WingNuts and Bolts

# Debris

This section details the debris system

When you blow something up, you get an explosion, but you also get debris. These little flying bits can really add depth to your scenario.

Your standard debris window.

First you need to make a new Debris with the New button

Then you need to choose an image for your debris. Simple is always better. As pictured in the image above, my standard debris poof is just a small 64X64 image.

The Debris displays option.

The Emmiter image is just what image will display when you test. In the game, it will be an enemy exploding, but for you in the editor you can set an image to blow up for kicks. You can also set how many come out while testing. In explosions you will define this, but for testing purposes you can view the number here.

The settings for debris.

What you see above are the multitude of options for debris. Listing from top to bottom:

- Debris Image - This is the image that will be drawn as a chunk of debris. You import this in Graphics.
- Total exit veolcity - This is how fast the particles will be moving when created. All values are in pixels/sec. The average plane travels at 250 pixels/sec. The Horizontal end fraction is what percentage of the final velocity is applied to the debris.
- Elevation angle - Since WingNuts 2 isn't truely 3D, you cannot assign height to an item. However you can create the illusion of height by giving particles an elevation. 90º is straight up (or comming out of the display toward the user) and 0ordm; is straight out from the sides of the explosion. A good range between min and max will create an evenly distributed debris field.
- Maximum life time - How long totaly the debris can exist. It can be very dramatic to have a debris slowly fall to earth after a large explosion.
- Apply air drag - Much like the particles, you can apply the same drag effects to debris. These will change how the particles fall to the ground.
- Spin rate - this lets you spin debris chunks. This is identical to particle spin systems.
- Color which emiter colors - When you have this checkbox checked, the Debris will take on the color of the item emitting the debris. So if you have a blue airplane that is exploding, you will get blue debris. If you have a red one, red debris. The color shift is subitle and can save on art assets needed.
- Debris is drawn glowing - Instead of a solid opaque debris chunk, you will have only the highlights glowing. You really just have to see it to understand it.
- Random start frame - If your debris animates, instead of all chunks started on the same animation frame, the engine will pick different frames to begin with. This will make the debris feel random.
- Minimum emission bearing - Since debris are made up of the same graphic drawing several times, this value will tell the engine where to draw the debris. Keeping the value range at 0 for minimum and 360 for maximum will ensure that all possible angles will be covered. Shortening this range will create a cone.
- Inherit emitter velocity - If the item blowing up is moving, this iwll let the debris inherit that items velocity (this makes sense if a very fast jet is moving accross the sky and explodes).
- Primary particles spawned at end - You can have a particle spawned at the end of the life time of the debris. This way all the cunks of debris can poof into smoke clouds if you want.
- Secondary particles spawned at end - Just like primary, this is a 2nd particle. A good effect is one a dark smoke and the other particle a bright fire. But you can use anything for each item.
- Debris emits particles during flight - Just like the particles spawned at end, you can have particles emitted during the flight of the debris. This allows you to have smoking chunks that leave trails in the sky.
- Starting distance from center - How far, in pixels, will the debris be created from the center.
- Debris creats ground glow - You can create a glow that draws on the ground. A glow has a luminsoity effect and follows the debris. For "normal" chunks from an airplane these may not fit. But for a more "surreal" effect this may be useful. You can think of this as a "glow map". These maps are not affected by rotation or animation. You can also adjust the color values for the glow image. A 255 value will draw the image with full color. So if you want a red glow, Green and Blue should have values close to zero.