timid spoke
I was looking for the duration the modifier would stay on the target but I saw only a table with the duration passed.
Does the function automatically use that duration?
Are there pre defined things in the table or is that just a "special" value passed into the modifier that we can use later?
This is the modifier for OGRE's STUN and this is the modifier which doesnt actually use the value passed in by the table.
lost mirage
AddNewModifier reads duration key (if exists) from that table and use it if possible (value is number). Rest key values that you specify passed too into OnCreated and OnRefresh as first argument at server side
timid spoke
AddNewModifier reads duration key (if exists) from that table and use it if poss...
how do I find what the addNewModifier reads?
vagrant hearthBOT
Found 1 function for AddNewModifier
lost mirage
Its literally stated in api
Caster, ability if exists, modifier_name, table of parameters if exists
timid spoke
I know that, but what can I put into table of parameters ?
lost mirage
Number, string?, boolean. Something special like vector ignored
timid spoke
hmm maybe Im a little confused.
Where does {duration = stun_duration} get used in the modifier?
lost mirage
If you mean something except duration key no way to know expect case when valve provide example
timid spoke
lost mirage
For their modifiers
timid spoke
yeah, its pre-defined ?
timid spoke
How do I find what variables used for their modifiers?
lost mirage
We know keys of modifier_knockback and modifier_illusions just because valve used them in their events
timid spoke
hmm, its not given in the api? weird
lost mirage
Duration used by every modifier in game if specified
timid spoke
hm
lost mirage
Even by your custom ones
lost mirage
Yes
timid spoke
cool 🙂
thanks :))
Im close to understanding ability making with lua!!
Im reading 7/8 https://github.com/Elfansoer/dota-2-lua-abilities/wiki/Ability-Lua-Tutorial-7:-Slardar's-Slithereen-Crush
lost mirage
You dont need to know possible keys anyway for every modifier just because 99.9% of cases its better to remake something in lua from 0. This way you can ensure that it will always work as you expected and valve will be not able silently add some additional features. Single case when valve can hurt your custom stuff is when they decide destroy custom games
timid spoke
ah that does make sense
I guess duration is the only real thing needed for your modifier
even then, is there a way to reset your duration of your modifier in the modifier script?
timid spoke
even then, is there a way to reset your duration of your modifier in the modifi...
actually idk why u would need that xD ^
lost mirage
For example not long ago they removed ability for refresher to cooldown in backpack. This change affected every game that rely on valve refresher instead of custom one. If item has IsRefreshable = false then no cooldown in backpack
timid spoke
oh ;0
does valve "hire" people to make custom games from the community?
Have they ever ran a custom game competition before?
lost mirage
They run once, some trash wins that, shit ton of hate and never again
lost mirage
I don't remember name
timid spoke
ah nevermind 🙂
lost mirage
even then, is there a way to reset your duration of your modifier in the modifi...
You can apply same modifier again (refreshed if exists and not modifier_attribute_multiple) or call ForceRefresh in modifier itself
timid spoke
oh, thanks !
small solar
Was it fortivus festival?
yes, it was frostivus 2017 IIRC
timid spoke
frostivus wasnt thaaaaaaaaat bad
!!
Why have they used an underscore _ to replace key and used enemies for value?
lost mirage
Because when you do pairs it produces two variables every loop iteration: key (underscore) and value (enemy, value stored in table by that key). In your code example key will be number of enemy in table and enemy is enemy itself. You don't need to know what number used for each enemy in table, but still must store it somewhere and thats why underscore was used (convention in many program languages) to mark variable that you must use for storing something, but actually not need at all for your code
lost mirage
yes
lost mirage
There are cases when you need to know number
For example table not guarante to always use number for keys. It can be something like:
asd = 1,
wer = 4
In that case keys will be asd, wer and values 1, 4
timid spoke
yea, makes sense to name it properly
instead of just using _ which looks so weird
-- modifier_slardar_slithereen_crush_lua.lua
modifier_slardar_slithereen_crush_lua_slow = class({})
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
function modifier_slardar_slithereen_crush_lua_slow:IsDebuff()
return true
end
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
function modifier_slardar_slithereen_crush_lua_slow:OnCreated( kv )
self.ms_slow = self:GetAbility():GetSpecialValueFor("crush_extra_slow")
self.as_slow = self:GetAbility():GetSpecialValueFor("crush_attack_slow_tooltip")
end
function modifier_slardar_slithereen_crush_lua_slow:OnRefresh( kv )
self.ms_slow = self:GetAbility():GetSpecialValueFor("crush_extra_slow")
self.as_slow = self:GetAbility():GetSpecialValueFor("crush_attack_slow_tooltip")
end
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
function modifier_slardar_slithereen_crush_lua_slow:DeclareFunctions()
local funcs = {
MODIFIER_PROPERTY_MOVESPEED_BONUS_PERCENTAGE,
MODIFIER_PROPERTY_ATTACKSPEED_BONUS_CONSTANT,
}
return funcs
end
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
function modifier_slardar_slithereen_crush_lua_slow:GetModifierMoveSpeedBonus_Percentage( params )
return self.ms_slow
end
function modifier_slardar_slithereen_crush_lua_slow:GetModifierAttackSpeedBonus_Constant( params )
return self.as_slow
end```How do I know what to return? for this?
function modifier_slardar_slithereen_crush_lua_slow:GetModifierAttackSpeedBonus_Constant( params )
return self.as_slow```Underscore used even in c# when you don't care about variable
p.GetCoordinates(out var x, out _);
lost mirage
How do I know what to return? for this?
```lua
function modifier_slardar_slither...
You need to return number that you want use to modify attack speed
timid spoke
ah, I guess its self explanatory
lost mirage
Use https://moddota.com/api/#!/vscripts instead of valve wiki. Valve wiki very outdated and not maintained at all. This site uses generated docs based on api dumps from game
timid spoke
-- modifier_slardar_slithereen_crush_lua.lua
modifier_slardar_slithereen_crush_lua_slow = class({})
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
function modifier_slardar_slithereen_crush_lua_slow:IsDebuff()
return true
end
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
function modifier_slardar_slithereen_crush_lua_slow:OnCreated( kv )
self.ms_slow = self:GetAbility():GetSpecialValueFor("crush_extra_slow")
self.as_slow = self:GetAbility():GetSpecialValueFor("crush_attack_slow_tooltip")
end```
Whats the difference between doing
local ms_slow and self.ms_slow ?Well, you should read lua basics to understand difference between local and self
timid spoke
wait, does self.ms_slow mean its global for this entire script?
instead of just the scope of the method?
lost mirage
In that case self binded to certain modifier instance and local exists only in function scope
timid spoke
oh... I think I get it
it makes sense now!!!
But whats the point of making anything local? The scripts are so small, why not just make them all self. ?
lost mirage
Where you find even single local
timid spoke
not there but the ability script
-- slardar_slithereen_crush_lua.lua
slardar_slithereen_crush_lua = class({})
LinkLuaModifier( "modifier_slardar_slithereen_crush_lua", "lua_abilities/slardar_slithereen_crush_lua/modifier_slardar_slithereen_crush_lua", LUA_MODIFIER_MOTION_NONE )
LinkLuaModifier( "modifier_slardar_slithereen_crush_lua_slow", "lua_abilities/slardar_slithereen_crush_lua/modifier_slardar_slithereen_crush_lua_slow", LUA_MODIFIER_MOTION_NONE )
function slardar_slithereen_crush_lua:OnSpellStart()
-- get references
local radius = self:GetSpecialValueFor("crush_radius")
local damage = self:GetAbilityDamage()
local stun_duration = self:GetSpecialValueFor("stun_duration")
local slow_duration = self:GetSpecialValueFor("crush_extra_slow_duration")
-- find affected units
local enemies = FindUnitsInRadius(
self:GetCaster():GetTeamNumber(),
self:GetCaster():GetOrigin(),
nil,
radius,
DOTA_UNIT_TARGET_TEAM_ENEMY,
DOTA_UNIT_TARGET_HERO + DOTA_UNIT_TARGET_BASIC,
DOTA_UNIT_TARGET_FLAG_NONE,
FIND_ANY_ORDER,
false
)
-- for each caught enemies
for _,enemy in pairs(enemies) do
-- Apply Damage
local damage = {
victim = enemy,
attacker = self:GetCaster(),
damage = damage,
damage_type = DAMAGE_TYPE_PHYSICAL,
}
ApplyDamage( damage )
-- Apply stun debuff
enemy:AddNewModifier(
self:GetCaster(),
self,
"modifier_slardar_slithereen_crush_lua",
{ duration = stun_duration }
)
-- Apply slow debuff
enemy:AddNewModifier(
self:GetCaster(),
self,
"modifier_slardar_slithereen_crush_lua_slow",
{ duration = stun_duration + slow_duration }
)
end
end```actually, nvm.
lost mirage
Because modifiers from same ability can have different values
Lvl1 debuff and lvl2 debuff have different values
timid spoke
hm,
lost mirage
You can store in ability instance ofc using self if you wish
timid spoke
Does the ability script fall out of the scope when not being used?
wait no
that wouldnt make sense
nevermind! forget what I said
lost mirage
Thing is there no namespace concept in lua like in c#
timid spoke
oh really?
lost mirage
But because dota made in c++ there are some not obvious things with that
lost mirage
For example ability class not exists in global lua scope until you manually require it
Dota just loads it, uses and thats all
lost mirage
Because lua way easier to understand for everyone and way easier approach to add modding support
Lua was made initially for people who have close to zero knowledge about computer science
timid spoke
lua is looks so ugly!
lost mirage
It even not uses zero indexed arrays because of that
timid spoke
I know! I thought that was so weird
even for loops, we start at 1
I was watching some tutorial and thought that was just odd...
lost mirage
You can start loop at 0
for i=0,14 do
end
lost mirage
You can even implement zero based arrays if you wish. Just default table operations will not support it
timid spoke
ah
The only thing I haven't looked at yet is game "rules" like changing maps and stuff and other game logic for custom games
idk how hard it is
lost mirage
Classes also not exists in lua
Valve downloaded code for that somewhere or coded it themselves for us
timid spoke
🤣
lost mirage
Every class here is technically table
vagrant hearthBOT
Found 1 function for AddNewModifier
timid spoke
self:GetCaster():AddNewModifier()```Do I have to do Self:getCaster() before add modifier?
is that what the CDOTA_BaseNPC thing is?
lost mirage
Thing used before : must be npc that will get modifier
lost mirage
You can check in moddota api docs what type of thing every function returns
GetCaster returns CDOTA_BaseNPC so you can use that for addnewmodifier
timid spoke
lost mirage
Very very rare it specifies wrong type
timid spoke
hmm when I do /api I can see what it returns but not when I go on the site
lost mirage
Look at most right part of screenshot. Text after : is what type of object will be returned
timid spoke
CDOTA_Buff
lost mirage
Yeah
lost mirage
You can use that info to check what methods/functions that type have
With that info for example you can do things like idk
local modifier = target:AddNewModifier...
print(modifier:GetCaster():GetUnitName())
This will print name of unit who applied modifier
Some functions like AddNewModifier have in args things like caster | nil. It means you can pass nil or caster, but due to how dota made there are list of things that you just should remember. For example passing nil to caster causes instant crash at valve servers in past (might be fixed already)
timid spoke
damn! okay
its like doing UNIT.dosomething()
but instead of unit, its a function that returns the unit instead
Unit().DoSomething() ?
lost mirage
: in lua is syntax sugar for .
target:AddNewModifier(caster, name, args) = target.AddNewModifier(target, caster, name, args)
First arg for . syntax is value of self
timid spoke
why?!
it makes less sense to me that you need something behind the function for the function to work.
lost mirage
If you find all that annoyning or hard to understand you can try check typescript. Typescript is way closer to c# than lua and might be easier for you
lost mirage
There are typescript tutorials for beginner at moddota site
timid spoke
its okay, I wanted to specifically learn a new language
i've only used c++ and c# before
so lua is a bit of a different style of coding
timid spoke
: in lua is syntax sugar for .
target:AddNewModifier(caster, name, args) = targe...
This makes so much more sense now, Thank you!!
lost mirage
It also have type checking compared to lua so it makes big projects supporting is way easier, but thats up to you
timid spoke
👍
lost mirage
You can even CDOTA_BaseNPC.AddNewModifier(target, caster, name, args), but i suggest you just use regular : syntax until you understand all that
timid spoke
alright = )
vagrant hearthBOT
Found 1 function for StartIntervalThink
lost mirage
There is also another thing to be aware related to dota: nil and null. nil means no reference to something in lua and null means you have reference in lua, but object was deleted in c++
For example when unit dies after certain time he will be null because he was deleted from memory in c++, but in lua you can still have reference to it. Any api methods calls for null object will fail with error in console
timid spoke
oh
last frost
I guess duration is the only real thing needed for your modifier
To clarify, you can pass variables from your ability to your modifier using this table. For example, think about Windranger's ult, where she gains bonus attack speed and "walk and fire" on a specific target - the modifier needs to know which target is the one that is should trigger the bonuses. You can pass the variable this way. Note that this table can only hold primitives: strings, booleans and numbers, and only the server side of the modifier will be aware of those values.
last frost
in c#
foreach(item_name in name_of_collection){
}
Same for Typescript.
for (let enemy of enemies) {
// do something
}
But duration is not being used in the modifier by the scripter (ABILITY SCRIPT)
last frost
lua is looks so ugly!
Only if there was an alternative that we could use instead of lua. Oh well :p
last frost
But duration is not being used in the modifier by the scripter (ABILITY SCRIPT)
Correct. Duration is the only common variable used by Valve to determine actual modifier duration.
last frost
its okay, I wanted to specifically learn a new language
But Typescript is a new language for you then, I don't understand that argument
timid spoke
😠
last frost
Am I wrong? You complained about lua's structure and lack of type checks 5 times in this thread alone
timid spoke
ur not wrong :<
last frost
So seems like you have a lot of experience with typed languages, you are clearly someone who can handle strict languages, and understand the strength of typed languages
But still you force yourself to use the method that will piss you off because you will have a ton of errors in your code during runtime
I just don't understand why
timid spoke
idk either! 😭
But im too lazy to set up type script 😦
then it would also mean I need to learn type script, but I just wanna mod dota
last frost
It's all handled, all you need is to install NodeJS, download moddota's Typescript template and run npm install in whichever code editor you're using
That's about it
timid spoke
I'll probably eventually come round to it
last frost
then it would also mean I need to learn type script, but I just wanna mod dota
You either learn lua or Typescript, and Typescript is much closer to what you already know
timid spoke
Are there any guides for general purpose things in custom games?
Like changing maps and stuff?
or like, giving each player auto levelled spells.
last frost
Yes
timid spoke
or like, positioning players through a teleporter?
last frost
moddota.com has a lot of guides
timid spoke
last frost
Yes, there are other guides in the other sections
timid spoke
is it possible to change maps?
last frost
Yes, it was done in Aghs Lab 1 and 2
last frost
All events are done in lua by Valve and you can look at all the non-ability code. Look at the folder dota_addons/aghanim for the project
Note that they replaced aghs lab 1's code with 2's. Still should cover most of what you need
timid spoke
@last frost have u released any custom games?
last frost
I've been a major part of some, yes
last frost
Dota IMBA is the major one I was working on
