Zephyr Challenge #6 - AOE Summon

[Eccho]

Oh, just remembered, leakfixing is required, so i won't compete after all. Also, there was some minor bugs screwing it up. Looks good, though.

Have fun all! And may the better man win!

You give up due to some bugs :|? Come on, you can fix that. If you already got this far...

 

[Gamecrafter_DK]

You give up due to some bugs :|? Come on, you can fix that. If you already got this far...

Yeah, i probably could, but, eh, i'm doing so much else, and i hate fixing leaks. The bugs are mostly all panned out by now, though... i could complete it, i just haven't got the will to do it, you know? thanks for the concern, and if you want the project to finish by yourself, you may have it, as long as i'm properly credited. (Anyone may have it, it's a great concept... at some point, i want it to be finished.)

 

[Eccho]

Entry Name	Contestant Name
Unknown - Goblin Dropship	Eccho

So anyways, here is a wip

 

[Vosty]

^^^
At first I was like, WTF, that didn't even scratch those peasants, until the explosions everywhere. That was more homicides than a horror rampage movie.

 

[Eccho]

Yeah, I will decrease the time alittle bit, from 10 seconds to ~5 seconds delay instead

 

[Kingz]

Guess it's time to shine, gonna seek inspiration these days and see if i can come up with something.

2 bad i saw this 10 days before it's end so i might not finisht it in time

Gl to all participants, have a good time.

 

[RaiN.]

For 10 days you can make 10 entries if you put a little effort so time aint no excuse...

 

[Eccho]

Yeah, but I rather would put a huge effort on 1 entry instead ;o

 

[RaiN.]

Yeah, but I rather would put a huge effort on 1 entry instead ;o

Which is still possible to be done for 1 day...

 

[Eccho]

I usually spend more time than one day to create a spell, and puts efforts on mine...


Or meh, maybe Im lazy. I believe that is something most of the people here is aswell.

 

[kola]

a spell doesnt take 4-5 hours to make >.> (when u have the idea of what u want to do)

**except if u arent rly good at triggering**

 

[Eccho]

Exactly, my usual time spending on a spell is around 30-40 hours. That could mean I am either setting alot of high bars, or that I am lazy and code slow.

I haven't put as much effort as I usually do in these challenges though.

 

[maskedpoptart]

... i hate fixing leaks. The bugs are mostly all panned out by now, though... i could complete it...

Dude, don't fix the leaks. Just use this automatic leak destroyer system. I'm pretty sure it counts as a small system since it doesn't make any of the spell for you.

a spell doesnt take 4-5 hours to make >.> (when u have the idea of what u want to do)

**except if u arent rly good at triggering**

Wait, is he saying really good triggerers take less than 4-5 hours to make a spell? I think that's only true if the triggerer wastes his time with simple spells anyone can make.

Exactly, my usual time spending on a spell is around 30-40 hours. That could mean I am either setting alot of high bars, or that I am lazy and code slow.

That sounds more like it. It's natural to set high bars for yourself when you have the ability to. I can't see that as being lazy, and coding slow isn't even an issue in these kinds of contests.

So, I decided to make an entry after all:

Entry Name	Contestant Name
Critter Cannon	MaskedPoptart

Basically it's a canon that fires random types of critters. You can load up the cannon with critters already on the map, or it will spawn new ones if it has empty slots (it will fire ~5 critters in a row). It shoots the units up into the air; as they fall on the target area, they will knockback units, and possibly explode on impact.

 

[Duragon]

Wait, is he saying really good triggerers take less than 4-5 hours to make a spell? I think that's only true if the triggerer wastes his time with simple spells anyone can make.

The only reason any spell should take longer than 5 hours to code is if you disallow the use of many systems and libraries that are designed and approved specifically to simplify the spell-making process. Oh wait...

 

[maskedpoptart]

Hah, right you are Duragon... Anyway, I guess I'm more used to making systems than spells, which tend to take more time than spells. I also tend to avoid programming things that are not a challenge unless they're necessary components of an actual map.

Edit: just hit 300 posts! (This... is... HIVE WORKSHOP!)
Edit2: please excuse my lame movie reference.

 

[Kingz]

Getting a good idea for a spell, that takes time....

Once i know what i want i always find a way to do it


Anyway school is also a factor in my case, as well the fact i haven't coded anything in jass for quite a bit of time

 

[White-Lion]

Im in

Will probally post a screenshot or video later

Here's a screenshot, cant really show the effect with screenshot
But i'll post my map at the end of the contest

EDIT: New Screenshot in my next post due to a type mistake

 

[Paladon]

Cool, a unit takes intellect

 

[White-Lion]

Argg fail xD
that was a mistake, well thanks for telling me
It will be corrected

Okay it should be right now :b

 

[Zack1996]

Entry Name	Contestant Name
Eccho	Unknown - Goblin drop ship

Holy! Whos this Unknown - Goblin drop ship member? I can't believe he/she is submitting Eccho! Instant win!

Fix this Eccho xD You got the Entry Name and Contestant Name mixed up.

Getting a good idea for a spell, that takes time....

Getting an idea is one thing, coding is another, finding out that the idea didn't work out well is yet another. Let's plot out the 10 stages of coding a spell for a contest:
1) Thinking of an Idea...
2) Inspiration hits you! You got a wonderful idea!
3) You start coding.
4) The code isn't working out well. You try to fix it.
5) A new idea strikes, you give up on the old idea.
6) You finish the code
7) You realise someone made something equally awesome or even more so.
8) You decide to enhance your spell.
9) More time is spent on enhancement.
10) You submit the spell just before deadline.

Stages 1, 3, 4, 8 are the most time consuming

Anyway, my spell idea will stay. I'll just add some lightning effects and such and I shall be done. More screenies and the spell coming out today or tomorrow.

 

[Eccho]

Lol .__. Fixed. Fail on me

 

[RaiN.]

1) Thinking of an Idea...
3) You start coding.
6) You finish the code
10) You submit the spell.
11) ???
12) Profit

Fix'd, cuz thats how you should roll.

 

[Eccho]

New wip... keep in mind that everything is not yet properly credited, and I will probably mess around alittle more with the tooltip before the final submission

 

[-Berz-]

Eccho, Awesome

 

[Vosty]

Jesus Crist Echoo, you scroll like a mad demon =D
The spell is awesome, not to mention more eyepleasing.

 

[Ghost765]

imo, the AoE marker looks better, but still, awesome spell eccho.

 

[Kingz]

@Echho

Dude that totaly resembles your spell in the lasts mini contest(remember, you summoned a phoenix that passed and shed fire on the ground), imo you can do better

EDIT:

Even the test map is simmilar, lol

 

[Cr34p]

@Eccho

The idea is nice but seems FPS drops when the mines explode :O

Anyway... finaly weekend so some freetime and creating a spell

 

[Statharas]

Bad news. Count me out. No time.

 

[Kingz]

Um, it is ok to take someones other test map?
I mean i don't have any at me atm, and making one would just take me time

So, just to be clear, using someones other test map(if they give it to me) is ok by the rules?

 

[Eccho]

Thanks for the support/feedback guys!

@Ghost, it might fit better, might not, but I figured that, the AOE used there wouldn't match the actual aoe affected.

@Echho

Dude that totaly resembles your spell in the lasts mini contest(remember, you summoned a phoenix that passed and shed fire on the ground), imo you can do better

EDIT:

Even the test map is simmilar, lol

Might do, in some way, except that if you actually look at the code, everything is different. The Phoenix spell was also bugged, and not perfectly MUI. This is, without any problems. And also, I dropped that contest, remember? The actual idea does not come from the phoenix spell in the past, but a mixture of off-map artillery stuff from a game called Company of Heroes. But yeah, I could do better perhaps, not now though.
Edit: Yes the test map is the same I don't see why that wouldn't be allowed.

@Eccho

The idea is nice but seems FPS drops when the mines explode :O Anyway... finaly weekend so some freetime and creating a spell

I figured now afterwards that it was a bad idea to type the fps. The reason why it lags, is because I was recording with fraps, with a smaller amount of fps than what I usually play with. My pc runs the game smoothly in maxed fps (60). When I record with 30, the game adapts to that fps, believe it or not. Also, would be lol if it lagged more when exploding, since that effect is triggered already ingame with the raw ability "AOE damage upon death"

Bad news. Count me out. No time.

But you still have 6 days left.


Edit: Kingz, you can have mine if you want

 

[Kingz]

@Eccho

Thanks for clearing things out ^^

I meant the idea is kind of simmilar, never said anything about coding :3

Gl in the contest

[offtop]
Fraps sure can make your game lag, even WC3 :3

EDIT:

*Goes to mini contest thread and grabs Echho's test map*

EDIT2:

*failz *

 

[Freyleyes]

This is what I have so far, it still needs fixing. Might lag also. This is just a WIP.

Things to do

- Create better visuals
- Fix remaining leeks
- Remove Clutters
- Add system / mechanic to the summons unit (Not sure what )

 

[Kingz]

Well the idea is nice, but does that flame field do anything except eyecandy?

Dunno for other ppl, my fps droped by 20 when i casted it

Make the fire lord decay also.

EDIT:

Damage detection system, is it allowed to use existing or must we code it from scratch?

 

[Freyleyes]

The Balls that circle the location deals impact damage to units that collide.
The Phoenixes creates an explosion when the reach the center (Still need to code the damage)
The fire explosions on the ground will deal AoE damage (Still need to code)

The problem is that allot of effects are created at once, I still want to fix that.

Thanks for the feedback

 

[Eccho]

Woah that was some nice eyecandy

I could only think up of two things, apart from what you mentioned:
*The AOE summon does sure effect an area with gfxes, but yet, the whole area suffer from no damage :/ Only the summonded unit was damaging units.
*The tooltip should need descriptions of what will happend each level as well... Its clueless what and how much it will affect at the moment

Edit: this message was generated before Ive seen yours and Kingz reply

 

[Duragon]

I am going to prelude my entry post with a few comments about my feelings about spells in this theme. The theme is AOE summon and the examples given are Rain of Chaos, Animate Dead, and Locust Swarm. Notice that for all of these spells, the summons are not secondary effects, they are primary effects. The spell is not an AOE spell with a tacked on summon (unfortunately like many spells so far revealed for this contest), it is a multi-summon first and foremost. It was in this vein that I designed my entry. I am proud to present you with The Fade.

Requirements:

• TimerUtils, by Vexorian
• GroupUtils, by Rising_Dusk
• SpellEvent, by Anitarf
• AutoIndex, by grim001
• xebasic, by Vexorian
• xefx, by Vexorian

Tooltip:

Tears open a portal to the fade through which random demons can pass and assist the caster in combat. All demons summoned in this way vanish when the portal is closed.
Channels for 60 seconds.

Level 1 - Spawns weak demons once every 6 seconds.
Level 2 - Spawns medium demons once every 5 seconds.
Level 3 - Spawns strong demons once every 4 seconds.

Notes:
If perchance you encounter a bug in the spell, please feel free to message me or post in this thread and I will take care of it. (Preferably before the deadline) Otherwise, I hope you enjoy my take on this contest, I put a lot of effort into it. By the way, the code is commented so people can configure the spell however they would like. If you'd like to play with it, by all means, just remember to give credit where it is due.

Thanks.

Download:
View attachment TheFade.w3x

 

[HINDYhat]

Why did this have to be hosted during my exam period?

 

[Eccho]

Hindy, like always ? It's a pity though, I'd like you to enter once sometime.

Duragon, I dont have alot to say, except that I hope that all those utilities are allowed (I think they are so meh). I found a small null leak in the action function as you never null the local unit variable there.

As for the spell itself, it seems nice at first glimpse and the tooltip was great too (I know at this point my tooltip sucks), but the spell somewhat didn't catch me. I thought it was alittle uninteresting since the concept have been used several times. (not exactly with unit pools though and such). And I know, I don't know how my spell is considered either so... But his is just my overall impression. Perfaps if we put it this way, it would be nice if it did alittle more than only "spawning random demons".

 

[HINDYhat]

Eccho, if I manage to finish my English essay tomorrow, I might be able to squeeze something through. Might. Mind you I haven't made a spell in probably over a year. lol

 

[Eccho]

Right but at least you have been working on the SEE. Hopefully you can squeeze in it on the 5-6 days which are left.

 

[Duragon]

I found a small null leak in the action function as you never null the local unit variable there.

Ah, 4 byte leaks. I love those. Thanks.

As for the spell itself, it seems nice at first glimpse and the tooltip was great too (I know at this point my tooltip sucks), but the spell somewhat didn't catch me. I thought it was alittle uninteresting since the concept have been used several times. (not exactly with unit pools though and such). And I know, I don't know how my spell is considered either so... But his is just my overall impression. Perfaps if we put it this way, it would be nice if it did alittle more than only "spawning random demons".

The concept of spawning anything has been done tons of times before. I wanted to make a spell that was extraordinarily customizable by the user. They could make it spawn anything, and it could be spawned with any special effect that the use wants. I could see a dimensional gate being used, a shimmering portal, the eye of sargeras, etc. Lots of options for customization. To top it off, I really wanted a spell that could be used as a level 1 skill in many, many maps. Something like this could fit into countless genres. Finally, I believe that a spell should be easily describable in one-two lines max. I think if it did more than it already does, it'd do too much.

That's just how I see it anyways. I haven't really seen any other entry so far that focuses on the summon as opposed to some other effect. (Area of effect damage, for instance) Your bomber thing, for instance. It doesn't even feel like a summon, because the bomber just serves the purpose of a special effect. It doesn't affect the game on its own, it bombs the area you tell it to in the spell targeting. See what I mean?

But yeah, good luck to everyone and stuff.

 

[Eccho]

Actually, you could consider both the bomber and the land mines as summoned units, don't forget that. And they do last for at least 5 seconds if they are not being killed before detonation.

I got what you mean though.

 

[Duragon]

Yeah, I know, but they affect gameplay in both a very predictable and very deterministic way. The whole thing fits within the rules, but the parts just don't feel like true summoned units (like Rain of Chaos/Animate Dead), but rather like a ward in the case of the mines or a special effect of the spell in the case of the bomber (since it's not even controlled by the player).

To each his own.

 

[Kingz]

Well here is my idea for the spell i am currently making:

[spell name]

Summons several phoenixes in the target area, the phoenixs will jump around the target area, sunking in the ground and uprising on a difrent location.
Levels affect the damage they deal, they can be killed, but that triggers a small AoE blast, each time a phoenix sunks in the ground he creates a small fire blast dealing damage, which a little % of it's is pure depending on the lvl.
[Might also add a armor decreasing effect in the spell]


Now i am confused by something, i am gonna use phoenixes in only 2 ways, they are gonna be moved via triggers, but they can be killed, targeted and they got a passive ability or 2, does that qualify enough for the summoning theme?

A quick response from a judge or a knowing person would be apriciated

EDIT:

AoE summons in WC3 that don't have an primary effect:
Tornado(the unit is only used to control the damage/slow effect, you can control it but the summon isn't it's primary function if you ask me, the dmg/slow it deals is)
Locust(imo the unit is only used for damage dealing, you can't control it so i think it is a secondary aspect)

At least i think so
If there are summons(AoE ones) which don't in primary WC3 don't have their existence as primary focus then neither should spell makers limit themselves in creativity

 

[White-Lion]

I already said that i would entered, but then i reed the rules again and it seem like i didnt "enter" this compatition in the right way xD
So i decided to reenter just to be sure that im in

Entry Name - Contestant Name
Dark Ritual - White-lion

 

[Asomath]

Kingz,
Each phoenix creates its own individual fire blast, so you are perfectly within parameters.

Either having the AOE or the summon be the primary effect of your spell is your choice, as long as both are included. It will be nice to have a good mix of both.

~Asomath

 

[Kingz]

Thanks for clarifying that asomath

 

[Duragon]

Now i am confused by something, i am gonna use phoenixes in only 2 ways, they are gonna be moved via triggers, but they can be killed, targeted and they got a passive ability or 2, does that qualify enough for the summoning theme?

They qualify the same way Eccho's goblin bomber does, but as a summoned unit it's not very exciting.

EDIT:
Didn't see the 14th page.

 

[Kingz]

They qualify the same way Eccho's goblin bomber does, but as a summoned unit it's not very exciting.

Well hope you change your mind once you test the map and see that units are summoned, they do have an affect on gameplay and they can die like all units can