ParticleToGeo

With ParticleToGeo, you can control particles in a simulation by channel, giving you the ability to isolate certain particles at any point in the Node Graph. For example, you might want to freeze certain particles within a simulation while allowing others to emit as normal or apply a particle effect to the particles in a single channel.

Inputs and Controls

Connection Type

Connection Name

Function

Input

particles

The particle system for which you intend to create particle geometry.

Control (UI)

Knob (Scripting)

Default Value

Function

ParticleToGeo Tab

display

display

unchanged

Adjust the display characteristics of the particles. These settings don’t affect the render output of the scene; these are for display purposes only in the 3D Viewer.

off - hides the particles.

wireframe - displays only the outlines of the particle.

solid - displays all particles with a solid color.

solid+wireframe - displays the particles as solid color with the particles outlines.

textured - displays only the surface texture.

textured+wireframe - displays the wireframe plus the surface texture.

unchanged - doesn't change the particles display mode. The Viewer can override this setting.

selectable

selectable

enabled

When enabled, you can select the particles in the Viewer by clicking on them.

render

render_mode

unchanged

Sets how the particles render. This control is independent from the display selection, but has the same settings.

channels

channels

all

Sets which particles are affected, by channel. For example, setting channels to a only affects particles emitted into the a channel in the ParticleEmitter node's Properties panel.

align mode

align

none

Sets the way sprite particles are aligned:

none - sprite particles are not aligned.

spin - sprite particles are aligned according to their rotation.

velocity - sprite particles are aligned according to their velocity.

Note:  This control has no effect on particles generated from geometry.

frame

frame

50

When specify frame is enabled, the frame control freezes the particles in the selected channels at the specified frame in the simulation.

For example, you could freeze particles in a channel called fog at frame 50 while allowing particles in the other channels to simulate as normal.

specify frame

use_frame

disabled

When enabled, the frame control can be used to freeze particles at a certain frame in the simulation.

Step-by-Step Guides

Controlling Particles by Channel