Belgian Amiga Club - ADF Collection/BS1 part 47.7z/BS1 part 47/Aladdin 4D v3.2 Upgrade (1994-04-13)(Adspec Programming)[update disk].7z/Aladdin 4D v3.2 Upgrade (1994-04-13)(Adspec Programming)[update disk].adf/Program.LZH/Fountain.Ref

Text File | 1994-04-14 | 22KB | 500 lines

Name: Fountain
Key: on subitems
Purpose: Add or alter a fountain

Brief: This menu item allows you to either create a new fountain
or alter an existing one through its two subitems.
NOTE that fountains require a texture list to be assigned. After
creating a fountain, assign it a texture list. Also note that
only members of the texture list using bitmaps will participate
in the fountain particle images. See the tutorial on fountains.

Add: (key: shift Y) Creates a new fountain at the current attach
point.

Alter: (key: alt Y) Alter a previously existing fountain. One
fountain must be selected before selecting the menu item. Note
that fountains are presented as simple 2 pointed polygons on
screen. Point 0 of the poly is the source of the fountain
particles.

Both of these subitems open the fountain control window.

The gadgets in the window and their use are as follows:

TIME (BAR): a visual representation of the time the current
member will be active. NOTE THAT AT THIS TIME ONLY ONE MEMBER CAN
BE USED FOR A FOUNTAIN.

INIT: a visual representation of the time the current member
begins. May be altered with the mouse.

END: a visual representation of the time the current member ends.
May be altered with the mouse.

TIME (GADGETS): an exact begin and end time in percentage. May be
edited if desired.

FRAME: an exact begin and end time in frame number. May be edited
if desired.

TYPE: if cyclic, the member's instructions will be executed from
start to finish. If periodic, the member's instructions will be
executed from start to finish and back to start.

CSPLINE: allows use of cspline to control change for this member.

CYCLES: number of times the current member's changes will be
executed during the member's time allocation.

ZBUF: if ON the particle images will be processed as part of the
poly data base. Allows partial obscurring of particle images.
NOTE THAT THIS IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR FOUNTAINS. If used, make
sure the fountain has a small number of particles.

OBSCUR: if ON, the particles will be obscurred by polygons that
appear in front of particles. Note that this is dependent on the
transparency of the obscuring polygon(s). if Off, the particles
will always be visible.

SEDGES: if ON, the particles will completely disappear when the
particle leaves the visible render screen. If OFF, the particle
image will rmain on screen even if the particle is not on
screen.

OBSTRAN: (only works if OBSCUR is ON) if ON (and obscur is ON),
particles react to transparent polys as though they are not
there. If OFF (and obscur is ON) particles loose strength as they
pass behind transparent polys. Note that the particle reduction
in strength is 4 times the normal reduction in strength from
transparency A particle disappearing behind a poly of
transparency 192 or less completely fades A linear fade is
accomplished between 192 and 255.

SIZE (BOOLEAN): if fixed, the flare width/height percent gadgets
that follow relate to render screen size. If relative, the
percent gadgets that follow relate to the relative distance
gadget value as discussed there. NOTE that with fountains, it is
always recommended to use SIZE as relative.

FLARE WIDTH PERCENT: a multiplier for the width of the particle
images on screen. It is a percentage of the current render
screen. If the SIZE is fixed, if the current render screen is 640
pixels wide and the flare width percent is 0.5, each particle
will be 320 pixels wide. If, however, the SIZE is set to
relative, the program will find the size of a line of RELATIVE
DISTANCE in length at each particle's position in space and then
use the flare width percent as a percentage of this size so
particle's are treated as 3D entities. NOTE that with fountains,
it is always recommended to use SIZE as relative. Used as aspect
ratio control for particle images.

FLARE HEIGHT PERCENT: a multiplier for the height of the particle
images on screen. It is a percentage of the current render
screen. If the SIZE is fixed, if the current render screen is 400
pixels wide and the flare height percent is 0.5, each particle
will be 200 pixels wide. If, however, the SIZE is set to
relative, the program will find the size of a line of RELATIVE
DISTANCE in length at each particle's position in space and then
use the flare height percent as a percentage of this size so
particle's are treated as 3D entities. NOTE that with fountains,
it is always recommended to use SIZE as relative. Used as aspect
ratio control for particle images.

RELATIVE DISTANCE: (requires SIZE to be RELATIVE) If size is
relative, the fountain is treated as though it is a 3D object. If
you specify that this distance is 10000, the program will paint
the particles at the size a circle with a radius of 10000 units
at the particle's position in space would appear on screen. This
means that particles will automatically decrease in size as they
move farther from the camera.

IMG ROT ORIG MAX/MIN: The image rotation in degrees at particle
birth. A random value between max and min will be used.

IMG ROT DEST MAX/MIN: The image rotation in degrees at particle
death. A random value between max and min will be used.

IMG ROT ORIG CSPLINE: rate control for orig values

IMG ROT DEST CSPLINE: rate control for dest values

IMG ROT INDIVIDUAL CSPLINE: rate control for particle change
between its assigned orig/dest values

AUTO ROTATE: if ON, the particle images will automatically be
rotated so the "bottom" of the image always points to the source.
Note that this is additive to the specified image rotation so
both can be used at the same time.

NUMBER PARTICLES: The number of particles that this fountain
should sustain.

NUMBER PARTICLES CSPLINE: rate control for the change in number
of particles.

SIZE ORIG MAX/MIN: The image size at particle birth. This is a
multiplier for the size as specified in relative distance. Normal
use is to leave the relative distance at its default and adjust
the size of the image through this gadget. A random value between
max and min will be used.

SIZE DEST MAX/MIN: The image size at particle death. This is a
multiplier for the size as specified in relative distance. Normal
use is to leave the relative distance at its default and adjust
the size of the image through this gadget. A random value between
max and min will be used.

SIZE ORIG CSPLINE: rate control for orig values

SIZE DEST CSPLINE: rate control for dest values

SIZE INDIVIDUAL CSPLINE: rate control for particle change
between its assigned orig/dest values

STRENGTH ORIG MAX/MIN: The particle image strength at particle
birth. Note that this will be modified by the overall strength,
and that this modifies the strength set in the texture list. A
random value between max and min will be used.

STRENGTH DEST MAX/MIN: The particle image strength at particle
death. Note that this will be modified by the overall strength,
and that this modifies the strength set in the texture list. A
random value between max and min will be used.

STRENGTH ORIG CSPLINE: rate control for orig values

STRENGTH DEST CSPLINE: rate control for dest values

STRENGTH INDIVIDUAL CSPLINE: rate control for particle change
between its assigned orig/dest values

DISTANCE ORIG MAX/MIN: The distance of the particle at its birth
from the source in units in space. A random value between max and
min will be used.

DISTANCE DEST MAX/MIN: The distance of the particle at its death
from the source in units in space. A random value between max and
min will be used.

DISTANCE ORIG CSPLINE: rate control for orig values

DISTANCE DEST CSPLINE: rate control for dest values

DISTANCE INDIVIDUAL CSPLINE: rate control for particle change
between its assigned orig/dest values

DIST TYPE: If relative, the distance orig and dest values are
treated as absolute positions in space relative to the source.
The particle will move from the orig to the dest. If constant,
the orig distance value is treated as an absolute position in
space relative to the source, but the dest value is treated as an
offset from the particle's initial position.
See the notes for MOTION option later.

OVERALL STRENGTH: A multiplier for all particle's strength.
Normal value range is 0.0 to 1.0.

OVERALL STRENGTH CSPLINE: rate control for overall strength
values.

PARTICLE AGING CSPLINE: only for specialized use. rate control
for individual particle aging.

LIFE MAX/MIN: The life of the particles specified as a percentage
of the fountains allocated active time. Normal values range from
0.01 to 2.0. As a particle expires, it will be replaced by a new
one to sustain the particle number specified. A particle may be
expired early if the particle number decreases. CAUTION ...
specifying very small particle values in both max and min will
lengthen fountain calculation times. Do not use values of 0.0 in
both max and min. A random value between max and min will be
used.

LIFE CSPLINE: rate control for life values

DRIFTFAC ORIG MAX/MIN: Multipliers for the global drift values
which will be used by the particle at its birth. A random value
between max and min will be used.

DRIFTFAC DEST MAX/MIN: Multipliers for the global drift values
which will be used by the particle at its death. A random value
between max and min will be used.

DRIFTFAC ORIG CSPLINE: rate control for orig values

DRIFTFAC DEST CSPLINE: rate control for dest values

DRIFTFAC INDIVIDUAL CSPLINE: rate control for particle change
between its assigned orig/dest values

DIRECTION X MAX/MIN: The initial direction of the particles
around the x axis. A random value between max and min will be
used.

DIRECTION Y MAX/MIN: The initial direction of the particles
around the y axis. A random value between max and min will be
used.

DIRECTION Z MAX/MIN: The initial direction of the particles
around the z axis. A random value between max and min will be
used.

DIRECTION X CSPLINE: rate control for X values

DIRECTION Y CSPLINE: rate control for Y values

DIRECTION Z CSPLINE: rate control for Z values

ROTATION X MAX/MIN: An amount of rotation around the x axis that
the particle will perform over its life or as a function of its
distance from the source. See ROT TYPE below. A random value
between max and min will be used.

ROTATION Y MAX/MIN: An amount of rotation around the y axis that
the particle will perform over its life or as a function of its
distance from the source. See ROT TYPE below. A random value
between max and min will be used.

ROTATION Z MAX/MIN: An amount of rotation around the z axis that
the particle will perform over its life or as a function of its
distance from the source. See ROT TYPE below. A random value
between max and min will be used.

ROTATION X CSPLINE: rate control for X values

ROTATION Y CSPLINE: rate control for Y values

ROTATION Z CSPLINE: rate control for Z values

ROTATION INDIVIDUAL CSPLINE: rate control for particle change
between its assigned orig/dest values

DIST TYPE FACT: if ROT TYPE is set to DIST, this is the power
that the power function will use to determine the amount of
rotation based on the particle's distance from the source and the
largest possible distance of a particle from the source. Normal
range is non-negative.

ROT TYPE: If AGE, particles will rotate based on their age,
rotating from 0 to a random value between the limits you set in
rotation max/min. If DIST, particles will rotate based on their
distance from the source from 0 at maximum distance to a random
value between the limits you set in rotation max/min when at the
source.

EXECUTION ORDER: allows you to specify an order for the rotations
to take place, if you are using more than one axis of rotation in
the rotation x,y,z gadgets.

ATLIND: if ON, the particles will index the fountain's attribute
list based on their ages. if OFF, the particles will inherit the
attribute list color based on the global time of the animation.

ATLIND LOCK: (requires AtlInd ON) if depressed, the particle will
be assigned the color of the fountain's attribute list at the
birth time of the particle and that color will not change over
the particle's life.

ATLIND RAND: (requires AtlInd ON) if depressed, the particle will
be given a random offset to allow multi colored particles for a
single fountain. Note that the fountain's attribute list should
have multiple members of differing colors, or at least a
different entry/exit color for this to be apparent.

TXRIND: if ON, the particles will index the fountain's texture
list based on their ages. If OFF, the particles will inherit the
texture list image(s) based on the global time of the animation.
Note that if a fountain uses a texture list that has a single
frame animation as one of its members, the frame will not change
for individual particles. Instead the current frame of the
texture list will be used for all particles.

TXRIND LOCK: (requires TxrInd ON) if depressed, the particle will
be assigned the image(s) of the texture list at the birth time of
the particle and that image(s) will not change. (unless an
animation type is in use)

TXRIND RAND: (requires TxrInd ON) if depressed, the particle will
be given a random offset to allow changes in image among the
particles for a single fountain. Note that the fountain's texture
list must have some changes in image(s) for this to be apparent.

MOVE TYPE: This boolean controls how the particles obey the
fountain path assignments. The particles are created relative to
the position the paths have moved the fountain to when the
particle is born. If this is INDEPENDENT, they then are free of
the path's instructions, remembering the position of the source
at their birth time and rotating, drifting, etc relative to that
point, used for comets, fireworks, writing, etc. If GROUPED, the
particles will continue to obey the path instructions, moving
along relative to the fountain. They will rotate, drift, etc
relative to the changing source position.
DISP: There is no true randomness in computers. The particles are
capable of using two types of randomness in their behavior. If
this is PATTERN, the randomness reveals a pattern underlying the
random number generators common to the computer. This is most
obvious when all the particles travel the same distance. If
RANDOM, the particles use a factor based on their position in the
fountain queue to further randomnize their behavior. It is still
possible to once in a while see a pattern, but usually only
during transitions in rotation values.

MOTION: When you define the distance variables for the fountain,
the largest distance you enter defines an area that the fountain
will operate within. When you enter the life variables, the
fountain remembers the longest possible life. The fountain then
sets a rate that will allow the longest lived particle to travel
the largest distance. If this is CONSTANT, this rate is then used
to cause the particles to move at the same "speed". This means
that a particle that lives the longest life will cover the full
distance. A particle that lives half of the longest life will
cover half the longest distance, etc. If the is RELATIVE, the
rate is not used. Instead the fountain insures that a particle
will move the full distance over its life. This means all
particles will move the full distance, but some will move much
faster than others.

ALIGN: If this is OFF, the fountain direction, rotation, etc are
based on world coordinates. A direction of 0.0,0.0,0.0 is
straight "up", or along the z axis in a negative direction. If
this is ON, the fountain poly's second point is used to determine
the up vector. This means you can tilt the fountain, or direct
the particles visually by "aiming" the fountain in any direction.
Note that the exact verticle direction is undefined, and if you
put the second point so the vector is verticle, the default
presentation is used.

DIR LINEA: When you set your direction limits, as particles are
created by the fountain, they are given directions within these
limits. Normally, (when this is OFF) this direction is a random
value between the max/min limits in effect at the current time.
If this is ON, the particles are given a direction that is a
linear division of the angle between your max/min limits. For
instance, if you had a range of 360 degrees and had 36 particles,
they would be distributed at 0, 10, 20, and so on. This allows
you to achieve perfect distribution around an arc, which is
impossible if using randomness for the direction.

GLOBALS: these gadgets control the variables that control all
members in systems that allow multiple members. For the
fountains, you can think of them in the same fashion. They give
you a handle to control all entry/exit value changes directions
and rates.

CYCLES: The number of times the fountain instructions will be
executed during the animation.

TYPE: if cyclic, the instructions will execute from entry to
exit. If periodic, they will execute from entry to exit and back
to entry

INIT: A time offset for the fountain's initial start. Note that
this is not a "preroll" type offset. Instead, the fountain will
start at the value entered here (usually 0.0) and work up to the
normal completion of the fountain (always 1.0) then cycle back
to the normal starting time of 0.0. THIS MAY CHANGE in the
future. Normal range for this variable is 0.0 to 1.0.

CSPLINE: rate control for all changes in entry/exit values for
all gadgets.

RND SEED: this is the seed the fountain will use in its random
number generators. If you have two fountains that are identical
in all respects, they will generate identical particle
distributions. You can very simply change this value for one of
the fountains to create different distributions for the two
fountains. Also occasionally, you will have a fountain that
generates its particles in an "unfortunate" way. For instance, a
single particle may suddenly flash directly in front of the
camera, ruining an otherwise great scene. You can quickly alter
this by changing the seed. Of course, that is no guarantee that
another particle won't flash directly in front of the camera, but
in general is a quick fix.

DRIFT X: the global amount and direction of x drift that a
fountain applies to its particles.

DRIFT Y: the global amount and direction of y drift that a
fountain applies to its particles.

DRIFT Z: the global amount and direction of z drift that a
fountain applies to its particles.

PREROLL: opens the preroll control window. In this window there
are several gadgets that control the operation of the fountain
during a time period that exactly duplicates an animation time
period, but directly precedes it. You can use the preroll to
control the initial placement of particles at frame 1 of an
animation. If preroll is engaged, this gadget will appear
depressed. If not, it will not be depressed. Note that in
preroll, all values you have entered in your orig max/min, dest
max/min gadgets are used, but you have an independent cspline
control to alter the particle behavior during the preroll time
for the number of particles. The number of particles during the
animation is controlled by the cspline in the fountain control
window. For the other csplines in the preroll window, they will
take effect only when a particle goes into "old age". This is
when the particle becomes 1.0 or older, and can only happen when
preroll is engaged. For instance, if a fountain has entry/exit
number particle values of 1/10, and preroll is engaged, during
preroll the particles are created. The first particle is created
at 0.0, the second at 0.1, etc. By the time the animation starts,
the first particle's age is 1.0, the second is 0.9, etc. So the
first particle will immediately use the old age csplines, but the
second particle will not use them until it is 1.0. Notice that
not only does the preroll have to be on, but the life values have
to be greater than 1.0 for the old age csplines to take effect,
otherwise the particles will expire before they get old enough to
use them.

PREROLL PREROLL: if ON, preroll is engaged, if OFF, it is not

PREROLL NUMBER PARTICLES CSPLINE: rate control for preroll
particle number values. The preroll uses the same number particle
values you have set up in the fountain control window, but uses
this cspline instead of the one in the fountain control window.

PREROLL PATH (ASSI PRPATH): During the preroll time, the fountain
can use a different path heiarchy than the fountain uses during
the animation. See the tutorial on fountains for a detailed
example of this in use.

PREROLL OLD AGE PARTICLE AGING CSPLINE: rate control for particle
aging when particles are 1.0 or older

PREROLL OLD AGE DRIFTFAC CSPLINE: rate control for drift values
when particles are 1.0 or older

PREROLL OLD AGE ROTATION CSPLINE: rate control for rotation
values when particles are 1.0 or older

PREROLL OLD AGE IMG ROT CSPLINE: rate control for image rotation
values when particles are 1.0 or older

PREROLL OLD AGE SIZE CSPLINE: rate control for size values when
particles are 1.0 or older

PREROLL OLD AGE STRENGTH CSPLINE: rate control for strength
values when particles are 1.0 or older

PREROLL OLD AGE DISTANCE CSPLINE: rate control for distance
values when particles are 1.0 or older

PREROLL ACCEPT: closes the preroll window and reopens the
fountain control window. If preroll has been turned on, the
preroll gadget will appear depressed.

MATCH ENTRY: the exit values will be changed to match the entry
values.

MATCH EXIT: the entry values will be changed to match the exit
values

ACCEPT: closes the fountain control window. All changes will go
into effect.

Limits: you can not use this menu during facing or deform
editing. Fountains require a texture list with an active bitmap
selected to be visible.