Changelog: new content in the course

This document lists new content, changes, and fixes in each release.

The downloadable version of the course is the .zip archive you can find under the “Course downloads” of each lesson. It allows you to follow the tutorials offline. Also, in this version, lessons contain many videos instead of static images.

VFX Secrets 1.2.3

Released on 2021/04/01.

• Fix a typo regarding an input map action in 02.setting-up-scenes.

VFX Secrets 1.2.2

Released on 2021/03/12.

• Fix a typo in 03.lightning-jolt-script.

VFX Secrets 1.2.1

Released on 2020/12/02.

• Update instructions for the particles’ direction in 01.ghost-trail. One value was flipped, and we improved the explanations while fixing it.
• Add missing line of code in an example in 03.refining-the-beam.
• Clarify an instruction about testing the laser beam in 03.refining-the-beam.

VFX Secrets 1.2.0

Released on 2020/10/19.

This content update brings the lightning tutorial series, in which you’ll learn to create lightning jolts and chain lightning.

VFX Secrets 1.1.1

• Fixed a property name being ambiguous in 02.ghost-trail/01.ghost-trail.md.

VFX Secrets 1.1.0

Released on 2020/09/08.

This small content update brings one new visual effect: a ghost trail effect using sprite sheets, inspired by Castlevania games, based on your request.

• Added animated ghost trail lesson.
• Fixed missing line breaks and wrong indents in some code blocks on Mavenseed.
• Add a missing box extents x value in text in the laser beam chaper. It was shown in a picture but not mentioned in text.

VFX Secrets 1.0.1

• Updated lesson 00.intro/01.introduction: it was missing the effects from VFX Secrets 1.0.0
• Renamed EARLY-ACCESS to getting-started, update content.
• Added a form for you to give us feedback on the course and request new lessons.
• Added the missing charging effect’s source code.

VFX Secrets 1.0.0

Released on 2020/07/09.

VFX Secrets 1.0 brings four new chapters to the course.

1. The Trail renderer allows you to emphasize projectiles, weapon slashes, or any character’s motion. You can see it in action in our Open 2D space game.
2. The Fireball builds upon the explosion chapter from the previous release. It’s another layered effect.
3. The Shockwave uses our open-source shockwave shader to produce animated screen deformation. This tutorial focuses on using the shader, as learning to code shaders is beyond the scope of this course and covered in Shader Secrets.
4. Charging is a refreshing, short tutorial to have a breather after longer series.

VFX Secrets 0.1.2

Fixes

• Laser beam: fixed missing line returns and indentations in some code blocks on the Mavenseed lessons.
• Explosion
  • Designing the Main Explosion:
    • Made the Scale Random value match between text and picture.
    • Moved setting the texture before setting other particle parameters.
    • Moved damping and angle after adding the particles material.
  • Smoke Cloud: remove damping being set twice.

VFX Secrets 0.1.1

Released on 2020/05/26.

Improvements

• Downloadable lessons now have code highlighting

Fixes

• Added missing - sign in the starfield lesson.
• Added a note to set the spread in the ghost-trail tutorial.
• Fixed a list not displaying as a list in Breaking down explosions
• Fixed laser beam’s collision particle’s having a rotation offset when firing towards the left.

VFX Secrets 0.1.0: Early Access release 1

Released on 2020/05/15.

This is the initial release of the course, with four effects:

1. Ghost Trail, also called After Images, having fading copies of a moving sprite behind it.
2. The starfield is a gentle introduction to particles with a focus on background elements. It’s a good tutorial to get your feet wet.
3. Explosions, with multiple layers and effects combined using Godot’s animation tools. This series covers multiple fire-related effects with a heavy use of particles.
4. The laser beam also uses multiple layers and some code for a striking result. It bridges visual effect design and gameplay code, with its mouse-controlled fire mechanic.