2009

The Reaction controller is a procedural controller that lets a parameter react

to changes in any other parameter in 3ds Max. Typically, most of the setup

involving Reaction controllers is done with the

Reaction Manager dialog on

page 3228. You use the dialog to define a master, which is an object that controls

other objects, and, for each master, any number of slaves, which are objects

the master controls. Alternatively, you can assign a Reaction controller directly

to a slave object using Track View or the Motion panel (as you would any

other controller), and then use Reaction Manager to specify its master and

other parameters.

Reaction controllers come in five different types: Position Reaction, Rotation

Reaction, Point3 Reaction, Scale Reaction, and Float Reaction. You can assign

a Reaction controller to any animatable track in the scene. Reaction is not

based on time, but rather on other variables in your scene such as position or

rotation.

You can use a Reaction controller to turn on a light as an object nears a given

point. Muscles can bulge as an arm bone rotates. A ball can squash

automatically as the ball's Z position nears the ground plane. Feet can rotate

as their heels are lifted from the floor.

A particle system can be triggered by any given event. Morph target percentages

can be controlled by events.

NOTE The Reaction controllers replace the Reactor controllers found in previous

versions of 3ds Max. If you load a file containing a Reactor controller into this

version of 3ds Max, the Reactor controller is converted to a Reaction controller,

with all settings and reactions fully intact.