Shade 12. Forced Balls
From ShadeCamp
Forced Balls
Forced Balls Overview
Forced Balls is an unsupported legacy plugin and not included in the regular install of Shade 10. Forced Balls is supplanted by the physics system included in Shade 10 and higher.
Forced Balls is a plug-in included only in Shade 10 professional and is used for physical simulations involving moving spheres. The Forced Balls are first created with various settings that specify velocity, gravity, and collisions, and then used to make an animation.
Setting Up Forced Balls
1. Choose Toolbox /Create tool / Forced Balls and drag out a sphere in the Figure window.
‘’The group of Forced Balls will be generated within the spherical frame that you drag out in the Figure window.’’
2. The Forced Balls Settings dialog box is displayed, in which you specify the Forced Balls settings.
Forced Balls Settings Dialog Box
Number of Forced Balls Text Box
Enter the number of Forced Balls to be generated.
Random Items
Specifies which attributes of the generated balls are to be determined randomly.
Color Random Settings: Diffuse Color / Reflection Color / Transparency Color
When a check box is on, the corresponding attribute will be randomly specified. If any of these three check boxes are on when you click the OK button, an additional settings dialog box will be displayed for each check box that was on.
Diffuse Settings dialog box
These additional dialog boxes will be described later.
Size Range
The size of each Forced Ball is randomly generated within the range specified here. The units are the current Shade units.
Minimum Value Text Box
The lower limit for the size of each generated Forced Ball.
Maximum Value Text Box
The upper limit for the size of each generated Forced Ball.
Initial Velocity
The initial velocity of each Forced Ball is randomly set within the range specified here. The directions of the balls are also set randomly.
Minimum Value Text Box
The lower limit for the initial velocity of each generated Forced Ball.
Maximum Value Text Box
The upper limit for the initial velocity of each generated Forced Ball.
Initial Arrangement Pull-down Menu
Specifies how to arrange the Forced Balls from three options: No restrictions / No altogether / Some overlap.
Force Acceleration Value Text Box
Specifies the acceleration value (attraction) of the Forced Balls. Forced Balls will repel each other when the value is negative. You can use any value, including 0, although 1.0 (in the case of mm units) and 10.0 (in the case of cm units) are good guidelines when Forced Balls are to be attracted to each other.
Gravity Acceleration Value Text Box
Specifies the acceleration of Forced Balls toward the Y axis (gravity). The force is upward when the value is negative. You can use any value, including 0, although 1.0 (in the case of mm units) and 10.0 (in the case of cm units) are good guidelines when Forced Balls are to be affected by gravity.
Bounce Coefficient
Sets the coefficient of collision (bounce) between Forced Balls, or with a polygon mesh or curved surface located in a lower hierarchy. The balls rebound at the same speed when the value is 1.0; there is no bounce when the value is 0.0.
Pseudo Air Resistance Value
Sets the value of the pseudo air resistance. With a value of 0.0, the balls will exist in a vacuum, and with 1.0, they will exist within a solid. If the air resistance is very large, the balls will not fall very quickly, even with a large gravity value.
Pseudo Viscosity Value
Specifies the pseudo viscosity. The value must be from 0.0 to 1.0. With the maximum value of 1.0, Forced Balls that come into contact will never separate. The viscosity varies with depth inside each ball, and the largest viscosity value is located at the center of the Forced Ball.
Pseudo Viscosity Range
Specifies the range of pseudo viscosity as a multiple of the diameter of the Forced Ball.
Collision Settings
Specifies collisions between Forced Balls, or with polygons in a lower hierarchy.
Forced Balls Pop Up Menu
Specifies how collisions are handled between Forced Balls: Free movement or Collision detection.
Detect Collisions With Other Objects Check Box
Specifies whether or not collisions are detected with polygons or curved surfaces in a lower hierarchy. Polygon meshes need to have triangular or quadrilateral faces in order to have proper collision reactions.
Detect collisions with other objects check box: on
Sampling Rate
As the Forced Balls are moved for each frame of an animation, you can specify how many times the motion of the Forced Balls within the time allocated for one frame is sampled. If the sampling rate is too low, the Forced Balls will not move smoothly. In particular, when the Balls will collide with polygons or curved surfaces in a lower hierarchy, this parameter should be set to 100 or more. ‘’If the Sampling rate is too small, it will take too much time for a Forced Ball to collide with a wall (polygon mesh or curved surface) and bounce back, resulting in the Forced Ball passing through the wall. This is especially a problem with a high pseudo air resistance value and a low reflective coefficient value. In this case, enter a higher value for the Sampling rate.’’ 3. Check all the settings and click OK. 4. An additional dialog box will be displayed for each of the Random items color setting check boxes that were on in the Forced Balls Settings dialog box.
Diffuse Settings dialog box In the Diffuse Settings dialog box, you specify the ranges of RGB-component colors to be used for the randomly set colors. The values must be from 0.0 to 1.0. The same is true for the Reflection Settings and the Transparency Settings. 5. After you set the color ranges and click OK, a group of spheres is generated.
6. When you create an animation, the spheres will move in accordance with the initial velocity and acceleration settings, regardless of the number of frames or motion settings.
Resetting Forced Balls
After generating the Forced Balls, you can alter any setting values, except for the number of Balls and the Random items. 1. Choose the “ForcedBalls action joint” part, then choose Forced Balls Attributes from the custom tool in the Toolbox.
2. The Forced Balls Attributes dialog box appears.
You can now change the Forced Balls settings.
This dialog box includes all the items in the Forced Balls Settings dialog box, except for the Number of Forced Balls and Random items. 3. Click OK to enable the new settings. ‘’Five of the settings in the Forced Balls Settings dialog box (Collision settings, Detect collisions with other objects, Gravity acceleration value, Pseudo air resistance value, and Sampling rate) are common for all the Forced Balls contained in a “ForcedBalls action joint”. Therefore, if you change the settings of these items, all the Forced Balls contained in the selected ForcedBalls action joint part will be automatically affected by the changed settings.’’
Setting Initial Speed
Using an open line object, you can add a speed and direction to the motion of the all the Forced Balls that you have already arranged. 1. Choose Toolbox / Create tool / Open Line to create a line segment that indicates the direction in which the Forced Balls will move.
‘’The direction and length of the line determines the initial velocity (direction and speed) of the Forced Balls.’’ 2. Include that object within the “ForcedBalls action joint” part in the Browser.
3. Select the open line and choose Forced Balls Attributes from the custom tool in the Toolbox.
4. The Forced Balls Initial Speed Settings dialog box appears. You can set the initial speed multiplier.
Forced Balls Initial Speed Settings Dialog Box
Initial Speed multiplier text box
Specifies the initial speed of the Forced Balls. This value is multiplied by the length of the line segment.
‘’You can change the initial speed and direction using a motion setting to control the size and direction at the speed line.’’
5. Clicking OK allows you to apply the initial speed setting.
Setting the Wind Speed
You can also set the wind speed for Forced Balls in a scene using an open line. 1. Choose Toolbox / Create tool / Open Line and create a line segment showing the wind speed within the same hierarchy as the “ForcedBalls action joint.”
‘’The direction and length of the line determines the wind speed (direction and size).’’ 2. Select the open line and choose Forced Balls Attributes from the custom tool in the Toolbox.
3. The Forced Balls Initial Speed Settings dialog box appears.
You can apply the wind speed setting to the open line and set the wind speed multiplier.
Forced Balls Initial Speed Settings Dialog Box
Speed Line Controls the Uniform Wind Velocity Check Box
When this check box is on, the open line controls the uniform wind velocity.
Initial Speed Multiplier Text Box
Specifies the size of the wind speed. This value is multiplied by the length of the line segment. 4. When you select the Speed line controls the uniform wind velocity check box and click OK, the motion of each Forced Ball is affected by the wind speed.
Setting up a Forced Balls Generator
You can specify a generator to create Forced Balls using a sphere. 1. Create a sphere, and choose Forced Balls Attributes from the custom tool in the Toolbox.
2. The Forced Balls Generation Source Settings dialog box appears.
Here you will make the Forced Balls generator settings that will be applied to the selected sphere.
Forced Balls Generation Source Settings Dialog Box
Maximum Number of Balls to Generate in Each Frame Text Box
Enter the maximum number of Forced Balls to be generated in one frame. The balls will be generated inside the currently selected source sphere. (Range: 1 to any number)
Generation Factor (0-1;1=100%) Text Box
This is a percentage which affects the actual number of balls generated in a frame.
Line of Speed Setup is Applied to Initial Speed Check Box
By creating an open line and selecting this check box, you can use the direction and length of the created line segment as the Initial speed setting.
Generation Start Frame
Specifies the frame in which the generation of Forced Balls begins.
Generation end Frame
Specifies the frame in which the generation of Forced Balls ends.
Lifetime (Number of Frames)
Specifies the number of frames for which a Forced Ball generated in each frame exists. All other items are the same as in the Forced Balls Settings dialog box mentioned previously. 3. Click OK to create the generator from the source sphere.
‘’The launch direction from the Forced Balls generator is basically set along the X axis at this point. If you want to change the direction, modify the arrow in the Figure window, or select “#Forcedballs Advance Direction” in the Browser and use object modify modes. To set the advance speed of the Forced Balls, refer to the “Changing the advance speed of Forced Balls” section below.’’ 4. When you create an animation, the Forced Balls are generated one after another from the generator according to the settings.
‘’When re-creating a generating Forced Ball animation from the beginning, make sure to delete any previously created Forced Balls in the “Generate ForcedBalls action joint#1” in the Browser.’’
Notes on Using the Forced Balls Generator
Pay attention to the interrelationship between Number of balls to generate in each frame, Generation start frame, Generation end frame, and the Lifetime items. For example, if you set 10 Forced Balls to generate in one frame, and if Generation end frame item is set to 20, a total of 200 Forced Balls could be generated in 20 frames.
Changing the Advance Speed of Forced Balls
You can change the advance speed from the Forced Ball generator. 1. Select “#ForcedBalls Advance Direction#1,” and choose Forced Balls Attributes from the custom tool in the Toolbox.
2. The Forced Balls Initial Speed Settings dialog box appears.
Initial Speed multiplier Text Box
This specifies the initial speed of the Forced Balls. This value is multiplied by the length of the arrow (#ForcedBalls Advance Direction#1). 3. Clicking OK allows you to use this setting as the advance speed from the Forced Ball generator.
Custom Settings
You can include arranged spheres in a joint part (Rotator, Slider, Scale, or Uni-Scale), and apply Forced Ball settings to the joint part. 1. Select a joint part which includes spheres, then choose Forced Balls Attributes from the custom tool in the Toolbox.
2. The Custom Forced Balls Settings dialog box appears.
Now you will make the Forced Ball setting applied to the selected spheres. This dialog box includes all the items in the Forced Balls Settings dialog box previously described, except for the number of balls setting. 3. The Figure window and Browser are renewed as shown below when you click OK.
4. When you create an animation, the spheres move based on the Forced Balls settings.
Setting a Reflective Wall for Forced Balls
When Forced Balls are set to detect collisions with other objects, they will bounce when they collide with polygon meshes or curved surfaces located under the Forced Ball part, based on the bounce coefficient. In such cases, you can specify several settings for each polygon mesh or curved surface, regarding the reaction of Forced Balls during the collision. 1. Select a part that contains a polygon mesh or curved surface, then choose Forced Balls Attributes from the custom tool in the Toolbox. ‘’You should include the polygon mesh or curved surface in a part for this setting.’’
2. The Forced Ball Reflective Wall Setup dialog box appears.
Here you can make the Forced Ball reflective wall settings for the selected polygon mesh or curved surface.
The Forced Ball Reflective Wall Setup Dialog Box
ForcedBall Pull-down Menu
You can specify the result for Forced Balls that collide with the polygon mesh or curved surface by choosing from among: Collision is detected / Collision detection isn’t carried out / Stop / Disappearance.
Viscous Value Text Box
This text box specifies the viscosity of the collision area. (The value should be from 0.0 to 1.0.)
Smoothing of Reflective Direction Check Box
When this check box is on, the reflective angle of the Forced Ball will be calculated as if it collided with a smooth surface. 3. When you make the settings and click OK, the settings are applied as the reflective wall properties for the selected polygon mesh or curved surface.
The Browser when ForcedBall: Disappearance is set for a curved surface
‘’You can only use polygons with triangular or quadrilateral faces as a reflective wall.’’
4. When you create an animation, you will see that the polygon mesh has the reflective wall properties you set.
ForcedBall: Disappearance is set for a curved surface
Using Forced Balls and Meta Particles
By using Forced Balls and Meta Particles at the same time, you can get an effect like the flow of a liquid.
1 . Set Forced Balls and choose Set NativeMetaRenderer Attribute... from the custom tool in the Toolbox before rendering an animation.
Turn on the Apply MetaParticles Renderer check box and click OK.
2. When you create an animation, you will see that the Forced Balls have a liquid-like movement.
