BATTLEJUICE ALCHEMIST DEVLOG
So stunning… what is the catch?
Hey people!
Welcome again to a different develog! This time we delve into the realm of particle methods. Understanding them is essential for enhancing our hyper-stylized, low-poly look whereas sustaining good efficiency.
For these non-developers amongst you, a particle system is a simulated group of tiny, particular person objects generally known as particles. These particles can signify numerous parts reminiscent of hearth, smoke, sparks, you identify it. Particles are light-weight and dynamic and utilizing them we will add plenty of vividness to our sport.
However now we have to be cautious… as we proceed our journey, we encounter a formidable adversary: overdraw. It transpires when clear objects stack atop one another, inflicting rendering complexity to extend. The price of rendering transparency intensifies with every overlapping layer, jeopardizing our sport’s efficiency. Fortunately, Unreal Engine bestows upon us a pleasant device: Shader Complexity mode.
Inexperienced signifies effectivity, whereas purple warns of rendering extravagance. By Complexity mode, we will pinpoint areas the place overdraw festers, permitting us to optimize our particle methods on the essential factors. Our low-poly, hyper-stylized artwork model grants us a boon, sparing us from the complexities of naturalistic rendering. But, transparency, particularly lit transparency, can turn out to be an issue, if we aren’t cautious.
Let me finish with two Unreal particular finest practices that I discovered helpful concerning the efficiency of particle methods:
1. I all the time manually set each particle system to “Use Fastened Relative Bounding Field” to maintain e.g. quick, far-travelling sparks underneath management.
2. I keep away from utilizing the sunshine module in emitters. They’re tempting however hit efficiency fairly laborious in my expertise.
That is all for at the moment, thanks for studying! Till subsequent time, joyful enjoying / designing / coding 
Alain