Duck Shot Bridge, UI, and Operator Workflows

Vehicle MC is not only a driving plugin. The current config surface shows a clear path toward armed vehicles, UI feedback, and cross-plugin combat behavior.

This page covers the files that matter once you move past "it drives" and into "it belongs in the wider vehicle and combat stack."

Quick routes:

• open the dedicated duckshot_bridge.yml guide
• open the combat file guide
• open the preset and turret guide

duckshot_bridge.yml

This file is the direct contract between Duck Shot and Vehicle MC.

The default bridge file shows the structure clearly:

duckshotBridge:
  enabled: true
  filters:
    denyWeapons:
      - FX_SMOKE_GRENADE
  duckshotToVehiclemc:
    readProjectiles: true
    readExplosions: true
  vehiclemcToDuckshot:
    enabled: true

That means the bridge can:

• read Duck Shot projectiles
• read Duck Shot explosions
• ignore selected utility items
• route Vehicle MC explosive behavior back toward Duck Shot

This is the file to check first when damage or explosive logic only feels wrong in the combined vehicle-plus-gun setup.

Combat runtime is split on purpose

The bridge works best when you treat the other combat files as separate responsibilities.

combat.yml

The default combat file already exposes:

combat:
  enabled: false
  targeting:
    lookDistance: 64.0
  damage:
    globalDamageScalar: 1.0
    dualWriteToVehicleHp: true
  cooldowns:
    collisionImmunityTicks: 10
    explosionDoubleHitGuardTicks: 4
  budgets:
    maxProjectilesPerTick: 300
    maxExplosionsPerTick: 32

That means the combat side already separates:

• targeting reach
• damage policy
• cooldown behavior
• background persistence
• performance budgets

This is where you shape "can the server handle armed vehicles cleanly" before you start authoring more content.

components.yml

The default component values are already live:

components:
  defaults:
    hp:
      engine: 100.0
      transmission: 80.0
      wheels: 60.0
      rotor: 70.0
      wings: 70.0
      fuel_tank: 60.0

That is the file that decides whether damage stays coarse or becomes subsystem-aware.

It is the right place for:

• engine fragility
• wheel vulnerability
• rotor and wing vulnerability
• ammo-rack or fuel-tank volatility

UI does not belong in the bridge file

Driver-facing bars live in ui.yml, and the public browse layer lives in catalog.yml.

That split is a good one:

• the bridge file handles combat cooperation
• the UI file handles readability
• the catalog file handles discoverability

Do not overgrow the bridge file by treating it as the home of every operator concern.

UI lives in ui.yml

ui.yml controls the public driver-facing bars:

ui:
  bossbars:
    hp:
      enabled: true
    fuel:
      enabled: true
    speed:
      enabled: false

This is where you define whether the plugin feels:

• minimal
• arcade-like
• heavily instrumented

For the deeper UI and browse layer, use:

• catalog, UI, Surfaces, and Driver Feedback

Other operator-facing support files

A production deployment also leans on:

• surfaces.yml
• keys.yml
• spawns.yml
• messages.yml
• catalog.yml

These are not the first files most builders touch, but they are the ones that make Vehicle MC feel like a polished ecosystem instead of a rough first setup.

Files that are scaffolded but not populated yet

The current release also includes these files:

• weapons.yml
• projectiles.yml
• turrets.yml
• vehicle_loadouts.yml

Right now they are still scaffold files with empty preset maps. That is still useful to document honestly because it tells you two things:

• the plugin has a clear future shape for armed-vehicle presets
• the current release is not pretending those content packs are already fully authored in YAML

That is a much better public story than hiding the files entirely.

Recommended next pages

• vehicles, Variants, Fuel, and World Service Systems
• core Config, Runtime, and Rig Backends
• fuel Tanks, Repair Stations, and World Service
• catalog, UI, Surfaces, and Driver Feedback
• weapon Presets, Turret Groups, and Loadout Staging
• combat Components, Duck Shot Bridge, Projectiles, and Loadouts
• damage Routing, Collision Damage, and Destruction Safety
• catalog, Keys, Spawns, Messages, and Driver UI