Editor Help

How to Edit Splodes

The Edit view allows you to tweek and tune Splode Emitters and Particles to your liking. Settings are grouped by type on the side of the Edit view. Tapping on a group name will expand or contract it to show or hide the settings in that group. Most parameters have a slider which you can drag left or right to alter its value.

Reset

Tapping this icon will give you the option of reseting your Splode to its default settings.

View

Tapping this icon will hide the settings panel, giving you more room to test your Splode. Just tap again to bring the controls back.

Screenshot

Tapping this icon captures an image of your Splode which will be used as a thumbnail to help you select Splodes.

My Splodes

Displays a collection of your Splodes which you can pick for editing. Note: if you pick a Splode which is not in the current scene, a copy will be made and placed in the current scene for you.

Splode Name

Tap on the name of the current Splode in the center of the header to change its title.

Images

Splode Lab lets you use up to two textures per emitter. It is more work for splode lab to use two images, so only use two when it helps achieve the effect you are after. The images are drawn in the same space per particle, so choosing tiny images over big ones may not have a visible effect.

Image

Tapping on the image area allows you to select an image for the Splode. To stop using a texture select the very first blank texture.

Blending

Select which type of blending you wish to apply to the image.

Default

Draws the image with basic alpha blending so particles overlap nicely.

Bright

When particles overlap they will get brighter and brighter.

Blast

Like the bright blending, but with a harsher effect. Good for plasma or electrical splodes.

Texture Delay (if two textures)

At zero, only the second texture will be drawn for the life of the particle, or you can set a percentage of the lifespan at which the second texture will appear.

Delay Noise (if two textures)

Noise will randomly switch to the second texture the higher the number the sooner the switch can happen.

Emitter

Emitters

An Emitter is what launches Particles into your scene. Think of it as a sparkler you might wave around on New Years Eve. The sparkler is emitting particles which are tied to its motion. You place Emitters by tapping on the display, and you can give them additional motion by changing the parameters in this section. When first starting out you may want to leave these at their default values.

Emitter Lifespan

This is how long the Emitter will continue to emit particles. This number should be set low for an Emitter you wish to draw with, or higher for a tap and release type.

Particles per second

Controls how many Particles will be released each second. You should use the smallest number that achieves the effect you desire.

Particles

These are the bits of Splode that are released from an emitter as it moves through a scene.

Particle Lifespan

This controls how many seconds each Particle will live once launched.

Lifespan Noise

When set to zero, all particles will have the same lifespan. As the value increases, they will have a chance to have a shorter and shorter lifespan.

Launch

Particle Launch

Here you can control the shape of your Particles movement.

Spread

A value of zero will spray particles in a straight line. As you increase the setting, they will fill a bigger and bigger wedge of a circle. At 360 degrees, they will be launched in all directions.

Direction

Lets you pick which way the spray of particles will face. Zero degrees fires to the right, 90 degress is straight up, and so on.

Radius

You can determine how far from the location of the emitter a particle should start its life. Zero will place them right on the spot and a value of one will be approximately one screen height away.

Radius Noise

A value of zero will cause all the particles to start the same distance away. As you increase the setting they have a chance of being closer and closer to the center.

Orbital Velocity

Rate at which particles will orbit emitter center. Applied before velocity/acceleration. Creates interesting movement patterns.

Use Heading

When this feature is enabled the direction of release will be controlled by the movement of your finger on the screen. The direction value will be added as well so you can create an offset.

Size

The textures available come in a variety of sizes for different effects. Here you can decide to use them as larger or smaller sizes, and change them over the life of the particle. You might want to start with large particles that end their life at a fraction of that size, for example.

Texture Scale

Determines the multiple of the native texture size.

Texture Noise

Higher values give a chance that the texture will be smaller and smaller.

Starting Size

This is a percentage of the texture's size that the Particle will have at the start of its life. It will move from this value to the Ending Size over time.

Ending Size

This is a percentage of the texture's size that the particle will have at the end of its life. It will move to this value from the Starting Size over time.

Speed

Particle Speed

These values determine how fast a Particle will move away from its starting position in a straight line. By tuning these values you can simulate Particles slowing down to a stop as they fade away or racing away off the screen.

Velocity

The speed of the Particle in roughly screen heights per second.

Velocity Noise

Higher values give a chance the Particle will move slower and slower than the max velocity.

Acceleration

Positive values will make the particle move faster and faster, while negative ones will slow it down and eventually reverse its direction!

Spin

Spinning Particles

By default, the particles will all be oriented in the same way, straight up. Use these parameters to make them tumble and flicker as they move. Note: rotating the particles is more work for Splode Lab than leaving them straight up, so don't spin them if it isn't enhancing the visual effect you are after.

Velocity

This is the angular velocity of the particle in degrees per second. At 360, it will rotate around once in a second. You can pick to rotate clockwise or anti-clockwise by setting positive or negative numbers.

Acceleration

You can increase or decrease the angular velocity with this parameter.

Noise

At higher levels there will be more variety in the starting orientation of the particles, both clockwise and anti-clockwise.

Twinkle

Turning this setting on will cause the particles to blink on and off as they rotate. The faster they are rotating, the faster they will blink! This is a great effect when trying to simulate fireworks.

Gravity

Gravity Effect on Particles

This is the final force applied to your particles. It can help unify them in a scene if you share common settings between splodes. But because we like variety and experimentation, we let you set them as you like.

Horizontal

Simulates a gravitation pull from the left or right edges of the view.

Vertical

Simulates a gravitation pull from the top or bottom edges of the view. A negative value is a good way to simulate the earth's pull on objects.

Color

Particle Colors

These values give you a bit of control over the color of your Particles. It works best on white particle textures but can be used as you like. Choose full white to reset the effect to default.

Starting

Set the color to be used at the start of the Particle's life. Tapping this will open a dialog where you can pick the color; select done to exit.

Ending

Set the color to be used at the end of the particle's life. Tapping this will open a dialog where you can pick the color; select done to exit.

Emitter Move

Velocity and Acceleration

These parameters control the movement of the Emitter after it is placed in the scene. Generally set to zero unless you are looking for more complex motion in your Splode.

Angle and Angular Velocity

These parameters control the rotational movement of the Emitter after it is placed in the scene. Generally set to zero unless you are looking for more complex motion in your Splode.

Noise

This is a more advanced parameter that adds some chaotic movement to your particles. Noise A and B will alter the X and Y positions over time, while C allows you to dampen the effect which can be quite extreme. When used with lots of small particles, this setting can deliver some dramtic effects.