Advanced Game Logic - 3D Game Development Practical Introduction - page 396

Fire() and ReleaseTrigger() functions are related. If the weapon is not automatic ,
ReleaseTrigger() must be called each time after Fire() . Fire() on the other hand must ensure
that

• the weapon is currently in hand,

• is not reloading,

• either automatic or the trigger is currently released, and

• there are enough bullets in the magazine.

If all of these conditions are met, it sends OnWeaponFire message, sets triggerPulled flag,
and reduces bullet count in the current magazine. If the number of bullets remaining in
the magazine is less than the number needed to fire, Reload() is automatically called. Re-
load() is responsible for initiating reload process rather than instantly reloading the weapon.
The variable reloadProgress represent the time passed since the last time Reload() has
been called. If reloadProgress is zero, this means the weapon is not currently reloading.
Therefore, Reload() must check that reloadProgress equals zero before initiating reload
process. It is also necessary to have at least one additional magazine in order for reloading
to take place. Therefore, Reload() checks the value of magazineCount in addition to
magazineCapacity and magazineSize , to make sure that the magazine we are trying to
replace is not full. If all conditions are met, we set the value of reloadProgress
to Time.deltaTime . As a result, the value of reload progress will accumulate through
Update() calls by adding Time.deltaTime during each frame. When the value of reloadPro-
gress exceeds reloadTime , reloading is completed by decrementing the count of magazines
remaining and setting the size of the current magazine to magazine capacity.

The last function we are going to cover in this scriptis GetReloadProgress() . If the weapon
is currently reloading, it returns reloading progress as a float value between 0 and 1. If
this function returns zero, it means that the weapon is not currently reloading. The returned
value can be used to interpolate some animations or control progress bars etc. Illustration 89
shows the GeneralWeapon for the three weapons and how the values vary between them.