(solved) projectile motion formula in zcript

[Jekyll Grim Payne]

I was looking at the projectile motion formula and thinking of how I could covert that to ZScript: I need to thrust an object horizontally and vertically to make it cover a specific distance. However, I don't have a lot of experience with these formulas, and it seems to always be concerned with the pitch of the motion. As far as I know, I can't directly set the pitch of a thrust, only horizontal and vertical velocities, and with that I don't know how I can set the pitch.

Could anyone help?

[Apeirogon]

vel.z = cos(pitch) * speed;
No?

[Graf Zahl]

Velocity is a 3-dimensional vector which you can set in any way you like. The standard math looks so complicated because it needs to start from a 2D vector and transform that to a 3D vector by factoring in the pitch.

Of course, if you have a 3D start pos and a 3D end pos it all becomes quite simple

vel = (endpos - startpos).Unit() * speed

So, before giving you any further advice you have to explain what values you start with - because that ultimately determines what needs to be done.

[Cherno]

I had to find a function for a monster throwing grenades in the past and this is what gives good results:

horizontal speed: distance / 40
vertical speed: 6
spawn height of projectile: 36
This works nicely for a grenade, it gets thrown in a nice arc and lands more or less at the spot you want (not taking into account things like bouncing).

[Jekyll Grim Payne]

So, before giving you any further advice you have to explain what values you start with - because that ultimately determines what needs to be done.

It's about a reverse gibbing animation where a gib has to fly back to its "target", i.e. the monster that initially spawned it. The gib is facing its target, and for now I'm designing it for a case when they have the same height, but ideally it should work for when they're at different heights, since the gib could have been thrown farther than the main body. I'd like it to be thrown at about 45 degrees and reach the main body within 40 tics or so.

[Jekyll Grim Payne]

Thanks to a huge help from Gutawer, the following formula is now working:

Code: Select all

virtual void FlyBack() {
	if (!target)
		return;
	bFLATSPRITE = false;
	bNOGRAVITY = false;
	bNOINTERACTION = false;
	bRELATIVETOFLOOR = false;
	bTHRUACTORS = true;
	gravity = 1.0;
	A_FaceTarget();
	
	double dist = Distance2D(target);							//horizontal distance to target
	double vdisp = target.pos.z - pos.z + frandom(8,32);		//height difference between this object and target + randomized height
	double ftime = 20;											//time of flight
	
	double vvel = (vdisp + 0.5 * ftime*ftime) / ftime;
	double hvel = dist / ftime;
	
	Thrust(hvel,angle);
	vel.z = vvel;
	}

[Razumen]

Hey, thanks for this equation!
I'm trying to convert your solution into ACS for my map, and I've got it working, but I can't get it to work if the target changes position vertically.
What am I missing here? I really suck at math, and after hours of fiddling with it, my brain is fried at this point lol.

Here's the code so far:

Code: Select all

//TID0 is the target, TID671 the shooter

int dist = (playerd2d)>>16;   //horizontal distance to target, calculated by the function below
int vdisp = (GetActorZ(0) - GetActorZ(671))>>16;   //height difference between the spawnspot and the target

int ftime = 10;   //time of flight, seems to break at higher numbers
int vvel = ((vdisp + 0.5 * ftime*ftime) / ftime)>>16;   //Vertical speed
int hvel = dist / ftime;   //Horizontal speed
//Thrust(hvel,angle);     //Don't think I need these two
//vel.z = vvel;

while (shotcount<shots)
{
    SpawnProjectile (671, "Fireball", shotangle>>8, hvel, vvel, 1, 0);
    shotcount++;
    Delay (firerate);
}


function int distance2d (int tid1, int tid2)
{
    int y = getactory(tid1) - getactory(tid2);
    int x = getactorx(tid1) - getactorx(tid2);
    int len = VectorLength (x, y);
    return len;
}