Third Person Shooter (Unity Tutorial) Ep 7 Shooting

Introduction

In this tutorial, we will walk through the process of implementing basic shooting mechanics in a Unity-based third-person shooter game. We will cover setting fire rates, creating a bullet prefab, adding sound effects, and managing bullet collisions. This will enhance your game's interactivity and provide a solid foundation for more complex mechanics in future episodes.

Step 1: Fix Any Bugs

• Start by reviewing your existing code to ensure there are no bugs present before adding new features.
• Check for common issues like variable initialization and method calls that may throw errors.

Step 2: Create a Fire Rate

• Open your weapon script in Unity.
• Define a new variable for fire rate:

  public float fireRate = 0.5f; // Time between shots in seconds
  

• Create a method to handle shooting based on the fire rate:

  private float nextFireTime = 0f;
  
  void Update() {
      if (Input.GetButton("Fire1") && Time.time >= nextFireTime) {
          nextFireTime = Time.time + fireRate;
          Shoot();
      }
  }
  

Step 3: Test Fire Rate

• Save your script and return to Unity.
• Playtest your game to ensure that the shooting mechanism respects the defined fire rate.

Step 4: Create a Bullet Prefab

• In Unity, go to the Project window and create a new GameObject.
• Add a Rigidbody component to it for physics interactions.
• Create a simple bullet model or import a 3D model.
• Save this object as a prefab by dragging it into the Prefabs folder.

Step 5: Implement Bullet Firing Logic

• In your weapon script, create a method called Shoot:

  void Shoot() {
      GameObject bullet = Instantiate(bulletPrefab, transform.position, transform.rotation);
      Rigidbody rb = bullet.GetComponent<Rigidbody>();
      rb.AddForce(transform.forward * shootingForce, ForceMode.Impulse);
  }
  

• Make sure to define bulletPrefab and shootingForce at the top of your script.

Step 6: Test Bullet Firing

• Test your game to ensure bullets are instantiated and fired correctly when the shoot button is pressed.

Step 7: Add Gun Shot Sound Effects

• Import your gunshot sound effect into Unity.
• Create an AudioSource component on your weapon GameObject.
• Play the sound when shooting:

  void Shoot() {
      // Existing bullet instantiation code...
      audioSource.PlayOneShot(gunShotSound);
  }
  

Step 8: Test Sound Effects

• Playtest the shooting to confirm that the sound plays alongside the bullet firing.

Step 9: Set Up Bullet Collisions

• Add a Collider component to your bullet prefab (like a Sphere Collider).
• Create a script to handle bullet collisions:

  void OnCollisionEnter(Collision collision) {
      // Handle collision logic
      Destroy(gameObject); // Destroy bullet on collision
  }
  

Step 10: Destroy the Bullets

• Ensure that bullets are destroyed after a certain time to avoid clutter:

  void Start() {
      Destroy(gameObject, bulletLifetime); // bulletLifetime is a float defined in your script
  }
  

Step 11: Test Bullet Script

• After implementing the collision and destruction logic, test your game again to ensure bullets behave as expected on impact.

Conclusion

Congratulations on implementing basic weapon mechanics in your Unity game! You've learned how to set fire rates, create bullet prefabs, add sound effects, and manage bullet collisions. As you continue developing your game, consider expanding upon these mechanics with features like different weapon types or advanced bullet physics. Happy coding!