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Visualizer

Base Settings​

Input Texture​

Render Texture or Shape Texture containing the particle input data.

If this visualizer is used for simulated particles, DO NOT remove this texture or edit the settings, unless you know what you are doing, without it the particles might not move or show up at all.

EXCEPTION: if you want to change the amount of particles, follow this guide: Change Particle Amount.

If you want to use static particles (no movement or interaction) you can also directly use a Shape Texture here, just make sure the Resolution of the Texture matches the mesh you are using for optimal results.

Simulator Count​

Integer containing the number of simulators, typically set to 2 for all current setups. This value will be used to skip the first n pixels in the input texture as their data is used for the simulators, otherwise you would see static particles at the position of the simulators.

Simulation Speed​

Float controlling the Speed of the simulation, typically set to 1.0 for normal speed. Ideally you should have the same value here as in the Simulators, so that all time based visual effects are in sync with the actual simulation speed. Technically negative values will also work, but might have unexpected results.

Simulation Scale​

Float controlling the Scale of the simulation, typically set to 1.0 for normal scale. Ideally you should have the same value here as in the Simulators, so that all distance based visual effects are in sync with the actual simulation scale. This could be used to scale the particles with your avatar if you want the effects to look the same relative to your avatar's size. Technically negative values will also work, but might have unexpected results.

Random Seed​

Float controlling the Seed for the random number generator. This value is used to generate random numbers for the visual effects, changing this value will change their outcome.

Render Settings​

The Render Settings control how the particles are rendered and how they interact with the scene. Depending on the kind of look you want to achieve, here are some possible settings:

Render TypeBlend OpSrcBlendDstBlendDepth Write
Glowing (Default)AddSrcAlphaOneOff
TransparentAddSrcAlphaOneMinusSrcAlphaOff
OpaqueAddOneZeroOn

BlendOp​

Dropdown controlling the Blend Operation used for the particles. Possible values are: Add, Subtract, ReverseSubtract, Min, Max. For more information on what these values do, check the Unity Documentation on Blend Operations.

SrcBlend​

Dropdown controlling the Source Blend Factor used for the particles. Possible values are: Zero, One, DstColor, SrcColor, OneMinusDstColor, SrcAlpha, OneMinusSrcColor, DstAlpha, OneMinusDstAlpha, SrcAlphaSaturate, OneMinusSrcAlpha. For more information on what these values do, check the Unity Documentation on Blending.

DstBlend​

Dropdown controlling the Destination Blend Factor used for the particles. Possible values are: Zero, One, DstColor, SrcColor, OneMinusDstColor, SrcAlpha, OneMinusSrcColor, DstAlpha, OneMinusDstAlpha, SrcAlphaSaturate, OneMinusSrcAlpha. For more information on what these values do, check the Unity Documentation on Blending.

Depth Test​

Dropdown controlling the Depth Test used for the particles. Possible values are: Disabled, Never, Less, Equal, LessEqual, Greater, NotEqual, GreaterEqual, Always. For more information on what these values do, check the Unity Documentation on Depth Testing.

Depth Write​

Toggle controlling if the particles should write to the Depth Buffer. This is usually off for transparent particles, but if you want to have them opaque you can turn this on. For more information on what this does, check the Unity Documentation on Depth Writing.

Render After Lifetime​

Toggle controlling if the particles should be rendered after their lifetime has ended. If you have a setup where particles are never re-spawned, you should turn this on to make sure they are still visible after their lifetime has ended.

Render Queue​

Dropdown or Integer controlling the Render Queue of the particles. This value is used to determine the order in which the particles are rendered relative to other Meshes. For more information on what this does, check the Unity Documentation on Render Queues.

Shape & Size Settings​

Particle Shape​

Particles are rendered as single pixel no matter the distance. This is the most performance friendly mode, but has no other settings.

Color Settings​

The particles will have a static color.

Color​

Color value controlling the color of the particles.

Alpha Falloff​

Dropdown controlling the Alpha Falloff of the particles.

Possible values are: None, SquareRoot, HalfSine, Linear, Sine, Squared, Gradient.

When using Gradient you can also specify a Gradient Texture to control the falloff in the following settings. Some Graphs showing the different falloffs can be found here

Falloff Gradient​

Gradient Texture (Alpha) controlling the Alpha Falloff of the particles. Left to right will be mapped to center to edge of the particle.

Texture Settings​

If this section is turned on, the particles will show a texture which will be multiplied with the color of the particles.

Texture​

Texture controlling the texture of the particles. By adjusting the Tiling of the texture you can create a sprite sheet where each particle will show a different part of the texture.

Alpha Cutoff​

Float value in the Range [0.0, 1.0] controlling the Alpha Cutoff of the texture. If the alpha value of a pixel minus the cutoff is below zero, the pixel will be discarded. This is especially useful for Opaque Particles with a transparent texture.

Animate​

Dropdown controlling if and how the texture should be animated.

The texture will not be animated and each particle will always show the same part of the texture.

The particles will cycle through the texture over time and each particle will be on their own cycle.

Animation Length​

Float value in the Range [0.001, 1000.0] controlling the time it takes to go through a full cycle of the texture.

The particles will cycle through the texture over time and all particles will be on the same cycle.

Animation Length​

Float value in the Range [0.001, 1000.0] controlling the time it takes to go through a full cycle of the texture.

The particles will cycle through the texture over their lifetime.

Clamp Lifetime​

Checkbox controlling if the lifetime should be clamped to always be in the range [0.0, 1.0].

Rotation Settings​

By default, the particles will always face the camera, but you can also make them rotate in different ways or even have them rotate over time.

info

A full rotation of 360 degrees is equal to 1.0 in the settings below.

Rotation Space​

The particle rotation will be in world space.

Base Rotation Mode​

All particles will have the same rotation.

Base Rotation​

Vector3 value controlling the X, Y and Z rotation of the particles.

Animate Rotation​

The particles will not rotate over time.