# emitter Reference

Back to index
emitters are particle creators. They aren not necessarily objects. TP Fragmentation and TP Spawning emitter, for example, use existing particles to create new ones.
Index

1. TP Fragmentation
2. TP Multishape Emitter
3. TP Object Fragmentation
4. TP Ring Emitter
5. TP Rolling Emitter
6. TP Spawning Emitter
7. TP Spline Emitter
8. TP Standard Emitter
9. TP Sticky Goo
10. TP Surface Emitter
11. TP Volume Emitter

TP Fragmentation

The TP Fragmentation preset breaks particles of a Source Group up into fragments, according to the settings defined. The fragments will be put into the Target Group defined by the user.
On: Activates the emitter. This parameter can be easily animated and can be switched on or off as needed.
Source Particle Group: Thinking Particles group to which the particles to be fragmented belong.
Target Particle Group: Thinking Particles group to which the fragments will belong.
Mode:

- Single Faces: If you set Mode to Single Faces, three-sided polygons will be used as fragments.
- Smooth and Distance: If Mode is set to Smooth And Distance, the Angle and Radius parameters will be made active. The fragmentation will then depend on the angle of the surface normals. Contiguous faces with the same surface normal direction will form a single fragment. The size of the fragments is determined by the Distance value. This percentage relates to the original particle's size / bounding box. A value of 50% will set the fragments to half the size of the original particle.
- Count: With Mode set to Count, the Count input box will be used which will then define the number of fragments per fragmented particle. For example, if Count is set to 5 and all particles are fragmented, each particle will generate five fragments.

Threshold: The Threshold controls the progress of fragmentation. With a value of "1", no fragments will be created, while a value of "0" means that all particles will be fragmented completely. By animating the Threshold value you can vary the degree of fragmentation over time. Set the direction of fragmentation with Direction.
Life: Fragment lifetime.
Life Variation: Variation of the fragments' lifetime. A value of 50% will vary the lifetime between 50% and 100% randomly.
Speed: Initial speed of the fragments.
Speed Variation: Variation of the fragments' speed. A value of 50% will vary the speed between 50% and 100% randomly.
Thickness: Thickness of the fragments.
Direction:

-Z to +Z
+Z to -Z
-Y to +Y
+Y to -Y
-X to +X
+X to -X

Controls the progress of the fragmentation, especially the starting point and therefore the direction. For example, a setting of "-Y" to "+Y" will fragment the object along the Y-axis starting with negative "Y" values. The axis system of each particle is used to determine this direction. When modifying the direction of the particles, e.g. by applying spin, this rotation will differ from the world or emitter axis. The progress of fragmentation along this axis is controlled by Threshold.
Weight: This gradient controls the weight of the fragments. The brightness at the gradient's left edge controls the weight at the start of fragmentation. The brightness of the right edge controls the weight of the fragments at the time of their death. The brighter the color value, the greater the weight of the fragment at that point in its lifetime. The weight affects how fragments interact with forces (e.g. wind and gravity).
Die after Fragmentation: The source particle will die after it is fragmented.
Fragment Count: Defines the number of fragments if Count mode is used.
Angle: Controls fragmentation if Smooth and Distance modes are used.
Distance: Controls size of fragments if Smooth and Distance modes are used.

TP Multishape Emitter

The Multishape emitter preset will emit various particles from a circle with a defined Diameter. The particles will move along the emitter's Z-axis and, if the spread angle is larger then "0" degrees, will spread out accordingly.
The different particle shapes have to be made children of the preset object. The preset contains four example shapes by default. The maximum number of objects that can be used as shapes is ten. Any other children after the first ten will be ignored.
On: Activates the emitter. This parameter can be easily animated and can be switched on or off as needed.
Particle Group: Thinking Particles group to which the generated particles will belong.
Type:

- Count will emit as many particles as neccesary to maintain the defined number of particles.
- Rate will emit the defined number of particles per second.
- Shot will emit the defined number of particles per frame.

Particle Number: Number of particles emitted.
Speed: Speed of emitted particles in units per second.
Speed Variation: Variation of the speed of emitted particles. The resulting speed will not exceed the set speed.
Life: Lifetime of particles.
Life Variation: Variation of particle lifetime, the resulting lifetime will not exceed the set lifetime.
Spread Angle: Opening angle of the emitter conus.
Diameter: Diameter of the emitter.
Align: If true, particles will be aligned in the direction of movement during emission.

TP Object Fragmentation

TP Object Fragmentation can be used to partially or completely destruct an object into fragments. The object first needs to be converted into a particle. The preset does this automatically but the user does have to provide a group. Apart from the object assignment, this setup is similar to TP Fragmentation.
Polygon Object: The object that will be fragmented.
Object Group: Thinking Particles group to which the required object particle will be assigned.
Fragments Group: Thinking Particles group to which the generated fragments will be assigned.
Degree of Destruction: A value "0" will not destruct the object; a value of "100" will destruct it completely.
Direction:

-Z to +Z
+Z to -Z
-Y to +Y
+Y to -Y
-X to +X
+X to -X

Fragment Thickness: Thickness of the fragments.
Start Time of Destruction: Animation time at which the destruction will commence.
Duration of Destruction: Animation time required for the destruction to take place.
Number of Fragments: Number of fragments that will becreated upon full destruction.
Inital Speed: Inital speed of the fragments.
Use Spin: Activating this option will allow the fragments to spin.

TP Ring Emitter

TP Ring emitter will emit particles from a virtual ring that lies on the X/Z plane defined by the local position of the preset. The factor allows the particle emission to be distorted along the Z-axis.
On: Activates the emitter. This parameter can be easily animated and can be switched on or off as needed.
Particle Group: Thinking Particles group to which the generated particles will belong.
Shape: Object that will be used as a referece for the particle's shape.
Type:

- Count will emit as many particles as necessary to maintain the defined number of particles.
- Rate will emit the defined number of particles per second.
- Shot will emit the defined number of particles per frame.

Count: Number of particles emitted.
Speed: Speed of emitted particles in units per second.
Speed Variation: Variation of the speed of emitted particles. The resulting speed will not go beyond the speed defined.
Life: Lifetime of particles.
Life Variation: Variation of particle lifetime. The resulting lifetime will not exceed the lifetime defined.
Radius: Radius of the ring.
Height: Height of the ring.
Aligned: When enabled, the particles will be aligned perpendicularly to the virtual surface of the ring. If disabled, the particles will move along a line drawn from the center of the preset.
Factor: Changes the velocity of the particles so their movement is stretched along the emitter's Z-axis. This option only works if Aligned is off.

TP Rolling Emitter

The Rolling emitter preset will emit particles from a circle with a defined Diameter. The particles will move along the emitter's Z-axis and, if the spread angle is larger than "0" degrees, will spread out accordingly.
The particles will roll outwards, as viewed from the emitter's Z-axis. This allows for the easy setup of a fire lance effect (dragon fire) or the upward boiling cloud of an explosion.
On: Activates the emitter. This parameter can be easily animated and can be switched on or off as needed.
Particle Group: Thinking Particles group to which the generated particles will belong.
Shape: Object that is used as a shape for the particle.
Type:

- Count will emit as many particles as necessary to maintain the defined number of particles.
- Rate will emit the defined number of particles per second
- Shot will emit the defined number of particles per frame

Particle Number: Number of particles emitted.
Speed: Speed of emitted particles in units per second.
Speed Variation: Variation of the speed of emitted particles. The resulting speed will not exceed the speed defined.
Life: Lifetime of particles.
Life Variation: Variation of particle lifetime, the resulting lifetime will not exceed the lifetime defined.
Spread Angle: Opening angle of the emitter conus.
Diameter: Diameter of the emitter.
Rotation Speed: Rotational speed of emitted particles in turns per second.
Rotation Variation: Variation of rotational speed. The resulting rotation speed will not exceed the set rotation speed.
Diameter Dependency: If enabled, the DD Curve parameter will be evaluated to make the rotatonal speed dependent upon the distance from the preset's Z-axis .
DD Curve: Defines the speed and direction of rotation depending on the distance from the preset's Z-axis. The default value will rotate the particles near the axis slower than the outlying particles.

TP Spawning Emitter

The Spawning emitter preset creates new particles based on already existing ones. It can be used for explsion effects as well as particle trails for particles. Other possible uses are splash or growth effects.
On: Activates the emitter. This parameter can be easily animated and can be switched on or off as needed.
Source Particle Group: Thinking Particles group to which the source particles belong.
Target Particle Group: Thinking Particles group to which the generated particles will belong.
emitter Type:

- Count will emit as many particles as neccesary to maintain the overall count of defined particles
- Rate will emit the defined number of particles per second.
- Shot will emit the defined number of particles per frame.

Particle Number: Number of particles emitted.
Inherit Speed: When enabled, the newly created particles will inherit the speed of their parent particle.
Relative Speed: When enabled, the speed of the newly created particles will be relative to their parent particle.
Reverse Direction: When enabled, the newly created particles' velocity will have the reverse direction of the parent particles' velocity.
Speed: Speed of emitted particles in units per second.
Speed Variation: Variation of the speed of emitted particles. The resulting speed will not exceed the speed defined.
After Spawning: Action that will take place after new particles have been spawned from a parent particle.

- Nothing: No action will be taken.
- Die: The parent particle dies after spawning.
- Group Change: The parent particle will be moved to a different group.

Transfer Group: Particle group to which the parent particle will be moved if the After Spawning mode is set to Group Change.
Size: Diameter of the spawing emitter.
Spread Angle: Opening angle of the spawning emitter conus.
Life: Lifetime of particles.
Life Variation: Variation of particle lifetime. The resulting lifetime will not exceed the set lifetime.
Particle Shape: Object that is used as a shape for the spawned particle.
Inherit Shape: When enabled, the newly created particle will inherit the shape of its parent.

TP Spline Emitter

The Spline emitter preset will emit particles on a given spline.
On: Activates the emitter. This parameter can be easily animated and can be switched on or off as needed.
Spline Object: The spline object that is used for emission.
Particle Group: Thinking Particles group to which the generated particles will belong.
Shape: Object that is used as a shape for the particle.
Type:

- Count will emit as many particles as neccesary to maintain the overall count of defined particles
- Rate will emit the defined number of particles per second.
- Shot will emit the defined number of particles per frame.

Particle Number: Number of particles emitted.
Life: Lifetime of particles.
Life Variation: Variation of particle lifetime. The resulting lifetime will not exceed the lifetime defined.
Random Distribution: If enabled, particles will be distributed randomly on the spline. Otherwise they will be distributed evenly .
Use all Segments: If enabled, all segments of a spline will be used to distribute the particles on.
Align: If activ,e particles will be aligned along the spline's tangent at the point of emission.

TP Standard Emitter

The Standard emitter preset emits particles from a circle with a defined Diameter. The particles will move along the emitter's Z-axis and, if the spread angle is larger then "0" degrees, will spread out accordingly.
On: Activates the emitter. This parameter can be easily animated and can be switched on or off as needed.
Particle Group: Thinking Particles group to which the generated particles will belong.
Shape: Object that is used as a shape for the particle.
emitter Type:

- Count will emit as many particles as neccesary to maintain the overall count of defined particles
- Rate will emit the defined number of particles per second.
- Shot will emit the defined number of particles per frame.

Particle Number: Number of particles emitted.
Speed: Speed of emitted particles in units per second.
Speed Variation: Variation of the speed of emitted particles, the resulting speed will not go above the speed defined.
Life: Lifetime of particles.
Life Variation: Variation of particle lifetime. The resulting lifetime will not exceed the lifetime defined.
Spread Angle: Opening angle of the emitter conus.
Diameter: Diameter of the emitter.
Align: If true particles will be aligned in the direction of movement during emission.

TP Sticky Goo

The Sticky Goo preset creates particles on a polygon object that will follow every movement of the object and stick to it in accordance with the defined parameters.
On: Activates the emitter. This parameter can be easily animated and can be switched on or off as needed.
Particle Group: Thinking Particles group to which the generated particles will belong
Shape: Object that is used as a reference for the particles' shape.
Polygon Surface: Polygon object to which the goo particles will be stuck.
Emission: This parameter should be animated at the time when the goo should initially be created.
Life: Lifetime of particles.
Springy: This parameter enables a springy behavior.
Springspeed: The higher this value the faster the goo particles will adjust to new positions.
Variation: This parameter varies the spring speed.

TP Surface Emitter

The Surface emitter preset emits particles in the direction of the the normals of the surface at the point of emission.
Works with all polygon objects.
On: Activates the emitter. This parameter can be easily animated and can be switched on or off as needed.
Particle Group: Thinking Particles group to which the generated particles will belong.
Shape: Object that is used as a reference for the particles' shape.
Polygon Surface: Polygon object from which surface particles will be emitted.
Source:

- Polygon: Particles will be emitted from polygon surface.
- Point: Particles will be emitted from vertices.
- Edge: Particles will be emitted along edges.

Selection: Particle emission will be restricted to the assigned selection when used.
Type:

- Count will emit as many particles as neccesaryto maintain the overall number of defined particles.
- Rate will emit the defined number of particles per second.
- Shot will emit the defined number of particles per frame.

Particle Number: Number of particles emitted
Speed: Speed of emitted particles in units per second
Speed Variation: Variation of the speed of emitted particles. The resulting speed will not exceed the speed defined.
Life: Lifetime of particles in frames.
Life Variation: Variation of particle lifetime, the resulting lifetime will not exceed the lifetime defined.
Align: If true, particles will be aligned in direction of movement during emission.

TP Volume Emitter

The Volume emitter preset emits particles within a given object's volume. The possible depth from the surface is calculated via the object's bounding box. The surface is used to align the particles, if checked.
Works with all polygon objects.
On: Activates the emitter. This parameter can be easily animated and can be switched on or off as needed.
Particle Group: Thinking Particles group to which the generated particles will belong.
Shape: Object that is used as a shape for the particle.
Polygon Object: Polygon object in which volume particles will be emitted.
Polygon Selection: Particle emission will be restricted to the assigned polygon selection when used.
Type:

- Count will emit as many particles as neccesary to maintain the overall number of defined particles.
- Rate will emit the defined number of particles per second.
- Shot will emit the defined number of particles per frame.

Particle Number: Number of particles emitted.
Speed: Speed of emitted particles in units per second.
Speed Variation: Variation of the speed of emitted particles. The resulting speed will not exceed the speed defined.
Life: Lifetime of particles.
Life Variation: Variation of particle lifetime. The resulting lifetime will not exceed the lifetime defined .
Align: If true, particles will be aligned in direction of the surface during emission.

Back to index