Particle Question - Is a STEADY flow possible?

Been fiddling with settings and I'm starting to wonder if this might not be possible, so best to ask before I try to attempt the (possibly) impossible !

Is it possible to emit particles slowley (for this example I'll say) straight up into the sky in a constant slow pulsing stream, say 1 pulse (particle) a second.

And have this quite constant?

Whenever I try this there always seems randomness in it.

I get for (for a few seconds) look like osme constand pulses, then, no pulse, then 2 almost together, then one again, then nothing, then one again, then 3 almost all together, then non, then one.

As so it continues.

Two things seem to vary for me.

1: The delay of each pulse being emitted
2: the number of particles emitted at a time

My settings look to me like they are fine, but (as I say) there's a strong random element still at work somewhere.

I believe this is a viewer issue, not a script issue. I think you'll find that in different locations and regions (where there's less to render and update) you'll get better performance. Just a fact of (second) life, I'm afraid.

That sound like a resonable idea apart from the fact that I get exactly the same issue at 3500m in the sky with almost nothing around me.

I came to the conclusion that because none of us can know how other people see on their viewers, that if you don't tell people what your expecting them to see, they always believe what they see is expected behaviour and that makes them happy. I always try to build with this in mind.

I guess so.

But, let me paint a picture for you.

(in a manner of speaking)

Say you have a thing on the ground (call it a lazer for want of a better word)

That once a second shoots into the air a "pulse"

A fuzzy red ball we'll say.

It will at least look "resonable" if you get a pulse thrown into the air, then a gap (around a second) then another pulse etc etc etc.....................

It does not look good to have a pulse, then nothing, then 2 or 3 blobs almost on top of each other, then nothing, then 1 blob, then 2 blobs.

This is what I'm getting and I think it must be my setting as I'm sure I've seen a more "steady" pulse than what I'm managing to get.

I can't kick out this randomness.

Not after perfection, but just something resonable.

Thinking it's something in my particle settings that Im doing wrong

As I understand it, rendering particles is entirely down the user's viewer/computer/grahics card. The only viewer setting for this that I'm aware of is the Max. Particle Count slider in the Custom settings for Graphics in Preferences (but my awareness of such matters is limited). Have you tried using different viewers to see what happens? And have you asked anybody else what they see on their viewer?

PS And to answer your actual question, yes it is possible, and I'd go so far as to say that it is usual - scripting a random flow is more involved than scripting a steady flow.

I have (and do use) both the SL and Emerald viewers

they both look the same to be with regard this topic.

I have not asked someone else. no.

Having just finished my proper 1st project for sale (search on XStreet for " MAGMA LAMPS "

I did find I had to put in speed/quantity (call it what you will) to allow for others nearby using particles in a heavy way, but I never found the "randomness" to be affected, only the quantity of particles to the the problem (which I sorted out for my product)

I accept in some items, such as my lamps, and fountains, smoke etc etc a random factor is a great thing and something you want to have.

I just wonder if it can be (mostly) got rid off.

Perhaps I'll post up a particle script here, describe what I see and ask other what they see.
Probably the best idea.

how about posting the parameters yours using and maybe we can help

Here's a very basic particles script I've knocked together from an example from the particle lab.

// A Very Basic Particle Script - 8/22/2007 - Jopsy Pendragon
//// You are free to use this script as you please, so long as you include this line:
//** The original 'free' version of this script came from THE PARTICLE LABORATORY. **//

// Usage: Touch prim to turn particles on/off

default {
    state_entry() {
        llParticleSystem( [ 
           PSYS_SRC_TEXTURE, llGetInventoryName(INVENTORY_TEXTURE, 0), 
           PSYS_PART_START_SCALE, <0.4, 0.4, FALSE>, PSYS_PART_END_SCALE, <0.6, 0.6, FALSE>, 
           PSYS_PART_START_COLOR, <1.0, .0, .0>,   PSYS_PART_END_COLOR, <1.0, .0, .0>, 
           PSYS_PART_START_ALPHA, 1.0,               PSYS_PART_END_ALPHA, 1.0,     
         
          
           PSYS_SRC_BURST_RATE,        3.0,  // every three seconds
            PSYS_SRC_BURST_PART_COUNT,   1, // emit one particle at a time
           PSYS_PART_MAX_AGE,         2.0, // which lasts for 2 seconds then poofs
           PSYS_SRC_MAX_AGE,          0.0,  
        
           PSYS_SRC_PATTERN, 4, // 1=DROP, 2=EXPLODE, 4=ANGLE, 8=ANGLE_CONE,
           PSYS_SRC_BURST_SPEED_MIN, 1.00,   PSYS_SRC_BURST_SPEED_MAX, 1.00, 
           PSYS_SRC_BURST_RADIUS, 0.0,
        
           PSYS_SRC_ANGLE_BEGIN,  0.05*PI,       PSYS_SRC_ANGLE_END, 0.05*PI,  
           PSYS_SRC_OMEGA, < 0.0, 0.0, 0.0 >, 
        
           PSYS_SRC_ACCEL, < 0.0, 0.0, 0.0 >,  
        // PSYS_SRC_TARGET_KEY,      llGetLinkKey( LINK_ROOT ),       
              
           PSYS_PART_FLAGS, ( 0      
                                | PSYS_PART_INTERP_COLOR_MASK   
                                | PSYS_PART_INTERP_SCALE_MASK   
                                | PSYS_PART_EMISSIVE_MASK   
                             // | PSYS_PART_FOLLOW_VELOCITY_MASK
                             // | PSYS_PART_WIND_MASK            
                             // | PSYS_PART_BOUNCE_MASK          
                             // | PSYS_PART_FOLLOW_SRC_MASK     
                             // | PSYS_PART_TARGET_POS_MASK     
                             // | PSYS_PART_TARGET_LINEAR_MASK    
                            ) 
            ] 
        );
    }
        
    touch_start(integer n) { state particles_off; } 
    
    state_exit() { llParticleSystem( [ ] ); }
}

state particles_off { touch_start(integer n) { llResetScript(); } } 

The particles look to me to emit perfectly regularly, one at a time every three seconds, as I want them to. How does it look to the OP, I wonder.

Looks pretty good, though you might want to make PSYS_SRC_ANGLE_BEGIN and PSYS_SRC_ANGLE_END equal to 0.0 if you really don't want any variation. I'd definitely suspect the issue you're seeing is on the viewer end given those settings.

Hi to all, and esp thanks for that listing.

I tried that particle script and whilst it was good, it sis still suffer the same randomness of the particles being displayed. Sometimes (for a few moments) it appeared regular then it kept missing a few beats (so to speak)

I'd also like to give a special thanks to EF Klaar who spend some time with me in world experimenting.

Unless someone cares to correct me (and I'd love to be proven wrong if you know better) I think I finally nailed this problem once and for all.

The paramter in question is the Burst Particle Count.

This plops a number of particles into view before the other parameter take affect.

Now, the problem was, thinking, hey, I only need 1 particle plopped into view at a time then thrown up into the air. This apparently is not a great idea.

From my tests (and this is the thing that seems to vary a LOT depending on how many other particles are around you at the time) your particle "plop" is fighting for it's existance with all the other ones around you.

Even if you can't see them.

What you need to do it to give yours more chance to get shown.

(this of course only will work in some situations, as in other situations it will either not work or look horrid)

You need to increase the Burst Particle Count, so that instead of just 1 particle being born into life at that moment in time, you get, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc. plopped over the top of each other.

Note: this only looks fine if your particle has a solid colour centre so you won't see that there are multiple particles on the same exact spot.

Doing this, will guarantee that (in the case of a setting of 5) you will have 1 to 5 particles appear on that spot and which will move together as one.

If you use say, 1 or 2 (if there are other particles in the area, which lets face it there often are) then from time to time, your plot of a particle will loose the battle and will "skip a beat" so to speak.

I have a few particals up in the air with me, and I found that I had to set this to 5 before I was guaranteed no skips in my VISIBLY regular beat pattern.

On the ground (and some of you may have read my comments from a couple of weeks ago about a dutch neighbour with about 32 water mist generators running) I need to increase this 5 up to a staggering 35 Burst count, so I may get anything from 1 to 35 particles overlaying (invisibly) each other, so as to protect myself from her water mist getting priority in my viewer.

It's a shame that particles a 100m away and behind a house will affect mine that I'm looking at 2m away but that seems to be the case.

I appreciate this method won't work in many cases as it will only be suitable for a solid particle that moves in 1 direction, but I don't see any other sollution.

It just appears that the Burst Count number gets compromised (mixed up) with other particles in the area so increasing this (slapping more on top of each other, in the hope at least 1 will get rendered) is the only sollution if you want a regular pulse to happen.