Howto:Adding gun effects

With Flightgear's increasing capabilities, bullet effects such as tracers and smoke on impact are now supported. You'll need FlightGear version 1.9 or later, in order to use the effects.

Setup

There is no default key/button binding for a trigger in FlightGear, so you'll have to make your own. An obvious choice of button would be the trigger on a joystick, but you can also make a keyboard binding by adding something like this to your keyboard.xml file:

<key n="119">
 <name>w</name>
 <desc>Gun Trigger</desc> 
  <binding>
   <command>property-assign</command>
   <property>controls/armament/trigger</property>
   <value>true</value>
  </binding>
 <mod-up>
  <binding>
   <command>property-assign</command>
   <property>controls/armament/trigger</property>
   <value>false</value>
  </binding> 
 </mod-up>
</key>

In the code, we have used w as the trigger. You can change it to a choice of your own. Joystick bindings are a bit more complex, but are explained in the wiki article on Joysticks.

Adding Guns and Bullet Effects to Your Airplane

Once you have a key or button binding defined to active the trigger, you'll then need to add the needed AI_Systems#Submodels configuration file to your airplane's root directory, and ensure the file is activated in your *-set.xml file. The choice of tracer, smoke and impact visual models is up to you. You may also add a sound effect to your sound configuration file that activates with the trigger.

Aircraft Already Equipped with Guns

Some aircraft have the needed submodel files included. All aircraft equipped with guns in Dave's hangar are capable bullet effects. Like:

• Embraer AT-29, A-29B Super Tucano
• McDonnell F-4D/E/F, FGR.2, Phantom II
• Republic F-105D Thunderchief
• North American F-100 Super Sabre
• North American FJ-3 Fury
• LTV A-7E Corsair II
• Dassault Mirage IIIC, F-103E

Current Limitations

- Submodel information is not sent with the multiplayer protocol, so multiplayer users will not be effected by your bullets. The tracers, smoke and impact effects will only be seen by you.

- The impact cylinder for models is fairly large, so you will see impacts occur outside of the target model's boundaries.