getPos

1.001.001.001.001.501.000.50

GAGlobal

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Description

Description:

Returns object or location position. If the argument is the object, the return value is in format PositionAGLS. Z value is height over the surface underneath.
The alternative syntax gets the position given distance and heading away from provided object or position - the equivalent of BIS_fnc_relPos.

⚠

Do not use this command to get an object's position in 3D format, as the Z value from this command is relative to the surface underneath, and there is no compatible setter command to use it with. Therefore the commonly misused code: _obj1 setPos getPos _obj2 is absolutely wrong.

ⓘ

The only correct use case for this command is to determine the placement height of an object. For example, to determine if a free-falling unit is close enough to the surface (including buildings) to deploy the parachute: waitUntil {(getPos _parachute) select 2 < 200}; // deploy the parachute now!

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This command is significantly slower than other position commands, because it has to calculate the surface below a position. The performance difference depends on object density near the position (in 2D). In areas where a lot of detailed objects are present (e.g. towns), this command can be easily ~20x slower than others. See this page for a performance comparison between various position commands.

Groups:

Positions

Syntax 1

Syntax:

getPos object

Parameters:

object: Object

Return Value:

Array - format PositionAGLS

Syntax 2

Syntax:

getPos location

Parameters:

location: Location

Return Value:

Array - format [x,y,z], where z is -1 * getTerrainHeightASL at the location

1.56

Syntax 3

Syntax:

origin getPos [distance, heading]

Parameters:

origin: Object, Position2D or Position3D

distance: Number - distance from position

heading: Number - in which compass direction

Return Value:

Array - format [x,y,z], where z is land surface position in format PositionAGL

Examples

Example 1:

hintSilent str getPos player;

Example 2:

getPos vs. other methods (over sea). Pay attention to Z values: getPos ship; // [2412.01, 6036.33, -0.839965] getPosATL ship; // [2412.01, 6036.33, 19.4266] getPosASL ship; // [2412.01, 6036.33, -0.920066] getPosASLW ship; // [2412.01, 6036.33, -0.865981] visiblePosition ship; // [2412.02, 6036.33, -0.837952] visiblePositionASL ship; // [2412.02, 6036.33, -0.91798] position ship; // [2412.01, 6036.33, -0.839965]

Example 3:

getPos vs. other methods (over land, on top of a 100m high building). Pay attention to Z values: getPos car; // [2508.64, 5681.47, 0.0609589] getPosATL car; // [2508.64, 5681.47, 100.0356369] getPosASL car; // [2508.64, 5681.47, 171.718] getPosASLW car; // [2508.64, 5681.47, 171.718] visiblePosition car; // [2508.64, 5681.47, 0.0609512] visiblePositionASL car; // [2508.64, 5681.47, 171.718] position car; // [2508.64, 5681.47, 0.0609589]

Example 4:

Find position 100 metres and 45 degrees from player position:player getPos [100, 45];

Additional Information

See also:

getPosVisualgetRelPossetPossetPosAGLSpositiongetPosATLgetPosASLgetPosASLWvisiblePositionvisiblePositionASLgetMarkerPos

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

Posted on 16 Feb, 2007

Dr_Eyeball

getPos obj select 2 might return the vertical position above ground level, but for a stacked object, it returns the vertical position above the object beneath it. The same problem existed for getPosASL (pre-Arma 2 games only). There was a discussion _{(dead link)} thread in the BIS forums which suggested the use of the command modelToWorld instead to get around this issue where an absolute vertical position is required. ArmA Ver 1.02.

Posted on 23 Nov, 2011

Tankbuster

You can use getPos and setPos on triggers.