The term for moving perpendicular to a ranged enethe with physics-based projectiles

terminology

In games where you can dodge a projectile from a ranged opponent by moving out of its way, it's possible to run in a perpendicular or zig-zag fashion to repeatedly dodge shots. Is there a word for this?

Best Answer

Lateral movement has many terms which are used in games: Strafing, Side-stepping, crab walking.

Lateral movement with intent to avoid slow moving projectiles... is pretty specific and doesn't really have commonly used gaming terms. Here are some scenarios and common terms used to describe them.

  • The projectile is headed for your current position. If you move out of the projectile path, terms that apply are "avoid" or "dodge".
  • The projectile has been launched with your current lateral movement in mind - aka the shooter used "leading". If you change your lateral movement, by stopping or reversing it, you will not enter the path of the projectile. A term that applies is "faking out". An advanced form of this is to make small lateral motions in place. The idea is to continuously generate lead targets in positions you never occupy, or generate lead targets which are behind obstacles.
  • The projectile is launched from a gun which has a specific turn rate (such as is found in eve-online). If your lateral motion outpaces the gun's turn rate, then the gun cannot "track" you. In eve-online, specifically, this movement is called "transverse" movement.
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