Notch Notch Manual 0.9.23
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Render Particles To Surfaces

Render Particles To Surfaces

Renders particles onto nearby Meshes.

image

Method #

This node renders particles onto nearby 3D surfaces. This means that instead of rendering particles directly into space, they instead appear as dots on 3D geometry, only being visible when they are within a certain proximity to 3D geometry. This is particularly useful when attempting to render particles in a scene rendered by a UV Camera. A spatial grid is used to evaluate the particles, so you may need to add a bounding box and adjust its scale to make sure the particles are evaluated correctly. Reducing the particle size is also a useful step for getting a reasonable quality result.

An image may also be used on the particles, by adding one to the Texture parameter. If an image is not used the sprites will render as a circle with falloff based on particle proximity. The alpha channel of a supplied image is also used to affect particle transparency.

For this node to be effective, Deferred Rendering must be enabled in the Root Node. There must be visible opaque 3D geometry in the scene, and the particles must be close enough to geometry to intersect with it in order to be rendered.

Parameters

These properties control the core behaviours of the node.

ParameterDetails
TextureSelect a texture to be rendered at each particles position.
Particle SizeEdit the size of the particles once they are rendered.
Particle X ScaleControl the x-scale of the sprites emitted.
Particle Y ScaleControl the x-scale of the sprites emitted.
Pixel Align OutputAlign the rendered points exactly to screen pixels, with no sub-pixel interpolation.
Particle Scale CoeffsHow much the particle scales are affected by the node at different stages of the particle life. Values 1 and 2 are control points, and are used to control the curve between values 0 and 3.
Particle AlphaChange the alpha value for the particles.
VisibleControl whether the node is visible or not to the scene.
Size RandomnessControl the randomness in size of the particles.
Rotation RandomnessERROR: Variable not found: {att-node-particles-rotation-randomness-description}
Luminance RandomnessControl how much randomness is in the luminance of the rendered particles.
Screen Size LimitsThe minimum and maximum size of the rendered particle in normalised screen coordiates.
Specify Size Limits In PixelsIndicates whether particle size limits are specified in normalised viewport coordinates which are consistent across different render resolutions, or in pixels.
Sort Key ValueBiases the depth-based render order, to force the particle system to be drawn before or after other objects in the scene.
Depth BiasOffsets particles in depth so they are closer or further away from the camera, changing the point at which they intersect with the rest of the scene.
Motion Blur AmountControl the amount of motion blur.
Use Texture AnimationEdit whether the texture animation is shown with the rendering.
Texture Animation RateEdit whether the texture animation is shown with the rendering.
Num Frames XChange how many tiles the sprite image will be spread across the x axis.
Num Frames YChange how many tiles the sprite image will be spread across the y axis.
Randomise Start FrameRandomises the beginning frame the texture animation is played from.
Blend ModeChoose how the particle colours blend to the source colours
Rotation Follows DirectionToggle whether the rotation of the particles follows the direction the particle is moving in.
Output TargetDetermines which channel the effect is rendered to.
  • Composite : Render particles to the final composite colour channel.
  • Baked Shadow : Render particles to the shadow channel, so they appear as shadows that darken the effect of lights on geometry.
  • Albedo : Render particles to the albedo colour channel so they appear as decals, with lighting applied on top.

Inputs

NameDescriptionTypical Input
Bounds NodeThe bounding box within which particles are rendered.Bounding Box
Rendered EmittersSpecify which emitters are rendered using this renderer. By default, all emitters connected to the same particle root as the renderer are rendered.Primitive Emitter
Transform ModifiersApply the transforms of another node to this node.Null
Target NodeModifiy the rotations of the node to always direct the z axis towards the input.Null
Local Transform OverrideApply the transforms of another node to this node, relative to its parent.Null