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radj307 edited this page Oct 28, 2022 · 14 revisions

Introduction

This is a brief introduction to how archery in Skyrim works, and will give you a better understanding of what the available settings actually do.

Quick-Start

Add the following block to your Skyrim.ini (or SkyrimCustom.ini, if it exists):

[Combat]
f1PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.2
f1PboltTiltUpAngle=0.2
f3PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.7
fMagnetismStrafeHeadingMult=0.0
fMagnetismLookingMult=0.0

These INI settings will:

  • Cause arrows to fly towards the crosshair instead of above it
  • Improve collision physics by disabling the magnetism effect for all projectiles
  • Enable deterministic shot trajectories even on moving targets when auto-aim is disabled

(To learn more about what these INI settings do, see Tilt Angle & Magnetism)

If you're used to vanilla archery, expect a brief adjustment period while you get used to playing without magnetism enabled. You'll find you have to aim much more carefully to hit targets since close isn't close enough anymore. In return, you'll be able to guarantee that you can place an arrow or bolt exactly where you aimed it.
If you're having difficulty hitting targets at first, find a static archery target and practice your shots a few times to get a feel for it before trying moving targets.

Projectile Physics

Projectiles in Skyrim are always considered rigid bodies, and do not bend during flight as they do in real life, nor are they affected by wind or air pressure... yet.

The starting trajectory of all arrows & bolts in the game is controlled by the following factors:

  1. Draw Weight

    • The draw weight (and speed) corresponds to the weight stat of the bow used to fire it.
      (You can view the weight in the inventory )
    • Heavy bows take longer to pull back fully, but will fire arrows at much higher initial speeds than light bows, causing arrows to follow a flatter, longer trajectory.

  2. Tilt Angle

    • This is the vertical angle relative to the crosshair that projectiles begin their flight towards. This allows you to control the sighting on all bows and/or crossbows in 1st and/or 3rd person, but it can't be controlled on-the-fly.
    • This is controlled by the game INI files. See here for more information, and recommended settings.

  3. Projectile Speed

    • The higher the projectile's speed, the flatter & longer its trajectory.
    • This is combined with the draw weight of the bow to get the actual speed value.

  4. Projectile Gravity

    • The higher the projectile's gravity, the curvier & shorter its trajectory.
    • Gravity is a constant that causes the projectile to drop.
      On Earth, this is approximately 9.807 m/s², while on Nirn it is approximately 11.07 m/s² (source).

The interactions between these factors produces the final in-game trajectory.

Auto-Aim

Everyone's least favourite "convenience" feature can also affect the trajectory of a projectile, causing arrows to begin their path on a collision course with nearby enemies instead of where you were actually aiming.
("Collision course" is relative here, the game engine gets confused by moving targets & modified physics resulting in consistent missed shots.)

You can disable auto-aim with this setting:

The following table shows the exact Game Setting (GMST) records and their values, depending on the state of the Disable Auto-Aim checkbox:

Game Setting Editor ID Not Checked
(Default) 		Checked
(Auto-aim disabled)
fAutoAimMaxDegrees 1.000000 0.000000
fAutoAimMaxDistance 1800.000000 0.000000
fAutoAimScreenPercentage 6.000000 0.000000
fAutoAimMaxDegrees3rdPerson 2.000000 0.000000

Tilt Angle

You can change the tilt angle values directly by editing Skyrim.ini and/or SkyrimCustom.ini.

I recommend using the following values:

[Combat]
f1PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.2
f1PboltTiltUpAngle=0.2
f3PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.7

This will cause arrows to fly towards the crosshair, instead of above it.
If you're used to using the vanilla values (with auto-aim disabled), you will have to aim above where you normally would in order to hit targets at range.

The values themselves are generally set to somewhere between 0.2 - 0.7 depending on your preferences and HUD. If you aren't happy with how fast arrows drop off from the crosshair, increase f1PArrowTiltUpAngle & f3PArrowTiltUpAngle until you are.

Magnetism

This refers to the game engine's tendency to make assumptions about where it thinks a projectile should impact, and is also controlled by the game's INI configs.
Magnetism causes projectiles that would have flown past a target to hit it anyway, by teleporting the projectile into the target. This often causes unintended side-effects, like hitting a wooden beam instead of the enemy standing behind it.

Disabling magnetism is easy, open Skyrim.ini and/or SkyrimCustom.ini in your preferred text editor and replace/add the following:

[Combat]
fMagnetismStrafeHeadingMult=0.0
fMagnetismLookingMult=0.0

Note: If you're using the Tilt Angle adjustments already, then your INI should look like this:

[Combat]
f1PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.2
f1PboltTiltUpAngle=0.2
f3PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.7
fMagnetismStrafeHeadingMult=0.0
fMagnetismLookingMult=0.0

Maximum Range

This is controlled by the fVisibleNavmeshMoveDist Game Setting.

The game engine imposes a limit on how far away from the player a projectile can travel while still checking if it has impacted something.

If a projectile flies unimpeded this far away from the player, the game engine stops calculating collision for it, and it will pass through anything it comes into contact with. Projectiles that collide with something before travelling this far away from the player are unaffected by this setting, as the game engine treats them like dropped objects instead of projectiles.

How to Access & Change Settings

If you're using the repository version, you can access the settings menu through the Synthesis application:
If you're using the external version, or if you prefer editing the JSON config directly, it is located here (relative to your root Synthesis installation directory): Data/Another Archery Patcher/settings.json

Settings Documentation

You can find documentation for all of the settings used by the patcher here.
This is especially useful for editing the JSON file directly.

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