Numerical Ballistic Modeling in Game Engines

To improve the overall performance and realism of your game, it is important to calculate the trajectory of a projectile accurately and quickly. One way to increase realism is to use a ballistic model that takes into account factors such as air resistance, density, and wind when calculating a projectile's trajectory. However, the more these factors are taken into account, the more computationally time-consuming and expensive it becomes, creating a trade-off between overall performance and efficiency. Therefore, we present an optimal solution to find a balance between ballistic model accuracy and computation time. We perform ballistic calculations using numerical methods such as Euler, Velocity Verlet, RK2, RK4, and Akima interpolation, and measure and compare the computation time, memory usage (RSS, Resident Set Size), and accuracy of each method. We show developers how to implement more accurate and efficient ballistic models and help them choose the right computational method for their numerical applications.