How to use the exercises
This part of the manual is a set of exercises. Each one solves one problem: make a Part emit, fire a single burst, make a flame fade. Work through them in order, in Studio, with the plugin open.
No exercise explains particle effects in general. The general rules arrive later, on the Debrief pages, after you have carried them out several times with your own hands. By then they are a description of something you already do.
How an exercise is laid out
Section titled “How an exercise is laid out”| Part | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| Purpose | The problem this exercise solves. |
| Before starting | What must be true before step 1. |
| Procedure | The steps, in a table. Control is where to look, Action is what to do, Result is what you should then see. |
| What the numbers did | What each new setting means, with worked figures. |
| If the result differs | Symptom, cause and action for the usual mistakes. |
| Variations | Other values to try, and what each gives. |
| Log | What was new, what you had done before, and what to keep for the next exercise. |
Do not go on to the next step until the Result column matches what is on your screen. If it does not match, go to If the result differs.
A control is written the way the plugin labels it, with its place in front. Properties ▸ Motion ▸ Speed is the Speed row, in the Motion section, of the Properties panel.
Callouts
Section titled “Callouts”Three callouts are used, and each has one meaning.
The words must, should and may
Section titled “The words must, should and may”- Must marks a step the result depends on.
- Should marks the recommended way where others also work.
- May marks a step that is optional.
The Log
Section titled “The Log”Every exercise ends with a Log. It lists what was new and what you had already done in an earlier exercise. The second list grows as you go. When the same step has appeared in it three or four times, you know that step. That is the purpose of the list.
The Why Dictionary
Section titled “The Why Dictionary”The exercises say what to do. The Why Dictionary says why the things you meet are there. It covers why your Part turns invisible, what the RenderTemplate inside it is for, and why the Emit button does nothing on a new emitter. An exercise links to an entry the first time it brings the thing up.