CODEWITHSUNDEEP
lua2dgame-physics
theRemix
theRemix

Reputation: 93

Character Movement with equal maximum speeds in all directions using analog gamepad controls

I want to move my character in any direction with an analog gamepad input in the same maximum constant speed.

Typically for 8 directional movement, I would just multiply the player's speed by a constant based on the type of direction.

ORTHOGONAL_SPEED = 2
DIAGONAL_SPEED = 1.414

what I have is a decimal of the current axes from the analog input.

joy1_axisDir1 = a number between -1(left) and 1(right)
joy1_axisDir2 = a number between -1(up) and 1(down)

this what I have now to move the character around the screen.

Lua code:

if joy1_axisDir1 ~= 0 then
  player.x = player.x + (player.move_speed * joy1_axisDir1)
end
if joy1_axisDir2 ~= 0 then
  player.y = player.y + (player.move_speed * joy1_axisDir2)
end

This results in diagonal movement being noticeably faster than in any other direction.

How do I factor in the direction to limit the player's move speed?

Upvotes: 1

Views: 1648

Answers (1)

Sion Sheevok
Sion Sheevok

Reputation: 4217

Use the Pythagorean theorem to find the magnitude of your velocity vector, divide your X and Y velocities by that magnitude, then multiply each by the movement speed you want.

This is basic vector mathematics. You are normalizing a vector then multiplying it by a scalar to get a vector with the magnitude of that scalar and the direction of the original vector.

Upvotes: 2

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