Flak Cannon: aiming and projectile design

A flak-cannon prototype is a study in aiming, travel time and feedback. The player selects a direction, a projectile follows that direction and an impact or burst must clearly show whether the shot was effective.

Compute a direction vector from the cannon to the target, normalize it and multiply by projectile speed. Keep the projectile’s lifetime and explosion radius in the model so collision logic can be inspected without drawing.

For a first prototype, use stationary targets and one projectile at a time. Add moving targets only after the controls are readable. A useful exercise is to compare immediate aiming with a predicted intercept point.

The aiming vector

dx = targetX - cannonX
dy = targetY - cannonY
length = sqrt(dx*dx + dy*dy)
if length > 0:
  vx = speed * dx / length
  vy = speed * dy / length