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276 Chapter 18: Effects and Environments
Characteristics group
You set the size and appearance of flames using
parameters under Characteristics. A ll of these
parameters depend on the apparatus size and
are int erdependent on each other. Changing one
parameter affects the behavior of the other three.
Fla me S i z e—Sets the size of indiv idual flames
inside the apparatus. T he size of the apparatus
affects the flame size. A larger apparatus requires
a larger flame size. Use a range from 15.0 to 30.0
for the best results.
Large values work best for Fireballs.
Small values work best for Tendrils.
If the flame size is very small, you mig ht need to
increase Samples to see individual flames.
Effect of changing Flame Size
Value=15.0, 30.0, 50.0
Radius of apparatus=30.0
Flame Detail—Controls the amount of color change
and edge sharpness seen within each flame.
Range=0.0 to 10.0.
Low values produce smooth, fuzzy flames and
render faster .
High values produce patterned, sharp flames and
render slower.
Use higher detail values for large flame sizes. If the
detail value is greater than 4, you might need to
increase Samples to capture the detail.
Effect of changing Flame Detail
Value=1.0, 2.0, 5.0
Density —Sets the opacity and brig htness of the
fire effect. The size of the apparatus affec ts the
density. A large apparatus with the same density
as a s mall apparatus appears more opaque and
brighter because of its larger size.
Low values make the effect less opaque and use
more of the outer color. Hig h values make the
effect more opaque a nd brighten the effect by
gradually replacing the inner color with white.
Thehigherthevalue,themorewhitethecenter
of the effect is.
If you turn on Explosion, D ensity animates from
0.0 at the start of the explosion to the set density
value at the peak of the explosion.
Effect of chan ging Flame Den sity
Value=10, 60, 120
Samples—Setstherateatwhichtheeffectis
sampled. Higher va lues produce more accurate
results but take longer to render.
You might consider raising the samples value
under the following conditions:
• Flame Size is small.
•FlameDetailisgreaterthan4.
• Any time you see color banding in the effect.
Thechanceofcolorbandingincreasesifaflat
surface intersects the fire effect.