particles

The particles namespace — 5 functions.

globals/particles/create

particles.create(spec: table?) -> any

Create a GPU particle system from a spec, allocating its buffers and registering it with the auto-update driver. The handle it returns carries :emit, :update, the setters, and :observe.

Parameters

• spec table (optional) — { maxCount, rate, lifetime, speed, shape, ... } — every field optional, each falling back to the emitter's default.

Returns any — The particle system handle.

local fire = particles.create({ maxCount = 2000, rate = 100 })

globals/particles/list

particles.list() -> { any }

Every particle system this VM has created and not destroyed, in creation order. Answered from the emitter registry, so finding an emitter costs nothing per entity in the scene.

Returns { any } — table Array of particle system handles.

for _, sys in ipairs(particles.list()) do print(sys:getActiveCount()) end

globals/particles/observe

particles.observe(system: any?) -> { [string]: any }

What the engine is simulating and drawing for particles right now. With no argument, every live emitter plus the totals they sum to; with an emitter, that one's reading. An engine holding no emitters answers count = 0 with an empty list, which reads differently from an engine whose emitters are all silent (count > 0, silent = count).

Parameters

• system any (optional) — Optional particle system handle to read on its own.

Returns { [string]: any } — table The observation.

local o = particles.observe(); print(o.count, o.alive, o.silent)
local r = particles.observe(fire); print(r.alive, r.bytes.total)

globals/particles/silenceReasons

particles.silenceReasons() -> { { reason: string, means: string } }

The closed set of reasons an emitter can be producing nothing, in the order a reading resolves them — nearest cause first — each with what it means. Every observe().reason is one of these.

Returns { { reason: string, means: string } } — table Array of { reason, means }.

for _, r in ipairs(particles.silenceReasons()) do print(r.reason, r.means) end

globals/particles/whySilent

particles.whySilent(system: any?) -> (string?, string?)

Why one emitter is producing nothing, from the closed set silenceReasons() enumerates — or nil when it is producing. The second return is the detail line naming what the reason is about.

Parameters

• system any (optional) — The particle system handle to ask about.

Returns (string?, string?) — string? The reason, or nil. string? The detail line for that reason.

local why, detail = particles.whySilent(fire)