What causes these unwanted SSR reflections of particles/translucent objects and how can I mitigate them.

Development Rendering
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(using UE 4.12.5 in this context)

To illustrate the issue open the Particle_Into map in the official Epic Content Examples project. Go stand behind any of the particle demos (the pink electric arc is a good example).

You’ll see out of place reflections plastered all over the scene. It’s showing on the floor behind it, the ceiling, the far wall in the distance. All of these are places where you shouldn’t be seeing a reflection of this object.

Here’s a screenshot.

And Here’s a video:

What causes this? Is it due to the overbrightness of the materials? is it because translucency/additive? What can be done to mitigate the issue?
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Hi tmek,

This isn’t due to it being a Translucent material. This is simply an issue with Screen Space Reflections in general. You can reduce the artifact by adding a Post Process Volume and adjusting the Screen Space Reflections intensity, the max roughness setting, or using materials that have a higher roughness value for the level. The ones in the Content Example are fairly reflective for the floor, walls, and ceiling.

This is really just a limitation of SSR in general, though. Brightness of the material doesn’t help with making it really visible in the far distance.

-Tim