How to cache TP

[Per-Anders]

Use a MoGraph Matrix object set to Object mode and with the source as the TP Particles then simply bake that with the MoGraph Bake/Cache tag. It wont store all data, but the matrix info will be kept in the Matrix Object (you can then use that as a source for a Cloner, or to generate new TP particles).

[Sneaker]

Use a MoGraph Matrix object set to Object mode and with the source as the TP Particles then simply bake that with the MoGraph Bake/Cache tag. It wont store all data, but the matrix info will be kept in the Matrix Object (you can then use that as a source for a Cloner, or to generate new TP particles).

Do you have an example file?
I never got it that easy to work.
Instead I had to use a polygon as particle geometry, the particle geometry under a connect object and that connect object as object for the matrix object.

http://www.sneaker3.de/c4dscenes/mjr_tp_cache_test.zip

thanks,
-Michael

[unseenthings]

I'm interested in this, too... I've got 2 tp sets of data imported from realflow, and they have about 30,000 particles each... any more than that and the realflow plugin dies a very ungraceful death. It renders.. but just barely. Being able to cache all of that would be great because then I could send it to the renderfarm, etc.

If anyone's curious as to why I'm using realflow for particles, I tried doing it originally in cinema but the per-frame calculation time at render time was really bad (like upwards of 30 minutes each). I may well have been doing something wrong, but it was a pretty simple setup... it just really took forever and a day to process each frame. Render times were negligible but process time on each frame was really bad.

[Per-Anders]

Including a scene file would be prohibitive due to size generated. But as I explained that is all that you do, i'll split it into easy to follow steps though :

1) Open the Objects->Thinking Particles->Thinking Particles Settings... dialog so you can see the TP Groups
2) Create a new Matrix object
3) In the Matrix objects AM window set it's Mode to Object
4) From the TP Settings window drag the Particle Group to the Object link slot in the Matrix Objects AM window to make the Matrix object generate on the TP particles
5) Right click on the Matrix Object in the Object manager and choose MoGraph Tags->MoGraph Cache to add a MoGraph Cache tag to the Matrix object
6) With the MoGraph Cache tag selected in it's Attributes Manager (AM) window click the Bake button.

We've now baked the particles, to make the best use of this we'll create a Cloner object, make a cube and put it as the child of the Cloner, now just drag the MoGraph Cache tag onto the Cloner object and away it will go, you can even remove teh TP from the scene completely at this point (if you wanted),

I have found a bug though that will cause the Matrix Object to stop generation using a Cache if the number of particles reaches zero.

[Sneaker]

4) From the TP Settings window drag the Particle Group to the Object link slot in the Matrix Objects AM window to make the Matrix object generate on the TP particles


Fantastic,
thanks, Per-Anders

that was the important step I missed somehow the whole time.

-Michael

[unseenthings]

Yes, thanks for the very specific step-by-step. Works great. I'm sure it'll be useful at various points in the future.

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