Fin generator properties

Generation

The Generation properties in this group control how many fins are generated and where they are placed.

Random Seeds

Refer to Random seeds properties.

Fins

The properties in this group control the type, size, and initial placement of the fin nodes.

Size

Set the size of the fins relative to the radius of the parent at the point where they are attached.

Flip

Flip randomly selected fin nodes over the y-axis.

Type

The properties in this group specify the materials and meshes for the fin. Meshes must be assigned to the material on the Material Bar. Materials are chosen based on their weights and season settings.

Material

Specify 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.

Mesh

Choose a particular mesh from the material asset or allow it to pick randomly (Any), the first mesh on the asset (Primary), or any mesh but the first (Not primary).

Weight

Set the probability that a node will receive this material index (this weight divided by the sum of all weights).

Resolution

The properties in this group influence the resolution of the mesh.

Mesh LOD

Set which mesh version (High, Medium, or Low) is used based on the active resolution. It is often desirable to use lower quality meshes at lower resolutions.

Mesh LOD offset

When set to a value other than 0, the mesh currently assigned will go up or down one mesh resolution (High, Medium, or Low). 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.

Orientation

The properties in this group control how the fins are situated on their parent.

Style

This property sets the style of the initial orientation of the fins.

Property	Description
Protrusion	Meshes default to pointing directly away from the parent.
Peeling bark (all up)	Meshes default to pointing straight up the parent branch.
Peeling bark (all down)	Meshes default to pointing straight down the parent branch.
Peeling bark (up and down)	Meshes randomly point up or down the parent branch.

Start angle

Rotate the mesh around its x-axis. Angle direction is adjusted so that positive values move the mesh toward being perpendicular to the parent when peeling bark is the selected Style.

Roll

Rotate the fin around its y-axis.

Deformation

The properties in this group alter the shape of the mesh. 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. Always have at least one vertex near the center of the mesh for the best results.

Fold

Fold both sides of the fin lengthwise along the y-axis of the mesh. A negative value bends down, while a positive value bends up.

Curl

Curl the fin around the mesh's x-axis.

Vertex

The properties in this group perform a noise-based deformation of each vertex in the mesh.

Amount

Control the amount of noise applied to each vertex.

Noise

Control the tightness of the noise pattern. Higher values result in more localized deformations.

Seed

Randomize the noise pattern.

Scale

The properties in this group scale the mesh. The scale is performed in each fin's local orientation.

X

Scale the mesh by this amount in the x-axis.

Y

Scale the mesh by this amount in the y-axis.

Z

Scale the mesh by this amount in the z-axis.

Lighting

The properties in this group adjust the mesh vertex normals to change the fin's lighting behavior.

Puffiness

This value sphere-izes the normals around the center of the mesh, giving the geometry a more puffy appearance.

Match surface

Bend the normals so that they match the surface normal of the parent. Use this property to reduce harsh lighting artifacts where the fin meets the parent. Use the profile curve to fade back to the regular normals as the vertices move away from the parent.

Wind

The property in this group influences how fins are animated in wind simulations.

Ripple scale

Scale how much the fin 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 disconnections from the parent.

Note

Fins are treated as leaves in wind simulations.

Growth

The properties in this group control how the model behaves during animated growth. In general, create the model in the fully grown state and use these properties to control how it gets there.

Speed scale

The speed at which a fin will grow is set on the Timeline Bar. Use this property to scale that value. The profile curve scales the speed relative to the fin's total growth time. For example, ease in and out of the growth animation by using an s-curve.

Transitions

Size

Control how the size increases over the course of the fin's growth time.

Orientation

Control how much to rotate the fin about its local x-axis at the start of its growth period. The profile curve controls how it transitions to the final orientation. The rightmost point of the profile curve must be at 1.0 to match the model as it appears when growth is disabled.

Curl

Add additional curl to the fin at the start of the growth. The profile curve sets how much of the additional curl is added during the growth cycle of the fin.

Fold

Add additional fold to the fin at the start of the growth. The profile curve sets how much of the additional fold is added during the growth cycle of the fin.

Timing

Style

Set the conditions under which the fin starts to grow. Start % works according to the option selected here.

Property	Description
In place	The fin starts to grow exactly when the parent is long enough to reach its starting point in the fully grown model. Start % has no effect. This style makes the animation appear to trace out the model.
Parent	The growth of this fin is based on the growth of the parent. A Start % value of 0.0 means start when the parent starts, 1.0 means start when the parent ends.
Parent's start and end	The growth of this fin starts and stops in synchronization with its parent. Start % has no effect.

Start %

Cause fins to start early (0.0) or late (1.0) according to the Style property.

Offset

The start frame is shifted by a constant number of frames (negative means earlier, positive means later). This value is best used to jumble up start times of neighboring fins.

Note

It is almost never a good idea to go negative with this value (fins can't grow earlier than the structure will allow). A good practice is to have a value of something like 10 and a variance of 10 as well. That way the earliest any fin will start is when it was supposed to, but some will be delayed.

Season

The properties in this group control how fins transition in the seasons system.

Start offset

Fin 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 fins begin their transition.

Time scale

Scale how fast time passes relative to a single fin. Higher values make fins transition faster.

Curl

Make fins curl as they transition.

Fold

Make fins fold as they transition.

Dynamic LOD

The properties in this group control the LOD behavior of the fins.

Weight

Use this value to increase or decrease the likelihood that fins in this generator will survive the LOD process (vs. decorators in other generators). Use the parent curve to target specific areas of the model.

Note

Fins are considered decorators in the LOD system.

Mesh Index

Control 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 fins in this generator interact with the collision system.

Note

Fins are considered leaves in the collision system.

Style

Set how the fins behave during collision computations.

Property	Description
Everything	Fins in this generator collide with each other and all other fins.
Ignore siblings	Fins in this generator ignore siblings but collide with everything else.
Knock out others only	Fins in this generator can’t be removed, but they can eliminate fins in other generators.
Nothing	These fins do not participate in collision computations.

Weight

When fins and leaves collide, the one with the higher weight wins. Use this property to set the weight.

Pivot threshold

Set how far away from pivot (as a percentage of size) a collision has to happen in order to count. Use this property to eliminate unwanted removals of fins anchored near each other.

Lightmap

The property in this group affects the influence fins 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 fins 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.