This project started back in my DJGPP days as a particle system test. You would load in a model and it would shoot particles out the vertices as it flew about the screen. I included this in the 'oldschool' if the bin version - 'Relaxation SS v.2001.07.09.17.04.scr.' Just to warn you, that's the one and only that requires an external file for its 3D point information: 'sphere.3d.' I can't even remember the old 3D format I used. Probably something like follows:
int vertex_count; int face_count; float vertices[vertex_count][3]; int face_indices[face_count][3];
But don't take my word for that. In this version the emitter traveled about the screen linearly and probably bounced off the walls of a bounding box or something like that. Connect-the-dots-style.
For the next version I decided to make everything as smooth as I could. I replaced the bounding box boundary with sine waves (with unique probably non-factoring periods - to prevent path repetition) which controlled the emitter origin along each axis. This looks pretty, but the lines still aren't as fulfilling a visual experience as they could be.
So I fixed that. I added some thickness to the emitted particle streams. I replaced the buffer clear with a blend fade-out, and I think I also applied a plasma fractal texture over the back and viola.
For all you anime fans out there, tell me this doesn't remind you of Kain from Tenchi Muyo in Love? What a flippin' sweet villain. That was one of my favorite movies. Props to Sci Fi channel for showing it some early Saturday mornings way back in the day.
