Stops along a motion path

Jan 02, 2017

Hello!

This discussion board has seemed to help many people, so I would like to give it a try. I have a winding road with 7 stops. I would like to include a motion path animation so when the user clicks on stop#1, the car travels to that stop, and the user can click "go" to enter that module. Then, when returning to the road, the user can click on stop#2, the car will travel to that stop, and they can click go to enter module 2. If the user returns to the screen, I would like this car to be able to travel anywhere they click. So even if they are at stop#2, if they click on stop#5, the car will be able to travel to that stop. Similarly, if the user is at stop#5 and would like to go back down to stop#1, after clicking stop#1, the car would travel to that stop.

Since it is a winding road and due to the desire for users to travel to which ever module they click, it seems like multiple motion paths wouldn't be an option, would it? Has anyone tackled this kind of animation before? If able to make this happen, a step beyond would be adding states so the car changes angles as it moves along the winding road. I have attached an example of what I have so far. Thanks in advance for any advice, help, or existing examples!

7 Replies
Walt Hamilton

 

Amy,

 

Pick any spot on the path. From there, you need six different paths to allow the user complete freedom of choice of destination. Now multiply that by seven so the user has freedom of starting location. You need 42 distinct paths, a variable to keep track of current location and and 42 separate triggers. ( Move on path 28 when user clicks #4 and current location = #5).

 

Of course, complex animations like this can be done. The real question is if you are willing to go into that much detail planning and do the work that is needed.

 

An alternate method would involve 14 segments and more triggers: move on route 10 if location = 5 and destination =< 4 - Change location to 4 - Move on route 11 if location = 4 and destination =< 3, etc.  That would take a lot of planning, testing, and careful placement of triggers, and probably be more work than multiple motion paths.

On further review, you maybe could use two motion paths, one to move right, and one to move left. You would need to set them with relative start points, and may need to adjust the road path a little. Use the trigger set in the alternative set.

I put some triggers and motion paths in the sample. If you click on 2, 3, and 4 in order, it goes to those spots. If you click on 3, it goes to that spot from 1. The triggers will give you some ideas of how it can be done.

I also changed the right state. When you create a new state, you must put the new graphic where the original is, not where you want the new one to be. You want the right to be up the highway, so you placed it above the normal. But remember the normal is going to be up there when it changes to right, and you want right to be where normal is, just facing the other way.

Amy Dam

Hi Walt, 

Thanks so much for your response. I'm playing around with some of those ideas now. A big thank you for the state correction as well. A follow up question: For the first option (42 triggers), lets say I am creating a motion path from stop#1 to stop#7, and would like the car to change states along the way (left and right views of the car), how would I go about that? 

Once again, thanks so much for your help!

Amy Dam

Got it! Sorry if these seem like very basic things, but I am still new to articulate and just need a bit of guidance so I can branch off from there for the rest of the triggers that may need to occur. 

In the sample file you provided (thank you!), I think I understand how you moved the car from pinpoint 1 to pinpoint 3. Now, if I have to move the car from pinpoint 1 to pinpoint 4, how would I do this? I'm still trying to understand these relative motion paths, so it confuses me a bit in that it would have to go both left (to get to #2, #3) then right (to get to #4) all through one trigger.

Once again, sorry if this seems elementary. I'm learning a lot!

Walt Hamilton

I created a relative start point path. When I created it, I used a line, then drug the ending up and to the left of the car. Since it is a relative starting point, that means that whenever a trigger moves the car on that path, it moves it up and to the left of WHERE IT IS NOW. If I write two triggers to move the car on that path, the first one moves it up and left of where it starts, then the second one moves it up and left again from that new spot.

Had I created the path without a relative starting point (an absolute starting point), whenever a trigger moves the car on that path, it will return it TO THE SAME SPECIFIC point on the slide, and move it up and left to another specific point. If I write two triggers to move the car on that path, the first one moves it up and left of where it starts, then the second one moves it back to the absolute starting point and moves it up and left.

I thought from looking at the map that you could probably get by with making each move right or left the same distance, so I created only two paths. If you want to create the illusion that the car is driving on the path, you have to use relative starting points, and just go right or left at the appropriate time. (BTW, if I didn't create 4 paths, then you will need to create the two that go down and to the left and right.)

Technically, each line that starts with "Move ..." is one trigger, but you can attach a series of triggers to one action. So when the user clicks on point 3, one trigger moves the car on the left path to point 2, then the next trigger moves it on the left path to point 3. To move it to point 4, you would add  triggers to move it on the left path to #2, #2, and on the right path to #4.

I hope this doesn't confuse you, but when the user clicks on point 3, you also need to have triggers to move it down. Here is a general overview of how that happens. I don't remember exactly how that is set up, or what the variables are named, but this is the general principle:

Move car on down left path when user clicks point 3 if current location is point 7

Change current location to 6

Move car on down right path when user clicks point 3 if current location is point 6, etc.

THE MOST IMPORTANT thing to keep in mind is that when you attach a series of triggers to an action (like clicking an object), the system moves through the triggers and executes them one at a time in the order they are listed. Be sure you organize them in the order that gets the results you want by using the up and down arrow heads.

Don't be afraid to ask if you have more questions.

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