[HOW] Windsock

[u2fly]

Now, I think, there is real chance to create working windsock in YSFlight.
Main idea is in creating windsock that will consist from two objects:
1) small very lightweight vehicle (ground object or aircraft):
2) big closed ring ground object with windsock (animated similar to stock "TRACKER"), that will follow this small vehicle.
Vehicle must be placed inside this ring.
Depend on wind power this vehicle will dragg in wind direction, and windsock will follow vehicle direction too.
Thats all!

[Barr]

Depend on wind power this vehicle will dragg in wind direction

Ok but how will you stop this vehicle from being pushed around outside of the segmented circle?


Random but somehow related question, is there a drag or friction variable for ground maneuvering in the dat?

[Neocon]

I guess a helicopter placed directly above the windsock at an altitude of 100,000 m (so as to be out of the way of air traffic) with zero initial speed would do the trick. The questions are: Would the tracker only look at the helicopter? Would the tracker look at the correct helicopter if you had multiple wind socks.

[u2fly]

Ok but how will you stop this vehicle from being pushed around outside of the segmented circle?

Ring must be closed, not segmented! (something like Coliseum) If make it as I imaginate, it will prevent vehicle to leave ring.

I guess a helicopter placed directly above the windsock at an altitude of 100,000 m (so as to be out of the way of air traffic) with zero initial speed would do the trick. The questions are: Would the tracker only look at the helicopter? Would the tracker look at the correct helicopter if you had multiple wind socks.

Patrick, its bad idea to use flying aircraft.
While made some experiments with my "SEARCHLIGHT" (think you read my previouse posts), I discover how this task can be realised using on ground vehicle.
Try imaginate apple on plate on your kitchen. This is main idea.

[Barr]

Ring must be closed, not segmented! (something like Coliseum) If make it as I imaginate, it will prevent vehicle to leave ring.

Well Im talking about the visual area, not the physically modelled space.

So you mean having like an object within an object thats pushed around by the wind?

Would the tracker only look at the helicopter?

Well wouldnt the tracker look for the closest target?

[Barr]

Im a filthy double poster.

[Flake]

Can you MSPaint this idea? and or jimmy up a solution?

[u2fly]

Can you MSPaint this idea? and or jimmy up a solution?

I can mtPaint it!

[AdityaB]

First of all,
Thats an awesome Idea u2fly.....!!
I wonder where you get such amazing ideas...and awesome links/softwares....?!?!

Does it actually happen.....I mean lightweight object pushed by the wind in YS??

Thanks

[ysmajor]

excellent idea.
You could simply make the object invisible with an empty srf btw.

hope this will work!

[Neocon]

It looks possible.

[u2fly]

excellent idea.
You could simply make the object invisible with an empty srf btw.
hope this will work!

&

It looks possible.

Did you know something about dependency of wind speed (power) and object weight (wing area) in YSFlight?

[waspe414]

There is no such thing as a light ground object, their .dat does not specify weight. Wind does not affect anything that is landed and safely stopped, and it only affects aircrafts' position once some speed has been reached. Wind does not affect aircraft attitude. Also, elevation grids (presumably the .acp works the same way) will jump an aircraft from the bottom of a vertical face to the top without stopping it. Non .acp ground objects will simply make things explode when they touch the aircraft.

Interestingly, driveable ground objects cannot explode when contacting other ground objects, so you can safely drive a jeep into a wall at 180km/h.

Tl;dr, dynamic windsocks cannot be done currently. Using preset wind conditions and windsock positions programmed in a .ysf you can simulate it, but it's not really satisfactory.

[Neocon]

dynamic windsocks cannot be done currently.

After looking everything over, and considering the behavior of vehicles in YSF, I agree. A NPC vehicle, if it moved with the wind, would either move over the elevation grid or explode on contact.

EDIT: Unless you used an invisible vehicle set as a helicopter hovering 1 m above the windsock with zero speed and brakes turned on. It was be blown by the wind just enough that it would be the right direction before touching the ground and stopping.

[Flake]

My understanding of Wind in YSF is as follows:

Wind is actually just adding velocity to an object. Hence why flying INTO wind doesn't add extra lift - the indicated airspeed changes, that's about it.

What effect does this have? It's like gravity really. Every aircraft, regardless of weight, is pushed around all the same.

This experiment may work with a parabolic elevation grid container - the vehicle's weight moment will start to result in a counter force against the wind? maybe?

Let me MSPaint this shizznizzle.

---



Alright alright alright.

So the green circle is the "ground object".
The orange vector line is the wind.
The blue vector line is the gravity.
The purple line is orange vector + blue vector - ie: net force.

Notice that the purple vector is perpendicular to the elevation grid surface - the vehicle would sit still.

If the wind decreses, the vehicle would fall down the parabola,

and if the wind increased, it would move up the parabola, but never over the edge (the edge is 90 degrees, and no ammount of wind force will push it over) (1/cosx = equilibrium wind force; 1/cos90 = 1/0 = Undefined, but limit approaches inifinity).

[waspe414]

My understanding of Wind in YSF is as follows:

Wind is actually just adding velocity to an object. Hence why flying INTO wind doesn't add extra lift - the indicated airspeed changes, that's about it.

It doesn't quite work like that though. If you fly into a 50kt headwind with a groundspeed of 10kt, your indicated will be 60kt and you will have the lift and maneuverability constant of 60kt, not 10kt. It is functionally no different to flying at 60kt groundspeed on a calm flight, except that the ground is also moving relative to the air.

Also, elevation grids don't provide functional walls for objects moving along the ground; wind force affects aircraft as a function of airspeed, necessitating the object be moving to be affected; ground objects are not affected by wind; and ground objects have no weight.

I'm not sure what happens if you drop a ground object from 10,000ft, whether it pops to the ground immediately or if it falls and would then be affected by wind. That is something to test.