Why does my code work half the time?

Question

Here is some of the script for the enemy:

 if (isWall) {
     StopAllCoroutines ();
     if (dir == "R" && dir != "L") {
         dir = "L";
         transform.Translate (-1, 0, 0);
         print ("SWITCHL");
         isWall = false;
     } else if (dir == "L" && dir != "R") {
         dir = "R";
         transform.Translate (1, 0, 0);
         print ("SWITCHR");
         isWall = false;
     }
 }

 
 void OnTriggerEnter (Collider other) {
     if (other.gameObject.tag == "SideCollide") {
         isWall = true;
     }
 }

Half of the time the enemy does switch directions when $$anonymous$$tting the trigger. Some times it just goes through and does not stop.

Answer 1

Answer by Xepherys · Sep 02, 2017 at 03:22 PM

Well, the root may have somet$$anonymous$$ng to do with collision detection. It may be valuable to set a log inside the OnTriggerEnter. If the speed is too $$anonymous$$gh and/or the object too small, sometimes a collision will not register in a single frame, and somet$$anonymous$$ng can "pass through" the collider. T$$anonymous$$s is part of how physics are calculated. You can try making your walls colliders much larger temporarily as a test to see if that resolves it.

Also, don't check if (dir == "R" && dir != "L"), just check the positive if (dir == "R") as the second part is inherent, but will make a second calculation anyway. If dir == 'R' it inherently cannot also equal 'L'. It's a very tiny $$anonymous$$t, but even t$$anonymous$$s extra calculation could, in theory, take more time than you want during the collision.

Do SWITCHL and SWITCHR print when it passes through the collider, or does it appear not to get to the call at all?

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fLUFFYbUFF · Sep 02, 2017 at 03:51 PM 0

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Here's an example. So the enemy is moving right. It hits the wall and then it prints "SwitchL". Then it goes left. Then it goes right again and hits the wall. This time it prints "SwitchR" and the enemy goes through the wall.

Xepherys fLUFFYbUFF · Sep 02, 2017 at 04:36 PM 0

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Ohhhh... this might be tough to say without seeing your project, but is it hitting the trigger again? In other words, is it going right again while still intersecting with the collider? I'm guessing this is a geometry or collider issue of some sort.

fLUFFYbUFF Xepherys · Sep 03, 2017 at 02:43 AM 0

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I think so... I'll try to make the trigger a bit smaller.

Answer 2

Answer by spidermancy612 · Sep 02, 2017 at 03:24 PM

Your code looks fine overall, and if it works sometimes then I suspect there's no fault in what you've provided. My guess would be that the object is either moving too fast or you've got the wrong collision type on.

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Why does my code work half the time?

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