Project 11: Real-Time Particle System

A high-performance particle system with 100,000+ particles, using SOA layouts, SIMD updates, and GPU instancing—like a mini EmberGen.

Quick Reference

Attribute Value
Primary Language Odin
Alternative Languages C++, Rust
Difficulty Level 3: Advanced
Time Estimate 2 weeks
Knowledge Area Graphics / Simulation / Data-Oriented Design
Tooling Raylib or custom renderer
Prerequisites Project 4 or 10 (Graphics), Project 5 (ECS/SOA)

What You Will Build

A high-performance particle system with 100,000+ particles, using SOA layouts, SIMD updates, and GPU instancing—like a mini EmberGen.

Why It Matters

This project builds core skills that appear repeatedly in real-world systems and tooling.

Core Challenges

  • SOA particle storage → maps to #soa for cache efficiency
  • SIMD particle updates → maps to vectorized physics
  • GPU instancing → maps to efficient rendering
  • Emitter systems → maps to procedural generation

Key Concepts

  • SOA Particles: Odin’s #soa for contiguous data
  • SIMD Physics: Vectorized position/velocity updates
  • Particle Rendering: Billboarding, soft particles
  • Lifetime Management: Object pooling

Real-World Outcome

$ odin run particles -o:speed

Particle System Demo
--------------------
Max particles: 500,000
Active emitters: 5

[Window shows spectacular particle effects]

Emitter Types (1-5 to toggle):
  1. Fire/Flames
  2. Smoke
  3. Sparks/Debris
  4. Magic/Energy
  5. Rain/Weather

Stats (F1):
  Active particles: 234,567
  Particles/second: 50,000
  Update time: 1.2ms (SIMD)
  Render time: 2.1ms (instanced)
  Total: 3.3ms (303 FPS)

Memory:
  Particle pool: 48 MB (#soa layout)
  GPU buffer: 12 MB (instance data)

Comparison:
  AoS update: 8.5ms
  SoA update: 1.2ms ← 7x faster!

Implementation Guide

  1. Reproduce the simplest happy-path scenario.
  2. Build the smallest working version of the core feature.
  3. Add input validation and error handling.
  4. Add instrumentation/logging to confirm behavior.
  5. Refactor into clean modules with tests.

Milestones

  • Milestone 1: Minimal working program that runs end-to-end.
  • Milestone 2: Correct outputs for typical inputs.
  • Milestone 3: Robust handling of edge cases.
  • Milestone 4: Clean structure and documented usage.

Validation Checklist

  • Output matches the real-world outcome example
  • Handles invalid inputs safely
  • Provides clear errors and exit codes
  • Repeatable results across runs

References

  • Main guide: LEARN_ODIN_PROGRAMMING_LANGUAGE.md
  • “Real-Time Rendering” by Akenine-Möller et al.