It's finally here! The Play as Creeper template map is attached. Instructions for making your own PAC map will show in the editor. Have fun and create lots of really fun PAC maps!
Note that there are a few added controls: Press "Y" when a spore tower is selected to make all spore towers go into auto target mode. Press "Y" when an emitter is selected to make all emitters stop supporting. Now when a spore tower is selected you will see a small targeting circle where your mouse is. You can now select a spore tower by clicking the red target (works similar to bertha target selection). Many other tweaks were made as well as a complete re-write of Abraxis.crpl (computer AI), GameFlow.crpl (scripted events), and Temp.crpl (finalizing the map).
Also, credit goes to stewbasic for creating most of the PAC scripts used here, stdout and teknotiss for also working on the code, and all the other contributors to PAC improvement suggestions!
Full detailed instructions for making PAC maps are below (this is also in the README.crpl file in the template):
### Section 0 - Index ###
Section 0 Index
Section 1 Creating a PAC map
Section 2 Additional Buildings
Section 3 Custom dialogue and scripts
Section 4 Advanced PAC map modifications (Incomplete)
Section 5 Turn existing maps into PAC (Need image names and locations)
Section 6 Reverting a map
Section 7 Tips for making PAC maps
Section 8 List of scripts
Section 9 Credits
### Section 1 - Creating a PAC map ###
Creating a PAC map is now simpler than ever! To get started, get a copy of the PAC map template. You can get it from the CW3 forums by searching for the "Play as Creeper Template" thread. These instructions are meant for players with some experience making maps.
Copy the template file into a new map folder and rename the PAC-Template.cw3 file to Save.cw3. Open the map in the map editor. The template should have a single crpl core in the top left corner with help text above it. You should also see 3 command nodes on the map.
If you want to resize your map, now is the best time to do it. If resized later with many units on the map the game may crash. Always make a backup first if you are going to resize!
At this point the controls are all normal. You can add units in edit mode and change the terrain. When out of edit mode you can select units and change their settings, such as bertha auto target, cannon target digitalis only, bomber target and relaunch, or Sprayer release excess AC.
Up to this point you should not unpause the game. When you are ready to test your map out, make sure to save the map in edit mode. Then you can close edit mode and unpause the game. When the game reaches the first frame (the game processes 30 frames per second) the temporary crpl core in the top left will create everything needed for a PAC map, then remove itself. This can also be triggered by pressing "N" while the game is still paused as that will move 1 frame, thus triggering the PAC conversion. Once this happens the map is completely playable as a PAC map. All controls and Abraxis (the AI that rebuilds stuff) should work just like in all the other PAC maps. As you are play testing your map be very careful not to go into edit mode and save while in PAC mode. You will have to go through additional steps to revert your map back to an editable PAC map (see section 6). When done testing, simply go into edit mode and load to return to the state just before you converted to a PAC map.
While not in edit mode you can press "U" to make an emitter or "I" to make a spore tower. This will make towers that will be present at the beginning of the map. Also, make sure you add totems to your map. They are necessary to use the field ability and will make your game take much longer without them.
You can also play your map without converting to a PAC map simply by removing the script "Temp.crpl" from the crpl core in the top left of the map. This way you can play the map a bit to create extra anti-creeper and max out health and ammo for units. After playing the map you can save changes. When ready to convert it back to a PAC map again, just add the script "Temp.crpl" back to the core in the top left corner of the map, save, then reload. After that you can unpause or press "N" to convert the map to PAC.
If you want to have nullifiers in your map, or easily queue buildings to start creating when possible, you'll need to follow the steps in section 2.
When you are ready to publish your map, make a backup of the .CW3 file to be safe. Zoom out as far as you can; this is important so your map screenshot doesn't include the build tab. Then, close out of edit mode and while the game is still paused, press 'N' to advance 1 frame. Now save and create a finalized map.
### Section 2 - Additional Buildings ###
Creating Nullifiers and other buildings that can be built by Abraxis is easy to add, but you will need to get into the CRPL a little, but I promise it's really easy! Open Abraxis.crpl (either from the scripts menu in the game or directly from the scripts folder for your map.
You'll need to find the section that looks like this (should be around line 62:
# Manually add additional units
# This is mainly done for nullifiers so they don't show up on the map when the player starts
# Specify unit type, x coordinate, y coordinate. Example: "NULLIFIER" 15 20 @AddUnit
# To get coordinates for placement of the unit, just move your mouse to the spot you want it placed in the map editor and use the coordinates shown
# "NULLIFIER" 15 20 @AddUnit
Adding more units is simple. Just follow the instructions above (also in the crpl code). Simply add a line for each building you need. Most of the time you'll just need nullifiers, so your code might look something like this:
"NULLIFIER" 15 20 @AddUnit
"NULLIFIER" 28 31 @AddUnit
"NULLIFIER" 47 12 @AddUnit
There's no limit to how many units can be added this way. Remember that nullifiers only build when an emitter or spore tower is within range (10 cells), so if they aren't building, they probably aren't close enough to power zones.
Other ideas: This feature can also be used to easily have units start building when the game starts, such as having Berthas or Thors start building so that there will be an added challenge a bit later in the game. You can also have units set to build where starting emitters and spore towers are. If a nullifier destroys the tower and other units destroy all of the creeper and digitalis at that power zone, a cannon or mortar could start building there. This could add further challenge to the player and pose a cost to losing one of the starting buildings.
### Section 3 - Custom dialogue and scripts ###
This section will explain the main area to modify dialogue in the game and custom scripts. This is done in the GameFlow.crpl script.
In GameFlow.crpl you will see a few sections of code that are clearly labelled as far as what it does. For game dialogue you'll see a section for dialogue to display at the start of the game and at the end of the game. You can easily change the text here or add/remove lines. Opening dialogue will show after 1 frame, and the defeat dialogue will show when all creeper buildings are destroyed.
The one exception to this is the victory dialogue, which is in Abraxis.crpl (this is because it is where the game checks to see if all Abraxis units are dead. The code for this is around line 146.
Also in GameFlow.crpl you can add further scripts. Bertha fire rate is very common and is included in this template. Bertha's will automatically receive extra ammo in proportion to how many creeper buildings are present on the map. You can remove this if you don't want it in your map or change the value assigned to the variable berthaBoost to make the boost more or less powerful.
### Section 4 - Advanced PAC map modifications ###
If you really want to customize the PAC map you can easily tweak the following settings:
To change the amount emitted by emitters, open Emitter.crpl. At the top of the script you can change the variables amt, interval, and maxCharge. This controls the creeper amount and charge amount for normal and burst mode.
To change spore tower settings, open SporeTower.crpl. At the top of the script you can change the variables amt, interval, maxCharge, and hp. This controls how fast spores charge, the max charge, and the health of the spore. You can also change showtargetpercent (default is 0.80). This will adjust when the spore tower target shows in red on the map. 0.80 = 80%, so when the tower is 80% charged, the target shows. This number can be anything from 0.0 to 1.0.
To modify the field settings, open FieldBuilder.crpl. At the top of the script you can change the variables maxRange (controls how long the field can be), minRange (controls the minimum length of the field), and baseStrength (controls how strong the field is - gets multiplied by how many totems have been captured). baseStrength will need to be a very high number to see the effect.
### Section 5 - Turn existing maps into PAC ###
Have an existing map that you really enjoy the terrain/layout on? Turn it into a PAC map in 4 easy steps!
First, you'll need the map you want to convert to PAC and a copy of the PAC template.
Next, open the PAC template map in the editor and press "I". This will place all of the custom images in a folder on your PC: documents/creeperworld3/worldeditor/[PAC Template Folder]/extracted images. You should also see a scripts folder. Copy both the extracted images and the scripts folder into the folder for your map.
Now, open your map in the editor. Go to scripts and compile all. You should see all of the PAC scripts in the list. Also, you'll need to attach all of the custom images. These include the unit icons and building buttons and are essential to making your PAC map look right. If you have custom images already, you should assign them to different image slots. Here is a list of images and what they need to be assigned to:
Image Name Image Slot
--------------------------------------
Image0 Custom0 (64x64)
Image1 Custom1 (64x64)
Image2 Custom2 (64x64)
Image3 Custom3 (64x64)
Image4 Custom4 (64x64)
Image5 Custom5 (64x64)
Image6 Custom6 (64x64)
Image7 Custom7 (64x64)
Image8 Custom8 (64x64)
Image9 Custom9 (64x64)
Image10 Custom10 (64x64)
Image135 Custom0_256 (256x256)
Image136 Custom1_256 (256x256)
Image163 Custom0pp (64x64 PP)
Image164 Custom1pp (64x64 PP)
Image165 Custom2pp (64x64 PP)
Image166 Custom3pp (64x64 PP)
Image167 Custom4pp (64x64 PP)
Image168 Custom5pp (64x64 PP)
Image169 Custom6pp (64x64 PP)
Image170 Custom7pp (64x64 PP)
Next you will need to create a CRPL Core. This is typically placed in the top left corner of the map because some help text is displayed. Once added all you need to do is add the script "Temp.crpl" to it. Save your map and load it in the editor. It is now set up as a PAC editable map. Follow the rest of the instructions in this document to complete you PAC map.
If your map uses CRPL you'll need to do plenty of testing to make sure it doesn't interfere with the PAC CRPL.
### Section 6 – Reverting a map ###
If you accidently save your map after it has converted, or you grab a completed map and want to edit (this only works with PAC maps that used this template), follow these steps.
First, go into edit mode and add a crpl core unit. Don't worry about any of the settings, just add the script "Temp.crpl" to it.
Now save, and load the map. The script you added will remove all of the PAC cores and scripts and make the map fully editable again.
### Section 7 - Tips for making PAC maps ###
This section contains tips for making PAC maps fun, enjoyable, and challenging. Players have high expectations for PAC maps, so take the time to read some of these suggestions.
Balance: this is the most important part of PAC maps! Without a good balance of challenge and fun, your PAC map won't be as enjoyable to play. Make sure you test your map multiple times using different strategies. Does your map play better to a mainly emitter game (lots of beams) or does it focus a lot on spores (lots of void/not many beams)? The map authors that make the best maps are the ones that test it over and over to get a fun balance. Don't be afraid to post it on the CW3 forum either. There are many players out there that would love to test your maps and provide feedback.
Are you trying to make a short game or long game? If it's short, does it offer something interesting or some level of challenge to complete? If it's a long game, is it interesting to play for an hour or more? Try to create challenges throughout the map. Usually this is done by having more difficult terrain to play through and more units on power zones near the end of the level.
Replayability is also something to consider. After creating and testing your map a dozen times do you still enjoy it? Are there multiple ways to win? Is there something unique about your map that people haven't seen in other PAC maps?
The beginning is a very important part of the game. Is it so difficult to start that players will get frustrated and quit? Try to offer a challenge so it's not too easy, but still make it doable for the people playing your map.
Make sure your map has totems somewhat close to the start! Without totems the field ability is useless and can make your map very long and boring.
### Section 8 - List of scripts ###
The following is a list of the scripts used in the PAC map template.
These scripts are the main scripts that run the game.
GameFlow.crpl: Used to check to see if the mission failed (no more towers left). Also used for additional custom game events such as bertha fire rate boost and the mass convert Artifact of Odin. This is where all additional crpl for scripted events and other additions to the PAC map should go.
Abraxis.crpl: AI for the computer player. Attempts to rebuild destroyed units. If you want to add additional buildings, such as nullifiers, do it here. This could also be used to trigger construction of a Thor or Bertha at the start of the game.
Temp.crpl: This will initially be the only script on the PAC template. Once the game gets to the first frame it will create all of the core units and add the appropriate scripts.
These scripts control everything else in the game. Editing these scripts is discouraged as it will probably break the game if you do.
AlternateControl.crpl: Allows the alternate controls for PAC maps to be used and disables being able to select human units.
Builder. crpl: Used when the build emitter or spore tower buttons are clicked to place buildings.
BuildTab. crpl: Creates the build tab at the bottom of the screen.
DigitalisBuilder. crpl: Used when building digitalis to show the area to build digitalis and create digitalis.
Emitter. crpl: Used to update ammo and timing to produce creeper
EmitterBuilder. crpl: Used to build emitters - defers to Builder.
FieldBuilder. crpl: Used to build fields - takes into consideration number of totems captured.
FieldDisplay. crpl: Displays the field and updates the scrolling triangles.
FieldViewer. crpl: Used for displaying images in fields.
Label. crpl: Creates the labels above the controls at the bottom.
README. crpl: Explains how to create and properly upload a Play as Creeper map.
Select. crpl: Used to determine what unit to select when the users clicks on a creeper building - can only select emitters or spore towers.
SporeBuilder. crpl: Used to build spore towers - defers to Builder.
SporeTower. crpl: Used to update ammo and timing to launch a spore.
StructureGui. crpl: This controls the interface for emitters and spore towers including the "E"/"R" keys for toggling through different modes, "T" for emitter support and mass spore targeting, for individual targeting of emitter support and spore towers, and "Y" to make all spore towers go into auto-target or emitters to stop supporting.
Temp. crpl: This is the script that displays help text in edit mode and what converts the map to PAC mode.
TotemListener. crpl: A helper script that is attached to a core which wants to receive updates from TotemWatcher.
TotemWatcher. crpl: Watches totems to check if they are supported by digitalis.
### Section 9 - Credits ###
Play as Creeper maps have taken a lot of work to get to this point. This section is to give credit to the main contributors.
The main credit for PAC maps goes to stewbasic, who originally wrote the first PAC map: Creeper Come Back. This is where it all started! he did a great job writing the majority of the code used in this template and revolutionized Creeper World 3!
Additional credit goes to stdout and teknotiss who also created additional PAC maps and contributed to the code. They are the ones who created most of the early maps to really build up interest in these types of maps.
Lastly, credit goes to Hubs, who put the finishing touches on the code and created this template. He rewrote much of the AI and added a few tweaks to the interface to make the game easier to play.
** Edit **
Dec 14, 2014 - Updated template and read me to include instructions to zoom out before finalizing map.
Jan 2, 2015 - Updated template with controls added by stewbasic.
July 21, 2015 - added a more recent template to this post. (PlayAsCreeper-2015-01-25)
Christmas came early this year! :)
This represents a gigantic effort on your part, Hubs, and we all owe you a debt of gratitude. Thank you, and well done! I'm looking forward to diving in and playing with what you've made here.
good job dude, we perhaps see if this is popular or useful enough to get stickied 8)
http://i.imgur.com/zCBQP8s.jpg <<off-topic img tag redacted - K>>
Looks interesting!
After experimenting a bit, I've found a bug where Abraxis tries to replace a unit over and over even though it has creeper on it, creating a huge series of explosions.
Just wanted to let everyone know that I updated the template and read me text to include the instruction to zoom out as far as you can before you finalize your map. This is important so that your map screenshot doesn't include the creeper build tab. If you've already downloaded the template you don't need to update it, just make sure you zoom out before finalizing.
Has anyone tried the template yet? Is it working for you? Just looking for some feedback...
sorry dude, haven't had time yet.
but perhaps tonight, rest assured i'll let you know as soon as i do! 8)
I was chomping at the bit but life got in the way and I haven't been able to yet, either.
Given how much I love the PAC maps I decided to try your template out. It was quite easy to get set up and, by following your instructions, I was able to create one to play. However, I had to admit that I'm still completely inept when it comes to designing maps so will leave that to far more qualified individuals. Nevertheless, I just wanted to let you know that it was VERY easy to create one using your template. Excellent work!
Quote from: mzimmer74 on December 17, 2014, 10:34:37 AM
Given how much I love the PAC maps I decided to try your template out. It was quite easy to get set up and, by following your instructions, I was able to create one to play. However, I had to admit that I'm still completely inept when it comes to designing maps so will leave that to far more qualified individuals. Nevertheless, I just wanted to let you know that it was VERY easy to create one using your template. Excellent work!
Glad it worked for you! And don't give up on publishing a map! Lay out the terrain and add units, then test it. If you've played lots of PAC maps think about what your map needs to be better, then add it and test again. It ultimately comes down to tweaking it enough to be fun to play.
Quote from: mzimmer74 on December 17, 2014, 10:34:37 AM
Given how much I love the PAC maps I decided to try your template out. It was quite easy to get set up and, by following your instructions, I was able to create one to play. However, I had to admit that I'm still completely inept when it comes to designing maps so will leave that to far more qualified individuals. Nevertheless, I just wanted to let you know that it was VERY easy to create one using your template. Excellent work!
post it in a thread and let us help play test it! then you can learn to make them with some support and advice! :)
I love all your maps guys, and I was hoping to get some expert feedback on the map I created with this template. It will be posted in a thread shortly after this, so look for a thread called "Astrox: Moon of Genos". I'm really looking forward your comments!
PS.
As soon as I beat my map, the victory GUI did not appear. It might be my computer, but I'm hoping you guys can beat it, because I'm worried of going into the CRPL and destroying the map.
There's a new template over at the Theory and Practical thread with changed controls and other stuff. Is your map the updated template? If not, you can probably just transplant most of the scripts from there to yours.
I put the most up to date copy here on Jan 2. If you got the template before that you can just copy the scripts from the new template and paste them in you map. I keep an edit log at the bottom of the main post when I change the template.
I have the most up to date template, I think I'll try to run through it one more time to see if it works.
Well someone has been busy!
So here I am, finally making time to check threads I haven't seen often to find solidification of a template that allowsplayers to play as the creeper!
I must admit, I didn't fully see this coming even after learning of the option to choose Loki at Arca. I must also give high praise to the update progress made since the earliest PAC maps I have seen in CS.
I can easily assume it was challenging to make it all work so well in the end, but I do have a challenge or two to throw your way to see what you would do to address them with my predicted difficulties that account for effort put into the coding and satisfaction from the audience assuming you make it work some way:
Have PAC include:
Hard: the abilities of AET's
Extremely hard: full(ish?) control of runners
Quote from: 4xC on January 04, 2015, 01:17:20 AM
Have PAC include:
Hard: the abilities of AET's
Extremely hard: full(ish?) control of runners
AET's are to limited, but it may be useful.
runner control has been discussed, i believe the agreement was too tricky to have work right.
but a code monkey would have better answers ::)
Quote from: teknotiss on January 04, 2015, 10:06:45 AM
Quote from: 4xC on January 04, 2015, 01:17:20 AM
Have PAC include:
Hard: the abilities of AET's
Extremely hard: full(ish?) control of runners
AET's are to limited, but it may be useful.
runner control has been discussed, i believe the agreement was too tricky to have work right.
but a code monkey would have better answers ::)
Hmm...I could see AET towers being somewhat useful. Something like you have to fight really hard through a bunch of bombers to get a PZ and plop an AET tower on it to protect from bombers.
Full control of runners...that's craziness! And awesome! Right now I'm focusing on my PAC series Arc Eternal: Redemption, but if there's a lot of interest I may tackle it in the future.
I decided to try my hand at creating a PAC map and downloaded the template today. I am having issues between the guide in the original post and the Abraxis.crpl section to create additional units. Line 62 appears to find placeholder cores and doesn't mention anything about "# Manually add additional units"
The guide posted lists this as an example, while README.CRPL doesn't contain this:
"NULLIFIER" 15 20 @AddUnit
On which line would I add the information for additional units and could I see an example please? Thank you for the help and thank you for creating PAC, the coolest CRPL I have seen yet!
Quote from: teknotiss on January 04, 2015, 10:06:45 AM
Quote from: 4xC on January 04, 2015, 01:17:20 AM
Have PAC include:
Hard: the abilities of AET's
Extremely hard: full(ish?) control of runners
AET's are to limited, but it may be useful.
runner control has been discussed, i believe the agreement was too tricky to have work right.
but a code monkey would have better answers ::)
They could serve important purposes in special scenarios.
For one thing, the recent space station map with an asteroid carrying 2 emitters had high use of PZ Bombers that seemed to take of half of the trouble of pressuring your hold on each of the sections.
I know it took about 3 emitters' worth of creeper in the lower left and middle right just to negate the possibility of nullifiers serving their purpose. Combine that with the need to divert so much creeper away from them just to help capture a semifinal section with the impossibility of spores breaching the lower right, and you got a fair case for AET usage.
To add to that, more than one map had enemy Strafer usage to fair effect.
All I am saying is there are unique cases that would be supportive to the cause of including the AET's ability in PAC. (Maybe it does not have to be a default considering that 1. Spore Towers were once able to make their own runners and 2. Spore Towers once had their recharge rate reduced from 20 seconds to 5 seconds.
Quote from: alfanugan on January 05, 2015, 11:26:05 PM
I decided to try my hand at creating a PAC map and downloaded the template today. I am having issues between the guide in the original post and the Abraxis.crpl section to create additional units. Line 62 appears to find placeholder cores and doesn't mention anything about "# Manually add additional units"
The guide posted lists this as an example, while README.CRPL doesn't contain this:
"NULLIFIER" 15 20 @AddUnit
On which line would I add the information for additional units and could I see an example please? Thank you for the help and thank you for creating PAC, the coolest CRPL I have seen yet!
The README.crpl script in the template should be up to date. I forgot to update the forum post. Read that section in the template file and it should better explain it. I'll update the forum soon.
Also, if you're just trying to place nullifiers you can press J to place a nullifier placeholder on your map, instead of needing to edit Abraxis. However if you have other units you want added, those will need to go into Abraxis. If you can't find the right spot, just search/find "@AddUnit" - that should take you to the right spot.
I found the updated information in the README.CRPL file near the end of section 1:
# The placeholder can be changed to build a different type of unit. In edit mode,
# select "units", double click the placeholder, and change "type" to a unit type
# listed on http://knucklecracker.com/wiki/doku.php?id=crpl:docs:getunittype.
This will be way easier than manually entering in the coordinates in the script, thanks again!
Suggestions:
A. Show Beam Coverage when selecting Spore Towers
B. Target settings for Spore Towers. (nearest void cell, nearest structure, support other Spore Towers)
I say the last because the second redemption mission took a long time due to the inefficient firing of the Hyper Spore Tower. (I didn't see a way to get past the PZ Cannons with creeper and I thought the point of the HST was to not need to make your own Spore Towers, so I waited for lucky strikes until I had enough and built a Spore Tower of my own which helped in the end)
Even better would be to show the coverage all the time (toggleable, perhaps with a keystroke). Then you'll be able to see where all the coverages are.
It would be really nice to have options available like you do when selecting normal units in vanilla (like cannon targetting options). That would open up the ability to do a ton of cool custom settings like those recommended.
There should be a controllable giant runner that you can program with the effects of a runner nest or an AET, which are both heavily designed to be moved around for better accuracy.
Spoiler
(http://i.imgur.com/H7BcSvm.png)
Needs a way to show the range of a unit, especially beams so you can tell where a spore is gonna hit.
Suggestion: Version NumbersReasons:
- Easily identify the control capabilities on a downloaded map
- Document those difference (on wiki, etc.)
- Without too much effort, update PAC controls by running diff against stated version(s)
Could be shown on first help message or a dialog box triggered by a key. (maybe shift-V)
There could be a PAC template version#, with a list of script versions. The version#s of individual scripts that differ would also be listed.
I'd suggest that those who modify scripts for their own maps could add "-<username><theirver#>" to the version# for clarity. If a user's changes are adopted to the template, the suffix removed and version# would be bumped.
P.S. This isn't a "do this for me" request. I'm willing to implement this.
I created my PAC map, followed all the steps to convert, save and finalize. But when I play the finalized map and finish it, the victory icon doesn't appear so I can't upload the map. The Loki dialogue appears (when it says that all humans structures were destroyed) but the window to click in "claim victory" doesn't appear. Could someone help me? :P
Did you finalize the map and play it in your finalized map list? If you play it without doing that you won't get the victory trigger.
This happens in the finalized map
The most current template was released (http://knucklecracker.com/forums/index.php?topic=17566.msg126751#msg126751) by stewbasic on 2015-01-25. The file size is 147,551. If you're going to make a map, make sure you use the latest template.
The top post in this thread does not currently contain the most recent template. I'm attaching it here for everyone's convenience.
Quote from: stdout on July 21, 2015, 07:44:04 AM
The most current template was released (http://knucklecracker.com/forums/index.php?topic=17566.msg126751#msg126751) by stewbasic on 2015-01-25. The file size is 147,551. If you're going to make a map, make sure you use the latest template.
The top post in this thread does not currently contain the most recent template. I'm attaching it here for everyone's convenience.
I will attach this to the top post as well.
Hi
I was just wondering how the forge works in PAC maps, do you have to build up either and apply upgrades when creating the map or is there a way for this to happen during gameplay?
Quote from: D0m0nik on October 09, 2015, 10:45:41 AM
I was just wondering how the forge works in PAC maps, do you have to build up aether and apply upgrades when creating the map or is there a way for this to happen during gameplay?
Upgrades must be applied when editing. There's no CRPL command to set those during gameplay (and no player would buy them while playing).
You'll need to build the forge and do the upgrades before finalizing the map. Fastest way to get a bunch of aether is to add some aether packets with the amount you want and gather it from that (much much faster than totems). Just let the game run for a bit to get enough to do the upgrades you want. One of the setbacks tho is if you test and want less upgrades, you'll need to destroy the forge (to reset all tech upgrades) and repeat the process.
As far as changing tech levels through CRPL, I looked into it a while ago and couldn't find a way to do it. You can get/set the tech limit, but I don't think you can change the actual level.
Thank you both for your quick answers!
I am having a go at a PAC map for about the fifth time, I am not great at maps and so it takes ages! I will use the forge, it saves having to put in loads of reactors.
Cheers
A trick I've used with my PAC maps it to stack reactors on a PZ. That saves loads of reactor space.
QuoteA trick I've used with my PAC maps it to stack reactors on a PZ. That saves loads of reactor space.
I have noticed a strange happening with this, don't know if it is a bug. When reactors are stacked they are destroyed one at a time with the ones below surviving, it is as though each reactor is shielded by the reactor above it.
I am also having trouble finding where to add nulifiers in the Abraxis file. I have opened it in notepad and followed your instructions but I cannot work out where to add the command to add a nulifier. Could you please give me some even more idiot proof instructions?
Thanks
To add a nullifier, just leave the editor, point your mouse where you want the nullifer, and press "J".
There is a note at the top of the map that explains how to place nullifiers, as well as extra emitters and spore towers.
Sorry, got caught up in the original instructions. The new template really does do all the hard work for you!
It sure does!
A tip for placing nullifiers: select the nullifier from the build menu and then it shows you the range circle as you float it around the map. But don't place it - use the letter J instead to place. You can use J while you have nullifier selected. This takes the guess work out of whether each nullifier is in range of a PZ.
Quote from: D0m0nik on October 12, 2015, 04:12:38 PM
QuoteA trick I've used with my PAC maps it to stack reactors on a PZ. That saves loads of reactor space.
I have noticed a strange happening with this, don't know if it is a bug. When reactors are stacked they are destroyed one at a time with the ones below surviving, it is as though each reactor is shielded by the reactor above it.
That's really odd, I've never noticed that before. They should all take damage at the same rate, unless creeper is consumed when dealing damage to an abraxis unit. Can you post video of this or a screenshot?
Hi Hubs
I have attached two maps, Map 1 is the reactor blowing up, Map two is a new reactor building underneath another perfectly healthy one! It appears that the bottom one each time is destroyed, or at least that is how the image is stacked. Excuse my lack of technical nouse!
GetUnitsInRange(<-X <-Y 0) 0 do
if(GetUnitType <-Type eq)
"yes" ->Alive
endif
loop
That bit of code in the Abraxis script should prevent multiples of the same unit being built at the same cell. If a unit of the type trying to be built is found in that cell it is considered alive and thus won't try to build. So, additional reactors shouldn't build there once destroyed. Did you add the reactors in edit mode or regular play mode?
In edit mode, must be a glitch. Very strange though.
Thanks for looking into it.
I have just finished my second map and do not have a problem with it this time.
i can't create scripts.. im giving all scripts to one CRPL and removing it... and i can't create #PAC map, please help!
Are you trying to add PAC scripts to an existing regular map, or are you starting with the template?
no longer needs help, I know how to do it.
I found that shift+t selects terrain height in PAC mode when terraform is selected... :o
Selecting high terrain ex. 10 with it and ... 8)
Anybody has anything to say about this? :)
Edit: I wasn't first to found it.
How do I make an emitter start as AC and when linked to the creeper network change to a creeper portal?
This looks more suited to the Coders Corner. Also, we need more of a step-by-step to be able to help.
e.g. Something that looks like a Nullifier. Emits AC. When there is Creeper under it, turns into an Emitter.
Whoops, I ment emitter not nullifier.
How PAC map technique changes when there isn't totems? ???
Could it be nice idea to have map partly without and partly with totems? 8)
https://knucklecracker.com/forums/index.php?topic=19264.msg135291#msg135291
The new template is not working for me. When i place the template in a file in the map editor and i go to edit the map, the "nothing is saved" world loads. What i mean by "nothing is saved" world, i mean the world where when you don't save anything and the next time you play the map, a totally different map loads. Please Help! OOOHH! You had to rename the file in order for it work! Tricky!