Irregularly shaped stones with mortar in between.

How Does It Work?

Use the Height, Width, and Depth parameters to change the relative sizes of the stones in the vertical and horizontal directions. This is different from scaling since the width of the mortar between the stones is not changed, and this will work no matter what Mapping_Type is chosen.

Use the Density parameter to change the relative density of the stones.  A Density of 0% will still have some stones. Density increases in steps at specific points (20.5, 40.5, 60.5, 80.5, 100).

Use the Mortar_Width parameter to change the width of the mortar between the stones. A Mortar_Width of 0% means there is no mortar between the stones and a Mortar_Width of 100% will be solid mortar.  Depending on the size and density of the stones, a Mortar_Width less than 100% may be solid mortar.

Use the Rounded Corners control to round of the geometry of each flagstone.

Use the Bevel_Width parameter on the bump version of this component to change the size of the bevel. The stone bevel starts at the center of the mortar and grows inward. When Bevel_Width is 0%, the stone has no bevel and is perfectly flat.  When Bevel_Width is 100%, the bevel goes all the way to the center of the stone and there is no flat region on the stone.  When the Bevel_Width equals the Mortar_Width (the default), the mortar and the edge of the stone line up exactly.  When the Bevel_Width is larger than the Mortar_Width, the stone appears to rise out of the mortar (the mortar stops before the bevel does). When the Bevel_Width is less than the Mortar_Width, the stone appears to sink into the mortar (the bevel stops before the mortar does).

Each stone is a separate region. See the parameter list below to see which linkable parameters supply regional information to their children.  See the Control class of components to see how to take advantage of regional information.

Hints!

Even though Density is linkable, it changes at discrete places.  Therefore, it is not well suited to animation.

Use the components in the Control class to mix up the Stone values.  This will make flagstones that look more realistic since the background pattern will be broken up.

Invert the bump version to get a stained glass look (the mortar will stick out above the surface of the stones). Now set the Sampling_Options to Single_Sample mode and link a texture to the Stone.  You might have to scale the FLAGSTONES out to get stones that are small enough to let the underlying texture show up clearly.

Darkling Simulations
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