[Unity] Game Creator 2 Shooter — Weapons, Ammo, Recoil & FPS/TPS Combat

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In this article, we will provide a detailed explanation of “Shooter” (ranged combat / firearms), one of the modules in Game Creator 2.

Shooter is an extension asset that covers all aspects of ranged attacks — firearms, bows & arrows, and lasers. It handles everything from magazine/reload/accuracy/recoil/shell ejection/jam/sights/FK & IK biomechanics/wind effects, covering simple top-down bullet hell to realistic sniper shooting.

Official documentation: Game Creator 2 Documentation

You can find a list of all articles in this series below.

Complete Article List — Game Creator 2 Complete Guide Series Indexen.senkohome.com/gamecreator2-series-index/

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What Is Shooter?

• “Weapon assets” define firing, ballistics, reload, accuracy, recoil, sights, jam, and shell ejection
• “Sight assets” define aiming mode, posture, biomechanics, and scope
• “Ammo / Reload assets” define ammunition and reload behavior
• Weapons support multiple simultaneous equips (primary weapon + flashlight, assault rifle + grenade launcher, etc.). However, the same ID cannot be equipped simultaneously

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Installation

1. Purchase the Shooter module from the Asset Store
2. Install via Window > Package Manager
3. Samples from Game Creator > Install...:
   • Examples: Scene collection for various use cases
   • Weapons: Ready-to-use weapon collection
4. Examples depend on all combat systems (auto-resolved)
5. Install location: Assets/Plugins/GameCreator/Installs/Shooter.Examples/

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Weapon Asset

How to Create

Right-click in the Project window → Create > Game Creator > Shooter > Weapon.

Weapon Data (Basic Information)

• Title / Description / Icon / Color: For UI
• Hit Reaction: Reaction played on hit (uses the character’s default reaction if not set)
• ID: Unique identifier. Multiple weapons with the same ID cannot be equipped simultaneously
• State / Layer: Animation State to transition to while equipped

Weapon Mode (Dedicated Editing Mode)

The Enter Weapon Mode button switches to a scene with the weapon model alone. You can directly edit the positions and orientations of Muzzle (blue) / Sights (red) / Shell Ejection (yellow) using gizmos.

Magazine

• Ammo: The Ammo asset to use
• Has Magazine: If true, uses magazine loading; if false, directly consumes total Ammo
• Magazine Size: Magazine capacity
• Auto Reload: Automatically reload when unable to fire (also useful for enemy AI)

Muzzle

The position and direction of the gun barrel. Can be intuitively edited in Weapon Mode.

Fire

• Projectiles per Shot: Number of projectiles fired per shot (e.g., shotgun pellets)
• Cartridges per Shot: Number of cartridges consumed per shot
• Mode: Fire mode (Single / Burst / Full Auto / Charge)
• Fire Animation: Gesture played when shooting
• Fire Audio / Empty Audio / Load Start / Load Loop: Sound effects
• Muzzle Effect: Effect Prefab spawned per shot (pooling available)
• Use Force: Recoil force applied to Rigidbody

Projectile

• Shot: Projectile type (Raycast / Kinematic / Rigidbody / Tracer)
• Impact: Material Sound asset for impacts (varies sound and marks by ground texture)

Accuracy

The internal accuracy value is 0 to 1 (1 being the most accurate).

• Max Spread X / Y: Maximum spread angle (degrees) at minimum accuracy
• Spread Bias: 0 = center-biased / 1 = edge-biased
• Accuracy Recover: Accuracy recovery speed
• Motion Accuracy: Maximum accuracy while moving
• Airborne Accuracy: Maximum accuracy while airborne
• Accuracy Kick: Accuracy reduction per shot (e.g., 0.25)

Recoil (Camera Recoil)

• Use Recoil: Enabled for Player only by default
• Camera: Target camera for recoil
• Recoil X / Y: Camera rotation angles per shot
• Recoil Duration: Time to reach recoil

Accuracy is an auto-recovering internal value, while Recoil is an independent camera control mechanism.

Shell (Shell Ejection)

• Position / Rotation: Ejection position and direction (adjust with the yellow gizmo in Weapon Mode)
• Prefab: Shell Prefab (required)
• Use Pooling
• Force / Torque: Ejection force and rotation

The most common setup is placing the Eject Shell Instruction in On Shoot.

Jam (Malfunction)

• Chance: Jam probability (can be a dynamic property for situational changes, e.g., rain, muddy water)
• Animation / Avatar Mask: Repair animation
• Audio: Repair sound

Use the Fix Jam Instruction to repair. Shooting and reloading are blocked during a jam.

Sights

A list of Sight configurations associated with the weapon. Switch by ID, with the Sight asset holding the main information.

• Scope Through (Human IK only): Defines the position/direction/distance for looking through the weapon scope (primarily for FPS)

Reloads

• A list of reload entries. The Weapon evaluates Conditions from top to bottom and executes the first matching Reload asset
• Skip when full: Skip if the magazine is full
• Conditions: Conditions for selecting this entry

Weapon Animations

Additional animations that can be played on the weapon model’s own Animator (e.g., visual changes during a jam). Not typically used.

Instructions (Custom Behavior)

At the bottom of the Weapon asset, you can define the following custom logic:

• On Equip: When equipped
• On Unequip: When unequipped
• Can Shoot: Whether shooting is allowed (useful for cutscene restrictions)
• On Shoot: When a shot is successfully fired (trigger point for Eject Shell / Emit Noise, etc.)
• On Start Reload: When reload starts
• On Finish Reload: When reload finishes
• Can Hit: Per-object filter for hits (prevents friendly fire)
• On Hit: Hit processing (damage, status effect application)

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Fire Modes

Single

One shot per trigger pull. Control the maximum shots per second with Fire Rate.

Burst

Fires up to N consecutive shots per trigger press. Specify Fire Rate and Burst count.

Full Auto

Continuous fire while the trigger is held. Auto Loading options:

• Instant: Immediate maximum rate
• Progressive: Gradually increasing fire rate (minigun barrel spin-up)
• Wait to Load: Firing begins after holding for a set duration (flamethrower preheat)

Charge

Charge-up shot.

• Min / Max Charge Time: Minimum and maximum charge duration
• Auto Release: Automatically fires when fully charged
• Duration: Grace period before auto release

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Projectiles (Projectile Types)

Raycast

Straight-line raycast. Fastest, but speed effects are simulated with Line Renderer.

• Layer Mask / Max Distance / Pierces
• Use Line Renderer (bullet trail)

Kinematic Projectile

Self-calculated moving projectile. Collider / Rigidbody are not needed (internally raycasts every frame).

• Prefab / Delay / Force / Gravity / Air Resistance / Wind Influence
• Attraction Force / Attraction Target (homing)
• Layer Mask / Max Distance / Pierces / Timeout

Rigidbody Projectile

Uses Unity physics Rigidbody. Speed is optimized but options are limited.

• Impulse / Impulse Force / Mass / Air Resistance / Wind Influence
• Attraction Force / Attraction Target / Max Distance / Timeout

Tracer Target

A homing projectile that always hits the target. Creates a path using Bezier curves.

• Prefab / Delay / Speed / Target
• Deviation X / Y: Initial trajectory deviation (missile arcing)

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Sights (Aiming)

How to Create

Create > Game Creator > Shooter > Sight.

Main Settings

• Can Shoot: Whether shooting is allowed in this sight state
• Priority: Which sight IK prioritizes when multiple weapons are equipped
• Smooth Time: Aim tracking delay
• State: Animation State to enter on sight switch

Instructions

• On Enter / On Exit: Sight switch events. Combine with Change Field of View for the classic FOV zoom effect

Aiming Modes

• Camera Center at Distance: Point at camera forward + specified distance. Works for both first and third person
• Camera Center with Raycast: Hit point from camera forward raycast. Highest accuracy
• Character Target: Specific GameObject (lock-on)
• Pointer on Plane: Projection onto an abstract plane (for top-down / side-scrollers)

Trajectory

Draws a trajectory line. Useful for archery and snipers, but has a performance cost as it raycasts every frame.

Crosshair

Assign a Crosshair asset to display a reticle on screen. Can be shared across different Weapons.

Laser

A line renderer from the muzzle in a straight line. Spawns a Dot Prefab at the collision point. Useful for enemy aim visualization and diegetic UI.

Animations

Toggle settings for whether FK/IK is used during each action:

• Reloading / Shooting / Fixing uses FK: Whether to use FK during each action
• Reloading / Shooting / Fixing uses IK: Same for IK

Recommended OFF by default. When actions and IK conflict (e.g., reaching for a pouch), OFF feels more natural.

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Biomechanics (Body Structure)

Select from the Sight’s Biomechanics dropdown.

None

No bone rotation. For turrets or other cases where a separate script controls orientation. Best performance.

Human FK

Forward kinematics distributes rotation from hip to hand. Standard for humanoid characters.

• Optics: The bone used as the line-of-sight reference
• Recoil: Per-shot recoil (distributed across bones)
• Free Hand: Fixes the free hand to the weapon’s handle, etc. (IK)
• Bones Pitch / Yaw / Lean: Rotation distribution and max angle per axis

Human IK

Inverse kinematics for precise alignment with iron sights. Best for FPS iron sight / reflex sight setups.

• Recoil / Free Hand / Bones Pitch / Yaw / Lean same as FK
• Sway: Weapon inertia delay (Weight controls magnitude, Sway controls recovery speed)
• Pull on Obstruction: Pulls the weapon closer when about to clip through a wall (has performance cost)

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Ammo / Reload / Jam / Shell

Ammo Asset

Create via Create > Game Creator > Shooter > Ammo.

• Infinite: Makes ammo unlimited
• Value: Ammo source. Default is the weapon’s internal Munition value, but can be swapped to an Inventory Item or Stats Stat (e.g., mana)

Reload Asset

Create via Create > Game Creator > Shooter > Reload.

• Animation: Main reload animation
• Reload Mode (editing interface):
  • Magazine Track (yellow): Magazine creation → movement from hand to weapon
  • Quick-Reload Track (green): Window where Try Quick Reload can trigger
  • Instructions Track: Instruction execution at any point
• Speed: Reload speed (dynamic)
• Discard Magazine Ammo: Discards remaining ammo on reload

Quick Reload

When the Try Quick Reload Instruction fires during the Quick-Reload Track, the reload animation is shortened. Firing outside the window results in a failure.

Shell

Configure Prefab / Force / Torque / Pooling in the Weapon’s Shell section, then eject with the Eject Shell Instruction.

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Wind (Wind Effects)

• Global Direction + Magnitude
• Affects trajectories through Kinematic / Rigidbody projectile Wind Influence
• Change Wind (direction and magnitude simultaneously) / Change Wind Direction (direction only) / Change Wind Magnitude (magnitude only)
• On Wind Change Trigger to monitor changes

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User Interface

Ammo UI

Displays weapon ammunition. Can be swapped via Instructions.

Reload UI

Displays reload progress and Quick-Reload timing.

Crosshair UI

• Reticle: Position-based UI element
• Direction: None / Away from Player / Away from Screen Center
• Accuracy Fill: Set value pairs for minimum and maximum accuracy

Scopes (Holographic Sight Shader)

A dedicated shader can render holographic sights (Shader Graph source included).

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Usage (Workflow)

Equipping

1. Attach the weapon model to the hand with Attach Prop
2. Equip immediately after with Equip Shooter Weapon

Shooting

1. Start firing with Pull Fire Trigger (bind to Trigger On Button Press)
2. Release with Release Fire Trigger (On Button Release)
3. When multiple weapons are equipped, explicitly specify the Weapon

Reloading

• Manually reload with Reload Weapon
• For auto-reload, turn ON Auto Reload in the Weapon settings

Jam Handling

• If the Weapon’s Jam Chance > 0, jams occur at runtime
• Repair with Fix Jam Instruction
• Both reloading and shooting are blocked during a jam

Lean (Left/Right Tilt)

Use the Character Lean Instruction to tilt the spine. With a First Person Camera Shot, the camera automatically follows the lean.

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Visual Scripting Reference

Instructions (17)

Shooter > Ammo (2)

Shooter > Equip (2)

Shooter > Jam (2)

Shooter > Reload (3)

Shooter > Shooting (2)

Shooter > Sights (3)

Shooter > Wind (3)

Conditions (5)

Events (4)

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Practical Usage — Configuration Guide by Use Case

Assault Rifle

1. Create a Weapon. Mode = Full Auto, high Fire Rate, medium Accuracy Kick
2. Projectile = Raycast, Max Distance 100m
3. Sight: Camera Center at Distance, Human FK
4. Use Pull/Release Fire Trigger for shooting, Reload Weapon for reloading

Sniper Rifle

1. Projectile = Kinematic, high Force, Wind Influence 1.0, low Air Resistance
2. Sight: Camera Center with Raycast, Human IK, Scope Through ON
3. Holoscope shader + Crosshair for view switching (On Enter triggers Change Field of View)
4. Trajectory ON for trajectory visualization

Shotgun

1. Projectiles per Shot = 8, large Max Spread X/Y
2. Cartridges per Shot = 1, Magazine Size = 6
3. Reload = Value (one shell at a time) + State for “shell insertion” pose
4. Eject Shell in On Shoot

Bow & Arrow (Charge Shot)

1. Mode = Charge, Min Charge 0.5s, Max Charge 2.0s, Auto Release = true
2. Load Start: Bowstring pull sound
3. Projectile = Kinematic, Gravity applied, medium Air Resistance
4. Trajectory ON

Flamethrower

1. Mode = Full Auto, Auto Loading = Wait to Load (2-second preheat)
2. Load Start: Gas release SFX, Load Loop: Combustion SFX
3. Projectile = Kinematic, medium Force, Timeout 0.3s for auto-dissipation
4. Muzzle Effect with particle Prefab, Pooling ON

Minigun

1. Mode = Full Auto, Auto Loading = Progressive, Auto Load Duration = 1.5s
2. Load Loop (barrel spin sound) pitch varies from Min to Max
3. High Fire Rate, low Accuracy Kick (sustained fire is the selling point)

Homing Missile

1. Projectile = Tracer Target
2. Target references the enemy from the previous frame (via Blackboard, etc.)
3. Set Deviation Y high for an arcing path before impact

Friendly Fire Prevention

Set the Weapon’s Can Hit condition: return false if Target’s tag is not “enemy”.

Corner Peeking

Configure Triggers so Character Lean applies +20 degrees while held and returns to 0 degrees on release.

Inventory-Linked Ammunition

Swap the Ammo asset’s Value to an Inventory Item, wiring it to consume bullets from a Bag.

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Tips and Notes

• Weapon IDs must be unique: The same ID cannot be equipped simultaneously. When splitting a bow and arrow into separate Weapons, plan your ID design first
• Don’t attach Collider/Rigidbody to Kinematic Projectiles: They conflict with the internal raycast
• Sight Priority: When weapons are in both hands, IK conflicts can occur. Set the primary weapon to high Priority
• Scope Through is Human IK only: Tends to look unnatural outside FPS. Human FK is recommended for third-person views
• Recoil vs. Accuracy: Recoil is visual (camera rotation), Accuracy is hit detection. Adjusting both simultaneously can feel excessive — establish one axis first, then fine-tune
• Jam Chance supports dynamic properties: Great for gameplay elements like increased jam rate in rain or mud
• Reload assets branch by condition: Naturally switch between different animations for “has remaining ammo” vs. “empty”
• Don’t make the Quick Reload Track too short: Players can’t learn the timing. Start around 0.3-0.6s
• Wind affects trajectories: For sniper missions, keep a light constant wind for atmosphere
• Trajectory and Pull on Obstruction have high performance costs: Consider making them toggleable options on resource-limited devices
• Fire Audio vs. Load Loop: Single-shot weapons use Fire only, automatic weapons use Load Loop. Avoid configurations that play both simultaneously
• Aim mode selection: Pointer on Plane for top-down, Camera Center With Raycast for FPS, Camera Center at Distance for TPS — lightweight and reliable

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Related Modules

• Characters: Full integration with Reaction / Hit Reaction / Lean / Busy
• Stats: Integrate damage calculations, stealth values, jam rates, etc. with Formulas and Stats
• Inventory: Link Equip Item for weapon equipping. Use Items as ammo source
• Perception: Emit Noise on Shoot, turn Muzzle Flash into Evidence
• Behavior / Utility AI: Manage enemy shooting behavior with Processors
• Cameras: Direct integration with FOV switching, Recoil, and Shake

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Official Links

• Game Creator 2 Official Documentation
• Game Creator 2 — Unity Asset Store
• Shooter 2 | Game Creator 2 — Unity Asset Store

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Summary

In this article, we covered the “Shooter” module of Game Creator 2.

The combination of 4 fire modes (Single / Burst / Full Auto / Charge) and 4 projectile types (Raycast / Kinematic / Rigidbody / Tracer) enables a wide range of ranged weapons — from assault rifles, sniper rifles, and shotguns to bows & arrows, flamethrowers, and homing missiles.

Biomechanics (None / Human FK / Human IK) provides animation control, while Accuracy, Recoil, Jam, and Wind deliver a realistic shooting feel. Quick Reload adds an action element. The design accommodates everything from simple casual shooters to realistic FPS games.

Visual Scripting provides 17 Instructions, 5 Conditions, and 4 Events.

Complete Article List — Game Creator 2 Complete Guide Series Indexen.senkohome.com/gamecreator2-series-index/

We hope you’ll check out our other articles as well.