Advice on calculating the movement vector from an angle - math

I'm trying to calculate the movement vector (how much to change the x and y per frame) of a projectile given an angle.
I tried x = Acos(angle), y = Asin(angle) to get the values but the direction of the projectile movement never seems to match the angle.
Basically I want the projectile to travel as if it were fallowing a line.
I'm writing this in C# with the XNA framework, any and all advice would be greatly appreciated

try this:
x=x0+v*cos(ang)*t
y=y0+v*sin(ang)*t
vx=v*cos(ang)
vy=v*sin(ang)
vx0=cos(ang)
vy0=sin(ang)
x,y, is bullet position in time
vx,vy is bullet speed vector
vx0,vy0 is bullet direction unit vector
x0,y0 is the bulet start position
v is bullet speed
t is time passed from the shoot beginig (at position x0,y0)
ang is angle of the bullet (be sure angle is in the right units for sin,cos on your platform radians/degrees)
if your angle does not match your screen coordinate system then you will have to invert one axis (usually y)

Related

x,y,z polar coordinates in a sphere

I am currently using the following math to get the x,y,z coordinates with an assumed Hypotenuse of 150 and my known yaw pitch and roll.
float zPos = (float)Math.tan(Math.toRadians(rmPitch-90))*150;
float xPos = (float)Math.cos(Math.toRadians(90-rmYaw))*150;
float yPos = (float)Math.cos(Math.toRadians(rmYaw))*150;
Assuming a viewer is standing at 0,0,0 and looking up at P. Q is 150 units away and i know the yaw and pitch of the view);
my math seems to work fine until i my pitch gets closer to straight up and down, at which point i realize that x and y need to take into account z in some manner.. please help
The easiest way to think about this is to think about a unit circle embedded in the plane containing P and the z axis. There, the vector Q is one side of the triangle, and PQ is the other. So, armed with that picture in your head:
First, z should be cos(pitch), not tan(pitch). Then, to correct x, y for the pitch, multiply them by sin(pitch).
Note that this is assuming you did intend for phi/pitch to be the angle between the z axis and the vector (and not the more standard angle between the x-y plane and the vector).
There is a problem with Euler angles (i.e. the Azimuth, Pitch, Roll system of coordindates) when pitch is plus/minus 90 degrees. That seems to be what you're referring to, and its known as Grimbal Lock. I recently asked and then answered a question about this on math.stackexchange.com, so perhaps this link will help.
Since phi is the angle between P and the z-axis, the z-coordinate should be rho*cos(phi). Similarly x is rho*sin(phi)cos(theta), y is rho*sin(phi)sin(theta)
dsharlet, using tan(pitch-90) seemed to be working how i expected... if i switch to cos i have to make it (pitch+180) but following your advise the following code seems to work.. i must be flipping and axis or something weird.. can you speak a bit to the difference between tan(pitch-90) and cos(pitch+180)
float zPos = (float)Math.cos(Math.toRadians(rmPitch+180))*radius;
float xPos = (float)Math.cos(Math.toRadians(90-rmYaw))*(float)Math.sin(Math.toRadians(rmPitch))*radius;
float yPos = (float)Math.cos(Math.toRadians(rmYaw))*(float)Math.sin(Math.toRadians(rmPitch))*radius;

Translation coordinates for a circle under a certain angle

I have 2 circles that collide in a certain collision point and under a certain collision angle which I calculate using this formula :
C1(x1,y1) C2(x2,y2)
and the angle between the line uniting their centre and the x axis is
X = arctg (|y2 - y1| / |x2 - x1|)
and what I want is to translate the circle on top under the same angle that collided with the other circle. I mean with the angle X and I don't know what translation coordinates should I give for a proper and a straight translation!
For what I think you mean, here's how to do it cleanly.
Think in vectors.
Suppose the centre of the bottom circle has coordinates (x1,y1), and the centre of the top circle has coordinates (x2,y2). Then define two vectors
support = (x1,y1)
direction = (x2,y2) - (x1,y1)
now, the line between the two centres is fully described by the parametric representation
line = support + k*direction
with k any value in (-inf,+inf). At the initial time, substituting k=1 in the equation above indeed give the coordinates of the top circle. On some later time t, the value of k will have increased, and substituting that new value of k in the equation will give the new coordinates of the centre of the top circle.
How much k increases at value t is equal to the speed of the circle, and I leave that entirely up to you :)
Doing it this way, you never need to mess around with any angles and/or coordinate transformations etc. It even works in 3D (provided you add in z-coordinates everywhere).

Given start point, angles in each rotational axis and a direction, calculate end point

I have a start point in 3D coordinates, e.g. (0,0,0).
I have the direction I am pointing, represented by three angles - one for each angle of rotation (rotation in X, rotation in Y, rotation in Z) (for the sake of the example let's assume I'm one of those old logo turtles with a pen) and the distance I will travel in the direction I am pointing.
How would I go about calculating the end point coordinates?
I know for a 2D system it would be simple:
new_x = old_x + cos(angle) * distance
new_y = old_y + sin(angle) * distance
but I can't work out how to apply this to 3 dimensions
I suppose another way of thinking about this would be trying to find a point on the surface of a sphere, knowing the direction you're pointing and the sphere's radius.
First of all, for positioning a point in 3D you only need two angles (just like you only needed one in 2D)
Secondly, for various reasons (slow cos&sin, gimbal lock, ...) you might want to store the direction as a vector in the first place and avoid angles alltogether.
Anyway, Assuming direction is initially z aligned, then rotated around x axis followed by rotation around y axis.
x=x0 + distance * cos (angleZ) * sin (angleY)
Y=y0 + distance * sin (Anglez)
Z=z0 + distance * cos (angleZ) * cos (angleY)
Based in the three angles you have to construct the 3x3 rotation matrix. Then each column of the matrix represents the local x, y and z directions. If you have a local direction you want to move by, then multiply the 3x3 rotation with the direction vector to get the result in global coordinates.
I made a little intro to 3D coordinate transformations that I think will answer your question.
3D Coordinates
First, it is strange to have three angles to represent the direction -- two would be enough. Second, the result depends on the order in which you turn about the respective axes. Rotations about different axes do not commute.
Possibly you are simply looking for the conversion between spherical and Cartesian coordinates.

Calculate the rotation performed around a point

I have two points in 2D space, centred on origin (0,0). The first point represents the starting location and the second represents the end location. I need to calculate the angle of rotation between the two points, my problem being that the hypoteneuse from each point to (0,0) is not equal.
Could someone tell me how to work out the angle between the two points, bearing in mind that they could be anywhere relative to (0,0).
Many thanks,
Matt.
Let's say point 1 is (x1,y1) and point 2 is (x2,y2)
The tangent of the Angle from X axis to point 1, relative to (0,0) is y1/x1
The tangent of the Angle from X axis to point 2, relative to (0,0) is y2/x2
Take the arc tangent (is that the right term? Tan-1 on a calculator) to get the actual angle for each, then subtract to get the answer you're looking for
This is easily accomplished taking the arccosine of the normalized inner product of the two vectors. That is, given u = (ux, uy) and v = (vx, vy), the angle between the two is given by θ = acos(u·v/|u||v|), where u · v = uxvx + uyvy is the dot product of the two and the | | operator is the l2 normal given by |u| = sqrt(ux2 + uy2). This will result in the smallest rotation that can be applied to one of the vectors that will make them linear multiples of each other. Therefore, you may need to fiddle with the sign of θ to make sure you're going in the right direction if you have one you want to start from.

Triangle mathematics for game development

I'm trying to make a triangle (isosceles triangle) to move around the screen and at the same time slightly rotate it when a user presses a directional key (like right or left).
I would like the nose (top point) of the triangle to lead the triangle at all times. (Like that old asteroids game).
My problem is with the maths behind this. At every X time interval, I want the triangle to move in "some direction", I need help finding this direction (x and y increments/decrements).
I can find the center point (Centroid) of the triangle, and I have the top most x an y points, so I have a line vector to work with, but not a clue as to "how" to work with it.
I think it has something to do with the old Sin and Cos methods and the amount (angle) that the triangle has been rotated, but I'm a bit rusty on that stuff.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
The arctangent (inverse tangent) of vy/vx, where vx and vy are the components of your (centroid->tip) vector, gives you the angle the vector is facing.
The classical arctangent gives you an angle normalized to -90° < r < +90° degrees, however, so you have to add or subtract 90 degrees from the result depending on the sign of the result and the sign of vx.
Luckily, your standard library should proive an atan2() function that takes vx and vy seperately as parameters, and returns you an angle between 0° and 360°, or -180° and +180° degrees. It will also deal with the special case where vx=0, which would result in a division by zero if you were not careful.
See http://www.arctangent.net/atan.html or just search for "arctangent".
Edit: I've used degrees in my post for clarity, but Java and many other languages/libraries work in radians where 180° = π.
You can also just add vx and vy to the triangle's points to make it move in the "forward" direction, but make sure that the vector is normalized (vx² + vy² = 1), else the speed will depend on your triangle's size.
#Mark:
I've tried writing a primer on vectors, coordinates, points and angles in this answer box twice, but changed my mind on both occasions because it would take too long and I'm sure there are many tutorials out there explaining stuff better than I ever can.
Your centroid and "tip" coordinates are not vectors; that is to say, there is nothing to be gained from thinking of them as vectors.
The vector you want, vForward = pTip - pCentroid, can be calculated by subtracting the coordinates of the "tip" corner from the centroid point. The atan2() of this vector, i.e. atan2(tipY-centY, tipX-centX), gives you the angle your triangle is "facing".
As for what it's relative to, it doesn't matter. Your library will probably use the convention that the increasing X axis (---> the right/east direction on presumably all the 2D graphs you've seen) is 0° or 0π. The increasing Y (top, north) direction will correspond to 90° or (1/2)π.
It seems to me that you need to store the rotation angle of the triangle and possibly it's current speed.
x' = x + speed * cos(angle)
y' = y + speed * sin(angle)
Note that angle is in radians, not degrees!
Radians = Degrees * RadiansInACircle / DegreesInACircle
RadiansInACircle = 2 * Pi
DegressInACircle = 360
For the locations of the vertices, each is located at a certain distance and angle from the center. Add the current rotation angle before doing this calculation. It's the same math as for figuring the movement.
Here's some more:
Vectors represent displacement. Displacement, translation, movement or whatever you want to call it, is meaningless without a starting point, that's why I referred to the "forward" vector above as "from the centroid," and that's why the "centroid vector," the vector with the x/y components of the centroid point doesn't make sense. Those components give you the displacement of the centroid point from the origin. In other words, pOrigin + vCentroid = pCentroid. If you start from the 0 point, then add a vector representing the centroid point's displacement, you get the centroid point.
Note that:
vector + vector = vector
(addition of two displacements gives you a third, different displacement)
point + vector = point
(moving/displacing a point gives you another point)
point + point = ???
(adding two points doesn't make sense; however:)
point - point = vector
(the difference of two points is the displacement between them)
Now, these displacements can be thought of in (at least) two different ways. The one you're already familiar with is the rectangular (x, y) system, where the two components of a vector represent the displacement in the x and y directions, respectively. However, you can also use polar coordinates, (r, Θ). Here, Θ represents the direction of the displacement (in angles relative to an arbitary zero angle) and r, the distance.
Take the (1, 1) vector, for example. It represents a movement one unit to the right and one unit upwards in the coordinate system we're all used to seeing. The polar equivalent of this vector would be (1.414, 45°); the same movement, but represented as a "displacement of 1.414 units in the 45°-angle direction. (Again, using a convenient polar coordinate system where the East direction is 0° and angles increase counter-clockwise.)
The relationship between polar and rectangular coordinates are:
Θ = atan2(y, x)
r = sqrt(x²+y²) (now do you see where the right triangle comes in?)
and conversely,
x = r * cos(Θ)
y = r * sin(Θ)
Now, since a line segment drawn from your triangle's centroid to the "tip" corner would represent the direction your triangle is "facing," if we were to obtain a vector parallel to that line (e.g. vForward = pTip - pCentroid), that vector's Θ-coordinate would correspond to the angle that your triangle is facing.
Take the (1, 1) vector again. If this was vForward, then that would have meant that your "tip" point's x and y coordinates were both 1 more than those of your centroid. Let's say the centroid is on (10, 10). That puts the "tip" corner over at (11, 11). (Remember, pTip = pCentroid + vForward by adding "+ pCentroid" to both sides of the previous equation.) Now in which direction is this triangle facing? 45°, right? That's the Θ-coordinate of our (1, 1) vector!
keep the centroid at the origin. use the vector from the centroid to the nose as the direction vector. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coordinate_rotation#Two_dimensions will rotate this vector. construct the other two points from this vector. translate the three points to where they are on the screen and draw.
double v; // velocity
double theta; // direction of travel (angle)
double dt; // time elapsed
// To compute increments
double dx = v*dt*cos(theta);
double dy = v*dt*sin(theta);
// To compute position of the top of the triangle
double size; // distance between centroid and top
double top_x = x + size*cos(theta);
double top_y = y + size*sin(theta);
I can see that I need to apply the common 2d rotation formulas to my triangle to get my result, Im just having a little bit of trouble with the relationships between the different components here.
aib, stated that:
The arctangent (inverse tangent) of
vy/vx, where vx and vy are the
components of your (centroid->tip)
vector, gives you the angle the vector
is facing.
Is vx and vy the x and y coords of the centriod or the tip? I think Im getting confused as to the terminology of a "vector" here. I was under the impression that a Vector was just a point in 2d (in this case) space that represented direction.
So in this case, how is the vector of the centroid->tip calculated? Is it just the centriod?
meyahoocomlorenpechtel stated:
It seems to me that you need to store
the rotation angle of the triangle and
possibly it's current speed.
What is the rotation angle relative to? The origin of the triangle, or the game window itself? Also, for future rotations, is the angle the angle from the last rotation or the original position of the triangle?
Thanks all for the help so far, I really appreciate it!
you will want the topmost vertex to be the centroid in order to achieve the desired effect.
First, I would start with the centroid rather than calculate it. You know the position of the centroid and the angle of rotation of the triangle, I would use this to calculate the locations of the verticies. (I apologize in advance for any syntax errors, I have just started to dabble in Java.)
//starting point
double tip_x = 10;
double tip_y = 10;
should be
double center_x = 10;
double center_y = 10;
//triangle details
int width = 6; //base
int height = 9;
should be an array of 3 angle, distance pairs.
angle = rotation_angle + vertex[1].angle;
dist = vertex[1].distance;
p1_x = center_x + math.cos(angle) * dist;
p1_y = center_y - math.sin(angle) * dist;
// and the same for the other two points
Note that I am subtracting the Y distance. You're being tripped up by the fact that screen space is inverted. In our minds Y increases as you go up--but screen coordinates don't work that way.
The math is a lot simpler if you track things as position and rotation angle rather than deriving the rotation angle.
Also, in your final piece of code you're modifying the location by the rotation angle. The result will be that your ship turns by the rotation angle every update cycle. I think the objective is something like Asteroids, not a cat chasing it's tail!

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