aurora-fs

Development Log

Ammo System

Creating The Ammo System & Ammo Typing

October 9, 2024

In game development, designing a reliable and immersive ammo system is essential for a shooter. It influences the game's pacing, the player's decision-making, and overall experience. When developing my ammo system, I focused on flexibility, realism, and modularity to suit various weapon types like SMGs, pistols, sniper rifles, and more. Let me walk you through the process of building the system, from the initial idea to the final implementation.

1. Understanding the Basics: Ammo System Requirements

The first step was outlining the requirements for the ammo system. Since my game features different types of weapons—ranging from automatic and burst-fire weapons to sniper rifles with projectile-based mechanics—I needed a system that could support:

Magazine capacity: Tracking how much ammo is loaded in the current magazine.
Reserve ammo: Monitoring the ammo available for reloading.
Weapon-specific rules: Implementing logic for semi-automatic, automatic, and burst-fire weapons.
Seamless reloading: Ensuring the reload process is smooth and responsive, with the correct ammo deductions.

With this in mind, I aimed to create a flexible system that could easily be adjusted for future expansions like unique ammo types or specialized weapons.

2. Structuring Ammo Variables

The ammo system revolved around two key variables: CurrentAmmo and ReserveAmmo. Initially, I had a simple setup with these two variables, but I encountered an issue where ReserveAmmo wasn’t properly decreasing when reloading. Here's how I tackled the problem:

CurrentAmmo: Tracks the number of bullets left in the gun's magazine.
ReserveAmmo: Keeps track of how much ammo remains in total after the magazine.

To fix the ReserveAmmo issue (where it wouldn't go below 40), I ensured the system deducted the exact amount loaded into the magazine, preventing it from staying static during reloads.

I also renamed some variables for clarity:

NewCurrentAmmo was renamed to CurrentAmmo.
CurrentAmmo was renamed to UpdateAmmo.

These changes helped in keeping the code more readable and consistent throughout.

3. Ammo Calculation and Reloading Logic

The most crucial part of the system was how ammo was updated during shooting and reloading. Here's a breakdown of the logic:

When the player shoots:
- Decrease CurrentAmmo by one for each shot fired.
- If the gun is empty, prevent shooting until the player reloads.
When the player reloads:
- Calculate the difference between the magazine capacity and CurrentAmmo.
- Deduct the same amount from ReserveAmmo.
- Update CurrentAmmo to reflect the newly loaded ammo.

This simple logic ensured that all ammo interactions—shooting, reloading, and checking reserve counts—worked seamlessly across different weapon types.

4. Ammo Types and Weapon Behavior

Given that my game features a variety of weapons with unique mechanics, I had to tailor the system for different ammo types and firing modes:

Automatic weapons (e.g., SMGs, assault rifles): For automatic fire, I implemented a system that continuously decrements CurrentAmmo while the fire button is held down, until the magazine is empty.
Burst-fire weapons: Burst weapons shoot multiple rounds in quick succession. I ensured that the CurrentAmmo variable deducted the correct number of bullets for each burst.
Sniper rifles (projectile-based): Since sniper rifles use a projectile-based line trace, the ammo system had to account for slower, more precise shots. Each shot deducts CurrentAmmo, but the sniper's damage and drop rate mechanics come into play separately.

By implementing a modular approach, I ensured that I could easily swap out or modify how ammo works for each weapon type. The system is adaptable, allowing me to introduce new mechanics like explosive ammo or elemental rounds in future updates.

5. Testing and Fine-Tuning

No system is complete without rigorous testing. I ran multiple tests in different gameplay scenarios to ensure the ammo system was intuitive and bug-free:

Reload timing: Making sure that reloading at various points (half magazine, full magazine, etc.) worked without bugs.
Ammo behavior after shooting: Checking if the system properly handled ammo depletion and reserve calculation across all weapon types.
Edge cases: For example, what happens if the player tries to reload with no reserve ammo left, or how the system handles switching between different weapon types mid-combat.

These tests revealed a few bugs, like incorrect deductions or unexpected reloading behavior, which I promptly fixed.

6. Future Plans for the Ammo System

The ammo system is currently set up for single-player mode, but once multiplayer is introduced, I’ll need to adjust it for syncing between players. This will involve ensuring that ammo counts are consistent across all clients in a peer-to-peer multiplayer setup.

Additionally, I plan to introduce unique ammo types in the future, including elemental rounds like fire, ice, and lightning. The system's current modular design allows me to extend it with ease by simply adding new behaviors to the existing framework.

Conclusion

Building an ammo system involves balancing realism, flexibility, and performance. By structuring it around key variables like CurrentAmmo and ReserveAmmo and implementing tailored logic for different weapon types, I was able to create a robust system that enhances gameplay. The project may evolve, but the core system I've implemented will serve as a strong foundation for future updates and expansions.

As with any development process, careful planning, iteration, and testing were essential to the success of this system. I’m excited to keep refining it as the game grows!

‍

Rin- Game Developer

As a dedicated game developer and fan of World of Warcraft and Dungeons & Dragons, I’m always seeking new ways to build better worlds. Gaming fuels my creativity, and I’m passionate about crafting unique, immersive experiences for players everywhere.