SDL subtracting vectors

[againtry]

You can’t simply add a velocity vector to a position vector without taking into account time.


In Cartesian (xy) coordinate system:
Object position 5,9 initially say.
Velocity vector 3,2 per hour.

After 2 hours distance travelled 3*2, 2*2 = 6,4

New position vector of object is 5+6, 9+4 = 11,13

[helios]

one thing that still does kind of confuse me though is, why does magnitude represent x and why does direction represent y, isn't the x axis also technically direction?

Repeat after me: "A vector is a pair of numbers. Nothing more." Every time you find something about vectors you don't understand, repeat this sentence as see if helps to understand what's happening.

What does (10, 1) mean? Does it mean "almost straight up but slightly to the right"? No, it doesn't mean anything more than (10, 1). You give it meaning. If you choose to interpret the vector as being in a Cartesian coordinate system, it may indeed mean "almost straight up but slightly to the right". If you choose to interpret it in a polar coordinate system it could mean "10 units in direction 57.3 degrees". You could invent your own unique system that no one has thought of.

In a Cartesian coordinate system, indeed all components contribute to the direction of the vector. In a polar coordinate system, only one of them does, and the other component is the magnitude of the vector.