The Counter Helper Node is a great tool to "count" things in
a particle setup and output the "counting" numbers for processing
by different nodes in a DynamicSet.
Be aware that Counter will only count while the On input is true. Once
the On input is false it will stop counting. If you need to activate counting
based on a single starting True value, then we recommend Timer.
ON - (Bool) This input data
stream determines whether the Node is considered 'on' or 'off.' You can
connect other operators to this input channel such as a Bool
Helper to activate/deactivate the whole operator. Each On/Off event will
activate the counter and proceed with the counting as specified in the
settings.
Time - (Time) is used to define the local time for the Node when
the user wants to override the default system time.
Per Particle - (Particle) feed a particle output into this port
to enable counting per particle. If a particle input is available, the
counter will store the count value per particle, each individual particle
will carry the counting result on its own.
Count From - (Integer) defines the starting number to count from.
Count To- (integer) sets the end number to count to. If you wish
to count for an unlimited number or it is not known what the max result
might be, set this number to a high amount e.g. 999999999999.
Type - (Integer) sets the method of counting. There are 3 options
possible: 0=Stop, 1=Loop From Start, 2=Ping Pong
Backward - (Bool) when set to True, the counting will be backwards
Reset - (Bool) set this port to True to reset the counter and
start all over again
Count End - (Bool) gets
activated (True) when the counter reached the target (Count To)
Count - (Integer) outputs the count
Count Normalize - (Scalar) outputs the counting in the range from
0-1
Count From - sets the start number to count from
Count To - sets the end number to count to. When this number is
reached the On output port will be enabled.
Stop - when checked, the counting is stopped after the Count To
number is reached
Loop From Start - when checked, the counting will restart over
again when the Count To number is reached
Ping Pong - check this option to let the counter count forward
and backward between the ranges
Backward - when activated the counter will count backwards
Reset - when activated, the counter will be reset
The example Counter setup shown above, uses the counter to count 3 collisions
and then move a particle to a different group. The nested DynamicSet "Counter
Display" changes the particle shape based on the count output. Every
collision event forces the counter to proceed with counting and when the
Count To Value is reached, the Count End
output activates the group switching of the particle.
As it is shown above, the Counter node is a very powerful and versatile
node that can be used in many situations.