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6-8 hours · Intermediate

Create a Real-Time VFX Impact

IntermediateNeeds: Integration Schemes for ParticlesNeeds: Smoothstep, Masks and Readable Edges
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The brief

Build a 0.6-second impact: flash, debris, dust and a decal. It must read clearly at gameplay camera distance, cost under 0.5ms GPU per instance, and never exceed 200 live particles.

Deliverable: A layered impact effect with readable timing, a documented particle budget and a profiled cost per instance.

Starter assets

One emissive flipbook or a soft circular gradient, one debris mesh, one dust texture. Build everything else from parameters.

Performance budget

  • 0.5ms GPU per instance or less at 1080p.
  • 200 live particles maximum across all emitters.
  • No translucent layer covering more than 20% of the screen.

Engine instructions

Niagara: one system, four emitters. Use Spawn Burst Instantaneous, Solve Forces and Velocity, Collision with Substeps only where needed. Profile with `stat GPU` and the Niagara debugger for particle counts.

Milestones

MILESTONE 01

Nail the timing skeleton

Before any art, block the effect with untextured shapes on a strict timeline: flash 0-80ms, debris 20-500ms, dust 60-600ms, decal persistent.

CHECKPOINT Grey-box version reads as an impact with no textures at all.
MILESTONE 02

Flash and core

Add the bright core with a fast attack and a slower decay. Use additive blending and keep it small — the flash sells the hit, not the size.

CHECKPOINT The flash reads at gameplay distance in a single frame capture.
MILESTONE 03

Debris with believable motion

Emit mesh debris in a cone, with drag and gravity. Choose semi-implicit Euler / default solver behaviour and substep only if it tunnels through the floor.

CHECKPOINT No debris tunnels through the ground plane at any spawn velocity you allow.
MILESTONE 04

Dust that does not eat the frame

Add a small number of large, soft dust sprites with low opacity. Measure the translucent coverage and reduce sprite size or count until inside budget.

CHECKPOINT Translucent screen coverage measured and inside the stated limit.
MILESTONE 05

Ground decal and settle

Add a projected decal that fades in over the dust and persists. Ensure it does not pop in before the flash.

CHECKPOINT Decal appearance is hidden by the flash and dust; no visible pop.
MILESTONE 06

Profile and document

Capture the effect with 1, 10 and 30 simultaneous instances. Record GPU ms and particle counts for each, then write the breakdown.

CHECKPOINT Cost table for 1/10/30 instances exists with real numbers.

Troubleshooting

The effect reads as mush at gameplay distance.
Your timing is too uniform. Shorten the flash, delay the dust, and increase the contrast between layers.
Debris falls through the floor.
Displacement per step exceeds collider thickness — enable substepping or reduce max spawn velocity.
GPU cost spikes with many instances.
Translucent overdraw. Reduce sprite size, count and layer overlap before touching the shader.
Dust looks flat.
Add slight rotation variance and per-particle scale over life; avoid raising opacity, which costs bandwidth.

Assessment rubric

Portfolio write-up template

One-line summary
What it is and why it exists, in a sentence a recruiter understands.
Your role and scope
What you personally built, and what was given to you.
Engine / software and version
e.g. Unreal 5.4, Houdini 20.5, Unity 6 URP.
Technical breakdown
The approach, the key maths or nodes, and one alternative you rejected.
Performance metrics
Instruction count, samplers, GPU ms, particle counts, cook time — with how you measured.
Reflection
What you would do differently, and the trade-off you are least happy with.
Repository or breakdown link
Optional link to code, a post, or a video.

Courses behind this project