The Physics Gun (most commonly known as the Physgun) is a tool/weapon that allows its user to manipulate almost anything in the game, with the exception of players and the map itself. It allows the user to lift, rotate an object in the air, place, and even freeze it completely still, whether it's in midair or not.
Abilities
The primary trigger (Primary fire, Left mouse button by default) when held emits a long blue (by default, can be changed) beam from the front of the gun. Anything that touches the beam or vice versa will be grabbed by the user and can then be manipulated into different positions. The secondary trigger (Alternate fire, Right mouse button by default) allows the user to freeze the held object in place regardless of where it is. Most NPCs cannot be frozen but can be placed. The tertiary trigger (USE key, E by default) when held allows the user to rotate the object if grabbed by using the mouse. The fourth trigger (mouse wheel), allows the user to pull the grabbed target to them or push it away, although the same thing can be done by holding USE and pressing the Forward and/or Backpedal key. The Physgun can also straighten out the angles of a prop, done by holding the Sprint key (Left Shift by default) & the USE keys and moving the mouse around. Reloading with the Physgun (R by default) unfreezes the bones of a highlighted ragdoll (Highlight by rolling the reticule over it). Reloading twice unfreezes all props you've spawned (so far), however, this can be very frustrating when doing complicated constructions, so avoid reloading twice by accident if you can!
In Garry's Mod 13, the Physgun was updated to exclude freezing vehicles.
Physics Gun as a weapon
The Physgun is a tool and has no capability as a weapon in itself. As such, it cannot be directly used as one, but rather must be used indirectly. Common means of doing so are grabbing large, heavy objects and whipping them around and into enemies. Other, more trap like methods are taking weighty props such as cars and containers and freezing them above enemies only to unfreeze and let the weight do the work, or holding back motorized or otherwise motion-constrained props until a time where releasing it will kill something. Another method is to adjust a console command setting allowing you to fling something straight forward so it knocks into something, dealing a mass amount of damage. This is called "Propkill" and in most servers, is a bannable offense.
Lifting
As mentioned previously, the Physgun can almost grab anything regardless of its weight. The few things that it cannot pick up are the objects built into the map by default, such as walls, windows and fences, and other players. Beware; sometimes players will suddenly lose control of the grabbed object if among other players, and if bumped or brushed up against, the object may instantly kill a player by accidental release and ricochetting. The best thing to do in this case is to make sure that there is enough space around you to manouver the object.
Ragdoll Posing
An example of ragdoll posing. Note the ragdoll's hand having been posed using the Finger Poser.
Posing ragdolls with the Physgun is a skill that takes a large amount of finesse and mastery. One should imagine in their head exactly what they want the ragdoll to look like before starting. Once ready, the best method is to start with the head, then the torso, then the limbs. One should also toggle on slow-movement-noclip, which will allow making very precise adjustments.
Trivia
- The Physgun uses the supercharged Gravity Gun model from Half-Life 2. But, its HUD icon represents it as the cut Tau Cannon.
- The Physgun was inspired by a cut weapon by the same name. The HL2 counterpart could hurt and/or kill NPCs and weld objects together via purple balls. This inspired the welding tool that connects props together. The Garry's mod physgun cannot kill players or npcs though.
Gallery
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