Game Mechanic - Velocity Hooks 7/23/15

[boofed]

Velocity Hooks

Velocity hooks is a game mechanic that was added to the game quite a long time ago. I decided it was about time someone drafted a formal explanation of what they are and why they are currently (7/23/15) not functioning as intended.
Please leave a comment if you have questions/concerns about the mechanic and PM me if you have questions/concerns about the paper. Thank you!

For a tl;dr, read just the "Conclusion" section (section 4).

tl;dr tl;dr The game's hook mechanics are wack, yo.

Edits:
7/24/15 - Included a tl;dr to improve clarity

[Lito]

Me looking at this thread.

[Liadon]

For the part 2, I think you made it too complex : you don't need to go that far in notation's details. It will only trouble people without solid knowledge in science. I mean... If you can recognize the integral sign, you sure can easily integrate a constant, so you should make the notations lighter.

I would rather explain it this way :

The hooks have a max length of l_cable = 120u, and expand at a speed of v_exp = 400u/s, so as the cable disappears when his max length is reached (without hiting a target), you will have t_ext = 120/400 = 0.3s to reach a target with your hook.
As the hook goes at v_hook = v_ext + v_levi = 400 + 100 = 500 u/s, the hook will travel d = v_hook * t_ext = 500 * 0.3 = 150 u

So if your target is further than 150u, you won't hit it, i.e. this is the maximum distance of the tree if you want your hook to reach it.


Anyway, I think you're completely right, that seems to be a very clear explanation for this situation.



PS : Being rigorous is ok, but I think you just don't need to give so many details for a problem as simple as this one. Experienced people will understand by themself the situation once you've made the part 1. And you'll only trouble non-initiated people ^^'

PPS : I really love this post, though.

[boofed]

For the part 2, I think you made it too complex : you don't need to go that far in notation's details. It will only trouble people without solid knowledge in science. I mean... If you can recognize the integral sign, you sure can easily integrate a constant, so you should make the notations lighter.
(snip)

Thank you for your input, I do appreciate it! I realized after posting this that it was not the simplest way to explain what is going on in the game's code. It's irresponsible of me not to change it, but I haven't got a lot of time to run back through it at the moment. I think you're definitely right about the integrals and whatnot. I guess this was just the easiest way for me to explain it, but not necessarily the easiest for others without a mathematics/physics background to understand...

The reason I went into such detail was because I thought it may be easier to understand if I showed every step, haha.

I'll definitely consider simplifying this in the future and take into account what you suggested.

[Theta]

I have no idea what I just read, but somehow I think i understand perfectly. But I don't, either.