[Solved] Regarding the 'Channel' ability's order string.

[nchp1903]

Stupid question, but for the Channel ability, what is the difference between the Order String - Use/Turn On and the Data - Base Order ID?

 

[Nichilus]

I haven't tested that, but I think only the Data - Base Order ID has any impact.

• Data - Base Order ID: sets the order id of the ability when cast/ordered
• Order String - Turn On/Off: enables/disables auto-casting. Since Channel is not auto-casted, then I don't think it does anything
• Order String - Use: don't know

 

[Uncle]

The Order String stuff is really only there as a reference and changing it should have no effect (so why can we change it? I don't know).

Base Order ID let's you change the Order that the ability uses which is pretty powerful. With this you could create 100 abilities based on Channel, give them each a unique order id, and then add all of these abilities to a single unit, and that unit will be able to cast any of these abilities without any issues.

What issues you might ask? As you may already know if your unit has 2+ abilities with the same Order Id then it will struggle to cast the correct one as you are basically telling it to do 2+ things at once which is impossible.

A few other abilities have this Base Order Id option as well such as Charge Gold and Lumber and I believe Spellbook.

 

[Antares]

It is important to note that if the ability of the Base Order ID has a different targeting type than the Channel ability you're creating, it can lead to problems. For example, if you make a Channel ability with Target Type "unit", you should not use "thunderclap" as the Base Order ID, because it has no target.

 

[nchp1903]

If I set the Base Order ID, will the A.I know how to use it?

For example, a Computer player will automatically use Inner Fire in combat. If I set the Base Order ID of an ability based on Channel to "innerfire", will it try to use the ability the same way?

 

[Antares]

Yes, the base order ID impacts how the AI will use it. I ran into the opposite problem, where the AI was using spells when I didn't want it to, and changing the base order ID fixed that.

 

[Antares]

Yes, the base order ID impacts how the AI will use it. I ran into the opposite problem, where the AI was using spells when I didn't want it to, and changing the base order ID fixed that.

I have been told this is not correct. I based this only on my own testing, but I may have messed up somewhere.

 

[nchp1903]

I've run a few tests myself, and I think it's fair to say that the results are also quite inconsistent.

I'll mark this as Solved and to leave Channel for another day. Thanks for taking the time to help me out.

 

[Riki]

Maybe you should do some testing with my AI Behavior Controller.

If used correctly it can fix many issues related to how AI relates to Channel based abilities.