PCloud : GeometryClass
| Value > MAXWrapper > Node > GeometryClass > Particle Systems > PCloud |
Basic Parameters
The object which acts as an emitter.
The radius of a spherical or cylindrical icon, and the length of a box icon.
The height of a box or cylindrical emitter.
Hides the emitter in the viewport, when on.
Set the display icon for particles in the viewport:
0-Dots (Displays the particles as dots.)
1-Ticks (Displays the particles as crosses.)
2-Mesh (Displays the particles as mesh objects. This results in slower viewport redraws.)
3-Bbox (For instanced geometry only, this displays each instanced particle, whether a single object, a hierarchy, or a group, as a bounding box.)
Particle Generation
Set the method by which the number of particles is determined over time:
0-Use Rate (Specifies a fixed number of particles emitted per frame.)
1-Use Total (Specifies a total number of particles formed over the life of the system.)
| TIP |
| Generally, Use Rate is best for a continuous flow of particles, like a trail of pixie dust, while Use Total is better for bursts of particles over a short period of time. |
The number of particles emitted per frame.
The total number of particles to be emitted.
The velocity of the particle at birth, along the normal, in units traveled per frame.
Percentage of variation to the speed of emission for each particle.
0-Random Direction (This option emits particles in random directions.)
1-Enter Vector (The direction of the particles is determined by a vector defined by the three X, Y, and Z vectors.)
2-Reference Object (Emits particles in the direction of the local Z axis of a specified object.)
The particle direction vectors for the X-axis.
The particle direction vectors for the Y-axis.
The particle direction vectors for the Z-axis.
The object used as the reference object.
<PCloud>.directionVariation Float default: 0.0 -- animatable, percentage, alias: Speed_Direction_Variation
Percentage of variation to the direction when you choose either the Direction Vector or Reference Object option.
The frame at which particles begin to exist in the scene.
The last frame at which particles are emitted.
Time at which all particles will disappear, regardless of other settings.
The lifespan of each particle from the time of creation.
The number of frames by which the life of each particle can vary from the norm.
The target size for all particles in the system.
The percentage by which the size of each particle may vary from the norm.
The number of intervals over which the particle grows from being very small (0.1a system constant) to the Size value.
The number of intervals over which the particle will shrink to 1/10 th its Size setting prior to its death.
By changing the Seed value, you achieve different results using otherwise identical particle settings.
Particle Type
0-Standard Particle (Uses one of several standard particle types, such as triangle, cube, tetra, and so on.)
1-MetaParticles (Uses Metaball particles. These are particle systems in which the individual particles blend together in blobs or streams.)
2-Instanced Geometry (Generates particles that are instances of either an object, a linked hierarchy of objects, or a group.)
Set the type of particle used when standard particles is selected:
0-Triangle (Renders each particle as a triangle. Use Triangle particles with noise opacity for steam or smoke.)
1-Cube (Renders each particle as a cube.)
2-Special (Each particle consists of three intersecting 2D squares. These are effective when you use a face-map material, optionally along with an opacity map, to create the effect of a three-dimensional particle.)
3-Facing (Renders each particle as a square that always faces the view. Use with an appropriate opacity map for bubbles or snowflakes.)
4-Constant (Provides a particle that remains the same size, in pixels, specified by thesizevalue. This size never changes, regardless of its distance from the camera. Note that this particle type can only be displayed in the viewports as a dot or a tick. If you turn on this option while Mesh is selected, the viewport display is automatically switched to Ticks.)
5-Tetra (Renders each particle as a mapped tetrahedron, whose tail points toward the normal vector of the emission, and whose head points away. Use Tetra particles for raindrops or sparks.)
6-SixPoint (Renders each particle as a six-pointed, two-dimensional star.)
7-Sphere (Renders each particle as a sphere.)
Determines the tightness of the particles, with regard to their tendency to blend with other particles. The higher the Tension, the harder the blobs, and the harder it is for them to merge.
The percent of variation of the Tension effect.
The coarseness for metaparticles in the rendered scene.
The coarseness for the viewport display.
When this is on, the rendering coarseness is automatically set, based on the size of the particles, and the viewport coarseness is set to about twice that of the rendering coarseness.
The object which is instanced.
Turn this on when you want to include the linked children of the picked object in the particle. If the picked object is a group, all children of the group are included.
Set the animation offset keying:
0-None (Each particle duplicates the timing of the original object. As a result, the animation of all particles will be identically timed.)
1-Birth (The firstborn particle is an instance of the current animation of the source object at the moment of that particle's birth. Each subsequent particle then use the same start time for the animation.)
2-Random (This option is the same as None when Frame Offset is set to 0. Otherwise, each particle is born using the same animation as the source object at the time of birth, but with a random offset of frames, based on the . instanceFrameOffset value.)
The property value is the UI value times the number of ticks per frame. The number of ticks per frame is accessible via the ticksPerFrame system global variable.
Specifies how a mapped material affects the particles:
0- Time (Maps particles over time.)
1- Distance (Maps particles over a distance.)
The number of frames from the birth of the particle that it takes to complete one mapping of the particle.
The distance, in units, from the birth of the particle that it takes to complete one mapping of the particle.
Updates the material carried by the particle system, using the source specified:
0-Icon (The particles use the material currently assigned to the particle system icon.)
1-Instanced Geometry (The particles use the material assigned to the instanced geometry.)
Rotation and Collision
The number of frames for one rotation of a particle. If set to 0, no rotation takes place.
The percent of variation of the Spin Time.
The initial particle rotation, in degrees.
The percent of variation of the Phase.
The spin axis for the particles:
0-Random (The spin axis for each of the particles is random.)
1-Direction of Travel/Mblur (Rotates the particles about a vector formed by the direction in which they're moving.)
2-User Defined (Uses a vector defined in the three X, Y, and Z spin vector values.)
When greater than 0, the particles stretch along the travel axis, depending on their speed. Specifically, the Stretch value specifies the percent of their length per each unit of the Speed setting (in the Particle Motion group). Thus, if you set Stretch to 2 while Speed is set at 10, the particles are stretched 20 percent longer than their original size along the axis of their travel. This value is only available when you choose Direction of Travel/Mblur.
The amount, in degrees, by which the spin axis of each particle may vary from the specified X Axis, Y Axis, and Z Axis settings.
Turn on/off interparticle collisions:
The number of intervals per rendering interval, during which an inter-particle collision test is conducted. The higher the value, the more accurate the simulation, but the slower the simulation will run.
The degree to which speed is recovered after a collision.
The percentage of random variation of the Bounce value, applied to the particles.
Object Motion Inheritance
The percent of particles that inherit the motion of the object-based emitter at the moment of particle formation.
Modifies the amount by which the emitter motion affects the particle motion. This can be a positive or negative number.
Bubble Motion
The distance the particle moves off its usual velocity vector as it travels.
The percent of Amplitude variation applied to each particle.
The cycle time for one complete oscillation of a particle through the bubble "wave". A recommended value might be 20-30 intervals.
The percent of Period variation for each particle.
The initial displacement of the bubble pattern along the vector.
Particle Spawn
Determines what happens to particles at either collision or death:
0-None (Particles act as they normally would. That is, upon collision, they either bounce or stick, depending on Particle Bounce settings in the deflector, and on death they disappear.)
1-Die After Collision (Particles disappear when they strike a deflector to which they're bound, such as the SDeflector.)
2-Spawn on Collision (Spawn effects take place upon collision with a bound deflector.)
3-Spawn on Death (Spawn effects take place at the end of each particle's life.)
4-Spawn Trails (Particles are spawned from existing particles at each frame of that particle's life.)
The life, in frames, that the particle will persist after the collision. Setting this to 0 (the default) causes particles to vanish immediately after the collision.
Varies the Persist value of each particle, when Persist is greater than 0. This lets you "feather" the dying off of the particle density.
The number of spawns beyond the original particle generation. For example, if this is set to 1, and you're spawning at death, one spawning will occur beyond the original lifespan of each particle.
Multiplies the number of particles spawned at each spawning event.
The amount by which the direction of the spawned particle can vary from the direction of the parent particle. A setting of 0 means no variance. A setting of 100 causes the spawned particle to travel in any random direction. A setting of 50 causes the spawned particle to deviate from its parent's path by up to 90 degrees.
Random percentage range of scaling of the spawned particles relative to their parents, and dependent on the options below.
Sets the type of speed applied to spawn particles:
0-Slow (Applies the . spawn_Speed_Chaos value randomly to slow the speed of the spawned particles.)
1-Fast (Randomly speeds up particles based on the . spawn_Speed_Chaos value.)
2-Both (Some particles speed up, while others slow down, based on the . spawn_Speed_Chaos value.)
When on, spawned particles inherit the speed of their parents, in addition to the effect of the . spawn_Speed_Chaos value.
When on, uses the . spawn_Speed_Chaos value as a set value, rather than as a range applied randomly to each particle.
The range of a percentage of change in the speed of the spawned particle relative to its parent. A value of 0 means no change.
The type of speed scaling for the spawned particles:
0-Slow (Applies the speed factor randomly to slow the speed of the spawned particles.)
1-Fast (Randomly speeds up particles based on the speed factor.)
2-Both (Some particles speed up, while others slow down, based on the speed factor.)
When on, uses the . spawn_Scale_Chaos value as a set value, rather than as a range applied randomly to each particle.
lifespanValueQueue is an array of integers which correspond to lifespan values for each spawned generation of particles.
Value that sets initial lifespan of spawned particles.
objectMutationQueue is an array of nodes which correspond to instanced-object particle types. Each generation of spawning will use the next node as its object type.
See Also
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