IsMeteor

Flies the debris in along a straight approach to the point it was created for.

Animation meteor flight

Specification — Animation meteor flight

Applies to: AnimType
File: art.ini
Section: [<ObjectType ID>]
Value: boolean
When omitted: no

The flag is one of the two that put an animation into the bounce physics at all; Bouncer is the other, and this one wins where both are set. An ordinary thrown animation is created where it was asked for and flung up from there. A meteor is created at the far end of a flight instead: a velocity is drawn, an approach of 51 to 70 frames is picked, and the animation is placed that many frames back along the velocity, so it travels in and arrives at the coordinate it was created for.

The velocity itself is drawn differently in three ways.

Its vertical component is MinZVel exactly, with no random pick, so the sign decides the approach: a negative figure brings the meteor down onto the target from above, a positive one carries it up from underneath.
Its two horizontal components come from the MaxXYVel range and are then mirrored together whenever X falls below -Y, which confines every meteor’s approach to one half of the compass.
Gravity is added back to the animation each frame after the physics have taken it away, so a meteor travels a straight line where other thrown animations arc.

Coming down on solid ground adds one effect an ordinary thrown animation never gets: the terrain is slumped around the impact cell according to CraterLevel. An end more than about a cell and a half above the ground is exempt from it, a bridge deck included, and so is a landing in water, where the last animation of the rules’ SplashList stands in for the wake and small splash other animations make there.

Voxel meteor flight

Specification — Voxel meteor flight

Applies to: VoxelAnimType
File: rules.ini
Section: [<ObjectType ID>]
Value: boolean
When omitted: no

Ordinary debris is created where it was asked for and thrown up from there. A meteor is created at the far end of a flight instead: a velocity is drawn, the lifetime is shortened by a random 0 to 19 frames, and the piece is placed that many frames back along the velocity, so it travels in and reaches the coordinate it was created for as the lifetime runs out.

The velocity itself is drawn differently in three ways.

Its vertical component is MinZVel exactly, with no random pick and no reference to MaxZVel, so the sign decides the approach: a negative figure brings the meteor down onto the target from above, a positive one carries it up from underneath.
Its two horizontal components come from the MaxXYVel range and are then mirrored together whenever X falls below -Y, which confines every meteor’s approach to one half of the compass.
Gravity is added back to the piece each frame after the physics have taken it away, so a meteor travels a straight line where other debris arcs.

Coming down on solid ground adds two effects ordinary debris never gets: the terrain is deformed around the impact cell according to CraterLevel, and Spawns breaks the piece into fresh debris. An end low over water substitutes the last animation in the rules’ splash list for the wake and small splash other debris makes there.

See also — Bouncer, MinZVel, MaxXYVel, CraterLevel, IsTiberium, Spawns, MaxZVel, SpawnCount, Duration