Magic Arsenal - Particle FX

Glad you figured it out, and no problem. Hope you'll leave a rating / review!

I have a few more updates in mind for this pack, but I'm still curious if anyone thinks something is missing or needs improvements.

 

Does it work in 2D?

 

I don't see why they wouldn't work in 2D games. As far as I know, there's not a big difference between using effects in 2D and 3D games in Unity, except having to adjust them to layers.

 

Magic Arsenal is now 45% off for 24 hours!

https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/20869

 

Hi there. Just picked up this asset from the Asset Store - looks fantastic! Quick question, though. I need to be able to instantiate the fx via script (not drag/drop into a scene directly in the editor).

I instantiate the prefab, like I do with other particle FX assets that I use, and it "looks" like it works in the inspector - at least, I see the gameobject with the Particle System script attached, but I don't see any FX on the screen. Not doing anything fancy - just:

Code (csharp):

1.  
2. effectObject = (GameObject)Instantiate (Resources.Load ("MagicArsenal/MagicAuras/Prefabs/Arcane/AuraArcane"));
3.  

Then I set the transform, etc. The coordinates look right in the inspector - just no visual. Is there some trick to using these this way? I did notice that the gameobject itself had no child objects, while they did in the demo scenes. Not sure.

Thanks in advance!

Cheers.

EDIT: As a test I instantiated the ArcaneCharge effect, and it worked great - not sure why the aura won't work

 

Hey, if you're trying to use the spinning aura from the demo, it's called SpinningArcane. The AuraArcane is a more flat effect (not shown in the webdemo) that gets a bit more easily "lost" in geometry. You can see all of them in the magic_aura_legacy scene.

With that said, I tested it through the spawning system and it shows up as it should.

Something that could make it a problem finding is that some of the prefabs original coordinates are not "0 0 0", but you can rightclick the Transform in the inspector and click Reset Position and spawn it again.

Feel free to reference the FireProjectile script which does the spawning bit in the demo. I don't do very much programming myself, but these are some things I can recall being problems.

Let me know how it goes.

 

Perfect! Thanks, mate!

Cheers.

 

Hi Archanor. The asset is great. Thanks!

Have you ever tired it on iOS or Android devices, how does it perform?

 

There is an APK on the store page if you want to try it on your android device. The demo and effects are not optimized for mobile, so it drains a bit of fps. There's a lot of effects playing at the same time in the demo though.

I wouldn't say it's impossible to use them for mobile games, but it all depends on the game and amount of effects you use.

 

Hi Archanor. I've had this asset for a while and it only gets better!

I've got a small suggestion though if you don't mind. I would like to suggest another effects category. Walls. Fire wall, frost wall, arcane wall, etc.

 

Yes that would be great

 

Good suggestion! I'll try that next time I'm upgrading the pack. At the moment I'm actually working on the sci-fi counterpart of this pack, so I take suggestions for that as well!

For this pack I still want to make some additions for "Ultimate" spells like elemental rain, area of effect, nova explosions. Also been thinking about beams and cast fx. Let me know what you think sounds interesting!

 

Right on point!
I'm currently creating a hack&slash game using your effects and I could use those kind of effects. Nova, Blizzard/Rain effects, also ray-type/beam effects with a start and end point (but I understand this one may be very complex)
A cast effect would also be appreciated.

 

All of it sounds very interesting to be honest

 

@eelbaz Just about finished with the wall prefabs now, and I'm making them in two types: a line wall, and a ring wall.

@Sheikz Maybe I'll include the Nova effect for the next update, but I'm afraid the elemental rain and beams won't happen just yet. Theoretically you could already make an elemental rain effect if you used the missile and impact effect prefabs, but it would require some programming.

For the next patch there will be at least 3-4 new effects per element, as well as fixes to a sound effect. The slash effects will also be set to not loop.

 

Amazing. Thanks!

 

I've just submitted the new version which comes with 40 new effects and some minor changes. The demo should already be uploaded!

Demo: http://bit.ly/Magic22



Version 2.2 (Update pending in Asset Store)

- Total of ~250 effects
- 10 New Aura Ring FX
- 10 New Cleave FX
- 10 New Line Wall FX
- 10 New Circle Wall FX
- Updated Spray FX
- Slash, Sphere Blast and Enchant are now set to play once instead of loop
- Some scenes now have mouse control
- Lightning sounds now loop properly

 

Not sure if I just have a slow connection or what, but it is taking FOREVER for the webdemo to load.

UPDATE: After watching the loading bar slowly progress over half an hour, it finally died. When I restarted it it came up in a few seconds, so ... just a weird internet thing, I guess!

 

Well, it seems I uploaded the demo to the wrong folder also.. Really sorry.

Try this: http://bit.ly/Magic22

 

@Archanor - Ah, now I can see the new stuff, too! Very nice!

A few quick observations ... it seems we may not be getting all of the Auras 1 & 2 in the camera's view, and there's a glitch when the Enchant FX start to repeat.

 

@hopeful In some scenes you can zoom out with the mousewheel and rightclick to rotate the camera, thats why the camera is slightly off. Nevertheless I've fixed those two scenes, and the Enchant loop.

 

Update is now live!

 

Just reached 100 ratings on the Asset Store! Hope to see many more

Version 2.3 (Pending)

- Total of ~260 effects
- Added 10 new Damage over Time FX
- Replaced some sounds
- Adjusted all sounds
- Updated all icons
- Optimized some missiles and impacts
- Adjusted all missiles and impacts
- Adjusted some missile textures
- Removed long missile lingering effects
- Removed "interior collisions" flag on impacts to avoid warping particles
- Some optimisation to demo

There's no new demo scene for the DoT effects, but here's a gif to show the general vibe of them. (Sorry for the choppyness)

Each effect has two systems constantly emitting smoke and ember particles, as well as 3 "explosive" systems which indicate a hit. At the moment the explosive effects trigger every second, so they're rather fast, but you can change this easily at the top of the editor.



Edit: Here's a comparison of the new and old icons. (New icons on top)

 

I'm always happy to see improvements, but sometimes when I see something is removed I wonder if I'm going to miss out on something by updating.

Can you elaborate a little more on the "removed long missile lingering effects" ...?

 

Sorry for the confusion. There were a few particle systems on the impact prefabs which were named "linger", these lasted up to 2-3 seconds. These lingering effects looked odd when hitting moving or disappearing targets, so they would just keep emitting a faint glowing spot or lingering effect from a single point in the middle of the air.

Here's an older version of the demo if you want to compare it with the latest: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/22807566/UnityDemos/MagicArsenal2.1/MagicArsenal2.1.html

It was mostly the Small and Normal impacts which were affected.

 

Hello, i'd love to get your great asset, its what i'm looking for. The problem is i'm working in UE4. So if you give me some advice about how i can import this asset into UE4 no doubt i'm buying this. Thanks!

 

Sorry for the delay, but as far as I know, there's no way to export/import Shuriken particle systems between UE and Unity. If you were to buy this asset, you would get textures, icons, sounds, but no actual effects.

I don't have any concrete plans on converting it to UE at this moment, but I've been wanting to figure out how the Unreal particle systems work.

 

What i've heard so far UE4 is bastly superior than other engines in that matter (material editor and particles system). You should give it a try. The full license is totally free, royalties only apply if you use it commercially. So you can play with all the features without restriction.

Sad to hear you don't have plans to port your product but, considering you already have the textures, alphas, sound and stuff, the process should be pretty straight forward. I'm pretty sure your asset would be very successful in UE4 marketplace. You would double your market very easily.

For my part i will research about how to port the particles, maybe i will find something and if not i will consider to take a considerable time to learn about that so i can make my own stuff. Maybe i could use your work as example and replicate it to UE4. Btw, can i use your asset with unity free license?

Thank you for taking your time to answer me. I really appreciate it.

 

I don't really want to get that much into which is better, but from what I've seen, you can achieve nearly the same results with Unity as you can with Unreal. I just thought Unity was easier to work with.

The asset works fine with the free license.

 

Oh yeah, from "engine" standpoint all of them have pros and cons and it really depends on how comfortable you are with them. I was talking from material and particles standpoint. There are many testimonials out there that, in that matter, UE4 really stand out from the others. They really gone crazy with those editors. I just was pointing on that fact. Really woth a look into it.

Btw, i'm buying your asset, cant resist the temptation to see the effects for myself. Definetely i will try to replicate it into UE4. I will keep you informed about the process

 

@Archanor short video for beginners how to get started would be much appreciated. (I'm particularly interested in changing the shape of let's say the dome models and make the particles follow (move around) another shape)

Thanks in advance

 

If you are thinking of something like mesh emitters, that's coming within a couple of weeks for the next update.

There's unfortunately no effect shaders for the shields, so they may be hard to exactly replicate onto other shapes. It would require a new model with (probably) new textures on, if I remember the setup correctly.

Please e-mail me with more details about your question: archanor.work -at- gmail.com

 

Dying to get this working for multiplayer, spent the past maybe 2 weeks attempting. I've read and followed all of the instructions for instantiating a prefab from a client, but nothing seems to work. If anyone can help me, i'd be very grateful.

 

I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the best I can do is ask you to try Unity Answers or this forum, as I don't do very much programming myself.

Edit: Also, I forgot to announce that there's an update coming soon to this pack with some new effects! Here's a teaser of what's coming:

https://twitter.com/Archanor/status/782276031210225665

https://twitter.com/Archanor/status/781187023679938560

 

v 2.4 is now available for 5.3.4 and up.

The asset will also be featured on a 24-hour sale the 17th, before the price is increased to $25

Featuring:

• Added 10 Beam FX
• Added 10 Pillar Blast FX
• Added 10 Mesh Emitter FX
• Cleaned up some obsolete prefabs
• Fixed a script error which caused demo to crash (thanks, Jan!)
• Some optimization and minor changes to some missiles
• Removed Kunai Scaler

 

@Archanor
Just purchased!!! great asset can't wait to implement these awesome spell fx in my game

 

Appreciate it!

 

Hello
I'm thinking about using your assets for my VR game.
Do you know if your effects are working in VR and if they are not too expensive for forward rendering?

Thank you in advance for your help

 

I don't have any experience with VR, so I'm afraid I can't say. All the effects are shuriken particle systems, so if those work in VR, my effects should work as well.

The missiles and impact effects use realtime lighting effects, so those can be pretty expensive if there's a lot of missiles flying around at once. This can be quite noticable on mobile and WebGL builds, but for PC I think it's fine in moderation.

If you decide to try it out, make sure to let me know how it goes.

 

Total noob question but what's the best way to scale the effects?

 

Since they added the scaling options for particles in 5.3, you can now set the child particle-systems Scaling Mode to Hierarchy and then scale the main/mother particle up. The child particles should then scale up with it. In some cases you may also have to change the size/radius of the individual particle system under the Shape tab if they don't scale well.

There are however a few bugs such as particle systems that emit meshes get over- or under-scaled compared with the usual billboard particles. Second bug is that child particles with Hierarchy which emits over distance (most of my missiles), just disappear when scaled up. At the moment you have to type in the Start Size for those individually.

So unfortunately it's not very easy for all the effects at the moment, but it's on my to-do list (for most of my assets) to set them up so that you can just scale them up in the transform window.

 

Thanks for the fast answer!
I will use them for a vr (vive) prototyp project starting in the next few days, i didn't test them in vr yet, maybe the default scale is the right size for the vr "hands", i just wanted to be prepared to change the scale if they don't "fit" because, even after using unity for a while i am still a noob at editing particle effects

 

Very cool Make sure to post some video once things are in action!

Feel free to e-mail me if you come across any other problems or need some help with particle systems.

 

Hello again,
i started with the projectiles today, they work very well, im using a mix of the "normal" and "small" sized prefabs and they have a nice size for the vr controllers.

My favourite is the arcane so far

A vr video is always a little hard because i can only record the monitor output which looks very different from the vr view, but it can make a little gameplay video when the game has more features (currently is just the starting/prototype phase) and post the link here to show your effects in action.

The icons are also very nice and usefull for my project btw!

In the next few days i will look at the beam and shield effects in vr, but for now i have a small question about the projectile for the frost and lightning (or projectiles in general) is there a way to slow them down? Because the spinning/lightning effect is very fast and often, the effect itself look good but they are a little to much/fast for my project.

So far i tried to change some of the particle properties which made the effects "slower" but also changed the effect itself, i would like the same effects just a little slower. For example for the frost effect the "ForstSpikes" are very fast.

 

Hmmm.. It could be a number of things. If you're talking about the speed they shoot out from the center, you can halve the Start Speed and double the Start Lifetime.

You might want to just turn off the "Rotation over Lifetime", or reduce it.

Before and after changing these parameters:

Spoiler: GIF

 

Awesome thanks again! Changing the start speed/lifetime made the effect better for my project

 

A new update on its way! No new effects this time around though. (Feel free to come up with ideas)

Version 2.41

- Most effects are now easier to scale with Transform as the Scaling Mode is changed to Hierarchy for child particles. The only exception is missiles, as there's a bug with systems emitting over distance (will be updated later when the bug has been fixed)
- Changed some hierarchy settings with effects to make them easier to view and edit in Scene window
- Minor improvement to Slash FX
- Other minor optimizations and improvements

 

I'm having an issue rotating the ArcaneEnchant prefab. I want the circle to be vertical instead of horizontal but when I change the X rotation on the parent ArcaneEnchant object it only makes the outer ring vertical while the inner ring is still horizontal. I've tried rotating the Rings child object but that doesn't seem to do anything. Even tried unparenting the Rings object so it's at the root hierarchy but rotations still do nothing. I'm new to the particle system so am I missing something obvious? I thought rotating parent objects in Unity usually rotated the child objects as well.

 

I took a look at it and it seems the Rings object is just a Horizontal Billboard which means it won't rotate unless you change the Render Mode to Billboard and set Billboard Alignment to Local. Will upload a fix for this very soon.

If I recall correctly, some of the older effects used horizontal or vertical billboards as that was the only way at the time to make them face a certain direction and have them rotate at the same time.

 

The rotate is working now. Thanks for the quick turnaround!

btw: I also noticed that the AuraRingLightning also has an issue with the SpinningParticles when rotated vertically.