Particle Flow Tools: Box #3

With the development of the new particle data visual scripting interface Data View, and addition of 20+ sub-operators, the plug-in brings to special effects artists powerful and flexible tools to design their own operators and tests in Particle Flow.

Particle Flow Tools: Box#3 includes the following new operators and tests:

Data Operator is the main operator of the package. 'Edit Data Flow...' button opens Data View - the main interface to manipulate the particle properties and data.

Data Icon is a variation of the Data Operator that has visible 3d icon in the viewport, and has an extra sub-operator Icon that a regular Data Operator does not have.

Data Preset operator works as a shortcut to the list of presets that were saved with the data operators. The list includes only the presets that were made with either Data Operator or Data Icon.

Data Test is similar to the Data Operator but in the form of a test. It has an extra sub-operator Output Test that a regular Data Operator does not have.

Data Icon Test is a data test with an icon. It has access to all data sub-operators.

Data Preset is a test version of the Data Preset operator. The list of this Data Preset includes only the presets that were made with either Data Test or Data Icon Test.

Cache Selective is a cache operator with the option to exclude some particle properties from caching. The overall cache size can be significantly reduced by excluding the Shape data. To make up for the absence of some properties in the cache, a Cache Selective operator has an option to run operators in a post-cache process.

Cache Disk operator is similar to the Cache Selective operator but with the option to keep the cache data on the disk on a file-per-frame basis.

Data Display shows, in the viewport, numerical data created by a Data operator or test.

Besides the operators, Box#3 includes numerous sub-operators that can be wired together in Data View to define particle data flow in a Data operator - Amount Change, Condition, Convert, Function, Geometry, Icon, Input Custom, Input Proxy, Input Standard, Notes, Object, Output Custom, Output New, Output Standard, Output Test, Parameter, Particles, Pipe, Random, Scalar, Select Object, Switch, and Vector.

Examples:

Here's an example that was used for testing 'Prevalent Custom Data' option in Particles sub-operator:
Animation - GrowSpread.zip (6.37MB)

The 'Prevalent Custom Data' option gives the ability to test a custom data channel from the surrounding particles (or other particle systems). The scale grow of particles is initiated by two factors: proximity to a reference object (the sphere), and the scale factor of the surrounding particles. As a result, movement of the sphere creates the initial seeds of grow; and these seeds initiate the scale grow in the surrounding areas.

The example illustrates the abilities of Box#3 to add the rule-based elements to the event-based Particle Flow particle systems - there is a single event with two Data operators. The first custom Data operator 'Particle Per Vertex' generates new particles to match the knots in a grid; the second Data operator controls the scale grow of the particles. Besides Particles, the data flow uses other sub-operators - Condition, Convert, Function, Input Custom, Input Standard, Object, Output Custom, Output New, Scalar, and Select Object.

This example shows how Box#3 can force different PFlow particle systems to work in unison and to exchange data:
Animation - HydraulicRestrains.zip (1.4MB)

Also, the example illustrates how it is possible to design particle systems with history-independent properties that can significantly speed up the calculation time and feedback interactivity.

Plug-in for 3ds Max version 6-8 Particle Flow Tools: Box#3 demo version 1.0 (5.1MB)