Making Mud

[Perrie Juran]

I am wanting to make a mud path. 

Making the appearance of walking through mud I've pretty well figured out by setting a prim to phantom and coloring/texturing so the Ava's feet look they are sunk in it.

But is there a way that I can make the feeling of slogging through the mud, as in lagging?  So the Avatar slows down while walking through it?

 

[Lukeh Ghost]

Hmm. Sounds cool but I guess the only thing I can imagine would create that effect would be well scripted pushing blocks which will line up infront of the avatar when they step in the mud area and move slowly forward as they push foward. So the avatar will keep walking into the block thus slowing them down but because the block is moving forward they don't just stop still.

[Scooter Hollow]

OpenSim has functions to change people's speed, but not SL. The only way to slow people down would be by putting things in front of them, but that'd be almost impossible to do in a way that looks good. They'd be slow moving forwards but could move fine in any other direction, you'd have to deal with multiple people in there at once, the movement would need to be smooth, etc.

[Perrie Juran]

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Lukeh Ghost wrote:

Hmm. Sounds cool but I guess the only thing I can imagine would create that effect would be well scripted pushing blocks which will line up infront of the avatar when they step in the mud area and move slowly forward as they push foward. So the avatar will keep walking into the block thus slowing them down but because the block is moving forward they don't just stop still.

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So you are suggesting using llpushobject?

I think I may be getting in over my head on this.

Thanks

 

ETA, No pun intended. 

 

[Perrie Juran]

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Scooter Hollow wrote:

 the movement would need to be smooth, etc.

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apparently you've never slogged through mud 

[Rolig Loon]

llPushObject will only work on a sim/parcel where pushing is allowed or where the script is owned by the landowner.  Otherwise, it will work only when it is directed toward the script's owner.  It's not a bad idea, though.

Another possibility --- I'd need to test this in world to see whether it would be as reasonable as it sounds --- would be to make a shallow transparent box and fill it loosely with large, transparent, physical spheres.  As you walk through the box, you'd keep bumping against and being bumped by the spheres, which would make it hard to move forward.  It might feel like slogging through mud ..... maybe.  I think you'd have to be sure to give the spheres a hefty negative buouancy to keep them from leaping out of the box, and other magic might be required.  It's worth a try, anyway.

[Perrie Juran]

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Rolig Loon wrote:

llPushObject

will only work on a sim/parcel where pushing is allowed or where the script is owned by the landowner.  Otherwise, it will work only when it is directed toward the script's owner.  It's not a bad idea, though.

Another possibility --- I'd need to test this in world to see whether it would be as reasonable as it sounds --- would be to make a shallow transparent box and fill it loosely with large, transparent, physical spheres.  As you walk through the box, you'd keep bumping against and being bumped by the spheres, which would make it hard to move forward.  It might feel like slogging through mud ..... maybe.  I think you'd have to be sure to give the spheres a hefty negative buouancy to keep them from leaping out of the box, and other magic might be required.  It's worth a try, anyway.

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I could fill a box up with a couple hundred beach balls..........now that could be fun.

But what you suggest is a good idea.  Thanks much!

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Since, in this case, the mud path will likely be owned by the landowner, llPushObject is probably a feasible option.

Another way, I guess, would be to use llAttachToAvatarTemp to attach something that impedes your movement.  Then that could certainly use llPushObject or llApplyImpuse

[Perrie Juran]

Thanks all for your input.

This project has been temporarily put on hold.

I would think many role play SIM's would embrace it if it could be made to work.

Combat SIM's for instance.  Soldiers having to plod through mud or a boggy swamp.  Pirates.  I'm sure it could have many applications.

But again, thanks all for your input.

 

 

[Rolig Loon]

Well, my box o' spheres idea doesn't work.  I tried it and spent most of my time climbing over the spheres, not really being slowed down by them.  Innula's idea does work after a fashion, however.  Here's a test script that I put into a prim and attached to my stomach.

integer gON;default{    touch_start(integer total_number)    {        if (llGetAttached())        {            gON = !gON;            llSay(0,llList2String(["OFF","ON"],gON));            llSetTimerEvent(0.1*gON);        }        else        {            llSay(0,"OFF");            llSetTimerEvent(0.0);        }    }        timer()    {        if(llGetAgentInfo(llGetOwner()) & AGENT_WALKING)        {            llApplyImpulse(-1.8*llGetVel()*llGetMass(),FALSE);        }    }}

I found that if the scale factor in llApplyImpulse is much smaller than -1.8, it doesn't have much effect.  If it's much larger, your avatar develops an unpleasant palsy.  I'm not very impressed by the outcome, because it doesn't look much like slogging through mud.  I suppose that if someone worked with it for a while it could be improved.

Enough playing for one night.  :smileyhappy:

[Ivanova Shostakovich]

If a rp attachment could take over movement controls and force crouch walking, that wold be slower. I don't know if it is possible.

[161488303349]

can try a variation on the old caging trick. rez a transparent hollow cylinder round the avatar and then bump them

[Ela Talaj]

Perhaps an avi could wear something which would start a slow walk animation upon getting into the mud. Then in control event could react only on each second or each third arrow keystroke, which would slow down the actual movement.

[Perrie Juran]

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Ela Talaj wrote:

Perhaps an avi could wear something which would start a slow walk animation upon getting into the mud. Then in control event could react only on each second or each third arrow keystroke, which would slow down the actual movement.

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Well, we wanted this to occur with out any one having to grant any special permissions, etc.  We just wanted it to be a 'natural' thing that happened walking on the muddy paths and in the bog we were going to build.

Sadly for now this has taken a back burner to other activities, but again, I do greatly appreciate everyone's input.

I do think it's a great idea if it could be accomplished with out having to jump through a thousand hoops to get there.

One thought I had the other day was to use obnoxious texture resolutions to create lag but wasn't sure how they would effect the rest of the SIM.  Maybe down the road I will be able to get back to this project.

 

[Qie Niangao]

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Maybe down the road I will be able to get back to this project. 

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If / when you do, I think I'd recommend starting with 16's approach of rezzing a transparent physical "cage".

I spent some idle time fiddling with unadorned llPushObject() in the opposite direction of the colliding avatar's velocity. I got it to the point where it kinda works, in that it slows walking noticeably. (Hint: Beware of the mud patch serving double duty as a trampoline.)  If, however, the avatar stops walking while still in the "mud", there's often buffeting, which survived all my attempts to tweak the force and its timing. I think the problem is that the detected velocity is non-zero at the instant the script computes what counterforce to apply, but the avatar may stop before the force is actually applied, so the push has no opposing shove from the avatar's walk.

[161488303349]

i thought about it a bit more based on what you said

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if view the cage in the same way as the old shields

so when the avatars moves can apply impulse to the cylinder so that it moves at differential speed/direction to the avatar and impedes or enhances their natural action depending on viscosity and flow of the mud if any. if do this way then not have to rely on parcel Push being enabled

for extra effects can also add in the deflector trick that lots of shields used to do. like the cylinder/shield rez interceptor/deflectors with angled faces that deflect incoming. in this case the incoming is the avatar. the idea not being to stop them dead but to deflect their momemtum/energy slightly onto a new path so that they end up doing a staggered walk as they move forward and sideways

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also in the mud bed can put a keyframed platform to help smooth things. can move the avatar when they standing on. like if is a mud flow then can make them go backwards if they stand still. can make quicksand and trenches as well by moving the platform down and up