Armadillo Run forum

I've been looking at the solutions after completing levels. After doing level 21 with suspension bridge, I took a look at the solutions on the web site.

In Hudak_380 for this level, there is a mechanism that I just cannot get my brain around. Its the thing that "bats" the 'dillo across the screen.

There is no tension, nothing really... yet it starts accelerating and keeps going till it breaks apart. What makes this work!?!?!?!

It's driving me absolutley crazy not being able to understand it.

Is this taking advantage of a bug in the physics or something? That would make me feel better


Please help me arrrghhhhh

vuud wrote:Is this taking advantage of a bug in the physics or something? That would make me feel better

Yes it is, sadly!

The bug is that when two objects overlap which can't share the same space (eg, two metal bars) they 'try to get out of each other'. How you take advantage of this, is to use other objects to hold them in place, so they can't separate, but are in a constant state of 'trying to get out of each other'.

You can also take advantage of this by using it to break existing level structure cheaply, because the force generated is too much for some pieces to bear.

People on this forum call it 'The Force' because as you say there isn't really a physical explanation.

Note: atleast one of the pieces needs to be overlapping at an endpoint though, since it is only enpoints which don't like being inside other objects. Generally it is done by placing objects inside each other to start with, but Skyring made a really awesome level here:

http://armadillo.metaclassofnil.com/for ... .php?t=193

Which (among other intersting physics effects) has a device which uses tensioned elastic to pull metal bars into each other, creating the force affect 'post-start'.

dudiobugtron wrote:

vuud wrote:Is this taking advantage of a bug in the physics or something? That would make me feel better

Yes it is, sadly!

The bug is that when two objects overlap which can't share the same space (eg, two metal bars) they 'try to get out of each other'. How you take advantage of this, is to use other objects to hold them in place, so they can't separate, but are in a constant state of 'trying to get out of each other'.

Thank you! I feel like high school physics was not a complete waste afterall. I will probably not use that as it seems like it's exploiting a bug (and bugs tend to disappear suddenly)

Thanks!

I think it's really sad that people pollute the official solutions page with cheating solutions.

I think its cool, and adds new dimentions in the game. But the unit prices should be lowered to balance it.

BioDroid wrote:I think its cool, and adds new dimentions in the game. But the unit prices should be lowered to balance it.

Eh, I could go either way... but they should be marked as such, so poor suckers like me don't wrack their brains trying to figure out how in the wide-world-of-physics it works.

Definately should not be compared directly against other "real world" solutions.

Hehe, I guess its more fun when u discovered it yourself, like I did. I learned some tricks here too though (As holding SHIFT to edit position of material.)

BioDroid wrote:I think its cool, and adds new dimentions in the game. But the unit prices should be lowered to balance it.

No, the only change that should be made is to remove the bug from future versions of the game (possibly with an option of loading old levels with the old & buggy physics engine, as has been discussed before).

The force may be fun to play around with, but the central mechanism in Armadillo Run is the realistic physics engine, and there is nothing remotely realistic with the force. Using it is totally against the spirit of the game, and uploading solutions which use the force is IMO pretty much like using doping in sports.

Doping in sports are banned, force is not. So your comparison is silly.

If doping were legal, it would be fair anyway since everyone could take advantage of it.

Armadillo Man wrote:uploading solutions which use the force is IMO pretty much like using doping in sports.

There's a bit of a difference; in sports it is against the rules to use any 'doping' even if it doesnt' approve your performance.

In Armadillo run (as Peter the game architect has said) if you removed the physics bug from the game, 90% of the solutions would stop working!

edit: to BioDroid, his comparison is an argument that use of the force should be banned, not that is is banned!

Why should it be banned? Why is drugs banned?

For me its only a question of opinion and nothing else.

BioDroid wrote:For me its only a question of opinion and nothing else.

Precisely.