Wheel Distance

Overview

Node Name: Wheel Distance
Category: repeat_p_duration
File: extensions/flowgraph/nodes/vehicle/special/wheelDistance.lua

Calculates the distance from the closest wheel center(s) of a vehicle to a given world-space point. Useful for precise start/finish line detection in races.

Pin Schema

Input Pins

Pin	Type	Description
`vehId`	number	Vehicle ID. Falls back to player vehicle if empty.
`position`	vec3	World-space target position to measure distance to.

Output Pins

Pin	Type	Description
`distance`	number	Signed distance from the closest wheel pair midpoint to the target, projected along the vehicle's forward axis.

Internals

Key Methods

Method	Description
`init()`	Sets `data.debug = false` and `data.onlyUseFrontWheels = true`.
`calculateDistanceFromStart(vehicle, target)`	Core calculation - iterates all wheels, finds the two closest, and computes signed distance.
`work()`	Resolves the vehicle, reads the position pin, and calls `calculateDistanceFromStart`.

Helper Functions

Function	Description
`getTwoSmallestValues(values)`	Finds the two wheels with the smallest distance to the target. Returns a pair (or duplicates the single closest for odd wheel counts).

How It Works

Iterates over all vehicle wheels using veh:getWheelCount() and veh:getWheelAxisNodes().
Optionally filters to front wheels only (dot product of wheel-to-center vector with direction vector > 0).
For each qualifying wheel, projects the wheel-to-target vector onto the vehicle's forward direction to get a scalar distance.
Finds the two closest wheels and averages their positions.
Computes the final signed distance from this midpoint to the target, projected along the forward axis.
In debug mode, draws lines, spheres, and text labels using debugDrawer.

Usage Example

-- Flowgraph:
-- [Vehicle Provider] → vehId → [Wheel Distance] ← position ← [Start Line Pos]
--                                    ↓
--                               distance → [Compare: < 0.5] → [Race Started!]

-- The signed distance is negative when the vehicle has passed the target point.
-- This allows precise start/finish line crossing detection.

Key Dependencies

veh:getWheelCount() / veh:getWheelAxisNodes() - wheel node access
veh:getNodePosition() - beam node world positions
veh:getSpawnWorldOOBB() - oriented bounding box for center calculation
debugDrawer - optional visual debug output

Overview

Node Name: Wheel Distance
Category: repeat_p_duration
File: extensions/flowgraph/nodes/vehicle/special/wheelDistance.lua

Calculates the distance from the closest wheel center(s) of a vehicle to a given world-space point. Useful for precise start/finish line detection in races.

Pin Schema

Input Pins

Pin	Type	Description
`vehId`	number	Vehicle ID. Falls back to player vehicle if empty.
`position`	vec3	World-space target position to measure distance to.

Output Pins

Pin	Type	Description
`distance`	number	Signed distance from the closest wheel pair midpoint to the target, projected along the vehicle's forward axis.

Internals

Key Methods

Method	Description
`init()`	Sets `data.debug = false` and `data.onlyUseFrontWheels = true`.
`calculateDistanceFromStart(vehicle, target)`	Core calculation - iterates all wheels, finds the two closest, and computes signed distance.
`work()`	Resolves the vehicle, reads the position pin, and calls `calculateDistanceFromStart`.

Helper Functions

Function	Description
`getTwoSmallestValues(values)`	Finds the two wheels with the smallest distance to the target. Returns a pair (or duplicates the single closest for odd wheel counts).

How It Works

Iterates over all vehicle wheels using veh:getWheelCount() and veh:getWheelAxisNodes().
Optionally filters to front wheels only (dot product of wheel-to-center vector with direction vector > 0).
For each qualifying wheel, projects the wheel-to-target vector onto the vehicle's forward direction to get a scalar distance.
Finds the two closest wheels and averages their positions.
Computes the final signed distance from this midpoint to the target, projected along the forward axis.
In debug mode, draws lines, spheres, and text labels using debugDrawer.

Usage Example

-- Flowgraph:
-- [Vehicle Provider] → vehId → [Wheel Distance] ← position ← [Start Line Pos]
--                                    ↓
--                               distance → [Compare: < 0.5] → [Race Started!]

-- The signed distance is negative when the vehicle has passed the target point.
-- This allows precise start/finish line crossing detection.

Key Dependencies

veh:getWheelCount() / veh:getWheelAxisNodes() - wheel node access
veh:getNodePosition() - beam node world positions
veh:getSpawnWorldOOBB() - oriented bounding box for center calculation
debugDrawer - optional visual debug output

Wheel Distance

Overview

Pin Schema

Input Pins

Output Pins

Internals

Key Methods

Helper Functions

How It Works

Usage Example

Key Dependencies

See Also

On this page

Wheel Distance

Overview

Pin Schema

Input Pins

Output Pins

Internals

Key Methods

Helper Functions

How It Works

Usage Example

Key Dependencies

See Also

On this page