GPU Particle Systems That Don't Tank FPS
Ash Lindgren
VFX artist and Godot contributor. Obsessed with making pretty things run at 60fps on integrated GPUs.
Course price
$5
One-time purchase
What You'll Learn
Particle effects can make or break the feel of a game, but poorly optimized particles are the number one FPS killer in indie projects. This course teaches you to build stunning visual effects using Godot 4's GPUParticles3D node while keeping performance rock-solid. We cover the full pipeline from particle material setup to shader-based custom behaviors.
You'll build three complete effects: a stylized fire with heat distortion, a volumetric smoke system that reacts to wind, and a magical projectile trail with glow and sparkle layers. For each effect, we profile the GPU cost, identify bottlenecks, and apply targeted optimizations — LOD-based particle count scaling, atlas-based flipbook animations, and draw call batching strategies.
The final section dives into ParticleProcessMaterial's lesser-known features: sub-emitters for secondary sparks, collision with SDF fields for ground interaction, and turbulence noise for organic motion. You'll leave with reusable particle presets and a checklist for keeping any new effect within budget on mid-range hardware.