Ghost wedge?

[Z_node_87]

Firebeetle's pack has one. You know, this cylinder half opaque "light" thingy that drops below the floor if placed right, but doesn't allow other bots to get under you and flip your bot over.

Question is: How do i add those "ghost" properties to a, for example, classical small wedge to make it go through the floor but collide with other bots? And is it really possible? Those things just look too stupid for my aesthetic sense if flipped over. General idea of what i want is to make an unflippable (by no other means then arena hazards) light bot, which can get under any other. But it must look "natural" if the bot is eventually turned over by hazards.
I don't really want to mess up with mesh (got no 3dsmax), connection points and reskinning if i don't have to.

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material = arenium(.2)
passthru = disc_collisionAre those two lines from a txt file that do the trick?

Btw, i'm using ra2 1.3 without dsl, I think.

[JoeBlo]

I don't really want to mess up with mesh (got no 3dsmax)

Then your out of luck (though you dont need 3DSM unless your making a new component, to edit you need a decompiler and notepad)

I havent looked at the component myself but im pretty sure this stuff is handled with the .GMF file..

Material is how the compoent will be treated, rubber components for example dont take damage from hitting the floor
Passthru is what mesh(s) of the component can cut/ be placed through the chassis shape during construction.

[Z_node_87]

It is here:
http://beetlebros.gametechmods.com/files/zbbudc.zip

Code: [Select]

New to Version 2:
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Ghost Wedge - Sinks into the floor but not other bots, making it impossible to get under!
If it really is needed to use 3dsmax, then one of my friends has it but it would be a little inconvenient to ask him.

[JoeBlo]

When I say I havent looked at it I mean I have not gutted it out and had a look at the files and how they work..

I know what component your talking about

if it really is needed to use 3dsmax, then one of my friends has it but it would be a little inconvenient to ask him.

Did you just say you wanted to apply the effect onto another component ? you dint need 3DSM, its only for making new components

And that itself is harder then notepad editing when your starting out..

[Z_node_87]

Well, I guess i'll at least try before quiting this idea.
JoeBlo, will you be so kind to guide me how to do it, after you understand how it works yourself?

Did you just say you wanted...

Sorry if i don't understand something or make my thoughts not clear enough because English isn't my native language.
What i meant is that i want a ghost component, and it would be good if it's easy to do it (but if not it still won't stop me right away :) )

[Clickbeetle]

You can't apply "ghost" properties to other components because I don't know how the ghost wedge works.
 
It has something to do with the jagged collision mesh (the collision mesh of the ghost wedge is shaped like a saw blade) but I'm not sure how to get the floor-sinking effect with other shapes.
 
I found it completely by accident when I wanted to make a giant saw blade using that mesh (which came from Lu-Tze's chainsaw component) and noticed it sunk through the floor.

[JoeBlo]

theoretically couldnt you just add the collision mesh to a different display mesh to apply the effect to other components?

[Z_node_87]

Well, i think that if you add the same collision mesh of the "ghost wedge" cylinder to ordinary small wedge, then it would be only cosmetic changes... It won't lift up the opposing ramming bot like the low-pitch slope wedge is supposed to. Wedge would visibly sink into enemy bot as well and collide only where the collision mesh of that cylinder is positioned, no? I can't force that cylinder to be stationed like a slope wedge AND sink it to the floor in the first place. Somehow it won't sink into the floor if its axis isn't faced parallel to the horizon. If i could make it slope and sink into the floor at the same time, i would just make it's textures transparent and set a wedge on a hinge just a little lower the level of the ghost cylinder to make it look like my wedge did the work instead of an invisible ghost cylinder. Or something like that. But it can't be done.

[JoeBlo]

Well, i think that if you add the same collision mesh of the "ghost wedge" cylinder to ordinary small wedge, then it would be only cosmetic changes...

Exactly what I said in the post above yours.. 

[Z_node_87]

Well then, it seems that the ending "...to apply the effect to other components" has confused me a little  I guess then, you meant visual effect only.
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Now seriously, maybe i should stop inventing the bicycle, coz there are some other community approved ways of creating unflippable bot? What do you think, JoeBlo? It may be a cheat component, irdc.

[JoeBlo]

put in the hours of work adjusting wedges to perfection.. thats how the pros on here do it..

I myself, dont like wedges and tend to try and not make robots that need them..

[Z_node_87]

I usually put wedge on a servo. When there's need to get under opposing bot I put some pressure on the floor with a wedge , that way bots usually can't get below me with their own flippers, at least from the front. It's just that last time i wanted to make a round bot with lots of "skirts", however those servos are quite heavy and bulky for my taste, while hinges and stationary wedges act awfully ineffective.