9

108 Chapter 11: Space Warps and Particle Systems
Inter face
Gizmo Parameters rollout
Gizmo Size group
Length/Width/Height—Let you adjust the w arp
object’s dimensions.
Deformation group
Decay—When is set to 0, there is no decay, and the
space warp affects its bound object regardless of
its distance f rom the object. When you increase
the decay, the effect on the bound object falls off
exponentially. See the topics on the individual
modifiers for more information.
Parameter rollo ut
The parameters for a modifier-based space warp
are identical to those of the modifier on which the
space warp is based:
Bend Modifier (page 1–560)
Taper Modifier (page 1–863)
Noise Modifier (page 1–743)
Twist Modifier (page 1–876)
Skew Modifier (page 1–790)
Stretch Modifier (page 1–836)
Pa rti cle S y st ems
Particle systems are useful for a variety of
animation tasks. Primarily, they’re employed
when animat ing a large number of small objects
using procedural metho ds; for instance, creating
a snowstorm, a stream of water, or an explosion.
3dsMaxprovidestwodifferenttypesofparticle
systems: e vent-driven and non-event-driven.
The event-driven particle system, also known
as Particle Flow (page 2–109),testsparticle
properties, and, based on the test results, sends
them to different events. Each event assigns
variousattributesandbehaviorstotheparticles
while they’re in the event. In the non-event-driven
systems (page 2–237), particles typically exhibit
similar properties throughout the animation.
Impor tant: Par ti cle systems can involve a great many
entities, each of which is potentially sub ject to any
number of complex calculations. For this reason, when
using them for advanced simulations, you should have
a very fast computer and as much memory as possible.
Also, a powerf ul graphics card helps speed the display
of particle geometry in the viewports. Even so, it’s still
easy to overburden the system; if you encounter loss of
responsiveness, wait for the par ticle system to finish its
calculations, and then reduce the number of particles in
the system, implement a cache, or use other methods
to optimize perf ormance.
Which Par ticle Sy stem to Use?
Having access to a wealth of particle systems in
3dsMaxleadstotheneedtodecidewhichsystem
to use for a particular application. In general,
for a simple animation, such as fa lling snow or
a water fountain, setup is faster and easier with
a non-event-driven particle system. With more
complex animations, such as an explosion that
generates different types of par ticles over time (for
example: fragments, fire, and smoke), use Particle
Flow for greatest flexibility and control.