Thruster Test
Concept
The inspiration for this project came from endlessly watching rocket take-offs, thruster/ booster test videos, and my grandfather (He worked on one of the original Ion Engines). After doing some research and finding the reference videos I wanted to use I set to work creating my own thruster and breaking down the effects I would need.
Project Breakdown
During my research, I found that most of the testing facilities and the equipment are unfinished or prototypes. Meaning that they are in rough shape or weren't in presentable condition. So I wanted pipes showing, damaged concrete, and unfinished metal. Also because these were prototypes some of them would fail, normally during a test designed to force the limits to see when and how the system would fail. This meant I not only had to create the effects for it starting, running and failing.
Effects
I started with the thruster flame itself, what I ended up doing was using an animated mesh that uses UVs to deform the shape and create the silhouette that I was trying to match. Then from that deformed geo, I generated the volumes that I could break up with a volume VOP and create that feeling of movement in the thruster flame. Next was the exhaust and gases that were expelled right before ignition, which I was able to pull velocities from that previously mentioned deforming geo to create the force and turbulence that was needed to push out the gas. Lastly was the failure, for that I removed the thruster cone and created an emission ramp for the glow of the overheating metal, and using that same piece I created a pyro sim for the gases around the heated metal that catch fire as the system fails.