Made the dart physics better and fixed a bug causing dart to fall when clicked

Scenes/DartPhysics.gd

@@ -2,9 +2,11 @@ extends RigidBody3D
 
 class_name Dart
 
-
-
+#states
+var in_flight: bool = false
 var dragging: bool = false
+
+#drag
 var drag_plane: Plane
 var drag_offset: Vector3 = Vector3.ZERO
 var target_pos: Vector3 = Vector3.ZERO
@@ -12,26 +14,40 @@ var target_pos: Vector3 = Vector3.ZERO
 # velocity tracking for release throw
 var position_history: Array[Vector3] = []
 var time_history: Array[float] = []
-const HISTORY_LENGTH = 5
+const HISTORY_LENGTH = 6
 
 # drag "stiffness" tuning
 @export var drag_follow_speed: float = 20.0   # how fast it chases the mouse
-@export var max_drag_speed: float = 15.0      # clamp so it doesn't go insane
+@export var max_drag_speed: float = 42.0      # clamp so it doesn't go insane
 @export_range(-180,180) var angle_of_plane: float = 15.0
+@export var throw_force_multiplier: float = 0.8   # scale raw throw velocity down if it's too fast
+@export var max_throw_speed: float = 42.0         # hard cap so fast flicks don't kill the arc
+@export var flight_gravity_scale: float = 4.0     # higher = more visible arc
+@export var nose_align_speed: float = 1.0         # how fast dart rotates to face velocity
+@export var dart_forward_axis: Vector3 = Vector3.FORWARD
 
+func _ready():
+	freeze_mode = RigidBody3D.FREEZE_MODE_STATIC
+	freeze = true
+	
 func start_drag(camera: Camera3D, mouse_pos: Vector2, hit_point: Vector3):
 	dragging = true
+	in_flight = false
+	freeze = false
 
 	# keep it physics-active — don't freeze
-	gravity_scale = 1.0          # optional: ignore gravity while held so it doesn't sag
-	linear_damp = 4.0            # optional: a bit of damping for stability while dragged
-
+	gravity_scale = 0.0          # optional: ignore gravity while held so it doesn't sag
+	linear_damp = 5.0            # optional: a bit of damping for stability while dragged
+	angular_damp = 10.0
+	
 	#drag_plane = Plane(camera.global_transform.basis.z, hit_point)
 	var base_normal = camera.global_transform.basis.z
 	var tilt = base_normal.rotated(camera.global_transform.basis.x, deg_to_rad(angle_of_plane))  # tilt adjustable around camera's right axis
 	drag_plane = Plane(tilt.normalized(), hit_point)
 	drag_offset = global_position - hit_point
-
+	
+	target_pos = global_position #fixes a bug where dart drops until mouse is moved.
+	
 	position_history.clear()
 	time_history.clear()
 
@@ -46,6 +62,24 @@ func update_drag(camera: Camera3D, mouse_pos: Vector2):
 	if intersection:
 		target_pos = intersection + drag_offset
 
+func _align_dart_to_velocity(delta: float):
+	if linear_velocity.length() < 0.5:
+		return
+
+	var vel_dir = linear_velocity.normalized()
+	var current_forward = global_transform.basis * dart_forward_axis
+	var rotation_axis = current_forward.cross(vel_dir)
+
+	if rotation_axis.length() < 0.001:
+		return
+
+	rotation_axis = rotation_axis.normalized()
+	var angle = current_forward.angle_to(vel_dir)
+	var rotate_amount = min(angle, nose_align_speed * delta)
+
+	global_transform.basis = global_transform.basis.rotated(rotation_axis, rotate_amount)
+	global_transform.basis = global_transform.basis.orthonormalized()
+
 func _physics_process(delta):
 	if dragging:
 		# chase the target position with velocity instead of teleporting
@@ -64,18 +98,52 @@ func _physics_process(delta):
 		if position_history.size() > HISTORY_LENGTH:
 			position_history.pop_front()
 			time_history.pop_front()
+	elif in_flight:
+		# Debug: confirm Y velocity is dropping (becoming negative) each frame
+		print("local +X world dir: ", global_transform.basis.x)
+		print("local +Y world dir: ", global_transform.basis.y)
+		print("local +Z world dir: ", global_transform.basis.z)
+		print("velocity dir: ", linear_velocity.normalized())
+	
+		# Align dart nose to face velocity direction (tip points the way it's flying)
+		if linear_velocity.length() > 0.5:
+			_align_dart_to_velocity(delta)
+		else:
+			in_flight = false
+			angular_velocity = Vector3.ZERO
+			# If your dart tip points along +Z, use global_position + linear_velocity
+			# If it points along -Z, negate the direction below
+			var look_target = global_position + linear_velocity.normalized()
+			var up_ref = Vector3.UP
+
+			# Avoid gimbal lock when flying straight up/down
+			if abs(linear_velocity.normalized().dot(Vector3.UP)) > 0.99:
+				up_ref = Vector3.FORWARD
+
+			var target_basis = Basis.looking_at(linear_velocity.normalized(), up_ref)
+			global_transform.basis = global_transform.basis.slerp(
+				target_basis, nose_align_speed * delta
+			)
 
 func release_drag():
 	if not dragging:
 		return
 	dragging = false
+	in_flight = true
 
-	gravity_scale = 2
-	linear_damp = 1.0  # reset to whatever your normal dart damping is
+	gravity_scale = flight_gravity_scale
+	angular_damp = 0.0
+	linear_damp = 0.0  # reset to whatever your normal dart damping is
 
-	var velocity = calculate_throw_velocity() * 1.0
+	var velocity = calculate_throw_velocity() * throw_force_multiplier
+	if velocity.length() > max_throw_speed:
+		velocity = velocity.normalized() * max_throw_speed
 	linear_velocity = velocity
 	# angular_velocity left as-is from physics, or compute your own spin here
+	
+	print("throw speed: %.2f" % velocity.length())
+	print("gravity_scale: ", gravity_scale)
+	print("linear_damp: ", linear_damp)
 
 func calculate_throw_velocity() -> Vector3:
 	if position_history.size() < 2: