What happens to "extra" hitscan tracers?

[42PercentHealth]

This question came up when I was starting map 30 of Scythe 2, and trying to kill the horde of imps with the BFG. If you hit a monster with more than the number of hitscan tracers needed to kill it, do the extras stop at the monster, or do they continue? From a practical perspective, is it more ammo-efficient to stand at some distance from the imps, so as to hit more of them, or will all of the tracers do damage even up close?

If the extra tracers do continue (as I suspect, since the SSG does not gib weaker enemies in most source ports), then is there some way to know which tracers are calculated first?

I only ask because I have an ammo-efficiency OCD.

[VGA]

No bullets go to waste! So the most efficient way to shoot is to line up enemies, one behind the other.

[Bauul]

Are there any mods/source port features out there that visualize hitscan tracers (e.g. as a red line or whatever)?

I'd be fascinated to play around with a feature like that to help me further understand the nuances of hitscan weapons (especially the BFG).

[42PercentHealth]

VGA said:

No bullets go to waste! So the most efficient way to shoot is to line up enemies, one behind the other.

Awesome! Sometimes I get myself into awkward situations trying to calculate the ideal distance to stand from a horde of monsters -- sounds like I don't need to be so particular.

Thanks a bunch!

[TwinBeast]

One time I changed the source code to display the missed BFG tracers. So, normally they're just invisibly hitting a wall if they don't hit a thing.

The code says this about BFG tracers:
for (i=0 ; i<40 ; i++) {
an = mo->angle - ANG90/2 + ANG90/40*i;

I'll understand they start from the left and go to the right.

[Linguica]

The instant an enemy dies, it stops intercepting any further tracers / bullets (they're basically the same thing as far as the engine is concerned). This is why you can't gib enemies with the super shotgun.

[42PercentHealth]

Jimi said:

I'll understand they start from the left and go to the right.

Thanks, man! Just what I was wondering about.

[scifista42]

Jimi said:

The code says this about BFG tracers:
for (i=0 ; i<40 ; i++) {
an = mo->angle - ANG90/2 + ANG90/40*i;

I'll understand they start from the left and go to the right.

Actually vice versa, since an angle in the Doom engine goes counter-clockwise as its value increases, and the value of the expression in the code above is initially (thing's angle - 45 degrees), that is 45 degrees to the right, and increases with each iteration up to (thing's angle + 45 degrees), that is 45 degrees to the left.

Curiously, the loop stops one step before the exact "45 degrees to the left" angle is reached. As a result, the entire range of tracers is not perfectly left-to-right symmetrical, but slightly tilted to the right side. If the expression "ANG90/40" was replaced by "ANG90/39", it'd be symmetrical.

[Chezza]

I know Brutal Doom uses Tracers for zombiemen shots, you could look into that.