Raycast
Casts a ray, from point origin, in direction direction, of length maxDistance, against all colliders in the Scene.
Read time 5 minutesLast updated 4 days ago
Definition
- Type: Method
- Namespace: UnityEngine
- Assembly: UnityEngine.PhysicsModule
Raycast(Vector3, Vector3, float, int, QueryTriggerInteraction)
Casts a ray, from point , in direction , of length , against all colliders in the Scene.
origindirectionmaxDistancepublic static bool Raycast(Vector3 origin, Vector3 direction, float maxDistance, int layerMask, QueryTriggerInteraction queryTriggerInteraction)
Parameters
The starting point of the ray in world coordinates.
The direction of the ray.
The max distance the ray should check for collisions.
A Layer mask that is used to selectively filter which colliders are considered when casting a ray.
Specifies whether this query should hit Triggers.
Returns
Type | Description |
|---|---|
| bool | Returns true if the ray intersects with a Collider, otherwise false. |
Remarks
To select which layers a ray should collide with, use a LayerMask.
Specifying allows you to control whether or not Trigger colliders generate a hit, or whether to use the global Physics.queriesHitTriggers setting.
queryTriggerInteractionNotes: Raycasts will not detect Colliders for which the Raycast origin is inside the Collider. In all these examples FixedUpdate is used rather than Update. Refer to Order of execution for event functions to understand the difference between Update and FixedUpdate, and to see how they relate to physics queries.
using UnityEngine;public class ExampleClass : MonoBehaviour{ LayerMask layerMask; void Awake() { layerMask = LayerMask.GetMask("Wall", "Character"); } // See https://docs.unity.com/engine/6000.5/manual/scripting/managing-update-order/execution-order for information on FixedUpdate() and Update() related to physics queries void FixedUpdate() { RaycastHit hit; // Does the ray intersect any objects excluding the player layer if (Physics.Raycast(transform.position, transform.TransformDirection(Vector3.forward), out hit, Mathf.Infinity, layerMask)) { Debug.DrawRay(transform.position, transform.TransformDirection(Vector3.forward) * hit.distance, Color.yellow); Debug.Log("Did Hit"); } else { Debug.DrawRay(transform.position, transform.TransformDirection(Vector3.forward) * 1000, Color.white); Debug.Log("Did not Hit"); } }}
This example creates a simple Raycast, projecting forwards from the position of the object's current position, extending for 10 units.
using UnityEngine;public class ExampleClass : MonoBehaviour{ // See https://docs.unity.com/engine/6000.5/manual/scripting/managing-update-order/execution-order for information on FixedUpdate() and Update() related to physics queries void FixedUpdate() { Vector3 fwd = transform.TransformDirection(Vector3.forward); if (Physics.Raycast(transform.position, fwd, 10)) print("There is something in front of the object!"); }}
Raycast(Vector3, Vector3, RaycastHit, float, int, QueryTriggerInteraction)
Casts a ray against all colliders in the Scene and returns detailed information on what was hit.
public static bool Raycast(Vector3 origin, Vector3 direction, out RaycastHit hitInfo, float maxDistance, int layerMask, QueryTriggerInteraction queryTriggerInteraction)
Parameters
The starting point of the ray in world coordinates.
The direction of the ray.
If true is returned, will contain more information about where the closest collider was hit. (Additional Resources: RaycastHit).
hitInfoThe max distance the ray should check for collisions.
A Layer mask that is used to selectively filter which colliders are considered when casting a ray.
Specifies whether this query should hit Triggers.
Returns
Type | Description |
|---|---|
| bool | Returns true when the ray intersects any collider, otherwise false. |
Remarks
This example reports the distance between the current object and the reported Collider:
using UnityEngine;public class RaycastExample : MonoBehaviour{ // See https://docs.unity.com/engine/6000.5/manual/scripting/managing-update-order/execution-order for information on FixedUpdate() and Update() related to physics queries void FixedUpdate() { RaycastHit hit; if (Physics.Raycast(transform.position, -Vector3.up, out hit)) print("Found an object - distance: " + hit.distance); }}
This example re-introduces the parameter to limit how far ahead to cast the Ray:
maxDistanceusing UnityEngine;public class RaycastExample : MonoBehaviour{ // See https://docs.unity.com/engine/6000.5/manual/scripting/managing-update-order/execution-order for information on FixedUpdate() and Update() related to physics queries void FixedUpdate() { RaycastHit hit; if (Physics.Raycast(transform.position, -Vector3.up, out hit, 100.0f)) print("Found an object - distance: " + hit.distance); }}
Raycast(Ray, float, int, QueryTriggerInteraction)
Same as above using /ray.origin/ and /ray.direction/ instead of and .
origindirectionpublic static bool Raycast(Ray ray, float maxDistance, int layerMask, QueryTriggerInteraction queryTriggerInteraction)
Parameters
The starting point and direction of the ray.
The max distance the ray should check for collisions.
A Layer mask that is used to selectively filter which colliders are considered when casting a ray.
Specifies whether this query should hit Triggers.
Returns
Type | Description |
|---|---|
| bool | Returns true when the ray intersects any collider, otherwise false. |
Examples
using UnityEngine;using UnityEngine.InputSystem;public class ExampleClass : MonoBehaviour{ // See https://docs.unity.com/engine/6000.5/manual/scripting/managing-update-order/execution-order for information on FixedUpdate() and Update() related to physics queries void FixedUpdate() { Ray ray = Camera.main.ScreenPointToRay(Mouse.current.position.ReadValue()); if (Physics.Raycast(ray, 100)) print("Hit something!"); }}
Raycast(Ray, RaycastHit, float, int, QueryTriggerInteraction)
Same as above using /ray.origin/ and /ray.direction/ instead of and .
origindirectionpublic static bool Raycast(Ray ray, out RaycastHit hitInfo, float maxDistance, int layerMask, QueryTriggerInteraction queryTriggerInteraction)
Parameters
The starting point and direction of the ray.
If true is returned, will contain more information about where the closest collider was hit. (Additional Resources: RaycastHit).
hitInfoThe max distance the ray should check for collisions.
A Layer mask that is used to selectively filter which colliders are considered when casting a ray.
Specifies whether this query should hit Triggers.
Returns
Type | Description |
|---|---|
| bool | Returns true when the ray intersects any collider, otherwise false. |
Remarks
This example draws a line along the length of the Ray whenever a collision is detected:
Examples
using UnityEngine;using UnityEngine.InputSystem;public class ExampleClass : MonoBehaviour{ // See https://docs.unity.com/engine/6000.5/manual/scripting/managing-update-order/execution-order for information on FixedUpdate() and Update() related to physics queries void FixedUpdate() { Ray ray = Camera.main.ScreenPointToRay(Mouse.current.position.ReadValue()); RaycastHit hit; if (Physics.Raycast(ray, out hit, 100)) Debug.DrawLine(ray.origin, hit.point); }}