The goal of the Gateway Portal effect was to break out of the glowing ring and try out some other things. We settled on something more smokey and simmed a ring of smoke in Houdini, one version that opens and closes and one that loops. The looping sim was for the background portal that never closes, the other was used for the foreground where the portal opens and closes to different destinations.

I added some supporting FX with Niagara and materials including snow and snow clouds, distortion, and the smoke ribbons that signal the opening of a portal and shoot out while the portal is open.

The portals also made their way into the story mode. During story fights the portals are activated and de-activated and seen from a few different angles.

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