2009

Is it possible to modify the animation in Cloth/Soft/Rope/Water?
The animation for Cloth, Soft (mesh), and Rope is internally stored in the
respective modifier using a memory-optimized format. Unfortunately, there
is no direct access to those keyframes. However, you can use the
Point Cache
modifier
on page 1604 to do some manipulations.
There is some MAXScript access to Water keyframes. For details on MAXScript,
choose Help > MAXScript Reference.
What happened to Point-Nail constraint?
The Point-Nail constraint from reactor 1 has been superseded by generalizing
the
Point-Point constraint on page 3975. The old Point-Nail constraint is
equivalent to a-single bodied Point-Point constraint
Can I apply the Cloth/Soft/Rope modifier to part of a mesh?
While the Soft, Cloth, and Rope on page 4024 modifiers apply to all the vertices,
you can fix or keyframe vertices of the mesh or spline by using
deformable
constraints
on page 4061. Fixed or keyframed vertices will not be simulated
physically
Can I apply the Cloth/Soft/Rope modifier to more than one object?
In general, no, because the animation is stored explicitly in a single modifier.
The only exception is the
FFD soft body on page 4043: If you have an FFD
modifier applied to more than one object, you can apply a reactor
Soft Body
modifier
on page 4038 to any (or many) of the bodies. You should still add only
one of the objects to the
Soft Body Collection on page 4046.
Which parameters can I animate?
Only
Wind on page 4079 parameters are animatable.
Can a keyframed object participate in the simulation?
Yes. For objects that don't change shape, and for which reactor should not
create keyframes, use
unyielding on page 3913 rigid bodies. For objects that
change shape (deform), use
deforming meshes on page 4058 (
NOTE Unyielding rigid bodies are much faster and simpler to simulate than
deforming meshes.
4112 | Chapter 16 reactor