Particle Effect Standards

Particle effects are graphical techniques used to simulate natural and dynamic phenomena such as:

• Fire
• Smoke
• Rain / Snow
• Dust, explosions
• And similar atmospheric effects

Instead of using complex 3D meshes, Unity generates thousands of lightweight particles with simple visual and physical properties. This approach significantly reduces rendering cost while maintaining visual richness.

1. Particle System Types in Unity

There are two primary particle systems supported:

• Particle System (CPU-based)
• VFX Graph (GPU-based)

2. Comparison Overview

3. Platform Support

⚠️ Important

• Web AR supports Particle System (CPU) only.
• VFX Graph is supported on Native App environments only.

Using unsupported systems may result in rendering failure or missing visual effects.

4. Performance Guidelines

For Web AR

• Keep particle count < 5,000
• Avoid complex collision modules
• Minimize texture size (≤ 1024×1024)
• Use simple shaders (URP Unlit recommended)

⚠️ Warning
Excessive particle emission may cause frame drops in mobile browsers.

For Native App

• CPU Particle System:
  • Recommended particle count ≤ 10,000
• VFX Graph:
  • Optimize spawn rate and lifetime
  • Avoid unnecessary GPU overdraw
  • Use bounds correctly to prevent culling issues

5. Technical Recommendations

• Use looping effects where appropriate.
• Keep particle lifetime short to reduce accumulation.
• Disable unused modules (Collision, Trails, Noise, etc.).
• Always test on target device before deployment.

ℹ️ Info
Even GPU-based VFX Graph can degrade performance if spawn rate, texture size, or shader complexity is not optimized.

Proper particle optimization ensures stable FPS and consistent AR experience across all supported platforms.