Jumping
Learning paths through this topic
After a fatal fall, put the player back on safe ground, not at the edge
Respawning at the spot of the last jump sends the player straight back into the pit, the enemy or the crumbling floor that killed them. Here is how to remember the right spots while they play, and how to pick one that is actually safe when they fall.
Jumping off a rope or vine without catching it again at once
The hero grabs a rope fine. Then the player jumps off sideways and, a frame later, is hanging on the same rope again, or flops straight down like a sack. Here is the leave-the-rope rule that gives a clean kick away and a real jump.
Swinging on a rope and letting go at just the right moment
A swing looks easy until it slowly speeds up by itself, or until letting go sends the hero in a direction that has nothing to do with the swing. Here is the swing that keeps its energy honest, and the speed you carry off at the release.
The jump is higher on a fast computer than on a slow one
A friend with a different screen reports that the character jumps differently, and a gap that is easy for you is impossible for them. The cause is hidden in how time is cut into pieces. Here is the reliable way to make jumps identical everywhere.
In a shared world, how to reject jumps that are too high without punishing honest players
When friends build and survive on one server, someone will eventually hack their jump to fly over walls. Checking too strictly rubber-bands honest players on stairs and lag spikes. Here is a pair of checks that catch the cheat from two sides, and what the server must never believe from the player.
Tap for a short hop, hold for a high jump
Letting go early should make a lower jump, yet most first attempts feel like hitting an invisible ceiling or make small jumps feel mushy. Here is the moment and the way to cut the jump so it feels natural, with numbers to start from.
Jumping out of a slide without chaining slides into endless speed
A slide that ends in a leap feels great, so players will do it again and again. Without care, each round gets faster until the level is crossed in seconds, or the leap fails when the slide ran under a low ceiling. Here is the slide that gives a boost once and a leap that respects the ceiling.
Slow motion should stretch the jump, not change it
A slow-motion power-up in a shooter is great until jumps come out lower, or the forgiving moments for jumping stretch into half a second and the character leaps long after the button was pressed. Here is what runs slow and what keeps the real clock.
Jumping costs stamina, and an empty bar must stop the jump
In a survival game every jump should cost something, yet players find ways to hop forever for free, or the bar dips below zero and the next jump still goes off. Here is how to charge for jumps fairly, and when the bar should start filling again.
Standing on a friend's head: who carries whom
When players can stand on each other, odd things appear: two characters hold each other up and float, the top one slides off when the base walks, or a stack of three moves at three different speeds. Here is how to decide who is the base and pass the movement upward.
Characters stand on slopes they should slide off, or cannot jump on gentle ones
Slopes confuse ground detection: a steep hill counts as floor, a ceiling counts as floor, and a gentle ramp blocks jumping. The answer lies in which way the surface faces, not in angles you have to measure. Here are the cut-offs and the slide direction.
Bouncing off an enemy's head, higher when the jump key is held
Jumping on enemies sounds simple until the character takes damage from the side of an enemy it clearly landed on, bounces twice off one enemy, or bounces the same low height whatever the player does. Here is how to decide stomp or hit and what the bounce gives.