How can i group together ParticleSystems in JS

Question

Hello,

Here is my SpaceShip controller, Its a complete mess at the moment as i am fairly new to scripting but i do have basic understanding, Yet i cant seem to work this out even after hours of googling.

Q. Is there a better way to group together these engines / thrusters into there own category then call them, For example Engines "Engines.enableEmission = true;", Left Thrusters "LeftThrusters.enableEmission = true;" , Right Thrusters "and so on", Rather than the wall of "var"s i have, The way i have it is also problematic as if i have a smaller ship with less engines, i cant fill each particle and get errors, Thanks.

 //Engines
 var LLEngine : ParticleSystem;
 var LEngine : ParticleSystem;
 var REngine : ParticleSystem;
 var RREngine : ParticleSystem;
 //Front Thrusters
 var FRBThruster : ParticleSystem;
 var FRMThruster : ParticleSystem;
 var FRFThruster : ParticleSystem;
 var FLFThruster : ParticleSystem;
 var FLMThruster : ParticleSystem;
 var FLBThruster : ParticleSystem;
 //Top Thrusters
 var TRBThruster : ParticleSystem;
 var TRFThruster : ParticleSystem;
 var TLBThruster : ParticleSystem;
 var TLFThruster : ParticleSystem;
 //Bottom Thrusters
 var BFRThruster : ParticleSystem;
 var BFLThruster : ParticleSystem;
 var BBLThruster : ParticleSystem;
 var BBRThruster : ParticleSystem;
 //Left Thrusters
 var LFBThruster : ParticleSystem;
 var LFTThruster : ParticleSystem;
 var LBBThruster : ParticleSystem;
 var LBTThruster : ParticleSystem;
 //Right Thruster
 var RBTThruster : ParticleSystem;
 var RBBThruster : ParticleSystem;
 var RFTThruster : ParticleSystem;
 var RFBThruster : ParticleSystem;
 
 
 var ForwardSpeed = 1000;
 var ReverseSpeed = 500;
 var StrafeSpeed = 250;
 var TurnSpeed = 25;
     
     function Start () {
     
     }
     
     function Update () {
  
          //Go Forward
          if(Input.GetKey(KeyCode.W)){constantForce.relativeForce.z = ForwardSpeed * Time.deltaTime;
              LLEngine.startSpeed = 1;
              LEngine.startSpeed = 0.5;
              REngine.startSpeed = 0.5;
              RREngine.startSpeed = 1;
          }else{
              LLEngine.startSpeed = 0.2;
              LEngine.startSpeed = 0.05;
              REngine.startSpeed = 0.05;
              RREngine.startSpeed = 0.2;
          //RREngine.enableEmission = false;
          //Go Back
          if(Input.GetKey(KeyCode.S)){constantForce.relativeForce.z = -ReverseSpeed * Time.deltaTime;
              FRBThruster.enableEmission = true;
             FRMThruster.enableEmission = true;
             FRFThruster.enableEmission = true;
             FLFThruster.enableEmission = true;
             FLMThruster.enableEmission = true;
             FLBThruster.enableEmission = true;
              }else{
              FRBThruster.enableEmission = false;
             FRMThruster.enableEmission = false;
             FRFThruster.enableEmission = false;
             FLFThruster.enableEmission = false;
             FLMThruster.enableEmission = false;
             FLBThruster.enableEmission = false;
          constantForce.relativeForce.z = 0;}}
          //Strafe Left & Right
          if(Input.GetKey(KeyCode.E)){constantForce.relativeForce.x = StrafeSpeed * Time.deltaTime;
              LFBThruster.enableEmission = true;
             LFTThruster.enableEmission = true;
             LBBThruster.enableEmission = true;
             LBTThruster.enableEmission = true;
              }else{
              LFBThruster.enableEmission = false;
             LFTThruster.enableEmission = false;
             LBBThruster.enableEmission = false;
             LBTThruster.enableEmission = false;
          if(Input.GetKey(KeyCode.Q)){constantForce.relativeForce.x = -StrafeSpeed * Time.deltaTime;
              RBTThruster.enableEmission = true;
             RBBThruster.enableEmission = true;
             RFTThruster.enableEmission = true;
             RFBThruster.enableEmission = true;
              }else{
              RBTThruster.enableEmission = false;
             RBBThruster.enableEmission = false;
             RFTThruster.enableEmission = false;
             RFBThruster.enableEmission = false;
          constantForce.relativeForce.x = 0;}}
          //Rotate Up and Down
          if(Input.GetKey(KeyCode.D)){constantForce.relativeTorque.y = TurnSpeed * Time.deltaTime;
              LFBThruster.enableEmission = true;
             LFTThruster.enableEmission = true;
             RBTThruster.enableEmission = true;
             RBBThruster.enableEmission = true;
              }else{
              LFBThruster.enableEmission = false;
             LFTThruster.enableEmission = false;
             RBTThruster.enableEmission = false;
             RBBThruster.enableEmission = false;
          if(Input.GetKey(KeyCode.A)){constantForce.relativeTorque.y = -TurnSpeed * Time.deltaTime;
              LBBThruster.enableEmission = true;
             LBTThruster.enableEmission = true;
             RFTThruster.enableEmission = true;
             RFBThruster.enableEmission = true;
              }else{
              LBBThruster.enableEmission = false;
             LBTThruster.enableEmission = false;
             RFTThruster.enableEmission = false;
             RFBThruster.enableEmission = false;
          constantForce.relativeTorque.y = 0;}}
          //Rotate right and left
          if(Input.GetKey(KeyCode.Space)){constantForce.relativeForce.y = StrafeSpeed * Time.deltaTime;
              BFRThruster.enableEmission = true;
             BFLThruster.enableEmission = true;
             BBLThruster.enableEmission = true;
             BBRThruster.enableEmission = true;
              }else{
              BFRThruster.enableEmission = false;
             BFLThruster.enableEmission = false;
             BBLThruster.enableEmission = false;
             BBRThruster.enableEmission = false;
          if(Input.GetKey(KeyCode.LeftControl)){constantForce.relativeForce.y = -StrafeSpeed * Time.deltaTime;
              TRBThruster.enableEmission = true;
             TRFThruster.enableEmission = true;
             TLBThruster.enableEmission = true;
             TLFThruster.enableEmission = true;
          }else{
              TRBThruster.enableEmission = false;
             TRFThruster.enableEmission = false;
             TLBThruster.enableEmission = false;
             TLFThruster.enableEmission = false;
              constantForce.relativeForce.y = 0;}}
  }

Answer 1

Haha wow, that is a bit of a mess :)

There are a few approaches you could take with this, but I would make a Thruster class that contains a Particle System and an enumeration of ThrusterLocations (TOP,BOTTOM,FRONT,BACK,LEFT,RIGHT). Something like this (Please excuse me. I'm more comfortable with C#, so I may make some mistakes):

 enum ThrusterLocation{
 TOP,BOTTOM,FRONT,BACK,LEFT,RIGHT
 }
 
 class Thruster extends Monobehaviour{
 
 var particleSystem : ParticleSystem;
 var thrusterLocation : ThrusterLocation[3]; //each of your thrusters had three axes
 
 }

Then I would put that script on each thruster in the scene and assign the appropriate variables in the inspector. Finally, in the script you showed, I'd make an Thruster[] that I could set in the inspector. Like this:

 var thrusters : Thruster[22];
 
 function Update(){
 if(Input.GetKey(KeyCode.S)){
 for(var thruster in thrusters){
 thruster.particleSystem.enableEmission = thruster.thrusterLocation[0]==ThrusterLocation.FRONT;
 }
 }
 //And so on for all the Input keys and their appropriate thrusters
 }

That's just the one way that my mind immediately goes to with this situation. You may want to do something a little or completely different, but I hope this helps!

EDIT: BTW, here are some resources on the concepts that I used in this answer:

http://unity3d.com/learn/tutorials/modules/beginner/scripting/arrays http://unity3d.com/learn/tutorials/modules/beginner/scripting/enumerations http://unity3d.com/learn/tutorials/modules/beginner/scripting/loops http://unity3d.com/learn/tutorials/modules/intermediate/scripting/ternary-operator

How can i group together ParticleSystems in JS

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