Player HUD moves with mouse slightly

[jaceworley3]

Godot Version

Godot 4.3

Question

I’m not sure where to start with implementing this feature. I want to take my player HUD and have it move very slightly with where the mouse is on screen for a sort of ‘3D’ effect to detach the HUD from the game world

[snipercup]

@jaceworley3

I’m not sure where to start with implementing this feature. I want to take my player HUD and have it move very slightly with where the mouse is on screen for a sort of ‘3D’ effect to detach the HUD from the game world

Call me lazy but I’m pasting the respons from chatgpt for this one:

To achieve a subtle 3D effect on your player HUD by moving it slightly in response to the mouse position, you’ll want to modify the position of the HUD elements based on the mouse’s screen coordinates. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to implement this in Godot 4.2:

Step 1: Create a Script for the HUD

Attach a script to your HUD Control node or any parent node of your HUD elements.

Step 2: Capture the Mouse Position

You’ll need to capture the mouse position within the game window. This can be done using the Input class to get the mouse position.

Step 3: Calculate the Offset

To create the 3D effect, calculate a small offset based on the mouse’s position relative to the center of the screen.

Step 4: Apply the Offset to the HUD

Adjust the position of your HUD elements using the calculated offset.

Here’s an example script in GDScript:

extends Control

# Variables to control the intensity of the effect
@export var max_offset: float = 20.0

func _process(delta: float) -> void:
    # Get the size of the viewport (the screen)
    var viewport_size = get_viewport_rect().size
    
    # Get the position of the mouse relative to the viewport
    var mouse_position = get_viewport().get_mouse_position()
    
    # Calculate the offset based on the mouse position
    var offset_x = ((mouse_position.x / viewport_size.x) - 0.5) * 2 * max_offset
    var offset_y = ((mouse_position.y / viewport_size.y) - 0.5) * 2 * max_offset
    
    # Apply the offset to the HUD position
    # Assuming the HUD is centered on the screen, adjust the position
    self.position = Vector2(offset_x, offset_y)

Explanation:

1. max_offset: Controls the maximum movement of the HUD. You can tweak this value to make the effect more or less noticeable.
2. get_viewport_rect().size: Gets the size of the viewport, which is used to normalize the mouse position.
3. get_viewport().get_mouse_position(): Retrieves the mouse position in the viewport.
4. Offset Calculation: The mouse position is normalized to range between -1 and 1, with 0 at the center of the screen.
5. Position Adjustment: The HUD’s position is then adjusted by the calculated offset, creating the illusion of a 3D effect.

Step 5: Tuning

Adjust the max_offset and the method by which you calculate the offset if necessary, to get the desired visual effect.

This approach gives a dynamic, responsive HUD that subtly moves as the player moves the mouse, enhancing the visual depth without overly distracting from gameplay.

This is also the solution that I came up with, I just didn’t want to write it out.

[jaceworley3]

I hadn’t thought about using ChatGPT for coding but it seems to understand gdscript pretty well here. Do you think it’s something reliable to use?

[snipercup]

Generally I would not recommend using chatgpt to learn Godot. You can’t be sure what it returns will work for you. In the case above I’m pretty sure it will work. I say that because I can code.

Maybe ChatGPT 4.0 mini would do but I haven’t tried it.

I’m using a custom agent called “Godot 4.2 master”. Using custom agents requires a subscription.

[pauldrewett]

@jaceworley3

I hadn’t thought about using ChatGPT for coding but it seems to understand gdscript pretty well here. Do you think it’s something reliable to use?

Try Perplexity. https://www.perplexity.ai/

It is amazingly good IMHO.

But AI is NOT reliable. It hallucinates, makes things up, and can lead you in the completely wrong direction. So be careful, and read the docs every time you find or use a new function. I cannot tell you how many times I have learned of a new method in the docs that I had not known about but solved my problem perfectly. AI may have led me there, but reading the docs is so important IMHO.