With arrows finished, first-time players can follow the path to their goal, making their initial introduction clearer and less likely that they get lost and quit. To further enhance the user experience, let players know they've successfully completed their task with an appealing particle effect.
In the example below, a celebratory burst of ticket-shaped particles emits whenever players interact with the booths.
Giving multiple forms of feedback is also another way of improving a player's user experience. A player with the sound down or one who is hearing impaired may rely more on visual cues. Other players may be low vision and paying more attention to sound.
Creating Particles
When creating a particle, it needs to be inserted into a part or attachment. In this example, you'll place particles in the TestPlayer object used earlier.
In TestPlayer, create a ParticleEmitter named Burst. Default particles will start emitting from the TestPlayer object. You'll customize the emitter to create a burst effect.
An example is shown below.
Particles must be named exactly since a script will be looking for the name later.
In the Burst particle's properties, find Texture. Copy and paste one of the texture IDs supplied below, or use your own, into the texture field and press Enter.
6772766862 
6772766551 
5857851618 
6803084085 
6772783963 
6703369286 
6749057157 
6772766413 If using the ticket texture, it will look like below.
Custom textures can be any image that you have. Learn to upload them in the Asset Manager article.
In the properties of TestPlayer, find and change the Color and Size properties to something appropriate for your experience.
An example is shown below.
Creating a Burst Effect
Different properties can be changed so that the particles look more like a quick burst rather than a gentle stream. After designing the particle, you'll disable the emitter so that it only plays when activated by a script.
Making Particles Spread
The ParticleEmitter sends out particles along two planes controlled by the property, SpreadAngle.
- To make the particles fly out in all directions like the example, set the SpreadAngle X and Y to 360.
Different Burst Properties
After adding the recommended values under the video, the particles will look like they are quickly bursting from the player like a firework.
To get a burst motion, set the following properties to these values to make the particles explode and then quickly fade out.
Property Value Rationale LightEmission 0.4 Adds a faint glow. Note the maximum is 1. Drag 8 More drag causes the particles to quickly lose speed. Lifetime 0.6, 1 Makes particles exist for between .6 and 1 seconds. Rate 50 How many particles are emitted per second. Speed 40 How fast the particles are going when first emitted. Try adding some randomized numbers to make particles feel less repetitive. Some properties, such as Lifetime and Rotation add randomization by allowing for a minimum and a maximum value.
Lastly, the particle should only play when the script (which you'll see in the next lesson) tells it to. Find the Enabled property and toggle it off.
This page only covered a few properties. For more, see the Particle Emitters reference article.
