Multiple Issues Help Raising a weight via crank

**Damascus** · 06-15-2012, 09:50 PM

Alright this one is kind of a big, multi-faceted issue I need help on, and am failing at solving virtually anything about this script I'm trying to solve. I am looking at the TDD map and script files for help but they haven't helped any.

I am trying to make a control_room_piston_weight supported by a chain, which you can raise and lower with a crank_iron. It will have to be raised a long way, before being stuck at the top. here are the multiple issues I'm facing:

1) The weight drops to the floor no matter what. I've tried increasing the force the RopeArea exerts and increasing its stiffness, but it refuses to hold the weight in the air. The only thing i can do to get it not to fall are to turn on Static Physics, but then I cannot raise or lower the weight at all. I'd like it to be able to rise and fall with the chain but as far as I can see it just sits on the ground motionless while the chain goes up and down. I've made sure the rope is attached to "control_room_chain_weight_1_Body_1"

2) The chain is springy. It stretches and shrinks when I lower it and raise it with the crank. I've again tried to fix this by fiddling with the stiffness, but it seems to have no effect.

3) The chain moves way too fast. Since the weight has to move a distance of about 20m to reach the top, I need it to move rather slowly, since the player will be struggling to raise the heavy thing. The first thing i tried to do was widen the min-max states of the crank so he has to spin it a whole bunch to raise it. But frankly, I have to set it to a ridiculous amount before the chain moves in a realistic way at all. Another way I'd like to approach it is by slowing down the movement of the crank, but don't know how to go about this.

4) Inconsistent rope length. Perhaps this is just a factor of the attached weight falling below the chain (all the way to the bottom of a long hole). I begin the level with the crank stuck at min, and stuck disabled upon interaction. However when I wind it all the way to max, and then back down to min, the rope is almost twice as long than it how it began.

I hope someone can help me with this. Since this is such a complex issue I will probably credit anyone in my CS who helps me through this. @.@

**Adrianis** · 06-15-2012, 10:53 PM

If you want it to have no weight but still move, instead of using static physics try turning off the gravity on it in the model ed. No idea if this will help and frankly, something else must be the issue if it works in TDD.

When your looking at the TDD map (apologies I do not know the map) are you copying whats there exactly? Obviously you may want slight differences in your map, but if you can get it working by replicating exactly whats in TDD then you can change parts incrementally, to find out what the problem is? Dunno if that helps at all but hey, its the thought that counts right? Smile

**Damascus** · 06-16-2012, 05:49 AM

Yes, I copied it exactly the way it was in TDD and it did not help my situation at all.

I tried turning off the gravity, but then the rope would not pull on it at all; it was basically just as if it has Static Physics on.

Still experimenting with it and getting absolutely nowhere, so if anyone else has some ideas, please help me out!

**palistov** · 06-16-2012, 07:52 AM

Did you set a default rope file? Or just the material. The rope might need more strength so it pulls more on the weight, keeping it up.

**Damascus** · 06-16-2012, 08:24 AM

No, I don't. The ropes I'm using for comparison (the ones in the Control Room holding up the weights) don't have one loaded eitehr. If I need one, where can I find it?

I'm using the same strength as the ropes in the Control Room, 500. I have raised it in increments up to 100,000 to see if it makes a difference, but it doesn't.

**palistov** · 06-16-2012, 09:19 AM

Ah. They're inside redist/misc/.

Try exporting the whole shebang as an expobj and import it into your map. If that doesn't work then god help us all.

**Damascus** · 06-16-2012, 09:40 AM

Alright I did that and the imported weight works, and through that I was able to discover my main problem. It's apparently supposed to be attached to "control_room_chain_weight_1" and not "control_room_chain_weight_1_Body_1". Now the weight is attached and moves with the rope.

However it was still very springy, and I only solved that issue by shortening the length of the rope. When I had it at over 40m long, the weight bounced on the end for like 15 seconds. I'm still working on getting the weight to raise at a good speed, but for now I think most of my problems are solved.

Thanks for your help!