I’m surprised there are zero optimizations done in latest patch. Seems the development budget for wc3 is very low since there are hundreds of optimizations that could easily be done to reduce file size and memory usage, fix crashes and disconnects and improve fps and loading times. When it comes to the single player campaigns it seems they have been abandoned, but Blizzard should at least do general optimizations which affect all maps.
-Delete unused Magic Defense ability from human folder object editor.
-Delete unused Cargo Hold (Tank) from human folder in object editor.
-Delete unused Disenchant (Old) from orc folder in object editor.
-Undead folder in abilities tab in object editor has 3 different Frost Attack passive abilities. One of them is not being used at all and should be deleted.
-Delete upgrades hyppogryph taming, skeletal longevity and Glyph of Ultravision (Upgrade) in upgrades tab in object editor since they are unused (already researched, have been replaced…), but keep the icons.
-Delete unused aura of blight buffs/effects and ability, but keep the art.
With a little more effort you can find a lot more unused junk which can be safely deleted to help optimize and clean up the game.
It is a bad idea to remove abilities, units, and upgrades from this game.
Many custom games rely on copying or modifying abilities, upgrades, units, etc. If you delete something that a custom game is using, then you will just break that game.
Your first paragraph is very impressive
But all the specific suggestions you have given are about deleting unused content, which can indeed reduce the size of the game, but it does not help with repair and optimization. My friend upstairs said that this will cause other maps that have used these contents to crash, so your suggestions will only bring more problems
However, I support your first paragraph and would appreciate any other suggestions besides deletion
Ensnare ability has 3 different versions. 1 used by raider, 1 by creeps and 1 by naga myrmidon. The ensnare used by naga should be deleted and naga mymidon should be given the raider ensnare which would not only optimzie the game but also make it balanced for maps which use naga units.
Another example is: Unit inventory ability has 4 different versions, one for each race. Just merge them into 1. Keep each upgrade, one for each race, but make each upgrade use the same unit inventory ability.
The object editor is bloated. Making new maps is a chore due to how poorly managed and optimized the game and world editor are.
Blizzard has released many updates which broke custom maps, for instance with unit portraits, but it’s really easy to fix that for your own maps. You shouldn’t be afraid to improve the game just because some abandoned project will be broken that nobody plays. At least we would get some optimizations and the few custom maps affected would be fixed within a week. The problem is they let it get out of hand like this in the first place, if they managed and optimized things from the beginning properly it would have been the best, instead of try to clean up now afterwards.
Myrmidons are 4-supply units, so it makes sense for them to have their own version of Ensnare.
I don’t see a good reason to combine the upgrades either.
Abilities do not work that way. If an ability has multiple tech-tree dependencies, then all dependencies must be researched in order to activate the ability.
The Ensnare that used by Raider requires researching an Orc-tech to enable, therefore Myrmidon cannot use it by default. Ultimately, it still requires a separate version for Myrmidon.
Also, I don’t see why those abilities should be removed at the risk of making more custom maps run error and being attacked by more mapmakers and players just because they aren’t being used in general melee.