New server variables for controlling wind

[clarahobbs]

I think it would be an interesting addition to BZFlag to have wind. Wind would blow tanks and/or shots gently in one general direction, similar to wind in real life. All the aspects of wind could be controlled by server variables, described below.

_windDirection [0-360]
This variable controls the direction of wind. It measured in degrees of a circle from north, and is the direction in which all shots and tanks are slowly blown. It is a float. Defaults to 0.

_windObjects [0-3]
This variable controls what objects are blown with wind. If it is 0, it blows nothing (equivalent to _windSpeed 0, see below). If it is 1, it blows shots but not tanks. If it is 2, wind blows tanks but not shots. If it is set to 3, then it blows both shots and tanks. It is an int. Defaults to 0.

_windSpecial [0-1]
This variable controls wether lasers, shock waves, and guided missiles are affected by wind. If it is set to 1, it blows lasers, shock waves, and guided missiles are blown by wind. If it is set to 0, it does not blow these special shots. If _windObjects is set to 0 or 2, this variable does not do anything. It is an int. Defaults to 0.

_windSpeed [0-infinity]
This variable controls the speed of the wind. If it is 0, then the wind is off. The higher this variable is set, the faster the wind and the more it blows the objects affected. It is a float. Defaults to 0.

Please tell me what you think of this idea.

[Bambino]

I think it would be very fun but also (maybe) hard to implement. Would be great for wings and the map with high towers.

[Agent West]

something similar can be achieved by "linear" physics, but it will only move tanks around, not shots.

[Spazzy McGee]

something similar can be achieved by "linear" physics, but it will only move tanks around, not shots.

Nearly, but not quite. Wind would affect your tank most while you are not touching the ground, (since while your tank is on the ground, it is affected by friction). Whereas physics drivers would only take affect while your tank was touching the ground.

I think it's actually not a bad idea - although, it will probably be shot down as being too complicated, or difficult to implement (which would be an issue, as you would need to find somebody committed enough to put the time in to write it). I expect it would be harder than you think to implement. You need to take into consideration things like, what is the mass of the tank? The shots? What shape are the shots, for that matter? Should the shape of an object affect wind? What about wind blowing around buildings?

[Agent West]

something similar can be achieved by "linear" physics, but it will only move tanks around, not shots.

Nearly, but not quite. Wind would affect your tank most while you are not touching the ground, (since while your tank is on the ground, it is affected by friction). Whereas physics drivers would only take affect while your tank was touching the ground.

ok, i see now. in that case i do agree that it will be a neat idea

[tobylane]

Maybe a GoS project? Or whatever the Google Summer Coder thingy acronyms to.

[Lee]

Maybe a GoS project? Or whatever the Google Summer Coder thingy acronyms to.

GSoC, and I like the idea .. A temporary thing could be done with physics and no jumping