - A unit Starts the effect of an ability
• Conditions
  • (Ability being cast) Equal to Cloud of Judgement (Manadar)
• Actions
  • Set VariableSet tempPoint = (Target point of ability being cast)
  • Unit - Create 1 Dummy for (Owner of (Triggering unit)) at (Position of (Triggering unit)) facing (Facing of (Triggering unit)) degrees
  • Unit - Add a 21.00 second Generic expiration timer to (Last created unit)
  • Unit - Add Cloud of Judgement (Dummy) to (Last created unit)
  • Unit - Set level of Cloud of Judgement (Dummy) for (Last created unit) to (Level of Cloud of Judgement (Manadar) for (Triggering unit))
  • Unit - Order (Last created unit) to Human Dragonhawk Rider - Cloud tempPoint
  • Custom script: call RemoveLocation (udg_tempPoint )

The ability that the dummy is casting targets: Alive, Enemy, Ground, Invulnerable, Not self, Vulnerable.
It has 0 mana cost and enough casting range to outrange the dummy ability the hero has.

 

[Lartin]

Did you Check the Techtree - Requirements of your Cloud ability?
Otherwise try creating the Dummy unit on tempPoint instead. If that works it was a error with your cast Range.

 

[Archideas]

Unfortunately I've already taken care of those two potential issues, so the problem doesn't stem from there.

 

[Lartin]

I rebuild your Trigger and tested it. Everything works for me.
Maybe someone else has an Idea or you debug by making the dummy selectable and giving it a Model, then you can see if it has problems.
Alternative you can copy the ability and trigger to a new Map so we can have a look inside

 

[Archideas]

I tested removing the dummy's Locust ability and giving it a model and it turns out everything works well right up until it's ordered to cast Cloud at tempPoint. I can manually cast it myself with the dummy, but it absolutely refuses to cast it via triggers.

 

[Hermit]

Are these fields set to 0 for the Dummy unit?

Art - Animation - Cast Backswing Art - Animation - Cast Point Movement - Speed Base

If yes, then try using a variable for the Dummy instead of using Last created unit.

 

[Archideas]

Sad to report neither of those solutions seemed to work. All three fields were already set to 0 so I tried assigning the dummy unit its own variable but it didn't help.

 

[Lartin]

Ok, I'm sure you are doing everything right. So the last thing i can think of at the moment.
Add a Wait of 1 second or more before the cast action. If it Works a other Trigger interferes.
If it doesn't work... then i would need to look into the map or at least need you to copy everything for this spell into a new map to help, sorry.

 

[Warseeker]

Maybe it has something to do with the order string of the ability. Try converting Unit - Order (Last created unit)... to Jass and see if it has the same order string as the ability string.

 

[Footman16]

Personally I'd change triggering unit to casting unit just to eliminate that as the problem.

 

[Archideas]

The string order is correct. I've uploaded a test map of the spell and it works correctly here. But the problem persists on the original map even though I made exclusive variables for the spell just in case.

And yes, I've tried changing Triggering Unit to Casting Unit at an earlier point as well, but it made no difference.

 

[Lartin]

have you tried the wait?

 

[Archideas]

I did. It made no difference either, I'm sad to report.

 

[Nichilus]

If you are sure the spell and dummy unit are set up same and should work as in the test map, then check if any trigger is interfering with your unit.
For example triggers with "Unit enters <area>" event, triggers which also use your dummy unit type and triggers which pick units into groups, etc.

Probably the first thing you could try is to disable all triggers except the cloud spell one and check if the spell is still not working.
If the spell is not working, then it's probably not related to triggers and you should look at the object editor.
If the spell is working, then enable only half of all disabled triggers and try again. If the spell still works, then check the still disabled half.
Then try again to enable only half of the half and see if your spell stops working. Repeat until you find the problematic trigger.

 

[Uncle]

Yeah, sounds like the order is being interrupted by another trigger.

Also, I noticed your Cast Range is set to 1000, perhaps try setting it to 99999.

 

[Archideas]

I'm at my wits end at this point. I've disabled ALL triggers except the one for the spell and nothing's changed. I changed the Cast Range to 99999 as suggested but still no luck.

Below is the map I'm working on in question. Mayhaps somebody else will have better luck seeing a glaring issue that my blind eyes fail to notice.

 

[Uncle]

Well, I tried just about everything and couldn't get it to work.

I can manually order the Dummy to cast the spell just fine, but it refuses to accept the order.

I've tried this as well:

• Press Escape Test
  • Events
    • Player - Player 1 (Red) skips a cinematic sequence
  • Conditions
  • Actions
    • Set VariableSet tempPoint = (Position of Manadar the Defender 0068 <gen>)
    • Custom script: call IssuePointOrderByIdLoc(udg_Dummy, 852473, udg_tempPoint)

And tried replacing the custom script with the original GUI order:

• Unit - Order Dummy to Human Dragonhawk Rider - Cloud tempPoint

But still no luck. Your map does not like Clouds apparently...

To clarify:
1) His Dummy is setup correctly
2) The ability can be cast manually (I removed Locust and I could order it to cast the ability just fine)
3) The trigger is setup correctly
4) It wasn't an issue with unpathable Terrain targeting
5) ALL of his other triggers were disabled

 

[Archideas]

Thanks for having a look over the map, @Uncle.

Could this be an unfortunate bug stemming from Blizzard's side? As mentioned before, the test map works like intended after directly copying over all necessary assets so at this point I can't figure out any other reason.

 

[Uncle]

Seems like it. Was the map an older map? I've seen issues before with older maps having problems after updates.

You can always copy everything over to a new map. It's better to do it sooner than later. You can even copy the terrain/doodads as well if you didn't already know.

 

[Archideas]

Aye, thankfully it ought to be easy to copy everything over to a new map, though I'd prefer it to be a last resort. It would be a very time consuming process however necessary it could be.

*EDIT*

Lo and behold, I've tried copying EVERYTHING to a new map and the problem has reared its ugly head here as well. There must be some set of circumstances that causes this occurance to happen, or we're missing something blatantly obvious.

*EDIT 2*

I may or may not have forgotten to change the spell's triggers to read the proper abilities etc before testing. So as of now having moved absolutely everything to a new map seems to have solved the issue, though the cause still eludes me.

Thank you all for your help and suggestions!

 

[BloodSoul]

The real problem with your original map has been caused by a Channel ability. Unfortunately, it's a messy hard-coded ability which might break others just like how it happened to Cloud of Fog in your map.

DracoL1ch explained years ago that if you load* a channel (ANcl) ability before the one that's being used in its "Base Order ID" field while having a different "Target Type", then any "IssueOrder" action won't work at all (orders via triggers).

That being said, the ability that actually broke Cloud of Fog in your map was "Drums of War" 'A01G:ANcl';

* I think those custom abilities that were added to units in the object editor are being pre-loaded upon map load. Removing Drums of War from Rokaro's ability list makes Cloud of Fog work again.

In order to truly fix this issue, you should use an order ID which is compatible with Target Type. For instance

ID: Thunderclap - Target: Instant
ID: Farsight - Target: Point
ID: Thunderbolt - Target: Unit
ID: Carrionswarm - Target: Unit/Point