F8
08-28-2009, 12:33 AM
I create this post to prove something to the community here. To start off, this isn't about just a single mechanic, or how parts of the game works. It's a comparison between the mechanics of DotA and HoN, and how some things advertised by HoN aren't really true.
Let's start with the 3 IMP's:
IMPractical - Would be unwise to do so
IMProbable - Would lagg or be unstable
IMPossible - Would not work whatsoever
Impractical
This covers something like trying to figure out where someone was 3 seconds ago. I know that Weaver had a skill that moved him back about 5 seconds, but that was done in 1-second intervals, saving all the information and storing it in a 5-indexed variable array. It wouldn't lagg in DotA because it would do it once per second, and you'd hardly feel it at all. Besides, a ton of triggers fire every second and no one notices because they have such a small amount of code in them that the player doesn't notice it.
So far, almost all the skills in HoN have fixed the impractibility of going further with some DotA skills. For example, bottle now heals at a constant rate instead of ticking 3 times, once per second. To make it constant in DotA, firing off every 0.01 seconds, would lagg like hell if too many people used it at the same time.
Improbable
This covers something like trying to select someone at a non-circular, non-conar, and non-rectangular area in the game and do an action to them. For example, take a look at the following picture:
http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/3057/89006868.jpg
(The player is the red dot. The area the spell affects is the yellow.)
To find all the units in the yellow area and do an action on them in DotA, it would not only lagg like hell when trying to select them, but it would also require extremely advanced math and a really painful enumming function to do so. In this case, it's extremely unlikely that any form of spell like this would ever be created. However, it is a possibility in HoN with its advanced systems.
Impossible
This is something that I think much of the forum is confused about. So far, the only skill I've seen in HoN that is not actually possible using the Warcraft 3 Engine is Dark Lady's CHARGING BLADES. Her ultimate is not impossible with the Warcraft 3 engine. The only thing necessary to do with it would be to create an artifical, invisible sight unit that stays on top of the heroes at all times and then to remove/replace it when the spell gets casted. Alongside that, you would just stop allied vision between everyone on the team for the duration.
The reason that Charging Blades is not possible in the Warcraft 3 engine is the fact that it is a terrain-noticing blink. In HoN, you cannot jump over a cliff using Charging Blades. It will go around corners and through narrow passages for sure, but it will never go over terrain. In Warcraft 3, this is impossible. You cannot apply a pathing system to a nearly-instant-moving unit. It might be possible, but it seems to me that, from my experience with JASS, this would be completely impossible to make. Every other skill I've seen in HoN is, in my opinion, possible to create in Warcraft 3.
I guess this post is just here to say that I've noticed most of you think that HoN is totally unique to Warcraft 3. However, so far there's very little that strays from the engines limits. If you think there are other spells in HoN that cannot be created in WC3, post here. I will tell you exactly how it can be done and even create a sample map if I must.
I guess this might also be used to theory craft some good spell ideas for other heroes, considering I'm sure that people want something that's not possible in DotA to be created in HoN.
Let's start with the 3 IMP's:
IMPractical - Would be unwise to do so
IMProbable - Would lagg or be unstable
IMPossible - Would not work whatsoever
Impractical
This covers something like trying to figure out where someone was 3 seconds ago. I know that Weaver had a skill that moved him back about 5 seconds, but that was done in 1-second intervals, saving all the information and storing it in a 5-indexed variable array. It wouldn't lagg in DotA because it would do it once per second, and you'd hardly feel it at all. Besides, a ton of triggers fire every second and no one notices because they have such a small amount of code in them that the player doesn't notice it.
So far, almost all the skills in HoN have fixed the impractibility of going further with some DotA skills. For example, bottle now heals at a constant rate instead of ticking 3 times, once per second. To make it constant in DotA, firing off every 0.01 seconds, would lagg like hell if too many people used it at the same time.
Improbable
This covers something like trying to select someone at a non-circular, non-conar, and non-rectangular area in the game and do an action to them. For example, take a look at the following picture:
http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/3057/89006868.jpg
(The player is the red dot. The area the spell affects is the yellow.)
To find all the units in the yellow area and do an action on them in DotA, it would not only lagg like hell when trying to select them, but it would also require extremely advanced math and a really painful enumming function to do so. In this case, it's extremely unlikely that any form of spell like this would ever be created. However, it is a possibility in HoN with its advanced systems.
Impossible
This is something that I think much of the forum is confused about. So far, the only skill I've seen in HoN that is not actually possible using the Warcraft 3 Engine is Dark Lady's CHARGING BLADES. Her ultimate is not impossible with the Warcraft 3 engine. The only thing necessary to do with it would be to create an artifical, invisible sight unit that stays on top of the heroes at all times and then to remove/replace it when the spell gets casted. Alongside that, you would just stop allied vision between everyone on the team for the duration.
The reason that Charging Blades is not possible in the Warcraft 3 engine is the fact that it is a terrain-noticing blink. In HoN, you cannot jump over a cliff using Charging Blades. It will go around corners and through narrow passages for sure, but it will never go over terrain. In Warcraft 3, this is impossible. You cannot apply a pathing system to a nearly-instant-moving unit. It might be possible, but it seems to me that, from my experience with JASS, this would be completely impossible to make. Every other skill I've seen in HoN is, in my opinion, possible to create in Warcraft 3.
I guess this post is just here to say that I've noticed most of you think that HoN is totally unique to Warcraft 3. However, so far there's very little that strays from the engines limits. If you think there are other spells in HoN that cannot be created in WC3, post here. I will tell you exactly how it can be done and even create a sample map if I must.
I guess this might also be used to theory craft some good spell ideas for other heroes, considering I'm sure that people want something that's not possible in DotA to be created in HoN.