IsSonic

Flag:	IsSonic
File(s):	Rules(md).ini
Values:	boolean
Default:	no
Applicable to:	Weapons

If set, the game will draw a colored wave along the projectile path (It is used for the Disruptor in TS and the Dolphin in RA2). In TS, the wave is continuous, in RA2, it is not. In YR, IsMagBeam=yes provides a similar effect, but it is drawn in the reverse direction (from the target towards the firing unit) when attacking VehicleTypes.

Note: if the projectile is invisible, then the warhead will detonate when the wave hits the target. If it is visible, this wave will be only a graphic effect, and the warhead will detonate when the visible projectile hits. However, AI units will "sense" the wave and try to scatter before the projectile hits.

Usually IsSonic=yes will cause damage to TechnoTypes that also belongs to you. To prevent this, add the AffectsAllies=no tag to the Sonic weapon warhead.

Damage calculation

This section details the way this logic works in the Yuri's Revenge EXE. Handling in other games supporting this flag may be different.

As noted by some community members in the past, IsSonic deals more damage to closer units than to units that are further away. The reason for this lies (logically), in the way IsSonic works and applies its damage: A sonic wave exists for precisely 20 frames, regardless of how far it has to travel. On each of these frames, it will damage all targets it has passed up to that frame. This, in turn, means a target that is closer to the shooter, and is hit early in the life cycle of the wave, takes considerably more damage, simply because it is longer under the influence of the wave, and damage is applied to it more often.

Example

Let us assume there are three targets to be hit by a sonic wave.
One will be reached after 5 frames, one after 10, and one after 15 frames.
The table below illustrates how damage would be applied to them, and makes very obvious why closer targets take so much more damage than those further away:

Frame	Target 1	Target 2	Target 3
1	no damage	no damage	no damage
2	no damage	no damage	no damage
3	no damage	no damage	no damage
4	no damage	no damage	no damage
5	no damage	no damage	no damage
6	damage	no damage	no damage
7	damage	no damage	no damage
8	damage	no damage	no damage
9	damage	no damage	no damage
10	damage	no damage	no damage
11	damage	damage	no damage
12	damage	damage	no damage
13	damage	damage	no damage
14	damage	damage	no damage
15	damage	damage	no damage
16	damage	damage	damage
17	damage	damage	damage
18	damage	damage	damage
19	damage	damage	damage
20	damage	damage	damage

Bugs/Side-Effects/Unexpected Limitations

Warhead and AmbientDamage of Sonic weapons always read only the Primary weapon.

• This bug has been fixed in Ares 0.1.

Sonic weapons don't normally fire at targets over 8 spaces.

• This bug has been fixed in Ares 0.B.

[Hardcoded]: IsSonic does not read Wall=no on warhead.

• This bug has been fixed in Ares 3.0.
  

IsSonic=yes disrupts the work of logic IsGattling