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Overview

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The Input roll-out The Input rollout determines the path of the input files for rendering and preview, as well as the playback effects. Note that some playback settings require a fractional input frame, in which case the frame is blended between the previous and the next one.

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UI Path: ||Select Liquid Simulator | LiquidSim object|| > Modify panel > Input rollout

 

Parameters

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CachePath
CachePath
Preview & Render Cache Path | rendinput – Gives the directory and the name template for the input files. The default is $(same_as_output). Use the button to select the path or type it manually. Phoenix has some keywords that can be used for more flexibility:

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titleClick Here to expand additional $(VARIABLE) and Channel Mapping information

$(same_as_output) [nodeName] – The same path that is set in the Output rollout would be used for loading the preview and render caches. When a node name is specified, its output is passed to the current input.
$(simoutput) – A synonym for $(same_as_output).
$(dir) – The scene directory.
$(scene) – The scene file name.
$(handle) – A unique number of the node.
$(nodename) – The name of the node.
$env(<variable_name>) – An environment variable. See Using Environment Variables.

signs can be used to specify the cache frame number with at least as many digits as the pound signs. If the number of frame digits is less than the number of pound signs, the number is padded with zeroes to the left. For example:

 

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Frame Number#######
11010001
1010100010
1000100010001000

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Clicking the "..." button will open a menu with the following options:

 

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Default

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With .f3d or .vdb cache loaded

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Browse – Opens a dialog for choosing one of several cache file types. Phoenix FD can import *.f3d and *.vdb files from other fluid simulator software products. See How to import and render simulations from FumeFX, Houdini and Maya.

  • Phoenix FD *.aur 
  • Field3D*.f3d
  • OpenVDB*.vdb

Reset to Default – Resets the cache path to the default value of $(same_as_output).

Show File Name... – Evaluates the full disk path provided to the Simulation Cache Save Path parameter.

3rd Party Channel Mappings... – This option is available when a .f3d or .vdb cache is loaded. It launches the Channel Mappings dialog for mapping 3rd party cache channels. See the Channel Mappings section below for more information.

Help – Launches the Liquid Input help documentation in the web browser. 

 

 


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TimeBendControls
TimeBendControls
Time Bend Controls

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 In order to blend particles, you must enable the export of the Particle ID channel from the Output roll-out rollout of the simulator.

 

 

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Mode | animmode – Chooses between different options for animation control:

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Example: Timeline Origin

 

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The following example demonstrates how the Timeline Origin parameter can be used to specify which frame on the timeline is treated as the first frame when reading the Input Path cache files.

The files go from simulationFrame_000 to simulationFrame_030. When the Timeline Origin is set to 10, they are read as if they were saved as simulationFrame_010 to simulationFrame_040.

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Example: Cache Origin and Play Speed

 

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The following example demonstrates how the Cache Origin and Play Speed can be used to offset and speed up the input cache files.

The files go from simulationFrame_000 to simulationFrame_030. When the Timeline Origin is set to 100, they are read as if they were saved as simulationFrame_100 to simulationFrame_130.

The Cache Origin is then used to specify which simulationFrame will be placed on Timeline Origin = 100. Because Cache Origin is set to 10, the whole sequence is shifted 10 frames back such that simulationFrame_000 is placed at frame 90. Thus, the sequence now goes from frame 90 to frame 120.

The Play Speed is then set to 2.0. Those thirty frames are now reduced to fifteen. The Cache Origin frame is treated as the middle point when shrinking the sequence.

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Example: Looping a Simulation

 

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The following example demonstrates how the Input roll-out rollout parameters can be used to loop a simulation.

The Timeline Origin parameter is set to 0 - this will be the first frame of the timeline which the Input Path files read into the scene by the Simulator will be placed on.

The Cache Origin is set to 10 so simulationFrame_010 will be read and placed at Timeline Origin = 0.

The Play Length is set to 15 so the sequence now repeats itself every 15 frames when played back (those are actually simulationFrame_010 to simulationFrame_025).

Finally, the Loop Overlap parameter is set to 5 to provide a few extra frames for blending the start and end of the loop together in a smooth transition.

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Different applications use different channels and might have different names for them. When loading f3d/vdb files, Phoenix tries to automatically make the conversion to the supported channels. If a channel is not mapped by default, a channel can be manually set from the dropdown menu.  It It can be accessed from the Cache Path menu when a 3rd party cache is loaded (e.g. .f3d or .vdb files).

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All mappings are kept in a single string parameter, accessible by the name "usrchmap". An example mapping string is:

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Smoke - 2
Temperature - 1
Fuel - 10
Velocity.x - 4
Velocity.y - 5
Velocity.z - 6
Red - 7
Green - 8
Blue - 9
Viscosity - 22
Wavelet Energy - 14
Wavelet.u - 19
Wavelet.v - 20
Wavelet.w - 21

 

 

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