What is happening?

[abstract whale]

I have some parts with trails on them moving towards the player on the RenderStepped event. I am 'destroying' them when they get close instead of using collision because they are cosmetic only, however something weird is happening with my destroy function. In my 'update' function I do:

if(dist < 1) then
  self:destroy(false)
end

which causes them to behave weird. If I remove this or replace it with self:Destroy() it works how it should (when they get close, they are destroyed). The only reason I'm making my own destroy function is because I want to wait for the trail to expire.

Here is my 'destroy' function:

function ItemStar:destroy(destroyImmediate)
  if not self.part then
    return
  end
    
  if not destroyImmediate then
    self.linearVel.VectorVelocity = Vector3.zero
    self.linearVel:Destroy()
    self.part.Anchored = true
    self.part.Transparency = 0 -- change to 1 after debugging
    wait(2.1)
  end
    
  self.part:Destroy()
end

if I remove the entire "if not destroyImmediate" if statement, this also works.

I've attached a video of what is happening, I think it explains what is happening better than I can with words.

does doing self.linearVel:Destroy() not destroy the linear velocity part? I am updating that in my 'update' function, but I never get any errors in the console.

here is my update function, in case it is a problem with that:

function ItemStar:update(deltaTime)
    if not (self.targetPlayer and self.targetPlayer.Character and self.targetPlayer.Character:FindFirstChild("HumanoidRootPart")) then
        return
    end
    
    local targetPos = self.targetPlayer.Character.HumanoidRootPart.Position
    local direction = (targetPos - self.part.Position).Unit
    local dist = (targetPos - self.part.Position).Magnitude

    local newVel = Vector3.new(0, 0, 0)
    self.lifetime += deltaTime
    
    -- moving
    if(self.lifetime < 0.35) then
        newVel = Utils.LerpVelSpecial(self.linearVel.VectorVelocity, Vector3.zero, 0.07, self.decreaseVelProportion)
    else
        local strength = math.min(math.pow(self.lifetime - 0.35, 3), 35) -- smoothing, - 0.35 to offset wait time and 35 is max
        newVel = self.linearVel.VectorVelocity:Lerp(direction * strength, 0.1125)
    end
    
    -- pulling if out of range
    if(dist > 12) then
        local pullVel = direction * (dist / 2) * 3
        newVel = newVel:Lerp(pullVel, 0.02)
    end
    
    self.linearVel.VectorVelocity = newVel
    
    if(dist < 1) then
        self:destroy(false)
    end
end

The part that is causing them to bounce back and fourth is the 'pulling if out of range' section. What I don't understand is, if this function is still being called when RenderStepped happens, why on earth is the 'else' part of the moving if/else statement not working after self:destroy is called? If I remove the call to destroy completely, that behavior does not happen.

Also, i remove the elements from the table when they are nil in the RenderStepped function, which calls update on the element when it is not nill or removed.

[hybrid stone]

Can you tell me what you want to achieve? I don't understand

[hybrid stone]

What are the parts supposed to do when they reached the player?

[abstract whale]

be destroyed, like the second part of the first video

[coarse slate]

** You are now Level 1! **

[abstract whale]

however i want to wait for the trail to dissapear, so I can't destroy it immediately

[hybrid stone]

add an if statement

if self.Part then task.wait(duration) self.Part:Destroy() end```

[abstract whale]

it also needs to stop moving when reaching the player

thats why i have my destroy function

[hybrid stone]

When it reaches the player does it stop THERE and gets anchored?

[abstract whale]

yes

[hybrid stone]

then Disconnect it when it reaches the player

[abstract whale]

isnt that what im doing by destroying the LinearVelocity part

[hybrid stone]

??

[abstract whale]

shouldnt that now be destroyed and unable to be updated

[hybrid stone]

Disconnecting only works by using :Disconnect() or destroying the part if the connection is tied to an event concerning THAT same part

or using :Once() for an auto-disconnecting connection

hold on i'll need to take a look at the code again

[abstract whale]

ok i think i understand what you're saying

[hybrid stone]

Where is the connection?

script

may i see the script of the connection?

[abstract whale]

im not sure what you mean by "the script of the connection"

sorry

[hybrid stone]

I mean the script where the connection is running

I want to see the code

[abstract whale]

SpawnEvent.OnClientEvent:Connect(function(targetPlayer, config)
    table.insert(itemStars, ItemStar.new(targetPlayer, targetPlayer.Character.HumanoidRootPart.Position + Vector3.new(0, 5, 0), config))
end)

i can't show you the entire thing anymore, i've edited it a lot since posting.

well i mean i can but things have changed on it

its mostly working now, but i had to increase the distance from 1 to 2.5

then it always gets destroyed

[hybrid stone]

are you on studio?

[abstract whale]

yes

[hybrid stone]

can you screenshot it ?

[abstract whale]

screenshot what?

[hybrid stone]

it looks a lot more readable on studio

[hybrid stone]

this same code

[hybrid stone]

.

[hybrid stone]

show the entire RenderStepped

even if you edited it

[hybrid stone]

can you jsut invite me to studio so i don't keep asking a lot?

[abstract whale]

umm to be honest i think the problem is mostly solved or averted by new changes. I think im just going to use that task thing you suggested to wait instead of calling wait(2.1), that might be part of the issue.

[hybrid stone]

Oh alright are you happy with it right now?

[abstract whale]

it could be a bit better but nothing's perfect i guess, especially since this is the first time i've ever done anything in roblox studio

[coarse slate]

** You are now Level 2! **

[abstract whale]

actually tbh maybe something was wrong with wait(2.1). I converted it to use a task instead after you mentioned it, and now I can set the distance back to 1. Im not sure if this is the actual fix or something else i did along the way fixed it since then haha.

[hybrid stone]

you were using wait() instead of task.wait() ?