I am planning to Buy Particle Candy for corona.
Do they provide trial version or something? I want to test it before buying if possible. Does it have any performance issue. If I implement it in my game, then will it cause memory leaks ?
Please advise!
Thanks! [import]uid: 44599 topic_id: 14322 reply_id: 314322[/import]
I bought it and used it once when I was first learning a while back, but I haven’t used it since then as I have just been doing all of my own effects using transitions and timers. This is what Particle Candy does behind the scenes anyway and I find you have a lot more control this way.
[import]uid: 42788 topic_id: 14322 reply_id: 52873[/import]
I bought it a while back and am just now getting ready to use it.
I am getting ready to use the fireworks effects in a little trivia app. I wish the API was a little easier to use, but I hope to get the hang of it.
It does not cost that much and I think I will use it a good bit in the end.
Plus they I think they are having a bundle special for new clients with their partner for “TEXT CANDY”
Good luck
DoubleSlashDesign.com
Larry [import]uid: 11860 topic_id: 14322 reply_id: 52915[/import]
I haven’t tried it, but I second Mark’s comment about having more control over the stuff you wrote yourself. I noticed I eventually rewrote all the third-party modules (buttons, sliders, bitmap fonts, Director class, etc.) I found here. But they were very valuable to get started, understand what I actually needed and to learn some interesting ideas and techniques. [import]uid: 52103 topic_id: 14322 reply_id: 52922[/import]
I bought it, use it, and am satisfied with its functionality and stability.
In terms of using it vs rolling your own, I suggest taking a look at the online documentation and decide what of the functionality you will likely use and how long it would realistically take you to write your own.
In my own case it would have taken me at least a few weeks to write a particle engine approaching PCs level of completeness, and those would have been precious days NOT working on my app. So for me the cost was very reasonable.
As with any tool you don’t write yourself there is a learning curve to get the hang of it, so just be aware you will likely need to mess around with some of the examples to get a feel for how it works. [import]uid: 9422 topic_id: 14322 reply_id: 52947[/import]
i think when you are starting out, it’s a great way to get some neat effects in quickly. Sure you could spend the time and code it yourself, but for the price, its a no brainer.
Anything with particles is going to take processor time, so you have to use it carefully.
Memory leaks - had no problems. It has good clean-up routines, so it shouldn’t cause you any problems.
[import]uid: 49842 topic_id: 14322 reply_id: 52962[/import]
I’m a programmer by trade – been doing it for coming up on 30 years. I can write anything. 
But there are a lot of times when it doesn’t make sense to take my time to recreate something that already exists, and a particle engine was one of those things. I bought Particle Candy and love it.
The learning curve isn’t minor, but the sample code and docs are pretty good, so spend a while playing with it, tweaking things, and then you’ll have a great tool to grab whenever you need some SFX in your game.
Jay
[import]uid: 9440 topic_id: 14322 reply_id: 52968[/import]
One word: YES
I do not have time to learn to build a particle engine and PC is a god sent. The effects like explosions are spectacular. With the example codes provided it is a piece of cake to learn how to use it. Actually you may not even need to lean how since there are pre made FX like explosion or fog that you can use without much effort. To have a different look just modify the graphics provided with tool like Paint.net
My upcoming game (cannot say more;) make a good use of PC library.
The only question I cannot answer right now is about performance. I do not have a Mac yet so I cannot build for my iPad/iPhone/touch yet. But it sure looks great on the simulator! I guess you have to be careful with the amount of particle effects so no to overwhelm the device. I will report on performance when I am able to actually build for a device (cannot wait!)
Hope this help. If you need cool effects, I cannot but recommend Particule Candy.
Mo [import]uid: 49236 topic_id: 14322 reply_id: 52985[/import]
Big Yes Vote from me. You get more out of Particle Candy than just particle effects. I’ve learned so much by going through their code including how to use modules, clean properly, and how to code efficiently. It’s fantastic and well documented (there’s plenty of print statements in their code).
(P.S. I have no association, just a user.) [import]uid: 40033 topic_id: 14322 reply_id: 53375[/import]
any particle system will have a learning curve there’s just too many variables that a slight change make a big difference. is it worth it? I’m sure it is if u put the time in to learn to use it and don’t know how to make your own.
I’ve been building a particle system I think it’s up to about 26 variables right now but I’m happy with the results. I’m able it insert into any group I want and have a lot of control even able to clean during the particle running. I think it’s pretty easy to use but I built it. here a sample of what it can do. in the first scene it makes a green smoke cloud that follows an object, fades, and moves in it’s own direction at the same time. in the second scene it creates small bubbles with different size, color, and fill amounts, that rise and pop at random speeds and time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pamhXrccqHc&feature=youtube_gdata_player
I’m getting ready to beta test a class I’ve been working on that includes a file system, high score management, swipe detection, weighted random selection, collision detection, and the above particle system. also plan to add gesture detection, custom keyboards, and more. if anyone wanting to beta test let me know [import]uid: 7911 topic_id: 14322 reply_id: 53383[/import]
It’s a great addition to Corona. We’ve used it in our recently released Chunkout game, details including a video of gameplay at: http://chunkout.com/ [import]uid: 12448 topic_id: 14322 reply_id: 53849[/import]
mark.zielinski wrote: “I haven’t used it since then as I have just been doing all of my own effects using transitions and timers. This is what Particle Candy does behind the scenes anyway”
Nope, Particle Candy neither uses any transitions nor a single timer by the way, so you have full control WHAT it does and WHEN it does just by calling the Update( ) function. If you do not call this function, no work is done, therefore no performance is required. [import]uid: 10504 topic_id: 14322 reply_id: 55458[/import]
Thanks for that correction x-pressive. I find transitions very bothersome to watch and maintain.
Particle Candy is epic. After you get the format of adding and creating particles, it is all plug and play. Definitely worth the money. It saves you time, and instead of you updating your own particle emitter taking hours away from development, they update the code and give you newer versions. [import]uid: 54716 topic_id: 14322 reply_id: 67811[/import]
FCk YEAH! Love it! [import]uid: 12704 topic_id: 14322 reply_id: 67962[/import]