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VehicleInputSystem.md

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Vehicle Input System

Documentation for the base vehicle input handling in ClownCar.

Overview

The vehicle input system is built on Unity's new Input System. In the current architecture, input handling is primarily done through VehicleMultiplayerSteering and its pluggable steering methods. The legacy VehicleNewInput component is still available for standalone use.

Current Architecture

The primary input path is:

VehicleMultiplayerSteering (manager)
  └── SteeringMethod.ReadInput()           ◄── Each mode reads its own inputs
  └── SteeringMethod.GetVehicleInput()     ◄── Returns VehicleInput struct
  └── Manager applies to VehicleController ◄── steerInput, throttleInput, brakeInput

See Multiplayer Steering for full details on the steering system.

Input Actions

The system expects an InputActionAsset with a Vehicle action map containing:

Action Type Description
Steer Axis Left/right steering (-1 to 1)
Throttle Axis Forward/reverse throttle
Brake Button/Axis Brake input
Handbrake Button Handbrake/parking brake
ResetVehicle Button Reset vehicle to upright position
ReverseModifier Button Manual reverse mode toggle

The manager reads Handbrake and ResetVehicle universally. Individual steering methods (like SinglePlayerSteering) read Steer, Throttle, Brake, and ReverseModifier from their own config's InputActionAsset.

VehicleController Integration

All steering methods ultimately set these properties on VehicleController:

Property Range Description
steerInput -1 to 1 Steering angle (left/right)
throttleInput -1 to 1 Throttle (negative = reverse)
brakeInput 0 to 1 Brake force
handbrakeInput 0 to 1 Handbrake force (set by manager)

Input Combine Modes

Used by SinglePlayerSteering when multiple bindings exist for the same action:

Mode Behavior
TakeHighestMagnitude Use whichever input has the largest absolute value
Sum Add all inputs together (clamped to -1, 1)
Average Average all active inputs

Continuous Forward and Reverse

When continuousForwardAndReverse = true (in SinglePlayerSteeringConfig):

Vehicle State Forward Input Reverse Input Result
Moving forward Throttle Brake Accelerate / Brake
Stationary Throttle Reverse Move forward / backward
Moving backward Brake Throttle Brake / Accelerate backward

When false, the ReverseModifier key toggles between forward and reverse modes.