Rope-suspended 'horizontal' elevator... help!

Hey everyone. I can't seem to find anything that helps me with this problem so i'm posting.

Basically, I've tried to make a 'horizontal' elevator that moves from one raised platform at one end of a room to another platform at the other end. The elevator is suspended by four ropes which are attached to a moving func_tracktrain on the ceiling. The func_tracktrain moves along the ceiling to the designated point in the way it is supposed to, but the platform (which is a physbox) that is supposed to move with the tracktrain doesnt move, it just sits there. The ropes are connected to both the tracktrain and the physbox and they actually stretch when the tracktrain moves away, but i just cant get the physbox to move!

This is what the mechanism looks like:



Hopefully, you can visuallise how its supposed to work, therefore hopefully you might understand why the hell it does this...



Notice how the bottom platform doesnt dangle directly underneath the upper one when it moves? It's doing my head in!!!

If anybody has any idea how i can fix this then please let me know!

Cheers fellers

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...and he saw that it was GOOOOOD!

this is just off the top of my head, but why not the platform as part of the track_train?....or did i miss something....

....or even the old func_door bit....

Doc B.... :dodgy:

see if you can get us a clearer picture put together please, if i may be so bold sir... :wink:

Do you have a phys_constraintsystem ent for all 4 ropes? If you have
more than 1 rope you need a phys_constraintsystem to manage all the
physics calculations.

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Posting And You

Are you even using phys constraints, or just rope ents? I dont think the rope ents have any physical presence. Use a phys_lengthconstraint for each rope to stop the ropes from stretching, and as Omega said, use a constraintsystem for all the constraints otherwise you may get weird stuff going on.

Also, I notice your physbox isnt falling to the ground immediately. Have you got motion disabled on it? Thats probably a bad idea if you want it to move...

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"If you talk at all during this lesson, you have detention. Do you understand?"

• My yr11 Economics teacher

For best results, make both platforms part of the same tracktrain. You really don't need physics for this application.

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Dark_Kilauea
DVS Administration
http://www.dvstudio-production.com/

thats kinda what i was thinking DK....making a mountain out of a molehill...

Doc B... :dodgy:

Physics will make the lower platform swing around realistically while moving. I think that's the effect he's going for.

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"If you talk at all during this lesson, you have detention. Do you understand?"

• My yr11 Economics teacher

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting wil5on</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>Are you even using phys constraints, or just rope ents? I dont think the rope ents have any physical presence. Use a phys_lengthconstraint for each rope to stop the ropes from stretching, and as Omega said, use a constraintsystem for all the constraints otherwise you may get weird stuff going on.

Also, I notice your physbox isnt falling to the ground immediately. Have you got motion disabled on it? Thats probably a bad idea if you want it to move...

</DIV></DIV>

I have phys_lengthconstraints for each of the ropes, yes. Basically, Iv done this in the same way as shown in the Tire Swing Tutorial in the tutorials section, and iv tried this before without the moving upper platform, and it works. In this one, the underneath platform is suspended properly, and it actually wobbles and dangles if you use the phsycannon to blast it, (as if the upper platform is directly above it and not moving).

In answer to Dr. Brasso, i would have used the phys_tracktrain for the lower platform too, but wil5on is correct, i want the lower platform to swing around realistically. I'll edit this post when i try everyones ideas (except the tracktrain one :razz: ).
Cheers for the help lads.

-edit: iv added a constraint system but it makes no difference, also no, i dont have motion disabled ticked. This is a mystery and a half! Im considering just posting the .vmf so people can have a look at it first hand. But thats only if i cant figure this mother out.

-edit 2: iv just tried making the tracktrain the parent of the phsybox, and that makes it move underneath in the way i wanted, but for some reason as soon as anything phsyical happens to the physbox (like a blast from the physgun, or when i jump onto it) it goes back to the first problem and doesnt move. But its not like it just stops where it is, it actually goes back to where it began and stays there. Hmm..

-edit 3 (IMPORTANT): Ok guys iv managed to get it to work how i wanted now, all i had to do was assign both the platform and the tracktrain as entities 1 & 2 for each of the length constraints, so that's that sorted. New problem, however.. When i start the map, the physbox starts off swinging, and i cant quite figure out how to make it stay still to begin with.

-FINAL EDIT!: All done fellers! For some reason the problem was that the train was still a parent of the physbox, but as soon as i changed that the platform started off stationary. All the problems are now fixed! Thanks again dudes.

Peace

ah.....well, that little tidbit of info would have helped at the start sir.... :smile: glad you got her going....

Doc B... :dodgy:

greensinge said:
all i had to do was assign both the platform and the tracktrain as entities 1 & 2 for each of the length constraints

That was definitely your main problem...

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"If you talk at all during this lesson, you have detention. Do you understand?"

• My yr11 Economics teacher