ParticleSystemRenderer.sortMode

Description

Specifies how to sort particles within a system.

The sorting behavior is determined by the ParticleSystemSortMode enum. This property controls the order in which particles are sorted for rendering. Sorting modes affect the visual appearance, as particles can be rendered based on attributes like distance, age, or depth.

To learn more about the available sorting modes, refer to the ParticleSystemSortMode enum.

using UnityEngine;
using UnityEditor;
using System.Collections;

[RequireComponent(typeof(ParticleSystem))]
public class ExampleClass : MonoBehaviour {

    private ParticleSystem ps;
    private ParticleSystemRenderer psr;
    public ParticleSystemSortMode sortMode;

    void Start() {

        ps = GetComponent<ParticleSystem>();
        psr = GetComponent<ParticleSystemRenderer>();

        // set a slow start speed and high emission rate, to cause more overlap, to show sorting
        var main = ps.main;
        main.startSpeedMultiplier = 0.2f;
        var emission = ps.emission;
        emission.rateOverTimeMultiplier = 100.0f;

        // set color over life, so we can see the sorting more easily
        var colorOverLifetime = ps.colorOverLifetime;
        colorOverLifetime.enabled = true;

        Gradient gradient = new Gradient();
        gradient.SetKeys(
            new GradientColorKey[] { new GradientColorKey(Color.green, 0.0f), new GradientColorKey(Color.red, 1.0f) },
            new GradientAlphaKey[] { new GradientAlphaKey(1.0f, 0.0f), new GradientAlphaKey(1.0f, 1.0f) }
            );

        colorOverLifetime.color = new ParticleSystem.MinMaxGradient(gradient);
    }

    void Update() {

        psr.sortMode = sortMode;
    }

    void OnGUI() {

        sortMode = (ParticleSystemSortMode)GUI.SelectionGrid(new Rect(25, 25, 900, 30), (int)sortMode, new GUIContent[] { new GUIContent("None"), new GUIContent("Distance"), new GUIContent("OldestInFront"), new GUIContent("YoungestInFront"), new GUIContent("Depth"), new GUIContent("DistanceReverse"), new GUIContent("DepthReverse") }, 7);
    }
}