Jumping
Learning paths through this topic
Deciding whether a wild animal or enemy can jump across a gap or up a ledge
Creatures that roam a built world must know which jumps they can make, or they leap at ledges they can never reach, or refuse gaps they could clear. Here is a check that takes the gap, the height difference and the creature's own run and jump, and keeps a margin so the attempt looks confident.
Jumping while carrying a heavy load, without changing how it falls
A hero hauling a heavy crate should jump less high. The trap is to shrink the speed by a share and get a far smaller jump than meant, or to pick up the crate in mid-jump and change the arc halfway. Here is a load rule that is exact and fair.
Three jumps in a row, each higher than the one before
Land and jump again at the right moment and the next hop goes higher, up to a big third one. Easy to say, but players keep losing the chain for no visible reason, or get the big jump after standing still. Here is what counts as keeping the rhythm.
A jump that charges while the button is held and launches on release
Charge jumps seem to need only a timer, yet players get a launch that feels uneven: the first half of the hold barely matters, the last half is huge. The fix is in how hold time becomes a take-off speed, plus a few ways the charge gets lost.
How wide a gap can I build so that players can still cross it?
Levels made by trial and error end up with gaps that are impossible, or so easy they are boring. The numbers of the jump already decide the answer. Here is how to compute the widest gap and highest step, and which margin keeps it fair.
Getting out of a lake onto the shore with a jump from the water
Swimmers get stuck below a bank that is only a little higher than the water, or they shoot out of the lake like a cork when the button is hammered. Here is how to let a kick from the water reach a ledge, and how to stop it from becoming free flight.
Running at a low wall: vault it, jump it, or stop in front of it
In a shooter, a crate or low wall should be crossed smoothly when you run at it, but not when there is nothing to land on behind it, or when it is too tall. Here is the decision that picks the right move, and the checks that stop the character from vaulting into a pit.
Let the player jump a split second after running off a ledge
Players swear they pressed jump in time and the game says they did not. A tiny forgiving window fixes that feeling, but done carelessly it hands out a free second jump. Here is how to give the grace without the exploit.
A platform that crumbles under your feet, once you have landed on it
A crumbling floor adds a clock to every jump. But it should not fall because you jumped through it from below, should not be saved by hopping off, and should not come back while you are standing in its place. Here are the states that make it fair.
Platforms that crumble after you step on them, with a fair last jump
A crumbling bridge adds tension to a jump route, but the timing has to be fair: the countdown must not restart when the player steps off and on, and a jump pressed in the last moment should still count. Here is the timer, the grace and the return of the platform.
A crusher that kills only when you are really squeezed
Crushing blocks are fair when a player can see the danger. They turn cruel when a graze kills, when a single frame of overlap counts, or when jumping up into the gap gives a different result than standing in it. Here is the test that checks the squeeze and its duration.
Jumping out of a dash should carry the dash, but not forever
A dash that flows into a jump feels wonderful, until the speed never fades, the dash comes back in mid-air, or a jump a hair too late loses everything. Here is how long the carry lasts, how fast it fades and how late the jump may be pressed.