ShapeModule

The shape module is mainly used to set the particle emitter shape, particle emission direction and velocity.

shape-module

Public properties

There are a number of properties that are common to all types of emitters, including:

PropertyFeatures
ShapeTypeEmitter shapes. The types Box, Circle, Cone, Sphere, Hemisphere are currently supported.
PositionThe position of the emitter relative to the node where it is located
RotationRotation of the emitter relative to its node, which can be used to adjust the particle emission direction
ScaleScaling of the emitter relative to the node it is on can be used to adjust the size of the emitter shape, i.e. the particle emission range
AlignToDirectionThe direction of particle movement is determined by the initial direction of particle emission, which can be used to simulate an effect similar to water spilling out of a bucket
RandomDirectionAmountParticle generation direction random mix setting.
No effect when set to 0;
Random direction when set to 1
SphericalDirectionAmountIndicates the interpolation between the current emission direction and the direction of the line from the current position to the center of the node.
When this value is set to 1, particles are emitted from the center to the outside (the same behavior as when ShapeType is set to Sphere)
RandomPositionAmountThe particle generation position is set randomly, when this value is set not 0, the particle generation position will be out of the size range of the generator

Box

When the ShapeType property is set to Box, it is a box emitter.

box_emitter_property

The special property items if box emitter are described as follows.

PropertiesDescription
EmitFromThe part of the box from which the emitter emits particles, including:
Volume: Emitted from inside the box
Shell: Emitted from the box surface
Edge: Emitted from the box edge
BoxThicknessThe thickness of the box in each emitting direction, effective only when EmitFrom is selected for Shell mode

Also in the Scene Editor there will be a box Gizmo that shows the shape size of the box emitter.

box_emitter

The Scale property of the box emitter can be adjusted by dragging the box Gizmo’s square control point directly:

box_gizmo

Circle

When the ShapeType property is set to Circle, it is a circle emitter.

circle_emitter_property

The special property items are described as follows:

PropertiesDescription
RadiusSet the radius of the circle emitter
RadiusThicknessThe position of the round emitter emitting particles.
When set to 0, it means firing from the circumference of the circle
When set to 1, it means firing from the center of the circle
When set to between 0~1, it means firing from the center of the circle to the circumference of the circle, within a certain proportional range
ArcSet the fan area where the circle emitter emits particles
ArcModeSets how the particles are emitted in the sector, including.
Random: random firing
Loop: cyclic firing in a certain direction, each cycle in the same direction
PingPong: cyclic firing, each cycle in the opposite direction of the previous one
ArcSpreadSets the discrete interval around the arcs where particles may be generated. Example:
When set to 0, particles can be generated anywhere in the arc;
when set to 0.2, particles are generated only at 20% intervals around the arc.
ArcSpeedIndicates the velocity of the particle emitted along the arc. Click the down icon button on the right to open the curve editor to edit the curve for this property.

Also in the Scene Editor there will be a circular Gizmo showing the shape size of the emitter.

circle_emitter

The Radius property of the circle emitter can be adjusted by directly dragging the square control point of the circular Gizmo.

circle_gizmo

Cone

When the ShapeType property is set to Cone, we call it a cone emitter. In the Scene Editor there will be a Cone Gizmo that shows the shape size of the emitter:

cone_emitter

The cross section below the cone with the smaller radius is called the bottom of the cone, as shown in the above illustration.

The properties of the cone emitter are shown in the Inspector panel as follows.

cone_emitter_property

The special property items are described as follows.

PropertiesDescription
EmitFromFrom which part of the cone the emitter emits particles, including:
Base: Emitted from the bottom of the cone
Shell: Emitted from the circumference of the bottom of the cone
Volume: Emitted from the inside of the cone
RadiusSet the radius of the bottom cross section of the cone
RadiusThicknessThe position of the emitted particles from the cone emitter.
When set to 0, it means emitting from the surface of the cone
When set to 1, it means emitting from the center of the cone
When set to between 0~1, it means emitting from the center of the cone to the surface, within a certain proportional range
AngleThe angle between the axis of the cone and the bus, the larger the value the greater the angle, the greater the degree of opening and closing of the cone emitter
ArcSet the fan area where the cone emitter emits particles
ArcModeindicates how the particles are emitted in the fan area.
Random: random position
Loop: Emitted cyclically in a certain direction, each cycle in the same direction
PingPong: Emitted cyclically, each cycle in the opposite direction
spread: indicates that the particle is emitted at a certain interval, for example, 0 means it can be emitted at any position; 0.1 means it is emitted every tenth of the circumference of the circle
ArcSpeedThe speed of the particle emitted along the arc
ArcSpreadindicates the velocity of the particle along the arc. Click the down icon button on the right to open the curve editor to edit the curve
LengthThe axis length of the top section of the cone from the bottom

The Angle, Length, and Radius properties of the cone emitter can also be set by directly dragging the cone Gizmo’s square control point in the scene.

Sphere / Hemisphere

When the ShapeType property is set to Sphere/Hemisphere, we call it a sphere/hemisphere emitter.

The properties of the sphere emitter and the hemisphere emitter are the same, and here we use the sphere emitter as an example.

Sphere_emitter_property

The special property items are described as follows.

PropertiesDescription
EmitFromFrom which part of the sphere the emitter emits particles, including:
Volume: Emits from inside the sphere
Shell: Emits from the surface of the sphere (not in effect yet, can be set by RadiusThickness)
RadiusThe radius of the sphere. You can also set it by dragging the control point of the sphere Gizmo in the Scene Editor directly
RadiusThicknessThe position of the particle emitted by the sphere emitter.
When set to 0, it means emitting from the surface of the ball
When set to 1, it means emitting from the center of the sphere
When set to between 0~1, it means emitting from the surface to the center of the sphere, within a certain proportional range

The sphere emitter will have a sphere Gizmo in the Scene Editor that shows the shape size of the emitter.

Sphere_emitter

Similarly, the hemisphere emitter has a hemisphere Gizmo in the Scene Editor that shows the shape size of the emitter:

Hemisphere_emitter