Algodoo

Hi Phil - Nice ng-ar! I had a problem with the select-fire switch. When I attempt to rotate it out of safe position, it seems to move out of position rather than rotate. I'm not sure if I was doing something wrong or not. It just doesn't seem right. So, just in case I'm not doing it right, could you explain what tool and settings are the best to use to change fire choices?

BTW - I'm still totally impressed with your Blowback Rubber Band Gun . It's AWESOME!!!

Thanks, Xray!! everything on the rifle can be - or should be able to be - operated with the drag tool. I have had errors in uploading before, where a project works perfectly on my personal computer, but I get reviews telling me it seems to have errors after upload. I will check it to be sure.

*Edit* I updated a few things, but there seemed to be nothing wrong with the selector. It just needs to be dragged, not rotated with right-click.

I'm still having a problem making that selector move. What do you have for the "strength" setting on your grab tool? Mine is currently set to 1.00 * 10^9 which is normally strong enough for most drag situations.

You say that the selector needs to be dragged, but I don't see how it can work that way. The pointer is currently pointing to Safe, so in order to make it point to Semi or Burst, you would need to Rotate it, not Drag it. So, what am I missing?

there is a little tab at the back of the selector, opposite the pin pointing at "safe". click and drag that tab down, and the selector should rotate with it. kind of like a steering wheel, but with a stick on it that you push down. make sense?

UPDATE TIME!!! Improved sim frequency, bettered the mechanisms (again) to accommodate the new frequency, and added a red dot on the selector switch that indicates where to drag, as people seemed to be having issued with it. DRAG FROM THIS RED DOT, and you will see how easy it is to rotate the selector. The selector automatically "snaps" into the nearest position when released.

It works much better now!

What's the trick to loading the magazine? When I grab it, it kind of floats around like a helium balloon and it wants to rotate, making it very awkward to load. How do you do it?

try disabling rotation for the drag tool. when you click on the tool, a mini menu should pop up near the bottom left of the screen. check the box that says "Disable rotation", and it should no longer rotate. once it is inserted, un-check that box. I usually load it without doing this, without any problems. but I also drag from the top of the magazine.

That's a lot of fumbling around for the user. It would be much better if you can make the scene so that a user doesn't have to switch around different tool parameters.(not everyone is a talented and coordinated as I am. ) I'm not sure if you can do that without any Thyme script, but maybe you can. As it currently is, it's just too awkward to load, select, and shoot without problems. Maybe it's just me, so I hope others will chime in and comment about their own experiences.

I have no issues operating it. XD I use the drag tool for everything in the simulation, and I do not change tool parameters at all. The magazine seems to resist rotation when dragged from the top (well, obviously, because you would be grabbing it from a point above its center of gravity). I find this easier to operate than some of the really popular firearms on here (not saying they are bad or that mine is better, though). It seems to be an axiom of algodoo, that the scene that is easiest to use is the one you created yourself. It seems to be a little less "fool proof" than I had hoped. And I am not "fumbling around for the user," as you say. I did not even change the mechanics of the scene. I just updated it so people knew where to operate it (as people seemed to be having trouble doing so ) I also have always used the drag tool to rotate selector switches in other people's simulations, so using the rotate tool is a bit unheard of to me. I only use that when building the scene.

It also seems to me that people are getting way too used to scripted scenes. Isn't Algodoo a physics sandbox - not a programming software?

Yes, Algodoo is a physics sandbox, and I play in the sand every day because I like it so much! The developer (Emil formerly from Algoryx) developed the Thyme scripting language to enhance how the simulations work, and it gives users who want to learn it an use it, much more power to do things that otherwise would be difficult or impossible to do without it. My personal background happens to be software engineering, and so Thyme scripting comes fairly easily to me. When I try to create purely mechanical scenes (like yours), they turn out to be less than desirable. I am good with scripting, and terrible with mechanics, and that's why most of my scenes are 90 percent scripted.

I'm not suggesting that your scene is not well made (in fact, it IS!), and I'm sure that most of the problems that I have with it are simply because I'm not very talented making mechanical scenes work the way there were intended to. That's why I was hoping for other users to chime in to give their experiences.

In your "...tutorial 2: interrupter" scene, you use the shift key to rotate the selector. Maybe something like that would be a good way to handle the selector on your NG-AR1? The selector positions could be selected via the number keys, etc. Just a suggestion.

Okay, I'm done rambling. You have a good scene here, and I'm sure most of the problems I'm having are just ME.

Actually, that is a good idea! I could make an interval mechanism that runs with a motor to incrementally increase or decrease firing modes with up or down. I will work on that.

and thanks for all your feedback, it helps me a lot!

I'm really sorry I forgot all about this. I've just been busy with work and such. Now that Ive got some free time I'll work on that skin!

Alright, look forward to seeing what you can come up with