My question is how does the “Force” produced by VectorForces get translated into velocity. I am asking because I am trying to create a script that uses VectorForces to move the character around in certain ways. In order to make these forces behave in the way I’d like, I need to better understand what exactly is going on behind the scenes when I set the Force property of a VectorForce.
vector3.new(1,0,0) would mean 1 stud per second on the x axis
I’m not sure exactly how Roblox does it with their systems, but if they’re basing it off of a realistic model, then an applied force gives an acceleration, not a velocity. However, these are related as acceleration is the change in velocity over time, meaning you can use one to find the other.
You can calculate the acceleration given by a force by using a common equation that you probably have already heard: F = ma. This means that for any object with a mass of ‘m’ and given a force ‘F’ would result in an acceleration of a.
For example: if you had an object with a mass of 5 kg and applied 15 Newtons of force you’d get an acceleration of 3 meters per second, per second.
Assuming that you have a constant force, the acceleration vs time graph will look something like the red line here:
You can calculate the velocity from this graph by finding the area under the red line from 0 to a given time, t. If you wanted to find the object’s velocity at 4 seconds you’d just find the area of that rectangle from the graph to the x axis, from 0 to 4 seconds, you just calculate 3 * 4 and you’d get 12 meters per second. This only works if the part started with an initial velocity of 0 m/s. This can be generalized with the equation
finalVelocity = initialVelocity + acceleration * time
Remember: this equation works for a constant force, but the area under the graph of acceleration vs time would work for any force. However, if that were the case, you’d probably want to look into learning calculus.
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I know this topic is old but to anyone looking here now:
I’ve ran a couple of experiments. The experiment consists of a environment without gravity and a 1kg part. The part would be accelerated for 1 second certain acceleration “velocity” rates. What I found is the closest thing to one newton of 1 second acceleration (for a 1kg object, no gravity) is around 160 roblox “velocity” acceleration.
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