Particles

We've already built a simple particle system, but i don't think that gave us the appreciation for just how amazing particles in games are. One of the things to note is that not all particle systems emit just quads. Some emit full blown meshes. Other systems emit billboarded quads, or like our implementation just simple quads.

Particles are used to create anything from rain, fog, fire to waterfalls and the such. When you see an animation of water pouring, it's usually particles.

I'm just going to dump a bunch of images here showing different particle effects. Also, watch the unreal 4 elemental demo. The particles are what really make that video!