Particle Effects Editor Basics

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Particle Effects Editor Basics

Postby Tutorial on Thu Dec 04, 2008 10:23 am

category
General Half-Life 2/Effects

description
Create a particle effect of falling sprites using the Particle Editor.

keywords
particle, effect, creator, particle creator, particle effects, editor.

Here is a tutorial on how to make a simple particle effect of falling sprites, it's really quite easy to make your own good looking particles for your mod or map.

Opening Particle Editor

  • To run the particle editor, run the game with -tools on the commandline and select 'Particle Editor' from the tool menu on the far right.
  • To load a map so you can test your particle, look to the console window at the bottom of the screen and type "map <levelname>"
  • A helpful command to restart all particle systems in a level - useful when tweaking them in the editor : bind "h" = "ent_fire info_particle_system stop;wait 120;ent_fire info_particle_system start"

CIick File -> New

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Click "create" and name it.

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Click on those three little dots ...

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Choose any sprites or texture you want, but for tutorials sake I'm using this smoke sprite.

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Go to the dropdown menu to the left, change it to "renderer" then right click in the empty area and click "add"

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Click Render_animated_sprites, then click "open"

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Change the dropdown menu to "emitter" add the value "emit continuously"

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Notice there is a puff-o-smoke. Be happy, I know I am.

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Change the dropdown menu to "initializer" and add the value "Position within sphere random"

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Change the value of "distance_max" to 100, notice that our lil' furries have multiplied.

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Change the dropdown menu to "operator" add the value "movement basic"

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Change the value of "gravity" to "0 0 -60" notice our furries now float.

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Change the dropdown menu to "properties" and change the value of "max_paricles" to "100" notice we have less furries, but the float more fluidly

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At this point we find, that there is nothing wrong with plain white furries, but the've became slightly monotonous and drab. lets add color.

Change the dropdown menu to "Initializer" again and add the property "Color Random"

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Change the values of "color 1" and "color 2" to anything you want. be amazed at your beautiful floating furries.

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Finally, save your creation as something appropriate.

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See also: http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Particle_editor


I hope this has given you a better look at the basics of particle editor, I hope this inspires people to do different things and push the limits.

-Dylan Holcomb
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Re: Particle Effects Editor Basics

Postby MrTwoVideoCards on Fri Dec 05, 2008 11:05 am

Heh, I was reading this and new it was you from the start, with your awesome Humor. Anyways good job bro.
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Re: Particle Effects Editor Basics

Postby Spike on Fri Dec 05, 2008 1:58 pm

Thanks this will be very useful
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Re: Particle Effects Editor Basics

Postby Oakley on Fri Dec 05, 2008 3:01 pm

He is crazy that boy, I swear.

Good tut mate.
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Re: Particle Effects Editor Basics

Postby InterValve on Fri Dec 05, 2008 6:09 pm

Excuse my stupidity but I can't start the particle editor.Where should I put the "-tools" command?

Is this working only on episode 2?
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Re: Particle Effects Editor Basics

Postby no00dylan on Fri Dec 05, 2008 9:31 pm

InterValve wrote:Excuse my stupidity but I can't start the particle editor.Where should I put the "-tools" command?

Is this working only on episode 2?


No, no, pardon my stupidity for not puting it in the tutorial.
Ok guys, to start particle editor, go to steam, click on the games tab, select ANY orange box game (I'm using Half-Life 2: Episode 2), right click on it, click properties, then click "set launch options", that will open a dialoge box in which you will write "-tools" (without quotation marks, of course.)
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Re: Particle Effects Editor Basics

Postby TicTac on Fri Dec 05, 2008 9:44 pm

Gj noodylan. we really need more tuts for lazy people like me :)
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Re: Particle Effects Editor Basics

Postby Zipfinator on Fri Dec 05, 2008 9:47 pm

Herro Dylan, nice smoke orgy :P
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Re: Particle Effects Editor Basics

Postby sixpakken on Sun Dec 07, 2008 10:35 pm

thanks alot for this :)
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Re: Particle Effects Editor Basics

Postby Spike on Thu Dec 25, 2008 10:18 pm

hey can you tell me how can I test them ingame?

I have to put a info_particle or can I create it in real time or move it around with a command?
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Re: Particle Effects Editor Basics

Postby MasterDonut on Thu Dec 25, 2008 11:48 pm

Hi spike.

You have to put a info_particlesystem into your map. In that entity you have to set the name of your particle file without ".pcf". You also have to add your particle into the "particles_manifest.txt".
I think you need to extract the txt from the original gcfs and place it into your particle folder. For example:
C:\Programs\Steam\SteamApps\*accountname*\half-life 2 episode two\ep2\particles. Your particle wich you have created should also be in that folder.
In that txt file is every particlesystem listed. you just need to add yours to the list too. just open the file and you will understand what I'm saying.

hope this helps

-Donut
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Re: Particle Effects Editor Basics

Postby no00dylan on Fri Dec 26, 2008 3:38 am

Also, make sure (in hammer) you're not just naming the .pcf file, without the ".pcf". In hammer, you have to call it by what it is called in the particle editor.

AWAAAAY!!!!
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Re: Particle Effects Editor Basics

Postby Spike on Sun Feb 01, 2009 6:50 pm

I've heard you can't use custom particles on TF2 because when other people opens the map it doesn't cache the map particle manifest (when using pakrat). Is it true?

If it is, isn't there any command to reload particle manifest?
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Re: Particle Effects Editor Basics

Postby no00dylan on Sun Feb 01, 2009 7:44 pm

Well, there is SOME way around it. Somone was talking about how to do it... but I cant quite remember...

Plus, particle editor hasnt worked since the latest update, so for right now you cant do anything...
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Re: Particle Effects Editor Basics

Postby Whitestuff on Sat Jul 25, 2009 10:23 pm

Got any idea how to author custom textures for the particle editor? I made one but all it does is bug and copy the XYZ axis over and over again. I put transparency in the file, should I not have done that?
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