Special Effects - Learning LibGDX Game Development - page 259

• Max : This gives the maximum number of simultaneously existing
particles allowed
• Percentage : This gives the progress between the start (0 seconds) and the
end ( Duration )
The particle effect in the live preview can be moved around by clicking-and-
dragging it with the mouse. This is a pretty neat feature not only because it allows
adjustments to the effect's starting position, but also because it can be used to quickly
check out how the effect behaves under non-stationary circumstances.
The bottom-left corner holds the already mentioned list of particle emitters. Emitters
can be given a name, but this is completely optional. The checkmark next to an
emitter's name toggles its visibility. However, take note that this is just an editor-only
setting to make the editing of complex effects with many emitters a bit easier. The
state of the visibility checkmark is also not going to be saved to the particle effect file.
The order of emitters can be changed using the Up and Down buttons to the right of
the emitters list. The rendering of the emitters list runs from the top to the bottom.
This means that the last emitter in the list is also going to be the last, and therefore
the most rendered emitter. New emitters can be added by clicking on the New
button. Similarly, a click on the Delete button will remove the currently selected
emitter from the emitters list.
The right-hand side of the particle editor is split into two framed parts that contain two
types of properties. The upper one is labeled Editor Properties , which controls how
the live preview is rendered. The Pixels per meter setting defines the dimensions just
like we did for our game screen camera. The Zoom level setting is used to scale things
either up or down depending on what can be seen in the live preview.
The last and biggest portion of the particle editor is contained in the frame labeled
Emitter Properties . It controls everything about how the particles of an emitter look
and how they will behave over a period of time.
Here is a list of all the available properties and their meanings:
• Image : This is the image file that graphically represents the particle.
• Count : This is the minimum number of particles that will always exist at
the start and the maximum number of particles that are allowed to exist
at once. Keep in mind that the maximum value also affects the amount of
preallocated memory.
• Delay : The emitter will pause for the given amount of time in milliseconds
before it starts to emit particles. This setting must be activated in order to
take effect.