The Born Operator is very similar to the Position Born
operator except that it simply acts as a birth event. In contrast to the
Position Born operator, the Born operator does not tell the particles
where to be born, how fast they should move or in what direction they
should travel. In essence, the Born operator is a stripped down version
of the Position Born operator that gives the user the ability to custom
build what attributes need to be assigned to the particles.
ON - (Bool) This input data
stream determines whether the operator 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.
Time - (Time) This input data stream is used to define the local
time for the operator when the user wants to override the default system
time.
Birth Type - (Integer) This input data stream sets which of the
three birth types will be used for the creation of particles (e.g. - Count,
Particles / s, Pistol Shot). The range of integer values goes from 0 to
2, with 0 = Count, 1 = Particles / s, 2 = Pistol Shot.
Count - (Integer) This input data stream provides the value for
the number of particles to be created at any time. In order for the connected
operator to be used, the Birth Type input must be set to Count
in the rollout, or there must be a connected operator that sets the Birth
Type to 0.
Rate - (Scalar) This input data stream provides the value for
the number of particles to be created per second. In order for the connected
operator to be used, the Birth Type input must be set to Particles
/ s in the rollout, or there must be a connected operator that
sets the Birth Type to 1.
Shot - (Integer) This input data stream provides the value for
the number of particles to be created at one time. In order for the connected
operator to be used, the Birth Type input must be set to Pistol
Shot in the rollout, or there must be a connected operator that
sets the Birth Type to 2.
Life Span - (Life Span) This input data stream supplies the particle
life span for all particles created within the Position Born operator.
Life Variation - (Scalar) This input data stream provides a variation
amount for the particle life span for all particles created within the
Position Born operator.
Born Particle - (Particle)
This output data stream sends particle data for newly created particles
to other operators. Every particle birth will activate all rules connected
to this particle data stream. As a result , this can be used to directly
assign a value to the particle.
Particle Frame Counter - (Integer) This output data stream provides
a "counter-like" function that holds the current number of created
particles at the given frame. This counter is reset per frame
and starts over again at 0. As a result, you can use this output data
when you want to trigger other rules based on the creation of a certain
number of particles.
Do not confuse this value with the lifetime particle ID every particle has.
Particle Animation Counter
- (Integer) This output data stream provides a "counter-like"
function that holds the current number of created particles at the given
point in the animation. This counter is NOT reset per frame and accumulates
the total number of particles created over the course of the animation.
As a result, you can use this output data when you want to trigger other
rules based on the creation of a certain number of particles.
Group - When particles are created, a target particle group must
be selected. Choose any particle group from this group dropdown list to
store the newly created particles in.
Count - When this radio button is selected the spinner to it's
right sets the maximum amount of particles that will be created at any
time.
Particles / (s) - When this radio button is selected the spinner
to its right determines how many particles per second are created. Remember
this simple formula when determining how many particles will be emitted
per frame: number of seconds = amount of frames/FPS rate. This option
is most useful for fast moving objects such as rocket trails, because
there is no frame dependency that might cause trouble.
Pistol Shot - When this radio button is selected, particle creation
is set to go all at once. Be aware that you can trigger an On/Off activation
cycle to continually emit blocks of particles from the Born operator.
In contrast to standard 3ds Max particle systems, this feature gives you
the ability to exactly control the number of particles born per activation
event. Connecting an animated Bool operator to the On
input data stream can help create this kind of effect.
Per Call - when checked, new particles will be created on each
call of this operator. Note this feature is only valid for the pistol
shot mode! With every call of the operator, a particle is created. In
all other cases particles will be created when the On input switches from
False to True.
Life Span - This spinner sets the maximum life time a particle
may have before it is killed.
Variation [%] - This spinner assigns different Life Span values
for each particle created by the Born operator. A Variation value of 100%
means that every particle created will receive a different Life Span value
- from 0 to the value set within the Life Span spinner.
Random Seed - Each particle generator carries its own random seed.
Change this value to make the particles behave differently from other
Born operators.