Question How do I pre-bake math?

So I’m wanting a loop to handle status effects levels.

Not exactly this, but I want to take say 100 fire damage and get a level of burn applied to a target.

So let’s say you do 1 fire damage makes level 1.

2 fire damage makes level 2, and so on so that 100 fire damage would be level 50 burn.

Obviously doing such a loop would get expensive at say 100,000 fire damage.

Is there a way I can cut corners here and pre-bake the math?

Or maybe there’s a better way?

Especially considering what do I do if I apply more fire to a target already burning?

 

What do you mean by pre-bake? Do you mean an algorithm?

Just figure out some kind of calculation that determines the level of burn based off the value. No need to loop.

 

https://docs.unity3d.com/ScriptReference/AnimationCurve.html
https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/EditingCurves.html

 

there's also LookUpTables (pre calculated values in array, if your algorithm is slow/complex)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lookup_table

note: calling AnimationCurve.evaluate() in large loops can be slow, LUT can help there too.

or use another thread / jobs / compute shaders, if need to crunch numbers.

 

What you described here is not really a pattern. If 1 fire damage gives you level 1 burn and 2 fire damage gives you 2, it would be linear relationship. How do you end up with 50 at 100 damage? You said "and so on" but your last example doesn't make sense. If you can't even explain your desired logic, you can't code it. Animation curves can help to setup non linear relationships between values. However to me it's not really clear what exactly you want to do. When you apply damage to an enemy you usually just want to calculate the level of burn to apply based on the damage. However you have to give more samples to actually identify a pattern. It's possible to find countless equations that would produce your 3 samples. Use a site like this and enter your desired values and desired kind of function. It will give you an equation that produces those values or at least approximates them

 

Thanks for the help everyone, but I’m realizing m doing this backwards.

what I SHOUD be doing is just adding to a value then have it tick away a percentage.

 

Every time I see a Not_Sure post I get so confused. Their communication sounds coherent but there's always this odd detail off in what they say, and it always stirs up at least a handful of responses, some of which is asking for clarification as well as giving a semblance of an answer.

Not_Sure then either doesn't respond, or if they do, they certainly never clarify on the confusing part and it is more a "complain about this thing" thread.

My suspicion is that they use the forums more as a rubber duck, than as an actual discussion. Or at the very most as a one-way transaction.

Case in point I seldom ever see them respond to someone else, but only create their own threads. And a quick glance at their post history just now sort of confirms this... lots of posts... all their own threads.