> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://malbersanimations.gitbook.io/animal-controller/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://malbersanimations.gitbook.io/animal-controller/secondary-components/mdamager/mprojectile.md). # MProjectile ## Overview `MProjectile` is the runtime component on a projectile prefab — an arrow, a bullet, a thrown axe, a rolling spike. It handles impact damage, pooling and life-time cleanup through the same [Damager](/animal-controller/secondary-components/mdamager.md#overview) system used by melee weapons. It can be fired on its own with `Fire()`, or launched by a component that prepares it first — a [Projectile Thrower](/animal-controller/secondary-components/mdamager/projectile-thrower.md), a [Shootable weapon](/animal-controller/how-to-ac/create-a-shootable-weapon-from-scratch.md), or a Super Item's [Projectile - Fire](/animal-controller/super-item/super-item-system/item-processors/projectile-fire.md) processor. Whichever fires it calls `Prepare()` to hand over gravity, velocity, the hit layer and the object pool before calling `Fire()`. {% hint style="info" %} **How the projectile travels is now a separate, swappable object.** Earlier versions hard-coded a single ballistic trajectory directly on `MProjectile`, with Rotation Behavior and Gravity as its own fields. That logic now lives in a **Movement** — Flying, Rolling, or Homing — assigned in the **Physics** tab. Existing prefabs migrate automatically the first time they're opened in the editor, or in one pass via **Tools ▸ Malbers Animations ▸ Migrate Projectiles To Movements**. Nothing already authored on a saved prefab is lost. {% endhint %} \[Img: Inspector overview, four tabs visible] ## General It uses the same properties as the [MDamager General Tab](/animal-controller/secondary-components/mdamager.md#general). ## Projectile Properties ### Life Amount of seconds the projectile stays in the air. If it hasn't touched anything by the time this runs out, it's removed (destroyed or returned to its pool — see **Impact Behavior** below). ### Life Impact Life of the projectile AFTER impact. If it isn't destroyed on impact, it waits this long before being removed. Set to 0 to ignore it. ### Radius Radius used to Sphere Cast ahead of the projectile (Flying and Homing), so a fast-moving or small target isn't missed by a thin ray. ### Offsets #### Position Local position offset applied when the projectile is instantiated on the launcher — e.g. nudging the arrow into the bow's grip. #### Rotation Local rotation offset applied the same way. ### On Impact #### Impact Behavior | Option | Behavior | | ----------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **None** | Stops exactly where it hit. | | **Stick On Surface** | Sticks to the contact point and parents itself to the surface. Use for arrows, spears, thrown axes. | | **Destroy On Impact** | Destroyed immediately — never returned to the pool. | | **Activate Rigid Body** | Enables full physics on the Rigidbody so it can bounce, roll, or fall away naturally. | | **Disable On Impact** | Deactivated and returned to the pool immediately. | {% hint style="info" %} **Projectiles stuck together auto-release.** If a Stick On Surface projectile embeds into ANOTHER projectile (e.g. a thrown axe lands on an already-stuck axe), the child is automatically unparented the moment the parent one is destroyed or returned to its pool — it isn't dragged along or recycled with it. Only the immediate child is released; if that child has something stuck to IT, that one stays attached. {% endhint %} #### Penetration *(Stick On Surface only.)* How far the projectile is pushed into the surface, so it doesn't visually float above it. #### Drag On Impact *(Activate Rigid Body only.)* Linear drag applied to the Rigidbody once physics takes over. ### References #### Rigid Body Reference to the projectile's Rigidbody. A Movement drives it directly (kinematic `MovePosition` / `MoveRotation`) while the projectile travels — it is never launched with `AddForce`. #### Collider Reference to the projectile's main collider. #### Trail Optional Trail Renderer, cleared automatically whenever the projectile fires or returns to the pool. ## Damage It uses the same properties as the [MDamager Damage Tab](/animal-controller/secondary-components/mdamager.md#damage). ### Keep Values Disabled by default. A launcher that fires this projectile overrides its Stat Modifier, Hit Layer and Trigger Interaction — e.g. the arrow gets its damage from the bow, the bullet from the pistol. Enable it to always use the values authored on the projectile itself, regardless of what fires it. ## Physics ### Physics Force #### Min Force / Max Force Minimum and maximum force applied to a Rigidbody the projectile hits. #### Force Mode Standard Unity `ForceMode` used when applying that force. ### Push Multiplier Multiplier applied on top of the force pushed into the Rigidbody the projectile hits. ### Movement {% hint style="info" %} This field is empty until a Movement is assigned — the projectile can't travel without one. A newly added `MProjectile` defaults to **Flying**. {% endhint %} The **Movement** is a swappable module that owns everything about how the projectile actually travels — its position, its rotation, and, for Rolling, its own hit detection. Three ship with the framework: ``` MProjectile └─ Movement ├─ Flying – ballistic trajectory: arrows, bullets, thrown axes, fireballs ├─ Rolling – kinematic ground sweep: rolling spikes, ground-hugging blades └─ Homing – steers toward a target: seeking arrows, homing missiles ``` \[Img: Movement field, showing the Flying / Rolling / Homing type picker] A launcher — Projectile Thrower, Shootable weapon, or the [Projectile - Fire](/animal-controller/super-item/super-item-system/item-processors/projectile-fire.md) item processor — can also carry its own **Movement Override**, which replaces the Movement of every projectile it fires without touching the projectile prefab itself. Leave a launcher's override empty to use whatever Movement the projectile already has. #### Flying Movement The ballistic trajectory. Gravity and Rotation are both owned here now — see the hint at the top of this page if you're coming from a version where they lived directly on `MProjectile`. **Rotation** | Option | Behavior | | --------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | | **None** | Keeps the rotation it was fired with. | | **Follow Trajectory** | Turns to face its direction of travel — arrows, spears. | | **Random** | Spins continuously around one random axis picked at launch. | | **Axis** | Tumbles around a fixed local axis — a thrown axe. | \[Img: Rotation dropdown on Flying Movement, showing all four options] **Torque** *(Random and Axis only.)* Speed of the spin, in degrees per second. **Torque Axis** *(Axis only.)* Axis the projectile spins around, in its OWN local space. E.g. a thrown axe tumbling end over end spins around its local Right `(1, 0, 0)`. **Axis Follow Trajectory** *(Axis only.)* Enabled: the projectile faces its trajectory AND spins around Torque Axis on top of that — a thrown axe. Disabled: it keeps the rotation it was launched with and only spins in place — a shuriken. **Trajectory Roll** *(Follow Trajectory only.)* Roll around the flight axis, in degrees per second. **Gravity** Gravity applied while the projectile flies. Zero makes it travel in a straight line. A launcher reads this value to aim, so the predicted trajectory line always matches the real flight. **After Distance** Delays gravity until the projectile has travelled this many meters. Set to 0 to apply gravity from the moment it's fired. \[Img: Gif of a projectile with After Distance = 5] #### Rolling Movement {% hint style="info" %} Rolling is a kinematic ground sweep — it ignores gravity, mass and drag entirely. Layers in **Ground Mask** are what it walks on and is blocked by; they NEVER count as damage. Everything on the Hit Layer is damaged as the projectile sweeps through it. {% endhint %} \[Img: Gif of a spike rolling along uneven ground and stopping at a wall] **Direction** | Option | Source | | ----------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Owner Forward** *(default)* | The direction the firing character is facing. | | **Launch Velocity** | The spawn point's own forward — usually a hand bone, which can point wherever the rig's axis happens to point. | | **Aim Direction** | The Owner's Aim component direction, when it has one. | **Speed** Travel speed in meters per second. Set to 0 to use the launch Velocity's magnitude (the launcher's Power) instead. **Ground Mask** Layers the projectile treats as ground and as blocking obstacles. **Deactivate** | Option | Behavior | | -------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- | | **Life** *(default)* | Removed once **Life** (seconds) elapses. | | **Max Distance** | Removed once **Max Distance** (meters) is travelled. | **Max Distance / Destroy On Max Distance** *(Used when Deactivate is Max Distance.)* Max Distance is how far it can travel. Destroy On Max Distance removes it the instant that's reached; disabled, it stops in place and waits out **Life Impact** first. **Destroy On Life** *(Used when Deactivate is Life.)* Same choice, for the Life timer. **Start Offset** Distance in meters to push the spawn point forward — along the travel direction — before the projectile starts moving. Useful for clearing the caster's own collider. **Height Offset** Extra height above the ground surface, added on top of the collider's own automatically-measured clearance. **Max Up Slope Angle / Max Down Slope Angle** Steepest slope the projectile can climb or descend, in degrees. Anything steeper stops it — Up for a wall, Down for a ledge. Set either to 0 to ignore that limit entirely. **Align To Ground** Tilts the projectile to match the ground normal while it travels — the usual choice for a spike or blade hugging the terrain. **Rotation / Torque / Torque Axis / Trajectory Roll** Rolling's own copy of the Rotation Behaviour described under Flying Movement above (they're separate fields, not shared). Only used when **Align To Ground** is disabled. **Pierce** Enabled: damages every target it sweeps through and keeps travelling. Disabled: stops on the first target it damages. **Rolling Events** *(Shown only while Rolling Movement is selected.)* **On Hit Tag** — invoked when the projectile's main collider hits a GameObject carrying one of its Tags. **On Hit Position Without Impact / On Hit Transform Without Impact** — invoked when a Magic Particle (not the main collider) hits something, without stopping the projectile. **On Reached Max Distance** — invoked when the sweep ends. `true` when it stopped because Max Distance was reached; `false` for every other reason (obstacle, slope, life, no ground under it). #### Homing Movement \[Img: Gif of a projectile curving toward a moving target] **Target Source** | Option | Behavior | | ------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Owner Aim** *(default)* | Chases the Owner's Aim component target, then its aim point. | | **Nearest In Radius** | Chases the nearest valid collider inside **Search Radius**, re-acquiring automatically if the target is lost. | **Speed** Travel speed in meters per second. Set to 0 to use the launch Velocity's magnitude. **Turn Rate** How fast the projectile can steer toward its target, in degrees per second. **Homing Delay** Seconds to fly straight before homing kicks in — lets the projectile clear the caster first. **Search Radius** *(Nearest In Radius only.)* Radius used to find, and to re-acquire, a target. **Lose Target Angle** Stops homing once the angle to the target exceeds this, in degrees — the projectile has overshot and flies straight from then on. Set to 0 to home forever. **Face Direction** Rotates the projectile to face its direction of travel. ### Interactions #### Custom Reaction Your own custom reaction, run in place of the Damage Receiver's default one. #### Interact / Interactor ID If the Damage Receiver has an [Interactable](/animal-controller/global-components/interactable.md) component, Interact triggers it, sending Interactor ID as the value. ### Effects #### Audio Source AudioSource used to play the surface hit sound. Added automatically if the projectile doesn't already have one. #### Hit Effects Surface Effects asset played on impact. Entry `[0]` is the default effect, used when the target has no Surface of its own. #### Effect Duration Time before the Hit Effect is returned to its pool. Set to 0 and the effect is never auto-released — it must disable itself. ### Stop Animator #### Animator Stop Time Time the Animator will be stopped. If it's zero, stopping the Animator is ignored. #### Animator Speed Value of the Animator's speed while it's stopped. #### Animator If there's an Animator Controller, it will be the one stopped. ## Events ### On Fire Invoked when the projectile is fired. ### On Ray Cast Hit Invoked when Flying or Homing's forward cast finds a hit, right before the impact is processed. ### On Hit Invoked when the projectile hits a damager. ### On Hit Position Invoked when the projectile hits a damager. Returns the hit point on the Damager Receiver. ### On Hit Interactable Invoked when the Damager Receiver has an Interactable attached. ### On Profile Changed Invoked when the damage profile changes. ### On Attack Missed Invoked when the attack roll comes back a miss. ### On Critical Invoked when the hit lands as a critical. {% hint style="info" %} Rolling Movement adds four more events — On Hit Tag, On Hit Position/Transform Without Impact, and On Reached Max Distance — documented under [Rolling Movement](#rolling-movement) above, since they only appear in the inspector while Rolling is selected. {% endhint %}