A downloadable tool for Windows, macOS, and Linux

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Hello! I'm a new Playdate developer and long-time game dev that came from unity and missed using its particle system. So I'm making this!

ABOUT

Particle Sizzler is a lightweight standalone software that generates Spritesheets of particle simulations using Unity's Particle System as a base. Since you will end-up with a pre-baked spritesheet animation, it's obvious that they won't be able to dynamically generate when using on the Playdate (or anywhere else). So the best use cases are for static/one-shot particles like fire, explosions, thrusters, etc… And more often than not, need some tweaking in a proper image editor software like Aseprite.

I started making this for me, but maybe the community might appreciate it as well!

ROADMAP

Main

  • [x] User friendly interface
  • [x] Pixelation
  • [x] Unity Particle Simulation Syncing
  • [x] Image Saving
  • [X] Sprite size and frame delay manipulation
  • [X] Export Spritesheet -> Beta Version 0
  • [X] Moving, Rotating, Scaling
  • [X] Fixes and Features
  • [X] Emission Shape Options  -> Beta Version 0.1
  • [X] More Fixes and Features
  • [X] Particle Image: Square, Circle, Triangle, Pentagon + others... -> Beta Version 0.2
  • [X] Even More Fixes and Features 
  • [X] MacOS & Linux Experimental Builds -> Beta Version 0.21
  • [X] Shape Gizmos -> Beta Version 0.3 
  • [X] about 500% faster and more accurate rendering -> Beta Version 0.4
  • [X] Community Requests + Bugfixes -> Beta Version 0.5 (current version)
  • [In Progress] Timeline - frame previews and scrubbing and playback controls
  • [ ] Collision Plane Rotation and more movement parameters
  • [ ] Save particle files


Extras

  • [ ] Align top, bot, left right + corners
  • [ ] Load custom images
  • [X] Rotation and position over lifetime for the system itself


HELP!

How to Use?

Just tweak the parameters and go crazy!

How to Export Spritesheet?

Press Render and wait for it to finish, then, press Export. Ta-da!

The Playdate Export option exports spritesheet with naming convention ready to be used in a 'ImageTable':  {name}-table-{width}-{height}.png

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DEV NOTE

Known Issues

  • Gizmos do not correctly scale with image size
  • Non-square ratio (1:1) images may not be able to be completely seen on the preview (ex: 12p x 200p)
  • If you find any more, let me know!

Contribute!

I'd love to hear your thoughts! Do you have any requests?

Keep in mind that I am a solo developer and bugs might appear, let me know if you spot any!

The software is free to keep and use. But if you like it and would like to support what I do, feel free to donate

(Fun fact: The "Operating System" in which the simulation runs is from one of the games I'm making ;)

I'm in no way, shape or form affiliated with Unity or Panic.

Wishlist BOOM42 on Steam while you are here, friend!

Games that use Particle Sizzler

StatusIn development
CategoryTool
PlatformsWindows, macOS, Linux
Rating
Rated 4.7 out of 5 stars
(3 total ratings)
AuthorTomás Franco
Made withUnity
Tags2D, Generator, Indie, particle, particles, Pixel Art, Playdate, Retro, Sprites, Unity
Average sessionA few minutes
LanguagesEnglish
InputsKeyboard, Mouse
AccessibilityColor-blind friendly, High-contrast

Download

Download NowName your own price

Click download now to get access to the following files:

Particle Sizzler Beta 0.5 - Windows 28 MB
Particle Sizzler Beta 0.5 - MacOS - EXPERIMENTAL 38 MB
Particle Sizzler Beta 0.5 - Linux - EXPERIMENTAL 28 MB

Development log

Comments

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(+1)

hey, this tool is a lifesaver, i just used it for a jam, and funnily enough i used it to repalce unity’s partical system but please please add the option to use custom sprites instead of predetermined ones

(+1)

That’s funny! I’ll move that up on the priority list of what to do next. Thank you for the feedback!

(1 edit) (+1)

Ok, I tried the windows version. Great stuff. Two suggestions:

  • The pre-warm feture: not sure what it does. I expected it to pre-render a few timesteps so that the first frame is already a “fully-grown” effect. This would be very welcome
  • To make a looping animation, you have to delete the start frames one by one (afaik). Would be nice to have it such that you can click a frame and select “delete all previous”
  • An option to select between black and white as the particle color

Hey! Thanks for the feedback.

The Pre-warm is already a known bug.

The “delete all previous” is a very good suggestion!

And the black and white particle colors are already a thing! Try the “Visual” section.

Hello again! Just came here to say that your suggestions got implemented in the new update!

Looks great! Unfortunately, the experimental build on Mac M1 does not open. I’ll try the windows build.

Dude this looks neat ! I might try this when making my next games :D

Great, thanks! Let me know your thoughts then!

(+2)

This is great! Thank you for sharing with the community :D

Nice! Glad you found some use for it. If you have any feedback, let me know!