Read by Schine Planet based gravity, not based on blocks.

[Locusthorde300]

Recently started building a space elevator on a planet, putting down the rails up outside the atmosphere. My friends and I started noticing that we were being sucked into the planet from the blocks. Easiest fix it would seem would be to base the gravity off of the center of the planet, out to a specific distance, like the end of the atmosphere.

 

[NeonSturm]

This is a feature, not a bug.

Build a space-station and use a transporter to get there to get your suggested behaviour

 

[Locusthorde300]

This is a feature, not a bug.

Build a space-station and use a transporter to get there to get your suggested behaviour

that's different than what I'm planning. What I find weird is how a few blocks can have the same gravitational pull as a planet, only because they're connected.

 

[Deserea]

Fully understand what ye are saying, and i agree, a space elevator wouldnt extend earths gravitational pull afterall!

 

[NeonSturm]

that's different than what I'm planning. What I find weird is how a few blocks can have the same gravitational pull as a planet, only because they're connected.

If you are between a planet and cloud blocks, you experience gravity too.

It's a mechanism sadly needed for creating the illusion of a larger atmosphere (the whole sector) for fighters.
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Fully understand what ye are saying, and i agree, a space elevator wouldnt extend earths gravitational pull afterall!

Best way to make one is spawning a space station and from there going down to the planet.

 

[whooplaah]

The gravity in game is based upon the entity. A station has gravity, and that gravity effects every part of the station. If you dock a ship to the station, the gravity extends to the ship. If you expand the station, you expand the area where the gravity takes effect.

So if you have a planet and add to it, the game sees you adding to the planet-face entity. If you build a giant tower, that tower is exactly the same as the planet and has the same gravity and direction as the planet. If you approach the spire of the tower that extends outside of the planet's atmosphere you are close enough to the "planet-face entity" to be effected by the gravity. The one or two blocks at the tip of the tower way out in space cause the player to be effected by planet gravity and fall towards the planet.

I agree with the OP, it is a silly problem.

I think a viable sollution would be for gravity to be limited to an area of an entity (a certain number of chunks). Lets say that a gravity module causes gravity in a 5x5 chunk area. If a station is 10x10 chunks in size, it will need 4 modules to have gravity in every spot. Or it could have a zero-grav area. Or it could have areas where gravity reverses. I think this would be a more interesting design tool.

Then a planet could have gravity areas according to its size. Larger planets would have gravity extend out further, for example. This mechanic might also let planets have gravity of a different strength at different sections, and could have different directions to accounts for gaps between face-plates.

 

[NeonSturm]

I think a viable sollution would be for gravity to be limited to an area of an entity (a certain number of chunks). Lets say that a gravity module causes gravity in a 5x5 chunk area. If a station is 10x10 chunks in size, it will need 4 modules to have gravity in every spot. Or it could have a zero-grav area. Or it could have areas where gravity reverses. I think this would be a more interesting design tool.

It would encourage blocky-shaped stations :p

I like gravity depend on the closest gravity module, using algorithms similar to a sound-source and from which direction you hear the sound first/loudest.
But I like the idea of gravity-plating too (the plate closest along x,y,z affects you, if not further than 3-5 blocks).
And the ability to just set it for a whole entity if not specified is good too - for easiness.​

Then a planet could have gravity areas according to its size. Larger planets would have gravity extend out further, for example. This mechanic might also let planets have gravity of a different strength at different sections, and could have different directions to accounts for gaps between face-plates.

A lot of chnucks. Either a lot of calculations or missing granularity, except if based on gradual changes between the settings from 4 nearest points when you are yourself inside a tetra (3D triangle).

 

[Locusthorde300]

If you are between a planet and cloud blocks, you experience gravity too.

It's a mechanism sadly needed for creating the illusion of a larger atmosphere (the whole sector) for fighters.
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Best way to make one is spawning a space station and from there going down to the planet.

I don't have a screenshot, but the elevator reaches 500m above the planet, easily twice the distance from the planet to the cloud layer.

I did find a workaround for the issue. But it's still something that should be looked into.

 

[whooplaah]

It would encourage blocky-shaped stations :p

Would it? I can't see someone planning out their station according to gravity modules. Personally, I would build my station then go back and min-max how many gravity modules I need to place along the structure I just finished.

A lot of chnucks. Either a lot of calculations or missing granularity, except if based on gradual changes between the settings from 4 nearest points when you are yourself inside a tetra (3D triangle).

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I'm not quite following what you are saying, so I'll clarify what I meant.

A planet spawns and takes up a 30x30x30 chunk area of physical blocks. We then assume another 10 chunk area for atmosphere. Gravity chunks are 5x5x5 areas, so we would need (8x8x8) 504 areas of gravity for this planet (though most of these areas will be pointing in the same direction). This isn't a big set of calculations, it's just a grid. The players position when near the planet is rounded to the gravity grid, then direction and force are applied according to that quadrant's values. Regardless of planet size, the calculation is the same. The file size for the planet will be a few kilobytes bigger, that's all.

As for atmospheric gravity, in my example planet there would be two layers of atmospheric gravity. The atmosphere is 10 chunks high, but gravity chunks are only 5 high. The outside most layer points down with strength 2. The inside layer points down with strength 5. When a player passes from one layer to the next they fall at a faster speed.

The gravity on face plates now looks like an upside-down pyramid. To fill in any gaps that might appear between the face plates, the gravity for that area can be angled to push the player into a nearby pyramid, then fall directly down. So it works similar to the water mechanics in Minecraft... only in 3D and with different speeds. If you attempted to fall directly down upon a border between face plates your character would be pushed to one side or another instead.

 

[NeonSturm]

You need a grid per plate.
Internally, there is no pyramid structure. Only cubes. A pyramid takes space as big as the surrounding cube.

A gravity module has 5x5x5 chunks, but each chunk needs a value for the gravity it is affected by, or you would need a whole new chunk system, not a multiple to the power of 2, 4.

That means 30x 10y 30z plates would take up 9000 entries per plate (even if not all are used up).

totalling in 108'000 / 180'000 for 12/20 faces (too lazy too look up which one right now).​

And then you still need transitions between plates which can look/behave weird.

Imagine a chunk having "gravity 1g down-ward" and a nearby "gravity 0.7g down-ward". Then you can jump 5 blocks height and 1m to the right/left, you can jump 4 or 6 blocks height.

 

[jgames666]

I like the thought of gravity being planet based instead of block based, but only for planets. A more pressing issue I think is finding a way to make better gravity for planets and actually round planets with a more visible (real feeling) atmosphere.