Chapter overview
In this chapter, we will construct a particle system consisting of two parts: the particle itself, which will be a simple struct, as well as a particle system class that contains the system's data.
We will construct two different types of particle system: an explosion that moves on its own, and a static one that spawns at the position of our player's ship. We will also explore two ways to deal with the system data. The first will be for each particle system to contain its own copy of the system data. Then, after learning about the Flyweight pattern, we will use it to construct separate system data classes that we can assign using files or code. Then, each particle system will simply reference an instance of the system data that it needs.
Your objectives
This chapter will be split into a number of topics. It will contain a simple step-by-step process from beginning to end. Here is the outline of our tasks:
- Introduction to particles
- Implementing particles in Mach5
- Why memory is...
