FX

The FX table plays the game's visual effects (fire, smoke, sparks, explosions' particles, impacts, water splashes, trails...) anywhere in the world. Use it for cosmetic feedback: a marker flare, an impact where a script-made shot lands, smoke over a capture point.

Available on: Client

Effects are local to the client that spawns them: other players only see an effect if their own client spawns it too (for example in response to a Net event from the server). Effects have no gameplay impact: no damage, no physics force and no sound. For an actual blast, see World.SpawnForcePulse and the ForcePulse object.

Functions

FX.Spawn(name, position, rotation)

Loads the effect called name (and everything it uses) if the game does not already have it loaded, then starts it at position with rotation. The effect plays once with its own duration; looping effects (fires, smoke columns) keep going until you stop them.

The returned EffectInstance belongs to the calling resource. It stays usable after the effect finishes: call Play to replay it somewhere else, or Stop to end a looping effect. Every effect a resource spawned is stopped automatically when the resource stops. There is no function to release an instance earlier, so reuse instances (Play) for effects you trigger often instead of calling FX.Spawn each time.

An unknown name does not raise an error: an EffectInstance is still returned, nothing is shown, and its Play returns false.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
name	string	Path of the effect in the game archives, ending in .effc, for example "effects/fire/generic_fire_sm_01.effc". See the effects list.
position	vec3	World position, in meters.
rotation	vec3	Euler angles in radians, vec3(x, y, z) (rotations around the X, Y and Z axes). Use vec3(0, 0, 0) for the effect's default orientation.

Returns EffectInstance.

Example

-- a burning barrel fire at the point the player aims at, put out after 20 seconds
Cmd.Add("fire", function()
	local target = World.LocalPlayer():AsPlayer():GetAimPosition()
	local fire = FX.Spawn("effects/fire/fire_barrel.effc", target, vec3(0, 0, 0))

	Timer.Set(function() fire:Stop(false) end, 20000, 1)
end)

-- one reusable impact effect, replayed wherever the camera ray hits
local impact = FX.Spawn("effects/jc_weapons/pistol/impact_default_pistol.effc", vec3(0, -1000, 0), vec3(0, 0, 0))

Event.Add("OnKeyDown", function(key)
	if key ~= Key.F then return end

	local from = Camera.GetPosition()
	local to = World.LocalPlayer():AsPlayer():GetAimPosition()
	local hit = Physics.Raycast(from, from + (to - from):normalize() * 500, PfxLayer.RaycastDefault)

	if hit.hasHit then
		impact:Play(hit.hitPos)
	end
end)