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Copy Particles to MC1.17 archive
Particles are one of the few effects within the game that are used as polish to better improve immersion. Their usefulness also requires great caution due to how they are created and referenced in the game.
== Sided Issues ==
Particles are problematic due to their presence only on the [[Sides/1.17|physical client]]. They have no existence on a server whatsoever. This means that if specific data from a server is needed, it needs to be synced from the server to create the particle on the client.
== Creating a Particle ==
A particle can be broken up into four distinct classes. On the server, a <code>ParticleType<?></code> holds a <code>ParticleOptions</code> to sync the information. On the client, a <code>ParticleProvider</code> is used to generate a <code>Particle</code> from the synced <code>ParticleOptions</code>. To be more specific, a <code>ParticleType<?></code> holds the registry reference of the particle itself. A <code>ParticleOptions</code> hooks into a <code>ParticleType<?></code> to send information to the <code>ParticleProvider</code>. A <code>ParticleProvider</code> creates the specified particle in some place within the level. Then, the <code>Particle</code> goes and handles the rendering logic to make it appear in game.
=== <code>ParticleType</code>s ===
While there are a lot of different particles in vanilla, in almost all cases vanilla uses <code>SimpleParticleType</code>, a basic implementation of <code>ParticleType</code> and <code>ParticleOptions</code>. This is used whenever server data is not necessary to spawn the particle. The only vanilla particles that do not use <code>SimpleParticleType</code> are redstone dust and block/item texture dependent particles. When requiring server data, a direct implementation of <code>ParticleOptions</code> is needed. A good way is to extend <code>ParticleType<?></code> and implement <code>ParticleOptions</code> on the same class. In the case of a more generic solution, an implementation of <code>ParticleOptions</code> can be referenced while the standard <code>ParticleType<?></code> class is used.
<code>ParticleType</code>s must be [[Registration#registering-things/1.17|registered]].
=== <code>ParticleOptions</code> ===
Beside the standard reference to a <code>ParticleType<?></code>, a <code>ParticleOptions</code> is made up of two main methods and two accessory methods for compatibility across Minecraft usage.
First there are the sync methods:
<syntaxhighlight lang="java">
ParticleOptions#writeToNetwork(FriendlyByteBuf)
ParticleOptions$Deserializer#fromNetwork(ParticleType, FriendlyByteBuf)
</syntaxhighlight>
These two are used to sync information across the network. All information from the server should be synced in this fashion.
The other two are for compatibility with other Minecraft systems:
<syntaxhighlight lang="java">
ParticleOptions#writeToString
ParticleOptions$Deserializer#fromCommand(ParticleType, StringReader)
</syntaxhighlight>
These two are used to read/write data to NBT as well as get information to spawn the particle in the level using a command.
=== <code>Particle</code>s ===
<code>Particle</code>s will be left as an exercise to the reader as it is mainly about deciding what the reader wants to render to the screen. One of the most common classes to subclass, however, is <code>TextureSheetParticle</code>. This abstract class renders a texture specified by the user as the particle to go according to the logic rendered.
=== <code>ParticleProvider</code>s ===
Finally, a particle must be created using a <code>ParticleProvider</code>. This simply just decides where the particle should be placed in the level at some speed in most cases. Since a <code>Particle</code> is not beholden to any particular <code>ParticleType<?></code>, it can be reused over and over again in different factories if necessary.
A <code>ParticleProvider</code> must be attached to a <code>ParticleType</code> using <code>ParticleEngine#register</code>. If a particle has a json defined sprite location, then the <code>ParticleEngine$SpriteParticleRegistration</code> variant must be used instead as otherwise an exception will be thrown. This should be called during <code>ParticleFactoryRegisterEvent</code> on the mod event bus.
{{Tip/Important|<code>ParticleProvider</code> is only present on the client, so the event needs to be isolated via <code>DistExecutor</code> or some other method.}}
== Spawning Particles ==
Particles can be spawned from a level instance. Each side, however, has a specific way of calling them. The <code>ClientLevel</code> can call either <code>addParticle</code> or <code>addAlwaysVisibleParticle</code>. The <code>ServerLevel</code> must call <code>sendParticles</code> as it sends a packet to the client level to call one of the other two methods. Calling the two <code>ClientLevel</code> methods on the server will result in nothing happening.
[[Category:Game Effects/1.17|Category:Game Effects]]
== Sided Issues ==
Particles are problematic due to their presence only on the [[Sides/1.17|physical client]]. They have no existence on a server whatsoever. This means that if specific data from a server is needed, it needs to be synced from the server to create the particle on the client.
== Creating a Particle ==
A particle can be broken up into four distinct classes. On the server, a <code>ParticleType<?></code> holds a <code>ParticleOptions</code> to sync the information. On the client, a <code>ParticleProvider</code> is used to generate a <code>Particle</code> from the synced <code>ParticleOptions</code>. To be more specific, a <code>ParticleType<?></code> holds the registry reference of the particle itself. A <code>ParticleOptions</code> hooks into a <code>ParticleType<?></code> to send information to the <code>ParticleProvider</code>. A <code>ParticleProvider</code> creates the specified particle in some place within the level. Then, the <code>Particle</code> goes and handles the rendering logic to make it appear in game.
=== <code>ParticleType</code>s ===
While there are a lot of different particles in vanilla, in almost all cases vanilla uses <code>SimpleParticleType</code>, a basic implementation of <code>ParticleType</code> and <code>ParticleOptions</code>. This is used whenever server data is not necessary to spawn the particle. The only vanilla particles that do not use <code>SimpleParticleType</code> are redstone dust and block/item texture dependent particles. When requiring server data, a direct implementation of <code>ParticleOptions</code> is needed. A good way is to extend <code>ParticleType<?></code> and implement <code>ParticleOptions</code> on the same class. In the case of a more generic solution, an implementation of <code>ParticleOptions</code> can be referenced while the standard <code>ParticleType<?></code> class is used.
<code>ParticleType</code>s must be [[Registration#registering-things/1.17|registered]].
=== <code>ParticleOptions</code> ===
Beside the standard reference to a <code>ParticleType<?></code>, a <code>ParticleOptions</code> is made up of two main methods and two accessory methods for compatibility across Minecraft usage.
First there are the sync methods:
<syntaxhighlight lang="java">
ParticleOptions#writeToNetwork(FriendlyByteBuf)
ParticleOptions$Deserializer#fromNetwork(ParticleType, FriendlyByteBuf)
</syntaxhighlight>
These two are used to sync information across the network. All information from the server should be synced in this fashion.
The other two are for compatibility with other Minecraft systems:
<syntaxhighlight lang="java">
ParticleOptions#writeToString
ParticleOptions$Deserializer#fromCommand(ParticleType, StringReader)
</syntaxhighlight>
These two are used to read/write data to NBT as well as get information to spawn the particle in the level using a command.
=== <code>Particle</code>s ===
<code>Particle</code>s will be left as an exercise to the reader as it is mainly about deciding what the reader wants to render to the screen. One of the most common classes to subclass, however, is <code>TextureSheetParticle</code>. This abstract class renders a texture specified by the user as the particle to go according to the logic rendered.
=== <code>ParticleProvider</code>s ===
Finally, a particle must be created using a <code>ParticleProvider</code>. This simply just decides where the particle should be placed in the level at some speed in most cases. Since a <code>Particle</code> is not beholden to any particular <code>ParticleType<?></code>, it can be reused over and over again in different factories if necessary.
A <code>ParticleProvider</code> must be attached to a <code>ParticleType</code> using <code>ParticleEngine#register</code>. If a particle has a json defined sprite location, then the <code>ParticleEngine$SpriteParticleRegistration</code> variant must be used instead as otherwise an exception will be thrown. This should be called during <code>ParticleFactoryRegisterEvent</code> on the mod event bus.
{{Tip/Important|<code>ParticleProvider</code> is only present on the client, so the event needs to be isolated via <code>DistExecutor</code> or some other method.}}
== Spawning Particles ==
Particles can be spawned from a level instance. Each side, however, has a specific way of calling them. The <code>ClientLevel</code> can call either <code>addParticle</code> or <code>addAlwaysVisibleParticle</code>. The <code>ServerLevel</code> must call <code>sendParticles</code> as it sends a packet to the client level to call one of the other two methods. Calling the two <code>ClientLevel</code> methods on the server will result in nothing happening.
[[Category:Game Effects/1.17|Category:Game Effects]]