The bitmaps the particles use
cannot be plugged straight into the particle editor. They must be first
defined with the particle text file. As your particle database grows, you
may want to create separate text files for flames, explosions, smoke and
other bitmap types, with the bitmaps in their own subdirectories.
As for formats, it is recommended
to use .jpg for color maps and monochrome .pcx for the alpha maps. Other
formats also work, but we have found these optimal.
The basic structure of a particle
bitmap set is as follows. All the lines behind a double slash // will be
ignored by the particle editor, and can be used as comments. You can also
comment out sections of the file with /* for the beginning and */ for the end. Everything between the /* and the */ will
be ignored.
[your_particle_name]
{
[Settings]
Extension = jpg;
AlphaExtension = pcx; // only applicable if blend mode is alpha
BlendingMode = alpha; // available modes: alpha, additive
[container] // every particle must have at least one container
bitmaps\fire\flame01_%04d; // %04d means a cyclic number with 4
digits.
[container] // additional containers can be used for variety
bitmaps\fire\flame02_01; //can also use a sequence of exact
filenames
bitmaps\fire\flame02_02;
bitmaps\fire\flame02_03; // you can create a 'ping pong loop' by
bitmaps\fire\flame02_04; // inserting the sequence first forwards then
bitmaps\fire\flame02_05; // backwards. Duplicate filenames use no extra
bitmaps\fire\flame02_06; // texture memory.
}
[your_particle_02]
{
...
}
The directory paths are recursive.