Training Levels

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Training Levels

Postby kingofthespill » Mon Sep 18, 2006 1:49 am

This is an excerpt from my book Secrets of the Armadillo Run Masters. Thanks to Stevez for his original sideways rocket UFO solutions (which led to the Trainer_E level)

Here are some levels to hone your skills on. These levels are good preparation for both contests and spectator levels. The budget in each level is not important, but is present to serve as a guide. Be forewarned that many of these challenges are difficult, time consuming, and require patience. The goal is to get experience with both the midpoint tweaking method and systematic problem solving. Some levels have several tasks to choose from, and you can pick one or do them all.

Trainer_A:

This challenge involves using a roller coaster sled as a catcher. There are four versions based on the sled?s starting location: above the center rubber wall, resting on the roller coaster where the armadillo will pass through, balanced on the far right edge of the roller coaster, and high above the right side of the roller coaster. Build whatever support mechanisms that are necessary to get the right balance and timing.

Trainer_B:

This challenge involves using an impulse sling a.k.a. GPE Launcher. There are two versions, one using two metal sheets and the other using one metal sheet and one metal rod.

Trainer_E:

This challenge involves making a UFO to carry the armadillo to the exit. The anchor points are merely a visual guide and are not to be used for building. There are two versions, one using extra cloth attached to the catcher and the other not using extra cloth and leaving $30 or more in the budget.

Hints

Trainer_A Hints:

Depending on your choice of starting position, you may want to use different amounts of metal rods, rope, and cloth. Avoid breakage by either aiming the armadillo at your catcher's cloth endnodes, using extra cloth, using rope in a crisscross pattern, or making the cloth and rope very loose. A catcher made completely out of rope and cloth is going to be the most flexible.

Timing can be controlled by altering the starting position, length, and angle of the catcher's components. Expect to zoom in to maximum to get the best results.

In the first starting location it will help to add one vertical metal rod to the top of the rubber wall. Either balance the catcher on top of this metal rod or have the catcher fall and temporarily snag on it.

The second starting location can be handled with a metal rod snagging the back half of a cloth/rope catcher. When the armadillo lands, the momentum from the impact plus the increased catcher weight can be used to free the catcher.

The third starting location can be handled by using one metal rod with a cloth-rope-cloth catcher. Align the metal rod section horizontally and balance it on the far end of the roller coaster. It needs to stay there for around 4 seconds before it moves down to the left. If you are having difficulty making length adjustments to the metal rod, try changing the length of the rope and cloth elements.

The fourth starting location is slightly to the left of the third location and near the top. Move the entire catcher small distances to get the timing right. Aim for a bounce or even a flip off of the roller coaster to get perfect timing.

Trainer_B Hints:

Try placing one metal sheet above and just to the left of the center anchor point. Aim it 45 degrees down to the right. Now adjust the metal sheet?s height so that it collides with the armadillo, pushing it out of the sling. Attach another metal sheet to the lower right end of the first metal sheet extending upwards. Keeping the vertical metal sheet where it is, experiment with several different angles on the lower metal sheet and note the differences in the armadillo's direction. You will find that flattening it can send the armadillo flying or even break the rope. The angle of the vertical metal sheet sometimes can be changed in beneficial ways, but the angle of the original 45-degree sheet is the key. Fine-tune both sheets to get the armadillo to the exit.

The metal rod can be used as an alternative to the vertical metal sheet. This version has less mass and requires a higher starting position. You may need to tweak the metal rod's angle as well.

Trainer_E Hints:

A good way to start is to practice making a UFO that drifts slowly for the first few seconds. At this time neither drift direction nor getting to the exit matters. The focus is on zooming in on the rocket and making length adjustments, typically following the midpoint method. Next experiment with tilting the rocket to the left. It will lose altitude the more horizontally it is aimed. See if you can get the UFO to pass near the exit. Now experiment with changing the catcher length.

Catcher Length Guide:
- Having the catcher length too short will make a UFO that may start well but eventually oscillates wildly.
- Having a perfect length catcher will actually dampen oscillations and make a tilted rocket aim vertically, even when the rocket begins aligned 45 degrees above the horizontal.
- Having a long catcher will make a UFO that tilts one direction and stays that direction.

Lastly, fine-tune the rocket's length and angle to aim at the exit.

Some final points:
- Having the armadillo move through the center of the exit portal often yields the best results.
- Smaller exit portals require slower drift speeds.
- If you are continually missing the exit on one side, aim to miss on the opposite side and then adjust between the two.

Catcher length, or more technically rotational inertia, is the key to making a workable UFO. One simple way to think about it is viewing everything connected to the bottom of the rocket as one big pendulum weight. A catcher that appears "too short" needs more rotational inertia. This could be remedied by adding lightweight material to the bottom of the catcher, adding heavier material near the bottom of the rocket, or adding slightly heavier material somewhere in middle. The total UFO mass would be different in each case, making the final drift momentum different.

Another helpful factor in making UFOs work is drag. The drag force is rarely of consequence, but because UFOs move slowly, drag helps dampen unwanted oscillations. Cloth seems to be the best drag material, as it has relatively low mass and high drag. Rope can also be used.

Extra drag materials work well when placed on the side of the catcher opposing the exit portal. This method only works for lightweight materials, as using heavy materials to increase drag often makes the UFO drift the wrong way. Adjusting the drag material?s length can change the UFO?s drift direction and speed, working like a balloon-steering mechanism.

When everything is ideally put together, a UFO will move through three phases: heading steadily to one side while losing some altitude, going through a period of dampened oscillation, and finally drifting slowly in some direction. The second phase ranges from under a second to over fifteen seconds. Once the third phase begins, a UFO usually moves along a fairly straight path. Examine this path to estimate how close the armadillo will be to crossing the exit. If it looks like a miss, you can stop the simulation early.
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Last edited by kingofthespill on Fri Jun 22, 2007 7:42 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Postby Muffenz » Mon Oct 02, 2006 7:04 am

i get really close but since i got bored i did this...
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Postby Myztiq » Sun Oct 22, 2006 2:04 am

I did it. Took me about 20 minutes or so... Here it is!
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Re: Training Levels

Postby marty » Thu Apr 03, 2008 9:35 am

i just bought the book can someone reupload this levelpack please? thx in advance!
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Re: Training Levels

Postby spartan115 » Mon Mar 23, 2009 8:35 am

some reason it says the levels arn't there
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