Choppy player movement

[VinnieH01]

Hi,

Ive got a playerX, playerY, playerSpeed variable.

When I draw the player I put the playerX and playerY variable as the coordinates then I add speed to them in the update function like this

Code: Select all

playerX = playerX + playerSpeed * dt

The problem is that when you move the movement isn't really smooth especially not when you move diagonally. Im new to löve and lua so this is the only way of moving my player I know Iäve tried looking at other ways but can't find any, The weird thing is that if I remove

Code: Select all

* dt

the problem docent occur.

This is my code..

Code: Select all

local x = 10
local y = 10
local s = 100

function love.load()
	
end

function love.update(dt)
	if love.keyboard.isDown("w") then
		y = y - s * dt
	end
	if love.keyboard.isDown("s") then
		y = y + s * dt
	end
	if love.keyboard.isDown("a") then
		x = x - s * dt
	end
	if love.keyboard.isDown("d") then
		x = x + s * dt
	end
end

function love.draw()
	love.graphics.rectangle("fill", x, y, 32, 32)
end

[Duster]

I have a feeling this has to do with your computer's specs.
Delta Time is the amount of time passed since the last update, which is directly based on how fast your computer can process and draw each cycle. So if the movement is choppy while using dt, your dt is probably higher than normal.
I've seen Love run great on even toasters though, so either your computer is from the mid 90s or there's a different issue.

[kikito]

Try updating your graphic card drivers

[Tjakka5]

Try to use velocity, similair to this code:

Code: Select all

player = {
		xPos = 0, yPos = 0,		--Position of player
		xVel = 0, yVel = 0,		--Velocity of player
		speed = 100,			--Acceleration speed of player
		maxSpeed = 200,			--Max speed of player
		friction = 10,			--Deleceration of player
}

function player.checkKeys(dt)
	if not (love.keyboard.isDown("w") and love.keyboard.isDown("a")) then	--Check if both keys arent pressed at the same time.
		if love.keyboard.isDown("w") then
			player.yVel = player.yVel - (player.speed*dt)	--Up
		elseif love.keyboard.isDown("s") then
			player.yVel = player.yVel + (player.speed*dt)	--Down
		end
	end

	if not (love.keyboard.isDown("a") and love.keyboard.isDown("d")) then	--Check if both keys arent pressed at the same time.
		if love.keyboard.isDown("a") then
			player.yVel = player.yVel - (player.speed*dt)	--Left
		elseif love.keyboard.isDown("d") then
			player.yVel = player.yVel + (player.speed*dt)	--Right
		end
	end
end

function player.applyFriction(dt)
	if player.xVel > 0 then
		player.xVel = math.max(player.xVel-player.friction*dt, 0)	--Round to everything above 0, or 0 itself
	elseif player.xVel < 0 then
		player.xVel = math.min(player.xVel+player.friction*dt, 0)	--Round to everything below 0, or 0 itself
	end

	if player.yVel > 0 then
		player.yVel = math.max(player.yVel-player.friction*dt, 0)	--Round to everything above 0, or 0 itself
	elseif player.yVel < 0 then
		player.yVel = math.min(player.yVel+player.friction*dt, 0)	--Round to everything below 0, or 0 itself
	end
end

function player.limitSpeed(dt)
	if player.xVel > 0 then 
		player.xVel = math.min(player.xVel, player.maxSpeed)	--Round to everything below maxSpeed, or maxSpeed itself
	elseif player.xVel < 0 then
		player.xVel = math.min(player.xVel, player.maxSpeed*-1)	--Round to everything below maxSpeed, or maxSpeed itself
	end

	if player.yVel > 0 then 
		player.yVel = math.min(player.yVel, player.maxSpeed)	--Round to everything below maxSpeed, or maxSpeed itself
	elseif player.yVel < 0 then
		player.yVel = math.min(player.yVel, player.maxSpeed*-1)	--Round to everything below maxSpeed, or maxSpeed itself
	end
end

function player.move(dt)
	player.xPos = player.xPos + player.xVel*dt
	player.yPos = player.yPos + player.yVel*dt
end



function player.update(dt)
	player.checkKeys(dt)	--Check all the keys and apply velocity accordingly
	player.applyFriction(dt)--Apply friction to the player velocity. ||This code uses a fancy trick, ask me if you want it explained||
	player.limitSpeed()		--Limits the player speed. ||This code is also quite tricky, again, ask if you want it explained||
	player.move(dt)			--Apply velocity to the player position
end

function player.draw()
	love.graphics.rectangle("fill", player.xPos, player.yPos, 32, 32)
end

[ivan]

Hey Tjakaa5, you're on the right path there although I would like to point out that

there is an easier (and slightly more precise) way to clamp the maxSpeed:

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function player.limitSpeed() -- dt is unnecessary here!
   -- get the current speed
   local s = math.sqrt(player.xVel^2 + player.yVel^2)
   if s > player.maxSpeed then
      -- find the scalar "sv" so that: player.vel = player.vel * sv or player.vel = player.vel * 1/s * maxSpeed
      local sv = maxSpeed/s
      player.xVel = player.xVel * sv
      player.yVel = player.yVel * sv
   end
end

Also there are simpler ways to implement "damping" which in the code is referred to as "fiction":

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function player.applyDamping(dt)
  -- where "player.damping" is a positive value (could be greater than 1)
  local d = 1 + player.damping*dt
  player.xVel = player.xVel/d
  player.yVel = player.yVec/d
end

Edit: Bug fix

[VinnieH01]

Thanks for all the replies..

I acully think this is a bug in löve with integrated graphics cards, I've sent my game to several computers and it choppy on everyone and then a look a bit closer and everyone of them had integrated graphics cards
Do you think this is the issue and if so do you think it will be possible for them to fix it if I send a bug report?

[megalukes]

The same thing happens to me. It's our graphic cards. If you force your game into fullscreen it won't happen, though. I really hope this will be fixed in a future release.

[CandyFace]

It might be a bug for some specific integrated graphic card models then, I just tried your love file and it works smooth on my macbook air with an intel HD5000