Ammo.js Closest Hit vs All Hits Raycast

In 3D physics simulations powered by Ammo.js—the JavaScript port of the Bullet physics engine—raycasting is a critical tool for detecting intersections along a line segment. This article outlines the functional differences between a closest hit raycast and an all hits raycast, detailing how they handle collision detection, their primary use cases, and their impact on performance.

Closest Hit Raycast

A closest hit raycast projects a ray from a starting point to an endpoint and identifies only the single, nearest rigid body that obstructs the path.

• Behavior: The physics engine calculates intersections along the ray but only returns data for the collision point closest to the ray’s origin. Any obstacles behind the first hit are ignored.
• Ammo.js Class: Ammo.ClosestRayResultCallback.
• Use Cases:
  • Standard shooting mechanics: Determining the exact point where a bullet impacts the first wall or enemy in its path.
  • Ground detection: Checking the distance from a character’s feet to the floor to keep them grounded.
  • Line-of-sight checks: Determining if an NPC can see the player without any solid obstacles blocking the view.

All Hits Raycast

An all hits raycast projects a ray from a starting point to an endpoint and records every single rigid body that the ray intersects.

• Behavior: The ray does not stop at the first obstruction. It penetrates through all objects along its vector, collecting a list of all hit points, collision normals, and rigid bodies.
• Ammo.js Class: Ammo.AllHitsRayResultCallback.
• Use Cases:
  • Penetrating weapons: Simulating railguns, lasers, or high-caliber ammunition that pierce through multiple walls or enemies.
  • Sensor scanning: Detecting all objects within a specific directional line to gather environmental data.
  • Audio propagation: Calculating how many walls a sound wave must pass through to determine how much the audio should be muffled.

Key Differences At a Glance

1. Returned Data

• Closest Hit: Returns a single result object containing one collision body, one collision point, and one normal vector.
• All Hits: Returns arrays of collision bodies, hit points, and normal vectors, ordered by distance from the ray’s origin.

2. Performance

• Closest Hit: Fast and computationally efficient. The engine can quickly discard potential hits that are further away than an already registered hit.
• All Hits: More resource-intensive. The engine must track, sort, and return multiple intersection points along the entire length of the ray.

3. Bullet Penetration

• Closest Hit: Stops logically at the first surface of contact.
• All Hits: Completely penetrates all overlapping and sequential physical bodies until it reaches the end of the specified ray length.