Saturday, March 05, 2016

[akuhcbho] Pixel based racing game with momentum

Object moves between points on a grid with a velocity whose X and Y components are integers.  At each discrete time step, the velocity can be modified by an acceleration whose components are small integers, e.g., (±1,0) (0,±1).

Certain grid points are marked blocked, so cannot be landed upon at the discrete time points.  The object can crash, losing the game, if all possible accelerations yield velocities which land on blocked points.

A more complicated restriction could be the straight line traveled between two consecutive time points may not pass through the interior of a blocked square.

The pattern of blocked squares could be a maze.

The objective could be to get from point A starting at zero velocity, to point B in as few steps as possible.  Remember to slow down so you don't overshoot.  The objective could be more complicated, perhaps racing around a circuit.

The idea is not new but I don't know the name of it.

Hexagonal grid possible, arguably better, with less axis-aligned bias.  3D rhombic dodecahedral honeycomb, equivalently a checkerboard pattern of cubes.  4D 24-cell honeycomb.

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