User Manual

Table Of Contents
Common Controls
Conditions, Style, Region, and Settings Tabs
The Conditions, Style, Region, and Settings tabs are common to all Particle nodes, so their
descriptions can be found in “The Common Controls” section at the end of this chapter.
pChangeStyle [pCS]
The pChangeStyle node
pChange Style Node Introduction
The pChange Style node provides a mechanism for changing the appearance or style of
particles that interact with a defined region. The primary controls mirror those found in the Style
tab of the pEmitter node. Particles that intersect or enter the defined region change based on
the parameters of this node.
Except for the pCustom node, this is the only node that modifies the particles’ appearance
rather than its motion. It is often used to trigger a change in the appearance in response to
some event, such as striking a barrier.
Inputs
The pChange Style node has a single orange input by default. Like most particle nodes, this
orange input accepts only other particle nodes. A green or magenta bitmap or mesh input
appears on the node when you set the Region menu in the Region tab to either
Bitmap or Mesh.
Input: The orange input takes the output of other particle nodes.
Region: The green or magenta region input takes a 2D image or a 3D mesh
depending on whether you set the Region menu to Bitmap or Mesh. The color of
the input is determined by whichever is selected first in the menu. The 3D mesh or a
selectable channel from the bitmap defines the area where the custom particle node
takes effect.
Basic Node Setup
Opposite of what you may think, to create a change in style that appears to be caused by some
physical event, the pChange Style node should be placed before the node that creates the
event. For example, below, the particles generated by the Emitter node change style after
bouncing off a pBounce. Both the pChange Style and pBounce use the same Shape 3D node
as the region. The pChange Style must be placed before the pBounce. If the pChange Style
node is placed after the pBounce, the particles bounce off the region before the pChange Style
calculates its effect. The particle will never get to intersect with the pChange Style node’s
region, and so the style never changes.
Chapter – 103 Particle Nodes 2271