Crashing cars and improving hover detection | Motion Magazine

▤ Summary

This article explains why fast cursor movement can skip hover states in web interfaces. It compares the problem to collision detection in video games and tunnelling in physics engines. The author then shows how to fix it by checking the path between the previous and current pointer positions instead of only the current point. The implementation uses Motion APIs, bounding-box measurements, and a slab-method geometry test to detect whether the cursor line crosses an element. The post ends by suggesting the technique can support more nuanced hover-driven animations and interactions.

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