NodeBeam Reference

Module defined in lua/common/jbeam/sections/nodeBeam.lua. Processes core structural sections: nodes (position calculation), hydros (hydraulic actuators), ropes, and quads (pressure volumes).

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Exports

Functions

M.process(vehicle)

Processes four core structural sections:

1. Nodes: Converts posX/posY/posZ to vec3 pos, applying node transforms via getPosAfterNodeRotateOffsetMove
2. Hydros: Creates hydro beams (type BEAM_HYDRO) with rate/limit calculations from extent values
3. Ropes: Processes rope sections into sequential beam chains between listed nodes
4. Quads: Converts quad definitions into triangle pairs for pressure surfaces

• Parameters:
  • vehicle - table - Assembled vehicle data with nodes, hydros, ropes, quads sections
• Returns: self (module table, for chaining)

Internal Notes

• Node processing removes posX/posY/posZ after creating pos vec3.
• Hydro properties: inRate, outRate (default to 2), autoCenterRate, inLimit/outLimit (computed from inExtent/outExtent divided by beam length).
• Ropes: each rope definition lists node IDs; sequential beams are created between consecutive nodes with BEAM_ANISOTROPIC type.
• Quads: each quad (4 node IDs) is split into 2 triangles. Uses diagonal selection based on node distance for better triangulation. Beam types are BEAM_ANISOTROPIC for edges, NORMALTYPE for diagonals.