Realistic Ballistics: The Move to a Joule-Based System

The upcoming patch will include several bug fixes and a transition to a joule-based system for damage calculation.

❓ What's wrong with the old system?

The old damage system used pellet velocity and diameter to estimate damage. While this simplified our calculations, it wasn't entirely accurate in assessing the degree of damage and could count serious damage based on the sheer number of pellets, even at long distances.

⚖️ What's the difference?

The new system is based on the projectile's velocity and mass. This allows it to accurately calculate the momentum and energy of the impact, making it easier to correlate this data with real-world ballistics.

🎯 Here's data from a test shot at 25 meters:

• #3 shot — 258 m/s — 8.47 J

• #5 shot — 239 m/s — 4.46 J

📊 The result: with a relatively small difference in velocity, we get almost a twofold difference in impact energy.

💡 What's the advantage of using joules?

✅ Firstly, the data is calculated automatically, taking into account the bird's anatomy, so we don't need to manually input artificial parameters for each bird.

✅ Secondly, calculating in joules will allow for a much more reliable assessment of the impact force and the penetrating ability of the shot (through feathers, fat, soft tissue) for a realistic evaluation of the damage to the bird.

🎮 How will this affect gameplay?

It won't affect shooting at all—the ballistics in the game remain untouched; we've simply learned to extract and process impact data more effectively. However, the choice of cartridge will play a more significant role, just like in reality 🦆

For example, preliminary calculations show that to inflict any noticeable damage, even to a vulnerable part like the head, the shot must have a minimum energy of:

• Green-winged Teal — 0.6 J

• Greylag Goose — 2.6 J

As you can see, the difference is significant—and that leaves plenty of room for experimentation

🌤 What will this enable in the future?

When we finish developing the "resource module" for our AI, birds will be able to make decisions based on the injuries they've sustained: will the duck be able to swim to the opposite shore, or would it be better to hide in the nearest reeds?