[sldev] Re: Questions on the particle system

[Dale Glass]

On Mon, Dec 03, 2007 at 12:05:36AM -0600, Argent Stonecutter wrote:
> >I still think the area is the wrong approach. Things with large  
> >areas are
> >usually uninteresting and don't lose that much from being toned down a
> >bit.
> 
> Most any particle system with a lot of particles in it doesn't lose  
> much from being toned down a bit.
> 
> My "Stunt Double", however, only has 30 particles in it (one particle  
> per second, 30 second lifespan).
Precisely why I think it shouldn't be prioritized by area. If you
calculate by area, lots_of_particles * fairly_large_size adds up to a
lot more than one big particle.

Your effect, if it shows 1 particle on a given frame, is tiny as far as
I'm concerned compared to the screenshot. 

> That effect is at zero distance from the camera: you're inside it.
No, because I currently calculate based on the distance to the emitter.
Distance is not zero unless it's right in front of my camera.

> 
> >Besides, in the current codebase this is going to be counted even  
> >if it's
> >happening somewhere out of your view.
> 
> Which it should.
I still haven't managed to get an explanation of *why*.

I did benchmarks. The time spent tracking off-screen particles seems
insignificant, unless I'm missing something.

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