en

ConstructorQuads

ConstructorQuads

Constructor. Generates quad (rectangle) geometry for each particle, producing the visual representation.

Every emitter needs exactly one Constructor block. This is the most common constructor type, rendering each particle as a textured rectangle.

To make an emitter produce no geometry (for example a parent/anchor for attached emitters), set its Emitter Guide geometry mode to None instead of adding a Constructor block.

Properties & inputs:

  • Blend mode (property): Blending mode — Normal (standard alpha blending), Add (additive), or Multiply.
  • Texture (property): Path to the particle texture file.
  • Position (input | property): 3D position of the particle.
  • Origin (input | property): Offset of the quad relative to the particle position, in normalized coordinates. {0,0} centers the quad; {0.5, 0.5} places the position at the top-right corner. See Picking the origin visually below.
  • Rotation type (property): Faced — always faces the camera (billboard). Free — allows arbitrary 3D rotation.
  • Angle (input | property): Rotation angle in degrees (for faced rotation).
  • Size type (property): Quad — uniform width and height. Rect — independent width and height.
  • Color (input | property): RGB color multiplied with the texture. Components in range [0; 1].
  • Alpha (input | property): Transparency. 0 = fully transparent, 1 = fully opaque.
  • Texture mapping (property): Whole texture or Grid (sprite sheet). Grid mode divides the texture into cells.
  • Columns, Rows (property): Grid dimensions for sprite sheet mode.
  • tex.index (input): Index of the texture cell in sprite sheet mode [0; Columns × Rows).

Picking the origin visually

Setting the origin by typing numbers means guessing where they land on the texture. The Origin picker lets you point at the spot instead: click the small button next to the Origin value — in the block's properties, or in the Origin section of the Emitter Guide — and the texture opens in its own window with a crosshair on the current origin.

Click anywhere on the texture to move the origin there, or drag the crosshair around; the coordinates under the texture update as you go, and the preview follows so you can judge the result on the actual effect. The origin is not confined to the texture — click outside it to push the quad away from the particle's position, and the view zooms out far enough to show a crosshair that already sits outside. The mouse wheel zooms in and out. Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Y undo and redo your attempts inside the window, and Cancel leaves the origin as it was.

For a texture set up as a sprite sheet (Texture mapping set to Grid), the window shows one cell at a time with arrows underneath to step through the frames, so you can line the origin up against whichever frame reads most clearly.

Snapping

Hold Shift to snap the origin to the notable places on the texture. While the key is held, the window shows what it can snap to:

  • The nine points — the four corners, the middle of each edge, and the centre — drawn as small dots. These pin both coordinates at once.
  • The X and Y axes — dashed lines through the middle of the texture. These pin one coordinate and leave the other free, so you can slide the origin along the centre line of the quad and stop anywhere on it.

The points take priority where an axis crosses one, so aiming at the centre gives you the exact centre rather than a point merely somewhere on the axis. Release Shift to place the origin freely again.