findEmptyPosition

1.001.501.000.50

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Description

Description:

Searches for an empty position around specified position. The search starts looking for an empty position at a minimum distance of [radius] from the [center] and looks as far away as [radius + maxDistance]. This command ignores moving objects present within the search area. The search area can be preloaded with findEmptyPositionReady command.

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This command does not work outside of world dimensions and will always return the provided center. Objects outside the world dimensions will not be considered in the detection either.

Groups:

Positions

Syntax

Syntax:

center findEmptyPosition [areaRadius, maxDistance, vehicleType]

Parameters:

center: Array format Position2D or Position3D - search area center position in format [x,y] or [x,y,z] in which case z is ignored

areaRadius: Number - wanted area radius

maxDistance: Number - stop searching no further than areaRadius + maxDistance from the center

vehicleType: String - (Optional) classname of a vehicle to accommodate

Return Value:

Array - a suitable empty position in format Position3D or empty array [] if not found

Examples

Example 1:

_position = getPosASL player findEmptyPosition [0, 100];

Example 2:

_position = _center findEmptyPosition [10,100,"UH60M_EP1"];

Example 3:

Check if exact position is empty:

_position = _center findEmptyPosition [0, 0, "B_Boat_Armed_01_minigun_F"];

Additional Information

See also:

findEmptyPositionReady selectBestPlaces isFlatEmpty BIS_fnc_findSafePos

Notes

Report bugs on the Feedback Tracker and/or discuss them on the Arma Discord or on the Forums.
Only post proven facts here! Add Note

Killzone_Kid - c

Posted on Nov 06, 2013 - 18:10 (UTC)

Keep search radius short and sweet, under 50 metres maybe. Searching big area takes long time and will result in your game stop responding until the search is over. isFlatEmpty is probably more suitable for a larger area search.

old_man_auz - c

Posted on Mar 06, 2012 - 00:50 (UTC)

I think the radius parameter should be treated as a 'minimum distance' from the centre position. I found that the parameter name radius was not very clear. Also, if radius is greater than max distance then the function will always return an empty array. Here is an snippet of code I use to find a safe landing zone for an extraction helicopter. It may be useful for someone.

_centre = [getMarkerPos "marker", random 150, random 360] call BIS_fnc_relPos; _extraction_point = []; _max_distance = 100; while { count _extraction_point < 1 } do { _extraction_point = _centre findEmptyPosition [30, _max_distance, "UH60M_EP1"]; _max_distance = _max_distance + 50; };

In the above example, make sure that "_max_distance" is greater than 30, otherwise the while loop will go forever.