Particles node
Particle Lines
GPU plexus lines: draws the connections found by a Find Neighbors node. Add both inside a Particle System -- Find Neighbors builds the pairs, Particle Lines renders them as a glowing web at full GPU scale. Raise Segments and pick a Bend Source to curve the lines with internal noise or with the system's own force fields. With a Scene Chain, Animation Speed (ms) makes the web creep outward from the cloud one generation at a time.
Inputs
| Port | Type | Default |
|---|---|---|
| ThicknessLine width in Grafit units, held constant on screen regardless of depth. Never below 0.0001; about 0.002…0.01 reads as a fine web. | float | 0.0025 |
| ColorColour of the web. Ignored while Color From Particles is on. | color | (0.35, 0.75, 1.0, 1.0) |
| OpacityHow solid the lines draw. Clamped to 0…1. | float | 1.0 |
| Color From ParticlesTakes each line's colour from the two particles it joins instead of the Color port, so the web inherits the swarm's own palette. | bool | false |
| SegmentsHow many sub-quads each line is split into — the joints are what let it curve. Clamped to 1…32; at 1, or with Bend Source off, lines stay straight and cheap. | int | 1 |
| Bend SourceWhat bends the lines: nothing, the node's own curl noise, the system's force fields that have Affect Lines on, or both. Values outside the list snap to the nearest one. | int | 0 |
| Bend AmountHow far the internal noise pushes the joints sideways, in Grafit units. Not clamped, though total bend never exceeds 2; a few thousandths already curves visibly. | float | 0.004 |
| Noise ScaleZoom of the bending noise — small values give long lazy waves, large ones tight ripples. Never below 0.01. | float | 1.0 |
| Noise SpeedHow fast the bending noise drifts. Any value works; 0 freezes the curve and negative simply runs the drift the other way. | float | 0.2 |
| Field MultiplyHow much the system's force fields bend the web. Signed on purpose — negative bends the lines against the flow that carries the particles; 0 ignores fields. | float | 1.0 |
| SeedOffsets the noise pattern so two Lines nodes curve differently. Negatives count as 0; every whole number gives its own pattern. | int | 0 |
| Chain BendWith a Scene Chain, spreads bend across the generations — the innermost ring stays straight, the outermost bends in full. Signed; needs Segments above 1 and a Bend Source. | float | 0 |
| Chain StartWhere along the chain the bend ramp begins, as a fraction of its depth. Clamped to 0…1; at 1 everything stays straight. | float | 0 |
| Chain ReverseFlips the bend ramp end for end, so the roots writhe while the tips go still. | bool | false |
| Animation Speed (ms)Milliseconds a line takes to grow its own length. Negatives count as 0, and 0 means no growth; the whole web stands up in roughly this times the chain depth. | float | 0 |
| Reverse AnimationRuns the growth the other way, so lines retract from the tips instead of extending out from the cloud. | bool | false |
What It Does
Particle Lines is the renderer half of the GPU plexus. It reads the connection pairs produced by a Find Neighbors node and draws them as screen-thick lines — one indirect instanced draw for the whole web, so it stays fast even with tens of thousands of connections. Add both inside the same Particle System.
Controls
- Thickness — line width (screen-relative).
- Color / Opacity — a flat line color and overall transparency.
- Color From Particles — each line takes the colors of the two particles it joins, blending along its length (great with the Emitter's gradient color), and inherits their emissive too — so an emissive swarm produces brighter lines that bloom with the system's glow. In All Scene mode, particle↔particle and particle→target lines are drawn together correctly.
Open Particle Lines in the interactive catalog →
Particle Lines is one of 381 nodes in Grafit Pro.
Free download. Every feature for 7 days, no card. Then €99.99 once — or keep playing your projects as a Player.