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Card Generator
The Card generator is responsible for generating camera-facing leaves based on materials and mesh assets.
Generation
The properties in this group control how many leaves are generated and where they are placed.
Forces
The properties in this group control how forces affect the nodes created by this generator. Forces affect only the orientation, not the position, of leaf meshes.
Allow Forces
When enabled, all forces that are checked will act on the generator.
Forces
Each force in the scene has an entry here. Check the box next to the name to enable the force for this generator. The value set here is multiplied by the strength of the force before being applied to the branch. The profile curve controls have no effect on leaves.
Note: Click on the force name to edit the force's properties.
Random Seeds
Properties that have variance are given random values based on a seed value in this group. Vary the seeds in this group to randomize only the properties associated with the seed type.
Randomize All
Randomizes the value for all seeds used to compute this generator.
Leaves
The properties in this group control the type, size, and initial placement of the leaf nodes.
Size
This property sets the size of the leaf nodes. By default, mesh assets are treated as unit meshes and then scaled by this amount when placed on the model.
Flip
When enabled, randomly selected leaf nodes are flipped over the Y-axis.
Weld
When enabled, leaves will be placed directly on the skin of their parent (as opposed to being anchored on their spine).
Type
The properties in this group specify the materials and meshes for the leaf. Meshes must be assigned to the material on the Material Bar to be used on the leaf. Materials are chosen based on their weights and season settings.
Material
This property specifies a named material from the Material Bar. If “None” is selected or the chosen material has no assigned mesh, a simple square will be used as placeholder geometry.
Weight
Sets probability that a node will receive this material (this weight ÷ sum of all weights).
Resolution
The properties in this group influence the resolution of the mesh.
Size Increase %
This curve controls the increase in the size of the leaf nodes as the resolution changes. It is often desirable to increase the size of the leaves at lower resolutions to make up for a lower number of leaves.
Mesh LOD
This curve sets which mesh version (“High”, “Medium” or “Low” detail on the mesh asset) is used based on the active resolution.
Mesh LOD Offset
When set to a value other than 0, the mesh currently assigned will go up or down in mesh resolution (“High”, “Medium” or “Low” detail on the mesh asset). Use this property (especially in conjunction with its parent curve) to adjust mesh resolution throughout the model.
Note: “Mesh LOD” and “Mesh LOD Offset” both require meshes assigned in at least two of the three mesh asset LOD slots.
Final Adjustments
These edits are applied to the cards as the last transformation before the camera-facing transformation is applied.
Up
Rotates each mesh around its local X axis.
Right
Rotates each mesh around its local Y axis.
Out
Rotates each mesh around its local Z axis.
Deformation
The properties in this group alter the shape of the leaf card. It is important to remember that these properties work best when there are enough vertices in the mesh to reveal the changes.
Note: Using these properties on low-resolution meshes can produce undesirable results. You should always have at least one vertex near the center of the mesh for the best results.
Vertex
The properties in this group perform a noise-based deformation of each vertex in the mesh.
Amount
This property controls the amount of noise applied to each vertex.
Noise
This value controls the tightness of the noise pattern. Higher values result in more localized deformations.
Seed
Vary this parameter to randomize the noise pattern.
Scale
The properties in this group scale the mesh. The scale is performed in each leaf's local orientation.
X
Scales the mesh by this amount in the X-axis.
Y
Scales the mesh by this amount in the Y-axis.
Z
Scales the mesh by this amount in the Z-axis.
Lighting
The properties in this group modify the vertex normals to change the lighting behavior of the mesh.
Note: These properties are not typically necessary for high detail VFX models but they can significantly improve the lighting on meshes that represent clusters of leaves in real-time models.
Parent Puffiness
Amount
Value scale that controls how much the normals on each individual leaf should face “out” depending on the assigned anchor point. A value of 1.0 makes each normal line up with the vector that goes from the anchor through the vertex.
Note: Click on a leaf with hints on to see the “Parent puffiness” vectors.
Anchor
This property picks a spot on one of the leaf's ancestors according to the following options:
Global | The anchor point is located where the node's highest ancestor hits the ground. |
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Deep | The anchor point is the base of a node very near (and sometimes exactly on) the root of the node's ancestors. |
Intermediate | The anchor point is somewhere in the middle of the node's ancestors. |
Local | The anchor point is very near where the node is attached. |
None | No anchor point is computed, and no parent puffiness is added. |
Puffiness
After all normal adjustments have been performed, this value “sphere-izes” the normals around the center of the mesh, making the geometry have a more puffy appearance.
Adjustments
The properties in this group rotate the normals of each leaf without rotating the geometry. These properties are commonly used when creating clusters.
Hint: Apply variance to these properties to make leaves in a cluster appear jumbled when lit in the final model.
Up
This property rotates vertex normals around the local X-axis.
Right
This property rotates vertex normals around the local Y-axis.
Out
This property rotates vertex normals around the local Z-axis.
Wind
The properties in this group influence how leaves are animated in wind simulations.
Scalar
Use this property to scale how much the leaf moves during wind simulations. The amount and frequency of motion are set on the Fan object. The left-hand side of the profile curve corresponds to the pivot point. The right-hand side corresponds to the vertex farthest away.
Note: The left-hand side of the profile curve must be zero to avoid disconnecting from the parent.
Group
In many wind styles, multiple wind groups are available. Use this property to specify which group the leaves belong to. The most common use of this feature is to have separate animation parameters for leaves and fruit.
Seed
Vary this parameter to randomize wind characteristics.
Season
The properties in this group control how leaves transition in the seasons system.
Start Offset
Leaf transitions are determined by looking up season curves based on the position of the season slider. This value provides an offset on that curve lookup. Use variance on this property to randomly shift when neighboring leaves begin their transition.
Time Scale
Scales how fast time passes relative to a single leaf. Higher values make leaves transition faster.
Drop Time
Controls how long the leaf will remain attached. A leaf can drop no matter what material is assigned.
Dynamic LOD
The properties in this group control the LOD behavior of the leaves.
Weight
Use this value to increase or decrease the likelihood that leaves in this generator will survive the LOD process (vs. leaves in other generators). Use the parent curve to target specific areas of the model.
Scale Factor
Leaves that survive the LOD process grow to fill the vacated space. The amount is set in the Tree generator's LOD section. This property scales that amount for leaves in this generator.
Mesh Index
This curve controls which mesh LOD (if present) is used for each LOD state. The left side of the curve corresponds to the highest LOD. The right side corresponds to the lowest LOD.
Collision
The properties in this group influence how leaves in this generator interact with the collision system.
Style
Use this property to set how the leaves behave during collision computations from the following options:
Everything | Leaves in this generator collide with each other and all other leaves. |
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Ignore Siblings | Leaves in this generator ignore siblings but collide with everything else. |
Knock out Others Only | Leaves in this generator cannot be removed, but they can eliminate leaves in other generators. |
Nothing | These leaves do not participate in collision computations. |
Take parent
When enabled, if a leaf in this generator is removed, its parent is also removed. Use this option to take away twigs supporting leaves that are removed.
Weight
When leaves collide, the one with the higher weight wins. Use this property to set the weight.
Sphere Threshold
When using spherical leaf collision tests, this value scales the size of the spheres used during the test. Spheres are initially sized based on leaf size.
Lightmap
The property in this group affects the influence leaves in this generator have on the lightmap.
Note: Not all versions of the Modeler support lightmap UV computation.
Weight
Use this property to increase or decrease the importance of this generator's leaves in the lightmap – in relation to the lightmap weight of all other objects – before lightmap packing is determined. Note that your Weight value may not be honored exactly or may get so large as to exhibit unexpected results. Use “Tools→Reset lightmap scalars” to go back to default values for the whole model.