Exploring key particle concepts
In this chapter, we will understand the key functional concepts of particle systems and how they are implemented in the particle systems in Unreal. All particle systems will invariably have some variation of the following functionalities built into them:
- Emission
- Simulation
- Rendering
Each one of these functionalities will have some variables that will be exposed to enable the user to tweak the behavior of the particle system. Most software has this functionality built in a monolithic element with limited ability to customize it. In Unreal, it is built into modules that are stacked on top of each other. The modules have exposed variables, which can be used to tweak the module’s effect on the behavior of the particle system. These modules are roughly grouped into three broad functionality groups: Emission, Simulation, and Rendering.
Figure 2.1: The Niagara Emitter node grouped into three functionalities...
