Spell Making Session 4

[Blade.dk]

That should be discussed in the system's thread.

[PitzerMike]

Yep that giant hand looks really great, Tim, especially on the tileset you chose.
Very cool! I also like Vuen's spell.

The boil spell seems a bit messy, it doesn't have a clearly visible area of effect. Other than that it's nice.

[Naakaloh]

Originally Posted by PitzerMike

The boil spell seems a bit messy, it doesn't have a clearly visible area of effect.

Any suggestions? Perhaps it's the Undead AoE targeting overlay? I have an option to place a graphical effect where the splashes land, maybe that will help, but also, it's supposed to generally occur in a random fashion

[Vuen]

Updated, this is a big one. The major changes are:

a) Got rid of the dummy entirely. I originally intended to have it cast some spells, but I changed my mind. Everything's just attached to private timers now, as it should have been in the first place. I also greatly optimized the code, mostly removing a lot of unneeded return bugs.

b) Added some randomness to the deformation peaks. This makes the wall look a lot more rocky; it looks more natural and hides the limitations of the terrain better.

c) Made a custom dust model from the cloud of fog. It changes it to dust colored and removes the shockwave.


Also, I wanted to see what it would look blighted, for an undead Black Wall modification. Attached is a screenshot :D. It's just two small configuration changes to make it look like that (the splat and the cloud); it looks so good that I documented the changes for those intending on using it as a Black Wall.

The other two screenshots show the wall texture automatically adapting to the tileset. Both use the default configuration of the spell.

Try it out. Hope you like it!


[edit] Updated.

[kaldoreielf]

Love the wall! :-D
EDIT: and Tim.'s spell, that hand.... its insane! (In a good way!)

[Rising_Dusk]

Absolutely awesome update Vuen.
I must say, I really like playing around with your spell in the editor and in WC3.
Extremely well done, extremely well executed.

[Tim.]

Updated the Variable Stun System to meet the JESP Standard.

Tremor (JESP)

Description: The Desert Lord returns to his true form, the sand itself. He then manipulates the sand and minerals to his advantage, damaging and stunning all units in his path. For the finale a giant stone hand forms, then crushes all units in the nearby area. Any time the Desert Lord hits a unit, the unit is knocked into the air, damaged and then stunned. Both damage amounts and stun duration increase with level.

Screenshots:



Download: Updated

Notes: The spell is meant to go with a model such as this one, in order to match the sandy theme of the spell. The Reveneant model used here is only an example. Also, the spell meets the JESP Standard, is much easier to configure than my former spell, and is completely customizable. Even includes a Variable Stun system! (Thanks to blu_da_noob for the original system.)

[PitzerMike]

Originally Posted by Naakaloh

Any suggestions? Perhaps it's the Undead AoE targeting overlay? I have an option to place a graphical effect where the splashes land, maybe that will help, but also, it's supposed to generally occur in a random fashion

Hmm, yes it's hard to make it visible. Maybe rising dust or a rain weather effect across the affected area could help.

@Vuen: Much better now. I noticed a bit of first cast "lag" though. I think it might be the splat texture which isn't preloaded.

[Blade.dk]

Just a few hours left now, everybody who wants to enter and has not submitted his entry already, should hurry up.

[Tim.]

Oh crap, I think I forgot to preload as well. Time to update!

[Vuen]

Originally Posted by PitzerMike

@Vuen: Much better now. I noticed a bit of first cast "lag" though. I think it might be the splat texture which isn't preloaded.

Hm. I'm not really sure how to preload it, since it's not a filename, it's just an identifier ("OMED"); the actual texture it uses depends on the tileset (Oh yeah, this means the wall will blend in nicely with any tileset you use by the way. I'll add that to the feature list.) I assume it loaded these with the tileset. I don't get any slowdown at all on the first cast here. Anyway I expect that most maps will undoubtedly have an orc building on them, and that would preload the splat :p. Hopefully it doesn't affect too many people; if it does I'll look into how to fix it.

I attached screenshots on Icecrown Glacier and on Outland with default configuration to the last update. Try changing the terrain type to a variety of different things and seeing the effects. I love it.

[PitzerMike]

Oh yes, the file path changes from tileset to tileset.
So it's easiest to preload it with a DestroyUbersplat(CreateUbersplat(....)) statement at map init.
It fixed it for me.

[Vuen]

Done and done. Splat is now preloaded. Thanks Pitzer!


Stone Wall 1.3

Conjures a wall of stone from the ground.


Features:

• Contains level-based options for blocking air units, blocking visibility, and whether the spell is channeled.
  
  
• The terrain is deformed progressively to update the shadowmap in realtime, and smooth out the deformation.
  
  
• The wall is made up of randomly scattered peaks to create a very natural-looking terrain deformation.
  
  
• The rock texture applied to the wall automatically matches the tileset used.
  
  
• The terrain is returned properly even when walls overlap with other walls or terrain distortions.
  
  
• Walls resolve properly even if the caster is abnormally removed.

[Tim.]

Preloaded all models.

Tremor (JESP)

Description: The Desert Lord returns to his true form, the sand itself. He then manipulates the sand and minerals to his advantage, damaging and stunning all units in his path. For the finale a giant stone hand forms, then crushes all units in the nearby area. Any time the Desert Lord hits a unit, the unit is knocked into the air, damaged and then stunned. Both damage amounts and stun duration increase with level.

Screenshots:



Download: Spell Contest 4 - Tim 3.2.w3x (50.7 kb)

Notes: The spell is meant to go with a model such as this one, in order to match the sandy theme of the spell. The Reveneant model used here is only an example. Also, the spell meets the JESP Standard, is much easier to configure than my former spell, and is completely customizable. Even includes a Variable Stun system! (Thanks to blu_da_noob for the original system.)

[Blade.dk]

This session is now over, remember to vote here: http://www.wc3campaigns.net/showthread.php?t=83765.