HELP: One-shot pistons

[FlowersInHisHair]

Hi everybody,

I'm making a spinning circle maze, and I want the entrace to seal up behind the player. I'd like to use a wooden block to plug the entrance. I've connected it to a piston and attached a sensor switch to trigger the piston to move the block into position. It works like a dream, except the piston moves the block backwards and forwards continuously. I just don't seem to be able to get the piston to move the block and then stop permanently.

Can anyone help?

[Justin Hopewell]

You'll need to use more than a proxy switch, if that's what you're using. There's two things you could do:

1. Get rid of the proxy switch and put down a red push switch that the player has to press to move forward, or...

2. Have your proxy switch activate another device offscreen, which activates a mag switch (set to direction) that's connected to your trap door. Whatever this new device is will need to be something that will keep the mag switch on permanently when your maze starts rotating AND when your player moves away from the proxy switch. I would suggest using an emitter that drops a mag key with unlimited lifetime into a small enclosed box with the mag switch.

[FlowersInHisHair]

Thanks for answering. What should I use to move the block into place? The piston is just going back and forth over and over.

[Trader Sam]

The above image is how I would set up such a system. When the player trips the proximity switch it dissolves the block that the magnetic key is on. The matching switch is set to "inverted" so it is only in the "on" position when the key is not present. In your case you would want to make sure that the magnetic switch is also set to direction. Setting a switch to direction makes everything change direction of travel when the switch moves from an off state to an on state. With pistons winches and wobble bolts this means that they will sit at the their respective minimum/maximum extensions until the state of the switch changes.
In simpler terms:
In this manner your piston will be holding the door open until the switch is triggered at that point the switch will be activated and will tell the piston to stop contracting and start extending thus pushing the door closed.

On a side note I apologize for the poor image quality, I am sans capture card!


Edit:
Obviously the dissolve material should be somewhere off screen if you want to make sure everything looks professional.

[moleynator]

I made one where there was a sensor that had a big radius, but too far away from the piston to make it move when you are near it. It was an on/off switch. It only went down. Not up (Unless you move a little way away from it).

[Voltiare]

The above image is how I would set up such a system. When the player trips the proximity switch it dissolves the block that the magnetic key is on. The matching switch is set to "inverted" so it is only in the "on" position when the key is not present. In your case you would want to make sure that the magnetic switch is also set to direction. Setting a switch to direction makes everything change direction of travel when the switch moves from an off state to an on state. With pistons winches and wobble bolts this means that they will sit at the their respective minimum/maximum extensions until the state of the switch changes.
In simpler terms:
In this manner your piston will be holding the door open until the switch is triggered at that point the switch will be activated and will tell the piston to stop contracting and start extending thus pushing the door closed.

On a side note I apologize for the poor image quality, I am sans capture card!


Edit:
Obviously the dissolve material should be somewhere off screen if you want to make sure everything looks professional.

Here is the video to what this guy is explaining. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr6dwoOTZCw"]YouTube - EGTV: LittleBigPlanet Expert's Guide: Level Design[/ame]

It's really interesting and I use it all the time.

[FlowersInHisHair]

Thanks Justin and Trader Sam - that was just the ticket. Thanks ever so much everyone for the assistance!

[Cloud]

I know you already fixed yours, but you could have also used a sensor switch where the person is starting, then make the radius so that the player leaves it as soon as he is on the other side of the door. If you set the sensor switch to Direction and Inverted, the door should close and never open up again unless there is someone on the other side of the door.