Hey guys, it's HalfwayDead here with a slightly
different format than usual.
Ever since after the first Episode my videos
have been mostly theoretical.
And while theory is an important foundation,
often times many things may come across as
fun facts that are pointless to know.
This is what I wish to address with the "Applied"
videos by showing how some of the theory applies
to real situations and what advantages you
can gain from that.
If you haven't done so already, episodes 4,
6 and 8 are suggested watching either now
or afterwards to fully understand everything.
Alright, so how can we use our knowledge of
hitboxes and hit physics to figure out which
car is the best at dribbling and even by how
much it is the best.
For this I'd like to divide dribbling up into
different aspects.
Cars can be evaluated objectively for each
of these.
Which car is the best overall, will then depend
on how important you consider each of the
categories.
For the exact stats, please look at my car
stats spreadsheet which is linked in the description.
First up, tightest possible turn.
Now I'm not talking about the turning radius
of the car here but the tightest possible
circle that you can make the ball go in.
Well, how do we make the ball go in a circle?
As you may have learned in a physics class,
to make the ball go in a circle, we need to
apply centripetal force.
That means we constantly need a force pushing
the ball perpendicular to it's current velocity.
To do this, we have to place the ball either
exactly left or exactly right of the center
of mass, depending on which way we want to
turn.
The size of the turning circle depends on
the forward speed of the ball and the amount
of centripetal force we're applying.
The higher the forward speed, the bigger the
turning circle.
But the more centripetal force we apply, the
tighter the circle gets.
So our goal is to get the most centripetal
force possible.
And this is where we have to take into account
the weird Rocket League physics.
The basic hit vector goes from the center
of mass of the car to the center of the ball.
In a best case scenario we would place them
both at the same height but since the ball
would have to go below the ground it's not
really possible.
Instead, we place the ball as low as we can
and as far away from the cars center of mass
as we can.
That means the horizontal force gets maximized.
Depending on the geometry of the car the placement
of the ball differs and the presets also have
their center of mass at different heights.
So even though all cars will act the same
amount of force, they will act at a different
angle and we want that angle to be as low
as possible.
I've done the math and well the difference
between the best and worst preset is only
1%.
Details are in my car stats spreadsheet.
However, whenever we need a lot centripetal
force, the hit physics will make us apply
more vertical force too.
There comes a point where it becomes stronger
than gravity and the ball wanders up on your
roof.
And here's the culprit.
On the roof at even the furthest point to
the side the force is less than 40% of the
maximum possible force.
The roof also has another problem.
If the ball starts to bounce then the car
won't interact with it all, ergo no force.
Therefore, if you're trying to turn tight,
you always need to have the lowest point of
the ball below the roof because then it will
be guaranteed to get hit when you turn into
it.
If your car is taller then you will have more
vertical room to play with.
This is real reason for why cars with tall
hitboxes are great for dribbling.
To sum it up, in theory you could do essentially
just as tight of a turn with every single
preset but in practice you'll probably do
it better with a tall car.
Next aspect, precision adjustments.
This is the polar opposite of the tightest
possible turn.
If you want to have a slight effect on the
ball you want to place it on the roof and
close to the center of mass.
But how do the presets differ.
For that, I calculated the direction of the
force when you place it exactly 40uu off to
the side.
Because of their height, Hybrid and Octane
will act less force to the sides.
The same is true for accelerating and decelerating
the ball.
It might seem bad to have less force, but
as a human it's likely better to have small
movements affect the ball in small amounts
because it makes it easier to be precise.
We're only looking at 9% increase in sensitivity
for the Plank/Batmobile presets but it's definitely
something that could be noticed.
The rest of the numbers are in the spreadsheet.
Aspect number 3.
Catching the ball out of the air.
Usually, when we do this, we don't want the
ball to bounce.
We want to just catch and keep going, minimize
the force upwards.
Meaning, let it bounce far away from the center
of mass.
Of course, there is a limit to how far because
otherwise you won't be able to catch up with
the ball and it will just drop to the ground.
The car doesn't really matter as long as you're
used to it.
Only if the ball is travelling towards you,
will you want the maximum amount of force.
In that case, long presets like the Breakout
perform the best.
Aspect 4, bounce dribbles.
To keep a bounce dribble going you need to
drive into the ball at just the right time
after it's landed.
Naturally, the timing window to hit the ball
without a jump is bigger with taller presets.
The Octane at the front is about 25% higher
than the Breakout, giving you over 25% more
time to hit the ball.
Last aspect, flicks.
Unfortunately, these will require lots more
research by me and their very own video.
So take the following with a grain of salt
as it's not very scientific.
I've noticed, like many others, that long
cars can flick the ball faster and higher.
Whether that is because they end up getting
more touches or something else, I don't know
yet, so this is not a final statement.
But it is something to keep in mind for the
whole picture.
Alright, I hope that this showed why the Octane
is objectively great at dribbling but not
necessarily superior in every way.
If you get used to a different preset, you
can still do tight cuts and turns.
Big thanks to all my patrons for the financial
support.
If you want to back me too, you can do so
at the link on screen.
In return you get to vote on topic priority.
Now go follow me on twitter @HalfwayDeadRL
and I'll see you soon for the next video.
