Ok, so I am making a map where you have a Seige Tank with 2500 hp as your forces commander. This Seige Tank can use various spells. First you select the spell (through dropship method probably) and then you seige the tank to use the spell. But once the player seiges their tank, how to I make their original unseiged tank come back? For instance, I do not want to simply say: "When they bring SEIGED tank to location X" ..."Remove all SEIGED tank at location X, place one Seige Tank at location X".

Example: A players tank has sustained damage and has 1000/2500 hp. Then, they Seige their tank to use a spell. Now, how do I make it so the Seiged Tank is removed and the Unseiged tank comes back, still with 1000/2500 hp?

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Sep 5 2009, 9:36 pm by m.0.n.3.y.

Ohhhh that's a tough one. Maybe you could immediately switch it to computer control and run an AI script to tell it to unsiege, then give it back to player. Damage carries over through the transformations of course.

You would have to detect hp to do that. It's virtually impossible to do properly. Come up with a better way to use a spell.

You can probably siege, then make the player unsiege to cancel the spell or something like that. Think of it as a cooldown or something.

computer players don't unsiege unless it is a normal tank, and under certain conditions (like being attacked), so you can't go with norm's suggestion.

I was unaware that there was an Ai script to unseige. Can ya tell me it lol


Yeah, I know how I could do it...but it just would take a while. What I would do is have to detect the Seiged Tanks hp (100 triggers for 1-100%) and transfer that to death counters. (100 triggers)

And then, depending on the death counters (50 if they have 50% hp) when they Seige the tank, I would remove the Seiged Tank, and if the death counters were 50, i'd place and unseiged tank with 50% health (100 triggers)

So that's 200 triggers, and since there are going to be 6 players, that's 1,200 triggers just for that simple method, and I really don't wana do that lol. So are there any better ways?

Ohhh dude, It is a very good idea to have all your spells last over time. As in, you cast the spell and then the effect happens as long as you have the resources to use it for a duration. Unsieging would end the spell effect, and let you cast a new one.

Uh, you could give it to a computer and create a ground unit with 0 damage in the near vicinity. I think they have to be both enemies to each other, but I think the siege tank will unsiege with minimal damage done to it. I think this would only work for a normal siege tank though.

Uhm, how about you use build a unit to cast a spell?

You don't need to siege. If you're going to choose a spell and then siege, why don't you just make it trigger the spell when you choose it?

Actually, if you're going to use a dropship system to select spells, why don't you use it to cast spells too? Adding the siege tank siege mode seems like an extra unnecessary step.

I probably should have looked at the wiki first.
Apparently you can give the unit to a computer, move it away, then move it back. Test around with it if you absolutely HAVE to have it work this way.

Thanks rockz,

And why don't i just use a drop ship system?
-Hmm, i think mainly because the seige thing would be cool, this way you can select the spell you want to use, and then control your tank and move around until the perfect time you want to use it.

-Also because drop ship system I have never used before. It's a little confusing. NOTE: I want my spells to be one time use only ::: So, i would have a switch called "Using Spell". Now, when a person buys a spell and a unit representing that spell is created under the drop ship to be loaded, the switch "Using Spell" would have to be Not Set, so that the unit is loaded into the drop ship, rather than destroyed. After a brief waiting time (long enough for the unit to become loaded) I would Set the switch "Using Spell". This would make it so that when a player brings a unit to the location under the drop ship (and the Switch is Set) the effects of the spell will take place (and since the switch is Set) the unit will be destroyed (since I want my spells one time use only). However, when the Switch is Not Set, the units will not be destroyed, thus symbolizing that they just bought the spell, so then the unit representing the spell can be loaded into the drop ship. The switch will only become Not Set for a brief period of time after the person buys a spell, so that the unit can be loaded in the drop ship and not destroyed. And then after the unit is loaded, the switch is Set again, symbolizing that they are ready to use spells, and the next unit brought to the location under the drop ship will be destroyed after the spell effects have been carried out.

Sooooo.....after that wall of text, that's how I think a drop ship method works, am I along the right lines here? Help anyone?

Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on Sep 9 2009, 3:51 am by m.0.n.3.y.

It looks alright, but...rather than having new units created each time a spell is bought, an alternative is buying spells, then setting a switch or death count so that unloading casts a spell, then reloads the dropped unit. If the counter is not set, you could display "You need to purchase XXX at the store to use this spell!" or something, and reload the dropship.

I'm not sure which method would be better, but I believe my method will replace units in the dropship in the same place they unloaded..for example, if 7 units are in a dropship, say the 5^th one unloads, when it's reloaded I think it takes back it's spot, and bumps 6 and 7 back to theirs.

Yes, but then with your system the maximum amount of spells that I can have in my game is 8 (or however many units a d-ship can hold). However, yours seems a lot lot much simpler and actually idk if I even want/need/have the time to do more than 8 spells. ty