Third Person Shooter (Unity Tutorial) Ep 6 Weapon Aiming

Introduction

In this tutorial, we will enhance the weapon aiming mechanics in a Unity third-person shooter game. By the end of this guide, you will have implemented proper aiming functionality, preparing your player for shooting mechanics and recoil animations in future episodes.

Step 1: Implement Small Changes

• Make minor adjustments to your character's settings to improve responsiveness and control.
• Review the player’s current setup and ensure all elements are functioning properly before adding new features.

Step 2: Use Raycasting for Aiming

• Implement raycasting to determine where the player should aim. This allows your aim to be directed towards the crosshairs.
• Use the following code snippet to create the raycast:

Ray ray = Camera.main.ScreenPointToRay(Input.mousePosition);
RaycastHit hit;

if (Physics.Raycast(ray, out hit)) {
    // Use hit.point for aiming
}

• This code sends a ray from the camera to where the mouse is positioned on the screen, allowing you to calculate the aim direction.

Step 3: Set Up the Aim Position in Unity

• Adjust your camera and character positions to align with the aiming system.
• Ensure the player's view can rotate to track the aim direction smoothly.

Step 4: Install and Configure Animation Rigging

• Download and import the Animation Rigging package from the Unity Asset Store.
• Set up the rigging to facilitate weapon animations. This includes:
  • Creating a rig for the character.
  • Adding constraints to manage the weapon placement and aim.

Step 5: Set Up the Player Rig

• Configure the player rig to support the weapon aiming.
• Ensure that the rig responds correctly to the aiming mechanics you implemented in the previous steps.

Step 6: Add a Weapon to One Hand

• Create a weapon model and attach it to the player's hand.
• Position the weapon correctly so that it appears natural when aiming.

Step 7: Enable Two-Handed Weapon Holding

• Modify the weapon setup to allow the player to hold the weapon with both hands.
• This can be achieved by attaching a second hand to the weapon using the Animation Rigging setup.
• Ensure both hands are synchronized for a realistic aiming experience.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, you have learned how to implement weapon aiming in a Unity third-person shooter game. You’ve set up raycasting, adjusted player rigging, and created a realistic weapon holding system. Next steps include integrating shooting mechanics and adding procedural recoil animations for a more immersive gameplay experience. Be sure to check out the latest builds and project files linked in the video description for additional resources.