particles-router_skill

Overview

This skill is a decision framework that routes particle system tasks to specialized particle skills (GPU rendering, physics, lifecycle). It evaluates task signals like performance needs, motion types, and emission patterns to recommend one or more focused skills. Use it to quickly decide which techniques to combine when building particle effects or troubleshooting behavior.

How this skill works

The router classifies a request by extracting signal words (performance, motion, emission) and scores confidence. It matches the highest-signal skills—particles-gpu, particles-physics, particles-lifecycle—then suggests combinations and wiring patterns. When signals are weak, it recommends including all three or prompts for clarification.

When to use it

• Designing a new particle effect and unsure which systems to combine
• Optimizing performance for high particle counts or large scenes
• Troubleshooting motion behavior (gravity, turbulence, attractors)
• Planning emission patterns (bursts, continuous streams, trails)
• Deciding whether to implement physics, lifecycle, or GPU techniques first

Best practices

• Always consider GPU rendering first for >1,000 particles; move physics into shaders for >100k
• Resolve routing by priority: performance signals → motion → emission
• Combine 2–3 skills for realistic effects: GPU for render, lifecycle for spawning, physics for motion
• Use instancing or buffers for high counts and keep state changes minimal
• If confidence is low, ask for a short description of the desired visual behavior

Example use cases

• Snow/rain: continuous emission (lifecycle) + gravity/wind (physics) + point texture rendering (GPU)
• Explosion: burst emission (lifecycle) + radial velocity and drag (physics) + instanced rendering (GPU)
• Magic trail: record position history (lifecycle) + slight path-follow randomness (physics) + glow shader (GPU)
• Swarm/flock: behavioral forces and attractors (physics) + instanced meshes (GPU) with optional population management (lifecycle)
• High-count visualization: prioritize particles-gpu and shader-based motion, minimize per-particle CPU work