Procedural
Method #
In Notch a procedural is a 3-dimensional field of signed distances, where an position in the field hold a value of its distance to a “surface”, defined by shapes added to the field. This is often known as a Signed Distance Field (SDF). An SDF alone does not represent geometry, but surfaces and volumes can be generated from the field and rendered conventionally using procedural rendering nodes. For this process to work most efficiently, the SDF must be well-formed and devoid of extreme distortions. Some rendering nodes such as Procedural Meshing provide an Error Tolerance which relaxes this restriction at the cost of decreased performance.
The following node categories are available for working with procedurals:
- Procedural Root, Root node from which all other procedural nodes should have connection path to.
- Cloning, Repeat their child systems in various ways.
- Displacement, Displace and modify the generated SDFs.
- Generators, Generate SDFs using Particles, Meshes, Images, Etc.
- Render Nodes, Change how the generated SDF is rendered in the scene.
- Texturing, Change how a texture is applied to the material.
Cloning
Clone the shapes in a Procedural system.
Clone
Clone children in a Procedural System.
Mirror
Mirror children in a Procedural system.
Repeat
infinitely clone children in a Procedural system.
Displacement
These nodes apply spatial displacements in a procedural.
FBM Displacement
Apply FBM deformation to a procedural.
Fluid Affector
Apply a fluid deformation to a procedural.
Melt
Smooth a procedural.
Onion
Layer the surfaces of the procedural.
Pyroclastic Displacement
Add blobby noise to a procedural.
Generators
These nodes generate a distance field for use in a procedural.
3D Object
Generates a 3D Object for a procedural.
3D Primitive
Generates a 3D primitive for a procedural.
Cellular Noise
Generates a cellular noise pattern for a procedural.
Editable Code
Generates a shape for a procedural system from custom code.
Fractal Noise
Generates 3D fractal noise for a Procedural system.
Image
Genreate a Procedural shape from an image.
Level Set (Field)
This node allows a Field to be used as a procedural generator source.
Null
Combine multiple generators together before adding them to a Procedural system.
Particles
Generate shapes from particles for a procedural.
Particles As Primitives
Generate primitive shapes from particles for a procedural.
Reaction-Diffusion
Performs reaction-diffusion simulation to a Procedural system.
Voronoi
Generates a 3D Voronoi pattern for procedurals.
Render Nodes
These nodes convert the procedural distance field into rendered geometry, voxel grids, or other systems.
Heightmap Generator
This node is currently in development.
Procedural Meshing
Renders a procedural system as geometry.
Procedural Shading Node
Adjusts the shading of an object based on a procedural system.
Volume Generator
Renders a procedural system as a volume through voxels.
Volumetric Tracer
Renders a procedural as a volume through direct tracing.
Texturing
These nodes allow for textures to be applied to the procedural system.
Meshing Texture Map
Applies a texture to a procedural system.
Nodes
Procedural Root
The root for a Procedural system.