Envelope And Parameter Controllers - NewTek HyperVoxels 2.0 Manual

C T : Reference
3.12
H A P T E R H R E E
The two Light pop-up menus let you choose which light sources illuminate the volume.
Note
Avoiding using these Light options if you are raytracing shadows. Otherwise, rendering time may be increased significantly.
The Volumetric Shadows option creates shadows within the volume which adds detail and realism. However, it can increase render
time significantly, especially when you are trying to simulate very dense clouds, like volcanic smoke. Use the Shadow Quality pop-
up menu to choose the render quality of the shadows. The "Textured" quality options will render the shadows taking the noise pattern
into account. The Shadow Strength sets the darkness of the shadows.
The Effect pop-up menu is used to animate volumetric effects. Turbulence makes the texture move towards the viewer. It is like
animating a texture with the texture velocity parameter. Billowing animates the texture by rotating outward along a velocity vector (a
la "Dante's Peak"). It is very good for explosions. Boiling uses multi-levels of textures to obtain a boiling-like effect.
The Effect Speed setting is the duration of the looping cycle. The value is equal to LightWave Default units (Options panel, General
Options tab) per frame.
Envelopes and Parameter Controllers
The E buttons are merely an envelope controller, which operate just like their counterparts in LightWave Layout. These allow you to
vary values over time with spline based results.
The P buttons are parameters controllers. Like an envelope, these also allow you to vary a parameter setting. For envelopes, the
parameter is always controlled over time using the frame number. Parameter controllers, on the other hand, can vary the setting using
the distance to an object, slope, bump height, etc. A simple example is varying the texture color based on the bump height of the
texture. Moreover, you are not limited to whole number increments for keys. You could set a key at 12.234 units, for example.
Parameters controllers use "gradient ramps" (the colored bar) to depict the value change. Essentially, the different colors along the
gradient correspond to values for the related Input Parameter. Surface color uses a color gradient, while other parameters use grayscale
gradients to depict value changes, where white is the maximum and black is the minimum.
As with envelopes, you have the ability to create, edit and delete keys. (A "key" is characterized by two numbers: its value and its
parameter.). It is the keys that make change the color of the gradient and ultimately the parameter values.
The Input Parameter defines what item will dynamically control the parameter. For example, selecting Time changes the value over
a specific time interval and the gradient bar unit is seconds. When set to Frame, the units are frames (essentially making this operate
like a normal envelope).