Rotate object in direction of movement

Question

Hi all, I know similar questions have been asked but I am still struggling. I have an NPC that randomly moves in the X and Z direction, and I want it to turn to the direction it is moving so as so be more realistic, but when I tried coding it, it just randomly rotates forever.

 public class Walking : MonoBehaviour {
     private float latestDirectionChangeTime;
     private readonly float directionChangeTime = 3f;
     private float characterVelocity = 2f; //Random.Range(.5f, 3f);
     private Vector3 movementDirection;
     private Vector3 movementPerSecond;
     public GameObject alien;
  
     
     void Start(){
         latestDirectionChangeTime = 0f;
         calcuateNewMovementVector();
     }
  
     void calcuateNewMovementVector(){
         //create a random direction vector with the magnitude of 1, later multiply it with the velocity of the enemy
         movementDirection = new Vector3(Random.Range(-1.0f, 1.0f), 0,Random.Range(-1.0f, 1.0f)).normalized;
         movementPerSecond = movementDirection * characterVelocity;
     }
  
     void Update(){
         //if the changeTime was reached, calculate a new movement vector
         if (Time.time - latestDirectionChangeTime > directionChangeTime){
             latestDirectionChangeTime = Time.time;
             calcuateNewMovementVector();
         }
      
         //move enemy: 
         transform.position = new Vector3(transform.position.x + (movementPerSecond.x * Time.deltaTime), 22.45f,
             transform.position.z + (movementPerSecond.z * Time.deltaTime));
         
         //wait a set amount of timeeeeeee
         //if his movement is to the west, then he turns 90 in the y axis
         
         if (transform.position.x > 0)
             {
                 alien.transform.Rotate(0,90,0);
             }
         
         
  
     }
 
   
     
 }
 
 
 
 
 thank you in advance!

Answer 1

Best Answer

Answer by Namey5 · Feb 21, 2020 at 10:14 AM

You've already calculated and stored the movement direction, so all you need to do is transform that into a quaternion and assign it in your Update function and you're done;

 alien.transform.rotation = Quaternion.LookRotation (movementDirection);

If you want the transition to be smoother, you can interpolate the rotation as well;

 alien.transform.rotation = Quaternion.Slerp (alien.transform.rotation, Quaternion.LookRotation (movementDirection), Time.deltaTime * 40f);

Add comment · Show 4 · Share

SSpecks · Feb 21, 2020 at 08:08 PM 0

Share

both seem to do the same jerky direction change, but it is enough for me!

unity_ek98vnTRplGj8Q SSpecks · Feb 21, 2020 at 10:51 PM 1

Share

You can change the interpolation amount to make it smoother, he has it set to 40 but you can play with different values, like 5 for instance. The lower the interpolation amount the slower and smoother the rotation will be

SSpecks unity_ek98vnTRplGj8Q · Feb 27, 2020 at 07:32 PM 0

Share

thank you! that fixed it!

Perturbator858 · Nov 13, 2021 at 07:11 AM 0

Share

If the player keeps spinning while trying to move sides and glitching while trying to move back.Try transfor$$anonymous$$g only player model not whole player itself like I did

Rotate object in direction of movement

1 Reply

Your answer

Follow this Question

Related Questions