"Predicting Physics"

Physics
1

This may be a strange question (and the answer might be “impossible”), but I thought I’ll try anyway.

Im doing an Archery game using the Unity Physics engine (basically adding force to a direction, and other things)…and was wondering if there was some way in “predicting” where it would end up. Basically so I could check if they beat the level or not (before it actually happens).

So I’ve tried attaching a “trigger” of sorts to the front of it (and if it collides with the target = you win), but it doesnt work all the time (the slower, more angled shots). Then I thought about shooting an invisible arrow at twice the speed (and twice as heavy), but the logic behind that way is flawed (since it goes at the same speed, I tried messing around with the other values, like Drag and stuff, but I really dont know how I should change it).

So is there any way to “predict” where a physics object is going to end up?

Thanks

2

This isn’t possible with the physics engine, but it is possible to calculate the path of the arrow (approximately) and move it directly from your own code. There’s a simple trajectory script in this thread that might help you if you want to try this approach.

3

What about this from the game Splume?

In Splume you can see the balls trajectory before you fire it and I’m assuming that is the script that does it.

4

It is certainly possible to use your own calculations to estimate a trajectory plotted by the physics engine. However, the physics is a live simulation rather than a pre-calculated thing, so there isn’t a way to get a perfect estimate from the engine.