This glossary defines terms and describes configurations commonly used in the effects 3D development environment, presented in alphabetical order.
There is a separate glossary for terms relating to 3D graphics in general.
For details on CTR graphics features, see the Introduction to CTR Graphics.
2011-02-28
Child particles are particle sets that can be called (from other particle sets) as emitters of particles.
Velocity can be transferred from emitting particles (i.e., parent particles) to child particles.
Resource that are specified by this option are copied at runtime, and it is these copies that get used.
The application programmer can change the parameters of these copied features to make different variations.
These can be created in the particle emitter panel, where you can configure the shape, size, direction, and position.
The shape, size, direction, and position of an emitter only has an effect when particles are being emitted.
These are low-load animations comprised of key information for only four locations.
Specialized for fade-ins and fade-outs, this method provides a simple way to make animations like particle alpha animations without using the curve editor.
The speed at the instant when a particle is emitted from an emitter.
If there are effects of external forces like gravity, the particle will maintain this initial velocity as it moves.
This is a playback option that automatically links animations created on the Curve editor panel with particle lifetimes.
This is a playback option that loops animations created in the Curve editor panel based on the specified frames.
The term refers to a system that can generate multiple "shapes" and control their shape, color and movement as a group.
Games use particles for effects like fire and water.
The term "particle" can also refer to the individual particle entity.
This is a feature for entering random values for the standard value at the time of particle generation.
The amplitude width is defined by the expression: Standard value ± (Random number x Standard value)
The random numbers are in the range of 0 to 1.
This is a feature for creating screen effects using particles.
With the exception of texture images, all can be created using EffectMaker.
Particle effects are comprised of three types of content: emitters, models, and particle sets.
This period encompasses the time when particles start to be emitted from the emitter and continue to be emitted.
This period encompasses the time until a particle disappears after being emitted from the emitter.
Each particle can have its own, different value.
A particle set is the group of particles for a given single shape.
EffectMaker can configure four types of particle shapes.
| Settings | Description |
|---|---|
| Screen-Aligned Billboard | The y-axis is tethered to the camera's up direction and the x-axis is always parallel to the camera lens axis. Particles on the edge of the angle of view are parsed. |
| World-Oriented Billboard | Rotates to display with the z-axis parallel with the camera lens axis. Particles on the edge of the angle of view are parsed. |
| Y-Axis Billboard | Rotates only around the y-axis to display with the z-axis parallel with the camera lens axis. Particles on the edge of the angle of view are parsed. |
| Polygon Plane (XY) | A rectangular polygon model. |
This is a playback option for randomly getting values for individual particles during emission.
Randomizes the starting key frame for animation playback on a per-particle basis.
This is the maximum number of particles that can be handled in the particle set at runtime.
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