Exploring Projectiles- Choosing my ammo

In class we learned about three separate ways to create projectiles in Unreal Engine, Line Tracing, Spawn Projectile, and Spawn Physics actors, each tailored towards different types of weapons/other projectiles. For bullets, lasers and other more instantaneous-esc moment, line tracing proved to be the most effective, as it easily travels the fastest, but wouldn't be as accurate a projectile system as the projectile spawning system. The projectile spawn system is just how it sounds, pre-built with "fake physics" that are less taxing on the game engine, and allow for simplistic additions to how they interact with the game environment, other actors, etc; though it can be difficult to implement true physics with this projectile and the nature of it being pre-built means that once you break it, it becomes difficult to repair. The last actor is more very adaptable, but has to be built from the ground up, the "spawn physics actor" puts any SM through the physics engine, and as such is pretty intensive on the game engine, especially in high amounts. 

Of the three I explored, I feel as though the Line Tracing projectile system would work the best for "MAC Platform;" due to the high velocity of Magnetically Accelerated missiles. While projectile movement would also work, (though perhaps with some problems with working the physics of the resulting explosion and WHERE to spawn it) the advantages of Line Tracing fit in well with what I have planned. Especially because I do plan on this weapon being something that explodes against the first surface it contacts with, (probably adding impulse at the location of impact) and not employing any kind of bouncing projectile. 

What might also be interesting for this weapon is a lingering AOE effect, possibly burning or electric sparks that are left over for a short time after the initial explosion, (I could also make it where the AOE slows down opponents, being meant as a small amount of damage but a movement debuff, making it easier to land consecutive shots)

In conclusion I would like my projectile, (In terms of functionality in Unreal that is) to accomplish the following

1. Charging state when initially pressed, giving the prey time to dodge and forcing the user to THINK before firing, rather than firing randomly. 

·      Metal starts to glow, relatively dimly

·      Electricity building along the barrel, starting in the back and coming forth until the entire barrel is covered in electricity

2. Long reaching beam effect that will end at the first object it collides with, triggering the initial damage and explosion effects/physics impulse force at the location.

·      Interior Metal Glows super bright, though not quite in an explosion of light.

·      Huge muzzle flash at the barrel of the weapon

·      Medium sized explosion at the barrel of the weapon

·      Long reaching stream of energy roughly the same size of the barrel, becomes thinner and thinner as it dissipates. (possibly breaking at random as it dissipates and becomes thinner)

3. Explosion that does the majority of its damage in near the point of impact and has a drop off of damage in the more exterior locations of the explosion. 

·      Super heated metal shell bursts open as it collides with the object

·      Explosion expands, completely shattering the metal shell and resulting in a bright explosion of super heated energy

·      Explosion subsides, becoming more medium sized as the super heated debris escapes the explosion, leaving trails of fire.

4. (Optional, but preferred) Lingering AOE effect of some kind, EMP effect will trigger if the player lands a direct or near direct shot. (This could be constructed by spawning an actor without collision at the location, set up with emitters that leave the lingering trail of electricity or fire while a trigger box damages anyone that is within it) 

·      The general damaging area of effect will be small lingering amounts of sparking electricity and glowing, super heated material that has melted from the explosion.

·      A bursting flash of electricity (relatively dim, not blinding) occurs as the EMP triggers and the vehicle is covered in a cloud of sparking electricity.

5. (Probably drop this) Reload effects, SFX, and other indicators after two shots.

·      Burst of grey smoke escapes from the barrel vents, followed by a gentle stream of grey smoke

·      Glowing barrel reaches a state of relative dimness for a few seconds before subsiding and no longer glowing.

- General Game play with the weapon: I imagine most skilled players would use the first shot to crack through armor and slow down targets to make them much easier to eliminate, (the AOE ensures you don't necessarily have to land a DIRECT hit, just hit near them) and use the second shot to finish them off. The limit of two shots prior to reload would ensure that the weapon needs to be fired accurately, and the lack of any kind of arc would make the weapon less suitable against enemies on raised elevation; but excellent for snipers or those on raised platforms. However, players would also need to fire only at distant targets, as firing at people too close to themselves would trigger the explosion right in their own faces... Overall I think this would make for a sort of, explosive sniper with lingering damage, powerful, but requiring some forethought to use rather than a traditional "run-and-gun" type of weapon. 

References Used:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i737rM6FxqE&t=48s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGtTBySkpjk&t=326s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bybon6YHP0&t=244s