Deep Editor Guide thread | Forums

[rlmergeuser]

I've stumbled across many quirks, limitations, and shortcuts in the editor, and I'm sure many of you have as well. I thought I'd start off a thread of these advanced topics here. Share some of your own findings and I'll update the OP to reflect.

To keep the descriptions as brief as possible, I will assume you are familiar with the editor and have watched all the Redlynx Editor Guides.

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PHYSICS
PHYSICS BUBBLE
Objects outside of the physics bubble are calculated as "decoration only." Setting the advanced physics of an object to "decoration only" will only improve performance if it is within the physics bubble. - nannerdw

PHYSICS AT GAME START
Nothing happens in the game until you see the word "GO!" It is not possible to position, explode, or enable any objects during the countdown. The only thing that works during this period is a placed camera which will activate immediately.

PHYSICS JOINTS
[list:1s11gj5g][*:1s11gj5g]HINGE CHECKLIST - Make these line up by using Select Pivot, then use L3 twice to align rotation to the driving line. Then use RB/LB to select any needed axis to rotate in 90-degree increments. Use the colored axis lines to help you precisely position the hinge where you want it to sit. Check "Disable Collisions" in the Physics Joint.[/*:m:1s11gj5g]
[*:1s11gj5g]Increasing joint strength has a huge impact on performance. Try to keep these sliders as low as you can. - nannerdw[/*:m:1s11gj5g][/list:u:1s11gj5g]

DIRECTIONAL FORCES
The ball end of the force is the origin of the force and the part that will be used when snapping to a grid, but actual point of contact to a glued object is in the middle of the arrow. - Luthanick (more detail below)

OMNI-DIRECTIONAL GRAVITY
If you want to gravity to be set at a 90-degree angle in order to drive up a wall, you'll need to turn off the gravity for the rider and bike, then set an Area Effector pointing in the direction you want to be "down." Set Fade to 0%, and Directional Force to about 800 (or to taste.) It is possible (though very tricky) to set checkpoints along a ridden wall in this setup.

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OBJECT POSITION EVENT
GENERAL
An object being moved by a position event will activate hit/area triggers if the moving object's physics are turned on, and it is set to either "contact response" or "no contact response." The position event must update with an interval of 1, or else the object can start to deviate from its the intended position. - nannerdw

MISCONCEPTION
OPE doesn't move objects, it positions them. When an object at position A is relocated to position B, it makes a quantum jump without ever occupying the intervening space. Here's why this is important:
[list:1s11gj5g][*:1s11gj5g]The object moves without velocity or force, so it can't push another object. This makes for a lousy elevator, except at the very slowest speeds.[/*:m:1s11gj5g]
[*:1s11gj5g]The object will not fire a trigger it has seemingly passed through, unless the OPE explicitly sets it to intersect the trigger. This makes it an unreliable general purpose projectile.[/*:m:1s11gj5g][/list:u:1s11gj5g]

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CAMERAS
GENERAL
Cameras can be treated almost as any other object, including using OPE, gluing, and turning on physics.

KNOWN LIMITATIONS
[list:1s11gj5g][*:1s11gj5g]Post-processing filters do not interpolate between cameras. [/*:m:1s11gj5g]
[*:1s11gj5g]Interpolation speed does not affect rotational speed (always about .5 sec)[/*:m:1s11gj5g]
[*:1s11gj5g]Depth of field blur does not work through some transparent objects, eg. windowed wall. - Luthanick[/*:m:1s11gj5g][/list:u:1s11gj5g]

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DRIVING LINE
RESET TO DRIVING LINE EVENT
[list:1s11gj5g][*:1s11gj5g]Acceptable values are integers 0-100, which spans the distance from the first CP to the finish line.[/*:m:1s11gj5g]
[*:1s11gj5g]Setting the number lower than 0 will not place the rider before the first CP, nor will a value higher than 100 put him past the finish.[/*:m:1s11gj5g]
[*:1s11gj5g]Any non-integer number will be truncated (Floor), so precise placement is not possible.[/*:m:1s11gj5g]
[*:1s11gj5g]BUG: Using Reset to place the driver near a Physics Joint can cause that joint to break immediately. If you need to do this, it may help to uncheck the box "Reset Physics" in the event and make the physics bubble as small as you can. You may want to dynamically reset the bubble after a small delay for the rest of the track.[/*:m:1s11gj5g][/list:u:1s11gj5g]

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CHECKPOINTS
RESET TO CHECKPOINT EVENT
[list:1s11gj5g][*:1s11gj5g]Using Reset To Checkpoint adds a fault to the rider. Unfortunately, this is not an option. EDIT: It has been suggested that unchecking "Reset Physics" will not trigger a fault. This needs to be verified.[/*:m:1s11gj5g]
[*:1s11gj5g]Reset To Checkpoint can be used on a CP that has not yet been visited. This will activate the CP, including its filter trigger.[/*:m:1s11gj5g][/list:u:1s11gj5g]

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DECORATION
GENERAL
Several of the cliff objects are not intended to be used on the driving line. Their collision boxes are too simplified. If you're going to use these as obstacles, set them to decoration only and approximate their shape with custom collisions. - nannerdw

ANIMATED VARIATIONS
Some objects have many variations that when strung together, gives the impression of a nice 3D animation. Use the Animation Event along with a Curved Data Source to make ramps curl/uncurl for example. You can see a few of these at work in my track Absinthe, with opening flowers, bending ramps, etc.

SEED BUILDINGS
[list:1s11gj5g]
[*:1s11gj5g]Seed buildings can be built inside of other seed buildings. Just saying. [/*:m:1s11gj5g]
[*:1s11gj5g]You can't move a Building via Object Position Event. If you need this effect, create a building out of glued individual pieces from the Buildings category. - SeriousStu[/*:m:1s11gj5g][/list:u:1s11gj5g]

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RIDER/BIKE
[list:1s11gj5g]
[*:1s11gj5g]Setting a greatly different gravity setting for rider vs. bike is not very useful, but it can be... interesting![/*:m:1s11gj5g]
[*:1s11gj5g]Except at extreme (unrideable) settings, raising the bike's engine power does not noticeably increase its maximum speed. It only seems to increase acceleration.[/*:m:1s11gj5g]
[*:1s11gj5g]Area Effectors can't push the bike forward noticeably faster than it can already ride under its own power while on flat ground.
[8]To reverse the lean controls (left = lean forward, right = lean back), first disable left and right inputs, otherwise the values will not map properly - Luthanick[/*:m:1s11gj5g][/list:u:1s11gj5g]

[rlmergeuser]

General editor tips will go in this post.

[rlmergeuser]

This is a great idea, Skysaw! I'll make a small contribution. Hopefully we get loads of great information this way.

SEED BUILDINGS
You can't move a Building via Object Position Event, which is a bit sucky. However, you can make a building via the individual pieces in the Buildings Category, glue em together, and move that object around. This introduced another odd quirk though...
Wall pieces will lose their collision box once it's begun moving. Ceiling and Floor pieces seem to be fine. A workaround this is to add Custom Collision objects to the glued object (building).
No idea why this happens, and I don't know if it's limited to certain variations of a wall pieces or all of them. I'm assuming it's all of them. I'm also unsure of whether or not the collision boxes can be 'reactivated' by completely shutting off the Object Position Event.

[willyums]

Optimistically reserved.

this is a good idea for a thread. im sure we'll find a lot of interesting things with the editor over time and a list of querky stuff would be great.
lets hope it doesnt get lost amongst hundreds of custom track topics and people remember to post their findings here

[rlmergeuser]

SeriousStu, interesting finds on the seed building parts. Can I coax you into doing a little more testing to narrow down which parts exhibit which behaviors?

That reminds me of another quirk with OPE, though I need to find a concise way to word it for the list. The gist of it is, OPE moved objects are not a good way to push the rider around.

[rlmergeuser]

Added a section on Object Position Events

OPE doesn't move objects, it positions them. When an object at position A is relocated to position B, it makes a quantum jump without ever occupying the intervening space. Here's why this is important:
The object moves without velocity or force, so it can't push another object. This makes for a lousy elevator, except at the very slowest speeds.
The object will not fire a trigger it has seemingly passed through, unless the OPE explicitly sets it to intersect the trigger. This makes it an unreliable general purpose projectile.
Keeping this in mind will save you from many headaches.

[Euphoric Fusion]

Any post-finish effect you need must be started before that point.

This isn't true. In my last track there is an area trigger which the rider falls onto after the finish line. That trigger activates a ton of physics and it all works fine.

[rlmergeuser]

Any post-finish effect you need must be started before that point.

This isn't true. In my last track there is an area trigger which the rider falls onto after the finish line. That trigger activates a ton of physics and it all works fine.

Ah, ok I need to look further at what was happening in my case. Apparently, there is some restriction I was hitting, but I'll try to narrow it down and get a better take on it.

Thanks.

[Euphoric Fusion]

....you can make a building via the individual pieces in the Buildings Category,

I swear that using individual pieces instead of the seed building uses less complexity too.

[Barrybarfly]

Tagging, as this could be REALLY useful for me! Although I may not be able to add to it, I'm sure I will learn a bunch of stuff from it.