Using Layer Masks in Unity

Overview:

Let's look at how we can use layer mask in Unity.

Layer Mask:

A GameObject can use up to 32 LayerMasks supported by the Editor. The first 8 of these Layers are specified by Unity. the following 24 are controllable by the user.

Setting Up Layer Mask:

I have 3 capsules in the scene 2 enemies and one teammate. let's create two new layer mask and assign the accordingly.

1. With enemy one selected inside the top right corner in the inspector window click on layer mask then add layer.

2. layer 8 I named Enemy and layer 9 I named Friendly.

3. Assign the Enemy layer to both enemies and assign the Friendly to the Teammate.

4. Now let's write a script that will detect the layer mask using a Raycast and assign the script to the Main Camera.

public class LayerMask : MonoBehaviour
{
    private Health _health;

    [SerializeField] private bool _friendlyFire = false;

    private bool _canAttack;    

    [SerializeField] private TextMeshProUGUI _friendlyFireValueText;

    // Start is called before the first frame update
    void Start()
    {
        Cursor.lockState = CursorLockMode.Locked;
    }

    // Update is called once per frame
    void Update()
    {

        if (Input.GetKeyDown(KeyCode.T))
        {
            FriendlyFire();
        }

        if (Input.GetMouseButtonDown(0) && _canAttack || Input.GetMouseButtonDown(0) && _friendlyFire)
        {
            if (_health != null) 
            {              
                _health.Damage(10f);
            }
        }
    }

    void FixedUpdate()
    {      
        Ray ray = Camera.main.ScreenPointToRay(Input.mousePosition);

        RaycastHit hitInfo;

        if (Physics.Raycast(ray, out hitInfo, Mathf.Infinity, 1 << 8))
        {
            Debug.DrawRay(ray.origin, Camera.main.transform.forward * 1000, Color.green);

            Debug.Log($"Hit: &{hitInfo.collider.name}");          

            if (hitInfo.collider.TryGetComponent<Health>(out Health health))
            {
  
                _health = health;
            }

            _canAttack = true;

        }
        else if (Physics.Raycast(ray, out hitInfo, Mathf.Infinity, 1 << 8 | 1 << 9) && _friendlyFire)
        {
            Debug.DrawRay(ray.origin, Camera.main.transform.forward * 1000, Color.green);

            Debug.Log($"Hit: &{hitInfo.collider.name}");        

            _canAttack = true;
        }
        else
        {
            Debug.DrawRay(ray.origin, Camera.main.transform.forward * 1000, Color.red);
            _canAttack = false;
        }
    }


    public void FriendlyFire()
    {
        _friendlyFire = !_friendlyFire;

        if (_friendlyFire)
        {
            _friendlyFireValueText.color = new Color32(27, 255, 0, 255);
            _friendlyFireValueText.text = "ON";
        }
        else
        {
            _friendlyFireValueText.color = new Color32(255, 0, 0, 255);
            _friendlyFireValueText.text = "OFF";
        }
    }
}

The Result:

The Enimies take damage but the friendly wont unless we turn on friendly fire.

Thats it for this article.

Thank you for your time and attention.