Changing Particle Effect color and size in FiveM

One of the powerful features of PTFX is the ability to customize everything in real-time — color, size, speed, and more.

Scale

Scale of effect set at start:

-- scale = 1.0 is the normal size.
-- scale = 2.0 is 2 times larger than normal.
-- scale = 0.5, which is 2 times smaller than normal.

UseParticleFxAssetNextCall("core")
local handle = StartParticleFxLoopedAtCoord(
  "ent_veh_engine_fire",
  x, y, z,
  0.0, 0.0, 0.0,
  3.0, -- scale is very big!
  false, false, false, false
)

Change Scale while Looped is running.

-- Change the scale of the looped effect.
SetParticleFxLoopedScale(handle, 2.5)

Color

-- Colors use RGBA values (0.0 - 1.0, not 0-255).
-- R=1.0, G=0.0, B=0.0 = pure red
-- R=0.0, G=1.0, B=0.0 = pure green

SetParticleFxLoopedColour(
  handle,
  r, g, b, -- 0.0 to 1.0
  false -- unknown
)

Examples of various colors

-- Change fire to blue (alien fire!)
SetParticleFxLoopedColour(handle, 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, false)

-- gold color
SetParticleFxLoopedColour(handle, 1.0, 0.85, 0.1, false)

-- purple
SetParticleFxLoopedColour(handle, 0.6, 0.0, 1.0, false)

-- Convert hex color to 0.0-1.0
-- #C9A84C = RGB(201, 168, 76)
SetParticleFxLoopedColour(handle, 201/255, 168/255, 76/255, false)

Evolution Parameters

Evolution parameters are special parameters that each effect has, controlling its behavior in depth:

-- Non-looped
SetParticleFxNonLoopedColour(effectName, r, g, b)
SetParticleFxNonLoopedAlpha(effectName, alpha) -- 0.0-1.0

-- Looped evolution
SetParticleFxLoopedEvolution(
  handle,
  "evolutionName", -- parameter name
  value, -- value
  false -- unknown
)

Common Evolution Parameters

-- speed of particles
SetParticleFxLoopedEvolution(handle, "speed", 2.0, false)

-- Density
SetParticleFxLoopedEvolution(handle, "density", 0.5, false)

-- Size of each particle
SetParticleFxLoopedEvolution(handle, "size", 1.5, false)

Example: Dynamic Fire that changes according to vehicle speed.

local fireFx = nil

Citizen.CreateThread(function()
  local vehicle = GetVehiclePedIsIn(PlayerPedId(), false)
  if vehicle == 0 then return end

  -- start fire effect
  RequestNamedPtfxAsset("core")
  while not HasNamedPtfxAssetLoaded("core") do
    Citizen.Wait(0)
  end

  UseParticleFxAssetNextCall("core")
  fireFx = StartParticleFxLoopedOnEntity(
    "ent_veh_engine_fire",
    vehicle,
    0.0, 0.0, 0.0,
    0.0, 0.0, 0.0,
    1.0,
    false, false, false
  )

  -- Loop adjusts scale according to speed.
  while fireFx do
    local speed = GetEntitySpeed(vehicle)
    local scale = math.min(speed / 20.0, 3.0) -- max 3x

    SetParticleFxLoopedScale(fireFx, scale)

    -- Change color according to speed (slow=yellow, fast=blue)
    local t = math.min(speed / 40.0, 1.0)
    SetParticleFxLoopedColour(fireFx, 1.0-t, 0.5-t*0.5, t, false)

    Citizen.Wait(100)
  end
end)

Example: Pulsing Effect

local function PulsingAura(ped)
  RequestNamedPtfxAsset("scr_powerplay")
  while not HasNamedPtfxAssetLoaded("scr_powerplay") do
    Citizen.Wait(0)
  end

  UseParticleFxAssetNextCall("scr_powerplay")
  local handle = StartParticleFxLoopedOnEntityBone(
    "scr_powerplay_overlay_electricity_chars",
    ped, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0,
    GetEntityBoneIndexByName(ped, "SKEL_ROOT"),
    1.0, false, false, false
  )

  -- Pulse animation
  local t = 0
  Citizen.CreateThread(function()
    while handle do
      t = t + 0.05
local scale = 1.0 + math.sin(t) * 0.5 -- 0.5 to 1.5
      SetParticleFxLoopedScale(handle, scale)
      Citizen.Wait(50)
    end
  end)

  return handle
end

Summary

• Scale: Adjust at start or SetParticleFxLoopedScale() later.
• Color: SetParticleFxLoopedColour() with value 0.0-1.0
• Evolution: special parameters of each effect
• Combine with thread loops to create beautiful dynamic effects.