Hitscan
Hitscan weapons instantly damage targets in their path when activated. Unlike projectile weapons, hitscan weapons are not code-rendered physical objects but are infinite lines drawn on the server that are then rendered cilent-side visually as projectiles. Depending on the object hit and client settings, the hitscan weapon then generates an effect: dealing damage or painting blood and bullet hole sprites. Players don't see enemies dying before bullets are fired, however, because the client predicts the enemy's death and displays it with proper timing. All 'bullets' emit from the crosshair, despite what is suggested by the view model, likely to aid Snipers for close-range headshots.
In technical terms, this means that hitscan weapons have infinite velocity, but this does not mean that they damage instantly after firing. Melee weapons wait .25 seconds after input before they trace a short line to see if anything should be struck. This prevents the weapon from hitting or killing a foe before the melee animation completes. Bullet-based wepons, after a 1.25 second heatup unless so directed to by the server are all affected by bullet-spread, which causes bullets to move off course to varying degrees. Certain bullet-based weapons fire multiple bullets in different directions, but all still are fired from the same spot on the crosshair. The effect of this is masked by 'bullets' that are visible only after passing a certain point.
Below is a list of non-melee hitscan weapons in Team Fortress 2.
| Scout hitscan weapons | Soldier hitscan weapons | Pyro hitscan weapons | Heavy hitscan weapons | Engineer hitscan weapons | Sniper hitscan weapons | Spy hitscan weapons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
|
|
|
|
| ||
|
|
|
|
| |||
|
|
See Also
Hitscan on the Valve Developer Community
