setDir

1.001.001.001.001.501.000.50

LALocalGEGlobal

Hover & click on the images for description

Description

Description:

Sets object heading. Angles are measured in degrees clockwise from north; the regular range goes from 0 to 360 (0° = N, 90° = E, 180° = S, 270° = W). Negative angles represent counter-clockwise angles.

⚠

This command resets the object's velocity and vectorUp!

ⓘ

In some earlier titles (Operation Flashpoint?), this command was LELocal.

Multiplayer:

See the Notes below

Problems:

• The effect is LELocal when using setDir on a mine. Use a position modification to broadcast setDir's change (see Example 4)
• setting direction after position may lead to weird behaviours - see Notes

Groups:

Object Manipulation

Syntax

Syntax:

object setDir heading

Parameters:

object: Object

heading: Number

Return Value:

Nothing

Examples

Example 1:

myUnit setDir 45; // will set myUnit to face North-East

Example 2:

myUnit setDir -675; // will also set myUnit to face North-East (= 45-360-360)

Example 3:

MyUnit setDir 30; MyUnit setFormDir 30; // needed for AI to keep the given direction

Example 4:

// provided _myMine is local _myMine setDir 45; _myMine setPosWorld getPosWorld _myMine; // or [_myMine, 45] remoteExec ["setDir"];

Example 5:

// Sets the direction of an object relative to a parent object's direction _child setDir (_parentDir + (_childDir - _parentDir))

Additional Information

See also:

getDir direction setFormDir setVectorDir setVectorDirAndUp

Notes

Report bugs on the Feedback Tracker and/or discuss them on the Arma Discord or on the Forums.
Only post proven facts here! Add Note

Manny - c

Posted on May 09, 2007 - 20:43 (UTC)

1.00

Though effects of this command remain local, you can do a setPos afterwards to synchronize the direction on all machines in MP.

myObj setDir 90; myObj setPos getPos myObj;

.kju - c

Posted on Apr 05, 2001 - 10:54 (UTC)

In Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead 1.59 the comment of Manny still holds true for createVehicle'd empty vehicles by the server. For the player object a local setDir alone is enough.

Killzone_Kid - c

Posted on Nov 25, 2013 - 11:47 (UTC)

In Arma 3, setDir affects vectorUp, vectorDir and velocity of the object it applied to. While this is not noticeable with stationary objects, a moving objects will have its orientation and velocity reset. So if you are planning on using setDir on a moving object, make sure you read the velocity value before and restore it after if you want the object to continue to move.

_vel = velocity _object; _object setDir 45; _object setVelocity _vel;

With orientation it is a bit more complicated. setDir resets vectorUp to [0,0,1] and changes vectorDir accordingly to accommodate set direction. If your object's vectorUp is not [0,0,1] and you want to keep it this way, then you have to use setVectorDirAndUp to change object's direction not setDir. This is also the reason why it is better to use setVectorDirAndUp instead of setDir on attached objects for a better control of object's orientation.

Killzone_Kid - c

Posted on Nov 27, 2013 - 23:09 (UTC)

Make sure you setDir BEFORE you set position. Setting direction after set position could lead to unpredictable behaviour. For example main part of the hospital building in Arma 3 can lose collision detection near both side entrances. AI will also get confused and will stop detecting obstacles if setDir is called after setPos.