SpawnTranslucencyCutoff
The spawn interval past which a smoke system raises its new particles' fade level by one step.
- Applies to
- ParticleSystemType
- File
rules.ini- Section
[<ObjectType ID>]- Value
- floating point
- When omitted
0.0
Once a smoke system’s spawn interval grows past this value, every particle it emits from then on starts with a fade level one step of 25 above the particle type’s Translucency. The interval starts at SpawnFrames and grows by Slowdown every frame, so this value picks the point in the plume’s life where the step begins. Only the Smoke behavior reads it.
Where the value sits against the other two interval settings decides which particles get the step:
- Between
SpawnFramesandSpawnCutoff: the last stretch of emission gets the step, before the plume stops emitting. - Below
SpawnFrames: every particle the plume emits gets the step. Omitting the key puts it here. - At or above
SpawnCutoff: no particle gets the step, because the system stops emitting first.
[MySmokeSys] ; a ParticleSystemType registered in [ParticleSystems]BehavesLike=SmokeHoldsWhat=MySmokePuff ; a ParticleType registered in [Particles]SpawnFrames=10Slowdown=.0025SpawnTranslucencyCutoff=13.0 ; step begins about 1200 frames inSpawnCutoff=15.0 ; emission stops about 2000 frames inThe cutoff is tested only when the system emits a particle. A NextParticle successor from a split starts from its parent’s fade level, step included, as Translucency describes.
What the step changes on screen depends on the particle type’s Translucency. Only three fade levels are drawn, and only at the High detail setting; below it, no particle is faded at all. At High detail:
Type’s Translucency | Before the cutoff | After the cutoff |
|---|---|---|
0 | Solid | A quarter faded |
25 | A quarter faded | Half faded |
50 | Half faded | Three quarters faded |
51 to 74 | Solid | Three quarters faded |
75 to 102 | Three quarters faded | Three quarters faded |
103 to 127 | Three quarters faded | Solid |
Any other value from 1 to 49 | Solid | Solid |
A particle holds its fade level between -128 and 127. Adding the step to 103 or more passes 127, so the level wraps below zero and the particle draws solid. A type value outside that range wraps first, as Translucency describes; one that wraps below zero draws solid with or without the step.