Staredit Network

Ok, my old prototype didn't work out too well, and the 2nd one I'm still working on. This more recent one, on the other hand, might hold some promise if I can get it refined. It's pretty crude right now, but it gets the point across. Play with it for a few minutes, and tell me what you think.



[attachmentid=20223]
...and here's another new one I just now made (I think I like this one better):

[attachmentid=20228]



Now you can both shoot the normal way (with swarm casts) and move your gunner while firing at the same time (via the aimable scourge). It does take some more micro management (unless you opt not to use the scourge altogether), but it might allow for more tactical options if I can get it refined.

Some refinements I might add:

• Range limit
• Disable scourge vision
• Scourge moves as player moves (so you don't have to constantly worry about both)
• Cloaked scourge
• Secondary attack option (casting a swarm directly on the scourge)

I'll also be posting some prototype weapons pretty soon (some cool ones ), so stay tuned!

I don't like the auto-aim on the scourge. It's kinda hard to move it somewhere without it running into an enemy. Perhaps there could be an auto fire switch on somewhere, because I liked the old gunner system better.

Now that I think of it, it is easily exploitable. Find a choke point and leave the scourge there to instantly kill everyone that charges. Simply keep reloading for infinate ammo.

Yeah, that's true. What if I froze the scourge after each shot and added an artificial delay between them? Regular swarm shots would let you shoot quicker, but the scourge would be slowed down. That way its use would be for aiming on the move...

Bah I might trash this scourge nonsense. Bit too much hassel.

D: @ cloaked scourge

...speaking of which, how DO I cloak the damn thing? Been so long that I've forgotten the trick lol.

EDIT- Nevermind now I remember.

ADDITION:
Updated the map. Just a simple few tweaks. Not yet refined though.

I almost do MORE clicking with the scourge system. Still.. thirty seconds of the test map and I'm already in physical pain. I'm gonna have arthritis by the time I'm 30. Good thing I'll be dead by the time I'm 32.

I vote for use of the system in Mutilated Puppet's Aliens map. Xenocide I think its called. Combine that with my "miss" system and you've got a map. Too bad it looks goofy.

You know, I have to agree. I'd figured the added ability to fire on the move was in theory a good thing, but you're right I find it too much trouble. I could automate it some more, but it just seems... shmarmy, for lack of a better term. More like I'm playing a game of constant micro management than doing any real shooting.

Fortunately, I have 2 other gunner prototype ideas I'm working on now. I'll have them posted soon.

Unless you pull something totally awesome out of your hat I'm thinking the best thing to do would be to stick to the tried and true gunner system. Granted, it's only reliable for one player, but everyone who isn't me doesn't seem to mind it.

Well hold off for a few minutes/hours and I'll have my other idea posted. This one you CAN do multiplayer and all, but it has the price of very simplistic aimability and a bit of bouncing around between hotkeys. I might even include an optional mod to make the hotkeys more logical.

If Blizzard assigned ID units to each individual unit and allowed you to detect these IDs, you could do so many things with so much less hassle.

Of course, I don't know much about the programming of the actual game.

Every unit does have it's own individual ID. And with EUD conditions you can detect those IDs. That wouldn't help even in this scenario though, as you knowing the unit ID of a dark swarm still doesn't help you figure out what player it belongs to. The only thing that would fix this would is if Dark Swarm belonged to the player who cast it, but alas, this is not so.

Well you could detect which defiler has 0 energy, and make all DS cost 200. That's a good practical way to do it.


Anyway here's the other gunner system I have. It takes a bit of getting used to, but it's actually starting to grow on me now that I've played with it a little.

[attachmentid=20228]



Note: You control the shots by selecting units at the starport.

Just tried the first one and its not THAT bad once you get used to it....Just set some confortable hotkeys and spend 30 minutes practicing it

(please dont use it...im begging you)

The first one is way different than the second one, by the way. Not even any defiler or precise aiming involved at all.

You are a genius...That second one is amazing! Just clean it up a bit. Especialy the bug where you can fire too fast and the units dont get removed Plus, a delay between shots could stop some shots from not hitting the enimies.

I'm wondering if I shouldn't generalize the buttons, though. I mean, when things are coming at you from all directions it gets a bit disorienting for which to use.


I'll practice with it some more, touch it up a bit, and see if this might be viable or not. Then I'll (try) to post my 3rd method, and pick which one might work out the best.

Well the general idea of it is good.....Hitting a button and it auto-finds and hits a traget. Just needs a bit more work and a few fixes here and there.

I didn't mention yet that I mapped up the auto-finding directions to the positions of the units in the factory. Wraith is left, Dropship up, Sci Ves right, and Valk down.


Hmm, yeah I'm definitely gonna look into the 3rd method before I decide. Worst case I'll end up using my old gunner system with a few basic modifications.

Hmm... Doesen't it center the location on any enemy unit near you, so it first kills any units in the bottom left, and only after that starts killing them in other parts... maybe use the SCI grid system to randomly select where to kill ?

Hmm I really liked the concept of the first idea, but it needs a bit more tweaking bfore you put it into use. The scourge is good for lots of enemies in close proximity and the swarm is good for spread out enemies. I think it should almost be a one or the other type thing, where the scourge stays close to you while you move, untill you move it. Or it could be ordered to the place where you swarmed, (instead of moved) and kinda guided around killing enemies.

Second idea was something I've tried before, although I used it for a different purpose sorta. My idea was using detection for each direction and distance within a visible spectrum, then recreating that vision someplace else on the map. This was so I could do a way to shoot from inside a vehicle without modding the game. (It glitched up sometimes when fighting many units though. (But I can think of ways around that) One thing that is needed in the v2B method is more specific directions to fire in (8 would be ideal) but I don't think theres any easy way to do that. (Dropship would be hella slow)

P.S. I like the use of starport here, the valk should be reload (if its not already) and it could be easily expanded into other aspects of gaming.

i haven't tried the v2b yet, but how about instead of directions, you fire based unit type. one button would target the weakest unit, another at the strongest unit, and a last one for air units.

Alright, screw making the 3rd prototype I just don't have time.


I think I like 2B enough now that I might in fact actually use it! Not only does it let me control things like range, accuracy, etc., but it just feels more like a shooter really.


Anyway, with that said, any suggestions on how I could improve 2B?

Is it me, or does it kill the enemy in the bottom left corner first because you just center location on the first unit in range ? Or I didn't pay enough attention ?

Well it should be killing the enemies based on which is closest, if you look at the trggers. For 2b, i mean.

Make a god damn delay between shots! Even if its only 1/4 of a second it will help get rid of the problem where if you fire too fast, the units dont get removed