TTS Beam Laser

This is a beam laser effect I created for one of my missions. The beam particle effect is based on ALIAS's gravity script which you should check out if you like the look of this script. When activated, a beam laser will come from the sky above the target position and obliterate most objects beneath it. The damage/destruction can be disabled if you just want to use the effect.

You can see the script in action in this demo video or if you'd like to test the script for yourself you can try out the demo mission.

This is the script version, a mod version is also available on the Steam Workshop.

This script requires CBA_A3

Features:

• Customisable beam/debris colour
• Damages/destroys nearby units, vehicles and buildings
• Nearby units can be knocked down by the blast wave
• ACE compatibility
• Designed for multiplayer and tested on dedicated server
• Useable from Zeus via Zeus Enhanced
• Editor module to simplify usage (Mod version only!)

ZEN Modules:

• Beam Laser Strike
• Orbital Bombardment

Editor Modules (MOD VERSION ONLY):

• Beam Laser Strike
• Orbital Bombardment

For help with troubleshooting, questions or feedback, join my Discord

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More information:

• Script version install instructions
• Function documentation

License:

This script is licensed under Arma Public License Share Alike (APL-SA).

Supported Languages:

• English

If you'd like to translate the script into a different language, contact me via my Discord or create a pull request.

Credits:

• ALIAScartoons for the Gravity script, which this script is based off. You can find a collection of his scripts here.
• Killzone_Kid for the forced ragdoll function which this script makes use of.
• Fess from the Tiberian Genesis mod team, who generously provided me with most of the config required to make this mod work.
• Unwittingrabbit and AlphaAmpersandOmega for the suggestion to allow usage from Zeus.

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Examples:

tts_beam_fnc_beam needs to be executed on all connected clients AND the server to work correctly in multiplayer. You can do this using triggers or via remoteExec.

Trigger example

if (isServer) then {
    [_beamTarget, [1,0.6,0.2], [0.3,0.27,0.15], true, 200, 400] remoteExec ["tts_beam_fnc_beam", 0, false];
};

For extra destruction, you can also create a barrage of beam strikes:

// the orbital bombardment should only be triggered from the server
if (isServer) then {
    [getPos beamTarget, [1,0.6,0.2], [0.3,0.27,0.15], true, 200, 400, 200, 5, 1, false] spawn tts_beam_fnc_orbitalBombardment; 
};

If necessary, the orbital bombardment can be aborted by setting the tts_beam_stopOrbitalBombardment variable to true:

tts_beam_stopOrbitalBombardment = true;
publicVariable "tts_beam_stopOrbitalBombardment";

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Changelog

Read below for complete changelog history.

13/03/2022

New features:

• Added lethal radius and damage radius parameters to fn_beam.
• Added 'Lethal radius' and 'Damage radius' sliders to 'Beam Laser Strike' and 'Orbital Bombardment' ZEN modules.
• Infantry units within the lethal radius of the laser will now be vaporised.
• Structures within the lethal radius of the laser now have a chance to catch fire.
• A crater is created when the beam impacts terrain.
• Implemented CBA settings support. The script now requires CBA.
• Added various CBA settings to customise/disable newly added features.

Effect tweaks:

• Destroyed objects within the lethal radius no longer have damage effects to prevent large lag spikes when destroying lots of buildings.
• Added a shockwave particle on beam impact.
• Camera shake is now applied up to 2km away and lowers in intensity the further away the player is.
• The bright flash on beam impact is now only shown when the player is within 2km and looking towards the impact point.
• Camera shake, flash and blur effects are no longer shown in spectator mode or while using the Zeus interface.
• Explosion particles are now created from the laser impact point instead of the terrain beneath it.

Misc:

• The script now checks for 'ace_medical' rather than 'ace_main' so it should work for versions of ACE that have medical functions removed.
• Fixed a bug where the laser could sometimes get deflected in strange directions when bouncing off buildings.

24/11/2021

• Fixed 'Disable beam damage' parameter for ZEN modules enabling damage instead of disabling it.

22/11/2021

• Fixed typo in stringtable.

21/11/2021

• Converted tabs to spaces.
• Added colour picker to 'Beam Laser Strike' and 'Orbital Bombardment' ZEN modules.

18/11/2021

• The orbital bombardment is now limited to a maximum of 10 strikes per second. Delays shorter than 0.1s will be increased to 0.1s.
• Cleanup for orbital bombardment is now done individually for each strike instead of all at once at the end of the bombardment.
• Orbital bombardment can now be aborted by setting the tts_beam_stopOrbitalBombardment variable to true.
• Added a new parameter to the 'Orbital Bombardment' ZEN module which can be used to abort currently active orbital bombardments (using the variable above).

09/11/2021

• Cleaned up ZEN functions a bit.

31/10/2021

• Fixed typo in stringtable.

26/10/2021

• Removed delay before ZEN module initialisation so modules should appear in Zeus instantly now.
• Cleaned up ZEN related functions to be more consistent with other TTS scripts.
• ZEN modules are now under their own category 'TTS Beam Laser' instead of 'Fire Support' so it is easier to find and doesn't clutter up the other fire support options.
• Fixed an issue that was causing close consecutive beam strikes to destroy the sound emitter from the previous strike.
• Added 'blue' colour back in the ZEN module colours list.
• Added a new function fn_orbitalBombardment and a complementary ZEN module because overkill is underrated.

14/10/2021

• Added stringtable support to allow the script to be translated. If you are willing to help translate the script into another language, contact me in my Discord!

11/10/2021

• Cleaned up README file and improved installation instructions.

12/07/2021

• Added custom icon to beam strike module.
• Added parameter to script to enable/disable beam damage.

12/04/2021

• Removed Achilles compatibility (no longer supported).

13/02/2021

• Removed need for tts_beam_fnc_customZeusModules to be run from initPlayerLocal.sqf.
• Updated sound classes to use tts prefix.

05/02/2021

• Tweaked tts_beam_fnc_customZeusModules again since it still seemed to be causing a few issues adding modules.

05/02/2021

• Adjusted tts_beam_fnc_customZeusModules slightly so it should correctly add the modules more reliably.

29/01/2021

• Added compatibility for Achilles and Zeus Enhanced. The 'Beam Laser Strike' module can be found under the 'Fire Support' section when either of these mods are loaded and the script is present in the mission file.
• The beam should now behave as expected when it hits an object before impacting terrain, and will timeout automatically if it gets stuck.

25/01/2021

• Initial upload.