How to setup custom particle systems?

Apr 14, 2013
663
343
tl;dr I can't get a particle system I downloaded to work, despite doing everything by the book.


I downloaded a custom particle system (it was made prior to the steampipe update, if that matters somehow).
It came without a readme file, it had only the .pcf file, so I followed some short explanation about how to set particles up by wiseguy149, from a previous post on this subject:

If you want to use custom particles in a custom map, you need a particle manifest to declare them.

You'll want to follow the second option detailed on that page, and create a /maps/<map name>_particles.txt file.
And in that file, following the formatting on the particle manifest page, you'd want to declare the aurora_borealis.pcf file.

So, for instance, if your map was named cp_example.bsp, you'd want to create a text file right next to that in the maps folder called cp_example_particles.txt, and the contents should look like this:
Code:
particles_manifest
{
    file    "!particles/aurora_borealis.pcf"
}


What I did is place the particle file in .../tf/custom/custom stuff/particles.
Then I placed a info_particle_system in my map, and set the Particle System Name to the .pcf name (w/o a directory, as it should be the proper location)
After that, I made a .txt file, as instructed, called in the exact same name of my map, with the added _particles suffix. I placed it in .../tf/maps- where my map is stored.

I loaded the map, and using ent_fire, attempted to start the particle system via the start input. It didn't work, and the consule said:
Attempting to create unknown particle system <the particle system's name>.

Just to make sure, I used the particle editor to ensure the particle itself is all good, and it works there just fine, as far as I can tell.

Any ideas what went wrong?
 

ades

L4: Comfortable Member
Jun 27, 2014
165
58
Ive had this same problem for a few months now id really like some answers
 

Vel0city

func_fish
aa
Dec 6, 2014
1,947
1,589
You don't want to reference the .pcf file itself in Hammer, but rather the particles that come within that particle file. If you know what the actual particle within the .pcf is called make it that name (a pcf file can contain multiple particle systems inside it). Alternatively you can open up the .pcf in something like Notepad++ and look for the particle's name there. Here TopHattWaffle explains how to find a particle system's name. Or open the .pcf itself in SFM (or in TF2 itself via the launch commands -tools -nop4 and then selecting the Particle Editor Tool) and get a look at the specific particle via that.
 

Exactol

Certified Hammer Hacker
aa
Jul 11, 2013
421
537
create a txt file named mapname_versionnumber_particles with the contents of http://pastebin.com/zKpBMcuK (particlename being the name of the pcf). A example would be koth_eerie_a4_particles.txt

You could put the particle in the custom folder, but particles is where they normally go
 
Apr 14, 2013
663
343
create a txt file named mapname_versionnumber_particles with the contents of http://pastebin.com/zKpBMcuK (particlename being the name of the pcf). A example would be koth_eerie_a4_particles.txt

You could put the particle in the custom folder, but particles is where they normally go

Done that already.

You don't want to reference the .pcf file itself in Hammer, but rather the particles that come within that particle file. If you know what the actual particle within the .pcf is called make it that name (a pcf file can contain multiple particle systems inside it). Alternatively you can open up the .pcf in something like Notepad++ and look for the particle's name there. Here TopHattWaffle explains how to find a particle system's name. Or open the .pcf itself in SFM (or in TF2 itself via the launch commands -tools -nop4 and then selecting the Particle Editor Tool) and get a look at the specific particle via that.

IT WORKED!!!! thanks a lot for the help everyone, you made me and my map happy.