EmberGen

Ultra-fast real-time fluid simulation (fire, smoke, explosions) by JangaFX.

About

In practice. What you can do with EmberGen.

EmberGen is a small revolution in fluid simulation. Made by JangaFX, it computes fire, smoke, explosions and clouds in real time on the GPU. Where a traditional simulation (in Houdini, for example) can take hours to compute, EmberGen gives you a result in seconds, adjustable live. For a VFX or motion artist, it's a radical change of pace.

You then export your simulations as VDB or flipbooks to Unreal, Blender or a game engine. On price, JangaFX has a friendly indie offer: $19.99/month for freelancers (under $1M revenue), with a license earned after 18 months, or a direct purchase at $299.99.

Who it's for: VFX artists, motion designers and game creators who need fire and smoke effects fast. Houdini is more powerful and flexible for heavy simulation, but it's slow and expensive; Blender simulates for free but slowly. EmberGen wins on speed, simplicity and price for quality real-time effects. If you regularly do fire or explosions, it's a formidable accelerator.

Practical uses

Create an explosion or fire for a VFX shot.
Generate smoke flipbooks for a game.
Export VDB volumes to 3D software.

Features & use cases

Effets visuels

Simulation

Pros and cons

What EmberGen does especially well and the limits to anticipate.

Pros

Real-time simulation and rendering, immediate iteration.
Exports compatible with game engines and 3D pipelines.
Perpetual license possible after subscription.
Adopted by many reference studios.

Cons

No permanent free version.
Requires a powerful graphics card.
Specialized scope on fluid effects.

EmberGen: when it makes sense.

EmberGen is the go-to for producing fluid effects fast in VFX or games; with no need for effects, it serves no purpose.

Keep if

You create fire, smoke or explosion effects for VFX or games.. You want to iterate on simulations in real time.

EmberGen becomes worthwhile when

You use it at least once a week
The monthly cost ($20) is small next to the time it saves you

Challenge if

You have no need for fluid effects.. Your machine can't handle real-time GPU simulation.

EmberGen becomes too expensive when

You use it less than once a month
blender (free) already covers the essentials for occasional use

Our verdict. What to know about EmberGen.

Why this verdict

Great

EmberGen is fairly easy to replace with an alternative, no free tier to test before paying, clearly documented use cases.