lightsaber halos

I’m not sure if this belongs here or in scripting…

but I’m basically in need of a really sweet looking lightsaber- I was wondering if I could use a halo effect but as a cylinder, or if maybe there would be a better shader solution to my problem.

Anyone have a good idea to get a cylindrical object to glow extremely brightly?

For the record- I have the indie license, not pro

Thanks!

=-Adam

Why not duplicate the body of the saber, make it slightly larger, and put a Self-illuminated Alpha shader on with a totally white Illum texture.

EDIT: that was totally just speculation by the way. I’ve never done anything like it before. :stuck_out_tongue:

Unfortunately that method would have a hard edge and wouldn’t look very glowy. Maybe use a particle system instead?

–Eric

interesting idea… I don’t think a hard edge is bad, the effect in the star wars movies definitely seems to have a hard edge- I would use a particle system but I don’t really want the light form the saber to move away from the sword…

Is there a way to constrain a particle system to just a small location for FX? some type of alpha blended system that stays in place, is that what you were thinking?

Use a line renderer for the halo and a pure white cylinder for the shaft.

hmm neat ok I’ll try! Thanks!

ok for the record- that was PERFECT. I really have a lot of control now to do exactly what i was looking for , plus some other neat FX.

Thank you so much , great idea!

The line renderer was a better idea, but just so you know, using a particle system doesn’t mean the particles have to move away from the sword. Just turn off “simulate in world space” and make the particles have no velocity.

–Eric

thanks,

actually both of your comments led me to understand how the visual system works now. I’m going to use a combination of both , one for the constant glow, and the other for triggered FX- thanks guys it looks SOO sweet now =)

Hey guys… I am running into the same problem. How to build the light saber.

So a few questions, can you add a screenshot of the final result?

and, can you specify the process you’ve used to create it?.. I have the 3D model (prefab) ready to be transformed into a light saber… :smile:

regards,…

martin