Multiple instances of the same object moving towards each other?

[Danil445]

Sorry if this has been asked before, I couldn't directly find a thread with the same question.

I'm trying to make two instances of the same object move towards each other. These objects are continually created throughout the application. Once there's 2 or more instances of the object in the play area, I want them to move towards each other, so that they can collide and form a larger object. I have given each object its own ID, but I wouldn't know how to integrate that in the conditions. What I tried:



Conditions:
- Number of Object > 2
- Pick one of Object

Actions:
- Object > Look at (0,0) from Object



This causes both instances of Object to move in the same, downward direction, instead of towards each other. I have a feeling that this happens because the Object is ordered to look at itself. If so, how do I tell it to look at the other instance? Or do I have to look in another direction for the solution? If you have any advice, thanks in advance.

[schrodinger]

It's not very straightforward but can be done.

Here's an idea,
you will need a global value named "my_id", another named "target_X" and another named "target_Y":

number of object > 2
>>> start loop for each one of "object", loop name "look_at"

on each one of "object", loop name "look_at"
>>> set "my_id" to fixed value (object)
>>> start loop "pick_another" 1 time

on loop "pick_another"
+fixed value (object) <> "my_id"
+pick one of (object)
>>> set target_X to X(object)
>>> set target_Y to Y(object)

on loop "pick_another"
+fixed value (object) = "my_id"
>>> set direction to Oangle(object,target_X,target_Y)/11.25

Should work, but will pick "random" objects to look at (not being the same instance itself)
...how would you do when you have 3 or more instances?

Should they look to the "closest" neighbor? Or to an "average" point among the others? Or..?

[Danil445]

Well, having more than 2 instances is almost always the case. Furthermore, most of the (formed) objects in this game are able to collide with a variety of objects, including another instance of itself. I'd like the particles to move towards their closest compatible neighbour. Below's an example of possible collisions between objects.

A + A = AA
A + B = AB
B + B = BB
AA + B = C
AB + B = D
C + D = CD
CD + C = 2C-1D
CD + D = 1C-2D
CD + CD = 2C-2D
Et cetera...


Hope this clarifies the issue a bit. I'll try to use, but first try to understand, what you posted. In any case, thanks a lot for your effort.



EDIT: In addition, I'd like the objects to only move towards each other while in proximity of each other (through the Advanced Direction Object).