Using Particles for Actions

With arrows finished, first-time players can follow the path to their goal, making their initial introduction clearer and less likely that they get lost and quit. To further enhance the user experience, let players know they've successfully completed their task with an appealing particle effect.

In the example below, a celebratory burst of ticket-shaped particles emits whenever players interact with the booths.

Creating Particles

When creating a particle, it needs to be inserted into a part or attachment. In this example, you'll place particles in the TestPlayer object used earlier.

  1. In TestPlayer, create a ParticleEmitter named Burst. Default particles will start emitting from the TestPlayer object. You'll customize the emitter to create a burst effect.

    An example is shown below.

  2. In the Burst particle's properties, find Texture. Copy and paste one of the texture IDs supplied below, or use your own, into the texture field and press Enter.

    6772766862
    6772766551
    5857851618
    6803084085
    6772783963
    6703369286
    6749057157
    6772766413

    If using the ticket texture, it will look like below.

  3. In the properties of TestPlayer, find and change the Color and Size properties to something appropriate for your experience.

    An example is shown below.

Creating a Burst Effect

Different properties can be changed so that the particles look more like a quick burst rather than a gentle stream. After designing the particle, you'll disable the emitter so that it only plays when activated by a script.

Making Particles Spread

The ParticleEmitter sends out particles along two planes controlled by the property, SpreadAngle.

  1. To make the particles fly out in all directions like the example, set the SpreadAngle X and Y to 360.

Different Burst Properties

After adding the recommended values under the video, the particles will look like they are quickly bursting from the player like a firework.

  1. To get a burst motion, set the following properties to these values to make the particles explode and then quickly fade out.

    PropertyValueRationale
    LightEmission0.4Adds a faint glow. Note the maximum is 1.
    Drag8More drag causes the particles to quickly lose speed.
    Lifetime0.6, 1Makes particles exist for between .6 and 1 seconds.
    Rate50How many particles are emitted per second.
    Speed40How fast the particles are going when first emitted.
  2. Lastly, the particle should only play when the script (which you'll see in the next lesson) tells it to. Find the Enabled property and toggle it off.