Editing stock ParticleEmitters, Trails and Beams
The plugin edits a stock ParticleEmitter, Trail or Beam as it stands. Select one, and the HUD and the Properties panel open with no Transform. Every row reads and writes the instance’s own Roblox property, so the same value shows in Studio’s Properties window. The instance gets no RenderTemplate and no PartIcleProperties.
What it makes possible:
- Twenty stock ParticleEmitters retuned at once. Select the Folder that holds them and enter one Lifetime.
- A stock ParticleEmitter given a burst count and a delay from the HUD, and tried with the Emit button, with no script.
- A sword trail switched on for exactly the swing. A stock Trail with Duration
0.4. - Shards that each leave a streak. A stock Trail under an Attachment in the Part’s
RenderTemplate, with Duration0.
What opens
Section titled “What opens”| Selected | Section in the Properties panel | HUD boxes | Transform button |
|---|---|---|---|
| A stock ParticleEmitter | Particles | Emit, Delay, Duration | Hidden. |
| A stock Trail | Trails | Delay, Duration | Shown. It makes a Trail emitter. |
| A stock Beam | BeamNatives | Delay, Duration | Shown. It makes a Beam emitter. |
Selecting a Folder, a Model, a Part or an Attachment collects every stock ParticleEmitter, Trail and Beam inside it, together with the emitters inside it.
ParticleEmitter rows
Section titled “ParticleEmitter rows”Each row shows the ParticleEmitter’s own value.
| Section | Row | Kind | Roblox property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emission | Enabled | Switch | Enabled |
| Emission | Rate | Number | Rate |
| Emission | Lifetime | Two numbers | Lifetime |
| Emission | Time Scale | Number | TimeScale |
| Appearance | Texture | Text | Texture |
| Appearance | Color | Colour | Color |
| Appearance | Brightness | Number | Brightness |
| Appearance | Size | Graph | Size |
| Appearance | Transparency | Graph | Transparency |
| Appearance | Squash | Graph | Squash |
| Appearance | Light Emission | Number | LightEmission |
| Appearance | Light Influence | Number | LightInfluence |
| Spawn | Shape | List: Box, Sphere, Cylinder, Disc | Shape |
| Spawn | Style | List: Volume, Surface | ShapeStyle |
| Spawn | InOut | List: Outward, Inward, InAndOut | ShapeInOut |
| Spawn | Hollow | Number. 0 is solid, 1 is hollow. | ShapePartial |
| Spawn | Orientation | List: Roblox’s four modes | Orientation |
| Spawn | LockedToPart | Switch | LockedToPart |
| Spawn | ZOffset | Number | ZOffset |
| Motion | Direction | List: the six faces | EmissionDirection |
| Motion | SpreadAngle | Two numbers, x, y | SpreadAngle |
| Motion | Speed | Two numbers | Speed |
| Motion | Acceleration | Three numbers, x, y, z | Acceleration |
| Motion | Drag | Number | Drag |
| Motion | Rotation | Two numbers | Rotation |
| Motion | Rotation Speed | Two numbers | RotSpeed |
| Motion | Vel. Inherit | Number | VelocityInheritance |
| Motion | Wind Drag | Switch | WindAffectsDrag |
| Flipbook | Grid | Two numbers, cols, rows | FlipbookLayout |
| Flipbook | Mode | List: Loop, OneShot, PingPong, Random | FlipbookMode |
| Flipbook | Framerate | Two numbers | FlipbookFramerate |
| Flipbook | StartRandom | Switch | FlipbookStartRandom |
| Flipbook | Blend Frames | Switch | FlipbookBlendFrames |
| Advanced | Preload Texture | Switch | None. The plugin keeps this setting. |
The Spawn, Flipbook and Advanced sections start collapsed.
Grid sets the flipbook layout.
| Entered | Result |
|---|---|
0 or 0, 0 | The flipbook is off. |
2, 2, 4, 4 or 8, 8 | One of Roblox’s built-in layouts. |
| Any other pair | A custom layout with that many columns and rows. |
The box rewrites the entry in its tidy form.
The plugin sets no limits on these numbers. Roblox applies its own.
Graph rows, the Color row, the ⋯ button and the Shift-click menu work as on an emitter. Reset default does nothing on a ParticleEmitter.
Trail rows
Section titled “Trail rows”Each row shows the Trail’s own value.
| Section | Row | Kind | Unit | Roblox property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emission | Enabled | Switch | Enabled | |
| Emission | Lifetime | Number | Seconds | Lifetime. How long each piece of ribbon stays. |
| Appearance | Color | Colour | Color. A gradient over the age of each piece of ribbon. | |
| Appearance | Brightness | Number | Brightness | |
| Appearance | Transparency | Graph | Transparency. Over the age of each piece of ribbon. | |
| Appearance | WidthScale | Graph | WidthScale. Over the age of each piece of ribbon. | |
| Appearance | Light Emission | Number | LightEmission | |
| Appearance | Light Influence | Number | LightInfluence | |
| Shape | Attachment 0 | Instance, picked with * | Attachment0. An Attachment only. | |
| Shape | Attachment 1 | Instance, picked with * | Attachment1. An Attachment only. | |
| Shape | MinLength | Number | Studs | MinLength |
| Shape | MaxLength | Number | Studs | MaxLength. 0 means no limit. |
| Shape | FaceCamera | Switch | FaceCamera | |
| Texture | Texture | Text | Texture | |
| Texture | Tex. Length | Number | TextureLength | |
| Texture | Tex. Mode | List: Stretch, Wrap, Static | TextureMode | |
| Advanced | Preload Texture | Switch | None. The plugin keeps this setting. |
A stock Trail has no Mode, no Blender, no flipbook and no Events.
Beam rows
Section titled “Beam rows”Each row shows the Beam’s own value.
| Section | Row | Kind | Unit | Roblox property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emission | Enabled | Switch | Enabled | |
| Appearance | Color | Colour | Color. A gradient along the beam. | |
| Appearance | Brightness | Number | Brightness | |
| Appearance | Transparency | Graph | Transparency. Along the beam. | |
| Appearance | Light Emission | Number | LightEmission | |
| Appearance | Light Influence | Number | LightInfluence | |
| Shape | Attachment 0 | Instance, picked with * | Attachment0. An Attachment only. | |
| Shape | Attachment 1 | Instance, picked with * | Attachment1. An Attachment only. | |
| Shape | Width 0 | Number | Studs | Width0 |
| Shape | Width 1 | Number | Studs | Width1 |
| Shape | CurveSize 0 | Number | Studs | CurveSize0 |
| Shape | CurveSize 1 | Number | Studs | CurveSize1 |
| Shape | Segments | Number | Segments | |
| Shape | FaceCamera | Switch | FaceCamera | |
| Shape | ZOffset | Number | ZOffset | |
| Texture | Texture | Text | Texture | |
| Texture | Tex. Length | Number | TextureLength | |
| Texture | Tex. Speed | Number | Repeats per second | TextureSpeed |
| Texture | Tex. Mode | List: Stretch, Wrap, Static | TextureMode | |
| Advanced | Preload Texture | Switch | None. The plugin keeps this setting. |
Every number row is one plain number. On a Beam emitter the same properties are graphs.
Each row writes the property at once, and Roblox draws the result. The plugin animates nothing on a stock Trail or a stock Beam.
The HUD
Section titled “The HUD”| ParticleEmitter | Trail | Beam | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emit box | Shown. Reads 1 until changed. | Hidden. | Hidden. |
| Delay box | Seconds before the Emit button acts. | The same. | The same. |
| Duration box | One number, in seconds. | One number, or min, max. | One number. |
| Emit button | After the Delay, emits the Emit count at once. With a Duration above 0, also switches the ParticleEmitter on for that many seconds. | After the Delay, switches the Trail on for the Duration, then off. | After the Delay, switches the Beam on for the Duration, then off. |
| Nothing happens when | Emit is 0 and Duration is 0. | Duration is 0. | Duration is 0. The Beam keeps its Enabled setting. |
The switch on the HUD acts on everything selected. If anything selected is on, it switches all off. Otherwise it switches all on.
The first time a stock Trail is selected, the plugin sets its Duration to the Trail’s Lifetime and its Delay to 0.
A Trail’s Duration can be a range, such as 0.2, 0.6. The Emit button uses the larger number. A Trail carried by a particle picks a value between the two. From a script, Emit uses the larger number and AbsoluteEmit picks a value between the two. See Firing an effect.
Emission and the HUD describes the boxes in full.
Differences from emitters
Section titled “Differences from emitters”| Stock ParticleEmitter, Trail or Beam | Emitter | |
|---|---|---|
| Where values are kept | In the instance’s own properties. | In PartIcleProperties. |
| Transform button | Hidden for a ParticleEmitter. Shown for a Trail or a Beam. | Hidden. |
| Mode, Loop, Linger, a Timescale graph, Events, Link, Emit Into | Not available. | Available, depending on the type. |
| Speed, Rotation and Rotation Speed of a ParticleEmitter | Ranges. | On a Part emitter, graphs or rows for each axis. |
| Width, CurveSize and Segments of a Beam | Numbers. | Graphs. |
| HUD ▸ Emit box | ParticleEmitter: shown, reads 1. Trail and Beam: hidden. | Shown. |
| Emit button | ParticleEmitter: a burst, and a timed Enabled if Duration is above 0. Trail and Beam: a timed Enabled, only if Duration is above 0. | A burst of the Emit count, then the Rate for the Duration. |
| Wrong input on a row | ParticleEmitter: ignored without a sign. | A red flash, and the old value returns. |
| Reset default | ParticleEmitter: no effect. | Works. |
Carried by a particle
Section titled “Carried by a particle”A stock Trail or ParticleEmitter kept inside a Part emitter’s RenderTemplate is carried by every particle and fired with it.
It must sit under an Attachment. When a Part is transformed, the RenderTemplate keeps the Part’s Attachments and everything inside them. A Trail, ParticleEmitter or Beam placed straight in the Part is not kept.
Transform switches off the Trails and ParticleEmitters inside the RenderTemplate. Each particle then fires its own, by the settings in the HUD boxes of that Trail or ParticleEmitter:
In the RenderTemplate | On each particle |
|---|---|
| A stock ParticleEmitter | After its Delay, it emits its Emit count at once. The count is 1 if the Emit box was never changed. With a Duration above 0, it is also switched on for that many seconds. With Emit 0 and Duration 0, nothing happens. |
| A stock Trail with a Duration above 0 | Switched on when the particle appears. Switched off again after its Delay plus its Duration. |
| A stock Trail with Duration 0 | Switched on for the particle’s whole life. |
| A stock Trail that has no Duration | Stays off. |
| A stock Beam | Carried as it stands. Nothing switches it on or off. |
A stock Trail has no Duration until it has been selected once with the plugin running. That first selection sets the Duration to the Trail’s Lifetime.
Attachments inside the RenderTemplate that a carried Trail or Beam uses are replaced by the particle’s own. The Trail or Beam so travels with its particle.
Nesting covers emitters kept in a RenderTemplate.
Transform on a stock Trail or Beam
Section titled “Transform on a stock Trail or Beam”The Transform button shows for a stock Trail and for a stock Beam. Pressing it turns a Trail into a Trail emitter and a Beam into a Beam emitter. There is no choice of kind.
The plugin has no control that reverses a Transform. Press Ctrl+Z.
The Transform button does not show for a ParticleEmitter. A ParticleEmitter is edited as it stands.
With the tools
Section titled “With the tools”| Tool | Stock ParticleEmitter | Stock Trail | Stock Beam |
|---|---|---|---|
| Size | Multiplies Size, Speed and Acceleration. | Multiplies the WidthScale graph. | Multiplies Width 0, Width 1, CurveSize 0 and CurveSize 1. |
| Time | Multiplies Rate, Speed, Rotation Speed and the Flipbook Framerate. Multiplies Acceleration by the factor squared. Divides Lifetime, Delay and Duration. | Divides Lifetime and Duration. | Multiplies Tex. Speed. |
Size and Time describes both tools.
Limits
Section titled “Limits”- A stock ParticleEmitter, Trail or Beam has no Mode, Loop, Linger, Events, Link or Emit Into.
- A stock Trail or Beam has no Emit count. The Emit button only switches it on for the Duration.
- A ParticleEmitter cannot be transformed.