I’ve got a Thinking Particle setup that emits 1 particle every 20 frames, using Shot for the birth type. However, it would be nice to also control the start and stop emission of the particles. Any idea how I might set this up?
This is for another gun project and I’ll be emitting bullet cartridges every certain number of frames. Was thinking that this would be the best setup as it would provide the most control. However, if there’s a different way other than Thinking Particles, I’m all ears haha.
Dr. Sassi, I know you showed me a way in the past using cloners and standard emitters, and basically animating the cloner Position.Y. However, in this new particular instance, I don’t need to show the bullet+casing. I only need to show the empty casing being thrown out of the gun.
The first one uses the Frame and Time requirements as you have set up the User Data.
The interval of 20 frames will sit over the start and stop independently. If the start point is 70 frames, the interval will produce its first one at 80. Hence the setup change in the second file.
The second file uses Integer values in the User Data, as it is frame based anyway. The set up is more straightforward and allows with a single extra Node to really start when the start parameter says so, and not based on the interval settings.
Let me know if there is something else, I’m happy to look into it.
Thanks Dr. Sassi. I think I may have found an error in the second version. If you set Start Emission to 50, then interval to 30, the first particle starts at frame 70. Any way to have the first particle emit at frame 50, and from there do intervals of 30?
Thanks! This new version appears to be working better. However, one small thing. If I set the Start and Stop Emission both to 0 in order to disable it, it still spits out a particle on the first frame. Is it possible to add a boolean checkbox that enables/disables it altogether?
When clicking previous frame and then sometimes just moving the playhead around, it will jump all over the place. And in my big scene file, it has crashed C4D at times…very strange. I don’t know know if it has something to do with R20 and thinking particles or what? Maybe you can try to see if it’s doing the same thing to you?
The crash is weird, but anything else, I would have expected that. Thinking Particles are not able to go back and fore as you have described it.
Set up your scene as you need it, then add MoGraph Cache Tag to the Cloner: Bake.
When this is done, switch off the Xpresso Tag (Attribute Manager> Enable.
I was wondering if a whole different approach would not better for you. To turn a Cloner into an Emitter is pretty simple. Please have a look here: https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/NrejmpMAxgQ0fnpEbDNaZI895FSI9nLz2Wt5iCFwJDX
The adjustments can be made with the Linear Field. Which I assume is pretty straight forward and much more intuitive than other options.
Wow, that’s a different approach I’ve not thought about hah! The joy of 3D is that there are 100 different ways of doing the same thing!
So basically as your field moves over a poly selection, it clones objects to spit out? Can the opposite be achieved by moving the Plane through the field, to control where the clones are “emitted”?
The particle emitter was nice, as I was able to control the timing of the casings as they were ejected. It’s definitely cool to see different variations of how to achieve something though
The idea is to have the Linear Field change the selection-entry in the Selection Tag. This can be as well a MoGraph Selection, which can be used in the Dynamic Tag.