Projectile Game Rebuilt: Four Levels, New Controls, and an Animated Tutorial

The old version had three levels. There are now four. Each one changes the physics rather than just getting harder: flat ground, then a wall at the midpoint, then a raised cannon, then a target up in the air. The equation you use on the first level stops being usable by the third.

The controls have changed. You can still set the angle and the initial speed with the steppers, but you can now also aim by dragging the cannon barrel directly, and set the speed by dragging the tip of the velocity arrow, so anything you can reach by dragging you can also dial in exactly.

The measurement tools are simpler. There’s one marker per axis instead of the old set, and the readouts show Δx and Δy in meters as you drag.

The settings tray lets you show or hide the trajectory, the launching angle arc, the initial velocity arrow, and the velocity components on the ball in flight.

Each level gives you ten shots, and you need eight hits to move on. A hit is worth 10 points, and consecutive hits add a 5-point bonus, so a run of hits is worth more than the same number spread out.

The formulas panel opens over the game and gives you the component equations, the trajectory equation, the coordinates of the highest point, and the range formula. A note points out that the last one only holds when the launch and landing are at the same height.

A genuine addition is the improved tutorial. Some other simulations have tutorials that point at the controls. This one uses them. It runs through almost every button, control and visual aid in turn – the hand moves to each control and operates it, so you see the cannon rotate, the steppers change, the markers drag and the readouts update. You can step forward and back, or leave at any point.

▶ Click here to open the simulation.