Cache
The settings in this tab can be used to bake a simulation. Positions and angles will then no longer be calculated live, but will be precalculated and saved either internally in the scene file or externally in Alembic format. You should do this, for example, whenever you:
- Render the scene on other computers or across several computers (e.g., render farm) simultaneously.
- Want to fix a simulation - including simulations of individual Simulation tags. Simulations often run completely differently with the tiniest of changes made, for example, by other/different CPUs/GPUs.
- Use special render effects such as motion blur, which may require baking.
- Want to play a simulation faster, etc.
Proceed as follows:
- Create a cache: Click on Cache Object or Cache Scene. If necessary, you will be guided through the necessary steps.
- Create multiple caches (external only): To save multiple caches, make new simulation settings for each. First deactivate Save mode and then click on Cache Object or Cache Scene.
- Playing existing external caches: Activate Cache Mode, switch Save Path to External and select the corresponding Alembic file using the folder icon to the far right of Path to Alembic File.
When this mode is active, Cinema 4D will play a saved solution of the simulation. If this does not exist, the object to which the tag is applied will remain motionless.
The option is automatically enabled when you bake the simulation, but can be disabled again at any time if you want to calculate the simulation live again.
Decide here whether the cache should be saved externally or internally:
- External: The cache is saved externally as a separate Alembic file. The scene storage location is suggested by default. With this method, you can save several different simulation variants and play them back at any time. The Cinema 4D scene file is not bloated, as would be the case with "Internal".
- Internal: the cache is stored internally in the scene file, which can then also become correspondingly large.
This path is only used if you have defined External above.
If you are baking an external simulation for the first time, a file storage dialog opens in which you can enter a path and a prefix. The prefix is placed in front of each Alembic file name. Each storable simulation tag saves to its own file. If the file name remains the same, the suffix "_vx" ("x" is numbered in ascending order, i.e., "_v0", "_v1", etc.) is added each time the file is baked.
This path can be changed at any time by clicking on the folder icon on the far right and "bent" to other previously saved caches, which will then be played - make sure that the Cache Mode is then activated.
This is used to bake the tag-carrying element. The simulation will be played and saved at the same time. Cache Mode will be activated; this means that the saved cache is active and will be played.
This is used to save individual simulation scene components.
This is used to bake the entire scene relating to the simulation system. Each Simulation tag will be taken into account. You do not have to call up each tag and bake separately.
Click on this button to disable the current object cache and calculate the simulation live again. This works as follows:
- With Internal cache: The internal object cache is deleted and the Cache Mode is deactivated.
- For External cache: Nothing will be deleted here, only the Cache Mode will be deactivated. Existing saved cache files are retained.
Click on this button to disable the current simulation cache files scene-wide and to calculate the simulation live again. This works as follows:
- With internal cache: All internal object caches will be deleted and Cache Mode will be deactivated.
- For external cache: Nothing will be deleted here, only the Cache Mode will be deactivated. Existing saved cache files will be retained.
If you have saved the cache externally as Alembic, use this option to define whether the animation should be played or whether the status at this point in time should be displayed using the following parameter Frame. If the animation shuold be played, you still have a few options for affecting the animation with the settings listed below.
If the Use Animation option is disabled, you can use Frame to define which animation frame will be displayed. Intermediate values such as 4.76 are also possible here, which will be interpolated correctly. By animating the Frame value, you can make the movement play slower, faster, backwards or even jump.
A time shift in animation images can be defined here for fine adjustment. Use negative values to move the animation forwards (earlier) and positive values to move it backwards (later).
This lets you define any animation speed. Since Alembic always interpolates correctly, extreme slow motion is also possible, for example.
Define here what should happen after the end of the animation:
- Play: The animation stops.
- Loop: The animation starts again from the beginning.
- Ping-Pong: The animation alternates between forwards and backwards. As the name suggests: back-and-forth.
This curve can be used to influence the timing of the animation. In other words, exactly what the time track of the timeline does: should the animation cycle first run fast, then slower, or even backwards? Such effects can be defined here.