Workshop › Pinball › Step 30 of 42

A moving wall

What we are doing

Try it: a ball resting on a flipper barely moves when the flipper flips, because the bounce only looks at the ball's own speed. The fix is to bounce on the ball's speed relative to the surface. hitSegment gets an optional sixth parameter, a function that tells how fast the surface moves at a point.

```js
// Push the ball out of a segment and bounce it. `surface` is how fast the segment itself moves at that point:
// the bounce works on the speed of the ball relative to the surface, which is how a flipper throws the ball.
function hitSegment(x1, y1, x2, y2, bounce, surface) {

  const sx = surface ? surface(px, py).x : 0
  const sy = surface ? surface(px, py).y : 0
  const vn = (ball.vx - sx) * nx + (ball.vy - sy) * ny
```

What it means

Your turn

  1. Replace the comment above hitSegment with the two new lines, and add , surface to its parameters.
  2. Replace the const vn = ... line in hitSegment with the three lines shown.

Skills: Velocity and gravity, Functions

All steps

  1. Paint the table
  2. Draw one wall
  3. A list of walls
  4. The game loop
  5. A ball in the lane
  6. Draw the ball
  7. Move by the velocity
  8. Launch with Space
  9. Gravity
  10. Does the ball touch a wall?
  11. Push the ball out
  12. Bounce off the wall
  13. Small steps and a speed limit
  14. Ready or playing
  15. The next ball
  16. Three bumpers
  17. The ball meets a bumper
  18. A bumper kicks
  19. A score and a fresh start
  20. Points for every hit
  21. Remember which bumper was hit
  22. Light it up
  23. Lit for a moment, points once
  24. Two flippers
  25. Where is the tip?
  26. Flippers stop the ball
  27. Which keys are held?
  28. Which way to turn
  29. Flip!
  30. A moving wall
  31. The flipper throws
  32. Three balls
  33. Balls left and game over
  34. Play again
  35. Remember the best score
  36. Launch on letting go
  37. Pull the spring
  38. Show the spring
  39. Two thumbs
  40. Pull with a finger
  41. Tap to play again
  42. Build it yourself: slingshots