Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 8-3.
The Initial module of the Particle System component in the Inspector
The first few properties control particle emission by the particle system.
Duration
is the time in
seconds the particle system will emit particles. For a continuous effect you can check the
Looping
box. If you are using Looping and check the
Prewarm
box, particles will appear in place as if
particle emission was ongoing. If instead you want a delay before particle emission begins, use
Start Delay
with Prewarm unchecked to designate the time in seconds before emitting particles.
The next group of properties control behavior of the individual particles. You can designate the
lifetime of each particle in seconds with
Start Lifetime. Start Speed
,
Start Size
, and
Start Rotation
are just as they sound: the initial velocity, size, and rotation of the particles when first emitted.
All four of these can be designated with a numerical value in the corresponding field, or further
customized with random ranges or curves.
Start Color
is just that, with more controls to vary the color of the particles, including the alpha value
for opacity, over their lifetime.
You can have effects like smoke that floats upward or fluid splashes that fall to the ground by using
the
Gravity Multiplier
.
Particle systems like any other game object can be in motion. When they are moving you can use
Inherit Velocity
to determine how much of this velocity should be inherited by the particles.
Simulation Space
allows you to choose between Local or World space. When checked,
Play on
Awake
tells the particle system to start automatically upon creation. Finally,
Max Particles
is the
total number of particles emitted by the system for one cycle.
The remaining items in the Inspector are more modules. Click each to see its own controllable
properties (Figure
8-4
). Bear in mind that while individual particle systems don't use each module
every time, Shuriken gives you plenty of options (Table
8-1
).
