[Prototype] Quadcopter

edited in Projects
I really like multi-rotors (quadcopters etc), and wondered if it would be possible to make a decent one in Unity so I threw this together:
image
Visuals: (can we embed gfycat?)
http://gfycat.com/HonestVainAdouri
http://gfycat.com/AnnualRevolvingFossa
http://gfycat.com/ChillyScaredGalapagoshawk

I've tried my best to make this as realistic as possible, while still being easy to pick up and play. The ones from COD and Ghost Recon feel really weird - they're almost stuck in the air. This should have more movement (but I should still add lots of turbulence), but I'm not trying to make a simulation.


Web build: http://roguecode.co.za/old/extracontent/Quad/Quad.html
Keys
Yaw: A/D (Left/Right on right controller stick)
Pitch-Roll: Forward/Back - Left/Right (left controller stick)
Height: W/S (Left/Right trigger on controller)
The controls are roughly equivalent to Mode 1. I actually prefer Mode 2, but think 1 is more popular.

Using the keyboard for this type of thing is pretty crappy (I should probably use mouse). So maybe try a controller if you have one.
I've been using a .NET library for controller input, and only just realized it doesn't work on non-Windows. So I changed back to all the normal Unity input stuff, but it still might not work right if you are using a controller on Mac.

I would be very interested to hear your feedback on the general control of the quad, and if you think it's mildly enjoyable (not that this test has any actual point), or could be. It still has quite a few crappy bits, like getting stuck on walls and such.

The scene is taken from the Unity 3rd person shooter tutorial because I didn't feel like wasting time making an interesting area to fly :P

Thanks!

Comments

  • Cool! :) I've been wanting to make a "flying"-based game for a while, but I've kept struggling with (1) making the flying feel really nice, and (2) giving the player something to do, such that boredom doesn't take over after a few minutes.
  • Looks great :)
  • edited
    Hey that was pretty cool! I was flying around having a good time but then the controls became unresponsive which was followed by the copter falling to the ground, as if it ran out of battery power.
    Easy to control, but felt the turn speed was too slow for me and the overall feeling was too stiff when I was expecting an agile machine. I'm not sure if it's accurate, but the rotation with the right stick whilst not moving felt very odd. Rotating around the y axis with no other movement seems fake. Maybe adding banking into the direction of the turn could remedy it. The overshoot correction breaks should also scale with velocity, or if they are it seems to low in power, alternatively the overshoot could happen before the break and drift slightly to the stopping position, but that seems like a less controllable which isn't what I think you going for here.
    I often don't think I explain things well so I tried making a quick gif to illustrate.
    I look forward to what comes next.


    overshoot3.gif
    400 x 150 - 26K
    Thanked by 1roguecode
  • edited
    Pomb said:
    Hey that was pretty cool! I was flying around having a good time but then the controls became unresponsive which was followed by the copter falling to the ground, as if it ran out of battery power.
    Easy to control, but felt the turn speed was too slow for me and the overall feeling was too stiff when I was expecting an agile machine. I'm not sure if it's accurate, but the rotation with the right stick whilst not moving felt very odd. Rotating around the y axis with no other movement seems fake. Maybe adding banking into the direction of the turn could remedy it. The overshoot correction breaks should also scale with velocity, or if they are it seems to low in power, alternatively the overshoot could happen before the break and drift slightly to the stopping position, but that seems like a less controllable which isn't what I think you going for here.
    I often don't think I explain things well so I tried making a quick gif to illustrate.
    I look forward to what comes next.
    Thanks so much for the detail!

    Turn speed: I initially had this set pretty high, and then turned it down to make it easier to control. But yes, in "real" life, they spin way faster. Regarding turning on Y feeling fake, surprisingly they actually do that (stay still). Most will generally lift a bit while spinning, so I should add that.

    Movement speed: The same thing applies for the movement speed. I turned that down because it felt fake. Real multi-rotors actually do things far faster than you'd think is real.

    Overshoot: What you're saying makes sense, and I appreciate the gif (correct, I would have been confused otherwise ;-) )! I've got pretty bad linear drag that kicks in when the motors are "idle", which is totally crap. I think I need to look more closely at my quad to see how this works in real life. I feel that your gif is likely to be correct.
    I guess, I need to consider the context of the quad. The COD one has to be fake and stable simply because the game would be impossible otherwise. On the other hand, if I were using it in a race scenario, stuff like overshoot is good.

  • I also agree that the closer you get to reality with these sort of controls, the more they seem unreal and can get impossible to use.
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