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MagmaFlow Output Node

 Availbale in Krakatoa v1.5.0 and higher

Overview

  • The Output node represents the root of the node tree and the final output of the flow and the output of the Krakatoa Channels Modifier.
  • The Output node is always docked to the upper right corner of the schematic view. It cannot be deleted or created.
  • The Output node does NOT provide a right-click context menu. All other node types do.
  • The default color of the Output node is green.
  • This node has one input and no explicit outputs - the output goes to the channel specified by the node.
  • The properties of this node include

User Interface

Channel Name text field

  • The Channel Name text field can be used to provide an arbitrary Channel Name.
    • If the channel with that name does not exist yet, it will be created and populated with the data from the flow.
    • If the channel with that name already exists, the output will overwrite the data found in that channel.
    • If the channel is one of the Standard channels listed in the Standard Channel Names list, the corresponding list entry will also be highlighted.
    • If you select a Standard channels from the list below, the Channel Name will be set to it automatically.

Standard Channel Names list

  • This list shows the most common channels supported by Krakatoa, including some Particle Flow, FumeFX and RealFlow channels.
  • The list is meant to speed up the specification of the Output Channel Name and DOES NOT represent the only allowed channel names - it is just a suggestion. You can enter ANY name in the Channel Name text field - in that case the list selection will be removed and a new channel with the given name will be created.
  • You can add new custom channel names to this list by using the Edit Custom Save Channels controls in the Save Particles rollout of the Krakatoa GUI. Any names specified there will also appear in the MagmaFlow Output and Input Node channel lists.

Data Type listbox

  • This list specifies the depth of the channel data.
  • Possible values are currently 16, 32 and 64 bit.

Arity listbox

  • This list specifies the Arity (number of components) of the channel.
  • When selecting a pre-defined Standard channel definition from the list, the Arity will be automatically set to the factory default, e.g. Position, Velocity and Color will have Arity of 3, Density and ID will have Arity of 1, Orientation will have Arity of 4 etc., and the lost will be grayed out.
  • When entering a custom channel that does not exist on the Standard channel names list, the Arity list will become available and can be used to switch the number of components between 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Channel List Sorting drop-down list

  • This list provides several options for sorting the Standard Channel Names list for easier access.

Factory Default Order

  • This is the original mode of MagmaFlow and provides the typically most used channel names on top of the list, e.g. Position, Velocit, Density and Color are the top 4 entries.

By Usage Frequency

  • This is an advanced mode similar to the previous one, but here the statistical data about what are the most common used channel names is created by monitoring the user's actions.
  • Each time the user selects a channel from the list, a corresponding counter is incremented and stored in the local settings.
  • As result, the list is sorted so that the most often clicked channels rise up to the top of the list over time and the least often used fall down.
  • A drawback of this approach is that channels tend to change their place on the list in the first weeks of use while MagmaFlow is "learning".

Alphabetical

  • The channel names will be sorted alphabetically in descending order, e.g. Absorption, Acceleration, Age, Color,...,Velocity, Viscosity, Vorticity, Weight.
  • This mode is very logical since all channels are ordered in easy to understand manner, but the drawback is that some of the most used channels like Position and Velocity are far at the bottom of the list.

Alphabetical, Mapping Last

  • The regular alphabetically sorted list also contains 98 Mapping Channels in the middle of the list.
  • This version of the sorting keeps the Mapping channels at the end of the list, making it easier to find the other channels and to access mapping channels when needed.

Int>Float>Vector>Quat

  • This sorting mode lists the channels based on their data type - Integer channels first, then Float channels, Vector channels and the Orientation in the end.

Integers Only

  • This sorting method removes all other channel types and shows the Integer channel names in Alphabetical order.

Floats Only

  • This sorting method removes all other channel types and shows the Float channel names in Alphabetical order.

Vectors Only

  • This sorting method removes all other channel types and shows the Vector channel names in Alphabetical order.

Quaternions Only

  • This sorting method removes all other channel types and shows the Quaternion channel names in Alphabetical order. Currently the only standard channel of Quaternion type is Orientation.

FumeFX Channels Only

  • This sorting method removes all other channel types and shows only the channels exposed by FumeFX simulations in Alphabetical order, including Density, DensityGradient, Emission, Fire, Fuel, Normal, Position, Temperature, TextureCoord and Velocity.