XMesh Pflow Control

[phizikl]

hi,

could anyone help me figure out how to control xmesh animations in pflow (with/without box3) ?

I would like to have control over the xmesh animations…

1. so they dont all play at the same time // random/controlled frame offset between all particles in the event
2. so the xmesh speed is controlled by particle velocity
3. so the xmesh FRAME at the start of an event can be controlled… for example, particle reach event 2, then xmesh playing from FRAME xxx

thanks for the help <3

[Bobo]

This is absolutely not XMesh-related. An XMesh is simply a geometry object like any other, with the same ability to animate over time. So the question is, can you do this with any animated object, or a Point Cached object, etc. It really turns into a PFlow/Box3 problem.
I suspect you would need to use a ShapeInstance synced to the Age of the particle, and manipulate its Age channel with Box3.

[phizikl]

yes ok youre right. I thought someone here “might know” or have done before…
i will ask in the pflow box3 forum… i think johny random has had some luck controling xmeshes, but using frost to instance the xmesh
vimeo.com/46253968

[paul]

Something to watch out for, if you’re trying to control the XMesh time: you must change the XMesh Loader’s “Loading Mode” to “Nearest Frame Velocity Offset” (or “Frame Interpolation” or “Subframe Interpolation” if the mesh has non-changing topology). Otherwise, you’ll only get the mesh for the frame that is currently being rendered.