Guides VFX & Particles Particles Particle Recipes

VFX & Particles Particles 3 min read Updated Aug 2026

Particle Recipes

These recipes give starting points. Treat the numbers as first drafts, then tune them in your own scene with the gameplay camera.

Pickup Sparkle

Use for coins, gems, collectibles, or small rewards.

Suggested setup:

  • Dimension: 2D
  • Shape: Cone2D or Circle
  • Spread: 360
  • Looping: off
  • Play On Awake: off
  • Max Particles: 32 to 64
  • Lifetime: 0.25 to 0.6
  • Start Speed: medium to high
  • Start Size: small
  • End Size: smaller or zero
  • Color: bright start, transparent end
  • Blend: additive

Trigger with:

$particles->restart(true);
$particles->emit(32);

Landing Dust

Use when a character lands, jumps, dashes, or changes direction.

Suggested setup:

  • Dimension: 2D
  • Shape: Cone2D
  • Angle: upward or outward from the ground
  • Spread: 45 to 90
  • Looping: off
  • Lifetime: 0.4 to 0.9
  • Start Speed: low to medium
  • Size: grows over lifetime
  • Color: tan or gray, fading to transparent
  • Force: slight upward or sideways drift
  • Sorting: behind or near the character feet

Use a soft dust texture. Hard-edged dust reads like debris.

Torch Smoke

Use for torches, fireplaces, engines, vents, and chimneys.

Suggested setup:

  • Dimension: 2D or 3D
  • Shape: Cone2D or Cone3D
  • Angle: upward
  • Spread: narrow to medium
  • Looping: on
  • Lifetime: 1.5 to 3.5
  • Start Speed: low
  • Size: grows over lifetime
  • Color: dark gray to lighter transparent gray
  • Force: upward
  • Noise: subtle
  • Blend: alpha

Smoke should usually use world simulation so it does not move rigidly with the emitter after spawning.

Fire Embers

Use for fire, magic heat, explosions, and burning debris.

Suggested setup:

  • Dimension: 2D or 3D
  • Shape: Cone2D, Cone3D, or Sphere
  • Looping: on
  • Lifetime: 0.5 to 1.5
  • Start Speed: medium
  • Size: small
  • Color: white/yellow to orange/red to transparent
  • Blend: additive
  • Force: upward with slight sideways variation

Use random lifetime and speed so embers do not move in identical arcs.

Rain

Use for local rain volumes or stylized weather.

Suggested setup:

  • Dimension: 2D for side-view scenes, 3D for world volumes
  • Shape: Rectangle or Box
  • Looping: on
  • Rate over Time: high
  • Lifetime: based on fall distance
  • Start Speed: low if using force, high if velocity is direct
  • Force or Velocity: downward
  • Renderer: stretched billboard or thin raindrop texture
  • Blend: alpha or additive depending on style

For performance, keep rain volumes bounded and avoid huge transparent textures.

Impact Sparks

Use for metal hits, bullets, ricochets, tool strikes, and blocked attacks.

Suggested setup:

  • Dimension: 2D or 3D
  • Shape: Cone2D or Cone3D
  • Spread: 15 to 45
  • Looping: off
  • Lifetime: 0.15 to 0.5
  • Start Speed: high
  • Size: small
  • Size over lifetime: shrinks
  • Color: white/yellow to orange transparent
  • Blend: additive
  • Renderer: stretched billboard for fast sparks

Aim the emitter away from the impact surface. If the impact normal is available in gameplay code, rotate the emitter or use a dedicated child transform.

Ambient Magic Motes

Use for magical objects, portals, shrines, or environmental polish.

Suggested setup:

  • Dimension: 2D or 3D
  • Shape: Circle or Sphere
  • Looping: on
  • Rate over Time: low to medium
  • Lifetime: long
  • Start Speed: low
  • Size: small with variation
  • Color: saturated start to pale transparent end
  • Noise: subtle
  • Blend: additive

Ambient effects should not distract from gameplay. Keep contrast low unless the object is important.

Split Complex Effects

Large effects are often several particle systems layered together.

Explosion example:

  • flash burst
  • sparks burst
  • smoke puff
  • debris particles
  • expanding ring

Keeping these as separate systems makes each part easier to tune and cheaper to cull.