Interesting Idea For Spirit Guide effect

[Zechnophobe]

See if you follow me here.

Spirit Guide
Strength 0
Move 2
Has "Enhance Unit"
Permanent invisibility.

Enhance unit ability
Works basically the same as as a Great General, in that it gives experience to units in the stack. However, in this case the XP given is equal to the caster's XP. Units that receive XP in this fashion gain the "Guided" promotion, which prevents them from getting more XP in the future.

A spirit guide unit is created when a unit with the spirit guide promotion dies. It has XP equal to half the unit that died to create it. You then move it to a tile with units you want to enhance, and then pop it to give those units XP.

This removes the current random implementation, but doesn't require complicated code trying to find 'the closest unit'.

 

[abculatter2]

I think this would be a big improvement over the current system, also maybe give it flying?

 

[Pyr0mancer]

I dunno about flying, since that negates road effects, which can be annoying. But Waterwalking/can enter impassable terrain really doesn't fit, so... meh. Flying it is.

 

[Blackmantle]

I don't think its utterly necessary to even prevent a unit from beeing guided more than once. Its still "just" one unit.

I do like that proposal.

But very important question: Whould the AI know how to use it?

 

[abculatter2]

I don't think its utterly necessary to even prevent a unit from beeing guided more than once. Its still "just" one unit.

I do like that proposal.

But very important question: Whould the AI know how to use it?

The AI doesn't know how to use anything. The team will make it know later, weather it wants to or not.

 

[Blackmantle]

Well my choice of words might not have been clear enough and i left out: if the Team whould try to teach it as in: Whould it be to much fuss to code. Not everything can be taught sensibly.

Otherwise Lanun whouldn't have lost their ability to terraform with coves.

 

[MisterBenn]

But very important question: Whould the AI know how to use it?

The easiest thing to do would be to give this "spirit" unit an ability for the AI to use, which gives the experience to the nearest / random unit in a similar way to how it works now. The best of both worlds!

 

[Blackmantle]

And whould help the player as well in time and micro. But that sounds harder codewise. Otherwise you whouldn't need such a unit in the first place after all.

 

[MagisterCultuum]

You know, I'm thinking that the AI would actually have no problem using Spirit Guides if they used the Great General attachment mechanic, if the <iLeaderExperience> tag's value could be altered in python. I don't know how to do that, but I'm sure Xienwolf wouldn't have much trouble with it. The Lifeparks themselves would be created a <PythonPostCombatLost> function, which would require letting promotions have these functions, as they can in FF. Maybe someone should try to convince Vehem to use Spirit Guides of this type in FF.


The "guide" unit ( the old lifespark graphics might be good for this) would also appear as part of the graphic of the unit to which it was joined, which could be good.

 

[Seenyen]

I think it would be better if the spirits were guided to some sort of building in a city (this building could maybe give the spirit guide promotion to units built here). When a unit with the spirit guide promotion dies, its soul could return to the nearest town with the building, and any unit in the city could cast "Infuse Spirit" or something, and gain the exp.