Tune a spring by how far it overshoots and how long it takes to calm down

Spring settings with names like stiffness and damping are hard to feel, and a designer wants to say "overshoot a little and be calm in half a second". Here is how to turn exactly those two wishes into the numbers the spring needs.

Why this works

People judge a spring by two things they can see: how far it overshoots and how long it takes to calm down. Those two are linked to the hidden settings by fixed rules, so you can ask for the look and let the numbers follow.

When not to use it

Not when the spring starts already moving or the goal keeps changing, because the overshoot then differs from the one asked for. Tune such springs by eye while playing, or use a speed limit instead.

In the full entry

• What to build, step by step
• Starting values and the reason for each
• 4 common mistakes and the fix
• 38 lines of example code with 4 checks that pass
• How your AI shows you that it works

Say this to your AI

Use the Spielerando entry "Tune a spring by how far it overshoots and how long it takes to calm down" (read_entry choose-bounciness-and-settle-time-in-plain-numbers) in my game. Build it step by step, and show me how you checked that it works.

Or skip this and connect the MCP: your AI then finds all of this by itself.Connect the MCP