Complete Particle System Guide: Creating Fire, Smoke, and Magic

Unity Particle System is a powerful tool for creating visual effects in real time. Particles are used in everything from smoke and fire to magical flashes, rain, snow and explosions. In this article, we will take a detailed look at how to get started with the particle system in Unity, explore its main components and parameters, and give examples of creating various effects.

What is the Particle System in Unity

The Particle System is a component that allows you to generate, animate and render a large number of small objects (particles), simulating physical and visual phenomena. Each particle can be represented as a texture (sprite), have a color, size, speed, lifetime and other characteristics. Together, they create the effect of movement and dynamics.
How to get started
To create a particle system:
Open Unity and create a new 3D project or use an existing one.
In the hierarchy, click Right Click → Effects → Particle System. An object with a visual smoke effect will appear on the scene.
Select the created system and open the Inspector to access all the parameters.

Particle System Main Modules

Each particle system in Unity consists of a set of modules. Here are the main ones:
Main — the main module, where the basic parameters are set: duration, looping, speed, lifetime, size, color.
Emission — determines how many particles and how often they are created.
Shape — the shape of the emission source: cone, sphere, plane, etc.
Velocity over Lifetime — changes the speed of particles over time.
Color over Lifetime — allows you to set color animation during the life of the particle.
Size over Lifetime — scales particles over time.
Rotation over Lifetime — adds rotation.
Noise — creates random movements, especially useful for smoke.
Collision — allows particles to interact with scene objects.
Renderer — determines how particles are rendered (texture, material, sorting, etc.).

Example 1: Flames or Fire

To create a fire effect:
Create a new Particle System.
In Main, set Start Lifetime to about 1 second, Start Speed ​​to about 1.5, Start Size to 0.5–1.
In Color over Lifetime, set a gradient from yellow-orange to transparent.
Turn on Size over Lifetime and decrease the size over time.
In Shape, select Cone with an angle of 25–30 degrees.
Add some Noise and Velocity over Lifetime to make the flames "play".
In Renderer, assign a fire texture (for example, "Flare").

Example 2: Rain

Create a Particle System, rotate it upwards.
In Shape, select Box, stretch it to cover the game scene.
Set Start Speed ​​to about 10–20, Start Lifetime to 1–2 seconds.
In Renderer, use a long raindrop texture or a thin sprite.
Turn off Looping if you want the rain to be short, or turn it on for a continuous effect.
You can add Collision to make the raindrops disappear when they hit the ground.

Example 3: Explosion

Create a Particle System.
In Main, set Start Lifetime to 0.5, Start Speed ​​to 10–20, Start Size to 2–4.
In Emission, set Rate over Time to 0, and add Burst (e.g. 100 particles at a time).
Turn on Size over Lifetime: the particles shrink quickly.
In Color over Lifetime, use a gradient: from white-orange to black.
Use Shape → Sphere.
In Renderer, set a glowing or sparkling texture.

Performance Tips

Don't overuse the number of particles: keep their number reasonable.
Use GPU Instancing if possible.
Optimize textures: reduce size, use atlases.
Turn on Culling to prevent inactive particles outside the frame from being rendered.

Combining systems

For complex effects (for example, an explosion with smoke and sparks), you can use several particle systems, collected in a prefab or grouped under one object. Each will be responsible for its own part of the effect: smoke, light, sparks, flash, etc.
The Particle System in Unity is a fundamental tool for creating striking visual effects. From simple fog to complex magic, it all starts with the right understanding of parameters and practice. Experiment with modules, combine effects, use custom textures and animations to bring your scene to life and make it truly dynamic.

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