Unreal Engine 4 Documentation > Designing Visuals, Rendering, and Graphics > Cascade Particle Systems > Particle System Reference

Particle System Reference

Complete reference for Particle System type data and modules

Unreal Engine 4.24

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Base Classes
TypeData Modules
Modules

Base Classes

Reference material of the base classes that make up particle systems is composed of the following reference topics:

Particle System Class - A technical reference for the base ParticleSystem class, showing its properties.
Particle Emitter Class - A property reference for Particle Emitters, the components that make up Cascade's Emitter List.
Particle Module Class - A property reference for the Cascade class, from which all particle modules inherit. All modules will contain the properties within this class.

TypeData Modules

The default type of an emitter when added to a ParticleSystem is a sprite emitter. You can also create other types of emitters through the use of TypeData modules. These modules provide specific functionality for emitting other types of particles, such as beams, meshes, and ribbons.

Beam Type Data

The Beam type data module indicates that the emitter should output beams - connecting particles to form a stream between a source point and a target point.

GPUSprites Type Data

The GPUSprite type data module supports simulating particles on the GPU allowing for hundreds of thousands of particles to be simulated and rendered efficiently.

Mesh Type Data

The Mesh type data module indicates that the emitter should use StaticMesh instances rather than sprite particles. This is great for effects such as shrapnel or debris.

Ribbon Type Data

The Ribbon type data module indicates that the emitter should output trails - connecting particles to form ribbons.

Modules

Modules are used to control various aspects of the particles that are released by an emitter. They can affect a particle during spawning, updating, or both. Modules interact with each other based on their order within the emitter (their location on the stack of modules in Cascade). For example, applying two velocity modules to an emitter will result in a cumulative effect on the particles.