Move Along Mesh
v1.3.0Modifiers
Summary
The Move Along Mesh attaches instances to a mesh surface and animates them along the mesh based on its orientation. It works in two phases: first, attaches instances to the mesh based on proximity or random scattering; second, pushes instances along the mesh based on the orientation of the mesh.
The "up" vector of the chosen mesh acts as the "forward" vector for movement. This node works best in conjunction with the Orient Mesh node, which can easily generate these orientations for you along with options for swirling around the mesh, adding curl noise, and blurring the generated vectors for smoother motion.
If your instances start crowding each other you can try to enable Relaxation, but this can be tricky on surfaces with very high curvature.
Parameters
Group
GroupIf there are input groups, specifying a group name in this field will cause this POPX to act only upon the group specified.
Mesh to Attach To
MeshReference to a POP for the mesh to attach instances to when no second input is connected.
Display Mesh
DisplaymeshVisualizes the mesh in the viewport.
Display Color
DisplaycolorColor for mesh visualization when Display Mesh is enabled.
Display Color
DisplaycolorrDisplay ColorDisplaycolorgDisplay ColorDisplaycolorbInitialize
InitializepulseResets the simulation state to initial conditions.
Start
StartpulseBegins the simulation from the current state.
Play
PlayToggles simulation playback on or off.
Step
SteppulseAdvances the simulation by one frame.
Lock to Mesh
LocktomeshLocks the initial attachment positions so they don't need to be recalculated every frame, improving performance.
Reattach to Mesh
ReattachtomeshRecomputes attachment points for all instances.
Attach Mode
AttachmodeDetermines how instances are attached to the mesh: Nearest Point or Scatter.
Nearest Point
nearestScatterscatterSeed
SeedRandom seed value for scatter-based attachment.
Search Radius
SearchradiusMaximum distance for finding nearest attachment points when using Nearest Point mode.
Maintain Offset
MaintainoffsetBlend amount for maintaining the original offset distance from the mesh surface.
Maintain Orient Offset
MaintainorientoffsetBlend amount between the original orientation and the mesh orientation.
Visualize Offset
VisualizeoffsetDisplays lines showing the offset between instances and their attachment points.
Fetch Offsets Lines
FetchoffsetslinesCreates a select POP with the selected offsets lines of the instances for visualization.
Do Falloff
DofalloffEnables falloff-based modulation of movement effects.
Falloff Attribute
FalloffattrSpecifies which attribute to use for falloff values that modulate movement intensity.
Speed
SpeedGlobal speed multiplier for instance movement along the mesh.
Random Speed
RandomspeedAmount of random variation applied to each instance's speed.
Seed
SpeedseedRandom seed value for speed randomization.
Enable Life Time
EnablelifetimeEnables lifetime-based effects for instances, causing them to age and potentially be removed after a certain duration.
Life
LifeBase lifetime duration in seconds for each instance.
Life Variance
LifevarianceAmount of random variation in lifetime duration between 0 (no variance) and 1 (maximum variance).
Seed
LifeseedRandom seed value for lifetime variance.
Output Life Attributes
OutputlifeattrsOutputs LifeTime and Age attributes for each instance when enabled.
Scale by Age
ScalebyageEnables age-based scale modulation using a ramp curve.
Remap Scale
RemapscaleRemaps the output scale values from the ramp to this range.
Remap Scale
RemapscalexRemap ScaleRemapscaleyOpen Scale Ramp Editor
OpenscalerampeditorOpens the internal scale ramp editor for creating custom scale curves over lifetime.
Reset Scale Ramp
ResetscalerampResets the scale ramp to default values.
Custom Scale TOP
CustomscaletopReference to an external TOP for scale control. When specified, overrides the internal ramp editor.
Enable Point Relax
EnablepointrelaxEnables relaxation forces that push instances apart to prevent crowding on the mesh surface.
Relax Iterations
RelaxiterationsNumber of relaxation iterations to perform per frame. Higher values create stronger separation but may be slower.
Max Relax Radius
MaxrelaxradiusMaximum distance at which relaxation forces affect neighboring instances.
Distribution
DistributionNeighbor distribution method for relaxation.
Default
defaultUniqueuniqueClosestclosestNum Hash Buckets
NumhashbucketsNumber of hash buckets for spatial neighbor lookups.
Max Neighbors
MaxneighborsMaximum number of neighboring instances to consider for relaxation calculations.
Relax Strength
RelaxstrengthIntensity of the relaxation force. Higher values push instances apart more strongly.
Bypass
BypassPass through the first input to the output unchanged.
Free Extra GPU Memory
FreeextragpumemFree memory that has accumulated when output memory has grown and shrunk.
Render Primitives
RenderprimitivesToggles rendering of POPX Geometry or shows it as point instances only.
Convert to Point Primitives
ConverttoptprimConverts points to primitive points when Render Primitives is toggled off.
SRT / RST
SrtrstSets the transform order when using POPX Geometry as built-in TouchDesigner instances.
Inputs
Input 0
POPPOPX/POP Geometry
Input 1
POPMesh to Attach To
Outputs
Output 0
POPPOPX_out1