[Closed] Particle Position from One Flow to another

Oct 17, 2006 3:47 pm

Hello All

A quick question on scripting PFLOW.

Can you take the particle positions from one flows particles and use them to position anothers? I want to randomly spawn particles throughout an animation, at different times frames, based on particles I have already positioned. I believe you can do this if you place the particles in one flow then access the positions through a birth script in another flow. However I am ready to be corrected

secondly is there any good reference for scripting PFLOW as the manual is a little confusing.

Thanks

Harry

7 Replies

HCompston

Oct 17, 2006 3:47 pm

Hi Guys

Any Ideas

1 Reply

Bobo

(@bobo)

Joined: 11 months ago

Posts: 0

Oct 17, 2006 3:47 pm

Reply to

HCompston

What exactly do you want to hear? Your first email sounded like you had a good plan. Did you try it? Did it work? (It should have…)
In fact, you should be able to read particle data from other flows from ANY kind of script operator, not just from a birth script.

HCompston

Oct 17, 2006 3:47 pm

Hey Bobo

Sorry I didnt make my self clearer. Although the plan is good I am not sure how to implement it. I have never coded for Particleflow and cannot find the syntax I need in the MaxScript reference for accessing the PFlow events / flows from maxscript (well not in a form that makes sense to me). I have tried using the Macro Recorder but what it captures makes now sense either.

To summarise I am looking for the syntax that must be used to access a PFlow flow or a specific event from within Maxscript. Even a pointer to a simpler explanation would be good. Im afraid that learning Maxscript has been a little bit of an up hill struggle for me. Only through your DVD’s have I got this far. So I can only blame you for not bringing out a PFLOW Scripting DVD

Thanks

Harry

Bobo

Oct 17, 2006 3:47 pm

I see.

Here is a very simple example:

Two Flows, the one has Tetras with Speed, Spin etc, the other has Boxes with nothing but a Script Operator reading positions from the first flow and assigning to the second.

If there are more particles in the second flow, some will stay at the origin.
If there are less particles in the second flow, they will be moved to the first N particles of the first flow.

Note that if the speed is high, you will notice that the second system is a “step ahead” of the first one – this is because of the order of evaluation – it would be possible to counteract by moving the particles along the speed vector, but it complicates the code alot.

At least it is a place to start…