Highlight-able entities

[gilded field]

I want to be able to highlight specific entities that the player is looking at, i.e.:

1. I have a text display that I want to change color/become bold or whatever when the player is looking at it
2. I am going to have a character select area with armor stands showing different characters, with a clickable text display below to select them. I would like the armor stands to be given the glowing effect when the player looks at the text display underneath the armor stand (each one will probably be tagged with the character name)

Probably have this controlled by a "highlightable" tag or something so I can easily add more highlightable stuff down the line if need be

[agile vortex]

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[ripe fox]

For that you'd need to do some simple raycasting

[stiff jungle]

Raycast

    >>> # Raycasting Guide

Raycasting is when we shoot a line from the player's eyes in the direction they are looking. We use this to get what the player is looking at, and do something to it, such as spawning an explosion.

Raycasting is very simple. All we need do is run a recursive function. This function will run at the player's eyes, check if there is a block at ~ ~ ~, and if there is not, then move 0.1 blocks forward and run itself again. This creates a loop, which will eventually hit a block.

start_raycast function:

# Set the distance limit on the raycast. (10 x limit in blocks, so 1000 would be 100 blocks)
scoreboard players set .limit <any objective> 1000

# Start the raycast
execute at @s anchored eyes positioned ^ ^ ^.1 run function <namespace>:raycast

raycast function:

# Remove one from the limit
scoreboard players remove .limit <objective> 1

# Optional - place a particle, to make the raycast leave a trail
particle minecraft:dust 1 0 0 1 ~ ~ ~

# If the raycast has hit a block, do something
execute unless block ~ ~ ~ #<namespace>:pass_through run setblock ~ ~ ~ diamond_block

# If the raycast hasn't hit a block, continue, but only if the limit is 1 or more (1..)
execute if block ~ ~ ~ #<namespace>:pass_through positioned ^ ^ ^0.1 if score .limit <objective> matches 1.. run function <namespace>:raycast```

namespace/tags/blocks/**pass_through**.json:```
{
    "replace": false,
    "values": [
        "minecraft:air",
        "minecraft:cave_air",
        "minecraft:void_air"
    ]
}

This should be it! Make sure you add all the functions, and fill in all the blanks (indicated by <this>). Then, you can run the start_raycast function as a player, and it should work.

[ripe fox]

Thank you for saving me time Sila lol

[waxen lodge]

lul no problem

that is a guide for raycasting to a block though

[ripe fox]

So in this case instead of checking for a valid block, you'd just check if the highlight-able entity is within a certain distance (or, to be super fancy, use dx,dy,dz target selectors)

Though the latter actually probably wouldn't work for text displays as well

[urban tusk]

@waxen lodge sorry if you're the wrong person to ping right now, but why use a custom block tag, when for 99% of cases #minecraft:replaceable works prefectly fine?

[waxen lodge]

does work if you want it to go through tall flowers

[urban tusk]

if you dont want it to go through flowers and grass then just use minecraft:air

[waxen lodge]

the other airs

i should also add light and structure void tho

[urban tusk]

still will go through them

[waxen lodge]

no?

[novel hare]

execute on target moment

like litterally why do you need raycasting?

[waxen lodge]

execute on target is the target that the entity intends on attacking

so like, the entity another entity is following/attacking

[novel hare]

yes

[gilded field]

i was gonna add a raycasting system anyway for some guns/weapons, would I be able to use the same system for both purposes

[novel hare]

that's what THUNDERSTONE want

[waxen lodge]

huh?

[novel hare]

well ray castsys is kinda multipule function while target is only one line

[waxen lodge]

you don't want to use execute on target. @novel hare, please read the question again

[gilded field]

target is for attacking though right

[waxen lodge]

target doesn't even work for players

[waxen lodge]

you probably wouldn't use the same raycast function, since you'll need different mechanics for each

but the idea and logic is the same

[gilded field]

could I have it so the raycast executes different fucntions depending on the tag that the target entity has?

something like

execute as @e[tag=one_tag, dx=0] positioned ~-0.99 ~-0.99 ~-0.99 if entity @s[dx=0] positioned ~0.99 ~0.99 ~0.99 run function namespace:function1
execute as @e[tag=another_tag, dx=0] positioned ~-0.99 ~-0.99 ~-0.99 if entity @s[dx=0] positioned ~0.99 ~0.99 ~0.99 run function namespace:function2

maybe have the differentiation in the function triggered by the raycast collisoin

so it's not doing essentially 2 raycasts

[waxen lodge]

so you can check when it hits any entity with a specific tag (give all the entities an overall tag) and run a function, then check the specific tag of the entity in the function

[gilded field]

yeah that's what I was thinking

that makes sense

[waxen lodge]

so
hits entity with a tag -> check if it has a specific tag -> apply specific effects

[gilded field]

i feel like that may be inefficient if i end up with a lot of tags i want to test for

is there a way to like

"return" out of a function

[urban tusk]

yep

type return 0

[gilded field]

hmmm

well so in the function that runs once the raycast hits an entity

[urban tusk]

how many?

[gilded field]

i would have like

execute if @e[tag=1]...
execute if @e[tag=2]...
execute if @e[tag=3]...

i feel like there is a better way to do it

[urban tusk]

just 3 tags?

[gilded field]

don't know, I kinda want to future proof it though

probably no more than like

20? like way down the line

[urban tusk]

i mean, if you use @s then unless you have a thousand nothing significant will really happen

@e is bad, but @s is good, so just keep that in mind

[gilded field]

so checking tags with selector is pretty good for performance

oh ok

so as long as the collision function executes as the entity that gets hit by the raycast it should be pretty simple

[urban tusk]

right

[urban tusk]

why so many tags anyway?

why the raycast too

what is your end goal

[gilded field]

i was thinking for the character select each of the buttons would have a tag for the specific character so that it would glow the right armor stand

so like uuuuuh

[waxen lodge]

If you run this as an entity that you know will have at least one of these tags, you can do as @s[tag=…]

[gilded field]

hold on

[urban tusk]

whahhhht

i thought you wanna glow the armorstand you're currently looking at

no?

[gilded field]

the armor stand corresponding to the text display underneath it

[urban tusk]

oohk

[gilded field]

so it would be like

if the raycast hits target with tag1 run function for tagA
if the raycast hits target with tag2 run function for tagB

or i should say "run effect give the armor stand with tagX glowing"

or whatever

[urban tusk]

wait wait

nono nononons

why not just glow the closest armorstand?

thats wayyyyyyy more optimized

[gilded field]

LMAO

genuis

[urban tusk]

selectors have parameter
sort= that could be set to nearest and theres also limit= that could be set to 1 so you only get 1 closest armorstand

[gilded field]

yeah i know

oh lord

[urban tusk]

oh. cool, i thought you were new to datapacks

[gilded field]

i am

[urban tusk]

you make command block stuff before?

[gilded field]

but not to commands

[urban tusk]

yea makes sense

[gilded field]

i remember when i had to /give 137

[urban tusk]

oh you're THAT old

[gilded field]

lmao

[urban tusk]

i remember that time as well

xd

i am not as old tho

[gilded field]

i've been playing since like 1.4 i think

i'm 19 i started playing at like 9 or 10

[urban tusk]

same

[urban tusk]

damn

that means

you're an actual minecraft fan

that did commands

and now tries datapacks

[gilded field]

yeah i did a similar minigame with command blocks like a year ago

but it got to a point where it was a little doodoo

and decided to try datapack

[urban tusk]

ok so you have your current struggle / problem

is this resolved

[gilded field]

need to set up raycasting and try it

a little busy right now though

[urban tusk]

i can sense your familiarity with some real programming languages, am i right?

[gilded field]

i did javascipt for fun here and there. never got much past classes/inheritance and objects and all that

i've been adjacent to programming my whole life, i have a degree in cybersecurity

never quite got into it though

[urban tusk]

oh

cool

[gilded field]

is there a way to pass parameters through a function

so when I call a raycast I can pass through a distance value when I call it

probably a scoreboard right

[waxen lodge]

macros exist but for this use case that’s not really a good idea

you can just set the max score before you run the raycast function

[gilded field]

yeah that's what i was thinking, didn't know if there was a better way or something

[waxen lodge]

you can use macros, so you pass in a NBT compound to the function then whenever you do $(arg) it will replace that with the value you pass in (simplified but that’s the idea)

but for this that wouldnt really work

you could make a utility function to call the raycast and have that use a macro to set the score but just setting the score before you run the function is easier

[gilded field]

that sounds better for maybe text stuff

now i guess another question

is there a way to make the armor stands glow for only one player?

[ripe fox]

I don't believe so

[gilded field]

how do you get it to detect entities

here is everything i have so far also

[waxen lodge]

i might be mistaken but i think you’d do if entity @e[dx=0,dy=0,dz=0]

[gilded field]

i run the start function and nothing happens

both looking at and not looking at an entity

[waxen lodge]

the first line in the raycast function could just be execute if entity @e[dx 0,dy=0,dz=0] as @e[dx 0,dy=0,dz=0] run function <collide function>

then on the last line you only run the raycast function again UNLESS that entity exists

@ripe fox am I correct in it being dx dy dz all equal to 0?

[ripe fox]

No

dx,dy,dz create basically a cuboid selection area, with the current executing position being one corner, that finds any entities who's hotboxes intersect any of that cube. So it needs to be a nonzero value

This is different from using distance as that only finds entities who's foot position is within the radius

[ripe fox]

Generally you also do need to define all 3 for them to work

[gilded field]

so like

execute if entity @e[dx=0.01,dy=0.01,dz=0.01] as @e[dx=0,dy=0,dz=0] run function gf:raycast_collide

?

or do 0.01 for all 6

or do half negative?

[ripe fox]

Again, they need to be nonzero

[gilded field]

so all 0.01?

[ripe fox]

Yes, but the if entity check you have there isnt necessary

Just do the as part

[gilded field]

it runs, detecting me now though

[ripe fox]

What you're doing right now is checking if the entity is there twice (once to see if it's there and once to run the function. That's not necessary, because if there isn't an entity there then of course, it won't run the function as it anyway

[gilded field]

add the raycast_exempt tag to the selector?

[ripe fox]

Or add more specific target selectors, since right now you're detecting any entity

[gilded field]

it's detecting me

[ripe fox]

Indeed

You're an entity

[gilded field]

yeah i have the raycast_exempt tag added to the entity that runs the raycast function

[ripe fox]

Then that would be a way to do it, yes

[gilded field]

got it

[ripe fox]

That would be excluding certain entities. The other option is to have more specific target selectors that don't include those entities

[gilded field]

it works

[ripe fox]

Either is fine and any given use case may prefer one or even both

[ripe fox]

Yooo

Now, game crash question

What happens if it misses?

[gilded field]

nothing

[ripe fox]

Perfect

[gilded field]

distance limit seems to work

could i now replace this first line with

execute as @s run say hit

?

because i think the collision function is run as the entity being hit and that should be more efficient

well i guess i could just try it lol

yep

also is there a way to change the length of an interaction entity

i can change width and height but not length

[ripe fox]

Unfortunately interaction entities are always square on the x and z axes

[gilded field]

damn

[agile vortex]

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Requested by kanokarob

[gilded field]

?

detecting armor stand way off for some reason

[ripe fox]

Take the same screenshot but with F3 mode please

[gilded field]

hitbox is here

[ripe fox]

Yeah, as expected

So it's because dx,dy,dz use the executing position as the negative corner of the cuboid. In this orientation then, the cube is not centered on your line of sight but actually extends up and out to the left, in the positive x,y,z directions. So, even though you're not looking directly at the armor stand, it's within the cuboid target selector

This can be mitigated with either smaller dx,dy,dz arguments, or offsetting the exectuing position first with a positioned ~-x ~-x ~-x command argument

[gilded field]

this line?

[ripe fox]

Yeah, but I am pretty confident those also should not be 0s.

[gilded field]

wait maybe i forgot to change them

i thought i did but i guess not

[ripe fox]

I guess if it's working then you can ignore me, but it seems like it's not and that may be part of the problem, if not the entire problem

[gilded field]

yeah no it's not

i tried setting each to 0.01, it does the same thing

[ripe fox]

Hmm that does seem pretty small

[urban tusk]

when dxyz is 0 that basically means 1 block so i think its ok

[ripe fox]

So it may be an issue elsewhere in your raycast

[waxen lodge]

i assumed dxyz=0 meant the cuboid wasnt a cuboid and just a single point so it’d get any entities whos hitboxes contain the point

if not 0.1 should work

i dunno much about dxyz tho

[gilded field]

this is all my code

[urban tusk]

dxyz=0 is 1 block i am telling you, and when dxyz is 1 it becomes 2 blocks

[gilded field]

so set it to -0.99?

[ripe fox]

Provably false

[waxen lodge]

seems unliekly

[urban tusk]

whatever guys, believe what you want, you can test it yourselves

[ripe fox]

I'm very familiar with this feature, that's just straight up not how it works

It's incredibly accurate and if it worked that way, it just wouldn't be

[urban tusk]

i have mc opened rn

[waxen lodge]

i think im correct in this? assuming that x/y/z=the current position

[ripe fox]

Indeed, I'll cop to that error on my part

[waxen lodge]

i’ve never used this before so im just guessing mostly lol

[urban tusk]

guess what? we're 1 block away and dxyz is exactly 1 block as i told you.

[ripe fox]

Neat.

[ripe fox]

Anyway, unfortunately @gilded field I'm not really seeing anything there that would cause the behavior you're experiencing at a glance 🤔

[waxen lodge]

the smoke particles are correct, yeah?

[gilded field]

yeah the smoke appears in a line just fine

[urban tusk]

what is the tag for

raycast exempt

[gilded field]

to exclude the player executing the raycast

since it starts at the camera

[urban tusk]

ohh right

sure

i usually call this tag self

[ripe fox]

The tag can be applied to many things used in this way

So the way that have it named is fine

[waxen lodge]

ok idea

[urban tusk]

ofcourse

[waxen lodge]

change dxyz=0 to dxyz=0.0, since it might be checking the entire block

[urban tusk]

i never said it wasnt fine

[gilded field]

i like your brain young man

let me see

nope

still does it

[waxen lodge]

this is very basic but you’re definitley saving the correct file and /reloading, right?

[gilded field]

yep

[waxen lodge]

since that was very fast to check it lol

[gilded field]

trust me i get it i do IT for work

[urban tusk]

also, as @s is pointless

[gilded field]

you right

[waxen lodge]

yeah, just stating the obvious lul :P

this is all very confuzzling

[urban tusk]

ngl its not necessary you use dxyz and in your case you can just remove that and use
@e[tag=raycast_exempt,distance=..0.5]

[waxen lodge]

unwise

what if they look at their head

that’s distance to their feet

[gilded field]

yeah no

new gamemode feetshots only

[waxen lodge]

can you zip your datapack rq?

[gilded field]

sure

[waxen lodge]

thats a rar, the bot doesnt like it

[gilded field]

oh uuuuuh

hold up

[waxen lodge]

nah i can open that its fine

[gilded field]

ok

[waxen lodge]

i cant see anything wrong from first looks

[gilded field]

i feel like it was working fine yesterday

[waxen lodge]

this theoretically should work as long as 0 is replace with 0.0

i cant test it or do much rn bcuz its kinda late and i am tired af

[gilded field]

if i turn around and try on a different entity 180 degrees away from the armor stands, same thing happens but on the left side

if i look to the left it still detects

[waxen lodge]

that makes me think that dxyz is counting the full block and not a single point

in which case not much can be done

but anyway i gotta do a sleep

[ripe fox]

Try offsetting the executing position by -0.5 in the collision command, before the as @e

[gilded field]

uuuuuuuh how

[ripe fox]

Paste the command here if you don't mind

[gilded field]

execute as @e[tag=!raycast_exempt,dx=0,dy=0,dz=0] run function gf:raycast_collide

[ripe fox]

execute positioned ~-0.5 ~-0.5 ~-0.5 as @e[tag=!raycast_exempt,dx=0,dy=0,dz=0] run function gf:raycast_collide

[urban tusk]

btw ..1000 includes thousand as well, so in collide you should set it to 1001

[urban tusk]

OHH RIGHT!

OFCOURSE

[ripe fox]

??

[gilded field]

still happens, just less so

only does it about here

[ripe fox]

Right, in theory it should be increasing accuracy, but evidently we're not gonna be able to get it only on the crosshair.

Technically, there is one additional mechanism that might make it 100% accurate. I didn't think it would be required

You could have the player only run the raycast if they meet a predicate for looking at a valid entity

[gilded field]

i feel like it was perfectly accurate yesterday

[ripe fox]

The reason we didn't just do that from the start is that even with that you would still need a raycast

[gilded field]

when i tested it it was right on the hitbox

[ripe fox]

I admit I'm surprised what you shared earlier wasn't working accurately, that hasn't been my experience with similar use cases

But, we have to work with the behavior that we're seeing here

[gilded field]

yeah i don't have a damn clue

[ripe fox]

I don't know what to do with that

[urban tusk]

about that, is this relevant? i just wanted to say you can give interaction entity basically any cuboid shape you want with just those two, i dont really know what do you mean by length, can you show what you wanna change on a screenshot

[gilded field]

just my start button

right now it's a square on x-z but like 2/3 into a wall

it works fine for this use case but i feel like it would restrict for some other thigns

[urban tusk]

yea i dont understand what you wanna change

can you point it out

[gilded field]

i don't need the half on the other side of the wall

it doesn't affect anything here but

[urban tusk]

oh right... i am stupid ig but yea not any cuboid shape is allowed idk why did i think that in the first place

i can only suggest placing 2 smaller interactions

right beside each other

[gilded field]

yeah makes sense

more urgent issue the raycast doesn't work anymore

[urban tusk]

it did work just minutes ago

wtf

did you change anything

[gilded field]

well it worked like yesterday

[gilded field]

no clue, just detects stuff slightly off

[urban tusk]

this is fine, its because now it doesnt activate when you're exactly looking at a entity, but rather if you're looking at a block that is touching entity's hitbox

[gilded field]

the block i'm looking at does not touch the hitbox

[urban tusk]

what dxyz=0 does is creates a area of detecting a entity in 1x1x1 blocks, and what positioned xyz0.5 does is basically aligning that area so that your cursor is in the center of that area

[gilded field]

i want to use this for guns and stuff eventually so i would like it exact

[urban tusk]

yes my bad, re-read #1210635924405231686 message

[urban tusk]

idrk, maybe if it allows negative numbers try setting dxyz to -0.9

[gilded field]

still seems to detect from half a block away

[gilded field]

@urban tusk @ripe fox finally got it to work. literally just had to copy what the youtube tutorial i was originally watching said lol

[ripe fox]

Well, glad that works I guess

Weird syntaxing

[urban tusk]

i see

[gilded field]

can you not call functions in tick.mcfunction??

[hollow quartz]

you can

[gilded field]

this does not run for some reason

i have checked /tag @s list and i have the tag

[hollow quartz]

maybe there is an error in the start_raycast function?

[gilded field]

no i can run it manually just fine

[urban tusk]

bruh you should to at @s too

he forgor at @s and theres no at @s in the raycast_start

[hollow quartz]

oh yeah that ^

[gilded field]

i thought about that

but yeah it works

[urban tusk]

cool

this solved then?

[agile vortex]

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If your question is resolved, that's great to hear! Make sure to run /resolve or click the Resolve Question button. Otherwise, feel free to continue asking for help! :D

Requested by HeDeAn

[gilded field]

in a minute

gotta do the glowing part

and then yeah

[gilded field]

any way to give glowing effect for less than a second?

[ripe fox]

Not currently, you'd need to give it for a second and use some other delay method (schedule or scoreboards) to clear the effect after <20 ticks

[gilded field]

sounds like a way to me

[agile vortex]

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