Modifying Devour and Flamestrike

1. I've been trying to make a hero-version of Devour like ToB has. There seems to be few problems with turning normal unit skills into hero skills but for some reason I have a problem: every time I try to learn my new Devour, only modified into a 3 lvl hero skill, the game crashes when I put a point into it. Do others have some similar problems and found a work around or am I having bad luck?

2. I'm also trying to modify Flamestrike in one of two ways to make it "faster" (impatient Bloodmage):
-Reducing the damage/cooldown/mana so it can be cast more often. This works but seems really weak after halving the values.
-Changing it so it does instant damage. Instead of harming the enemy over time it goes BOOM! and hits all at once. This could work but I'm really confused by the way the intervals work. Maybe it would be easier to modify a different spell and give it the Flamestrike graphics?

I've tried making Devour a Hero skill, it also crashed, I figured that devour is just such a strange skill that it wouldn't work for heroes.

the Devour ability also requires the Devour Cargo ability, if you add that from the list to the unit you shouldn't have any problem.

Is there a way to unload a unit that has been Devoured?

No, Devour blocks unloading. The Devour Cargo ability is actually what does the damage to the unit, not Devour itself, if I recall correctly, so your editting might be a little more tricky than anticipated.

It was a crazy idea anyway... I had a dream about turning a tank into an "ambulance" where it could Devour allied units to heal them (probably by using a negative damage for Devour Cargo). The problem is how to get them out once they are healed.

Do it with Transport Loading maybe? That way you could still unload them (make sure to add cargo still), and use a trigger that adds, say, a custom item effect to the unit while it's loaded of regen+50 or something, then have another trigger that removes the item effect when the unit it unloaded.

Just a thought.

Good thought, but normal Cargo loading doesn't let you load other's units, does it? That's why I figured Devour would be a better base, since it targets other's units anyway.

It lets you load with Shared Unit Control, there must be a workaround of some kind.

I thought units got paused when they were loaded into transports.

You could always just use devour and when it kills the unit, have a new unit placed of the same type.

well this is just a thought, perhaps a dumb one... but, if transporting isnt worknig for you, why not just make a mess of triggers to heal the unit.. such as..

make the ambulance have an attack, but only doing 1 damage, or lower if possible... then make triggers that move the unit that is "attacked" by an ambulance to some region (say in the bottom right corner of your map, out of the way). Any unit in that region has a life regen of +50, for example, and to get OUT of that region, the player types "return" or something and is instantly back at the ambulance... will that suffice?