Wall Of Fire effect?

from Elemental Forums

Hi all,

OK bit of a longshot here.. but just wondering what you guys think... the L5 Fire spell "Wall of Fire" has (as well as other stuff) this in it's code:

<GameModifier>
  <ModType>City</ModType>
  <Attribute>WallOfFire</Attribute>
  <Duration>-1</Duration>
</GameModifier>
<GameModifier>
  <ModType>City</ModType>
  <Attribute>BattleAutoCastSpell</Attribute>
  <StrVal>WallOfFire_Effect</StrVal>
  <Duration>-1</Duration>
</GameModifier>

So the second bit (WallOfFire_Effect) is the actual spell effect that causes damage to enemy units, I get that cool.  The bit i'm interested in is the first modifier... the first bit uses a mod attribute of "WallOfFire".  This is the thing that renders a particle wall of fire effect on the strategic map (looks rather neat).  I'd like to create similar spells, eg. Wall of Ice maybe that shows a similar effect on the strategic map.

In CoreCityWalls.xml we find this:

<CityWallSet InternalName="CityWalls_WallOfFire">
  <StraightIcon>gfx/TacticalIcons/Wall_Stright_Solid.png</StraightIcon>
  <InnerCornerIcon>gfx/TacticalIcons/Wall_Inside_Solid.png</InnerCornerIcon>
  <OuterCornerIcon>gfx/TacticalIcons/Wall_Outside_Solid.png</OuterCornerIcon>
  <GateIcon>gfx/TacticalIcons/Wall_Gate_Solid.png</GateIcon>
  <Straight>Wall_of_Fire_Straight_Tile</Straight>
  <InnerCorner>Wall_of_Fire_Inside_Tile</InnerCorner>
  <OuterCorner>Wall_of_Fire_Outside_Tile</OuterCorner>
  <Gate>WallOfFire_Gate_01</Gate>
  <DefenseBonus>0</DefenseBonus>
</CityWallSet>

I tried created a new on of these, eg. <CityWallSet InternalName="CityWalls_WallOfIce"> and then specifying an effect of "WallOfIce" but didn't seem to do anything.

It doesn't look possible... I think the WallOfFire effect might be hardcoded... what do you think?  Any ideas on how to get something remotely similar?

Thanks

2,196 views 2 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

Indeed that part appears to be hardcoded. The reason is probably because it is an effect running outside the normal citywalls, so you have walls+effect which is different from walls upgraded through wall improvements such as fortress.

Since you cannot make it identical to wall of fire (effect+improvement wall) you can still use the normal modifier from the improvements but it means replacing whatever improvement wall it has.

        <GameModifier>
            <ModType>City</ModType>
            <Attribute>UpgradeCityWalls</Attribute>
            <StrVal>CityWalls_Fallen_Picket</StrVal>
        </GameModifier>

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

Thanks for the response.

Shame it's hardcoded, would have been cool to add a couple of alternatives to the wall of fire... they look great on the strategic map and offer an interesting strategic option also.

That UpgradeCityWalls mod attribute is kinda interesting though.... I guess that would work mostly fine on Towns/Conclaves seeing as they generally don't have walls in the first place.

I managed to find a reasonable compromise though (as is often required)... you can get a normal particle effect to render on top of the city by adding an Effect to the ongoing GameModifier... the rendering is a bit buggy at times but it kinda works.  I mainly wanted some kind of visual to show the spell was active (in addition to the city icons)... in particular for spells that make it hard to attack the city.  For example I might mod in an effect for the Blood Sigil spell so if you're about to attack a city with this spell it's obvious.  Doesn't look as good as the wall effect but what can you do.

Cheers.

Galactic Civilizations IV