In earlier lessons, we created targets that moved front to back and side to side. Targets that move in a straight line use paths with two waypoints; a beginning and an end. But if you want a target to zig-zag or move in a square, you’ll need to create paths with multiple waypoints. Target paths can have up to 10 waypoints.
In this lesson, we will create a path with 5 waypoints so that the target moves in a box formation as shown below.
Start DART Studio and go to the Motion menu of the Flat Targets section. You will see a screen that looks something like this.
Our target’s path already has 1 waypoint. We’ll set the position of the first waypoint, then we’ll add 4 more to finish our path.
In the Navigation Panel at the top of the screen, set the Horizontal value of the first waypoint to -3 and the Distance value to 15.
Add a second waypoint by clicking the Add button under Path Waypoints. When you add a waypoint, it is created in the exact spot as the previous one and you are automatically moved to the new waypoint. You will see that the command panel now reads Waypoint 2 of 2.
In the Navigation Panel at the top of the screen, set the Horizontal value to 10 and the Distance to 45.
Click the Add button again to add the third waypoint. In the Navigation Panel at the top of the screen, set the Horizontal value to 10 and the Distance value to 45.
Click the Add button again to add the fourth waypoint. In the Navigation Panel at the top of the screen, set the Horizontal value to 3 and the Distance value to 15.
Click the Add button once more to add the fifth and last waypoint. Since we want the target to finish in the same place it began, we’ll set the position values to the same numbers used for the first waypoint. Set the Horizontal value -3 and the Distance value to 15.
Next, we need to tell the target how much time it has to move along the path. Do this by setting the Travel Time slider to 8.
Preview the path using the Preview button or pressing the 3 key on your keyboard. Your target's motion should look like this.