TranslateTo: I'm still trying to get objects to float when dropped.

I have a duplicate of Meridia's Beacon I'm using as a test object. I added a script to go off when I drop it.

Scriptname dpv_test_levitator extends ReferenceAliasimport debug;; make items float when dropped;float Property height  Autofloat Property speed Autoevent OnContainerChanged(objectReference newref, objectReference oldref)        objectReference ref = getReference()        if newref != none                trace("DPV: picked up " + ref)                gotostate("held")        else                trace("DPV: dropped " + ref)                gotostate("dropped")        endifendeventstate heldendstatestate dropped              ; need to make sure the object's 3D is loaded after being dropped        event OnLoad()                objectReference ref = getReference()                trace("DPV: loaded " + ref)                float x = ref.GetPositionX()                float y = ref.GetPositionY()                float z = ref.GetPositionZ()                ref.translateTo(x, y, z + 1000, 180, 0, 0, speed)                trace("DPV: translating " + ref)        endeventendstate

Doesn't work. I know it gets called when it should, and the translateTo code is executed. Just nothing moves.

So I thought maybe it only works on statics and the like. So I created a movable static version. Stuck that on a table next to a button and gave the button a script to float the gem.

Scriptname dpv_test_lev_button extends ObjectReferenceObjectReference Property Gem  Autoevent OnActivate(objectreference foo)        float x = GetPositionX()        float y = GetPositionY()        float z = GetPositionZ()        translateTo(x, y, z + 1000, 180, 0, 0, 100)endevent

Of course that script http://imgur.com/2ny0EEP,uZ5vSSF,2lFK1No#0 rather than the gem. Still at least I know my code works, right?

Except when I point it back at the gem, nothing happens again.

Any ideas, people? This is rapidly losing its amusemant value

[edit]

It's something about the mesh. If I copy the button and set it to levitate itself, the button levitates. If I change the mesh so it looks like the gem, changing nothing else, then the levitation no longer happens.

What am I missing?

setMotionType(4)

The object needs to be keyframed before it will move.

Objects that have just been dropped (except weapons and something else I've forgotten) don't get their current position in the world tracked properly until the cell reloads. If it still doesn't end up where you expect, you'll want to set it's position relative to the player or you might need to create a duplicate of the original item. Here's what I use to put an item in front of the player in Storage Helpers.

; Place object 150 units directly in front of the player at about table height (75 units).float angZ = PlayerRef.GetAngleZ()float posX = PlayerRef.GetPositionX() + Math.Sin(angZ) * 150float posY = PlayerRef.GetPositionY() + Math.Cos(angZ) * 150float posZ = PlayerRef.GetPositionZ() + 75MovableItem.TranslateTo(posX, posY, posZ, 0.0, 0.0, angZ, speed)

Turns out that ObjectReference has a member variable x that overrides the local variable called x. Rather than the other way around which is what I'd have expected. So my test script was taking its starting co-ords from the button I used to test it.

I changed it to

        float gem_x = ref.GetPositionX()   ; ... and so on

And it started behaving as I'd expected

I did think about placing the gems as you describe, and I can still see benefts. Do you have many problems with items placing through walls and in otherwise inaccessible locations? That was the main thing that stopped me doing it.

I've avoided x, y, and z as variable names since the Morrowind days and didn't even think about that.

At a distance of 150 (which is a little farther out than a typical item drop) the containers do sometimes land in walls, but for Storage Helpers that's fine because you always get to adjust the container's position. I'm using 150 because it looks better if the container isn't right at your feet.

For your gems, you would probably want a closer distance probably something around 50 (or maybe 75). Of course if you're putting them 1000 units higher than the player you can put them directly above the player (and I assume placing them only works outside).

They're floating up to 120 - I put 1000 in to be sure I'd see an effect. Like maybe I'd misread the wiki page and the parameter was in milliunits or something

Anyway, I just got it working. This is how it ended up: