When finishing up on version 0.1.5 of my Shooter Sandbox project I didn’t anticipate deep diving its ballistics model quite so soon, but sometimes inspiration strikes and you just have to roll with it.
One thing leads to another, the system expands into its own plugin, and here we are!
The Ballistics System plugin is an entirely standalone solution for the creation and control of both hitscan and fully simulated projectiles affected by gravity/air resistance, capable of dealing damage, deflecting off surfaces, and punching through solid objects.
Download the Unreal project
If you’re already a Patron of mine in the Tutorial Content tier you can download the Ballistic System plugin right now via this downloads page. Let me know if you find it useful!
These features are all highly configurable and dead easy to implement into your existing shooter projects.
You can read more about how it all works under the hood on the documentation page.
I owe a great debt of gratitude to Jeremy Faucomprez and the rest of the Insurgency: Sandstorm team for their generosity in sharing an inside look into Insurgency’s ballistics model, right down to the specifics.
His talk at Unreal Fest Europe 2019 both inspiring and informative, I highly recommend giving it a look!
Shooter Sandbox 0.1.6
I’ve also smuggled in another release of the Shooter Sandbox, right under your very noses. Surprise!
Naturally, version 0.1.6 of the Sandbox includes the full integration of the Ballistic System into the project, replacing the old hitscan-only system that has existed in the project since the Competitive Recoil days.
Although the lion’s share of the work has gone into developing the Ballistics System for the Sandbox, version 0.1.6 comes with a number of other notable changes:
- The project now comes packaged with the Advanced Sessions plugin which exposes a lot of useful online subsystem functionality to Blueprint.
- The server menu has been reworked to support level selection
- The Action, Attribute, and Inventory Systems have been refactored to minimize their reliance on each other. It’s now a lot easier to pick and choose the systems/mechanics you need without migrating half the project out with them.
- Additional art/audio content has been added to support the new Ballistic System, including a new weapon variant and unique impact/ricochet sounds for a range of different surfaces.
Advanced Sessions
Advanced Sessions is being developed by Joshua Statzer, and has been made available entirely for free. This is extraordinary generous, and if you have the means please consider supporting the project on Patreon.
You can find licensing information for the plugin in the project files under:PluginsAdvanced SessionsLICENSE.txt
What’s next?
A few updates ago I was sadly forced to remove a few weapons from the Sandbox to zero-in on the Assault Rifle animation set and its support for ambidexterity. Removing content is never great and I’m now looking to add this work back in as soon as possible.
At the same time I’ve taken the opportunity to properly audit the weapon assets I’ve been using in the Sandbox. Coming originally from Lyra, these meshes are used in a number of Epic’s sample projects now and I’d like to lean into this by expanding the selection.
I’ve started by splitting each weapon into components that can be kitbashed into different configurations. Each component has been optimized (although some have been significantly reworked) to support this.
I’m looking forward to sharing more art with you as it filters back into the Sandbox, as well as any new weapons that will come out of this approach.
It’s high time we had a submachine gun.
