Fix Particle Cannon beam height visual bug

[githubawn]

Particle Cannon "Short Beam" Fix Walkthrough
Goal
Fix the visual bug where the Particle Uplink Cannon's laser beam appeared cut off or "floating" mid-air when viewed from a distance or on high-elevation maps, rather than striking from orbit.

Changes
We modified ParticleUplinkCannonUpdate.cpp to increase the orbital origin height of the beam.

ParticleUplinkCannonUpdate.cpp
Increased Height: Changed the vertical offset from 500.0f to 5000.0f in three key locations:
update()
createGroundToOrbitLaser()
createOrbitToTargetLaser()

Introduced Named Constant: Defined ORBITAL_BEAM_Z_OFFSET to replace the magic number.
const Real ORBITAL_BEAM_Z_OFFSET = 5000.0f;

These changes ensure the beam's origin point is high enough even when zoomed out or on high maps, maintaining the illusion of an orbital strike.

[greptile-apps]

Greptile Overview

Greptile Summary

Fixed visual bug where the Particle Uplink Cannon's orbital laser beam appeared cut off or floating mid-air when viewed from distance or on high-elevation maps by increasing the orbital origin height from 500.0f to 5000.0f.

Key Changes:

• Introduced named constant ORBITAL_BEAM_Z_OFFSET = 5000.0f to replace magic numbers
• Updated three locations where the orbital beam Z position is calculated: update() (line 631), createGroundToOrbitLaser() (line 1009), and createOrbitToTargetLaser() (line 1048)
• The fix maintains the visual illusion of an orbital strike by ensuring the beam origin is high enough to remain visible at all camera distances and elevations

Confidence Score: 5/5

• This PR is safe to merge with no identified issues
• The change is minimal, well-documented, and addresses a specific visual bug. The fix replaces a magic number with a named constant (good practice) and consistently updates all three locations where the orbital beam height is calculated. No logical issues or breaking changes detected.
• No files require special attention

Important Files Changed

Filename	Overview
GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameLogic/Object/Update/ParticleUplinkCannonUpdate.cpp	Increased orbital beam Z offset from 500.0f to 5000.0f and replaced magic numbers with named constant ORBITAL_BEAM_Z_OFFSET

Sequence Diagram

sequenceDiagram
    participant Update as ParticleUplinkCannonUpdate::update()
    participant CreateGroundToOrbit as createGroundToOrbitLaser()
    participant CreateOrbitToTarget as createOrbitToTargetLaser()
    participant LaserUpdate as LaserUpdate
    
    Note over Update: Particle Cannon fires
    Update->>Update: Calculate m_currentTargetPosition (ground)
    Update->>Update: Set orbitPosition.z = m_currentTargetPosition.z + ORBITAL_BEAM_Z_OFFSET
    Update->>LaserUpdate: initLaser(orbitPosition, m_currentTargetPosition)
    Note over LaserUpdate: Beam drawn from orbit (5000.0f above target) to ground
    
    Note over CreateGroundToOrbit: Ground-to-orbit laser
    CreateGroundToOrbit->>CreateGroundToOrbit: Set orbitPosition.z = m_laserOriginPosition.z + ORBITAL_BEAM_Z_OFFSET
    CreateGroundToOrbit->>LaserUpdate: initLaser(m_laserOriginPosition, orbitPosition)
    Note over LaserUpdate: Beam drawn from building to orbit (5000.0f above)
    
    Note over CreateOrbitToTarget: Orbit-to-target laser
    CreateOrbitToTarget->>CreateOrbitToTarget: Set orbitPosition.z = m_initialTargetPosition.z + ORBITAL_BEAM_Z_OFFSET
    CreateOrbitToTarget->>LaserUpdate: initLaser(orbitPosition, m_initialTargetPosition)
    Note over LaserUpdate: Beam drawn from orbit (5000.0f above) to target

Loading

[greptile-apps]

_{1 file reviewed, 1 comment}

_{Edit Code Review Agent Settings | Greptile}

[greptile-apps]

Consider moving ORBITAL_BEAM_Z_OFFSET to the header file ParticleUplinkCannonUpdate.h per coding standards for code-level constants.

Context Used: Rule from dashboard - Prefer defining code-level constants (math constants, feature macros, etc.) in header files rather t... (source)

_{Note: If this suggestion doesn't match your team's coding style, reply to this and let me know. I'll remember it for next time!}

Prompt To Fix With AI

This is a comment left during a code review.
Path: GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameLogic/Object/Update/ParticleUplinkCannonUpdate.cpp
Line: 62:62

Comment:
Consider moving `ORBITAL_BEAM_Z_OFFSET` to the header file `ParticleUplinkCannonUpdate.h` per coding standards for code-level constants.

**Context Used:** Rule from `dashboard` - Prefer defining code-level constants (math constants, feature macros, etc.) in header files rather t... ([source](https://app.greptile.com/review/custom-context?memory=9aca79ba-17d4-4c71-918f-10816f7fc751))

<sub>Note: If this suggestion doesn't match your team's coding style, reply to this and let me know. I'll remember it for next time!</sub>

How can I resolve this? If you propose a fix, please make it concise.

[AlseeAns]

yes please : D