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RT Multi-Bounce Reflection
Nodes » Ray Tracing » RT Multi-Bounce Reflection
Method The Reflection Multi-Bounce node simulates specular lighting of solid objects accurately with support for multiple bounces with varying roughness and other material attributes. Only specular interactions are handled by this node, making it a good compliment for…
Ray Tracing
Nodes » Ray Tracing
Method Ray tracing is a more accurate “photorealistic” rendering technique for calculating lighting, shadows and reflections in a 3D scene. Raytracing brings to Notch a number of features not previously possible with the traditional renderer and greatly…
Nodes
Nodes
This is the Notch node reference. Notch node types: Cameras: Cameras define the point of view, perspective and aspect from which the scene is rendered. Cloning: Cloners instantiate multiple copies of geometry nodes – such as 3D Objects, Text Nodes and Shape…
Nodes
Nodes » Nodes
Method This section contains a group of mostly miscellaneous nodes. Colour Colour Ramp Comment Debug Log Image 2D Layer Precomp Mapping Motion Direction Follower Motion Predictor OSC Output Parent To Vertex Render Layer Render To Texture Root Screen…
Reflections and Refractions
Techniques » Raytracing Techniques » Reflections and Refractions
Reflections Raytraced reflections are more accurate reflections than Screen Spaced Reflections. The images below show the difference between each raytracing nodes reflections. Sky light The Sky light reflects the skydome HDR environment map, it will not reflect the…
RT Refinement
Nodes » Ray Tracing » RT Refinement
Method Ray tracing is computationally intensive and some effects – such as soft area light shadows – rely on lots and lots of rays being cast per pixel. In order to make this viable in real-time or while editing interactively, Notch typically casts very…
RT Glass Refraction
Nodes » Ray Tracing » RT Glass Refraction
Method The RT Glass Refraction node is a fast cheap raytraced glass solution. This node can be used in scenes that need additional performance such as lightmapped scenes that aren’t using the pathtracer node. Once the Glass Refraction node is added to the…
Screen Space Reflections
Nodes » Lighting » Screen Space Reflections
Method Generate screen space reflections (SSR) for objects in the scene. To see this function, “Reflections” must be enabled in the objects material node or section. ! The material nodes Roughness attribute defines the clarity of the reflections, with…
RT Mirror Reflection
Nodes » Ray Tracing » RT Mirror Reflection
Method RT Mirror Reflection is the fastest raytracing reflections node with only a single, sharp ray traced bounce supported. This can be used to simulate mirrors, reflections and specular on any raytracing enabled specular material/surface. Rough reflections can be…
Raytracing Nodes
Techniques » Raytracing Techniques » Raytracing Nodes
Reflections nodes RT Mirror Reflection A single bounce mirror reflection node is the simplest and most efficient raytraced reflection. *This node is great for real-time projects. *There is no surface roughness for this node RT Multi-Bounce Reflection Using the…
RT Real-Time Denoiser
Nodes » Ray Tracing » RT Real-Time Denoiser
Method Ray tracing is computationally intensive and some effects – such as soft area light shadows – rely on lots and lots of rays being cast per pixel. In order to make this viable in real-time or while editing interactively, Notch typically casts very…
Semi-Transparent RT Material
Nodes » Materials » Semi-Transparent RT Material
Method A basic semi-transparent RT material, similar to the default material node but default raytraced glass settings. Semi-Transparent RT Material *This material needs Ray Tracing to be enabled on the root to work. BRDF Name…
RT Diffuse Bounces
Nodes » Ray Tracing » RT Diffuse Bounces
Method The Diffuse Bounce node simulates diffuse lighting of solid objects accurately with support for multiple bounces. Only diffuse bounces and interactions are handled. This makes it particularly applicable for baking light maps, as the light interactions modelled…
Render Nodes
Nodes » Procedural » Render Nodes
Method These nodes convert the procedural distance field into rendered geometry, voxel grids, or other systems. Gallery Procedural Meshing Procedural Shading Node Volume Generator Volumetric Tracer…
Shading Nodes
Nodes » Shading Nodes
Method These nodes change the ways that material nodes apply to an objects, and how their materials are shaded on the object surface. Gallery Noise Fractal Shading Grid Shading Node Gradient Shading Node…
RT Ambient Occlusion
Nodes » Ray Tracing » RT Ambient Occlusion
Method This node simulates ambient occlusion by casting a large number of rays in random directions in a sphere or hemisphere from each point on the screen, and determining what percentage of them hit something before reaching the extent of the bounding sphere. …
Glass RT Material
Nodes » Materials » Glass RT Material
Method A basic glass material, similar to the default material node but with default raytraced glass settings. Glass material *This material needs Ray Tracing to be enabled on the root to work. BRDF Name Description …
Execute Child Nodes
Nodes » Logic » Execute Child Nodes
Method Allows you to enable or disable the execution of connected child nodes at runtime. This is useful for menu systems or general logic. Example Nodegraph Attributes Name Description Execute Children Nodes …
Multi-GPU
FAQ » Multi-GPU
Is Notch Multi-GPU compatible like …insert raytracing renderer… ? The short answer: Notch currently only supports rendering a frame on a single GPU. To understand why this is the case it’s important to understand the difference between raytracing…
Multi Camera
Nodes » Cameras » Multi Camera
Method The Multi Camera node enables multiple camera views to be rendered simultaneously, for example for output to a single media server canvas. Multiple cameras are passed in via the Camera Nodes input and combined into the main canvas with the views arranged…
Multi Material
Nodes » Materials » Multi Material
Method Generates a material based on an input of two materials. Attributes Name Description Select Image Image used to control how the materials are combined. Select Threshold The threshold used to decide at what area one…
Standalone – Multi-head Output
Standalone » Standalone – Multi-head Output
The exported Notch Standalone executable allows you to use up to two heads/outputs. Notch provides a rudimentary feed/window selection mechanism to allow content arrangement on multiple heads. !Notch’s multi-head management is very basic and is not being…
Pathtracer Basics
Techniques » Raytracing Techniques » Pathtracer Basics
The Pathtracer node is simply the most accurate and powerful raytracing node. To understand the Pathtracer node it should be thought of as the following raytracing nodes combined in the one node: RT Multi-Bounce Reflections RT Glass Refraction RT Diffuse…
Notch 0.9.23 Release Notes
Release Notes » Notch 0.9.23 Release Notes
0.9.23.123 (10th patch release, 24th June 2020): Changes [UI] Forbidden characters such as &, ‘, “, in node names are now replaced with underscores. Bug fixes [UI] Fixed a bug which meant Notch would not start on Windows 7 based…
Antialiasing Methods
Techniques » Antialiasing Methods
There’s a number of antialiasing techniques available in Notch. They all attempt to antialias your render, but all of them cope better or worse with different rendering situations and all have different trade-offs. They can be used together, but often it…
Directional Light
Nodes » Lighting » Directional Light
Method Add a directional light node to a scene to produce ambient directional lighting throughout. Light is emitted in a parallel direction at the normal to an infinite plane. *Directional lights do not cast shadows. Example Nodegraph…
Pathtracer
Nodes » Ray Tracing » Pathtracer
Method The Pathtracer node simulates lighting of solid objects accurately with support for multiple bounces of specular and diffuse reflections and refractions with varying roughness and other material attributes. This is achieved by casting lots and lots of rays,…
Root
Nodes » Nodes » Root
Method The Root node for the scene, controlling the basic menu and other important scene attributes. Attributes Name Description Background Colour Change the background colour. Backdrop Glow Defines the “glow”…
Sky Light
Nodes » Lighting » Sky Light
Method This node simulates a skylight/dome light by surrounding the scene with a large number of shadow-casting spotlights positioned on the dome pointing inwards. This allows the skylight to be rendered efficiently, although it may still be too slow for real-time use…
Raytracing Techniques
Techniques » Raytracing Techniques
Raytracing Basics Raytracing Lighting Raytracing Nodes An overview of basic raytracing setup. Raytraced light examples. Raytraced nodes groups. Reflections and Refractions Pathtracer Basics…
Voxel Cone Lighting
Nodes » Lighting » Voxel Cone Lighting
Method Performs global illumination using a filtered voxel representation of the scene. It voxelises objects by using GPU rasterisation. The voxels are filtered at different resolutions. Coarser resolutions are used for high roughnesses, finer resolutions are used for…
Raytracing Lighting
Techniques » Raytracing Techniques » Raytracing Lighting
Basic light On both the Omni and Spotlight you can enable raytracing shadows. Turn raytracing on the root and enable shadow casting on the light. Set shadow map type to Ray Traced. *Ray traced shadows produce accurate soft shadows Area light Turn raytracing on…
Voronoi 2D
Nodes » Post-FX » Generators » Voronoi 2D
Method Generate delaunay triangulation based on a particle system. This process is computationally expensive. Example Nodegraph !Does not function with Ray Tracing nodes. Transform Name Description …
Optimising 3D scenes
FAQ » Optimising 3D scenes
Working in real-time allows for great speed, flexibility and experimentation vs offline rendering / video. But projects designed to run in real-time have one key consideration that video doesn’t: performance. Performance of most real-time 3D scenes is limited…
Raytracing Basics
Techniques » Raytracing Techniques » Raytracing Basics
Enabling raytracing To enable raytracing in your scene. Select the root node, in its properties under the Raytracing heading, tick the “enabled” checkbox. You can toggle raytracing using Shift+R or by clicking on the enable raytracing…
Materials
Nodes » Materials
Method Material nodes control how light interacts with the surfaces of objects. These nodes will accept a material input as a material. 3D Object Shape 3D Shatter Primitive 3D Text Multi Material (Used to create new materials from other…
Material
Nodes » Materials » Material
Method Create a PBR material that can be applied to particles, 3D meshes and other objects in a 3D scene. Rock and brick PBR materials BRDF Name Description Colour The colour of the material. Brightness…
Keyboard Shortcuts
Keyboard Shortcuts
Download these as a PDF We’ve made a quick reference guide (suitable for printing) available as a PDF for download as well. You can get it here. Viewport Keys Orbit Camera Regular Camera Alt + LMB Rotate around pivot point …
Lighting
Nodes » Lighting
Method Lighting nodes are nodes that control lighting in a scene. Most emit light from different shapes or objects, but some control how light is emitted or scattered in the scene. Lighting nodes are generally hooked into the Root node, although they can be applied…
Area Light
Nodes » Lighting » Area Light
Method Emit light from a rectangular area, giving a soft light across a scene. An image texture can be input to emit light from the image based on a texture. *This light is great for producing a long flat light source. Example …
Metallic Material
Nodes » Materials » Metallic Material
Method A basic metallic material, similar to the default material node but default metallic settings. Metallic material BRDF Name Description Specular Colour The colour of specular light reflected from the…
Probe Lighting
Nodes » Lighting » Probe Lighting
Method Creates dynamic reflections of other objects in the scene, by rendering them from specific points within the scene. A Point Cache may optionally be used to allow the reflection images to be generated more efficiently when there are a large number of probes to…
Skybox
Nodes » Geometry » Skybox
Method This node defines a sky box which can be used as a background for a 3D scene. Sky boxes can be created from images that are arranged in a spherical or dual paraboloid format. The image is converted into a cube map to be used as a sky box. The cube map is stored…
Cameras
Nodes » Cameras
Method Cameras are used to view a 3D scene. Cameras are generally hooked into the Root node, although they can be applied to any node – they will still appear in the scene as long as there is a path to a Root node; they will inherit the transformation values…
Rigid Body Depth Image
Nodes » Physics » Rigid Body Depth Image
Method The Rigid Body Collision Depth Image node is used to allow Kinect depth to collide with mesh in the rigid body simulation. Example graph Attributes Name Description Flip Image Flip the Image in the Y…
Refining and Denoising
Techniques » Raytracing Techniques » Refining and Denoising
RT Refinement Refining a raytraced scene is a great way to see how your final project will look. Refining a scene should only be used on raytraced scenes that are static frames. Refinement of a scene will not work in real-time due to the time it takes to refine each…
Substance Material
Nodes » Materials » Substance Material
Method Notch allows the use of materials made with Substance Designer from Allegorithmic. The Substance Designer Material once assigned to an object will behave like a standard Notch material. All options are identical, but with the ability to modify the texture on…
Blacktrax Array
Nodes » Interactive » Array Sources » Blacktrax Array
Method Takes multiple Blacktrax Trackables and instantiates the child nodes at the tracked points. You can track either the rigid body positions and rotation (Centroids) of given trackables or every LED of the trackable. See the Array Sources node to see how this…
Procedural Shading Node
Nodes » Procedural » Render Nodes » Procedural Shading Node
Method Adjusts the shading of an object based on the shape a procedural. The procedural shape is effectively raytraced, with the ray starting at the object’s surface. This can be used to create an effect similar to a boolean operation on a surface, but without…
Primitive Collision Affector
Nodes » Particles » Affectors » Primitive Collision Affector
Method This node simulates collisions between particles and a 3D primitive. It uses ray traced intersections with triangles contained in a bounding volume hierarchy structure. This allows for fast, accurate collisions with 3D primitive, but animating. Particle Events…
Primitive Collision Affector
Nodes » Fields » Affectors » Primitive Collision Affector
Method This node allows fields to collide with the surface of primitive 3D shapes. The field will flow around or bounce off the shape’s surface and be prevented from entering it. Example Image Example Nodegraph …
Collision Affector
Nodes » Particles » Affectors » Collision Affector
Method This node simulates collisions between particles and a 3D object. It uses ray traced intersections with triangles contained in a bounding volume hierarchy structure. This allows for fast, accurate collisions with 3D objects, but animating, generated or…
Screen Space Ambient Occlusion
Nodes » Lighting » Screen Space Ambient Occlusion
Method Add a screen space ambient occlusion (SSAO) node to the scene, this will produce subtle ambient occlusion shadows, to ground objects to surfaces and to add depth to geometry details. Example Nodegraph Example …
Procedural Affector
Nodes » Particles » Affectors » Procedural Affector
Method This node simulates collisions between particles and Procedural meshing object. Different effects can be achieved, such as attraction and repulsion from object surfaces or making particles flow around the particle surface, as selected by the Mode parameter. At…
Project Image
Nodes » Lighting » Project Image
Method Add a projection image node to a scene, link an image and project it onto the scene. *Use the blend function to blend the image into the shadows and reflections in the scene. Example A checker-board image projected onto the scene. …
Object Distance Field Affector
Nodes » Particles » Affectors » Object Distance Field Affector
Method This node simulates collisions between particles and a 3D object. It uses signed distance fields to calculate collisions which enables some other effects to be achieved, such as attraction and repulsion from object surfaces or making particles flow around the…
Transform Array
Nodes » Interactive » Array Sources » Transform Array
Method This node is used to create an Array of ‘points’ from various other internal Notch sources. Specifically: Point Source Effect Sets of Nulls Multiple Null nodes can be attached to the Point Source input to create an array…
Play Sound
Nodes » Sound » Play Sound
Method Play sound from an imported sound file. Once added to the nodegraph, the node will function without needing to be connected to the root node; useful for multi-layered projects, where a separate audio layer maybe required. Sound will be played through your…
Point Lights From Vertices
Nodes » Lighting » Point Lights From Vertices
Method Add Lights into the scene at the vertices of a mesh. !This node has a maximum point input of 128, so any more particles and the lights will Begin to flash as the pick different vertices on each re-render. Example Example…
Logic
Nodes » Logic
Method The Logic nodes are used to create a meta logic system within Notch. Time These nodes interact with the Notch projects playhead. Jump to Time Loop Time Selecting Nodes These nodes control the active or inactive state of the nodes below…
Raytracing Materials
Techniques » Raytracing Techniques » Raytracing Materials
Glass RT Material Glass RT material is a stripped-down version of a default material. Updating BDRF and Alpha/Transparency settings, glass materials can be easily updated to mimic a range of different transparent raytraced materials. Red glass material…
Windows Touch Array
Nodes » Interactive » Array Sources » Windows Touch Array
Method This node takes the transform data from a Windows touch enabled display, and converts it into an Array of points. See the Array Sources node to see how this node is used in the nodegraph to multi-instance child nodes. Transform Name Description…
Array Copy
Nodes » Interactive » Array Operators » Array Copy
Method Copies the data from an Array Source so that you can use the same Array in multiple places across a nodegraph. This is useful when doing interaction and you want a ‘touch point’ to do multiple different things, such as render an object AND emit…
Exposable Array
Nodes » Interactive » Array Sources » Exposable Array
Method This node allows you to take full control over the arrays directly from the media server when running back as a block. This is useful for when you are trying to design the interactive setup where the media server is the main hub of control for the hardware that…
Feature Tracking
Nodes » Video Processing » Feature Tracking
Method Feature tracking nodes detect and track features in an image. These nodes are currently under development, so your mileage may vary. Can be applied to all the same nodes as the Video Processing group.
Distortion
Nodes » Post-FX » Distortion
Method Changes the shape of the image in different ways. Distortion nodes can be applied directly to all the same nodes as the rest of the post-fx nodes. Gallery Distortion Dither Line Distortion Noise RGB…
Image Compression
Nodes » Post-FX » Image Compression
Method Compress or decompress images with different kinds of compression. Image Compression nodes can be applied directly to all the same nodes as the rest of the post-fx nodes. Compress UV Animation Decompress UV Animation
Antialiasing
Nodes » Post-FX » Antialiasing
Method These nodes calculate better antialiasing than the default. Antialiasing nodes don’t apply to the same nodes as the rest of the Post-Fx nodes, and instead, function on these nodes, Cameras (will only be applied when the scene is viewed through a…
Depth Processing
Nodes » Video Processing » Depth Processing
Method Depth Processing nodes generate and change depth data using various techniques. Can be applied to all the same nodes as the Video Processing group. Luminance From Depth
Input Output
Nodes » Video Processing » Input Output
Method These nodes control where video is imported from, and where video is output to. Can be applied to all the same nodes as the Video Processing group.
Motion Processing
Nodes » Video Processing » Motion Processing
Method These nodes analyse a video for movement, and give outputs based on that movement. Can be applied to all the same nodes as the Video Processing group.
Scripting
Nodes » Scripting
Method Scripting nodes allow for project behaviour to be scripted using Javascript.
Stylisation
Nodes » Post-FX » Stylisation
Method These nodes modify the image. Stylisation nodes can be applied directly to all the same nodes as the rest of the post-fx nodes. Gallery 3D Object Outline Cross Hatch Digital Block Glitch Digital Chroma…
Colour Processing
Nodes » Post-FX » Colour Processing
Method Colour Processing nodes are used to modify the colours in an image. Colour Processing nodes can be applied directly to all the same nodes as the rest of the post-fx nodes. Gallery Apply Colour LUT Colour Grading…
Area Lights From Polygons
Nodes » Lighting » Area Lights From Polygons
Method This node emits light from a polygonal mesh. All polys must be rectangular. The light is emitted based on quads, so tri-gons or n-gons will not calculate properly. A maximum of 128 polys is allowed. Lights are generated per poly, so if you tessellate to…
Ambient Light
Nodes » Lighting » Ambient Light
Method Add a light that affects all surfaces in the scene with a base ambient light level. *This is a great tool for adding light to dark and shadowed areas. Example Nodegraph Example Transform Name…
Lighting
Techniques » Lighting
Basic lighting techniques Lighting Basics Baked Lighting Shadows Basic lighting nodes Raytraced lighting
Image Processing
Nodes » Video Processing » Image Processing
Method These nodes analyse and modify the image with different effects. Can be applied to all the same nodes as the Video Processing group. Unlike Post-FX nodes (many of which are shared with these nodes), these do not affect the parent with the effect and instead…
Auto Bounding Box
Nodes » Geometry » Auto Bounding Box
Method This node generates a bounding box based on the combined size of nodes input into the nodes Bounds Nodes input. Inputs Name Description Typical Node Input Bounds Nodes Input nodes from which a combined bounding box will be…
CSV/Table Array
Nodes » Interactive » Array Sources » CSV/Table Array
Method This reads an array of transforms from a table resource. The array is used to instance the child subtree of the node – so the subtree / children are re-rendered for every transform in the array. The number of elements in the array will match the number…
Mouse Point Array
Nodes » Interactive » Array Sources » Mouse Point Array
Method This node takes the position and state of the mouse cursor and converts it into an array of points. When the left mouse button is pressed a new point is created at the cursor location; that point will be moved to follow the cursor until the button is released.…
GetNumChildren()
Javascript » API Reference » Node Object » GetNumChildren()
Purpose Returns the number of child nodes. Syntax int GetNumChildren(); returns an integer of the number of child nodes. Example function Update() { layer = Document.FindLayer("My Layer"); node = layer.FindNode("Frame Buffer"); n =…
GetNumNodes()
Javascript » API Reference » Layer Object » GetNumNodes()
Purpose Returns the number of nodes in the layer. Syntax int GetNumNodes(); returns an integer of the number of nodes in the layer. Example function Update() { layer = Document.FindLayer("My Layer"); var x = layer.GetNumNodes(); }
Image Processing
Nodes » Post-FX » Image Processing
Method These nodes analyse and modify the image with different effects. Image Processing nodes can be applied directly to all the same nodes as the rest of the post-fx nodes. Gallery Auto Key Colour Mask Bit Crush …
Audio Devices
Devices & Protocols » Audio Devices
At present Notch interfaces directly with audio devices either via the standard Windows audio device interface or via ASIO. Once setup, you can use audio with the following nodes: Play Sound Capture Sound Audio Devices Panel The Audio Devices panel can be…
Texturing
Nodes » Procedural » Texturing
Method These nodes allow for textures to be applied to the procedural system. Gallery Meshing Texture Map
Deformers
Nodes » Fields » Deformers
Method These nodes deform the entire field system at render time, without changing the underlying simulation. Fbm Deformer Sine Deformer
Warping
Nodes » Post-FX » Warping
Method These nodes take an image and stretch or squash them in different ways. Warping nodes can be applied directly to all the same nodes as the rest of the post-fx nodes. Gallery Barrel Distortion Bezier Warp…
Video Processing
Nodes » Video Processing
Method Video processing nodes control video post-fx in the scene. Video Processing nodes can be parented to these nodes, and will output an effect. Render To Texture All Video Processing Nodes (although you will mostly use Video Source and Video Null) Aside…
Blur
Nodes » Post-FX » Blur
Method Blur nodes defocus images, making them appears less clear. These are useful in many scenarios, from cleaning up the harsh edges on a key mask to creating depth of field for the image. They follow the same order of operations as all the other post-fx…
Generators
Nodes » Generators
Method These nodes generate different black and white effects that can be overlayed, or used to modify other nodes. Also fields. Lots of cool stuff with fields. Generators can be applied directly to these nodes, however, if applied to other nodes it will affect the…
Displacement
Nodes » Procedural » Displacement
These nodes apply spatial displacements in a procedural. In contrast to mesh deformers they deform space rather than vertices. Gallery FBM Displacement Fluid Affector Melt Onion Pyroclastic Displacement…
Cloning
Nodes » Procedural » Cloning
Method These nodes clone the generators used in a procedural mesh, creating repeating patterns similar to Cloner Systems. Gallery Clone Mirror Repeat
Select Child Node
Nodes » Logic » Select Child Node
Method Allows you to selectively enable or disable the execution of connected child nodes at runtime based on an index. Only one child node can be active at a time, but when used in conjunction with Null or Execute Child Nodes, you can add a tree of child nodes. This…
3D Object
Nodes » Geometry » 3D Object
Method This node renders a 3D object that has been imported from an external file in one of the supported 3D object file formats: Lightwave LWO, Wavefront OBJ, Cinema4D and FBX. As well as being rendered directly, 3D Object nodes may also be used as an input for…
Rendering
Nodes » Fields » Rendering
Method Rendering nodes visualise the field or control how it is rendered and shaded. Any Rendering nodes need to be connected to a Field Root node, and will only render fields within that field system (unless modified appropriately). Rendering …
Effectors
Nodes » Cloning » Effectors
Method Effector nodes modify the transformation values of clones in cloner node systems. Effectors are hooked into Cloning nodes as inputs. Gallery FFT Effector Image Effector Plain Effector Randomise Effector …
Cloners and Particles
Techniques » Raytracing Techniques » Cloners and Particles
Cloners Cloners will work well with any raytracing nodes and scenes, as long as they are using shape 3d’s or 3d objects. Particles Particles will work well with any raytracing nodes and scenes, as long as they are using shape 3d’s or 3d objects. …
Generators
Nodes » Procedural » Generators
Method These nodes serve the purpose of generating a distance field for use in a procedural. Usually, the starting point in the process of creating a procedural surface or volume is to add one of these nodes. Gallery 3D…
FAQ
FAQ
Apple macOS/OSX Support Extending GPU Timeout Detection Issues starting Notch Log files Multi-GPU Optimising 3D Scenes for Notch Project Upgrade Guide Supported Video Codecs
Light
Nodes » Lighting » Light
Method Add a Light node into the scene. *Attach the Target Node input to any object, to have the light track that object. *The default light node is a spotlight, in the node properties use the Light Type drop-down menu to toggle between Spot, Omni, Directional, Area…
Rendering
Nodes » Particles » Rendering
Method Rendering nodes visualise the particles by spawning images, meshes or trails. Multiple rendering nodes may be connected to the same particle system, allowing the same particles to be rendered in multiple different ways at once. Any Rendering nodes need to be…
Render Still
User Interface » Render Still
Method This window is for rendering a still image from Notch. Presets Label Description Create/Select Preset create or choose preset values for the rendered image. Settings Label Description …
Array Operators
Nodes » Interactive » Array Operators
Method These nodes take transform arrays as input and apply operations to them, or converts them for use in a different situation. Array Average Array Copy Array Element Extractor
Generators
Nodes » Post-FX » Generators
Method These nodes effect the input image by compositing mathematically generated patterns onto them. Generators nodes don’t affect all the same nodes as the rest of the post-fx nodes, as each node functions differently. The Gradient 2D node and Gradient…
Text String
Nodes » Text Strings » Text String
Method This node can be used to represent a text string, which can be used to input text into other nodes – typically the Text node or string manipulation nodes such as Combine Text Strings and Split Text Strings. Example Example…
Sound
Nodes » Sound
Method These nodes control sound and sound output in Notch. They can be applied to any node in Notch and will either play sound in the scene, or record sound from an audio input device. Outputs can be used as an input to other nodes to drive effects such as the FFT…
Shading
Nodes » Particles » Shading
Method Shading nodes change the colour or position of the particles in various ways. Some shading nodes are used to tint particles based on their own individual attributes such as their life or velocity; others consider them as a system and shade them by density of…
Fractal Noise Shading Node
Nodes » Shading Nodes » Fractal Noise Shading Node
Method This node applies fractal noise to the shading of a material node. This can be used to deform, recolour and change the lighting on a mesh. Fractal Type A FBM fractal – B Turbulence – C Ridged Multi Fractal …
3D Object Collision Affector
Nodes » Fields » Affectors » 3D Object Collision Affector
Method This node allows fields to collide with polygonal 3D objects. The field will flow around or bounce off the object’s surface and be prevented from entering it. Transform Name Description Position X Move its position along…
Nodegraph
User Interface » Nodegraph
Main Window This window contains the node based scripting tools for Notch. Nodegraph Controls Label Description Copy Copy the currently select node or nodes. Cut Copy and delete the currently selected node…
Node Hierarchies
Node Hierarchies
Data Flow Nodes are connected in a parent / child hierarchy. This is first and foremost a transform hierarchy: parent transformations are applied to the child, composited with the child’s own transformation – so the parent moves the child with itself. The…
Post-FX
Nodes » Post-FX
Method Post-FX nodes are mostly effects added onto an image, after the scene is rendered. These can vary from Colour Correction to FXAA antialiasing, and are generally used to enhance an image. The order of operations are decided based on the Y value of the node in…
State Machine
Nodes » Logic » State Machine
Method The definition of a state machine is: a logic device which can be in one of a set number of stable conditions depending on its previous condition and on the present values of its inputs The Notch State Machine system allows certain nodes to become active on…
Geometry
Nodes » Geometry
Method Geometry nodes all generate or are modified by geometry. Geometry is generally hooked into the Root node, although they can be applied to any node – they will still appear in the scene as long as there is a path to a Root node; they will inherit the…
Render To Texture
Nodes » Nodes » Render To Texture
Method This node renders all its child nodes and their sub-trees to a separate off-screen texture / precomposition. This texture may then be applied anywhere that takes an image or video node as input: materials, video nodes, Image2D nodes, Image Planes and so on.…
Combine Colour Grades
Nodes » Post-FX » Colour Processing » Combine Colour Grades
Method Combine multiple Colour Grading nodes together before use on the parent image or scene. Attributes Name Description Blend Amount Changes the opacity of the new effect over the original image. Max Range Set a maximum…
User Interface
User Interface
Overview The Notch User Interface is broken into several main sections: Resource Window, Where all the media files can be imported for use in Notch. Properties Window, Where attributes of nodes can be changed or altered for different variations on…
Fake Glass Material
Techniques » Fake Glass Material
Method Transparent materials such as glass or liquid are quite tricky to reproduce correctly in a real time engine. It is often necessary to cheat to get as close as possible to a pure and slow ray traced rendering. Sample Project Fake Glass Material…
Render To Surfaces
Nodes » Nodes » Render To Surfaces
Method This node renders connected objects and lights onto the surface of chosen objects. Attributes Name Description Width Width of rendered texture. Height Width of rendered texture. Background Colour …
Affectors
Nodes » Fields » Affectors
Method Affector nodes modify the velocities of voxels in a field. Affectors need to be connected to a Field Root, and they will only affect voxels within that field system (unless modified appropriately). Gallery Curl…
Colour
Nodes » Nodes » Colour
Method Generates a colour which can be input into various nodes. Attributes Name Description Colour Control the colour to be output. Brightness The intensity of the colour. Inputs Name Description…
Procedural
Nodes » Procedural
Method In Notch a procedural is a 3-dimensional field of signed distances. This is often known as a Signed Distance Field. An SDF alone does not represent geometry, but surfaces and volumes can be extracted from the field and rendered conventionally. Notch provides…
GetChild()
Javascript » API Reference » Node Object » GetChild()
Purpose Retrieves the child node object with the given index. Syntax object GetChild(int NodeIndex); NodeIndex: The array index of the child nodes. returns Node Object if found or, if not found, object of type undefined. Example function Update() { …
Timeline
User Interface » Timeline
Top Bar This window lists all of the layers and effects in the current project, useful for sequencing and timing effects to run together. Timeline Controls Label Description Copy Copy the currently select node or nodes.…
Spline Follower
Nodes » Nodes » Spline Follower
Method This node translates a child object along an input spline. The child may also optionally be rotated to point along the direction of the spline. Attributes Name Description Spline Time The percentage along the spline the child…
Creating VR / 360 Videos
VR » Creating VR / 360 Videos
Introduction Notch is able to treat, animate, augment and export VR / 360 videos all in one tool with completely real-time editing and in-headset preview – an offering not available in any other package. Key to creating VR / 360 content is the ability to create…
Radial Blur
Nodes » Post-FX » Blur » Radial Blur
Method This effect blurs a texture in a radial directional fashion from an origin point on the image, usually, the center of the image unless a Transform Controller input is used. The further a source pixel is from the origin point the more it will be blurred. This…
Line Renderer
Nodes » Geometry » Line Renderer
Method This node is used to render lines with thickness and antialiasing. Lines may be taken from wireframes of 3D objects connected via the Line Source Node input. Lines are rendered as thickened quads with soft edges. Optionally smoke/laser-like effects can be…
UV Camera
Nodes » Cameras » UV Camera
Method Renders the contents of a connected 3D objects surface back into its UV texture map. This is most commonly used with media servers for projection mapped objects, where Notch renders the contents of the object’s surface and passes it to the media server…
Fields
Nodes » Fields
Introduction A field is a grid of voxels. A voxel is a 3D pixel that contains the following data: “Ink” – RGBA Colour information “Movement Vector” – XYZ Vector By holding colour / “ink” information in the voxel,…
Particles
Nodes » Particles
Method Particle nodes are nodes used in a particles system. This system starts with a Particle Root Node, and is built out with Emitter, Affector and Shader nodes, before finally being rendered to the camera with a Renderer node. The Particle Root Node contains the…
Cylindrical Camera
Nodes » Cameras » Cylindrical Camera
Method Cylindrical Camera enables a 360 degree panoramic render. *Focal parameters are only effective when used in combination with the Depth of Field nodes. Transform Name Description Position X Move its position along the x-axis in…
Interactive
Nodes » Interactive
Method Interactive nodes give outputs based on various kinds of live inputs. Most work with numerical values, although the RSS Feed Node and RSS Text Selector output a text string, and the Mouse Picker outputs translation data. Interactive nodes can be applied to…
Modifiers
Nodes » Modifiers
Method Modifier nodes modify the attributes in other nodes. Modifiers can be applied to almost any attribute of a node, simply double click a node in the nodegraph to see its attribute list, and connect a valid modifier to the square next to the attribute. If an…
Reshape Arabic Text String
Nodes » Text Strings » Reshape Arabic Text String
Method Arabic text strings need to be formatted in order to be displayed in a correctly readable form through a process of reshaping. Different glyphs must be used for a given character depending on where that character appears in the word – the beginning,…
Reverse Text String
Nodes » Text Strings » Reverse Text String
Method This node reverses a text string, which then can be used as an input into other nodes – typically the Text node. Example Example Nodegraph Example Project Attributes Name…
Physics
Nodes » Physics
Method The nodes in this section allow you to create simple physics systems and dynamic movements for objects in your scene. Generally you create a physics system by hooking up 3D Objects and Shape 3D’s to a Rigid Body Root, and adjusting their internal Physics…
Value As Text
Nodes » Text Strings » Value As Text
Method This node converts any numerical value to a string, which can be input into other nodes – typically the Text node. Attributes Name Description Value Numerical value to be converted to a string. Num Decimal Places…
Combine Text Strings
Nodes » Text Strings » Combine Text Strings
Method This node combines text strings, which can be input into other nodes – typically the Text node. Example Example Nodegraph Example Project Attributes Name Description …
Procedural Root
Nodes » Procedural » Procedural Root
Method This node is the root and container for every procedurals system. Procedural Generators, Procedural Cloners and Procedural Rendering nodes must be parented to this node directly or indirectly in order to be operational. Example …
State Machine State
Nodes » Logic » State Machine State
Method The State Machine State acts as a parent to a set of child nodes. When the state is active, the child nodes will be executed / rendered. This node should be parented to a State Machine node. The state can have one or multiple State Machine Events connected to…
Rigid Body Collision Affector
Nodes » Particles » Affectors » Rigid Body Collision Affector
Method This node simulates collisions between particles and a Rigid Body Systems. Attributes Name Description Collision Velocity Scale Scales the velocity of the particle after a collision so they can be made to slow down. Point…
Cloning
Nodes » Cloning
Method Cloning nodes clone 3D objects in various ways. Cloning is supported for 3D Objects, 3D Shapes, and Image Planes. Cloning is rendered using hardware instancing on the GPU, making it performance efficient. To clone an object it must be parented to the output of…
Region Camera
Nodes » Cameras » Region Camera
Method Creates a camera whose view is fixed to a particular plane/region of space. This is very useful for generating content for tracking effects in physical space (e.g. Blacktrax). You can use real world measurements to set up the plane of space and then set a…
Curve Editor
User Interface » Curve Editor
Main Window This window lists all of the keyed attributes for the selected nodes and shows how the values between the keys will be interpolated. Note that “interpolation” is also known as “easing”. Curve Editor…
Spline
Nodes » Geometry » Spline
Method This node defines a spline in 3D space from a number of control points. Control points are specified by linking Null nodes to the Spline Nodes input. The position of each Null is used as the position of the control point; the rotation of the Null is used to…
Imported 3D Scene
Nodes » Geometry » Imported 3D Scene
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…
Camera
Nodes » Cameras » Camera
Method Places a standard 3D camera in space. *Focal parameters are only effective when used in combination with the Depth of Field nodes. *Attach the Target Node input to any object, to have the camera track that object. *To move the Camera to the Orbit Cameras…
Trail Emitter
Nodes » Particles » Emitters » Trail Emitter
Method This node emits particles from the positions of other currently active particles from other emitters. This is used to create trails of particles. This node is typically connected as a child of another emitter node. When connected in this way it only emits…
VR Headset Camera
Nodes » Cameras » VR Headset Camera
Method VR headset camera, currently compatible with the Oculus Rift Consumer Edition and HTC Vive. The camera reads the head tracking data from the VR headset and renders the appropriate view inline with the headset vendors specifications. See Using Headset VR for…
Hardware Tracking Camera
Nodes » Cameras » Hardware Tracking Camera
Method Hardware Tracking Camera receives data from external camera tracking systems and currently supports the NCAM system. Camera Frustum data is received from the tracking system (Position, Rotation, Field of View) and updates the camera in real time. Set up the…
Parent To Vertex
Nodes » Nodes » Parent To Vertex
Method This node parents a child node to follow the transformation values of the selected vertex, particle or point – allowing nodes to be attached to the motion & transform of particles, points or blobs. This node can be applied directly to these nodes. 3D…
Planar Reflection
Nodes » Lighting » Planar Reflection
Method Add a planar reflection node to reflect objects in a scene. *Only renders in forward rendering, so many details will be missed, for example, it does not reflect shadows. Example Nodegraph Example …
Exposing Attributes
Media Servers » Exposing Attributes
Method Exposing properties allows other applications (e.g. media servers or via WebAPI) to control your scene in Notch, creating more dynamic and reactive effects. To expose a property, select the property settings button (?) next to the property you…
Proxy Camera
Nodes » Cameras » Proxy Camera
Method This node copies the camera transformations of the highest priority camera from the previous layer in the project. Only functions with “Layers As Separate Effects” turned off, as for this to work there must be a previously rendered layer to take…
Shadow Volume
Nodes » Lighting » Shadow Volume
Method Darkens a region of the scene, effectively as if it were a negative lightsource. Example Here a Shadow Volume is being used to add a soft shadow beneath the teapot. Example Nodegraph Transform Name…
Spline Deformer
Nodes » Deformers » Spline Deformer
Method This node deforms a mesh using input nodes that dictate the path of the spline. Example Example Bin Example Project Attributes Name Description Shift Offset Move the centre point of the…
Render Layer
Nodes » Nodes » Render Layer
Method This node renders all its child nodes and their sub-trees to a separate composition layer within the scene. Composition layers share the same camera view and may share the same depth space but have different render targets, allowing them to have their own post…
Voxel Cone Shading
Nodes » Particles » Shading » Voxel Cone Shading
Method This node calculates lighting on particles using Voxel Cone Shading. This allows for soft shadows to be calculated that also take into account particle transparency. This effect must first voxelise the particles, which requires a limited spatial area denoted by…
Procedural Emitter
Nodes » Particles » Emitters » Procedural Emitter
Method This node is used to emit particles from a generative form created using Procedural nodes. Example Example Nodegraph Transform Name Description Position X Move its position…
Affectors
Nodes » Particles » Affectors
Method Particle Affector nodes modify particle motion. Affectors can be connected to a Particle Root node or a Particle Mesh Deformer, which makes them effect every particle in the system. Alternatively they can be connected to a Emitter Node, whereby they only…
Capture Sound
Nodes » Sound » Capture Sound
Method This node captures sound from an incoming audio device to modify attributes in the scene. You can select which Audio Device to use using the Audio Devices Menu. Attributes Name Description Input Channel Select which audio channel…
Javascript
Javascript
Welcome to Notch Scripting which aims to give you what you need to get started in your scripting journey. Notch employs a Javascript engine to allow you to programmatically manipulate the nodes in your scene. It is useful for building logic into your scene or…
Deformers
Nodes » Deformers
Method Deformers change the positions of vertices in a parent mesh. Generally it’s used against the Shape 3D or 3D Object, or the Combine Geometry nodes. Gallery 3D Plasma Deformer Chunk Effector Deformer Colour…
Change Text String Case
Nodes » Text Strings » Change Text String Case
Method This node converts all the characters in the string into either lowercase or uppercase, which then can be used as an input into other nodes – typically the Text node. Example Example Nodegraph Example…
Split Text Strings
Nodes » Text Strings » Split Text Strings
Method This node splits text strings into an array, then using the index parameter one can be used as an input into other nodes – typically the Text node. Example Example Nodegraph Example Project…
Alpha Blend (Transparent) Material
Nodes » Materials » Alpha Blend (Transparent) Material
Method This is a basic transparent material using an alpha blend. This material can be applied to particles, 3D meshes and other objects in a 3D scene. Alpha Blend Transparent Material BRDF Name Description Colour …
Particle Bounding Box
Nodes » Particles » Particle Bounding Box
Method This node generates a bounding box around the positions of the particles in the connected Particle Root Node. This is typically used for nodes which work on a limited bounding region such as Field Nodes which need to track a particle simulation that has an…
Depth Image Collision Affector
Nodes » Particles » Affectors » Depth Image Collision Affector
Method This node simulates collisions between particles and a Kinect depth. Example graph Transform Name Description Position X Move its position along the x-axis in local space. Position Y Move…
Rigid Body Collision Mesh
Nodes » Physics » Rigid Body Collision Mesh
Method The Rigid Body Collision Mesh node is used to allow rigid bodies to collide with a static, complex mesh – such as a displaced floor. Collisions with a Collision Mesh node use tests against polygons treated as thin planes. This is less robust than…
Loop Time
Nodes » Logic » Loop Time
Method This node allows you to set loop sections in either your current layer or globally. A loop section is an area of the timeline that you wish to repeat. Setting the Loop Time nodes start and end time, will define the loop section. To understand how loops work…
Replace Text String
Nodes » Text Strings » Replace Text String
Method This node replaces a particular string of text within a larger body of text, which then can be used as an input into other nodes – typically the Text node. Example Example Nodegraph Example Project…
Time Stretch
Nodes » Nodes » Time Stretch
Method This node stretches and adjusts the time being passed to all of its children and their respective subtrees that will be used for animation, keyframes and so on. It does not affect visibility as controlled by timeline bars. Attributes Name…
Lines
Nodes » Geometry » Lines
Method This node draws lines between the positions of its input nodes, from source points to destination points. Transform Name Description Position X Move its position along the x-axis in local space. Position Y Move its…
Environment Image
Nodes » Lighting » Environment Image
Method This node generates an environment image from an HDR/EXR image for a Skylight, or other lighting nodes. Example Nodegraph Example Attributes Name Description Envmap Image Image used…
Select Input Node
Nodes » Logic » Select Input Node
Method This nodes allows you to switch the kind of input that goes into a node based on the number of nodes connected to it. Currently, only 3D Meshes, Images and Materials can be connected to this node, and switched between. !This node will filter what can be…
Orbit Camera
Nodes » Cameras » Orbit Camera
Method This node adds a Camera with a target the camera always faces and orients around, similar to the scene editing Orbit Camera. *Focal parameters, are only effective when used in combination with a Depth of Field node. *Attach the Target Node input to any…
Exposable Camera
Nodes » Cameras » Exposable Camera
Method This camera is designed to be controlled directly by a media server when running as a block. This is useful for use with Augmented Reality camera tracking setups, where the media server is receiving the camera tracking data. *See this video to see this feature…
Rigid Body
Nodes » Physics » Rigid Body
Method The Rigid Body node defines a static or dynamic rigid body collision object. This is a 3D body that moves under physics and collides with other objects in the same physics system – under the same Rigid Body Root. It must be parented to a Rigid Body Root…
Flocking Affector
Nodes » Particles » Affectors » Flocking Affector
Method This node simulates a flocking behavior on a particle system. This is typically used to make particles behave like a flock of birds or a shoal of fish. The simulation solves several different behaviour goals: making particles move towards their goal position…
Chroma Key
Nodes » Post-FX » Image Processing » Chroma Key
Method This node performs a “chroma keying” process on an image, by which a specific flat colour element (typically a shade of green) is removed and replaced with a different element (transparency). This is commonly known as “green screen…
Mesh Renderer
Nodes » Particles » Rendering » Mesh Renderer
Method !Mesh Renderer is being deprecated and replaced by Clone to Particles which handles a wider range of meshes, including Shape 3D and Text nodes. This node renders an instance of a mesh at the location of every active particle. A 3D Object must be connected to…
Exporting Video
User Interface » Exporting Video
Method This is the dialogue window for exporting a video from Notch. !If you’re exporting a slow scene with heavy render settings, we strongly recommend you turn off your computer’s sleep-wake settings, as this can interrupt the rendering…
Mesh Attractor
Nodes » Particles » Affectors » Mesh Attractor
Method This node is used to attract or repel particles from the surface of a given 3D object. This is typically used to make particles form into a given shape. Particles will use the closest point on the object’s surface to move towards or away from; this may be…
Tint
Nodes » Post-FX » Colour Processing » Tint
Method This node tints the overall colour in the image. Raw texture Processed texture Example Nodegraph Attributes Name Description Active Turn the effect on or off. Values <…
Fisheye Camera
Nodes » Cameras » Fisheye Camera
Method Places a camera with a wide fish-eye lens into the scene. This is done by rendering the scene six times based on a cube map, and stitched together. using the cube map resolution, you can increase the resolution for this render, but this should be done once an…
Crop
Nodes » Post-FX » Image Processing » Crop
Method This is node crops out a portion of a full image to strengthen the composition. Raw texture Processed texture Example Nodegraph Attributes Name Description Active Turn…
Rendered Video Source
Nodes » Video Processing » Input Output » Rendered Video Source
Method Output the rendered image from a Render Layer node for other nodes to use. Attributes Name Description Preview In Viewport Preview the effect blended with alpha in the viewport. Preview RGB In Viewport Preview the…
Field Cache
Nodes » Fields » Field Cache
Method The Field cache node allows you to store the animation of a field to disk. This allows the animation to be scrubbed in time, and for simulations to run deterministically without the need to use effectors. Cached fields may perform significantly better than…
Array Sources
Nodes » Interactive » Array Sources
Method These nodes act as sources for Array data. Arrays are used to instance multiple other nodes on the basis of an array of ‘points’. A ‘point’ holds the following data: Position, Scale, Rotation Colour A persistent ID Age since…
Scramble Text String
Nodes » Text Strings » Scramble Text String
Method This node scrambles a text string, which then can be used as an input into other nodes – typically the Text node. Example Example Nodegraph Example Project Attributes Name…
Emitters
Nodes » Fields » Emitters
Method Emitter nodes spawn the colour/Ink that can be manipulated in a field system. Any Emitters need to be connected to a Field Root node, and they will only spawn a field within that field system (unless modified appropriately). Emitters constantly emit new ink…
VR Look-At Trigger
Nodes » Interactive » VR Look-At Trigger
Method This node allows you to create effects based on what the VR user is looking at. The target is a cuboid region specified by the scale and position. When the user looks at the defined space, the Current Value parameter will increase (at a rate defined by…
Tweening Null
Nodes » Geometry » Tweening Null
Method This node changes its transformation values and smoothing changes between them depending on the Input Transforms (Nulls) and the Select Null Index. Position, Rotation, and Scale are all inherited by the child nodes. Attributes Name Description…
Frame Delay Frame
Nodes » Video Processing » Image Processing » Frame Delay Frame
Method This node delays the image played by a specified frame amount, based on an input frame delay node. Requires a Frame Delay input to function, with a “num frame delay” larger than this nodes frame index value. Attributes Name…
Point Cache
Nodes » Lighting » Point Cache
Method Generates a set of points over the surface of an object or set of objects, within a given bounding box. The generated set of points is intended to be used in conjunction with other nodes. For example it can be used for lighting, particle emission, and cloning.…
Manipulating the scene with JS
Javascript » Manipulating the scene with JS
Three methods for manipulating the scene There are three methods by which you can manipulate nodes of a given scene: Pass values out of a Javascript node using global variables, and then use these values in your Nodegraph Manipulate the exposed properties of a…
Blend Text Strings
Nodes » Text Strings » Blend Text Strings
Method This node blends between two text strings, which then can be used as an input into other nodes – typically the Text node. Example Example Nodegraph Example Project Attributes Name…
Channel Boolean
Nodes » Post-FX » Image Processing » Channel Boolean
Method This node swaps RGBA channels. Raw texture Processed texture Example Nodegraph Attributes Name Description Blend Amount Changes the opacity of the new effect over the…
Multiplex Sources
Nodes » Video Processing » Input Output » Multiplex Sources
Method This node takes multiple video inputs and outputs a single video based on the Source Index attribute. All connected video nodes are treated as active, even if they are not currently being used. Attributes Name Description Preview In…
RSS Feed Node
Nodes » Interactive » RSS Feed Node
Method The RSS Feed node combs data from an RSS feed from the Internet. This requires an Internet connection to function properly. RSS feeds are commonly used to access data feeds from websites or to comb posts from social media sites – e.g. all posts from an…
Input Selector Modifier
Nodes » Modifiers » Input Selector Modifier
Method This node takes multiple input values and uses an index to select which to output. Attributes Name Description Current Value Shows the current value of the effect. Cannot be directly changed. Selected Index Select…
Spline Emitter
Nodes » Particles » Emitters » Spline Emitter
Method This node emits particles from a spline shape. The splines used by this node are extracted from a 3D object which must be connected to the Object Nodes input for this node to have an effect. If The object that is connected contains no spline data this node will…
Node Trail
Nodes » Geometry » Node Trail
Method This node creates a spline that follows the position of a node in the scene. At each frame update, a new point is added to the spline. Transform Name Description Position X Move its position along the x-axis in local space.…
Volume Generator
Nodes » Procedural » Render Nodes » Volume Generator
Method Renders a procedural as a translucent volume. This node is suitable for creating cloud-like effects. It first voxelises the procedural and then renders it by raymarching. It is able to cast shadows within the volume in the direction of a light source. *This…
VR 360 Camera
Nodes » Cameras » VR 360 Camera
Method VR 360 Camera enables every direction of view to be rendered at the same time in a spherically mapped manner, allowing the creation of VR 360 Videos for use with a wide range of viewers. Stereoscopic 360 videos can also be generated, which utilise two…
Mesh Emitter
Nodes » Particles » Emitters » Mesh Emitter
Method This node emits particles from a 3D mesh. The mesh must be connected via the “Object Nodes” input, and can be a 3D Object node, a Shape 3D node, a Text node or a Depth Camera / Kinect Mesh. If no suitable node is connected then no emission will…
Rigid Body Effector
Nodes » Cloning » Effectors » Rigid Body Effector
Method The Rigid Body Effector node turns clones into rigid bodies. The resulting bodies are able to collide with each other, or with other bodies that are part of the same physics system – under the same Rigid Body Root. If this node is parented via a Rigid…
Stereo Camera
Nodes » Cameras » Stereo Camera
Method Places a 3D Camera in the space, which records two perspective views using the Interoccular distance, focused at a point in the centre of the camera and displaced from the camera by the Convergence Distance. The Images are then combined together, using the…
Shadow Catcher Material
Nodes » Materials » Shadow Catcher Material
Method The shadow catcher node captures shadow information from lights cast on to the surface of an object that has the shadow catcher material applied to it. The captured shadow information can then be rendered separately onto surfaces of a scene using the layers…
Image Affector
Nodes » Particles » Affectors » Image Affector
Method This node is used to attract or repel particles from pixels in an image. This is typically used to make particles form into a given image. The image can be set directly using the Image attribute or connected from a video node via the Video Nodes input. The…
Field Emitter
Nodes » Particles » Emitters » Field Emitter
Method This node emits particles from a Field. It can also use Colours, Density, or Temperatures from Density Field Modes. Example Example Nodegraph Transform Name Description Position X…
Emitters
Nodes » Particles » Emitters
Method Emitter nodes spawn particles that can be manipulated in a particles system. Any Emitters need to be connected to a Particle Root node, and they will only spawn particles within that particle system unless modified appropriately. Every emitter has a…
TUIO Array
Nodes » Interactive » Array Sources » TUIO Array
Method This node generates a transform array from TUIO data sent from a suitable external application that supports the TUIO protocol, via a network connection. For TUIO to function, you’ll need a supporting application such as TUIOpad or TUIOdroid. This…
Point Cache Emitter
Nodes » Particles » Emitters » Point Cache Emitter
Method Emits particles from the points in a Point Cache. This is useful for saving on mesh processing cost by re-using a single point cache for multiple emitters as well as other features such as lighting and cloning. Example …
Emissive Material
Nodes » Materials » Emissive Material
Method A basic emissive material, similar to the default material node but without any specular settings. Emissive Material BRDF Name Description Colour The colour of the material. Brightness How…
Lighting
Nodes » Particles » Shading » Lighting
Method This node shades particles based on scene lighting. The lighting calculation is an approximation based on the particle’s distance to the light and its facing direction, which is determined by either the particle’s normal if available or the…
Spline Attractor
Nodes » Particles » Affectors » Spline Attractor
Method This node attracts particles towards a spline shape. The particles will flow along the spline towards a goal point which moves from the beginning to the end of the spline at a rate determined by the Spline Rate parameter. The splines used by this node are…
Preferences
User Interface » Preferences
Method This window is used to customise a number of Notch Builder preferences. Some of the settings only apply when Builder is restarted. Creator Label Description Name The name of the person or company that should be…
XSens Mocap Skeleton
Nodes » Geometry » XSens Mocap Skeleton
Method This node reads bone data from a XSens motion capture suit and applies it to Bone nodes, either via direct input links or by a connection to the root of the target hierarchy. A network connection must be made to the XSens software which provides a stream of…
Perception Neuron Mocap Skeleton
Nodes » Geometry » Perception Neuron Mocap Skeleton
Method This node reads bone data from a Perception Neuron motion capture suit and applies it to Bone nodes, either via direct input links or by a connection to the root of the target hierarchy. A network connection must be made to the Axis Neuron software which…
Face Tracking Geometry
Nodes » Geometry » Face Tracking Geometry
Method This node generates a 2D mesh using the predefined structure of the geometry generated by the Face Tracker node: 68 vertices linked as triangles with texture coordinates. It takes as input a Face Tracker node, which is required for the node to render anything.…
Optitrack Mocap Skeleton
Nodes » Geometry » Optitrack Mocap Skeleton
Method This node reads bone data from a Optitrack motion capture suit and applies it to Bone nodes, either via direct input links or by a connection to the root of the target hierarchy. A network connection must be made to the Optitrack software which provides a…
Screen Projection
Nodes » Nodes » Screen Projection
Method This node reprojects the main render onto a quad in 3D space, then outputs the result into the UV space of that quad. This allows content to be rendered from the point of view of a camera and reprojected onto a quad that represents an LED screen, then producing…
Gradient 2D
Nodes » Post-FX » Generators » Gradient 2D
Method This node generates a 2D gradient. It is usually used as an input into other nodes, such as the Tilt Shift and Voronoi 2D nodes. Example Nodegraph Transform Name Description Position X Move…
Layer Precomp
Nodes » Nodes » Layer Precomp
Method This node pre-composites a layer so it can be rendered inside another layer. Any exposed values from inside that layer will also be carried over into the new layer. *Multiple nodes in one scene will rerender that original layer, so make sure to use as few…
Text
Nodes » Geometry » Text
Method This node generates and renders a 3D mesh from the text that has been generated according to various attributes using a supplied font. The font must be in TrueType or OpenType format and loaded as a Font resource. Text must be entered via the Text String…
Diffuse Material
Nodes » Materials » Diffuse Material
Method A basic diffuse material, similar to the default material node but without any specular settings. Diffuse materials BRDF Name Description Colour The colour of the material. Brightness How…
Planar Environment Map
Nodes » Lighting » Planar Environment Map
Method Add planar environment map node to the scene, this will display a 2D environment map to surfaces facing it. *Multiple planar environment maps can be added to a scene to reflect different maps in different directions. Example …
Slit Scan
Nodes » Post-FX » Stylisation » Slit Scan
Method This nodes generates a slitscan effect, where previous frames are stacked from left to right across the frame. !When you use the Frame delay with the Slit scan, the Slit Scan will use the Frame Delays image buffer instead of its own. This means that if the…
Screen Warp
Nodes » Post-FX » Warping » Screen Warp
Method This node adds a bulge effect to the image, whereby a chosen point is stretched and the outer edge is squashed. Raw texture Processed texture Example Nodegraph Attributes Name…
Viewport
User Interface » Viewport
Window This window show the actual scene, and what will be rendered / output by Notch into other tools. Top Bar Label Description Translation Switch to the translate gizmo. Rotation Switch to the rotate…
Depth Camera / Kinect Mesh
Nodes » Geometry » Depth Camera / Kinect Mesh
Method This node generates a mesh based on Kinect camera data from a Depth Camera / Kinect Source connected via the “Colour Image Node” input. If no source is connected, this node is ineffective. The mesh is based on a subdivided plane of quads, displaced…
Bezier Warp
Nodes » Post-FX » Warping » Bezier Warp
Method This node warps an image using a bezier control grid and 8 control points to affect how the image is warped. Raw texture Processed texture Example Nodegraph Attributes Name Description…
Hot Zone
Nodes » Interactive » Hot Zone
Method This node detects if the centre point of an object moves into a region. Generally used in conjunction with an Extractor node. Transform Name Description Position X Move its position along the x-axis in local space. …
Volume Shadow Shading
Nodes » Particles » Shading » Volume Shadow Shading
Method This node shades particles using a shadowing function from the point of view of a Light Node connected to the Light Node input. The shadow effect takes into account transparency of particles, so light will appear to be partially absorbed by particles rather…
Camera Focus Target
Nodes » Cameras » Camera Focus Target
Method A Null position used as a reference for the depth of field focus plane of a camera. Only functions when used with a Depth Of Field node. Example Nodegraph Transform Name Description Position X Move its…
Blacktrax Tracked Body
Nodes » Interactive » Blacktrax Tracked Body
Method Takes a single Blacktrax Trackable and provides it as a tracked point (a bit like Null). You can track either the rigid body position and rotation of a given trackable or just individual tracked LEDs. To use, parent other objects to this node to have the…
HLSL Shaders
Techniques » HLSL Shaders
Method The Custom CSG Code field allows you to write a line of HLSL code to implement your own CSG operation. This requires a working knowledge of HLSL and signed distance fields. The inputs to the operation are: float blendWeight; The value of the CSG…
How do game engine XYZ compare to Notch?
FAQ » How do game engine XYZ compare to Notch?
How do “game engine XYZ” compare to Notch? One of our users said it best: “When you arrive in a game engine, you (re)build a known outcome. When you arrive in Notch, you start with the idea and discover the outcome.” Notch was built from the…
Geometry Exporter
Nodes » Geometry » Geometry Exporter
Method The Geometry Exporter node allows sequences, or single frames, of geometry to be exported as OBJs or Alembic(ABC) files. The source object should be attached to the Geometry input of the Geometry Exporter node. All types of geometry source can be exported. The…
Bounding Box
Nodes » Geometry » Bounding Box
Method This node is a Null transform node that renders a unit sized (-1 to 1) box. Often used to mark areas of space, such as bounding regions for fluids or volumetric effects. Transform Name Description Position X Move its position…
Direction-Weighted Motion Modifier
Nodes » Modifiers » Direction-Weighted Motion Modifier
Method This node detects how much an input object moves in a particular direction, and outputs a value based on it. Attributes Name Description Cone Angle Movement cone angle for which movement within the cones direction will count toward…
Local Contrast
Nodes » Post-FX » Colour Processing » Local Contrast
Method This Node increases the appearance of small scale edges. Raw texture Processed texture Example Nodegraph Attributes Name Description Active Turn the effect on or off. …
Video Exporter
Nodes » Post-FX » Image Processing » Video Exporter
Method This node captures the video from the view port and exports to a chosen directory. It is important to note that even if this node is attached to multiple Camera’s, it will only run if that Camera is being used in the scene. To render multiple…
Primitive Emitter
Nodes » Particles » Emitters » Primitive Emitter
Method This node emits particles in the form of a 3D primitive shape. The Emitter Type parameter defines which shape is used. Particles can be emitted on the surface of the shape or inside the volume of the shape, depending on the Emit On Surface parameter. If the…
Javascript Node
Nodes » Scripting » Javascript Node
Method This node allows a custom JS script to manipulate parameters in the scene and other functions. For a full breakdown see the Javascript Section. Nodegraph Example of extracting output values from the Javascript Node. Attributes Name…
Array Average
Nodes » Interactive » Array Operators » Array Average
Method This node takes the points from an array and combines them based on the mode selected, to form a single output transform. Example Example Nodegraph Inherit Transform Channels Toggle which transform channels…
Mouse Picker
Nodes » Interactive » Mouse Picker
Method Detects a mouse pressed event and outputs the position of the mouse in either world space or local space. !Mouse picker only works in Builder and in Standalone executables. It does not function in media servers, as media servers capture all mouse…
Fog Scattering
Nodes » Lighting » Fog Scattering
Method Add fog scattered light to the scene. *Fog scattering is great for creating an atmospheric background to your scene. Example Nodegraph Example Attributes Name Description Fog Colour…
Proximity Modifier
Nodes » Modifiers » Proximity Modifier
Method This node outputs a value if an input node is within range of a point. It only calculates distance based on the origin of the input node, so objects with large bounding boxes should be tested with this in mind. Attributes |_. Name |_. Description | |…
Bone
Nodes » Geometry » Bone
Method This node is used for skeletal deformation of 3D Objects. Bones/skeletons apply transformations to vertices in a 3D object. Transforms are applied hierarchically and different bones in the skeleton may affect vertices by different amounts, which allows for…
Colour Ramp
Nodes » Nodes » Colour Ramp
Method This node outputs colours or gradients, based on the colours selected. Attributes Name Description Preview In Viewport Preview the effect blended with alpha in the viewport. Preview RGB In Viewport Preview the RGB…
Colour and Depth Source
Nodes » Video Processing » Input Output » Colour and Depth Source
Method This node is similar to the Depth Camera / Kinect Source node, but instead combines two input images and generates a depth camera source from them. This can then be used with some of the other Depth Camera / Kinect nodes, such as the Depth Camera / Kinect…
Combine Geometry
Nodes » Geometry » Combine Geometry
Method Combine multiple sources of geometry into one to be used or affected by other nodes. Rendering Name Description Visible Control whether the node is visible or not to the scene. Lines Name Description …
Particle Cache
Nodes » Particles » Particle Cache
Method The particle cache node allows you to store the animation of particles to disk. This allows them to be scrubbed in time and played deterministically rather than simulated during playback. Particle cache files may be very large on disk. Example Nodegraph…
Custom Shader Post Effect
Nodes » Post-FX » Image Processing » Custom Shader Post Effect
Method This node allows you to write your own custom shaders for use as a Post FX within the Notch nodegraph. Notch shaders are written in HLSL and use the D3DX Effect framework which allows for multiple techniques and passes and access to all of the pipeline stages.…
Clone To Procedurals
Nodes » Cloning » Clone To Procedurals
Method This node generates a clone system based on the procedural generator nodes. A clone is generated at every voxel inside the field. Example Transform Name Description Position X Changes the x…
Streaming via RTMP/RTMPS/RTP
Devices & Protocols » Streaming via RTMP/RTMPS/RTP
Introduction Notch enables you to stream your Notch content to internet streaming platforms, such as YouTube, Twitch, Facebook Live, Mixer & more directly from within Notch Builder, with both video and audio. You are also able to stream to custom streaming services…
Force Affector
Nodes » Particles » Affectors » Force Affector
Method This node applies a force to the affected particles. This is typically used to give particles a constant acceleration to simulate e.g. gravity. The Mode attribute is used to determine if the force is directional with a random spread determined by the Spread…
Image Tile File Loader
Nodes » Video Processing » Input Output » Image Tile File Loader
Method This node loads a series of images from disk based on a specified path, and puts them in tiles inside a single large texture, who’s resolution is defined by the Width and Height parameters. This texture can be used with materials on 3D geometry nodes,…
Clone To Spline
Nodes » Cloning » Clone To Spline
Method This node is used to clone objects along the spline created by an input Spline node or other source of spline data – for example from a loaded Cinema4D scene. Example Example Nodegraph …
Tile Sheet
Nodes » Generators » Tile Sheet
Method Generates a combined sheet of images (sometimes known as a sprite sheet) from multiple inputs. The following example shows how to do this using Polygon generators, but any image node can be used as input. The number of connected input nodes is not…
Volumetric Tracer
Nodes » Procedural » Render Nodes » Volumetric Tracer
Method Renders a procedural as a volume. Unlike the Volumetric Generator node, this volume is not restricted to a bounded region of space. This allows a free camera flight through the volume without needing to animate or switch bounding boxes. This node is highly…
Procedural Emitter
Nodes » Fields » Emitters » Procedural Emitter
Method This node emits colour/ink into a field using a procedural node network. Procedural nodes should be parented to the Procedural Emitter in order to generate procedural forms that will be converted into field ink. Transform Name Description…
MIDI Modifier
Nodes » Modifiers » MIDI Modifier
Method This node reads CC values from channels of a MIDI device so they can be used to control values on other nodes. The MIDI channel can be selected manually, or use “Listen For Channel/CC” and make a change on the device and the channel will be picked…
MIDI Note As Value Modifier
Nodes » Modifiers » MIDI Note As Value Modifier
Method This node reads CC values from channels of a MIDI device so they can be used to control values on other nodes. The MIDI channel can be selected manually, or use “Listen For Channel/CC” and make a change on the device and the channel will be picked…
Colour Grading
Nodes » Post-FX » Colour Processing » Colour Grading
Method This node alters the distribution of colour in the image. Raw texture Processed texture Example Nodegraph Attributes Name Description Active Turn the effect on or off. …
Depth Of Field
Nodes » Post-FX » Blur » Depth Of Field
Method This node renders a depth of field blur effect on the 3D scene based on the distance of each pixel from the camera. This attempts to simulate the behaviour of the focus effects of a real camera lens, whereby there is a point of focus and then areas in front and…
Procedural Shading Node
Nodes » Shading Nodes » Procedural Shading Node
Method Uses a procedurals network as a shading value source. The output of this shading node is the distance to the surface of the connected procedural. Example Example Nodegraph Attributes Name…
Spring Affector
Nodes » Particles » Affectors » Spring Affector
Method This node simulates a spring-like effect between a particle’s current position and its original emission position, making it spring back towards the point it was emitted from over a period of time. This can be used to restore particles to their original…
Kill Box Affector
Nodes » Particles » Affectors » Kill Box Affector
Method This node kills particles that are either inside or outside of a bounding box, dependent on the Kill Mode attribute. Particles can be killed immediately or decayed over a period of time depending on the Kill Operation. Example …
Tilt Shift
Nodes » Post-FX » Blur » Tilt Shift
Method This node applies a tilt shift effect to the image by blurring the top and bottom parts of the image, while keeping the center plane in focus. Raw texture Processed texture Modified texture Example Nodegraph…
Frame Feedback
Nodes » Post-FX » Blur » Frame Feedback
Method This node overlays the previous frame over the current frame. To further manipulate the feedback frame, add more post-fx nodes to the output. Raw texture Processed texture Modified texture Example Nodegraph…
Null
Nodes » Geometry » Null
Method A generic transform node. 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…
Bump Map Warp
Nodes » Post-FX » Warping » Bump Map Warp
Method This node warps an image based off of a bump map. The warp is generated by creating a copy of the image with a slight offset and multiplied. If there is no input connected to the Image Node input then the scene render is used as a source bump…
Particle Bone Deformer
Nodes » Deformers » Particle Bone Deformer
Method Use a particle a particle system to affect the bones of a 3D Object or Shatter Primitive 3D nodes. Attributes Name Description Physics Velocity Dampening Dampen the changes in velocity for smoother movement. Fixed…
Volumetric Lighting
Nodes » Lighting » Volumetric Lighting
Method Adds volumetric lighting into the scene. *A great way of adding atmospheric fog to your scene. Example Nodegraph Example Transform Name Description Position X Move its position…
Shape 3D
Nodes » Geometry » Shape 3D
Method This node renders a 3D primitive mesh that has been generated according to various attributes. The Shape Type parameter defines the primitive shape used. The Subdivisions X/Y parameters determine how many subdivisions the primitive has, and the Axis defines…
Cloth Affector
Nodes » Particles » Affectors » Cloth Affector
Method This node applies a cloth simulation to particles that were spawned from a Particle Mesh Deformer. Only particles created from a Particle Mesh Deformer will work with the cloth simulation because it requires information about connections between particles to…
Shockwave Affector
Nodes » Particles » Affectors » Shockwave Affector
Method This node applies a pulsing spatial shockwave through particles. 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.…
Field Lighting
Nodes » Fields » Rendering » Field Lighting
Method This node adds lighting and self shadowing to fields based on input light nodes. It is used in conjunction with the Field Renderer node (which renders the field volume). Affecting lights need to be connected to Lights input of the Field Lighting node. The Field…
Video Clip
Nodes » Video Processing » Input Output » Video Clip
Method This node is an alternative source for an imported video or image source from the resources window. It is also used to have multiple time segments by splitting it up within the timeline window. Attributes Name Description Preview In…
Bake Lighting To Object
Nodes » Lighting » Bake Lighting To Object
Method The Bake Lighting To Object node bakes static lighting information for objects in the scene into lightmap textures, which are then applied back on to the objects to replace dynamic lighting. Baking the static lighting of the scene will drastically improve the…
Image Plane
Nodes » Geometry » Image Plane
Method This node is used to render an image or video on a plane in 3D space. The image may be set directly via the Image parameter or linked via the Video Node input. Image Plane nodes have similar rendering options to other geometry nodes such as 3D Objects or…
Intel Realsense 2.0 Camera Setup
Devices & Protocols » Intel Realsense 2.0 Camera Setup
Introduction Just like the Kinect, the Intel RealSense can be used to with Notch in a number of ways, such as generating meshes, emitting particles, generating fields, and using the depth and color images in video processing chains. !The suitability of RealSense for…
Depth Camera / Kinect Source
Nodes » Video Processing » Input Output » Depth Camera / Kinect Source
Method This node is used to read colour and depth data from a Kinect Or RealSense camera. This node carries both colour and depth information. Post Effect nodes and Video Processing nodes attached to this node will operate on the colour data only, unless specifically…
Video Feature Emitter
Nodes » Particles » Emitters » Video Feature Emitter
Method This node emits particles from an image or video by extracting feature points from the image or video frame. The image or video may be set directly using the Image attribute, or taken from a node connected via the Video Node attribute. Features are extracted by…
Image Emitter
Nodes » Particles » Emitters » Image Emitter
Method This node emits particles from an image or video. It can make use of motion vectors to make particles track the motion of a video once emitted. The image or video may be set directly using the Image attribute, or taken from a node connected via the Video Node…
Polygon
Nodes » Generators » Polygon
Method Generates a single regular polygon as a texture image. Processed texture Example Nodegraph Examples Transform Name Description Position X Move its…
Truchet
Nodes » Generators » Truchet
Method This node generates a Truchet pattern. Processed texture Example Nodegraph Transform Name Description Position X Move its position along the x-axis in local space. …
Scale Affector
Nodes » Particles » Affectors » Scale Affector
Method This node scales particles to have larger and smaller 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.…
Fractal Noise
Nodes » Generators » Fractal Noise
Method Generates simple fractal noise. Processed texture Example Nodegraph Transform Name Description Position X Move its position along the x-axis in local space. Position Y…
Video Loader
Nodes » Video Processing » Input Output » Video Loader
Method This node is the source for an imported video or image source from the resources window. Images or videos brought into the scene will by default use this node. Attributes Name Description Preview In Viewport Preview the effect…
GBuffer To Image
Nodes » Video Processing » Input Output » GBuffer To Image
Method This node allows GBuffer channels from a rendered scene to be used as video nodes for compositing or export purposes. By default the base render layer is used as the GBuffer source, but a Render Layer may be supplied via appropriate input. For most channels…
Kill Box Effector
Nodes » Cloning » Effectors » Kill Box Effector
Method This node limits areas that clones can be spawned in, using shapes described in the Falloff Attribute section. Transform Name Description Position X Move its position along the x-axis in local space. Position Y …
Cells
Nodes » Generators » Cells
Method This node generates a cellular pattern using a distance function, mapping a gradient to the distance to the closest of a set of random points Processed texture Example Nodegraph Transform Name…
Freehand Mask
Nodes » Generators » Freehand Mask
Method This node allows a black and white mask to be sketched by clicking and dragging with the left most button in the viewport. When the right button is pressed the mask is cleared. *Notch must be paused to draw new masks. Processed texture …
Grid
Nodes » Generators » Grid
Method Generates a grid. Processed texture Example Nodegraph Transform Name Description Position X Move its position along the x-axis in local space. Position Y Move its…
Tone Map
Nodes » Post-FX » Colour Processing » Tone Map
Method This node applies a tone mapping process to an image. This is often used to convert high dynamic range images to a colour space suitable for output; to convert linear space images to gamma 2.2 for output; or to balance brightness levels across an image and…
Gradient
Nodes » Generators » Gradient
Method Generates a gradient. Processed texture Example Nodegraph Transform Name Description Position X Move its position along the x-axis in local space. Position Y Move its…
Star
Nodes » Generators » Star
Method Generates a single regular polygon as a texture image. Processed texture Example Nodegraph Transform Name Description Position X Move its position along the x-axis in local space.…
Decal
Nodes » Geometry » Decal
Method Use the decal node to project a texture onto surfaces. Notch logo decal Decal nodegraph Sample Transform Name Description Position X Move its position along the x-axis in local…
Clone
Nodes » Procedural » Cloning » Clone
Method Makes copies of its children. Example Example Nodegraph Example Project Transform Name Description Position X Move its position along the x-axis in local space. …
Gradient Shading Node
Nodes » Shading Nodes » Gradient Shading Node
Method This node applies a gradient to the shading of a material node. This can be used to deform, recolour and change the lighting on a mesh. Example A Mapping type Object coordinate – B Mapping type Object Output channel…
Environment Map
Nodes » Lighting » Environment Map
Method Add an environment map node to a scene, add an image to the nodegraph and plug it into the environment map node. You should Ideally use .exr of .hdr images – HDRI Haven is a great resource for these images. The environment map output can be plugged into…
Curve Mask
Nodes » Generators » Curve Mask
Method This node generates a mask by using a shape created using user created points. With the scene paused and this node selected, you can create new points by left clicking in the viewport. Left click dragging moves the selected point around and right clicking a…
Other Windows
User Interface » Other Windows
Performance Bar And Window Controls Window Controls This menu controls some of the window options for various windows in Notch. Label Description Editor Settings Settings for the Notch Editor. Project Settings…
Clone To Transform Array
Nodes » Cloning » Clone To Transform Array
Method This node generates clones from the currently active elements in a Transform Array node. Transform Name Description Position X Move its position along the x-axis in local space. Position Y Move its position along…
Voronoi
Nodes » Generators » Voronoi
Method This node generates a texture of a Voronoi pattern. Processed texture Example Nodegraph Transform Name Description Position X Move its position along the x-axis in local space.…
Plasma
Nodes » Generators » Plasma
Method Can be used to generate a few different wavy effects. Processed texture Example Nodegraph Transform Name Description Position X Move its position along the x-axis in local space.…
Flat Colour
Nodes » Generators » Flat Colour
Method This node generates a flat colour. Processed texture Example Nodegraph Transform Name Description Position X Move its position along the x-axis in local space. Position…
Vortex Affector
Nodes » Particles » Affectors » Vortex Affector
Method This node makes particles move in a rotational manner. This is typically used to create rotational vortex effects, e.g. tornados. The effect is weighted by a falloff calculated using the distance from the node to the particle, ramping from 100% at distance…
Points Affector
Nodes » Particles » Affectors » Points Affector
Method This node affects particles by positional vortex forces created around points from another particle system, or vertices of a 3D Object. This can be used to make one particle system “move through” another and appear to affect it.…
Noise Shading Node
Nodes » Shading Nodes » Noise Shading Node
Method This node applies simple noise to the shading of a material node. This can be used to deform, recolour and change the lighting on a mesh. Example Example Nodegraph Transform Name Description…
Noise
Nodes » Generators » Noise
Method Generates random static noise. Processed texture Example Nodegraph Transform Name Description Position X Move its position along the x-axis in local space. Position Y…
Field Affector
Nodes » Particles » Affectors » Field Affector
Method This node samples velocities from a Field node and applies them to particles. This can be used to apply motions generated on a field, e.g. via a fluid solver, and apply them to a particle system so the particles move with the field. The magnitude of the…
Grid Shading Node
Nodes » Shading Nodes » Grid Shading Node
Method This node applies grid pattern to the shading of a material node. This can be used to deform, recolour and change the lighting on a mesh. Example A 2d grid with alpha blended – B 3Dgrid – C 2D grid – …
Particle Root
Nodes » Particles » Particle Root
Method This node is the root and container for every particle system. Particle Emitters, Particle Affectors and Particle Rendering Nodes must be parented to this node directly or indirectly in order to be operational. The node contains a number of controls that are…
Extruded Spline
Nodes » Geometry » Extruded Spline
Method This node extrudes n-gon shapes along a spline. The spline used to generate the shape must be connected via the Spline Sources input. Attributes Name Description Visible Control whether the node is visible or not to the scene.…
Generate Fertilizer Times Deformer
Nodes » Deformers » Generate Fertilizer Times Deformer
Method This node generates fertilizer values for meshes without any built-in. Fertilizer uses point weightmaps to erode the surfaces of a mesh. As this node works on the shader edges, so it is not affected by the Root nodes anti-aliasing. You can still use any of…
SPH Affector
Nodes » Particles » Affectors » SPH Affector
Method This node simulates fluid dynamics on a particle system using the SPH (Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics) simulation method. This is typically used to simulate liquid effects. It solves a fluid simulation by locally solving pressure forces between a particle and…
Hokuyo UST Lidar Array
Nodes » Interactive » Array Sources » Hokuyo UST Lidar Array
Method This node creates an Array of points on the basis of a Hokuyo 2D LiDAR. At a high level, the node allows you to specify a rectangular region of interest and identify objects/hands/people within that zone. These objects become transforms/points in the array that…
Kinect Setup
Devices & Protocols » Kinect Setup
Introduction Notch can read both RGB and Depth data from both the Kinect 1, Kinect 2 and Kinect 4 depth sensors. You can use this data in a whole variety of ways, from generating meshes, emitting particles, generating fields, and using the depth and colour images in…
Clone To Volume
Nodes » Cloning » Clone To Volume
Method This node clones 3D objects in a regular 3D grid arrangement, using the shape of a 3D object to define the region of space that is filled. The resolution of the grid is defined by the Num Voxels X/Y/Z parameters. A 3D object node must be connected to the Source…
Primitive Affector
Nodes » Particles » Affectors » Primitive Affector
Method This node is used to attract or repel particles from the surface of the selected primitive type. This is typically used to make particles form into a given shape. Particles will use the closest point on the primitive’s surface to move towards or away…
Curl Noise Fluid Affector
Nodes » Particles » Affectors » Curl Noise Fluid Affector
Method This node gives the affected particles a fluid-like motion. This is typically used to make particles move in a turbulent but spatially coherent manner with local eddies like smoke or liquid. The motion is generated procedurally using Curl Noise rather than…
3D Primitive
Nodes » Procedural » Generators » 3D Primitive
Method This node renders a 3D primitive only usable with procedural node. The Primitive Type parameter defines the primitive shape used. Procedural Primitives Procedural Primitives Nodegraph Transform Name…
Managing Performance in Media Servers
Media Servers » Managing Performance in Media Servers
Introduction Unless your media server has a ‘side-car’ GPU dedicated to Notch rendering, your Notch effects will be sharing the same GPU processor as the media server software. Successful shows require an understanding of GPU resources. When rendering at…
Physics / Rigid Body Root
Nodes » Physics » Physics / Rigid Body Root
Method The Rigid Body Root node is the root node of a rigid body physics system. Every node using physics that is parented directly or indirectly to a Rigid Body Root node is part of the same physics system and will interact with each other. 3D Objects, Primitives,…
Jigsaw
Nodes » Generators » Jigsaw
Method This node generates a Jigsaw pattern. Processed texture Example Nodegraph Transform Name Description Position X Move its position along the x-axis in local space. …
Clone To Point Cache
Nodes » Cloning » Clone To Point Cache
Method This node clones 3D objects to positions defined by a Point Cache node. The number of clones is defined by the Num Clones parameter and limited by the total number of points in the Point Cache (accounting for the density attribute set in the Point Cache). If…
Random Cloner
Nodes » Cloning » Random Cloner
Method Clones an object and gives the new clones random positions within a specified area. Example Example Nodegraph Transform Name Description Position X Move its position along the…
Melt
Nodes » Procedural » Displacement » Melt
Method Smoothens the shape a procedural in 3D space, much like how a blur smoothens an image in 2D space. Example Example Nodegraph Transform Name Description Position X Move its…
3D Object
Nodes » Procedural » Generators » 3D Object
Method Generates a procedural shape from a mesh object. Example Example Nodegraph Attributes Name Description Distance Offset Offsets the distance field values, causing the generated…
Convex Hull
Nodes » Geometry » Convex Hull
Method Generates a containing mesh based on an input object. The mode can control how accurate the generated outer mesh is. Attributes Name Description Mode Determines how convex hull mode generates the wrapped hull around the input…
MIDI Keyboard Texture
Nodes » Generators » MIDI Keyboard Texture
Method This node generates a texture based on the output from a connected MIDI Device. Example Nodegraph Transform Name Description Position X Move its position along the x-axis in local space. …
Target Effector
Nodes » Cloning » Effectors » Target Effector
Method All clones affected will rotate to target a point described by an input. Example This image is taken from the “cloner_instancing” sample project. Example Nodegraph There is much…
Procedural Meshing
Nodes » Procedural » Render Nodes » Procedural Meshing
Method Extracts a surface from a procedural by first voxelising it (but only voxelising the spatial areas which are required) and then constructing a smoothened surface over the voxels. The surface produced is a triangle mesh which can be texture and deformed, can…
Texture Shading Node
Nodes » Shading Nodes » Texture Shading Node
Method This node applies a chosen texture to the shading of a material node. This can be used to deform, recolour and change the lighting on a mesh. Example A Output channel normal – B Output channel TGBA with alpha blended…
Turbulence Affector
Nodes » Particles » Affectors » Turbulence Affector
Method This node applies turbulence to the particle motion. This is typically used to apply local variations to particle movement and simulate small gusts of wind. The motion is generated by using a smoothed noise field for both the direction and the magnitude of the…
Explode Affector
Nodes » Particles » Affectors » Explode Affector
Method This node applies a velocity to the affected particles at the birth of the particle. This is typically used to create explosion-like effects. The Explode Mode attribute is used to determine if the particle should be pushed outwards from the affector’s…
Tiles
Nodes » Generators » Tiles
Method Generates a grid of tiles that can be coloured randomly, or in a checkered pattern. Processed texture Example Nodegraph Transform Name Description Position X Move its position…
Mapping
Nodes » Nodes » Mapping
Method This node controls how texture coordinates (UVs) are generated for a given material or piece of 3D geometry. This allows UVs to be created procedurally, e.g. via planar, spherical or camera perspective mappings. The Mapping node acts on a Material…
Fractal Noise
Nodes » Procedural » Generators » Fractal Noise
Method Generates simple 3D fractal noise. Example Example with CSG sphere Example Nodegraph Transform Name Description Position X Move its position along the…
QR Code
Nodes » Generators » QR Code
Method This node generates a QR code from a given string. Although most QR codes are predominately black and white, they do not have to be. A QR code can be any colour and can even include more than 2 different colours. The key takeaway is that the QR scanner is…
OSC
Devices & Protocols » OSC
Introduction Notch allows you to send and receive simple OSC data over the network for interacting with your project. When running as standalone, you can also control the play head remotely. Receiving OSC Setting up your project to receive OSC. Open the Project…
FFT Texture
Nodes » Generators » FFT Texture
Method Generates a texture based on the sound from either a selected or input audio source. Example Example Nodegraph Transform Name Description Position X Move its position along the…
Velocity Affector
Nodes » Particles » Affectors » Velocity Affector
Method This node applies a constant velocity to the affected particles. This is typically used to make particles move in a regular, linear fashion, e.g. wind effects or repulsions. The Mode attribute is used to determine if the velocity is directional with a random…
Reaction-Diffusion
Nodes » Procedural » Generators » Reaction-Diffusion
Method Performs reaction-diffusion simulation, using a procedural input to restict the placement of seeds and another procedural input to restrict growth. This node simulates the Gray-Scott reaction-diffusion process, which can be thought of as a kind of fluid…
Image
Nodes » Procedural » Generators » Image
Method Create a 3D shape by using the luminance of an input image as a mask. Example Example Nodegraph Transform Name Description Position X Move its position along the x-axis in local…
Mirror
Nodes » Procedural » Cloning » Mirror
Method Effectively folds its children on to themselves over a specific plane of reflection. Example Example Nodegraph Example Project Transform Name Description Position X Move its…
Editable Code
Nodes » Procedural » Generators » Editable Code
Method Allows a custom piece of HLSL code to be written to produce a distance value from which a procedural shape will be created. For best results with this node you should have a working knowledge of the HLSL shading language, and signed distance…
Point Renderer
Nodes » Particles » Rendering » Point Renderer
Method This node renders a point sprite for every particle. A point sprite is a quad which is positioned in 3D space, is rotated to face the camera and may be textured. This is the most commonly used rendering node for particle effects. Particles can be sorted in…
Image 2D
Nodes » Nodes » Image 2D
Method This node displays an image in 2D space on top of the rendered scene, with no respect paid to the 3D camera, viewport or objects within it. This is useful for displaying full screen images, overlays and so on. Transform Name Description …
Image Effector
Nodes » Cloning » Effectors » Image Effector
Method This node changes the transformation and colour properties of a clone system based on an input image. The Effector Transform parameters determine the rotation, scale and translation that will be applied to the clones. The Effector’s falloff is generated…
Clone To Particles
Nodes » Cloning » Clone To Particles
Method This node clones 3D objects to positions defined by a particle system. A Particle Root Node or a Particle Emitter must be connected to the Particle Node input for this node to be operational. If a Particle Emitter is connected then only particles emitted from…
Bake Lighting
Techniques » Lighting » Bake Lighting
Static or Baked lighting Baking lighting into lightmaps is essential for all realtime projects such as AR and VR because of the low-performance costs need to run those projects. Once static lighting is baked into a scene via lightmaps it can’t be changed,…
Spring Effector
Nodes » Cloning » Effectors » Spring Effector
Method This node provides a springiness to clones by keeping track of their original positions before being affected and pulling them back into position. Example Example Nodegraph Transform Name…
Face Tracker
Nodes » Video Processing » Feature Tracking » Face Tracker
Method This node searches an image for faces. When a face is found a pre-defined arrangement of vertices, forming a simple 2D mesh, are searched for and tracked across multiple frames. *Looking for an example? Download the free samples, which includes multiple Face…
Screen Emitter
Nodes » Particles » Emitters » Screen Emitter
Method This Emitter emits particles only from objects within the cameras view. Particles can be emitted from other layers by adding a Render Layer node as an input to this node. Example Transform Name Description …
Plain Effector
Nodes » Cloning » Effectors » Plain Effector
Method This node applies a rotation, scale and translation to every clone. The Effector Transform parameters determine the rotation, scale and translation that will be applied to the clones. The amount the translation, scale and rotation are applied to each clone is…
Clone To Mesh
Nodes » Cloning » Clone To Mesh
Method This node clones 3D objects to positions defined by the vertices or polygon centres of another 3D object. A 3D object node must be connected to the Source Objects input to define the voxelised shape the clones are arranged in for this node to be operational.…
Generate Weightmap Deformer
Nodes » Deformers » Generate Weightmap Deformer
Method This deformer node generates per-vertex weight values which can be used by other nodes – particularly other deformers – as part of their processing. Deformers such as the 3D Plasma Deformer have an input called “Generated Weightmap”…
Ripple Effector
Nodes » Cloning » Effectors » Ripple Effector
Method This node applies a wave action of effects to the clone it is inputted into. The Effector Transform parameters determine the rotation, scale and translation that will be applied to the clones. The amount the translation, scale and rotation are applied to each…
Randomise Effector
Nodes » Cloning » Effectors » Randomise Effector
Method This node applies a randomised rotation, scale and translation to every clone. The Effector Transform parameters determine the rotation, scale and translation that will be applied to the clones; these values are used as ranges for generated random values. The…
Turbulence Effector
Nodes » Cloning » Effectors » Turbulence Effector
Method This node applies an animating turbulence to the rotation, scale and translation to every clone. The Effector Transform parameters determine the rotation, scale and translation that will be applied to the clones. The amount the translation, scale and rotation…
Quantise Effector
Nodes » Cloning » Effectors » Quantise Effector
Method This node restricts the possible range of values a clone can be translated, rotated, or scaled to. The Effector Transform parameters determine the rotation, scale and translation that will be applied to the clones. The amount the translation, scale and…
Fluid FLIP Affector
Nodes » Particles » Affectors » Fluid FLIP Affector
Method This node simulates fluid dynamics on a particle system using the FLIP (FLuid In Particle) or PIC (Particle In Cell) simulation methods. This is typically used to simulate smoke, gas and other fluid effects. This works by transferring particle forces to a grid,…
Clone To Image
Nodes » Cloning » Clone To Image
Method This node is used to clone 3D objects to pixels in an image or video, using the pixel colours to scale, offset or colour the clones. 3D objects are cloned to positions in a regular 2D grid in the XY plane, with the number of cells defined by the Num Clones X…
Sine Effector
Nodes » Cloning » Effectors » Sine Effector
Method This node applies a rotation, scale and translation to every clone. The Effector Transform parameters determine the rotation, scale and translation that will be applied to the clones. The amount the translation, scale and rotation are applied to each clone is…
Render Particles To Surfaces
Nodes » Particles » Rendering » Render Particles To Surfaces
Method This node renders particles onto nearby 3D surfaces. This means that instead of rendering particles directly into space, they instead appear as splats on 3D geometry, only being visible when they are close enough to 3D geometry. This is particularly useful when…
Cloner
Nodes » Cloning » Cloner
Method This node clones 3D objects in a regular pattern in one of several ways depending on the Mode parameter. In Iterative Cloning mode, the Cloner node’s transform is applied iteratively so each clone is offset from the one before it. In Radial mode, clones…
FFT Effector
Nodes » Cloning » Effectors » FFT Effector
Method This node applies a rotation, scale and translation to clones based on the analysis of an audio input or file. The waveform is processed using a set of parameters in the same way as the Sound Modifier. The Effector Transform parameters determine the rotation,…
Colour Ramp Effector
Nodes » Cloning » Effectors » Colour Ramp Effector
Method This node modifies the colour values of connected cloner systems based on an input Colour Ramp. Transform Name Description Position X Move its position along the x-axis in local space. Position Y Move its position…
