Notch Notch Manual 0.9.23
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Particle Cache

Particle Cache

Caches a particle system for potentially faster and repeatable results.

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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.

The file extension for particle cache is *.pcache.

Baking Panel

The file extension for particle cache is *.pcache.

When the baking is finished, you can disable the other particle emitters / affectors, as they no longer contribute to the scene.
Particle caching can generate very large files if a large number of particles is used. The frames per second will also influence the size of the cached file.

Parameters

These properties control the 3D transforms of the node. Transforms will generally be inherited by child nodes, although they can be ignored through the Inherit Transform Channels attributes.

ParameterDetails
Position XMove along the local x-axis.
Position YMove along the local y-axis.
Position ZMove along the local z-axis.
Rotation HeadingRotate around the local y-axis.
Rotation PitchRotate around the local x-axis.
Rotation BankRotate around the local z-axis.
Scale XScale along the local x-axis.
Scale YScale along the local y-axis.
Scale ZScale along the local z-axis.

Toggle which transform channels should be inherited from the parent node. By default, all transforms will be inherited.

ParameterDetails
Position XToggle inheritance of the X Position from the parent.
Position YToggle inheritance of the Y Position from the parent.
Position ZToggle inheritance of the Z Position from the parent.
Rotation HeadingToggle inheritance of the Rotation Heading from the parent.
Rotation PitchToggle inheritance of the Rotation Pitch from the parent.
Rotation BankToggle inheritance of the Rotation Bank from the parent.
Scale XToggle inheritance of the X Scale from the parent.
Scale YToggle inheritance of the Y Scale from the parent.
Scale ZToggle inheritance of the Z Scale from the parent.
World Position OnlyInherit the world position from the parent only, rotation and scale will be ignored. Overrides above properties.
Inherit TimeToggle inheritance of time from the parent.

These properties control the core behaviours of the node.

ParameterDetails
Bake Now..Open baking panel and begin bake
Particle CacheCached file
Realflow AnimationLoad *.bin realflow file
Playback RatePlayback speed
Playback Time OffsetOffset the playback Time
LoopingEnable loop playback
Use Node MaterialUse the particle material on this node, instead of the material baked into the cache

Tints the particles colours from the emitter. To enable, add an colour ramp input to this node.

ParameterDetails
Colour Selection ModeChoose how the input colour affects the particles.
  • Input Colour : the first colour input is the only colour output.
  • Selected Single Colour : Uses the Colour selection parameter to decide which colour to use from the input ramp.
  • Emission Time : colour is selected based on time at which the particle is emitted.
  • Random Colour : the colour is selected randomly at the particles creation.
Colour Selection ParametersA number used to select the colour output.

These properties control the material the particles use for emission.

ParameterDetails
ColourRGB colour of particles.
DiffuseControl how much the light is scattered from the surface of the object.
EmissivenessControl how much light is emitted by the particle.
Life Colour Affecter WeightControls how much the result of any Life Colour Shading nodes are blended with the particle’s colour.
Particle ScaleScale the size of the particle.
Dof AmountHow much depth of field effects the particles material.
DensityThe density, for use in some simulations.
TemperatureThe density, for use in some simulations.
Cooling RateThe cooling rate, for thermal dynamics simulations.
Density DecayControl the rate of decay in the density.
Fade In TimeWhat percentage through the particles life span the particle fades in.
Fade Out TimeWhat percentage through the particles life span the particle fades out.
Fade Falloff CoefficientChange the weighting of the fade falloff to either speed up or slow down over time.

Inputs

NameDescriptionTypical Input
Colour Control NodesControl the colours of the particles on emission.Colour Ramp
Transform ModifiersApply the transforms of another node to this node.Null
Target NodeModifiy the rotations of the node to always direct the z axis towards the input.Null
Local Transform OverrideApply the transforms of another node to this node, relative to its parent.Null