type4101

I am using the simple move component to move both the player and AI characters. I would like to be able to adjust the rotation speed of the combatants, as well as the acceleration/deceleration rate. I had thought that the "speed smoothing" might alter the acceleration rate, and the "Rotation Damping" might slow the combatant's rotation, but changing either of those numbers has no apparent effect on anything. The speed and rotation (both player and AI) remain the same. Do I misunderstand the function of those smoothing options?

gamingislove

Lower values means more smoothing/damping - e.g. try using 0.1 as value and you'll definitely notice it :)

type4101

Ah yes, I see that the Simple Move smoothing is affecting the AI-controlled character. I had assumed it would also affect the movement of a player-controlled character (using an ORK button controls setup), but I now understand that may not be so. If I describe what movement controls I'm aiming for, could you kindly point me in the right direction?

These characters are spaceships moving only on a 2D plane (x,z). There are enemy and ally ships that are AI controlled (Move AI), and the player is controlled using ORK button controls (WASD). The scene is a Real-Time Battle scene.

What I want to be able to do (for both Player and AI) is to adjust certain things during runtime based on variables, status effects, etc. For now, I'd like to be able to handle the following: The ship's maximum speed, current speed, and turning speed, as well be able to alter the smoothing of both the turn speed and the acceleration rate. I'd like to be able to display those things in the UI at some point.

For example, if a ship has damaged engines, I could lower the max speed and the turn damping to simulate a sluggish ship. Or perhaps a speed boost could temporarily increase max speed and turning rate. Getting caught in a tractor beam could stop all movement and rotation. Those kind of things....

So currently for AI-controlled characters, when I enter play mode, I see in the inspector that I can affect the smoothing options in the Simple Move component, so I assume I can do that using Makinom nodes. I understand that the speed the AI moves at is controlled by the walk/run/sprint levels, which are selected by the move AI--but I can't see that those are adjustable at runtime. Also, I don't see any option to control the turning speed of the AI (I don't really even know what that speed is, or where it comes from). So it seems that I can affect the smoothing of both turning and forward movement at runtime, but not the actual turning rate or max speed of the AI ships.

For the Player-controlled character, I see in the inspector that I can control the turning speed through the ORK Button Controller component's "Rotation Speed" field (unlike the AI, which has no similar component). But adjusting the smoothing affects of the Player's Simple Move component has no effect on the turning damping or the forward speed acceleration. There is some small pre-existing smoothing of the forward movement (a brief acceleration and deceleration when "W" is pressed/released) but I don't know where it comes from. I don't notice any pre-existing smoothing of the turn speed, but there may be a very small one. I don't know the source of it either. And for the forward speed, I don't know exactly how that is handled by the ORK Button controls. Because of the option to use a "sprint" function, I assume the forward speed is determined by the combatant's walk/run/sprint speeds, but how does ORK decide whether to use walk or run speed when not sprinting? So for a Player-controlled character, it seems I can control the actual turn speed during runtime, but not the maximum speed, or the smoothing of either.

What I am essentially looking for is a speedometer for the player's spaceship UI that can show the speed increasing and decreasing over time to a maximum speed variable, which can change based on circumstances.

Any advice for this setup?

gamingislove

The built-in Button and Mouse player controls can use the combatant's movement component as well - use the move type Combatant Movement Component for that.
So, both AI and player controlled combatants can move through that.

The Simple Move component is added automatically to combatants if you're using the Default movement component (which should be the default setup in new projects). The default for all combatants is set up in Combatants > Combatants > General Settings in the Animations & Movement > Default Movement Component settings. Each combatant can optionally override that.
You can also define the component's settings there.