Planet Directional Gravity - Problems creating reference vectors in center of sphere (finding angles from normal vector etc.)

[Yoboji]

Really struggling, and would appreciate input from math wizards.

Link to video example: Reddit - Dive into anything

To simplify finding the normal and forward vector direction of a character, I created a reference cube that rotates at the center of the planet. The top of the cube points towards the player character and rotates according to the x/y angle from +Z or -Z (top or bottom of the planet)

However, when z approaches 0 at the equator the angle calculation doesnt seem to work properly. Also there seems to be a lot of issues at the poles.

How can I make the movent of the cube follow the player positon perfectly? What am I missing?

Link to original concept diagram:

https://www.reddit.com/r/unrealengine/comments/13qjejq/help_a_blueprint_noob_how_do_i_achieve_this/
Full Blueprint:

Planet Center to Player Vector:

Top of Planet Rotators

Bottom of Planet Rotators

[ClockworkOcean]

You’re suffering from ‘gimbal lock’. Too long to explain

I suggest, it’s best to either follow a working tutorial, like

or use an easier technique, which is just aligning the player to the mesh normal.

[Yoboji]

Thank you! Why do the answers always look so obvious and simple when looking in the rear view mirror? Here is what I used ⇩

[ClockworkOcean]

Much better

Like I say, it’s also possible to make a pawn which does a downward trace and adopts the location and normal from the surface.

That way, your planet can be any shape