Triggers module
Texture Sheet Animation module

Sub Emitters module

This module allows you to set up sub-emitters. These are additional particle emitters that are created at a particle’s position at certain stages of its lifetime.

Properties

Property Function
Sub Emitters Configure a list of sub-emitters and select their trigger condition as well as what properties they inherit from their parent particles.

Details

Many types of particles produce effects at different stages of their lifetimes that can also be implemented using Particle SystemsA component that simulates fluid entities such as liquids, clouds and flames by generating and animating large numbers of small 2D images in the scene. More info
See in Glossary
. For example, a bullet might be accompanied by a puff of smoke powder as it leaves the gun barrel, and a fireball might explode on impact. You can use sub-emitters to create effects like these.

Sub-emitters are ordinary Particle System objects created in the SceneA Scene contains the environments and menus of your game. Think of each unique Scene file as a unique level. In each Scene, you place your environments, obstacles, and decorations, essentially designing and building your game in pieces. More info
See in Glossary
or from PrefabsAn asset type that allows you to store a GameObject complete with components and properties. The prefab acts as a template from which you can create new object instances in the scene. More info
See in Glossary
. This means that sub-emitters can have sub-emitters of their own (this type of arrangement can be useful for complex effects like fireworks). However, it is very easy to generate an enormous number of particles using sub-emitters, which can be resource intensive.

To trigger a sub-emitter, you can use these are the conditions:

  • Birth: When the particles are created.
  • CollisionA collision occurs when the physics engine detects that the colliders of two GameObjects make contact or overlap, when at least one has a rigidbody component and is in motion. More info
    See in Glossary
    : When the particles collide with an object.
  • Death: When the particles are destroyed.
  • Trigger: When the particles interact with a Trigger colliderAn invisible shape that is used to handle physical collisions for an object. A collider doesn’t need to be exactly the same shape as the object’s mesh - a rough approximation is often more efficient and indistinguishable in gameplay. More info
    See in Glossary
    .
  • Manual: Only triggered when requested via script. See ParticleSystem.TriggerSubEmitter.

Note that the Collision, Trigger, Death and Manual events can only use burst emission in the Emission module.

Additionally, you can transfer properties from the parent particle to each newly created particle using the Inherit options. The transferrable properties are size, rotation, color and lifetime. To control how velocity is inherited, configure the Inherit Velocity module on the sub-emitter system.

It is also possible to configure a probability that a sub-emitter event will trigger, by setting the Emit Probability property. A value of 1 guarantees that the event will trigger, whereas lower values reduce the probability.

  • 2018–03–28 Page amended with limited editorial review

  • “Trigger” and ”Manual” conditions added to conditions list in Sub Emitters Module in 2018.1 NewIn20181

  • Emit Probabilily property added to particle Sub Emitters Module in 2018.3 NewIn20183

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Triggers module
Texture Sheet Animation module