Archive: 21 posts

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I'm trying to get an object to move back and forth between length 15-45 until a wench controlled by a mag switch pulls the object back to 0 (anywhere from 0-2.5 is fine actually), and holds it there. The problem I'm running into is that the minimum length of the piston (15) is overriding the minimum length of the wench (2.5). What can I do to fix this? I have a feeling the answer is related to this: https://lbpcentral.lbp-hub.com/index.php?t=16124-Variable-Length-Pistons-(Stops-at-different-locations) but even after reading that I can't figure it out

2010-08-15 10:46:00 Author: Dratheus Posts: 7

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Reduce the strength of the piston.

2010-08-15 11:23:00 Author: Holguin86 Posts: 875

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Won't work holguin - pistons stick to their max / min values regardless of strength. So, the wenches are saying you've got a problem with the length of your piston, huh? Don't worry about it, it's what you do with it that counts Your piston must have a minimum length the same as the winch for it to be able to be pulled in. Therefore you will actually need another winch on the other side that will stop it retracting beyond the 15 mark. This causes problems because the piston will still try to complete its movement and so will delay at the 15. You can get around this by controlling the piston using a set-reset switch, and in fact once you've gone down that route you don't even need the second winch. However, you do lose the easing motion of a typical piston. If the pulling in of the wich is a permanent action, here's what i'd do. Attach 2 pistons to the object, one doing the motion from 15 to 45 and one with min length 0 and strength 0. The first one should e connected to dissolve so that you can destroy the piston when you want the object to move in. Then add your winch to actually do the moving in to 0. These ramblings probably make little sense, but that will work. Questions?

2010-08-15 12:17:00 Author: rtm223 Posts: 6497

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Won't work holguin - pistons stick to their max / min values regardless of strength. Dangit, of course they do. Thanks - I had a hangover when I put that .

2010-08-15 14:46:00 Author: Holguin86 Posts: 875

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Heh, I forget that, too, all the time. But couldn't you swap the roles of the piston and the winch? At the start, the piston sits at 45, and the winch pulls it back and forth to 15, and at the end you pull the piston to 0, and the winch is irrelevant because it cannot push, just pull.

2010-08-15 17:11:00 Author: Rogar Posts: 2284

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Yes rogar, that probably works better. I too was hungover this morn

2010-08-15 17:15:00 Author: rtm223 Posts: 6497

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I too was hungover this morn ^^ That makes two of us then

2010-08-15 17:23:00 Author: Holguin86 Posts: 875

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Reduce the strength of the piston. I had already tried that Your piston must have a minimum length the same as the winch for it to be able to be pulled in. Therefore you will actually need another winch on the other side that will stop it retracting beyond the 15 mark. This causes problems because the piston will still try to complete its movement and so will delay at the 15. I considered this too actually and foresaw the delay so decided to use it as a last resort after asking here. These ramblings probably make little sense... Not at all! But couldn't you swap the roles of the piston and the winch? At the start, the piston sits at 45, and the winch pulls it back and forth to 15, and at the end you pull the piston to 0, and the winch is irrelevant because it cannot push, just pull. It seems I need to provide more detail. The object must start at 0 as well in this particular case unfortunately. Also, a mirror of the same contraption is on the other side of the room. Also, in case it becomes important the device is copied on each of the 3 thick layers (on both sides). The pistons move the objects from 15-45 on separate timings, and they emit paint. --- Is RTM's solution the best bet at this point then? TYVM for your time btw. Edit: The objects (custom cannon-type things I made) are rather small. It'll be tough attaching 2 pistons and 1 winch to them, but I think I can do it. Edit 2: 21962 (crappy low-res image, but it should be enough).

2010-08-15 20:44:00 Author: Dratheus Posts: 7

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Have you tried something like this yet? http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/230/lbpwinches.png

2010-08-15 21:34:00 Author: Unknown User

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Have you tried something like this yet? LOL, I can't do that either. There is a platform that raises up covering all available space in the middle. See the pic I attached right after you posted. You'll see I put holes in the wall that the cannons retract into. That is the only reason they won't cause a problem for my rising platform.

2010-08-15 21:36:00 Author: Dratheus Posts: 7

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It seems I need to provide more detail. The object must start at 0 as well in this particular case unfortunately. Also, a mirror of the same contraption is on the other side of the room. Also, in case it becomes important the device is copied on each of the 3 thick layers (on both sides). The pistons move the objects from 15-45 on separate timings, and they emit paint. More detail is always good , but I think my solution should still work, if I understand you correctly. I tried this on my moon, with a directional switch hooked up to the piston. I could switch between stationary at position 0, and moving between 15 an 45. It does need some synchronising time when you flip the switch, though. Edit: @ShushiGummy: It might work, but I have some bad experiences with serial pistons, I advice you stay away from them if you can.

2010-08-15 22:46:00 Author: Rogar Posts: 2284

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@ Rogar: I either left out a crucial detail (the detail about the button described below), or I'm just not following your instructions very well. If you look at the picture you'll notice a button (it's blueish). That button is supposed to start the process of the 15-45 movement (and is therefore an on/off switch NOT inverted). The mag switch activation just a little above that is supposed to stop the process and pull them all in anywhere from 0-2. They need to stop emitting paint at this point but that is ez enough w/ another mag switch. As I have it now the button should "theoretically" (see below) activate the process, and the mag switch once activated should pull them in. This is all well and good and in fact I was able to get this much on my own. However there are two problems. #1: They still start at 15 not 0 ---This is not the end of the world. If they must start at 15, as long as they can end at 0 as intended I'll live with it, but I'll be a sad sackperson (or lint as the case may be according to the evil green dot on the side). #2: My button doesn't actually work... This is odd because if I simulate a button press by inverting the button in create mode the contraption starts operating, but when the button is manually triggered in play mode it just does nothing.

2010-08-16 00:06:00 Author: Dratheus Posts: 7

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Simple to fix in my opinion make the piston have a span of 0 to 45 and make the winch 15 to 45. Have 2 mag switches one for the winch and piston. Make the winch directional and invert it when needed. Simples

2010-08-16 00:43:00 Author: AssassinatorRFC Posts: 715

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So, the wenches are saying you've got a problem with the length of your piston, huh? Don't worry about it, it's what you do with it that counts If the pulling in of the wich is a permanent action, here's what i'd do. Attach 2 pistons to the object, one doing the motion from 15 to 45 and one with min length 0 and strength 0. The first one should e connected to dissolve so that you can destroy the piston when you want the object to move in. Then add your winch to actually do the moving in to 0. These ramblings probably make little sense, but that will work. Questions? That actually seems like a really good solution. couldn't you swap the roles of the piston and the winch? At the start, the piston sits at 45, and the winch pulls it back and forth to 15, and at the end you pull the piston to 0, and the winch is irrelevant because it cannot push, just pull. Yes rogar, that probably works better. I too was hungover this morn I don't see why Rogar's solution would work better. Wouldn't you need two winches 'cuz they can only pull? Or is the idea that the piston is always pushing and the winch's cycle is just overpowering it? That would actually work pretty well, and then when it's time to retract to 0, the piston inverts. Then the whole thing could be done with one piston and one winch..... which is probably for the best: most wenches can't handle more than one piston at a time.

2010-08-16 05:06:00 Author: Sehven Posts: 2188

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All of this sounds really great, and with the information you've given me I can, more or less, get it to work. However, nothing I've tried out of these posts has allowed the device to start at the 0 position. Unless I'm doing it wrong every method that get's close ends up starting at 15 and then retracting to 0 later. As I said before, it seems I'll just have to suck it up and live with it. If you're certain it can be done and I'm just fail at following directions please post again and I"ll keep trying (or send me an PSN message and you can look at it for yourself). For now, I think I'll just work with what I have. Thank you very much to everyone who's helped. This project has taken me a long time and this is the only real snag I've run across so I think I'm doin' pretty good. I'll be sure to post the level on these forums when it's done.

2010-08-16 06:11:00 Author: Dratheus Posts: 7

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However, nothing I've tried out of these posts has allowed the device to start at the 0 position. Unless I'm doing it wrong every method that get's close ends up starting at 15 and then retracting to 0 later. Or is the idea that the piston is always pushing and the winch's cycle is just overpowering it? That would actually work pretty well, and then when it's time to retract to 0, the piston inverts. If you start with the piston pulling, it'll start at zero. Then switch it to push and it'll go to 15 (if the winch is set to pull) or all the way to 45 or whatever (if the winch is set to extend).

2010-08-16 06:40:00 Author: Sehven Posts: 2188

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So, to summarise: Piston settings: Min length: 0, Max length: 45, Strength: 5, Stiff Winch settings: Min length: 15, Max length: 45, Strength: 10 Piston starts retracted. After piston is extended, winch produces reciprocating motion from 15 to 45.

2010-08-16 17:39:00 Author: Holguin86 Posts: 875

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So, to summarise: Piston settings: Min length: 0, Max length: 45, Strength: 5, Stiff Winch settings: Min length: 15, Max length: 45, Strength: 10 Piston starts retracted. After piston is extended, winch produces reciprocating motion from 15 to 45. I'm pretty sure this is the way I have it set up (except that the piston strength is 7.5 instead of 5, but I doubt that'd make a difference). My only guess is that there is something important about my device that I've failed to mention. Someone sent me a message offering to take a look at it so I'm sure together we'll get it fixed. And, again, at this point it's just a minor detail. I can live w/ it starting at 15 if I have to.

2010-08-17 01:12:00 Author: Dratheus Posts: 7

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The timings come into play as well as the strength. For example, if you have the piston with a strength of 7.5 and it's cycle takes 1 second, and the winch is 10 with a cycle of 7 seconds, the piston will actually come out stronger (I'm not sure exactly what proportions the speed and strength have to each other, so I might be a little off with the numbers). In an extreme case like that, you might need to take the piston's strength all the way down to 1 or 2. If their times are close to the same, then strength will be the only thing that matters.

2010-08-17 04:55:00 Author: Sehven Posts: 2188

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piston: reduce (0) winch: reduce (15) piston: extend (15) - tries to 45 winch: reduce (15) piston: extend (45) winch: extend (45) piston: extend (15) - tries to 45 winch: reduce (15) ... piston: reduce (0) winch: reduce (15) or extend (45)

2010-08-17 06:29:00 Author: waD_Delma Posts: 282

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sorry, I forgot to reply that this has been fixed. I had to move my mag switch down slightly so that it procced twice instead of just once when my platform came up. If anyone is curious about the details just send me a PSN message and I'll show you the level. Thanks again for everyone's help.

2010-08-19 04:23:00 Author: Dratheus Posts: 7

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