Method
This node instanciates a 3D scene which has been imported from one of the valid scene file formats: Lightwave LWS, FBX or Cinema4D. The scene resource must be set via the “Lightwave Scene” parameter. The scene is then rendered faithfully to the original file as far as possible.
When a valid scene resource is set, sub-nodes are created for each node imported from the original scene – such as objects, lights, cameras, bones or transform nodes – and linked together as they appear in the original scene’s hierarchy. This allows complex scenes with skins, skeletons and hierarchical animation to work properly. These sub-nodes may not be deleted, their linkages may not be changed and some of their parameters, such as transforms, can not be edited – as they are representations of elements loaded from the imported scene file. However other nodes from outside of the imported scene may be connected to them. The sub-nodes may contain animations loaded from the source file.
In Notch, animation playback is framerate-independent: there is no “frame rate”, and animations are interpolated accurately at any given time point. In some 3D packages, however, time is locked to a certain frame rate and there is no sub-frame interpolation of animations: the playback time is always quantised to a division based on the frame rate. This difference in behaviours can lead to errors in animation playback, when interpolations occur that were not intended – e.g. rotation going full circle when interpolating between values at two discrete frames. To resolve this issue the Lock to Frame Rate parameter may be used to force playback times to be quantised to divisions of a given frame rate as in the 3D package that authored the animation.
Transform
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Position X | Move its position along the x-axis in local space. |
| Position Y | Move its position along the y-axis in local space. |
| Position Z | Move its position along the z-axis in local space. |
| Rotation Heading | Rotate the object about the x-axis. |
| Rotation Pitch | Rotate the object about the y-axis. |
| Rotation Bank | Rotate the object about the z-axis. |
| Scale X | Scale along the x-axis. |
| Scale Y | Scale along the y-axis. |
| Scale Z | Scale along the z-axis. |
Inherit Transform Channels
Toggle which transform channels should be inherited. By default, all are on.
Attributes
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Lightwave Scene | Import a Lightwave scene. |
| Loop Start | The start time of the section of the scene which is played. |
| Loop End | The end time of the section of the scene which is played. |
| Playback Speed | Change the speed at which the scene is played. |
| Visible | Control whether the node is visible or not to the scene. |
| Loop Mode | Change the way in which the time loops when the end of the loop is reached.
|
| Reload Materials From LWS | Reload the material used from the original 3D object file. |
| Lock to Frame Rate | Quantise the times used in scene playback to exact divisions of the specified Locked Frame Rate. |
| Locked Frame Rate | The frame rate at which the playback rate is quantised to. |
Inputs
| Name | Description | Typical Node Input |
|---|---|---|
| Transform Modifier | Links all transform properties to the input node. | Null |
| Target Node | Always faces the x-axis towards the inputs anchor point. | Null |
| Local Transform Override | Override the transformation values of the node, relative to its parent. | Null |
Outputs
All nodes connected to this node are treated as if flowing to the parent node, and inherits any transformation changes along the chain.
