babylon.quarks 0.26.0 → 0.28.0

package/src/VFXBatch.ts

@@ -1,533 +1,68 @@
 import {BoundingInfo} from '@babylonjs/core/Culling/boundingInfo';
-import {Constants} from '@babylonjs/core/Engines/constants';
 import {BaseTexture} from '@babylonjs/core/Materials/Textures/baseTexture';
+import type {Effect} from '@babylonjs/core/Materials/effect';
 import {ShaderMaterial} from '@babylonjs/core/Materials/shaderMaterial';
-import {Color3} from '@babylonjs/core/Maths/math.color';
-import {Vector2 as BVector2, Vector3 as BVector3, Vector4 as BVector4} from '@babylonjs/core/Maths/math.vector';
+import {Vector2 as BVector2, Vector3 as BVector3, Vector4 as BVector4, Matrix} from '@babylonjs/core/Maths/math.vector';
 import {Mesh} from '@babylonjs/core/Meshes/mesh';
+import type {Node} from '@babylonjs/core/node';
 import {Scene} from '@babylonjs/core/scene';
 import {IParticleSystem, Vector3} from 'quarks.core';
 import {VFXBatchSettings} from './BatchedRenderer';
 import type {ParticleSystem} from './ParticleSystem';
+import {storedBatchSettings} from './batchKey';
+import {GRADIENT_MAP_WEIGHTS, MeshLightingSettings, readsUV1, StoredBatchSettings, TextureUV} from './batchSettings';
+import {DepthBinding, softDepthParams} from './softDepth';
 
-/**
- * The order the particles of a batch are drawn in (Unity's Sort Mode). Alpha
- * blended particles cover what was drawn before them, so the order shows.
- *
- * - `'none'`: as they are, system by system. Right for additive blending.
- * - `'distance'`: farthest from the active camera first, so nearer particles
- *   cover farther ones.
- * - `'oldestInFront'` / `'youngestInFront'`: by age.
- *
- * Sorting runs over the whole batch after each fill. Trails are not sorted.
- */
-export type SortMode = 'none' | 'distance' | 'oldestInFront' | 'youngestInFront';
-
-export enum RenderMode {
-    BillBoard = 0,
-    StretchedBillBoard = 1,
-    Mesh = 2,
-    Trail = 3,
-    HorizontalBillBoard = 4,
-    VerticalBillBoard = 5,
-    /**
-     * A quad laid from each particle to the system's {@link ParticleSystem.beamEnd}
-     * and turned about its length to face the camera (a line renderer): U runs
-     * from the particle (0) to the end (1), V across, the particle's size is
-     * the width. Lightning, tethers, lasers.
-     */
-    Beam = 6,
-}
-
-/**
- * How mesh particles are lit.
- *
- * - `'fixed'` (default): one directional light plus ambient, the same for every
- *   mesh batch of a renderer, set with {@link BatchedRenderer.setMeshLighting}.
- * - `'unlit'`: no lighting term — the texture times the particle colour, for
- *   emissive meshes (fire, energy, glowing blades).
- * - `'scene'`: follows the scene's first enabled `DirectionalLight` or
- *   `HemisphericLight` every frame, falling back to the fixed light when there
- *   is none.
- *
- * Only mesh particles are lit; other render modes ignore it.
- */
-export type MeshLighting = 'unlit' | 'fixed' | 'scene';
-
-/** The light {@link MeshLighting} `'fixed'` mesh particles are lit by. */
-export interface MeshLightingSettings {
-    /** Direction the light travels in, world space. Default `(0.4, -1, 0.6)`. */
-    direction: BVector3;
-    /** Light colour, intensity folded in. Default white. */
-    color: Color3;
-    /** Light every face gets regardless of its direction. Default `(0.35, 0.35, 0.35)`. */
-    ambient: Color3;
-}
-
-/** The light mesh particles have always been lit by. */
-export function defaultMeshLighting(): MeshLightingSettings {
-    return {
-        direction: new BVector3(0.4, -1, 0.6),
-        color: new Color3(1, 1, 1),
-        ambient: new Color3(0.35, 0.35, 0.35),
-    };
-}
-
-/**
- * A rim (Fresnel) term on mesh particles: a colour that grows where the surface
- * turns away from the camera, `pow(1 - |N·V|, power) * strength`. Unset: no rim.
- * Only mesh particles draw it.
- */
-export interface MeshRim {
-    /** Edge colour, linear RGB. Default `[1, 1, 1]`. */
-    color: [number, number, number];
-    /** Falloff exponent; higher keeps the rim to a thinner edge. Default 2. */
-    power: number;
-    /** How much of the rim is applied, usually 0…1. Default 1. */
-    strength: number;
-    /**
-     * `'add'` (default) adds the colour, for a glowing edge; `'mix'` blends the
-     * surface toward it, for an outline (a dark ink line with a dark colour);
-     * `'fade'` leaves the colour and fades the faces turned to the camera by
-     * `strength` instead, alpha times `1 - strength * (1 - edge)`: a wall of
-     * light that reads thick along its silhouette and thin across its face.
-     */
-    mode: 'add' | 'mix' | 'fade';
-}
-
-/**
- * A complete rim from a partial one, every field defaulted and kept in range,
- * or undefined when `rim` is unset.
- */
-export function normalizeMeshRim(rim: Partial<MeshRim> | null | undefined): MeshRim | undefined {
-    if (!rim || typeof rim !== 'object') {
-        return undefined;
-    }
-    const color = Array.isArray(rim.color) ? rim.color : [1, 1, 1];
-    const channel = (value: unknown, fallback: number) =>
-        typeof value === 'number' && Number.isFinite(value) ? value : fallback;
-    return {
-        color: [channel(color[0], 1), channel(color[1], 1), channel(color[2], 1)],
-        power: Math.max(0.01, channel(rim.power, 2)),
-        strength: Math.max(0, channel(rim.strength, 1)),
-        mode: rim.mode === 'mix' || rim.mode === 'fade' ? rim.mode : 'add',
-    };
-}
-
-/** True when both describe the same rim (or both none). */
-export function meshRimEqual(a: MeshRim | undefined, b: MeshRim | undefined): boolean {
-    if (a === b) {
-        return true;
-    }
-    if (!a || !b) {
-        return false;
-    }
-    return (
-        a.mode === b.mode &&
-        a.power === b.power &&
-        a.strength === b.strength &&
-        a.color[0] === b.color[0] &&
-        a.color[1] === b.color[1] &&
-        a.color[2] === b.color[2]
-    );
-}
-
-/**
- * Which texture coordinates a texture is sampled with, as Unity's UV channels
- * and Niagara's ribbon UV0 / UV1:
- *
- * - `0`: the particle's first UV, with the sprite sheet's cell applied: on a
- *   sheet the current frame's cell, on a trail the cell's stretch along it, on
- *   a mesh its first UV set. Read before the map's own layout and distortion,
- *   so a texture on it does not move with them.
- * - `1`: the particle's own UV, never moved by the sheet. The whole quad on a
- *   billboard, a stretched billboard or a beam (mirrored with the quad when it
- *   flips); on a trail U along it the way the map's runs (from the tail, or
- *   from the head with `uvFromHead`) and V across it; on a mesh its second UV
- *   set (`instancingUVs2`), or its first when it has none.
- *
- * A mesh can then repeat its picture along UV0 while a mask on UV1 runs once
- * across its whole length, as a lightmap UV does in a game engine.
- */
-export type UVChannel = 0 | 1;
-
-/**
- * How a texture is laid over the particle: its UV channel, then tiling and
- * offset as in Unity's material Tiling / Offset, then a scroll on the
- * renderer's clock as Unreal's Panner. Sampled at
- * `uv(channel) * tiling + offset + scroll * time`; the offset is used as
- * given, so a clamped texture can be moved off its edge, and only the
- * scroll's share is wrapped (over two repeats, so a mirrored texture stays
- * seamless). A texture that scrolls or tiles should repeat.
- */
-export interface TextureUV {
-    /** See {@link UVChannel}. Default 0. */
-    channel: UVChannel;
-    /** Repeats across the channel's 0…1, `[u, v]`. Default `[1, 1]`. */
-    tiling: [number, number];
-    /** Added after tiling, in texture UV units. Default `[0, 0]`. */
-    offset: [number, number];
-    /** UV units per second on the renderer's clock. Default `[0, 0]`. */
-    scroll: [number, number];
-}
-
-/** A complete {@link TextureUV} from a partial one, with `defaults` under the fields left out. */
-export function normalizeTextureUV(
-    uv: Partial<TextureUV> | null | undefined,
-    defaults: Partial<TextureUV> = {}
-): TextureUV {
-    const source = uv && typeof uv === 'object' ? uv : {};
-    const num = (value: unknown, fallback: number) =>
-        typeof value === 'number' && Number.isFinite(value) ? value : fallback;
-    const pair = (value: unknown, fallback: [number, number]): [number, number] =>
-        Array.isArray(value) ? [num(value[0], fallback[0]), num(value[1], fallback[1])] : [fallback[0], fallback[1]];
-    const channel = source.channel ?? defaults.channel;
-    return {
-        channel: channel === 1 ? 1 : 0,
-        tiling: pair(source.tiling, defaults.tiling ?? [1, 1]),
-        offset: pair(source.offset, defaults.offset ?? [0, 0]),
-        scroll: pair(source.scroll, defaults.scroll ?? [0, 0]),
-    };
-}
-
-/** True when both lay a texture the same way. */
-export function textureUVEqual(a: TextureUV, b: TextureUV): boolean {
-    return (
-        a === b ||
-        (a.channel === b.channel &&
-            a.tiling[0] === b.tiling[0] &&
-            a.tiling[1] === b.tiling[1] &&
-            a.offset[0] === b.offset[0] &&
-            a.offset[1] === b.offset[1] &&
-            a.scroll[0] === b.scroll[0] &&
-            a.scroll[1] === b.scroll[1])
-    );
-}
-
-/** The fields of `uv` that differ from `defaults`, for JSON written only when set. */
-export function textureUVToJSON(uv: TextureUV, defaults: Partial<TextureUV> = {}): Partial<TextureUV> | undefined {
-    const base = normalizeTextureUV(undefined, defaults);
-    const json: Partial<TextureUV> = {};
-    if (uv.channel !== base.channel) json.channel = uv.channel;
-    if (uv.tiling[0] !== base.tiling[0] || uv.tiling[1] !== base.tiling[1]) json.tiling = [...uv.tiling];
-    if (uv.offset[0] !== base.offset[0] || uv.offset[1] !== base.offset[1]) json.offset = [...uv.offset];
-    if (uv.scroll[0] !== base.scroll[0] || uv.scroll[1] !== base.scroll[1]) json.scroll = [...uv.scroll];
-    return Object.keys(json).length > 0 ? json : undefined;
-}
-
-/**
- * Which value of the map's texel picks the colour along a gradient map's
- * ramp: one channel, so a texture can pack several masks (Unreal's and
- * Unity's channel-packed textures), or the Rec. 709 luminance of its colour.
- */
-export type GradientMapChannel = 'r' | 'g' | 'b' | 'a' | 'luminance';
-
-/**
- * A gradient map (colour ramp): the map is recoloured by looking its
- * {@link channel} up along U of {@link ramp}. See
- * {@link VFXBatchSettings.gradientMap}.
- */
-export interface ParticleGradientMap {
-    /**
-     * The ramp, read along U at mid V: low values on the left. Make it without
-     * mipmaps and clamped. Required: without one there is no gradient map.
-     */
-    ramp: BaseTexture | null;
-    /**
-     * The texel value the ramp is looked up by. Default `'r'`. With `'a'` the
-     * ramp's alpha becomes the texel's alpha, so a soft shape can glow at its
-     * fringe and stay solid at its heart; with any other channel the ramp's
-     * alpha multiplies the map's.
-     */
-    channel: GradientMapChannel;
-}
-
-/** The weights a texel is dotted with to look up the ramp, per {@link GradientMapChannel}. */
-export const GRADIENT_MAP_WEIGHTS: Readonly<Record<GradientMapChannel, readonly [number, number, number, number]>> = {
-    r: [1, 0, 0, 0],
-    g: [0, 1, 0, 0],
-    b: [0, 0, 1, 0],
-    a: [0, 0, 0, 1],
-    luminance: [0.2126, 0.7152, 0.0722, 0],
-};
-
-/** A complete gradient map, or undefined when unset or without a ramp. */
-export function normalizeGradientMap(
-    gradientMap: Partial<ParticleGradientMap> | null | undefined
-): ParticleGradientMap | undefined {
-    if (!gradientMap || typeof gradientMap !== 'object' || !gradientMap.ramp) {
-        return undefined;
-    }
-    const channel = gradientMap.channel;
-    return {
-        ramp: gradientMap.ramp,
-        channel: channel !== undefined && channel in GRADIENT_MAP_WEIGHTS ? channel : 'r',
-    };
-}
-
-/** True when both recolour the same way (or both not at all). */
-export function gradientMapEqual(a: ParticleGradientMap | undefined, b: ParticleGradientMap | undefined): boolean {
-    return a === b || (!!a && !!b && a.ramp === b.ramp && a.channel === b.channel);
-}
+export * from './batchSettings';
 
 /**
- * Alpha erosion: the particle's alpha decides how much of its shape is left
- * instead of how transparent it is, so `ColorOverLife` fading alpha out
- * dissolves (noise mask) or wipes (gradient mask) the shape away. See
- * {@link VFXBatchSettings.erosion}.
+ * One draw call of a {@link BatchedRenderer}: the systems that share a material, texture and
+ * geometry, drawn together from one instanced mesh. The renderer makes and frees batches as
+ * systems are added and their settings change; read them through `renderer.batches` to inspect
+ * what is drawn, not to change it.
  */
-export interface ParticleErosion {
-    /**
-     * Mask whose red channel orders what goes first, laid by {@link maskUV}.
-     * Null: the map's own alpha, so a soft shape shrinks from its edges.
-     */
-    mask: BaseTexture | null;
-    /**
-     * How the mask is laid over the particle, see {@link TextureUV}. On UV
-     * channel 1 a gradient mask wipes a whole trail or mesh however its map
-     * repeats. Default channel 0, untiled, still.
-     */
-    maskUV: TextureUV;
-    /** Width of the soft transition at the cut, in mask units. Default 0.05. */
-    softness: number;
-    /** Width of the glowing band above the cut, in mask units; 0 (default) draws none. */
-    edgeWidth: number;
-    /** Colour added in the edge band, linear RGB, may exceed 1. Default `[1, 1, 1]`. */
-    edgeColor: [number, number, number];
-}
-// Limits worth knowing: erosion only changes alpha (one-one and premultiplied
-// blending show a hard cut), and with neither a mask nor a map there is
-// nothing to order the cut by, so the shape goes all at once near alpha 0.
-// Scrolling runs on the renderer's clock, not a system's playback speed.
-
-/** {@link ParticleErosion} as given: any field may be left out, the mask's layout too. */
-export type ParticleErosionOptions = Partial<Omit<ParticleErosion, 'maskUV'>> & {maskUV?: Partial<TextureUV>};
-
-/** A complete erosion from a partial one, every field defaulted, or undefined when `erosion` is unset. */
-export function normalizeErosion(erosion: ParticleErosionOptions | null | undefined): ParticleErosion | undefined {
-    if (!erosion || typeof erosion !== 'object') {
-        return undefined;
-    }
-    const num = (value: unknown, fallback: number) =>
-        typeof value === 'number' && Number.isFinite(value) ? value : fallback;
-    const color = Array.isArray(erosion.edgeColor) ? erosion.edgeColor : [1, 1, 1];
-    return {
-        mask: erosion.mask ?? null,
-        maskUV: normalizeTextureUV(erosion.maskUV),
-        softness: Math.max(0.0001, num(erosion.softness, 0.05)),
-        edgeWidth: Math.max(0, num(erosion.edgeWidth, 0)),
-        edgeColor: [num(color[0], 1), num(color[1], 1), num(color[2], 1)],
-    };
-}
-
-/** True when both describe the same erosion (or both none). */
-export function erosionEqual(a: ParticleErosion | undefined, b: ParticleErosion | undefined): boolean {
-    if (a === b) {
-        return true;
-    }
-    if (!a || !b) {
-        return false;
-    }
-    return (
-        a.mask === b.mask &&
-        textureUVEqual(a.maskUV, b.maskUV) &&
-        a.softness === b.softness &&
-        a.edgeWidth === b.edgeWidth &&
-        a.edgeColor[0] === b.edgeColor[0] &&
-        a.edgeColor[1] === b.edgeColor[1] &&
-        a.edgeColor[2] === b.edgeColor[2]
-    );
-}
-
-/** The distortion noise's default layout: drifting up half a repeat a second. */
-export const UV_DISTORTION_DEFAULT_UV: Partial<TextureUV> = {scroll: [0, 0.5]};
-
-/**
- * UV distortion: the map's UV pushed about by a noise texture, for heat
- * shimmer, licking flames and breathing auras. See
- * {@link VFXBatchSettings.uvDistortion}.
- */
-export interface ParticleUVDistortion {
-    /**
-     * Noise whose red and green channels, around 0.5, push U and V. It should
-     * wrap (repeat). Required: without one there is no distortion.
-     */
-    map: BaseTexture | null;
+export abstract class VFXBatch {
     /**
-     * How the noise is laid over the particle, see {@link TextureUV}. Default
-     * channel 0, untiled, scrolling `[0, 0.5]`.
+     * The Babylon mesh the batch draws with. Its world matrix is frozen at identity: the instance
+     * data is already in world space, so no parent's transform moves the particles again.
      */
-    mapUV: TextureUV;
-    /** How far the map's UV is pushed at most, in UV units. Default 0.05. */
-    strength: number;
-}
-
-/** {@link ParticleUVDistortion} as given: any field may be left out, the noise's layout too. */
-export type ParticleUVDistortionOptions = Partial<Omit<ParticleUVDistortion, 'mapUV'>> & {mapUV?: Partial<TextureUV>};
-
-/** A complete distortion from a partial one, or undefined when unset or without a map. */
-export function normalizeUVDistortion(
-    distortion: ParticleUVDistortionOptions | null | undefined
-): ParticleUVDistortion | undefined {
-    if (!distortion || typeof distortion !== 'object' || !distortion.map) {
-        return undefined;
-    }
-    const strength = distortion.strength;
-    return {
-        map: distortion.map,
-        mapUV: normalizeTextureUV(distortion.mapUV, UV_DISTORTION_DEFAULT_UV),
-        strength: Math.max(0, typeof strength === 'number' && Number.isFinite(strength) ? strength : 0.05),
-    };
-}
-
-/** True when both describe the same distortion (or both none). */
-export function uvDistortionEqual(a: ParticleUVDistortion | undefined, b: ParticleUVDistortion | undefined): boolean {
-    if (a === b) {
-        return true;
-    }
-    if (!a || !b) {
-        return false;
-    }
-    return a.map === b.map && a.strength === b.strength && textureUVEqual(a.mapUV, b.mapUV);
-}
-
-/**
- * The main map's layout, or undefined when it is the identity (channel 0,
- * untiled, unmoved, still), which costs nothing in the shader.
- */
-export function normalizeMapUV(uv: Partial<TextureUV> | null | undefined): TextureUV | undefined {
-    if (!uv || typeof uv !== 'object') {
-        return undefined;
-    }
-    const normalized = normalizeTextureUV(uv);
-    return textureUVToJSON(normalized) === undefined ? undefined : normalized;
-}
-
-/** True when both lay the map the same way (or both as drawn). */
-export function mapUVEqual(a: TextureUV | undefined, b: TextureUV | undefined): boolean {
-    return a === b || (!!a && !!b && textureUVEqual(a, b));
-}
-
-/**
- * True when a texture effect of `settings` samples UV channel 1, see
- * {@link UVChannel}: the map, the distortion noise or an erosion mask laid
- * on it.
- */
-export function readsUV1(settings: {
-    mapUV?: TextureUV;
-    uvDistortion?: ParticleUVDistortion;
-    erosion?: ParticleErosion;
-}): boolean {
-    const {mapUV, uvDistortion, erosion} = settings;
-    return (
-        mapUV?.channel === 1 || uvDistortion?.mapUV.channel === 1 || (!!erosion?.mask && erosion.maskUV.channel === 1)
-    );
-}
-
-export interface StoredBatchSettings {
-    instancingGeometry: Float32Array;
-    instancingIndices: Uint32Array | Uint16Array;
-    instancingUVs?: Float32Array;
-    /** The mesh's second UV set, see {@link UVChannel}. */
-    instancingUVs2?: Float32Array;
-    instancingNormals?: Float32Array;
-    renderMode: RenderMode;
-    renderOrder: number;
-    uTileCount: number;
-    vTileCount: number;
-    blendTiles: boolean;
-    softParticles: boolean;
-    softNearFade: number;
-    softFarFade: number;
-    materialBlendMode: number;
-    materialTransparent: boolean;
-    materialDepthTest: boolean;
-    materialDepthWrite: boolean;
-    materialAlphaTest: number;
-    texture: any;
-    reflectionTexture: BaseTexture | null;
-    reflectionLevel: number;
-    reflectionFaces: BaseTexture[] | null;
-    reflectionAtlas: BaseTexture | null;
-    layerMask: number;
-    /** Babylon rendering group the batch mesh draws in, see {@link VFXBatchSettings.renderingGroupId}. */
-    renderingGroupId: number;
-    /** Whether the scene's fog is applied, see {@link VFXBatchSettings.applyFog}. */
-    applyFog: boolean;
-    /** Billboard pivot in particle-size units, see {@link VFXBatchSettings.pivot}. */
-    pivot?: Vector3;
-    /** Draw order within the batch, see {@link SortMode}. */
-    sortMode: SortMode;
-    /** Smallest size a particle may have on screen, see {@link VFXBatchSettings.minParticleSize}. */
-    minParticleSize: number;
-    /** Largest size a particle may have on screen, see {@link VFXBatchSettings.maxParticleSize}. */
-    maxParticleSize: number;
-    /** Mesh particle lighting, see {@link VFXBatchSettings.lighting}. */
-    lighting?: MeshLighting;
-    /** Mesh particle rim, see {@link VFXBatchSettings.rim}. */
-    rim?: MeshRim;
-    /** The main map's layout, see {@link VFXBatchSettings.mapUV}. */
-    mapUV?: TextureUV;
-    /** Map UV distortion, see {@link VFXBatchSettings.uvDistortion}. */
-    uvDistortion?: ParticleUVDistortion;
-    /** Colour ramp for the map, see {@link VFXBatchSettings.gradientMap}. */
-    gradientMap?: ParticleGradientMap;
-    /** Alpha erosion, see {@link VFXBatchSettings.erosion}. */
-    erosion?: ParticleErosion;
-}
-
-export abstract class VFXBatch {
-    mesh: Mesh;
+    mesh!: Mesh;
+    /** The node the batch mesh lives under, kept across the meshes the batch rebuilds. */
+    private parentNode: Node | null = null;
+    /** The systems drawn by this batch. */
     systems: Set<IParticleSystem>;
+    /** The settings every system in the batch shares, with what the render mode ignores at its default. */
     settings: StoredBatchSettings;
+    /** @internal */
     protected maxParticles: number;
+    /** @internal */
     protected scene: Scene;
+    /** @internal */
     protected readonly visibleSystems: IParticleSystem[] = [];
+    /**
+     * The depth texture soft particles read, from {@link BatchedRenderer.setDepthTexture}.
+     * @internal
+     */
+    protected depth: DepthBinding | null;
 
-    protected constructor(settings: VFXBatchSettings, scene: Scene) {
+    /** @internal */
+    protected constructor(settings: VFXBatchSettings, scene: Scene, depth: DepthBinding | null = null) {
         this.scene = scene;
-        this.maxParticles = 1000;
+        this.depth = depth;
+        this.maxParticles = 0;
         this.systems = new Set<IParticleSystem>();
-        this.settings = {
-            instancingGeometry: settings.instancingGeometry,
-            instancingIndices: settings.instancingIndices,
-            instancingUVs: settings.instancingUVs,
-            instancingUVs2: settings.instancingUVs2,
-            instancingNormals: settings.instancingNormals,
-            renderMode: settings.renderMode,
-            renderOrder: settings.renderOrder,
-            uTileCount: settings.uTileCount,
-            vTileCount: settings.vTileCount,
-            blendTiles: settings.blendTiles,
-            softParticles: settings.softParticles,
-            softNearFade: settings.softNearFade,
-            softFarFade: settings.softFarFade,
-            materialBlendMode: settings.materialBlendMode,
-            materialTransparent: settings.materialTransparent,
-            materialDepthTest: settings.materialDepthTest,
-            materialDepthWrite: settings.materialDepthWrite,
-            materialAlphaTest: settings.materialAlphaTest,
-            texture: settings.texture,
-            reflectionTexture: settings.reflectionTexture ?? null,
-            reflectionLevel: settings.reflectionLevel ?? 1,
-            reflectionFaces: settings.reflectionFaces ?? null,
-            reflectionAtlas: settings.reflectionAtlas ?? null,
-            pivot: settings.pivot?.clone(),
-            sortMode: settings.sortMode ?? 'none',
-            minParticleSize: settings.minParticleSize ?? 0,
-            maxParticleSize: settings.maxParticleSize ?? Infinity,
-            layerMask: settings.layerMask,
-            renderingGroupId: settings.renderingGroupId ?? 0,
-            applyFog: settings.applyFog ?? true,
-            lighting: settings.lighting,
-            rim: normalizeMeshRim(settings.rim),
-            mapUV: normalizeMapUV(settings.mapUV),
-            uvDistortion: normalizeUVDistortion(settings.uvDistortion),
-            gradientMap: normalizeGradientMap(settings.gradientMap),
-            erosion: normalizeErosion(settings.erosion),
-        };
-        this.mesh = new Mesh('vfxBatch', scene);
-        this.configureMesh();
+        this.settings = storedBatchSettings(settings);
+        // The subclass builds the mesh, in setupBuffers.
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Puts the batch mesh under `node` (the renderer), for the scene graph and the node's enabled
+     * state; the node's transform does not reach the particles.
+     * @internal
+     */
+    attachTo(node: Node | null): void {
+        this.parentNode = node;
+        this.mesh.parent = node;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -547,12 +82,25 @@ export abstract class VFXBatch {
         // world space, so the bounds never need the mesh's own matrix.
         mesh.alwaysSelectAsActiveMesh = true;
         mesh.doNotSyncBoundingInfo = true;
+        mesh.parent = this.parentNode;
+        // World-space instance data: the parent's transform must not apply, nor the bounds move
+        // with it. Frozen at identity, and kept there: a parent's markAsDirty would otherwise make
+        // the frozen mesh recompute from its parents once.
+        mesh.freezeWorldMatrix(Matrix.Identity());
+        const world = mesh.getWorldMatrix();
+        mesh.computeWorldMatrix = () => world;
         mesh.setBoundingInfo(new BoundingInfo(BVector3.Zero(), BVector3.Zero()));
         mesh.layerMask = this.settings.layerMask;
         mesh.renderingGroupId = this.settings.renderingGroupId;
         mesh.alphaIndex = this.settings.renderOrder;
         // The shaders fog themselves; Babylon's own fog pass does not apply to a ShaderMaterial.
         mesh.applyFog = false;
+        // Its geometry is one quad or mesh at the origin, not the particles, so a pick or a
+        // collision against it would hit nothing that is drawn. The renderer rebuilds batches
+        // from its systems, so a scene serializer has nothing to write either.
+        mesh.isPickable = false;
+        mesh.checkCollisions = false;
+        mesh.doNotSerialize = true;
     }
 
     private readonly boundsMin_ = new Vector3();
@@ -615,23 +163,26 @@ export abstract class VFXBatch {
     }
 
     /**
-     * Fog defines and uniforms for a material of this batch, and the per-bind
-     * upload of the scene's current fog. Mode 0 (none) when the scene has fog
-     * disabled, so toggling fog at runtime needs no recompile.
+     * Writes a uniform that changes per bind, such as one read off the active camera, to the
+     * material for the next bind and to its bound effect for this one: ShaderMaterial uploads its
+     * stored values before the bind observers run, so a value written only to the material would
+     * reach the GPU one draw late, and with two cameras it would always be the other camera's.
      */
-    protected static readonly FOG_UNIFORMS = ['vFogInfos', 'vFogColor'];
-
-    protected fogDefines(): string[] {
-        if (!this.settings.applyFog) {
-            return [];
+    protected static writeBound(material: ShaderMaterial, write: (target: ShaderMaterial | Effect) => void): void {
+        write(material);
+        // An effect still compiling has no pipeline context to write to; it gets the stored value
+        // when it is first bound. A sub mesh's effect override is not reached here.
+        const effect = material.getEffect();
+        if (effect?.isReady()) {
+            write(effect);
         }
-        const additive =
-            this.settings.materialTransparent &&
-            (this.settings.materialBlendMode === Constants.ALPHA_ADD ||
-                this.settings.materialBlendMode === Constants.ALPHA_ONEONE);
-        return additive ? ['FOG', 'FOG_ADDITIVE'] : ['FOG'];
     }
 
+    /**
+     * The per-bind upload of the scene's current fog. Mode 0 (none) when the scene has fog
+     * disabled, so toggling fog at runtime needs no recompile.
+     * @internal
+     */
     protected bindFog(material: ShaderMaterial): void {
         if (!this.settings.applyFog) {
             return;
@@ -659,85 +210,19 @@ export abstract class VFXBatch {
         return readsUV1(this.settings);
     }
 
-    /** Defines of the texture effects (see `shaders/chunks/surface.ts`) this batch uses. */
-    protected surfaceDefines(): string[] {
-        const defines: string[] = [];
-        const {mapUV, uvDistortion, gradientMap, erosion} = this.settings;
-        if (this.usesUV1()) {
-            defines.push('UV1');
-        }
-        if (mapUV) {
-            defines.push('MAP_TRANSFORM');
-            if (mapUV.channel === 1) {
-                defines.push('MAP_UV1');
-            }
-        }
-        if (uvDistortion) {
-            defines.push('UV_DISTORTION');
-            if (uvDistortion.mapUV.channel === 1) {
-                defines.push('UV_DISTORTION_UV1');
-            }
-        }
-        if (gradientMap) {
-            defines.push('GRADIENT_MAP');
-        }
-        if (erosion) {
-            defines.push('EROSION');
-            if (erosion.mask) {
-                defines.push('EROSION_MASK');
-                if (erosion.maskUV.channel === 1) {
-                    defines.push('EROSION_MASK_UV1');
-                }
-            }
-        }
-        return defines;
-    }
-
-    /** Adds the uniforms and samplers of the texture effects this batch uses. */
-    protected surfaceUniforms(uniforms: string[], samplers: string[]): void {
-        const {mapUV, uvDistortion, gradientMap, erosion} = this.settings;
-        if (mapUV) {
-            uniforms.push('mapTransform');
-        }
-        if (uvDistortion) {
-            samplers.push('distortionMap');
-            uniforms.push('distortionTransform', 'distortionStrength');
-        }
-        if (gradientMap) {
-            samplers.push('gradientMap');
-            uniforms.push('gradientMapRange', 'gradientMapChannel');
-        }
-        if (erosion) {
-            uniforms.push('erosionParams', 'erosionEdgeColor');
-            if (erosion.mask) {
-                samplers.push('erosionMask');
-                uniforms.push('erosionMaskTransform');
-            }
-        }
-    }
-
     /** Sets the texture effects' textures and constants, and advances their scrolling on every bind. */
     protected bindSurface(material: ShaderMaterial): void {
         const {mapUV, uvDistortion, gradientMap, erosion} = this.settings;
         if (uvDistortion?.map) {
             material.setTexture('distortionMap', uvDistortion.map);
-            material.setFloat('distortionStrength', uvDistortion.strength);
         }
         if (gradientMap?.ramp) {
             material.setTexture('gradientMap', gradientMap.ramp);
-            const [r, g, b, a] = GRADIENT_MAP_WEIGHTS[gradientMap.channel];
-            material.setVector4('gradientMapChannel', new BVector4(r, g, b, a));
         }
-        if (erosion) {
-            if (erosion.mask) {
-                material.setTexture('erosionMask', erosion.mask);
-            }
-            material.setVector2('erosionParams', new BVector2(erosion.softness, erosion.edgeWidth));
-            material.setVector3(
-                'erosionEdgeColor',
-                new BVector3(erosion.edgeColor[0], erosion.edgeColor[1], erosion.edgeColor[2])
-            );
+        if (erosion?.mask) {
+            material.setTexture('erosionMask', erosion.mask);
         }
+        this.writeSurfaceParams(material);
         if (!mapUV && !uvDistortion && !erosion?.mask && !gradientMap) {
             return;
         }
@@ -760,9 +245,12 @@ export abstract class VFXBatch {
             );
         // Written to the material for the next bind and to the bound effect for
         // this one: ShaderMaterial uploads its values before the bind observers run.
+        // The layouts are read off the settings on every bind, so a live change
+        // to a tiling or scroll reaches the next draw.
         const write = () => {
             const time = this.time;
             const effect = material.getEffect();
+            const {mapUV, uvDistortion, gradientMap, erosion} = this.settings;
             if (mapUV) {
                 transform(mapUV, time, mapTransform);
                 material.setVector4('mapTransform', mapTransform);
@@ -792,11 +280,56 @@ export abstract class VFXBatch {
         material.onBindObservable.add(write);
     }
 
-    addSystem(system: IParticleSystem) {
+    /** Writes the texture effects' constants (the uniforms their live parameters set). */
+    private writeSurfaceParams(material: ShaderMaterial): void {
+        const {uvDistortion, gradientMap, erosion} = this.settings;
+        if (uvDistortion?.map) {
+            material.setFloat('distortionStrength', uvDistortion.strength);
+        }
+        if (gradientMap?.ramp) {
+            const [r, g, b, a] = GRADIENT_MAP_WEIGHTS[gradientMap.channel];
+            material.setVector4('gradientMapChannel', new BVector4(r, g, b, a));
+        }
+        if (erosion) {
+            material.setVector2('erosionParams', new BVector2(erosion.softness, erosion.edgeWidth));
+            material.setVector3(
+                'erosionEdgeColor',
+                new BVector3(erosion.edgeColor[0], erosion.edgeColor[1], erosion.edgeColor[2])
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Takes new live parameters (see {@link BatchedRenderer.updateSystem}): settings with the same
+     * shader key as the batch's, whose uniform values differ. They are copied into the batch's
+     * settings and written to its material, which is kept.
+     * @internal
+     */
+    applyLiveSettings(settings: StoredBatchSettings): void {
+        Object.assign(this.settings, settings);
+        const material = this.mesh.material;
+        if (material instanceof ShaderMaterial) {
+            this.writeLiveUniforms(material);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Writes every uniform a live parameter sets, from the batch's settings. The base writes the
+     * ones every render mode has; a mode adds its own.
+     * @internal
+     */
+    protected writeLiveUniforms(material: ShaderMaterial): void {
+        this.writeSoftParams(material);
+        this.writeSurfaceParams(material);
+    }
+
+    /** @internal */
+    addSystem(system: IParticleSystem): void {
         this.systems.add(system);
     }
 
-    removeSystem(system: IParticleSystem) {
+    /** @internal */
+    removeSystem(system: IParticleSystem): void {
         this.systems.delete(system);
     }
 
@@ -819,21 +352,130 @@ export abstract class VFXBatch {
         return visibleSystems;
     }
 
-    applyDepthTexture(depthTexture: BaseTexture | null): void {
+    /**
+     * Sets the depth texture soft particles read. Soft particles are compiled in only while there
+     * is one, as Unity turns them off for a camera without a depth texture, so attaching or
+     * removing it, or changing how it is packed, rebuilds a soft batch's material.
+     *
+     * @param depth - The binding, or a bare texture, read as `'linear'` and unpacked.
+     * @internal Use {@link BatchedRenderer.setDepthTexture}.
+     */
+    applyDepthTexture(depth: DepthBinding | BaseTexture | null): void {
+        if (depth instanceof BaseTexture) {
+            depth = {texture: depth, encoding: 'linear', packed: false};
+        }
+        const previous = this.depth;
+        this.depth = depth;
+        if (!this.settings.softParticles) {
+            return;
+        }
+        if (!previous !== !depth || previous?.packed !== depth?.packed) {
+            this.rebuildMaterial();
+            return;
+        }
         const material = this.mesh.material;
-        if (material && material instanceof ShaderMaterial) {
-            material.setTexture('depthTexture', depthTexture);
+        if (depth && material instanceof ShaderMaterial) {
+            material.setTexture('depthTexture', depth.texture);
         }
     }
 
-    /** Sets the light `'fixed'` mesh particles are lit by. Batches that draw no meshes ignore it. */
+    /**
+     * Sets the soft-particle and alpha-test values on a material, and decodes the depth for the
+     * camera of each draw.
+     */
+    protected bindSoft(material: ShaderMaterial): void {
+        this.writeSoftParams(material);
+        if (this.drawsSoft()) {
+            material.setTexture('depthTexture', this.depth!.texture);
+            // Reused across binds: this runs on every draw call.
+            const projParams = new BVector4(1, 0, 0, 1);
+            material.onBindObservable.add(() => {
+                const camera = this.scene.activeCamera;
+                if (camera && this.depth) {
+                    softDepthParams(camera, this.depth.encoding, projParams);
+                    VFXBatch.writeBound(material, (target) => target.setVector4('projParams', projParams));
+                }
+            });
+        }
+    }
+
+    /** Writes the soft-particle fade and the alpha cutoff, the live parameters every mode shares. */
+    private writeSoftParams(material: ShaderMaterial): void {
+        if (this.drawsSoft()) {
+            material.setVector2(
+                'softParams',
+                new BVector2(
+                    this.settings.softNearFade,
+                    1.0 / Math.max(this.settings.softFarFade - this.settings.softNearFade, 0.0001)
+                )
+            );
+        }
+        if (this.settings.materialAlphaTest > 0) {
+            material.setFloat('alphaTest', this.settings.materialAlphaTest);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /** True when this batch draws soft particles: they are on and a depth texture is attached. */
+    protected drawsSoft(): boolean {
+        return this.settings.softParticles && this.depth !== null;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Sets the light `'fixed'` mesh particles are lit by. Batches that draw no meshes ignore it.
+     * @internal Use {@link BatchedRenderer.setMeshLighting}.
+     */
     applyMeshLighting(_lighting: MeshLightingSettings): void {}
 
+    /** @internal */
     abstract setupBuffers(): void;
+    /** @internal */
     abstract expandBuffers(target: number): void;
+
+    /** Rebuilds the instance buffers at the current {@link maxParticles}, after a shrink. @internal */
+    protected abstract resizeBuffers(): void;
+
+    /** The capacity a batch starts with and never shrinks below. @internal */
+    protected abstract readonly initialCapacity: number;
+
+    /** Fills in a row that used under a quarter of the buffers. */
+    private underusedFills = 0;
+
+    /**
+     * How many fills in a row a batch may use under a quarter of its buffers before it halves
+     * them: about five seconds at 60 frames per second. A burst that grew the buffers does not
+     * hold that memory for the rest of the session, and a batch whose count swings does not
+     * reallocate every few frames.
+     */
+    static readonly SHRINK_AFTER_FILLS = 300;
+
+    /**
+     * Grows the buffers to hold `count`, or halves them once the batch has used under a quarter of
+     * them for {@link SHRINK_AFTER_FILLS} fills, never below {@link initialCapacity}. Called by each
+     * fill with what it is about to write. @internal
+     */
+    protected fitBuffers(count: number): void {
+        if (count > this.maxParticles) {
+            this.underusedFills = 0;
+            this.expandBuffers(count);
+            return;
+        }
+        if (this.maxParticles > this.initialCapacity && count < this.maxParticles / 4) {
+            if (++this.underusedFills >= VFXBatch.SHRINK_AFTER_FILLS) {
+                this.underusedFills = 0;
+                this.maxParticles = Math.max(this.initialCapacity, this.maxParticles / 2);
+                this.resizeBuffers();
+            }
+            return;
+        }
+        this.underusedFills = 0;
+    }
+
+    /** @internal */
     abstract rebuildMaterial(): void;
+    /** @internal */
     abstract update(): void;
 
+    /** @internal */
     dispose(): void {
         this.mesh.dispose();
     }