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Abstract:

This video (Part 6 of a Godot platformer tutorial series) focuses on refining the player character's controls and movement mechanics. It begins by updating the player sprite slightly and then demonstrates setting up custom input actions (move left/right, jump, attack) in Godot's Input Map, mapping them to both keyboard keys (WASD, Arrows, Z, X, J, K) and an Xbox controller. The tutorial then adjusts the player scene's origin point to the character's feet and modifies the collision shape for better alignment and consistency with the creator's reference project. A significant portion is dedicated to defining player movement statistics (max speed, acceleration, friction, gravity, jump height) as export variables, making them easily editable in the Godot editor. Finally, the video refactors the movement logic into separate functions (accelerate_horizontally, apply_friction, apply_gravity), implementing acceleration/deceleration using move_toward and introducing different gravity values for upward and downward movement to improve game feel.

Refining Player Movement in a Godot Platformer

• 0:00:02 Introduction: Welcome to Part 6 of the platformer ninja tutorial series, focusing on player input and movement variables.
• 0:00:37 Sprite Update: The player's lower body sprite has been slightly updated; users can redownload it (link provided in description).
• 0:01:12 Input Mapping Setup: Navigates to Project Settings -> Input Map to define custom actions instead of using default UI actions.
• 0:01:26 Creating Input Actions: Adds new actions: move_left, move_right, jump, and attack.
• 0:01:45 Keyboard Mapping: Maps move_left to Left Arrow and A, move_right to Right Arrow and D, jump to K and Z, and attack to J and X.
• 0:02:18 Controller Mapping: Maps the same actions to an Xbox controller: left/right on D-pad and analog stick for movement, A button for jump, and X button for attack.
• 0:03:04 Code Update for Input Actions: Modifies the player script to use Input.is_action_pressed() with the newly created action names (move_left, move_right, jump, attack).
• 0:03:59 Player Scene Origin Adjustment: The origin of the player scene is moved from the center to the character's feet by adjusting the transform.position of the upper and lower sprite nodes (to approx. -2, -13). This is done for easier orientation in platformers and consistency with the reference project.
• 0:06:00 Collision Shape Adjustment: The CollisionShape2D is moved up and resized to better match the sprite's new position (Transform Y: -8, Size: 12x16).
• 0:07:40 Player Movement Stats (Export Variables): Introduces export variables to allow editing movement values directly in the Godot editor.
• 0:08:02 Defining Export Variables: Creates several export variables with default values:
  • max_speed = 120
  • acceleration = 1000
  • air_acceleration = 2000
  • friction = 1000
  • air_friction = 500
  • up_gravity = 500
  • down_gravity = 600
  • jump_amount = 200
• 0:10:43 Refactoring Movement Logic: Plans to replace direct velocity manipulation with functions for acceleration and deceleration for better game feel.
• 0:11:52 accelerate_horizontally Function: Creates a function to handle horizontal acceleration.
  • It takes horizontal_direction (input axis) and delta as parameters.
  • It determines the correct acceleration value (acceleration or air_acceleration) based on is_on_floor().
  • Uses move_toward(velocity.x, max_speed * horizontal_direction, acceleration_amount * delta) to smoothly change velocity towards the target speed.
• 0:16:29 Applying Acceleration: Replaces the direct velocity.x assignment in _physics_process with a call to accelerate_horizontally(x_input, delta).
• 0:17:22 apply_friction Function: Creates a function to handle deceleration/friction.
  • Takes delta as a parameter.
  • Determines the correct friction value (friction or air_friction) based on is_on_floor().
  • Uses move_toward(velocity.x, 0, friction_amount * delta) to smoothly decrease velocity towards zero.
• 0:19:07 Integrating Friction: Modifies the _physics_process function: if there's horizontal input (x_input != 0), call accelerate_horizontally; otherwise (else), call apply_friction. The is_on_floor checks are now handled within these functions.
• 0:20:44 apply_gravity Function: Creates a function to handle gravity application.
  • Takes delta as a parameter.
  • Only applies gravity if not is_on_floor().
  • Checks if velocity.y <= 0 (moving up) to apply up_gravity or else (moving down) applies down_gravity. This allows for different gravity strengths during ascent and descent, a common platformer technique.
• 0:21:51 Applying Gravity: Replaces the previous gravity line in _physics_process with a call to apply_gravity(delta).
• 0:22:15 Runtime Variable Tweaking: Briefly demonstrates how export variables can be adjusted in the editor while the game is running to fine-tune the feel (e.g., changing jump_amount).
• 0:23:07 Conclusion: The character now moves using the new physics variables and functions, providing a base aligned with the reference project for future development.