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Physics inconsistent even when using FixedUpdate() or Time.DeltaTime()

I want to move a rigidBody2D for a fixed amount of time with a fixed amount of velocity, when the player presses a button. I am calling the method in FixedUpdate() and the results are not consistent. Sometimes the rigidBody will travel more and sometimes less (Here is a relevant part of my code how i went about do this)
void Update()
{
GetPlayerInput();
}
private void FixedUpdate()
{
GroundCheck();
ApplayNormalPlayerMovement();
ApplyMove(); // This is the method of interest - I tried calling this in Update() with Time.DeltaTime - still inconsistent results.
MoveCooldownCounter(); // I tried calling this in Update() - inconsistent results also
}
IEnumerator MoveRB()
{
savedVelocityX = rb.velocity.x;
rb.gravityScale = 0;
savedXinput = xInput;
while (moveTimer >= 0)
{
if (xInput != 0)
xInput = 0;
cc.sharedMaterial = noFriction;
if (facingRight)
{
rb.velocity = new Vector2(moveSpeed, .0f); // I tried multiplying the moveSpeed by Time.DeltaTime and FixedDeltaTime - still inconsistent results.
} else
{
rb.velocity = new Vector2(-moveSpeed, .0f);
}
moveTimer -= Time.fixedDeltaTime;
yield return null;
}
moveTimer= moveDuration;
rb.gravityScale = gravity;
rb.velocity = new Vector2 (savedVelocityX, .0f);
xInput = savedXinput;
moveCooldownInternal -= Time.deltaTime; // I tried changing this to a specific float - still inconsistent results in physics..
}
private void MoveCooldownCounter()
{
if (moveCooldownInternal != moveCooldown)
{
moveCooldownInternal -= Time.deltaTime;
if (moveCooldownInternal <= 0)
{
moveCooldownInternal = moveCooldown;
}
if (moveCooldownInternal == moveCooldown && isGrounded)
canMove = true;
}
}
private void ApplyMove()
{
if (b_Fire3 && canMove)
{
StartCoroutine("MoveRB");
canMove= false;
}
}
Side note: right now i experience player input loss on occasions because i call this ApplyMove() in FixedUpdate() (will have to find a workaround for that as well - naturally if I can call the ApplyMove in Update() and get consistent results than this issue would be fixed).
Pleas excise my newbiness, i am trying to learn :)
Thank you in advance!
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Unity is a game engine. All game engines are based on the game loop - however Unity somewhat hides if from you, behind the 3 Update functions.
Not all parts are equally important. Drawing is generally skipped when the GPU is not ready or the FPS are capped. And Drawing and physics are generally calculated independantly of one another (unless you really messed up the development).
With Physics and Animations, you generally want to stuff to be consistent to the Game Tick Counter, not real time. All movement of game pieces and all animation should count in game ticks. Real Time is a nice figure and all, but ticks can have wildly different processing times. Especially since the CPU side drawing work also has to run in the same thread.
Just figure out your maximum ticks/second. And if you want to run something to run for "roughly" 10 ingame seconds, you multiply that value. It does not mater if the game on this machine needs 2 seconds for 200 ticks or 2 minutes for 200 ticks - with the number of ticks, the results will be consistent (unless the math itself is inprecise, like floating point math).

If it's not multiplayer game, it does not have to be hackproof and thus easiest fix is to capture the first frame of the button pressed and apply the force only on that frame, because of that we have to capture input on the Update function and also there immadietly apply the force even though it's suggested to do physics stuff in fixed update, but if you use delta time in update function for calculation it should be fine!
Now I think you know how to do that but I'll write it anyway we can either use apply force or set the velocity,
void Update()
{
if(Input.GetKeyDown("w"))
rb.velocity = new Vector2(rb.velocity.x, rb.velocity.y + 5f*Time.deltaTime);
}
Note: I didn't test it but it should be allright since GetKeyDown returns true only on the first frame when the button was pressed,
If it was just GetKey and in case of jump we would check the grounding of player, we could be during jump and still be grounded on the second frame even if we jumped because of not really precise ground checking.
PS. Use fixedDeltaTime in fixedUpdate method!

Counting a full rotation with a circular drive

I've been raking my brain for the last day on how to calculate a full rotation with how to count a full rotation of an object along the X axis thats using the base circular drive from SteamVR.
I thought a simple 3d cube, with the mesh turned off in the the path of the rotation with collision code on it would be a barebone way of doing it, but it doesn't even seem to be registering the detection when the object hits the placed cubes, and i know its not because of me being stupid, as its recycled code from a working part of the project.
Below i have a small piece of code that basically detects when the object has reached the end of the rotation, and then increments the Count by one.
My main problem is that sometimes it manages to clock more than once, and if you can find the right spot, you can just keep it there and it'll keep on adding the count up by. Im wondering how i can stop it and increment only by one, until another full rotation has been made?
EDIT: to be more clear in case there is any confusion, Once the angle is clocked in between 359 and 360, i want it to increment once, whereas currently if you get the angle to sit anywhere in between 359-360 it will carry on adding one to the rotation count, despite no full rotation having been made, so im trying to figure out how to make my code only increment once, and once it does increment once it resets the position to zero, so therefore no more Increments can happen. It's a crank mechanism in VR, along the X axis.
Any help is appreciated, Thanks!
float Test;
float RotationCount = 0;
// Start is called before the first frame update
void Start()
{
// Test = transform.localRotation.eulerAngles.x;
}
// Update is called once per frame
void Update()
{
if (Test > 359 && Test < 360)
{
Debug.Log("Clocked");
count();
}
else
{
// Debug.Log("Nope");
}
if (Test == 0)
{
Debug.Log("Yes");
}
Test = transform.localRotation.eulerAngles.x;
}
void count()
{
RotationCount++;
}

sometimes it manages to clock more than once, and if you can find the right spot, you can just keep it there and it'll keep on adding the count up by.
well in
if (Test > 359 && Test < 360)
{
Debug.Log("Clocked");
count();
}
what happens if your angle is e.g. 359.5?
It is very difficult to just take a current rottaion and know whether it was turned more or less than a certain angle.
I'ld rather store the last rotation, compare it to the current one and add the difference to a variable. Than if the variable exceeds 360 a full rotation was done. Since I also don't like to calculate anything with Quaternion and eulerAngles, way simplier is to use the methods provided by Vector3.
For the local rotation around X (== transform.right) I would use the angle between the current and the last transfrm.up vector.
Something like
public class RotationCheck : MonoBehaviour
{
public int RotationCount;
public float rotatedAroundX;
public Vector3 lastUp;
public UnityEvent On3TimesRotated;
private void Awake()
{
rotatedAroundX = 0;
// initialize
lastUp = transform.up;
}
private void Update()
{
var rotationDifference = Vector3.SignedAngle(transform.up, lastUp, transform.right);
rotatedAroundX += rotationDifference;
if (rotatedAroundX >= 360.0f)
{
Debug.Log("One positive rotation done", this);
RotationCount++;
rotatedAroundX -= 360.0f;
}
else if (rotatedAroundX <= -360.0f)
{
Debug.Log("One negative rotation done", this);
RotationCount--;
rotatedAroundX += 360.0f;
}
// update last rotation
lastUp = transform.up;
// check for fire the event
if (RotationCount >= 3)
{
On3TimesRotated?.Invoke();
RotationCount = 0;
}
}
}
You can use a UnityEvent to get the same thing the Button uses for onClick so you can reference callbacks there via the inspector.
BUT if you don't care about the single rotations but actually only wnat the final RotationCount >= 3 I would actually use
private void Update()
{
var rotationDifference = Vector3.SignedAngle(transform.up, lastUp, transform.right);
rotatedAroundX += rotationDifference;
RotationCount = Mathf.RoundToInt(rotatedAroundX / 360.0f);
// update last rotation
lastUp = transform.up;
// check for fire the event
if (RotationCount >= 3)
{
On3TimesRotated?.Invoke();
RotationCount = 0;
rotatedAroundX = 0;
}
}
which directly reduces the value by one if rotated under the 360 mark instead of waiting for a full negative rotation
*as you can see instead of reaching 3 the RotationCount is reset to 0. This is where the On3TimesRotated event is/would get fired.

The character can't move due to high friction

I have trouble with PhysicMaterial2D for the ground and my character. When the character doesn't move, it works as I need (both materials have friction = 1.0). But due to high friction value the character can't move.
Of course, I could use more force (AddForce()) to move the character but then it will move too quickly on other grounds that uses other materials.
How is this problem resolved in other games (i.e. many platformers)? Should I set a friction of the character's material to zero when it moves (I haven't another ideas)? Or has it more pretty solution?
P.S. I tested with higher value of the friction also but it led to the character begun to rotate on the moving.
ADDED
I tried to set boxCollider.sharedMaterial.friction = 0.0f on the movement and return back to 1.0f after the user released button BUT the character continues to move as with zero friction although in the logger I can see it's 1.0f.
private void Update()
{
if (!paused)
{
if (Input.GetMouseButtonDown(0) && !IsOverPauseButton())
{
isPressed = true;
endMovePoint = Input.mousePosition;
isWalk = GetTouchDistance() > jumpTriggerRadius;
if (!(isWalk || isJump))
{
StartCoroutine(Jump());
}
}
else if (Input.GetMouseButtonUp(0) && isPressed)
{
boxCollider.sharedMaterial.friction = 1.0f;
isPressed = false;
isWalk = false;
canFlip = true;
}
if (isWalk)
{
if (!isJump)
{
boxCollider.sharedMaterial.friction = 0.0f;
}
Walk();
}
animator.SetBool(WalkingFlag, isWalk && !isJump);
}
if (isWalk && !isJump)
{
FixSpeed();
}
Debug.Log("Friction=" + boxCollider.sharedMaterial.friction);
}

Rather than using friction, you can dampen the player's movement.
Say your player has a velocity of 10, you want the player to stop moving of it's own accord because that's what's natural.
What you would want to do is subtract an amount from your player's velocity every frame e.g.
player.velocity.x *= 0.9f;
This would set the player's x velocity to 90% of it's original velocity. Do this every frame and soon your player will stop all by itself.
If the above method does not produce the effect you desire, you can always just subtract an arbitrary value from the player's velocity (of course you must account for if the player's velocity is negative):
player.vel.x -= 1;
Both of the methods above can factor in friction if need be, simply multiply the percentage or arbitrary value by the friction coefficient plus or minus a bit to suit your needs.

Smoothly Lerp object based on button press Unity

Im creating a speedometer in Unity and I want my speedo arrow to smoothly lerp up to it's max angle based on the wither or not a button is pressed on. When the button is let go, I'd like the arrow to fall back to it's original rotation value.
However, I'm having issues trying to work out how to make my object lerp from its original position, to it's new position and back again. I've got it so when I press a button the objects jumps to a position, however, I need it to be smoother. Could someone please look over my code and point out what I need to do please?
float maxAngle = 100.0f;
float maxVel = 200.0f;
Quaternion rot0;
public float rotateValue;
// Use this for initialization
void Start ()
{
rot0 = transform.localRotation;
}
// Update is called once per frame
void Update ()
{
if(Input.GetKey(KeyCode.Space))
{
SetNeedle(rotateValue);
}
}
void SetNeedle(float vel)
{
var newAngle = vel * maxAngle / maxVel;
transform.localRotation = Quaternion.Euler(newAngle,0,0) * rot0;
float angle = Mathf.LerpAngle(minAngle, maxAngle, Time.time);
transform.eulerAngles = new Vector3(0, angle, 0);
}

From the documentation:
static float Lerp(float from, float to, float t);
Interpolates between a and b by t. t is clamped between 0 and 1.
Which means t goes from 0% to 100%. When t == 0.5f the result will be the middle angle between from to to.
Hence, if the needle needs to be moved in a smooth and constant speed, you should do:
time += Time.deltaTime; // time is a private float defined out of this method
if(time >= 1.5f) // in this example the needle takes 1.5 seconds to get to its maximum position.
time = 1.5f // this is just to avoid time growing to infinity.
float angle = Mathf.LerpAngle(from, to, time/1.5f); // time/1.5f will map the variation from 0% to 100%.
But that requires the from and to to be constant during the lerp fase.
So what you need to do is the following:
when you press Space, set time = 0, from = currentAngle and to = maxAngle; Obviously this must be done only once during the key down event.
when you release Space, set time = 0, from = currentAngle and to = 0. Also do this only once.
All right?

You should use Time.deltaTime, not Time.time. That should make it move correctly.
EDIT: deltaTime won't solve the problem alone, however. Sorry I didn't fully read your code at first.
In order to smoothly move the needle, you need to know where the needle is currently, where it needs to go, and how much time has elapsed since the last time it moved.
We know how much time has elapsed with Time.deltaTime. But your code currently doesn't take into consideration where the needle is. float angle = Mathf.LerpAngle(minAngle, maxAngle, Time.deltaTime); will always evaluate to roughly the same value, so your needle will never move beyond a tiny bit.
What you should do instead is lerp from the needle's current position towards the maxAngle.
float angle = Mathf.LerpAngle(currentAngle, maxAngle, Time.deltaTime);

XNA, smoother jumping animations

I'm trying to make jumping functionality in my Movement test. My character jumps and comes back down, but it's very choppy and not smooth at all.
What happens is he juts up to his max height, then comes down smoothly.
I can spot the problem, the for loop doesn't want to play nicely with the code. However, I don't know how to circumvent this. Is there any way to keep the button press and have him jump up nicely?
Code:
if (leftStick.Y > 0.2f && sprite.Position.Y == position.Y || isPressed(Keys.Up) == true && sprite.Position.Y == position.Y)
{
if (wasLeft == true)
{
sprite.CurrentAnimation = "JumpLeft";
}
else if (wasLeft == false)
{
sprite.CurrentAnimation = "JumpRight";
}
//This for loop is my issue, it works but it's jumpy and not smooth.
for (movement.PlayerHeight = 0; movement.PlayerHeight < movement.PlayerMaxHeight; movement.PlayerJump())
{
sprite.Position.Y -= movement.PlayerJump();
}
}
sprite.StartAnimation();
}
else
{
leftStick = NoInput(leftStick);
}
private Vector2 NoInput(Vector2 leftstick)
{
if (sprite.Position.Y < position.Y) //(movement.PlayerSpeed > 0)
{
sprite.Position.Y += movement.PlayerHeight;
movement.PlayerHeight -= movement.Player_Gravity;
//sprite.Position.Y += movement.PlayerSpeed;
//movement.PlayerSpeed -= movement.Player_Decel;
}
else
{
sprite.Position.Y = position.Y;
}
}
Movement class:
public float PlayerMaxHeight = 15f;
public float PlayerHeight = 0;
public float Player_Gravity = 0.01f;
private const float Player_Jump = 0.35f;
public float PlayerJump()
{
PlayerHeight += Player_Jump + Player_Gravity;
if (PlayerHeight > PlayerMaxHeight)
{
PlayerHeight = PlayerMaxHeight;
}
return PlayerHeight;
}

The best way to do jumping I found is to implement a property that will deal with acceleration.
A brief list of what to do:
Create a property that stores the current Y velocity.
Increment the Y velocity by a set amount each step - generally represented by a gravity property somewhere.
Increment1 the Y position by the Y velocity each step.
When you jump, simply subtract1 a said amount from the Y velocity - which will cause your player to jump up in an easing-out motion (start fast and slow down as he reaches the high of the jump). Because you're always incrementing the Y velocity, you will eventually reverse direction and return back to the surface.
When touching a surface, reset the Y velocity to zero.
1 Pretty sure that the Y axis is inverted in XNA (I work in Flash), so where I say increment the Y velocity you may need to decrement it instead - same deal for subtracting from it to jump.

My general approach to get a jump really quickly is to use a bleed off value to make slightly smoother looking movement. I can't look at any code/xna right now but my first thought would be something like below.
Define variables:
float bleedOff = 1.0f;
bool jumping = false;
Input update:
if(input.JumpKey())
{
jumping = true;
}
Jumping update:
if(jumping)
{
//Modify our y value based on a bleedoff
//Eventually this value will be minus so we will start falling.
position.Y += bleedOff;
bleedOff -= 0.03f;
//We should probably stop falling at some point, preferably when we reach the ground.
if(position.Y <= ground.Y)
{
jumping = false;
}
}
bleedOff = MathHelper.Clamp(bleedOff, -1f, 1f);
Obviously the bleedOff value should be calculated with a bit more randomness, probably using a gravity value, to it to make it look right but this will give the illusion of acceleration/decceleration with the jump as they rise and fall.
Rising very fast to begin with and slowing down and eventually starting to fall again and that will speed up. The clamp at the bottom will be your maximum vertical velocities.
I just wrote this off the top of my head at work so apologies if it's not quite what your looking for but I tried to keep it a bit more general. Hope it helps.