Landing
When LANDING is activated, BOIDs will land on the ground if they fly to (or strike) it. When BOIDs land, they will remain there for some random period of time, as determined by the rule's parameters.
Landing Timer Parameters
Landing timer parameters set the minimum and maximum time BOIDs remain landed.
Minimum Landing Time
The minimum amount of time a BOID will remain on ground when landed (in seconds).
Maximum Landing Time
The maximum amount of time a BOID will remain on ground when landed (in seconds).
Other Parameters
Several other parameters provide additional controls on this rule.
Ground Level
This z-axis value (in feet) defines the ground level for the simulation. When a BOID strikes (or moves below) this altitude, it is placed on the ground, setting the BOID's pitch and bank to zero, and it's timer is initiated.
Takeoff Angle
This is the pitch angle (in degrees) BOIDs will take when their landing cycle has ended. You should not use a value of 0 as this will cause BOIDs to continuously start to fly, but then encounter the ground again, and re-land (though this does make for an interesting effect!).
Initiate Landed
This parameter initiates (at the time specified by the sim_start_time parameter) all of the BOIDs in landed mode. The amount of time they remain in landed mode is set with the Landing Timer Parameters above.
Tips and Limitations
- Settings for other parameters may effect how the LANDING works. For example, you will not get any LANDING effects if you have set the ground level to be below any safe zones, or if "Limit 2D Motion" is checked.
- Landing time variations (between minimum and maximum values) are set using the randomization Seed parameter.
- The takeoff angle (pitch) should not exceed the maximum pitch setting.
Examples
Launching BOIDs
A good example of using the "Initiate Landed" feature is when you want to launch a number of BOIDs at a seemingly random difference in time. Examples might be launching rockets from a container (see video below where this was done).
