Particles

Particles

Inherits: GeometryInstance < VisualInstance < Spatial < Node < Object

Category: Core

Brief Description

3D particle emitter.

Properties

int	amount
DrawOrder	draw_order
Mesh	draw_pass_1
Mesh	draw_pass_2
Mesh	draw_pass_3
Mesh	draw_pass_4
int	draw_passes
bool	emitting
float	explosiveness
int	fixed_fps
bool	fract_delta
float	lifetime
bool	local_coords
bool	one_shot
float	preprocess
Material	process_material
float	randomness
float	speed_scale
AABB	visibility_aabb

Methods

AABB	capture_aabb ( ) const
void	restart ( )

Enumerations

enum DrawOrder:

DRAW_ORDER_INDEX = 0 — Particles are drawn in the order emitted.
DRAW_ORDER_LIFETIME = 1 — Particles are drawn in order of remaining lifetime.
DRAW_ORDER_VIEW_DEPTH = 2 — Particles are drawn in order of depth.

Constants

MAX_DRAW_PASSES = 4 — Maximum number of draw passes supported.

Description

3D particle node used to create a variety of particle systems and effects. Particles features an emitter that generates some number of particles at a given rate.

Use the process_material property to add a ParticlesMaterial to configure particle appearance and behavior. Alternatively, you can add a ShaderMaterial which will be applied to all particles.

Tutorials

Controlling thousands of fish with Particles

Property Descriptions

int amount

Setter	set_amount(value)
Getter	get_amount()

Number of particles to emit.

DrawOrder draw_order

Setter	set_draw_order(value)
Getter	get_draw_order()

Particle draw order. Uses DRAW_ORDER_* values. Default value: DRAW_ORDER_INDEX.

Mesh draw_pass_1

Setter	set_draw_pass_mesh(value)
Getter	get_draw_pass_mesh()

Mesh that is drawn for the first draw pass.

Mesh draw_pass_2

Setter	set_draw_pass_mesh(value)
Getter	get_draw_pass_mesh()

Mesh that is drawn for the second draw pass.

Mesh draw_pass_3

Setter	set_draw_pass_mesh(value)
Getter	get_draw_pass_mesh()

Mesh that is drawn for the third draw pass.

Mesh draw_pass_4

Setter	set_draw_pass_mesh(value)
Getter	get_draw_pass_mesh()

Mesh that is drawn for the fourth draw pass.

int draw_passes

Setter	set_draw_passes(value)
Getter	get_draw_passes()

The number of draw passes when rendering particles.

bool emitting

Setter	set_emitting(value)
Getter	is_emitting()

If true, particles are being emitted. Default value: true.

float explosiveness

Setter	set_explosiveness_ratio(value)
Getter	get_explosiveness_ratio()

Time ratio between each emission. If 0 particles are emitted continuously. If 1 all particles are emitted simultaneously. Default value: 0.

int fixed_fps

Setter	set_fixed_fps(value)
Getter	get_fixed_fps()

The particle system’s frame rate is fixed to a value. For instance, changing the value to 2 will make the particles render at 2 frames per second. Note this does not slow down the simulation of the particle system itself.

bool fract_delta

Setter	set_fractional_delta(value)
Getter	get_fractional_delta()

If true, results in fractional delta calculation which has a smoother particles display effect. Default value: true.

float lifetime

Setter	set_lifetime(value)
Getter	get_lifetime()

Amount of time each particle will exist. Default value: 1.

bool local_coords

Setter	set_use_local_coordinates(value)
Getter	get_use_local_coordinates()

If true, particles use the parent node’s coordinate space. If false, they use global coordinates. Default value: true.

bool one_shot

Setter	set_one_shot(value)
Getter	get_one_shot()

If true, only amount particles will be emitted. Default value: false.

float preprocess

Setter	set_pre_process_time(value)
Getter	get_pre_process_time()

Amount of time to preprocess the particles before animation starts. Lets you start the animation some time after particles have started emitting.

Material process_material

Setter	set_process_material(value)
Getter	get_process_material()

Material for processing particles. Can be a ParticlesMaterial or a ShaderMaterial.

float randomness

Setter	set_randomness_ratio(value)
Getter	get_randomness_ratio()

Emission randomness ratio. Default value: 0.

float speed_scale

Setter	set_speed_scale(value)
Getter	get_speed_scale()

Speed scaling ratio. Default value: 1. A value of 0 can be used to pause the particles.

AABB visibility_aabb

Setter	set_visibility_aabb(value)
Getter	get_visibility_aabb()

The AABB that determines the area of the world part of which needs to be visible on screen for the particle system to be active.

Method Descriptions

AABB capture_aabb ( ) const

Returns the bounding box that contains all the particles that are active in the current frame.

void restart ( )

Restarts the particle emission, clearing existing particles.