Improvement of concept and features

[tdauth]

Concept:

• What happens if I kill an inverted unit and go forward again? Is it missing forever? In the movie it seems that when the villian is killed in the past, it is not his latest time line?
• Multiplayer: There has always to be one protagonist which controls the current time direction (player 1). If there are multiple players then they can only control units going in the same direction as the protagonist and are at a point where the time has not been defined yet. Other than that we could allow special units to be changing their time line and let only NPCs or past versions of the heroes have a fixed time line.
• There could be some skill to invert stuff while running around which would make the game more fun. Something like an inversion gun?

Missing features of time inversion:

• Reversing the animations, special effects and missiles. This probably needs modified wc3 models.
• Reversing revivals. It will only be possible for heroes or with a dummy spell of resurrection. What about buildings and destructibles?
• Reverse the sky/sun. Is it possible to make the time go backwards? There is the native 'SetTimeOfDay', so we can set it in the periodic trigger.
• Reverse picking up and using items.
• Reverse ingame sounds. This would require that all sounds are played manually and a native to play a sound backwards. Probably not possible, so add reversed files?
• asked on hive: https://www.hiveworkshop.com/threads/reverse-stuff.328500/

Optimizing the time line updates:

• Store only change events on units not every position/facing etc.
• Add a flag or list check if any change event happened at all.
• If no change event happened to a unit, we don't have to call any function.

Custom models:

• for the inversion machine: https://i.redd.it/f97ykud0yhe41.jpg
• cars:
• https://www.hiveworkshop.com/threads/armored-car.298629/#resource-74538
• https://www.hiveworkshop.com/threads/soviet-car.219538/#resource-33052
• https://www.hiveworkshop.com/threads/police-car.112571/#resource-26377
• https://www.hiveworkshop.com/threads/warcraft_car.235411/#resource-34558
• https://www.hiveworkshop.com/threads/vette.47681/#resource-20459
• https://www.hiveworkshop.com/threads/truck.98514/#resource-25795
• https://www.hiveworkshop.com/threads/truck.98512/#resource-25794
• https://www.hiveworkshop.com/threads/ambulance.112740/#resource-26389
• weapons: ???

[tdauth]

Some example code on the change events:

interface ChangeEvent
    public method isDifferent takes ChangeEvent changeEvent returns boolean
    public method onChange takes nothing returns nothing
    public method restore takes nothing returns nothing
endinterface

struct ChangeEventUnit extends ChangeEvent
    private unit whichUnit

    public method getUnit takes nothing returns unit
        return whichUnit
    endmethod

    public stub method onChange takes nothing returns nothing
    endmethod

    public stub method restore takes nothing returns nothing
    endmethod
endstruct

struct ChangeEventUnitPosition extends ChangeEventUnit
    private real x
    private real y

    public stub method onChange takes nothing returns nothing
        set this.x = GetUnitX(this.getUnit())
        set this.y = GetUnitX(this.getUnit())
    endmethod

    public stub method restore takes nothing returns nothing
        call SetUnitX(getUnit(), this.x)
        call SetUnitY(getUnit(), this.y)
    endmethod

endstruct

struct ChangeEventUnitFacing extends ChangeEventUnit
    private real facing

    public stub method onChange takes nothing returns nothing
        set this.facing = GetUnitFacing(this.getUnit())
    endmethod

    public stub method restore takes nothing returns nothing
        call SetUnitFacing(this.getUnit(), this.facing)
    endmethod

endstruct

struct ChangeEventUnitHp extends ChangeEventUnit
    private real hp

    public stub method onChange takes nothing returns nothing
        set this.hp = GetUnitLife(this.getUnit())
    endmethod

    public stub method restore takes nothing returns nothing
        call SetUnitLife(this.getUnit())
    endmethod

endstruct

struct ChangeEventUnitMana extends ChangeEventUnit
    private real mana

    public stub method onChange takes nothing returns nothing
        set this.mana = GetUnitMana(this.getUnit())
    endmethod

    public stub method restore takes nothing returns nothing
        call SetUnitMana(this.getUnit())
    endmethod

endstruct

struct ChangeEventUnitDeath extends ChangeEventUnit

    public stub method onChange takes nothing returns nothing
        call KillUnit(this.getUnit())
    endmethod

    public stub method restore takes nothing returns nothing
        // TODO ressurrect with dummy spell
    endmethod

endstruct

struct TimeFrame
    ChangeEvent array changeEvents[100]
    integer latestChangeEventIndex

    public method onChange takes nothing returns nothing
        local integer i = 0
        loop
            exitwhen (i == latestChangeEventIndex)
            call this.changeEvents[i].onChange()
            set i = i + 1
        endloop
    endmethod

    public method restore takes nothing returns nothing
        local integer i = 0
        loop
            exitwhen (i == latestChangeEventIndex)
            call this.changeEvents[i].restore()
            set i = i + 1
        endloop
    endmethod

    public method addChangeEvent takes ChangeEvent changeEvent returns integer
        call this.changeEvents[this.latestChangeEventIndex] = changeEvent
        set this.latestChangeEventIndex = this.latestChangeEventIndex + 1
    endmethod

    public method update takes nothing returns nothing
        local integer i = 0
        loop
            exitwhen (i == 100)
            call this.changeEvents[i]
            set i = i + 1
        endloop
    endmethod

endstruct

// TODO get unit orders and store events until they stop or die

function TriggerFunctionOrderStop takes nothing returns nothing
    call GroupRemove(movingUnits, GetTriggerUnit()
endfunction

function TriggerFunctionOrderMove takes nothing returns nothing
    call GroupAdd(movingUnits, GetTriggerUnit()
endfunction

[tdauth]

Most of the changes are done:

• Store only change events.
• Invert time, picking up items, revivals, animations

Missing invert stuff:

• Missiles/hit special effects (are there any?)
• Death sounds and death animations (on revival)

Concept of changing events of an inverted object:

• The object is currently restored and cannot be controlled (too bad, inverted actions would be fun too! We could catch orders and invert actions!).
• The object can be changed although being restored. For example, it could be killed. If it is killed, its timeline has to be overruled.
• Some events cannot be restored since items disappear etc. We need some isPossiblecheck before restoring an event.
• When inverting time it would be fun if objects would move forward again automatically but could be controlled.
• We could introduce store instead of onChange and introduce the parameter inverted for the method restore, so we can restore events in both directions.
• Change the name of the method ìsInvertedtoisForward` because it doesnt mean the object is inverted but in which time direction it goes.
• Add overruling support for inverted objects. Just record everything what happens and alter the stored events. Add to the store method of the unit death event a flush call which flushes further events or add something like isFatal or allowsNoFurtherChanges.
• Catch orders of inverted objects and handle them differently for a later support of ordering inverted stuff. For example, the attack order leads to healing units. Note that a replay should look like the unit has been shot before???

[tdauth]

Further thoughts on interactions with inverted objects: When an inverted unit walks over a landmine it would mean in the movie that the landmine has exploded before and now should see the explosion in reverse. This is because events in the movie have already happened from the perspective of inverted objects but will still happen from the perspective on non-inverted objects.

In our map one can change events, so it is possible to kill/destroy inverted objects and to change their timeline. This allows more interesting scenarios. You can kill inverted units and prevent their actions by placing mines on their predefined path.