[Idea]Acquisition Range = Variable Attack Range

I've countless times seen threads go up where people ask politely (or not so politely) how create a system that allows them to both increase and decrease the range of a unit, either through abilities or triggers, and the answer is always, always, "can't be done"

However, I just saw an instresting trigger, namely And I've also heard that a unit cannot attack any further than it's AC range. So, clearly, this trigger would allows us to give our unit a variable range, but I want to know what you think about this.

I think you need to actually test things before posting.

That is to say that it doesn't work.

Acquisition range is like the guard range, is it not? If your weapon range was 2000, and your acq range only 700, the unit will only automatically attack something once it comes within 700, but will keep firing until the target reaches range 2000.

That's the way I understand it, at least.

Acquisition range is the range a unit must be within for an inactive unit to acquire it automatically for an attack. if your acquisition range is 500 and your attack range is 1200, you can only attack within a range of 500. Unfortunately, this doesn't translate over to that trigger effectively.

That's how it works, at least if you set it with triggers. The acquisition range you set in the object editor, however, limits the attack range of the unit entirely. Whitout testing anything, MCV assumed that this was true for the acquisition range modified with triggers as well, which is a dangerous assumption when it comes to Blizzard's coding.

Guess it serves me right to now find out that trigges does squat, eh?

Seems it doesn't actually affect the acquisition range at all.

So at risk of sounding stupid and unleashing a Blizz-bashing flame attack: why include the trigger if it has no discernible effect?

If it does work, and based on what Anitarf said:

1) unit has attack range of 1000
2) unit has acq range set to 1000 in obj editor
3) the trigger action in question is used to reduce the acq range to say 500, when unit is constructed
4) unit has a toggle ability that calls a trigger to set the acq range back up to 1000, or down to 500 again

Result: unit can switch between long-range and short-range attack with the use of the ability and attached trigger.

Possible?

Hmm, not too hijack your thread but..

How is attack range calculated anyway?.
Assume a unit has 48 collision size, does its attack range say 200 count in the collision to become 248?

I have always assumed that it simply measured from the centre of the units in question. Hence 'melee' range is 100.

Hmm it seems from my testing that collision size does affect attack range.

Could someone plz confirm this.

Unfortunately, aquisition range doesn't affect a unit's actual range; so ordering it to attack from 2000 away, even if its aquisition range was 700 would still make it attack.

Post your test!

It might have an effect for melee-range attacks (So a short-range melee hero can hit a big unit in melee), but I think it does not impact the range for ranged units.

I only tested with melee units. Although i have a hunch too it has no effect on range.

Heres the Tmap, both ancients have the same attack range.
Ancient of War has 250 collision
Ancient of Lore has 32 collision.