Visual Effects
Atmospheric Particles
Technical Summary:
During the closing weeks of Alpha production, I felt like we'd made a significant leap into how the game should function and adding assets to help make the world feel more alive and less blank. However, something felt missing from the level, so adding some particles to help enhance the mood and atmosphere of the level.
I first created a wind particle that used the Starter Content Wind Sprite Sheet and changed the colour to be an orange dirt colour, which paired with velocity allowed for it to move across the world. With the material using a sprite sheet, I had to scale the particle to the correct dimensions so that only one image was seen at a time, and assigning the Sprite UV animation component to allow for it to move. Something that came very apparent with these particles was the significance of setting the renderer to be GPU over CPU to benefit performance.
I also created an atmospheric dust particles to add some more variety to the environment, which used a singular dust image to spawn in the area of a plane. To make the particle move, I added gravity to the particle so that it appeared to fall from the sky and to the floor.
Reflection:
I think these particles enhance the environment a great deal, adding an extra layer of immersion to the level. Originally, the particles were using the CPU to render, which was causing a severe hit on the FPS. We switched this to use the GPU, which kept the frames per second at a steady level, the only downside is that the particles disappear if the source isn't being viewed by the player, which can be quite obvious and ruin the immersion slightly, I will continue to look for a solution to this problem as we continue to develop the game.
Spark Particle
Technical Summary:
As mentioned in the Holo Tree Summary in the 3D models page, to create the effect that the trees were holograms, we also imported a version with no foliage included, which was mainly used as the collision for the actual foliage. However, to add some variation from the constant foliage, we used them to act as if the foliage has malfunctioned, leading us to create the spark particle. The particle was a very simple burst particle that we could change the burst direction of. I also used a parameter variable on the burst duration so that I could make the effect happen at different intervals, rather than all at the same time. The Particles were also a useful way to subtly allow for the player to return to their home before the timer would run out if they needed to.
Reflection:
I think the particle help to enhance the scene further and add an interesting burst of life to the scene. I think the particle could work better with some more sparks and perhaps bursting in all directions, rather than just in one direction. Not only that, but I think including more throughout the level, and even creating an alternative version for different objects, such as the vehicles, or for a light source of some kind.