Niagara Profiler

Niagara Profiler

Module: Art · Category: VFX · Tool ID: VFXComplexityAnalyzer

A project-wide Niagara analyzer that profiles every particle system for emitter count, max particles, GPU/CPU sim mode, overdraw cost, material complexity, ribbon/mesh/light renderer overhead, and collision/event usage. Includes per-device-profile budget compliance checks (PC High, PC Medium, Console, Mobile, Quest VR).

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When to use it

• Performance budget pass — find every Niagara system that’s over your platform’s particle/emitter cap
• Multi-platform shipping — confirm mobile / Quest VR builds won’t blow up because of a single hero VFX
• Optimization sweep — identify which systems lean on expensive features (light renderers, collision, events)
• Onboarding to a project — get an objective view of the VFX budget across all systems

When not to use it

• Don’t use this for runtime VFX debugging — it’s asset-side analysis, not a runtime profiler
• Don’t expect Cascade analysis — Niagara only

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Opening the tool

1. Open the EQLabs Hub and search for Niagara (or browse to Art → VFX)
2. Click the tool card
3. Pick a scan mode (Current Level or Content Browser path)
4. Optionally pick a device profile to enable budget compliance checking
5. Click Run Analysis

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Interface tour

Section	What it does	Default
Scan Mode	Current Level (only NiagaraComponents in the active level) or Content Browser (every NiagaraSystem under a path)	Current Level
Scan Path	Folder to scan in Content Browser mode	/Game/
Device Profile	None / PC High / PC Medium / Console / Mobile / Quest VR — when not None, budget compliance is computed	None
High Particle Threshold	Particle count above which the system is flagged	5000
High Emitter Threshold	Emitter count above which the system is flagged	8
Run Analysis button	Walks the chosen scope, builds reports
Summary	Total systems / warnings / criticals
Reports list	Per-system row: name, emitter count, max particles, GPU/CPU flag, collision/event flags, renderer flags, material count, overdraw factor, severity, budget status

Severity coding

Severity	Meaning
Good	Under thresholds, no expensive flags
Warning	At least one threshold crossed, or moderately expensive feature combinations
Critical	Multiple thresholds crossed, or extreme particle/emitter counts

Budget compliance (when a device profile is selected)

Status	Meaning
None	No device profile selected
Pass	Within the profile’s particle/emitter budgets and GPU sim is allowed if used
Warn	Close to the profile’s limit
Fail	Exceeds the profile’s particle / emitter cap, or uses GPU sim when not allowed

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Workflow

Step 1 — Pick a scope

Current Level is fastest for an in-progress level. Content Browser with a folder is right for project-wide audits.

Step 2 — Pick a device profile

If you’re targeting only PC High, you can skip the budget step. For multi-platform projects, set the profile to your weakest target (typically Mobile or Quest VR) — that’s where budgets bite first.

Step 3 — Run analysis

Click Run Analysis. The list populates. Sort by severity — Critical entries are your top priorities.

Step 4 — Drill into individual systems

Single-click pings the NiagaraSystem in the Content Browser. Double-click opens it in the Niagara editor.

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Settings reference

Field	What it does	Default
Scan Mode	Current Level or Content Browser	Current Level
Scan Path	Content Browser scan path	/Game/
High Particle Threshold	Severity flag threshold	5000
High Emitter Threshold	Severity flag threshold	8
Device Profile	Budget compliance target	None

Settings are persisted to [Project]/Saved/EQLabs/Settings/VFXComplexityAnalyzer.json.

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Output

• In-panel report list — cleared on each rescan
• No edits — read-only analysis

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Tips & gotchas

• GPU sim is faster than CPU sim — usually — but on mobile / Quest VR, GPU sim isn’t always available. The budget profile flags GPU-using systems on platforms that don’t support it.
• Overdraw factor is an estimate — Sprite count × particle size / screen area is a heuristic. Use it for relative prioritization, not absolute pixel-fill predictions.
• Light renderers are expensive — flagged in the renderer column; one-off use is fine, dozens of light-rendering particle systems will tank performance.
• Material count includes per-emitter materials — high counts mean shader compile and draw call overhead even before particles are drawn.
• Niagara Budget Sentinel was absorbed into this tool (P18) — the device profile section is the absorbed Sentinel functionality.

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Related tools

• Flipbook Maker — for authoring sprite sheets that feed Niagara systems
• Project Doctor Suite (Tech module) — broader project-health analysis including VFX

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