flame-engine · s1r1m1r1 · Mar 6, 2026 · Mar 6, 2026 · Mar 6, 2026 · Mar 6, 2026
diff --git a/doc/flame/effects/color_effects.md b/doc/flame/effects/color_effects.md
@@ -136,3 +136,44 @@ final effect = GlowEffect(
 ```
 
 Currently this effect can only be applied to components that have a `HasPaint` mixin.
+
+
+## `HueToEffect`
+
+This effect will change the hue of the target over time to the specified angle in radians.
+It can only be applied to components that implement the `HueProvider`.
+
+```dart
+final effect = HueEffect.to(
+  pi / 2,
+  EffectController(duration: 3),
+);
+```
+
+## `HueByEffect`
+
+This effect will rotate the hue of the target relative by the specified angle in radians.
+It can only be applied to components that implement the `HueProvider`.
+
+```{flutter-app}
+:sources: ../flame/examples
+:page: hue_effect
+:show: widget code infobox
+:width: 180
+:height: 160
+```
+
+```dart
+final effect = HueEffect.by(
+  2 * tau,
+  EffectController(duration: 3),
+);
+```
+
+Both effects can target any component implementing `HueProvider`. The `HasPaint` mixin
+implements `HueProvider` and handles the necessary `ColorFilter` updates automatically.
+
+> [!TIP]
+> **Performance Note**: `HueEffect` is extremely efficient because it modifies the `Paint`'s
+> `colorFilter` directly. If you have many components, prefer this effect over the `HueDecorator`,
+> which uses `saveLayer()` and has much higher overhead.
diff --git a/doc/flame/effects/effects.md b/doc/flame/effects/effects.md
@@ -105,6 +105,20 @@ that property to a fixed value. This way multiple effects would be able to act o
 without interfering with each other.
 
 
+## Effects vs Decorators
+
+While effects and decorators can sometimes achieve similar visual results (like changing opacity 
+or color), they have different performance and visual characteristics:
+
+- **Effects** are fast and generally change a property on a single component. When applied to 
+  a group, they affect each child individually.
+- **Decorators** are more powerful but slower. They use `saveLayer` to flatten a whole 
+  component subtree into a single layer before applying an effect. This is essential for 
+  correctly rendering composite objects with transparency or complex filters.
+
+See the [Decorators documentation](../rendering/decorators.md) for a more detailed comparison.
+
+
 ## See also
 
 - [Examples of various effects](https://examples.flame-engine.org/).

diff --git a/doc/flame/examples/lib/decorator_hue.dart b/doc/flame/examples/lib/decorator_hue.dart
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+import 'dart:math';
+
+import 'package:doc_flame_examples/flower.dart';
+import 'package:flame/game.dart';
+import 'package:flame/rendering.dart';
+
+class DecoratorHueGame extends FlameGame {
+  @override
+  Future<void> onLoad() async {
+    var step = 0;
+    add(
+      Flower(
+        size: 100,
+        position: canvasSize / 2,
+        onTap: (flower) {
+          final decorator = flower.decorator;
+          step++;
+          if (step == 1) {
+            decorator.addLast(HueDecorator(hue: pi / 4));
+          } else if (step == 2) {
+            decorator.replaceLast(HueDecorator(hue: pi / 2));
+          } else if (step == 3) {
+            decorator.replaceLast(HueDecorator(hue: pi));
+          } else {
+            decorator.replaceLast(null);
+            step = 0;
+          }
+        },
+      )..onTapUp(),
+    );
+  }
+}
diff --git a/doc/flame/examples/lib/hue_effect.dart b/doc/flame/examples/lib/hue_effect.dart
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+import 'dart:math';
+
+import 'package:doc_flame_examples/ember.dart';
+import 'package:flame/components.dart';
+import 'package:flame/effects.dart';
+import 'package:flame/game.dart';
+
+class HueEffectExample extends FlameGame {
+  @override
+  Future<void> onLoad() async {
+    final ember = EmberPlayer(
+      position: size / 2,
+      size: size / 4,
+      onTap: (ember) {
+        ember.add(
+          HueEffect.by(
+            2 * pi,
+            EffectController(duration: 3),
+          ),
+        );
+      },
+    )..anchor = Anchor.center;
+
+    add(ember);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/doc/flame/examples/lib/main.dart b/doc/flame/examples/lib/main.dart
@@ -5,11 +5,13 @@ import 'package:doc_flame_examples/collision_detection.dart';
 import 'package:doc_flame_examples/color_effect.dart';
 import 'package:doc_flame_examples/decorator_blur.dart';
 import 'package:doc_flame_examples/decorator_grayscale.dart';
+import 'package:doc_flame_examples/decorator_hue.dart';
 import 'package:doc_flame_examples/decorator_rotate3d.dart';
 import 'package:doc_flame_examples/decorator_shadow3d.dart';
 import 'package:doc_flame_examples/decorator_tint.dart';
 import 'package:doc_flame_examples/drag_events.dart';
 import 'package:doc_flame_examples/glow_effect.dart';
+import 'package:doc_flame_examples/hue_effect.dart';
 import 'package:doc_flame_examples/move_along_path_effect.dart';
 import 'package:doc_flame_examples/move_by_effect.dart';
 import 'package:doc_flame_examples/move_to_effect.dart';
@@ -39,18 +41,20 @@ import 'package:flutter/widgets.dart';
 import 'package:web/web.dart' as web;
 
 final routes = <String, Game Function()>{
+  'anchor': AnchorGame.new,
   'anchor_by_effect': AnchorByEffectGame.new,
   'anchor_to_effect': AnchorToEffectGame.new,
-  'anchor': AnchorGame.new,
   'collision_detection': CollisionDetectionGame.new,
   'color_effect': ColorEffectExample.new,
   'decorator_blur': DecoratorBlurGame.new,
   'decorator_grayscale': DecoratorGrayscaleGame.new,
+  'decorator_hue': DecoratorHueGame.new,
   'decorator_rotate3d': DecoratorRotate3DGame.new,
   'decorator_shadow3d': DecoratorShadowGame.new,
   'decorator_tint': DecoratorTintGame.new,
   'drag_events': DragEventsGame.new,
   'glow_effect': GlowEffectExample.new,
+  'hue_effect': HueEffectExample.new,
   'move_along_path_effect': MoveAlongPathEffectGame.new,
   'move_by_effect': MoveByEffectGame.new,
   'move_to_effect': MoveToEffectGame.new,

diff --git a/doc/flame/rendering/decorators.md b/doc/flame/rendering/decorators.md
@@ -10,6 +10,38 @@ necessary. We are planning to add shader-based decorators once Flutter fully sup
 web.
 
 
+## Performance considerations
+
+Applying a Decorator to a component can have a significant performance overhead, especially when
+it involves `canvas.saveLayer()`.
+
+- **Decorators**: Use `canvas.saveLayer()` by default to isolate rendering and apply
+  filters. This requires off-screen buffer allocation and GPU context switches. This is 
+  computationally expensive but essential for correct visual composition of complex 
+  objects (see below).
+- **Effects** (e.g., `OpacityEffect`, `ColorEffect`): Modify the component's properties or `Paint` directly. These are extremely fast and hardware-accelerated, but they apply to each child individually.
+
+### Decorators vs Effects: Visual Composition
+
+The key difference lies in how they handle composite objects (components with multiple 
+overlapping children):
+
+1. **Effects (Individual Blend)**: If you apply an `OpacityEffect` to a parent component, 
+   Flame will render each child with that opacity. If children overlap, you will see 
+   through them to the background and to other children, creating a "double-exposure" 
+   look.
+2. **Decorators (Group Blend)**: Because decorators use `saveLayer`, they render the 
+   entire subtree into a flat buffer first, and then apply the effect to that 
+   buffer. This results in a uniform appearance where overlaps are not visible, 
+   making the group look like a single solid object.
+
+**Recommendation**:
+- Use **Effects** for simple property animations and high-performance color shifts on 
+  large numbers of units.
+- Use **Decorators** for advanced post-processing (blurs, tints) and when you need 
+  to treat a group of components as a single visual unit.
+
+
    ## Flame built-in decorators
 
 
@@ -157,6 +189,29 @@ limitation is that the shadows are flat and cannot interact with the environment
 decorator cannot handle shadows that fall onto walls or other vertical structures.
 
 
+### HueDecorator
+
+```{flutter-app}
+:sources: ../flame/examples
+:page: decorator_hue
+:show: widget code infobox
+:width: 180
+:height: 160
+```
+
+This decorator shifts the hue of the underlying component by the specified angle in radians.
+
+```dart
+final decorator = HueDecorator(hue: tau / 4);
+```
+
+Possible uses:
+
+- alternative color schemes for enemies ("palette swapping");
+- environmental changes (e.g., world turning purple/surreal);
+- power-up indicators.
+
+
 ## Using decorators
 
 
@@ -175,7 +230,7 @@ components the `HasDecorator` mixin is not needed.
 
 In fact, the `PositionComponent` uses its decorator in order to properly position the component on
 the screen. Thus, any new decorators that you'd want to apply to the `PositionComponent` will need
-to be chained (see the [](#multiple-decorators) section below).
+to be chained (see the [Multiple decorators](#multiple-decorators) section below).
 
 It is also possible to replace the root decorator of the `PositionComponent`, if you want to create
 an alternative logic for how the component shall be positioned on the screen.
@@ -196,5 +251,5 @@ from its root, which usually is `component.decorator`.
 
 
 [Component]: ../components/components.md#component
-[Effect]: ../../flame/effects.md
+[Effect]: ../effects/effects.md
 [HasDecorator]: #hasdecorator-mixin
diff --git a/examples/lib/main.dart b/examples/lib/main.dart
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ import 'package:examples/stories/image/image.dart';
 import 'package:examples/stories/input/input.dart';
 import 'package:examples/stories/layout/layout.dart';
 import 'package:examples/stories/parallax/parallax.dart';
+import 'package:examples/stories/rendering/decorators.dart';
 import 'package:examples/stories/rendering/rendering.dart';
 import 'package:examples/stories/router/router.dart';
 import 'package:examples/stories/sprites/sprites.dart';
@@ -83,6 +84,7 @@ void runAsDashbook() {
   addCameraAndViewportStories(dashbook);
   addCollisionDetectionStories(dashbook);
   addComponentsStories(dashbook);
+  addDecoratorStories(dashbook);
   addEffectsStories(dashbook);
   addExperimentalStories(dashbook);
   addInputStories(dashbook);

diff --git a/examples/lib/stories/effects/effects.dart b/examples/lib/stories/effects/effects.dart
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import 'package:examples/stories/effects/combined_effect_example.dart';
 import 'package:examples/stories/effects/dual_effect_removal_example.dart';
 import 'package:examples/stories/effects/effect_controllers_example.dart';
 import 'package:examples/stories/effects/function_effect_example.dart';
+import 'package:examples/stories/effects/hue_effect_example.dart';
 import 'package:examples/stories/effects/move_effect_example.dart';
 import 'package:examples/stories/effects/opacity_effect_example.dart';
 import 'package:examples/stories/effects/remove_effect_example.dart';
@@ -59,6 +60,12 @@ void addEffectsStories(Dashbook dashbook) {
       codeLink: baseLink('effects/opacity_effect_example.dart'),
       info: OpacityEffectExample.description,
     )
+    ..add(
+      'Hue Effect',
+      (_) => GameWidget(game: HueEffectExample()),
+      codeLink: baseLink('effects/hue_effect_example.dart'),
+      info: HueEffectExample.description,
+    )
     ..add(
       'Color Effect',
       (_) => GameWidget(game: ColorEffectExample()),

diff --git a/examples/lib/stories/effects/hue_effect_example.dart b/examples/lib/stories/effects/hue_effect_example.dart
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+import 'dart:math';
+
+import 'package:examples/commons/ember.dart';
+import 'package:flame/effects.dart';
+
6052
import 'package:flame/game.dart';
+
+class HueEffectExample extends FlameGame {
+  static const String description = '''
+In this example we show how the `HueEffect` can be used.
+Ember will shift its hue over time.
+  ''';
+
+  @override
+  Future<void> onLoad() async {
+    add(
+      Ember(
+        position: size / 2,
+        size: Vector2.all(100),
+      )..add(
+        HueEffect.by(
+          2 * pi,
+          EffectController(
+            duration: 3,
+            infinite: true,
+          ),
+        ),
+      ),
+    );
+  }
+}
diff --git a/examples/lib/stories/rendering/decorator_hue_example.dart b/examples/lib/stories/rendering/decorator_hue_example.dart
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+import 'dart:math';
+
+import 'package:examples/commons/ember.dart';
+import 'package:flame/components.dart';
+import 'package:flame/events.dart';
+import 'package:flame/game.dart';
+import 'package:flame/rendering.dart';
+
+class DecoratorHueExample extends FlameGame with TapCallbacks {
+  static const String description = '''
+  This example demonstrates the usage of `HueDecorator` to shift the 
+  colors of a component.
+
+  Basi
A373
c `HueDecorator` shifting the hue of an Ember component. 
+
+  Click to cycle through hue shifts.
+  ''';
+
+  late final HueDecorator decorator;
+  int step = 0;
+
+  @override
+  Future<void> onLoad() async {
+    decorator = HueDecorator();
+    world.add(
+      _buildItem('HueDecorator', decorator),
+    );
+  }
+
+  PositionComponent _buildItem(String title, HueDecorator decorator) {
+    return PositionComponent(
+      size: Vector2(150, 120),
+      children: [
+        Ember(
+          size: Vector2.all(80),
+          position: Vector2(75, 40),
+        ),
+        TextComponent(
+          text: title,
+          position: Vector2(75, 100),
+          anchor: Anchor.center,
+        ),
+      ],
+    )..decorator.addLast(decorator);
+  }
+
+  @override
+  void onTapDown(TapDownEvent event) {
+    step++;
+    final hues = [0.0, pi / 4, pi / 2, pi, 0.0];
+    final hue = hues[step % hues.length];
+    decorator.hue = hue;
+  }
+}