All content is rendered in 4k using the Unity High Definition Render Pipeline. Clips are from cinematic trailers and marketing material.
Featured games:
- Lightseekers
- Warhammer: Age of Sigmar Champions
All content is rendered in 4k using the Unity High Definition Render Pipeline. Clips are from cinematic trailers and marketing material.
Featured games:
I built a prefab emitter that spits out planks in Unity using C#.
While I created the effect I built the scene at the same time. I created this scene (maybe a little too complex for real-world workflow) with some control parameters because I like to work on interactive objects.
Providing a simple context like this saves a lot of time for me when iterating on the effect. I think the result turns out better too. Setting up a scene like this also allows me to think about potential implementation features the effect could benefit from.
Plank projectile is simple geometry with convex collision. Randomly selecting between six different plank meshes on creation. Plank variations are roughly sized 0.5-1 meter long.
Flame sprites that use plank mesh as geometry emitter. Particles are simulated in localspace to make plank look on fire.
Smoke emission is distance based together with standard emission rate so it still emit smoke when static on land.
Additive Smoke lit up by the flame is using an Additive shader with the same texture as smoke but with shorter lifespan.
Embers are sprites with noise applied to their motion.
When the plank hits the ground it will spawn an impact VFX. The impact VFX is oriented with its impact normal. The impact share a few elements as the plank fire – Smoke, Additive Smoke and Embers.
After plank has come to a stop, it will stop burning after a few seconds. The extinguish sequence is not really animated or designed, it just disables emission of particles. If taking this effect further, I think that the way it fades out is important as well.
Directional elements are driven by the impact direction of the projectile, I named this property tilt in this project. With a steep impact-angle the splash should appear less directional while flatter impact-angles should result in a more directional splash. The impact “directionality” is handled in code to tilt only a few select elements of the water impact effect.
Ripples & Foam consist of expanding rings on the water. Secondary ripples appear in splash direction as water splash fall down on water.
Fire is extinguished and result is a small Smoke puff and Embers.
For the water splash, I used two different textures, one is more misty and is suited well for bigger elements while the second texture is used for smaller elements such as droplets.
After a short delay, there is a secondary and smaller splash of water simulating the plank impact creates a small air-pocket which then collapse into the secondary splash. This effect is super obvious when looking at reference videos for objects dropped into water.
Basic water droplets add a little more detail.