Particle Effects for Environmental Effects

Environmental effects create atmosphere and immersion for servers — from gas zones, checkpoint effects, to weather hazards.

Zone Marker with Particle FX

local zoneEffects = {}

local function CreateZoneEffect(zoneId, center, radius, effectConfig)
  if not SafeRequestPtfx(effectConfig.dict) then return end

  -- Create a ring of effects around the zone
  local numPoints = math.floor(radius * 4)
  zoneEffects[zoneId] = {}

  for i = 1, numPoints do
    local angle = (i / numPoints) * math.pi * 2
    local x = center.x + math.cos(angle) * radius
    local y = center.y + math.sin(angle) * radius
    local z = center.z

    UseParticleFxAssetNextCall(effectConfig.dict)
    local handle = StartParticleFxLoopedAtCoord(
      effectConfig.effect,
      x, y, z,
      0.0, 0.0, 0.0,
      effectConfig.scale or 0.5,
      false, false, false, false
    )

    table.insert(zoneEffects[zoneId], handle)
  end
end

local function RemoveZoneEffect(zoneId)
  if zoneEffects[zoneId] then
    for _, handle in ipairs(zoneEffects[zoneId]) do
      StopParticleFxLooped(handle, false)
    end
    zoneEffects[zoneId] = nil
  end
end

-- Use: Create a green gas zone.
CreateZoneEffect("drugzone_1", vector3(100, 200, 30), 10.0, {
  dict = "core",
  effect = "ent_amb_smoke_car",
  scale = 0.8
})

Ambient Smoke Area

local function SpawnAmbientSmoke(center, width, height, density)
  density = density or 10
  local handles = {}

  RequestNamedPtfxAsset("core")
  while not HasNamedPtfxAssetLoaded("core") do
    Citizen.Wait(0)
  end

  for i = 1, density do
    local x = center.x + (math.random() - 0.5) * width
    local y = center.y + (math.random() - 0.5) * width
    local z = center.z + math.random() * height

    UseParticleFxAssetNextCall("core")
    local handle = StartParticleFxLoopedAtCoord(
      "ent_amb_smoke_car",
      x, y, z,
      0.0, 0.0, 0.0,
      math.random() + 0.5, -- random scale 0.5-1.5
      false, false, false, false
    )

    -- light gray
    SetParticleFxLoopedColour(handle, 0.8, 0.8, 0.8, false)
    table.insert(handles, handle)
  end

  return handles
end

Fire Hazard Area

local function CreateFireArea(center, size, intensity)
  local fireHandles = {}

  if not SafeRequestPtfx("core") then return {} end

  local numFires = math.floor(size * intensity)

  for i = 1, numFires do
    local x = center.x + (math.random() - 0.5) * size
    local y = center.y + (math.random() - 0.5) * size
    local z = center.z

    UseParticleFxAssetNextCall("core")
    local handle = StartParticleFxLoopedAtCoord(
      "ent_veh_engine_fire",
      x, y, z,
      0.0, 0.0, 0.0,
      math.random() * 0.8 + 0.3,
      false, false, false, false
    )
    table.insert(fireHandles, handle)

    -- add smoke as well
    UseParticleFxAssetNextCall("core")
    local smokeHandle = StartParticleFxLoopedAtCoord(
      "ent_amb_smoke_car",
      x, y, z + 0.5,
      0.0, 0.0, 0.0,
      1.2,
      false, false, false, false
    )
    table.insert(fireHandles, smokeHandle)
  end

  return fireHandles
end

Water/Liquid Drip Effects

local function CreateLeakEffect(coords, isWater)
  local config = isWater
    and {dict = "core", effect = "ent_sht_water"}
    or {dict = "core", effect = "ent_sht_oil"}

  if not SafeRequestPtfx(config.dict) then return end

  -- Drip effect every 500ms
  Citizen.CreateThread(function()
    local active = true
    while active do
UseParticleFxAssetNextCall(config.dict)
      StartParticleFxNonLoopedAtCoord(
        config.effect,
        coords.x, coords.y, coords.z,
        0.0, 0.0, 0.0,
        0.5,
        false, false, false
      )
      Citizen.Wait(500)
    end
  end)
end

Drug/Toxic Zone

local function CreateToxicZone(coords, radius)
  if not SafeRequestPtfx("scr_rcbarry1") then return end

  local handles = {}

  -- Toxic gas effect around zone
  UseParticleFxAssetNextCall("scr_rcbarry1")
  local mainHandle = StartParticleFxLoopedAtCoord(
    "scr_amb_electric_arc",
    coords.x, coords.y, coords.z,
    0.0, 0.0, 0.0,
    radius * 0.3,
    false, false, false, false
  )

  -- poisonous green
  SetParticleFxLoopedColour(mainHandle, 0.1, 1.0, 0.2, false)
  table.insert(handles, mainHandle)

  return handles
end

Summary

Environmental effects must be carefully managed lifecycle:

• Created when zone active
• Destroyed when player exits or zone closes
• cleanup in onResourceStop always

These effects can be combined to create an impressive atmosphere.