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Signal
From LBPWiki
A signal is a message sent from one item to another indicating it's state in LBP via a wire, pulled from one item (such as a switch) and attached to another. Signal behaviour differs between LBP1 and LBP2.
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LBP1 Signal Behaviour
In LBP1, signals are either analog or digital, and the type of signal is decided by tweaking the device that produces the signal. For example, changing the trigger mode of a magnetic key switch to Speed sends an analog signal down the wire, depending on how close the relevant magnetic key is. This analog signal is transferred down all the wires pulled from the switch, which then varies the brightness of a light, the speed of a bolt or any other control that can be adjusted gradually.
However, if this same magnetic key switch is instead set to On/Off, a digital signal is sent down the wire instead. This would directly turn the light and the bolt on and off, without varying the speed or dimming the brightness.
It is important to understand in LBP1 that any signal is either analog or digital.
LBP2 Signal Behaviour
In LBP2, analog and digital signals are sent down wires at the same time, and devices receiving the signal decide how to react to them depending on how their "Input Action" has been tweaked. For example, you would not tweak the sensor to output speed - instead, you would tweak the bolt or the light to accept an analog input (Speed Scale for the bolt or Dimmer for the light). By allowing analog and digital signals to be sent down the same wire to be chosen from at the source, one signal producer can now control many more signal receivers.
Bi-directional Signals
A bi-directional signal is a digital signal that can have 3 values instead of 2 - positive, negative and off. It is produced by items such as the 3-way switch, and can make certain things behave differently, whether it be making a motor bolt rotate left and right, or adding and subtracting from a counter.
When objects are moving, or when a player is providing an input - e.g., holding a direction on a control stick - LBP2 calculates this bi-directionally. Therefore, "right" is a positive number, but "left" is considered a negative number ("anti-right"). Similarly, down is calculated as the negative of up, and counter-clockwise is the negative of clockwise.
For more information on how bi-directional signals affect objects, be sure to check out the specific object's article.
Signal Ownership
In LBP2 wires also transfer data about which player created the signal. This data is used to make certain materials change colour to match a specific player's colour and in conjunction with the Score Giver to ensure points are given to the correct player. This data can be created with Player Sensors, physical switches (like Buttons), or other player-activated or -controlled devices, especially through Controlinators.
Bear in mind that signal ownership affects only when it is combined with positive or negative signal otherwise it is only transfered over.
For information how logic component carries player ownership over look components own page.
For more information about analog and digital signals, be sure to visit their respective articles.
