Particles Attribute

In the Particles attribute, specify how to control the particle’s basic appearance.

Note
We recommend that you set up the Particles attribute first because it includes the Texture file, which is used for most particles.

Particles Attribute Parameters

Name	Description
Particle Life Time	Specifies the lifetime of individual particles. After an emitter’s lifetime has expired, spawned particles live out their own lifetime. Valid values: 0+
Remain While Visible	Indicates that particles do not die until the entire emitter is out of view. This is typically used for emitters that move through space quickly and die to avoid particle pooling and other unintended consequences. Default value: false
Facing	Determines how the sprite or geometry is oriented in space. You can further modify texture orientation using the following rotational parameters. [See the AWS documentation website for more details] Default value: Camera
Blend Type	Applies to 2D particles only and determines how the sprite blends with the background. [See the AWS documentation website for more details] Default value: Alpha Based
Material	Opens the Asset Browser for you to assign a material for the 2D sprite particles. Different shaders are uniquely affected by the lighting and environment. Default value: Empty
Sorting Method	(GPU only) Enables intra-GPU emitter sorting. [See the AWS documentation website for more details] Default value: None
Sorting Convergence	(GPU only) Sorts convergence per frame for an odd to even merge sort. Default value: 1
Texture	Opens the Asset Browser to specify a texture for the 2D sprite particles. When you pause on the input box, a preview of the texture appears. Default value: /Editor/Plugins/ParticleEditorPlugin/defaultparticle.dds
Normal Map	(GPU only) Opens the Asset Browser to specify a normal map for the 2D GPU particles.
Glow Map	(GPU only) Opens the Asset Browser to specify a glow map for the 2D GPU particles. You must specify a positive value for the Emissive Lighting parameter for the glow map to be visible.
Texture Tiling	Splits the texture into tiles for variation and animation. [See the AWS documentation website for more details]
Color	Selects the color and alpha to apply to a particle. [See the AWS documentation website for more details]
Alpha clip	(CPU only) Customizes how the particle Alpha value controls opacity or alpha test values. Each parameter has two values that correspond when particle Alpha = 0 and 1. They are interpolated for each particle with its Alpha value and used in the shader with the following equation: FinalOpacity = saturate( (TextureAlpha - SourceMin) / min(SourceWidth, 1 - SourceMin) ) * Scale [See the AWS documentation website for more details]
Tessellation	Enables tessellation, rendering more vertices in the sprite. You must have a minimum of DirectX 11. This parameter is useful when Receive Shadows is set, increasing the resolution of shadows. It is also useful when Tail Length or Connection are set, creating smoother curves in connected particles. This produces more accurate lighting when receiving light from point lights. Default value: false
Soft Particles	Applies rendering that softens the intersection between sprites and nearby objects to prevent unnatural seams. Use sparingly on particles that need it, such as smoke, because this is slightly more expensive. Use the Softness parameter to define the amount of rendering to apply.Default value: false
Motion Blur	(GPU only) Simulates motion blur on GPU particles. Use Blur Strength to set the strength of the blur effect.
Geometry	(CPU only) Opens the Asset Browser window to select a 3D object to use for the particles. Default value: empty
Geometry in Pieces	(CPU only) Emits the geometry in pieces, originating at each piece’s location in the asset. This applies only if the Geometry asset contains multiple subobjects. [See the AWS documentation website for more details] Default value: WholeThis parameter requires that you provide specific names for the nodes in the Maya outliner. The following show examples of acceptable node names:In these examples, the groups and individual nodes have a _group suffix. As a result, the Maya exporter assumes there is no geometry. If you receive a “group has no geometry” error, you can safely ignore it.
Geometry No Offset	(CPU only) Uses the geometry pivot for centering geometry particles. Default value: false
Octagonal Shape	(CPU only) Renders sprites as octagons instead of quads, reducing pixel cost. Only use with textures that fit within an octagon; otherwise clipping occurs. Default value: false