I’ve created a muzzle flash for a game by using 2 perpendicular planes textured with a transparent image (looks like a + from the front/back). It looks ugly from a few angles but I was told that I could use a billboard or halo during the fire animation to create a flash of light (white to alpha radial gradient texture).
Unfortunately the only tutorials I can find on billboards are for billboard animations, which I don’t think is the same thing as all I need is a plane that always faces the camera. And I couldn’t find anything when searching for halos other than articles about Halo 3:D.
Can someone explain the difference to me and possibly point me in the direction of a good tutorial?
all I need is a plane that always faces the camera
There is your answer. Simply add a TrackTo constraint to a plane and make it track to you camera.
Halos are limited in the fact that they can not appear in reflections. So if there is a mirror in your shot and you want an artistic show of the muzzle flash in the mirror as well. Halos will not work.
Billboards are typically used by the particle system. And they can face the camera. But if you only need a single plane, fussing with the particle system might be a bit overkill. Billboards is also a gneric term that can mean a plane with a mapped image.
If you are using image sequences for your muzzle flash, like those found in Action Movie Essentials I think a single plane with the TrackTo constraint is the way to go.