[Question] Can you spawn doodads via trigger?

[Lord Raszul]

key, everything said.

Is it possible to create doodsds (i mean doodads an dnot destructibles) during the game via triggers(or jass)?

if it were i one would be able to create maps that change everytime the get started. and thats what a friend of mine and i want to create...

Any help would be apreciated.

 

[Waldbaer]

You can't create them really, but you can show and hide them using "Animation - Set Animation for Doodads in Region/Circle". Just use "hide" or "show" as animation name (as it is explained in the WorldEditor).
To create random doodads you could at first hide all doodads in the specific regions of the type you want and then make an IF/THEN/ELSE - construction using a random number and showing this or this type. That should give you about the wished effect, but it requires quite a lot of effort and I ask what for? Random design destroys everything that looks like design! :?

 

[Lord Raszul]

^^ i do not totaly agree to your statement. Random placed doodads do not automatically look bad. Onyl if not placed in a somewhat logical way.

We wanted to create soem jass functions like this

function Farm takes location L returns nothing
create doodoad with offset at L facing angel
...
alter terain at loation(x+offset, y+offset) to loarderon-Summer grass
endfunction

having several of these functiosn would allow us to palce some precreated modules (like farms, storehalls, ...) at random positions. that would not look bad, for we have created the modules carefully before converting them into a function.


but as it looks right now, we have to convert all doodads, we want to use into destructables to be able to place them via trigger.

i will psot as soon, as our map reaches beta stage.

PS: i would still apreciate any suggestions of how to create doodads via trigger without habing to convert them first...

 

[Raptor--]

whats wrong with destructables? they can mimic doodads perfectly aside from having to create them in the object editor

 

[Waldbaer]

The only problem is that destructables can't be resized each axis seperatly, but I think you won't need this.

And if it's too much effort for you to copy a custom destructible some times and change model and name for every copy, it's too much effort to help you, somebody might think! 8)

 

[Lord Raszul]

^^ beats me.

i thought that there might be an easier way of placing doodads than to convert them first. Thats why i asked for help.

If it were possible (I haven't found any function doing it yet) i would create a whole bunch of 'modules'. These would be accessable for everyone, for i do not protect my map.

As soon, as i figured out a few more things and found the time to create them i will upload a beta version.

Then you can see what i ment when asking this ^^

besides; we need about 100 diferent doodsds, maybe more. it would definitly be easier if we coul dcreate them without converting them first...

 

[Raptor--]

^^ beats me.

i thought that there might be an easier way of placing doodads than to convert them first. Thats why i asked for help.

If it were possible (I haven't found any function doing it yet) i would create a whole bunch of 'modules'. These would be accessable for everyone, for i do not protect my map.

As soon, as i figured out a few more things and found the time to create them i will upload a beta version.

Then you can see what i ment when asking this ^^

besides; we need about 100 diferent doodsds, maybe more. it would definitly be easier if we coul dcreate them without converting them first...

modules for creating landscapes should be rather easy, just do it in piecemeal 'by-block' format, based on a topleft XY and bottom right then do some scaling to figure out dispersement of trees or something (suppose you were doing a light forest), some random agents for finding positions of blocks of doodads...of course i don't actually know any algorithms to simulate realistic landscape since honestly i don't even know what a forest looks like, but ya know

the the function just takes like 2 points, a density scale, and perhaps a code for implementing other things into it

 

[Lord Raszul]

that much i ahev thought about meself. the thibng i need to know is WHICH function is capable of creating doodads ingame.
I know the function to create destructables (like trees) but i'd like to create doodads (houses, bridges,...) and right now i haven't found any way to do so, besides makeing the doodads destructables and using the function i already found.

if there is any way to directly create doodads, i would like to hear about it.

PS:
i do not need hints about the 'how to make it look good' or anything like that - i have a designer at hand and he takes care of the look of the modules.

 

[Waldbaer]

I'm 99% sure, that there is no such function. I never heard or saw anything about it and indeed it's quite unnecessary. Since Doodads can't die or targeted or anything like that, it's useless for gameplay to create them. To change the pathing create/kill/revive pathing blockers (which are destructables) and for design issues show and hide doodads without pathing on the same place. That's everything you need.
The one percent I'm not sure is only because of the fact that I didn't develop Warcraft III and its scripting language, JASS.