Separate the initial burst from the tail
Sparks are often read as a fast event rather than a continuous volume. A bright onset establishes the impact; a small number of surviving particles describes the tail. Use the emission and lifetime settings to control these parts separately. A longer particle lifetime does not automatically create a stronger burst.
For a loop such as a stylized engine or furnace, a rate-over-time emitter can be useful. For a one-off hit, inspect the Bursts controls in Modules and evaluate the result in Unity. The browser renders a supported subset, while burst and event behaviour must be checked in the target engine.
| Change | What to inspect |
|---|---|
| Shorter lifetime | Does the tail vanish before the player can read the direction? |
| Higher start speed | Does the effect leave its framing or the model? |
| Larger start size | Are the sparks still distinct points rather than blobs? |
| More emission | Does density add clarity or hide the motion? |
Export particles or a compact animation
Generate a transparent PNG flipbook when you need a lightweight animated image. Select Native Semantic to keep Unity ParticleSystem parameters editable. Baked Visual needs an atlas and produces a separate flipbook-driven prefab.
Trail parameters are exported to Unity, but the browser preview does not draw native Unity ribbons. Likewise, a Collision sub-emitter needs meaningful collision conditions in the target scene. A configured relation is not proof that the collision will happen.
- Open Ember Sparks and import the prop that gives the effect its scale.
- Set the attachment point, then test speed and lifetime independently.
- Save the .2vfx source before producing variations.
- Install the .tgz in a Unity Built-in project, build the prefab and test continuous playback.
What this generator does not simulate
This is an artistic procedural particle workflow, not a physical model of hot metal, combustion or electricity. It does not infer a matching effect from a reference video. You can attach your own supported particle image and WAV, but prompt-based generation and Unreal export are not available.
Keep a fixed seed and test camera while comparing variations. A seed repeats a chosen generator’s randomness; it does not make two different simulation engines use the same trajectories.