YParticles3D

YParticles3D is a Shuriken-inspired CPU GDExtension Particle system for Godot 4

What It Does

YParticles3D is a Node3D you can drop into a scene and it will work as a full particle emitter.

• Lifetime, speed, size, rotation, gravity, looping, delays, playback speed, fixed FPS simulation
• Emission by rate over time, rate over distance, and timed bursts
• Shape-based emission including cone, sphere, hemisphere, box, circle, edge, and mesh
• Curves and gradients for size, velocity, force, color, alpha, rotation, trail width, and more
• Velocity over lifetime, force over lifetime, limit velocity, inherit velocity, and orbit-style motion
• Noise-driven motion using FastNoiseLite
• Attraction toward a position or another Node3D
• Particle collision settings with bounce, dampening, lifetime loss, and quality options
• Texture sheet animation
• Trails with separate lifetime, color, width, texture, and world/local space options
• Sub-emitters for birth, collision, and death events
• Rendering controls like blend mode, billboarding, alignment, render priority, layers, custom mesh, and custom material

Editor Support

YParticles3D has:

• A custom inspector layout
• Grouped controls instead of one giant property dump
• Custom editors for bursts and sub-emitters

Godot Version

The addon currently targets Godot 4.5+.

You can see that in yparticles3d.gdextension, which sets compatibility_minimum = "4.5".

Project Layout

• src: C++ source for the particle node and editor integration
• test_project: Godot project used for testing the addon
• test_project/addons/yparticles3d: the actual addon folder that gets packaged
• tools: helper scripts for local builds and maintenance
• .github/workflows/build-plugin.yml: cross-platform build and packaging workflow

Trying It Locally

The quickest way to test it is to open test_project in Godot.

For a local rebuild:

1. Make sure scons is installed and available in your shell.
2. Build from the repo root:

scons target=editor compiledb=yes

That installs the local editor/debug binary into the addon folder used by test_project.

If you just want to use the helper script instead:

python tools/compile_debug_build.py

Building Release Packages

The GitHub Actions workflow is set up to produce a zip that works in both places you care about:

• In the Godot editor
• In exported games

The important bit is the target split:

• editor builds are used for the addon's debug libraries, so editor-only tooling is included
• template_release builds are used for exported projects

The workflow also packages the full addon directory, not just the binaries, so the final zip includes:

• yparticles3d.gdextension
• shaders
• icons
• platform binaries

Workflow Modes

• debug: builds editor-capable debug binaries for testing
• full_plugin_compilation: builds editor debug binaries plus release binaries for export

When the workflow finishes, it uploads a finished_unzip_me artifact containing the packaged plugin zip.

Installing the Built Addon

Drop the packaged yparticles3d folder into your project's addons directory:

addons/yparticles3d

Then open the project in Godot and enable the addon if needed.

Building From Source

You need:

• Python
• SCons
• A working C++ toolchain
• Git submodules initialized

Clone the repo with submodules or run:

git submodule update --init --recursive

Then build with SCons from the project root. A typical local editor build is:

scons target=editor platform=linux arch=x86_64 precision=single

Adjust platform, arch, and precision as needed.

Notes

• The local test project is part of the repo on purpose. It is the easiest place to verify runtime behavior and editor integration together.
• The addon includes a lot of curve- and gradient-driven behavior, so it is easiest to understand by opening it in the editor and poking around the inspector.