Unreal Engine
For this effect, I created a real-time rain system in Unreal Engine using Niagara and a custom rain-drop material.
Rain Drop Material
I created a dedicated rain-drop material using a Fresnel effect to control how the drops catch and reflect light. This helped make the individual droplets more visible while maintaining a subtle, transparent appearance.
I created a dedicated rain-drop material using a Fresnel effect to control how the drops catch and reflect light. This helped make the individual droplets more visible while maintaining a subtle, transparent appearance.
Niagara Rain System
The rain was built using Niagara, with particles continuously spawned from a dynamic source. This allowed the rain emission area to be positioned and adjusted dynamically within the environment rather than relying on a fixed emitter.
The rain was built using Niagara, with particles continuously spawned from a dynamic source. This allowed the rain emission area to be positioned and adjusted dynamically within the environment rather than relying on a fixed emitter.
Collision & Rain Splashes
To make the rain interact with the environment, I added collision detection for the falling droplets. When a droplet collides with the ground, it generates a corresponding rain splash effect at the impact location.
To make the rain interact with the environment, I added collision detection for the falling droplets. When a droplet collides with the ground, it generates a corresponding rain splash effect at the impact location.
This combination of falling droplets, dynamic emission, collision detection, and impact splashes creates a more convincing sense of rain interacting with the environment rather than simply using a looping rain texture or static particle effect.