Note: This is an old page that has been updated/formatted, you can view the original here.
Making .par Files the Easy Way
Author: EvanC
This tutorial tells you how to make particle files, the files used for things like speres around people using force Protection(or is it absorb?) and the green sparks you get when you respawn in an MP game. These are very easy to do and if used right can be used for amazing effects.
Ok, you will need JED and notepad for this tutorial. Start JED up. Now, take the default sector and cleave up it's SURFACES untill you get about 50 vertices in the sector. Here is wht mine looked like, yours doesn't have to look like this at all though:
Now, it's time for you to make the shape of the par file. All it is is a group of vertice that are little points so, the shape you make has to be with vertices and not surfaces. The shape I will make is a galaxy.
It looks a bit like a galaxy :) You'll see that I haven't worried at all about making the sector convex or the surfaces planar or any other consistency errors. Thats because par files don't have anything but vertices. Ok, export the sector as a 3do. After that, go open the 3do in a text editor. Scroll down the 3do untill you find this line:
VERTICES 50
(may not be exactly 50 but close to it). Copy that entire section from the first vertice to the last with CTRL C. Open up another text editor window and paste it in. ABOVE that paste this information:
###############
SECTION: HEADER
PAR 1.0
SIZE .002
MATERIAL 00teleport.mat
LIGHTINGMODE 0
###############
SECTION: GEOMETRYDEF
# Object radius
RADIUS 0.109546
# Insertion offset
INSERT OFFSET 0.000000 0.000000 0.108216
We have to change the radius line though. Get the "RADIUS" line from the top of the 3do and paste it over the one in the par file. This header came from a green par file but what we want is a white one to represent stars. Change the "MATERIAL 00teleport.met" line into "MATERIAL 00ramp4.mat"
Save this file as galaxy.par
We have to now create a template for our par file. Here it is, paste this at the bottom of master.tpl:
# DESC: galaxy particle file
# BBOX: 0 0 0 0 0 0
pargalaxy none orient=(0.000000/0.000000/0.000000) type=cog move=physics particle=galaxy.par angvel=(60.000000/60.000000/60.000000)
Now, run JED and insert the thing "pargalaxy" into your level.
Notice I had to rescale it to a suitable size. Par files have so many uses, you just have to be creative. This could be used for a hologram of a galaxy in a control room.
Evan C
This tutorial courtesy of D A R K N E S S F A L L S.