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MonoGame Extended Particle System: Loading Ember Files

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This page is up to date for MonoGame.Extended 5.3.1. If you find outdated information, please open an issue.

Ember files (.ember) are XML-based particle effect files created by the Ember Editor, a visual particle effect editor for MonoGame Extended. These files contain complete particle effect configurations including emitter settings, modifiers, interpolators, and texture references.

This guide explains how to load and use .ember files in your MonoGame projects, covering both the Content Pipeline approach and direct file loading.

Understanding Ember Files​

An .ember file contains:

  • Particle Effect Properties: Position, rotation, scale, auto-trigger settings
  • Emitter Configurations: One or more emitters with their profiles, parameters, and settings
  • Modifiers and Interpolators: Behavior definitions for particle animation
  • Texture References: Paths to texture files used by emitters

When you load an .ember file, MonoGame Extended deserializes this XML data into a ParticleEffect object that you can use in your game exactly like particle effects created in code.

Loading Methods​

There are two ways to load .ember files in your MonoGame project:

  1. Content Pipeline Method (Recommended): Pre-processes files at build time with automatic dependency tracking
  2. Direct File Loading: Loads files at runtime for rapid iteration and prototyping

Method 1: Content Pipeline (Recommended)​

The Content Pipeline method provides the most robust integration with your game's content management system.

Prerequisites​

Before using the Content Pipeline method, you need:

  1. MonoGame Extended Content Pipeline Extension: The pipeline extension DLL that processes .ember files
  2. Content Pipeline Reference: The extension must be referenced in your Content.mgcb file

See the Setting Up MGCB Editor documentation for detailed information setting this up.

Step 1: Add the Ember File to Your Content Project​

  1. Open your Content.mgcb file in the MGCB Editor
  2. Add your .ember file to the content project:
    • Click Edit > Add > Existing Item
    • Navigate to your .ember file
    • Select the file and click Open

The MGCB Editor will automatically:

  • Detect the .ember file extension
  • Assign the "Particle Effect Importer - MonoGame.Extended" importer
  • Assign the "Particle Effect Processor - MonoGame.Extended" processor

MGCB Editor showing .ember file with automatic importer/processor assignment

Step 2: Ensure Texture Files Are Available​

Place any texture files referenced by your particle effect in the same directory as the .ember file or ensure they're already in your content project.

The Content Pipeline will automatically:

  • Track texture dependencies
  • Validate that textures exist at build time
  • Rebuild the .ember file if any texture changes
warning

The texture files must be in the same directory at the .ember file. They do not have to be added to the content project. However, if you wish to add them to the content project, ensure that they are in the same directory in the content project as the .ember file. If a referenced texture is missing, you will get a build error. This is intentional to catch missing assets before runtime.

Step 3: Load the Particle Effect in Your Game​

Load the particle effect using the standard ContentManager.Load<T> method:

public class Game1 : Game
{
    private ParticleEffect _particleEffect;

    protected override void LoadContent()
    {
        // Load the particle effect (no file extension needed)
        _particleEffect = Content.Load<ParticleEffect>("ParticleEffects/Smoke");
        
        // Position the effect
        _particleEffect.Position = new Vector2(400, 300);
        
        base.LoadContent();
    }

    protected override void Update(GameTime gameTime)
    {
        _particleEffect.Update(gameTime);
        base.Update(gameTime);
    }

    protected override void Draw(GameTime gameTime)
    {
        GraphicsDevice.Clear(Color.Black);
        
        _spriteBatch.Begin();
        _spriteBatch.Draw(_particleEffect);
        _spriteBatch.End();
        
        base.Draw(gameTime);
    }
}

Content Pipeline Benefits​

Using the Content Pipeline provides several advantages:

Build-Time Validation

Build Error: Cannot find texture 'particle_texture.png' 
referenced by 'FireEffect.ember'

Errors are caught during build, not at runtime.

Automatic Dependency Tracking

  • Modifying a texture automatically triggers a rebuild of dependent .ember files
  • No need to manually track which effects use which textures

Optimized Loading

  • Textures are loaded through the Content Pipeline's texture processor
  • Benefits from texture compression and platform-specific optimizations

Method 2: Direct File Loading​

Direct file loading is useful for rapid iteration during development or when you need to load effects dynamically at runtime.

Step 1: Prepare Your Files​

Organize your files so that textures are either:

  • In the same directory as the .ember file, or
  • Already loaded through the Content Pipeline

Step 2: Load Using ParticleEffectSerializer​

Use the ParticleEffectSerializer class to load the effect directly:

public class Game1 : Game
{
    private ParticleEffect _particleEffect;

    protected override void LoadContent()
    {
        // Load the particle effect directly from file
        string effectPath = "Content/ParticleEffects/Smoke.ember";

        _particleEffect = ParticleEffectSerializer.Deserialize(effectPath, Content);
        
        // Position the effect
        _particleEffect.Position = new Vector2(400, 300);
        
        base.LoadContent();
    }

    protected override void Update(GameTime gameTime)
    {
        _particleEffect.Update(gameTime);
        base.Update(gameTime);
    }

    protected override void Draw(GameTime gameTime)
    {
        GraphicsDevice.Clear(Color.Black);
        
        _spriteBatch.Begin();
        _spriteBatch.Draw(_particleEffect);
        _spriteBatch.End();
        
        base.Draw(gameTime);
    }
}

Loading from a Stream​

You can also load from a stream for more advanced scenarios:

// Load using MonoGame's TitleContainer
using Stream stream = TitleContainer.OpenStream("Content/ParticleEffects/Smoke.ember");
ParticleEffect effect = ParticleEffectSerializer.Deserialize(stream, Content);

Direct Loading Considerations​

When using direct file loading, consider the following:

  • The reader tries to load textures through the ContentManager first
  • Falls back to loading texture files directly using Texture2D.FromFile()
  • Texture paths in the .ember file are relative to the .ember file's location

Working with Loaded Effects​

Once loaded (via either method), particle effects work identically to effects created in code.

Basic Usage​

// Update the effect every frame
protected override void Update(GameTime gameTime)
{
    _particleEffect.Update(gameTime);
}

// Draw the effect
protected override void Draw(GameTime gameTime)
{
    _spriteBatch.Begin();
    _spriteBatch.Draw(_particleEffect);
    _spriteBatch.End();
}

Positioning and Transforming​

// Move the effect
_particleEffect.Position = playerPosition;

// Rotate the effect (in radians)
_particleEffect.Rotation = MathHelper.ToRadians(45);

// Scale the effect
_particleEffect.Scale = new Vector2(2.0f, 2.0f);

Manual Triggering​

If the effect has AutoTrigger set to false:

// Trigger all emitters at the effect's current position
_particleEffect.Trigger();

// Trigger at a specific position
_particleEffect.Trigger(explosionPosition);

// Trigger along a line
LineSegment line = new LineSegment(startPos, endPos);
_particleEffect.Trigger(line, layerDepth: 0.5f);

Accessing Emitters​

You can access and modify individual emitters after loading:

// Access emitters by index
ParticleEmitter firstEmitter = _particleEffect.Emitters[0];

// Find emitters by name
ParticleEmitter fireEmitter = _particleEffect.Emitters
    .FirstOrDefault(e => e.Name == "Fire Emitter");

// Modify emitter properties at runtime
if (fireEmitter != null)
{
    fireEmitter.Parameters.Speed = new ParticleFloatParameter(50.0f, 100.0f);
}

Texture Dependencies​

Understanding how texture dependencies work is important for both loading methods.

How Textures Are Stored in Ember Files​

Ember files store texture references in the TextureRegion element:

<TextureRegion Name="particle_texture.png" Bounds="0 0 32 32" />

The Name attribute contains the texture filename, which can be:

  • Just a filename: particle_texture.png
  • A relative path: ../Textures/particle_texture.png
  • An asset name (when using Content Pipeline): Textures/ParticleTexture

Texture Loading Behavior​

Content Pipeline Method:

  • Textures must exist at build time
  • Texture paths are resolved relative to the .ember file location
  • Missing textures cause build failures

Direct Loading Method:

  1. First attempts to load via ContentManager.Load<Texture2D>(name)
  2. If that fails, attempts to load directly from file using texture path relative to .ember file
  3. If both fail, the emitter will have no texture (particles won't render)

Troubleshooting​

Build Error: Cannot Find Texture​

Problem: Content Pipeline build fails with texture not found error.

Solution:

  • Ensure texture files are in the same directory as the .ember file
  • Check that texture filenames in the .ember file match actual filenames (case-sensitive on some platforms)
  • Verify texture files are included in your content project

Runtime Error: Texture Loading Failed​

Problem: Direct loading succeeds but particles don't render.

Solution:

  • Check console output for texture loading warnings
  • Verify texture paths are relative to the .ember file location
  • Ensure textures are either in the correct relative path or loaded through Content Pipeline

Particles Not Appearing​

Problem: Effect loads but no particles appear.

Solution:

  • Verify the effect is being updated: _particleEffect.Update(gameTime)
  • Check if AutoTrigger is false - you may need to call Trigger() manually
  • Ensure effect position is within viewport bounds
  • Verify emitter has a valid texture assigned
  • Check emitter capacity isn't exhausted

Additional Resources​

For more information about creating particle effects: