Core Concepts

Understanding Foundational Mechanics

Understanding Recoil and Spread

Recoil vs. Spread Mechanics

Recoil and Spread are two distinct but complementary systems that work together to create realistic weapon behavior:

Aspect	Recoil	Spread
Purpose	Simulates physical weapon kickback	Represents projectile dispersion
Pattern Type	Deterministic (predictable)	Probabilistic (randomized)
Player Control	Skill-based compensation	Uncontrollable variance
Visual Impact	Camera/weapon position shift	Bullet spread around crosshair

Key Interaction: Recoil directs the intended aim point movement, while spread determines actual projectile distribution around that point.

Pattern-Based Approach

The Adaptive Recoil & Spread plugin uses a pattern-based approach for both recoil and spread mechanics:

• Recoil Patterns: Define precise, deterministic movement of the weapon aim point through a sequence of points on a 2D grid. These points represent the weapon's movement across multiple shots.

• Spread Patterns: Define how projectiles disperse around the aim point using probability distributions that change based on various conditions.

Core

Recoil System

More information check out Recoil System.

• UARSRecoilPattern: Asset type that defines the movement of the aim point during firing

• UARSRecoilPointCollection: Collection of recoil points that define a recoil pattern

• RecoilPatternEditor: Custom editor for creating and modifying recoil patterns

Spread System

More information check out Spread System.

• UARSSpreadPattern: Asset type that defines how projectiles disperse around the aim point

• SpreadPatternEditor: Custom editor for creating and modifying spread patterns

Runtime Components

• UARSRecoilSpreadManager: The main component manages the application of recoil and spread during gameplay

• UARSWeaponComponent: (Optional) The component which is responsible for integrating recoil and spread mechanics with a weapon actor.

Dynamic Modifiers System

The plugin features a robust modifiers system that allows for dynamic adjustment of both recoil and spread patterns:

• UARSRecoilModifier: Base class to dynamically change recoil behavior. Check out Recoil Modifiers.

• UARSSpreadModifier: Base class to dynamically change spread behavior. Check out Spread Modifiers.

Modifiers can be applied to:

• Apply conditional modifiers based on character state (e.g., Moving - Increase base spread by 2x.)

• Create weapon-specific characteristics

• Apply modifier based on weapon attachments (e.g., Bipod - Reduce vertical recoil by 40%)

• Apply different multipliers based on weapon firing modes like semi-auto, burst, full-auto etc.

Integration Workflow

The integration workflow follows these steps:

1. Create recoil and spread patterns in the editor

2. Add UARSRecoilSpreadComponent to your chracter's controller

3. (Optional) Add the UARSWeaponComponent to your weapon actor

4. Assign the patterns to the component

5. Configure modifiers to adjust behavior based on game conditions

6. Connect firing events to the component's API

7. Process the resulting aim offsets in your weapon logic