Create instances of geometric objects

Instances are copies of geometric objects placed at the positions of points, such as the points of a particle system. Instances result in lighter scenes, because only the master geometry and the points need to exist. Instances can be used to create trees in a forest, objects falling into a pile, and much more.

Instances work by associating points with an instance shape, which consists of a geometry plus additional information such as an optional preview geometry to use for display in the viewports.

There are a couple of nodes to create instances:

• In most cases, set_instance_geometry is preferable. It is a high-level node with built-in options for switching between different master shapes. In addition, you can connect geometric objects directly, without the need to create instance shapes first.

• Alternatively, you can use set_instance_shape. This is a more basic node, and requires that you create instance shapes from geometry using geo_instance or other nodes.

In either case, you can switch between a variety of master shapes in complex ways using selector_instance nodes.