Xah Particle Maker Frequently Asked Questions

By Xah Lee. Date: . Last updated: .

This is a frequently asked questions for using Xah Particle Maker.

Creating particles in Second Life is pretty much a experimental process. The particle system provides unlimited possibilities to simulate hundreds types of effects. You can learn what different parameters do by changing them.

To create your own particle, choose a preset that most closely match what you have in mind. Then, look at the parameter value displayed. Click on any of the control panels, hold down the left button and move your mouse slowly, to see how each parameter changes the particle.

Is there a way to turn the machine off??

Click the blinking light panel on the upper left, and it'll be quite.

Particles are computed on the client side. It does not cause network resource use or server resource use. It does not contribute lag. When you have huge amount of particles, the only “lag” will be on each person's computer.

Is there a way to offset the particles emission from the center of prim?

No. This is a SL limitation. To work around that, you can put a prim inside a prim and link them together.

Is there a way to have more than one particle emitter in a prim?

No. This is a SL limitation. However, you can have 2 prims linked, each prim does one particle.

How to make the particles respond to touch on/off?

You need extra scripting for this. Like this:

// touch to toggle particle on/off

integer isOn = 1;

startParticle()
{
    llParticleSystem
    (
     [
      // PUT YOUR PARTICLE PARAMETERS HERE
     ]
     );
}

 default {

     state_entry()
     { startParticle(); isOn = 1;
     }

     touch_start(integer num_detected)
     {
         if (isOn == 1) {
             llParticleSystem([]); isOn = 0;
         }
         else
         {
             startParticle(); isOn = 1;
         }
     }
 }

How to make the particles not leaving a trail?

If you have the particles as part of attachment, or moving object such as a airplane, and you don't want the particles to leave a trail (for example, a blinking light on the airplane), you need to put this at the end of your particle parameters: PSYS_PART_FOLLOW_SRC_MASK. For example:

llParticleSystem([
 PSYS_SRC_PATTERN,PSYS_SRC_PATTERN_EXPLODE,
 …
 PSYS_PART_START_SCALE,<1., 1., 0.>,
 PSYS_PART_END_SCALE,<0.01, 0.01, 0.>,
 PSYS_PART_FLAGS,PSYS_PART_BOUNCE_MASK |
 PSYS_PART_EMISSIVE_MASK |
 PSYS_PART_INTERP_SCALE_MASK |
 PSYS_PART_FOLLOW_VELOCITY_MASK |
 PSYS_PART_FOLLOW_SRC_MASK   // ← This here
]);

How to make the particles respond to typed command?

You need extra scripting for this.

How to make the firefly particle effect?

The firefly praticle effect is done using PSYS_SRC_PATTERN_EXPLODE, with burst rate about 0.2, and particle count about 2.

To do that with Xah Particle Maker, just click the Explode button (the Sphere at top), then adjust the parameters in tose slide panels.

How to make the grass effect using particles?

The large area grass particle effect are made by particle with Angle Cone pattern (PSYS_SRC_PATTERN_ANGLE) with angle range around 90°, and using a timer that varies the radius. This involves some scripting.