Calculating Missile Distance

Calculating Missile Distance

Description: How to calculate exact missile distances for missile with a static velocity by Demon9ne

Categories: Tutorials (1.1x) - Skill Mechanics


Relevant Files:
missiles.txt
skillcalc.txt
skilldesc.txt
radius.png (attached below)

Synopsis:

Below is the method to use to exactly calculate the distance (the range or radius in yards) of missiles with a static velocity and display it correctly in your skill descriptions. Missiles fitting this criteria have a positive Vel and Range, and lack acceleration in missiles.txt. They may or may not have a LevRange.

The Distance Formula:

Yards = Velocity * Range / Screenlength

Velocity (missiles.txt Vel) is the distance in pixels a missile travels per frame (1/25th of a second).
Range (missiles.txt Range) is the existence of a missile, in frames.
Screenlength is the amount of yards on screen, diagonally. This is always 32 (refer to radius.png).

Yards vs. Tiles/Subtiles:

Subtiles = Yards * 2 / 3

Units in Diablo 2, whether the player, an enemy, or a missile, occupy an isometric space in subtiles (missiles.txt: Size, monstats.txt: SizeX/SizeY). The player occupies a space with a sizeX and sizeY of 2, as seen in radius.png.

Subtiles are 16px vertical x 32px horizontal; Blizzard refered to subtiles as 'squares' in some places.
Yards are 24px vertical x 48px horizontal; according to the Arreat Summit and confirmed by the math here and radius.png.
Tiles are 80px vertical x 160px horizontal; note that the 80th pixel exists, but does not actually display on screen.

Skilldesc.txt - Relevant Desclines:

Descline 19: S2S1(C1*2/3)(StrSkill26)
If you've read the math above, you're probably wondering why Descline 19's formula to calculate subtiles is followed by the string index displaying ' yards'. There is a possibility that Blizzard corrected for this using missile acceleration or math inside the skill or missile functions, and there is also a possibility that every vanilla skill using this descline has the incorrect distance displayed. This descline should be using the string index displaying ' squares', aka StrSkill 19. Note the number 19 appearing twice; probably not a coincidence.

Descline 37: S2S1(C1*1/3)(StrSkill26)
This descline, which should also end in ' squares', calculates distance in subtiles when C1 points to a distance in half-subtiles, such as in the case of Corpse Explosion.

Descline 3: S1C1S2
This descline has no math or text hiding behind it and makes a good replacement for either of the two desclines above.

Skilldesc.txt and String.tbl - Displaying Distance in Skill Descriptions:

Option 1: Distance in Yards
Display: arrow range: 30 yards
descmissile1: arrow [missiles.txt: Missile, used in all the examples below, for simplicity.]
desclineX / dscXlineX: 19 [Display: S2S1(C1*2/3)(StrSkill26)]
S1: StrSkill56 [This vanilla string index in string.tbl will add 'range: ' to the skill description.]
S2: (string index) [Create a new string index in patchstring.tbl to add 'arrow ' to the skill description.]
C1: (24 * m1rn / 32) * 150 / 100 [24 is missiles.txt: Vel, m1rn refers to the Range and LevRange of descmissile1, 32 is screenlength. The rest of the formula here nullifies the descline's math to ensure a distance correctly displayed in yards rather than subtiles.]
C2: (empty/notes) [This calc is not read by descline 19, so you can leave it blank or enter a note about your formula here, if you prefer.]

Option 2: Distance in Yards (Using 1 String Index)
Display: radius: 30 yards
descmissile1: arrow [As in Option 1.]
desclineX / dscXlineX: 19 [As in Option 1.]
S1: StrSkill18 [This vanilla string index in string.tbl will add 'radius: ' to the skill description.]
S2: blank [This vanilla string index in string.tbl will add nothing to the skill description.]
C1: (24 * m1rn / 32) * 150 / 100 [As in Option 1.]
C2: (empty/notes) [As in Option 1.]

Option 3: Distance in Subtiles
Display: arrow range: 20 squares
descmissile1: arrow [As in Option 1.]
desclineX / dscXlineX: 19 [As in Option 1.]
S1: StrSkill56 [This vanilla string index in string.tbl will add 'range: ' to the skill description.]
S2: (string index) [Create a new string index in patchstring.tbl to add 'arrow ' to the skill description.]
C1: 24 * m1rn / 32 [As in Option 1, except utilizing the formula of the descline.]
C2: (empty/notes) [As in Option 1.]
StrSkill26 in String.tbl: ' squares' [Change this string to display subtiles correctly. This changes every occurance of descline 19 and 37.]
StrSkill19 in String.tbl: ' yards' [To display distance in yards elsewhere, change this string for future use. It is not used in the vanilla game and will not impact any text if changed.]

Option 4: Distance in Screen Percentage
Display: range: 93% of screen
descmissile1: arrow [As in Option 1.]
desclineX / dscXlineX: 3 [Display: S1C1S2]
S1: StrSkill56 [This vanilla string index in string.tbl will add 'range: ' to the skill description.]
S2: (string index) [Create a new string index in patchstring.tbl to add '% of screen' to the skill description.]
C1: 24 * m1rn * 100 / 1024 [As in Option 1, except calculating screenlength by a percentage.]
C2: (empty/notes) [As in Option 1.]

Notes:

• Changing a C1 distance calc to m1rn * velocity / 32 (in that order, with m1rn first in the formula) will bug your math.
• Some skills have a hardcoded range. The Barbarian's Howl skill is an example, in which the radius is always a full screen (or perhaps higher). In such a situation, you can choose to use descline 19 with C1: Vel + 48 (in the dsc2lineX section, to avoid the current/next level display) to always show a radius of 32+ yards. You could also use descline 18 with a new string index to show only 'full screen radius'.

[img=https://d2mods.info/forum/download/file.php?id=363][/img]

Credits:

Nefarius and Brother Laz (missiles.txt file guide)
RicFaith (skilldesc.txt file guide)
Paul Siramy (radius.png)
Onyx (tile/subtile information)
RedHavoc (tile/subtile information)

Edit 1: Added a final note about possible hardcoded range and a credit I missed.
Edit 2: Rewrote the majority of the tutorial to include a multitude of corrections.

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[url=https://d2mods.info/forum/kb/viewarticle?a=463&sid=11b3cd6e7f557837040fbc108aabd752]Knowledge Base - Calculating Missile Distance[/url]