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Scatter Objects Dialog 1191
• InsideBoxandInsideSpheredistributethe
scatter objects within the volume of a pr imitive
box or sphere object, respectively.
• On Surface distributes the sca tter objects
over the surface of any renderable object. For
example, you can create a landscape object for
useasadistributionsurfacebyapplyingaNoise
modifier to a patch grid.
• On Shape distributes the scatter objects along a
shapeobject:asplineorNURBScurve.Ifthe
shape consists of more than one cu rve, Scatter
uses the lowest-numbered curve (typically the
first one added).
Offset—When using On Surface, specifies a
consistent distance above the surface (using
surface normals) for distribution. Available only
when On Surface is chosen.
Gr id/B ox/Sphere/Surf ace/S hape (None)—Click this
button, and then select an objec t in the scene to
be used as a reference object. Listed objects are
limited to the chosen category.
Note: With the Grid, Box, and Sphere choices,
you can use only a grid helper object, a primitive
sphere, or a primitive box as a reference object. A
primitive sphere or box that has been converted to
a editable mesh object can’t be used as a reference
object.Also,theappropriateradiobutton(seethe
firstiteminthisgroup)mustbechosenbeforeyou
select a reference object.
Placement in Area group
Contains options for positioning scatter objects in
a radial area, without using a reference object.
In R adial Area—Distributes the scatter objects
randomly in a spherical or circular arrangement,
using the remaining cont rols in this group box.
Center—Specifies the center of the distribution in
world coordinates.
Radius—Specifies the maximum dist ance f rom the
center within which o bjects are to be positioned.
In X Y Plane—Specifies that objects are to be
distributedontheworldXYplaneonly,resulting
inadisc-likearray.
Spacing group
Include children’s bounding boxes in spacing
calculations—
When on, all of a hierarchical
scatter object’s sub-objects are considered when
determining spacing. When off, only the selected
object is considered.
Spacing—Specifies the minimum distance between
scatter objects. The Spacing setting is multiplied
bythesizeoftheobject’sboundingsphereto
determine how close objects can get. If Spacing is
left at 1.0, the default, objects normal ly cannot be
positioned within each others ’ bounding spheres.
IfSpacingissetto2.0,objectsareseparatedbya
distance equal to or greater than the size of the
bounding sphere.
R and S eed—Specifies a seed value for randomizing
scatter objects’ locations. If, for example, you use
thesamevalueforclonesofadelegateandthena
master object, each pair ends up in the same place.
Ifascenehasmorethanonecrowd,eachshould
use a different seed to avoid having identical
configurations.
Generate Locations—Click this button to produce a
set of locations for all scatter objects; that is, cloned
objects or objects selec ted with the Select Objects
to Transform button.
Inc(rement) S eed—When on, and you click the
Genera te Locations button, Scatter adds 1 to the
Rand Seed value, and redistributes the objects
using the new random seed. Default=on.