Calculates the dot product of two values. The dot product returns a single number that tells you how much two vectors or quaternions point in the same direction. It's useful for checking angles between vectors, checking if vectors point in the same direction, and projecting one vector onto another.
number dot(vector2 x, vector2 y)
number dot(vector3 x, vector3 y)
number dot(vector4 x, vector4 y)
number dot(quat x, quat y)
A number representing the dot product of the two values.
-- Dot product of two vector3 values:
local v1 = vector3(1, 0, 0)
local v2 = vector3(0, 1, 0)
print(dot(v1, v2)) -- prints `0` (perpendicular vectors)
-- Vectors pointing in the same direction return the product of their lengths:
local v1 = vector3(1, 0, 0)
local v2 = vector3(1, 0, 0)
print(dot(v1, v2)) -- prints `1`
-- Opposite vectors have a negative dot product:
local v1 = vector3(1, 0, 0)
local v2 = vector3(-1, 0, 0)
print(dot(v1, v2)) -- prints `-1`
-- Works with vector2:
local v1 = vector2(3, 4)
local v2 = vector2(1, 0)
print(dot(v1, v2)) -- prints `3`
-- Works with quaternions:
local q1 = quat(1, 0, 0, 0)
local q2 = quat(1, 0, 0, 0)
print(dot(q1, q2)) -- prints `1`Check if an entity is roughly in front of the player:
local playerPed = PlayerPedId()
local forward, _, _, playerPos = GetEntityMatrix(playerPed)
local entityPos = GetEntityCoords(someEntity)
local toEntity = norm(entityPos - playerPos)
-- A positive dot product means the entity is in front:
if dot(forward, toEntity) > 0 then
print("Entity is in front of the player")
end