Particle System Editor

Manual / Content Creation / Particle System Editor

Particle System Editor

Contents

1 Overview
2 Creation
3 Placing an object in a scene
4 Adding custom modules
5 Samples
- 5.1 _TestParticleSystem.scene
6 See also

Overview

The page describes how to create particle systems. Particle System is a description of particle behavior and includes emitters and modules of particle behavior. The system can be created as a separate file or as an object in another resource, for example, in a scene. The created particle system is placed in the scene using the Particle System In Space.

You can check an example "Samples\Starter Content\Scenes Test\_TestParticleSystem.scene" and "_TestParticleSystem.particle".

Creation

First, you need to create a particle system resource. To do this, select the desired folder in the Resources Window, then select New Resource > Particles > Particle System in the context menu.

After creating, the particle system editor opens.

You can edit the particle system in the Objects Window and Settings Window. In the future, it will be possible to edit the position of emitters visually in the workspace of the editor.

The particle system is represented by the main object, the Particle System, and the emitters embedded in it. Emitters include particle shapes and particle behavior modules.

Particle System

System parameters:

Name	Description
Looping	Whether the particle system will be repeated after completion.
Simulation Space	Space in which the particles will be displayed.
Max Particles	The maximum number of particles that can exist at one time.
Simulation Speed	Multiplier for simulation run time.
Visibility Distance	Maximum visibility range of the object.

Particle Emitter

The emitter is a regular component with its own parameters. The main parameters are Lifetime, Size, Material.

An example of an emitter in which Lifetime, Material, Dispersion Angle are configured:

The emitter parameters are complex properties that are expanded by the '+' button to the left of the property name. You can specify the initial parameters of the particles as:

constant,
random number in the specified interval,
random number given by a curve.

All emitter parameters:

Name	Description
Start Time	The start time of the emitter.
Duration	Emitter operating time.
Spawn Rate	Particle creation frequency.
Spawn Count	The multiplier of created particles number.
Direction	The initial direction of the particles.
Dispersion Angle	The dispersion angle from the initial movement direction.
Speed	The initial speed of the particles.
Rotate Along Movement	Whether to set the initial rotation in the direction of motion velocity.
Rotation	The initial rotation of the particles.
Angular Velocity	The initial angular velocity of the particles.
Lifetime	Life time of the particles.
Size	The initial size of the particles.
Gravity Multiplier	Multiplier that affects the gravity of the scene.
Rendering Mode	The rendering mode of the particles.
Mesh	The mesh of the particles when Mesh rendering mode is used.
Material	The material of the particles.
Color	The initial color and opacity of the particles.
Cast Shadows	Whether to cast shadows on the other surfaces.
Receive Decals	Whether decals can be applied to the object.
Motion Blur Factor	The multiplier of the motion blur effect.

Emitter shapes

The emitter is a source of new particles. It includes shapes, there may be several ones. By default, a single dot shape is created.

The position and size of emitters are indicated in the properties, in the future it will be possible to edit the position of emitters visually in the workspace of the editor.

An example of an added cylinder shape:

Emitter modules

The emitter Modules are objects for controlling the parameters of the created particles. For example, you can specify the change in particle size over time.

An example of a configured emitter with changing transparency over time:

Placing an object in a scene

To place a particle system in a scene, you need to select a file and drag and drop it into the scene.

The created Particle System In Space object has its own settings. For example, you can change the material and the color factor per object.

The created example is in _Tests\_TestParticleSystem.scene and _Tests\_TestParticleSystem.particle.

Adding custom modules

In addition to the basic forms and modules, it is possible to add custom ones. You can create your own emitter shape, your own particle behavior module. There are Particle Emitter Shape and Particle Module Custom objects for this.

Samples

Check all samples by the link.

_TestParticleSystem.scene

_Tests\_TestParticleSystem.scene

The example of particle system.