Alophox - Rift Storm

canonical link to CPACK - where to get the author-maintained version

Please Note: This requires CW4 version 1.3 or later.

Most aspects of this CPACK are modifiable; experiences may vary between maps.

Gameplay with this CPACK does not change whether or not the objective is enabled.

Every cycle's end heralds a new Rift Storm. With default settings:

• The first storm starts at 5 minutes(the second warning of spores/skimmers/blobs syncs with this).
• Every subsequent storm starts 2 minutes after the last one started(same as spore/skimmer/blob defaults).
• Storm Nodes deposit their payloads at the same time as spore/skimmer/blob spawns, excluding the first.

Storm Nodes are the grey clouds that float above the land. They have a purple vortex as their minimap icon, and have text that show their payload and time till deposit.

• Storm Nodes form when a storm starts and take a minute to deposit their payload.
• Storm Nodes will not form over protected regions.
• More Storm nodes form the closer to all Relics being activated you are.
• Storm nodes stop spawning when all Relics are activated.

Relics are the grey/teal structures found on the ground. The rings orbiting above them sync up and become flat right before a new storm starts. Select one to access their global visibility settings(for their shields). Their minimap icon is a yellow base with a circle with a stripe above it.

• Powered up Relics' shields will be green, signifying protected regions.
• Relics have to be re-armed after every cycle, unlike totems which you power and forget.
• Relics cannot do anything to Storm Nodes that are already formed.
• Relics cannot stop the storm forever; only stall it. If any Relic isn't activated, Storm Nodes will spawn.

This CPACK includes the option for a custom objective, which is enabled by default.

The objective is considered complete when all Relics are activated at the same time- this is updated every cycle. Once complete the objective will not cease to be achieved, even when Relics aren't activated in subsequent cycles.

• Relic
• Storm Node

For those that wish to utilize the CPACK in their own map. Individual units have their documentation on their respective pages. If you want to view the hexagon/pentagon shield, go to the Relic page, for instance. The global script is documented here.

To enable the objective, just make sure that the very first variable in the global script has a 1(by default, it is a 1). To make it required, go to the Game menu and change the settings there. To make sure the objective count is accurate before finalization, either run the global script once in the console, or edit the objective text yourself. The objective text is accurate for every frame afterwards; this is only necessary if you want frame 0 to be accurate.

Oh boy, this one's a mess. There are a lot of variables, and no real way to keep them organized. To note, please keep this in the Post spot; just to make sure messages are sent/received timely for initialization.

I'll start from the top:

These first variables are very general in what they control, and their names should be self explanatory.

• ObjectiveEnabled: 0 to disable, 1 to enable. Custom Objective text will update when enabled.
• StartDelay: How long, in frames, until the first nodes deposit their payload. 10800 is 6 minutes.
• FireInterval: How long, in frames, between payload deposits. This is the cycle duration. 3600 is 2 minutes.
• NodePrepTime: How long, in frames, between Node spawning and depositing. 1800 is 1 minute. Subtract this from start delay to get when they first spawn, and add fire interval for every spawning afterwards.
• NodeCountInitial: How many Storm Nodes spawn when 0 Relics are activated.
• NodeCountFinal: How many Storm Nodes spawn when all Relics, - 1, are activated.
• NodeSpawnAttempts: How many times Storm Nodes attempt to spawn(they can't over activated Relics' range). The lower, the more likely the spawned number is less than expected(as they are blocked by the shields).
• NodeHeight: What height do Storm Nodes spawn at.

The next section is the Payload: count and amount.

These are redundant so I'm not going to list each variable out. As a note, orbs act like eggs except they don't deposit creeper when sniped, and pop(and deposit creeper) when standing still.

• NodePayloadCountXXXX: How many of XXXX will be deposited by Storm Nodes
• NodePayloadAmountXXXX: How much creeper XXXX will deposit.

And lastly, targeting and weight(no, not how heavy).

More redundancies, more fun.

• NodeTargetModeXXXX: 0 is random, 1 is structure.
• NodeWeightXXXX: How likely the Node Payload will be of XXXX. Add them up and divide each individual by the total to get percentage chance. A weight of 1, with total 5, is a 20% chance.

And that's it!

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