Torch System

[Belgarath]

Torch System

no 360 degree torches.
Note: this can/should only be used with the call SetDayNightModels("","") trigger.

What You Need.

All you need is this - View attachment Light.mdx the light model. It and a few VERY simple triggers will be all that's used here.

So - why a torch system? Because, since when do torches light up the area ALL around you? They light it up in front of you.

Preparation.

1. Make a unit called Light with the Light model, give it locust and invulnerability, set all its shadow values to 0.00.
2. Open the variable editor (the yellow X), then make a new variable (green X) a Unit variable, call it LightUnit. (This will be the light)
3. Make another new variable, Location/Point (I forgot the English version) and call it TempPoint. (This will be the position of the person holding the light)
4. Use a Map Initialization trigger, or wherever you want the "lights off" sign, and create 1 unit with the model of the Light (View attachment Light.mdx) at the position of your torch holder. Then set LightUnit = Last Created Unit.
5. Then use one trigger like this:
   • Custom Script: call SetDayNightModels("","")
6. Make another trigger that looks like this.
   
   • Events
     • Time - Every 0.02 seconds of game time
     • Conditions
       • (Life of (Your Unit)) Greater than or equal to 1.0
     • Actions
       • Set TempPoint = (Position of YourUnit)
       • Set TempPoint2 = TempPoint offset by 300.00 towards (Facing of Castaway 0001 <gen>) degrees)
       • Unit - Move LightUnit instantly to TempPoint2
       • Custom script: call RemoveLocation(udg_TempPoint)
       • Custom script: call RemoveLocation(udg_TempPoint2)

And that's it. Your results will be somewhat like this.

Hidden

Terrain Tips to go with Dark Forests etc:

• use big summer trees, tinted darkish
• use 5000 end fogs, with a deep, deep purple (maybe 30,0,30 at max)
• use a lot of shrubs and rocks, sized up
• use the ashenvale tileset.

Thank you for reading the tutorial. I hope it helped you

 

[AirHead]

This is brilliant! Just what I need to limit the sight of the units in a map I am making.

+rep for sure.

 

[Dr Super Good]

Nice, too bad there is not a jass version. Moving it every 0.01 seconds is pointless, as most displays update only at 60 FPS, so only really modern 100 Hz+ screens will benifit from it. Thus a time of 0.02 is more recommend for half the opperation number per second.

Remember however, that the WC3 lighting system bugs if there are too many light models near each other, resulting it aweful rectandle borders for the light to become visable.

 

[Belgarath]

I'll be sure to change the 0.01 to 0.02. Thanks

And yeah, the lighting does get annoying - but this is meant for maps with a lack of lighting.

 

[AirHead]

Oh, I just saw something! The condition of your units HP being over 1.00 would be better off as the boolean comparison of
'Unit - Unit is Alive' like this

• Trigger
  • Events
    • Bla
  • Conditions
    • ((YourUnit) is Alive) Equal to True
  • Actions
    • Bla

 

[TheBlooddancer]

Nice tutorial.

There is a system like this in the spells section.

You might wanna add a way to make the light to get blocked, by cliffs, and units.

 

[Dr Super Good]

TheBlooddancer, such realisitc lighting has been drempt of for ages. However doing so efficently is impossiable. Even the Diablo 3 programmers were unable to do it, let alone within a WC3 map where you have no ability to modify the render chain.

The closest that could be done to that would be a system involving using unit shadows as the projected shadow and it works by calculating a shadow offset based on the direction of the light from the torch. Overall quite unrealistic, however it should be possiable as it is not that demanding and also adds more realisim.

 

[TheBlooddancer]

This guy did it pretty well then.

 

[Belgarath]

Added, airhead. Thanks.
Blooddancer, that's a sight cone. This is a torch system. Completely different. Here, it's for dark maps. His is just for seeing up front.

 

[Dr Super Good]

His uses LOS not lighting so does not count.

 

[~Void~]

Nice tutorial.

 

[HINDYhat]

• Unit - Move LightUnit instantly to (TempPoint offset by 300.00 towards (Facing of Castaway 0001 <gen>) degrees)

Leaks.

 

[Belgarath]

What leaks? The location? I removed the location afterwards.

 

[Dr Super Good]

No you dont.
You remove the base location, not the polar projection one.

 

[busterkomo]

What leaks? The location? I removed the location afterwards.

You need another temp point to deal with the point after it is offset. Point with polar offset creates another point from the source. So just modify it:

• Events
  • Time - Every 0.02 seconds of game time
  • Conditions
    • (Life of (Your Unit)) Greater than or equal to 1.0
  • Actions
    • Set TempPoint = (Position of YourUnit)
    • Set TempPoint2 = TempPoint offset by 300.00 towards (Facing of Castaway 0001 <gen>) degrees)
    • Unit - Move LightUnit instantly to TempPoint2
    • Custom script: call RemoveLocation(udg_TempPoint)
    • Custom script: call RemoveLocation(udg_TempPoint2)

 

[Belgarath]

Okay, thanks.

EDIT: Woops fuck, deleted half of the tutorial on accident. I'll rewrite it later on >__>

 

[Pyritie]

Approved

 

[Silvenon]

The final picture doesn't show, is it just me?

 

[Pyritie]

Nah, it's a broken attachment. Send him a PM.

 

[Rainbow Evil]

can I turn this trigger off,like to turn it on during the night and off during the day?

 

[Silvenon]

You can use a timer then. There's an event (I think) that fires when the time reaches a certain value. You can have three triggers, one would fire when the night begins, this is when you can start the timer (repeating, 0.02 seconds timeout), then the second would be when the night is over, that's when you pause the timer, and finally the third would be the actual trigger that makes a torch. The third trigger should run every time that timer expires (there's an event for that).

It's as simple as that (if I didn't screw up anywhere).

 

[Zibu]

Because, since when do torches light up the area ALL around you?

Ummmm since the beggining of time?!??

 

[Belgarath]

Easy way to do the cycling on and off is this:

• Unbezeichneter Auslöser 001
  • Ereignisse
    • Spiel - The in-game time of day becomes Gleich 18.00
    • Spiel - The in-game time of day becomes Gleich 6.00
  • Bedingungen
  • Aktionen
    • Multiple FunctionsIf (All Conditions are True) then do (Then Actions) else do (Else Actions)
      • 'IF'-Bedingungen
        • (In-game time of day) Größer gleich (>=) 18.00
      • 'THEN'-Aktionen
        • Trigger - Turn on Torch <gen>
      • 'ELSE'-Aktionen
        • Trigger - Turn off Torch <gen>

You could also remove and add people from a unit/player group to toggle it at any time.

 

[Silvenon]

Thanks, this might be very useful for my map. Is there a way to increase or decrease the intensity of the light? Can it be done easily with Magos Model Editor? I'm not into that sort of things, so I don't want to screw something up.

"do you know any gooder terrain than DOTA? IceFrog omg best terrain ever!!"

Argh, dota is really lame, everything about it, map, heroes, loading screen... yet it's popular...

 

[Anachron]

I suggest simply adding the Special Effect with the lightning model. It does the same and does not leak or anything.

 

[Silvenon]

Who did you answer to?

 

[Anachron]

Nobody. But instead using this system, you could also just attach the lightning model. Its much easier and better. (I mean this system is just a waste of timer and cache)

 

[Silvenon]

What lightning model?

 

[Anachron]

I meant light. You know the UTM Map? It has light. Attaching the light model would do the same as this system.

 

[Silvenon]

Yeah I know the UTM Map. Well, that's interesting, I forgot about that. Thanks.

 

[togera90]

how would you make a saw type thing

every time day comes you lose 2hp per second at night time you lose 1hp per .70 second's HOW WOULD YOU DO SOMETHIN LIKE THAT!

 

[Just_Spectating]

ask in the right thread next time.


Btw,
i think 300 is a bit too foward, its not like there is absolutely no light behind you when you hold a torch.

 

[Spet]

Very cool

 

[Anachron]

Just use this if you need it

 

[anarchianbedlam]

lol for the record, torches DO spread light 360 degrees, so this is more of a flashlight system

but it looks like a very awesome and useful system, especially for like zombie survival maps or stealth maps.

 

[Belgarath]

some people call flashlights torches, i'm one of them

 

[Angry Murloc]

I don't see the point of adding the light through triggering if you can easily put it in an aura and add that to the unit.

 

[Belgarath]

this makes the light in front of the unit. like a flashlight.

 

[Adiktuz]

Just use this if you need it

I guess he uses that same model its just that instead of attaching it to the unit he makes a dummy unit which uses the light model and moves it every second.

 

[Lee_Go]

Hi, the tutorials great btw, but how do you turn of the black mask? If it was day and I would want to take off that script that turns everything dark... how could I do this?

 

[Belgarath]

call SetDayNightModels ("Environment\DNC\DNCAshenvale\DNCAshenvaleTerrain\DNCAshenvaleTerrain.mdx","Environment\DNC\DNCAshenvale\DNCAshenvaleUnit\DNCAshenvaleUnit.mdx")

ashenvale may not be your base lighting though, but they all look pretty similar

 

[drdgvhbh]

What's this for? Custom Script: call SetDayNightModels("","")

Also i think you shouldn't have light behind you because you don't have eyes in the back of your head. =.=

 

[Cobbot]

+ r e p

 

[Belgarath]

What's this for? Custom Script: call SetDayNightModels("","")

Also i think you shouldn't have light behind you because you don't have eyes in the back of your head. =.=

that's why the light's in front (sorry if you're agreeing with me)

the call setdaynightmodels("","") is to "turn off" the lights - as you see, in the screenshots, its extremely dark.
this is because wc3 uses lighting models of a sort - with that custom script, the models are gone, and custom models can be used properly to replace the lighting. thats why using "call SetDayNightModels ("Environment\DNC\DNCAshenvale\DNCAshenvaleTerrain\DNCAshenvaleTerrain.mdx","Environment\DNC\DNCAshe nvale\DNCAshenvaleUnit\DNCAshenvaleUnit.mdx")"
turns the light back on - under the Ashenvale lighting. you can check through the MPQ for different lighting settings, ie. village, underground etc.

 

[orcyngiser]

thanks. really nice trigger.

 

[ORLYowl]

Is there a way to make this MUI
and also make the light bigger?
I've tried scaling it, it just works a little.

 

[Belgarath]

mui involves local players and shit
never really figured it out all that well, you'd have to ask in the trigger section.
try raising the light to make it seem bigger.

 

[phoenixfire]

Can you make this effect only one a particular region?

 

[WindowsVistaSucks]

Nice, works fine 7.5/10

 

[Yuil]

Just wondering, is it possible to add a new light to a newly trained unit/ spell use?
I'm using a car with the spell "Turn on lights".
Can I add a light to that car, and still make the light move?
-Yuil