---
title: "Parameters"
url: "https://help.maxon.net/c4d/en-us/Content/html/OP_BORN-ID_GVPORTS.html"
section_path: "Thinking Particles > Nodes > TP Generator Group > PBorn > Parameters"
element_id: "OP_BORN"
group_id: "ID_GVPORTS"
description: "Choose how the particles are born. In Count mode, you define the maximum number of particles that may exist at any one time. Rate mode defines the number …"
---

## Parameters

Choose how the particles are born. In Count mode, you define the maximum number of particles that may exist at any one time. Rate mode defines the number of particles born per second, Shot mode the number born per frame.

### Birth Type

Parameter ID: `OP_BORN_BTYPE`

There are three modes for creating particles: Count, Rate and Shot. Set Birth Type to the desired mode.

### Count

Parameter ID: `OP_BORN_COUNT` · Range: [0..2147483647]

In this mode, the Count value defines the maximum number of particles that may exist at any one time. The Count value works closely with the Life value. For example, if Life is set to 5 and Count is set to 100 particles, the number of particles will increase steadily to 100. As particles begin to die, new particles will be emitted to keep the count at 100.

### Rate

Parameter ID: `OP_BORN_RATE` · Range: [0.00..+∞]

In Rate mode, the Rate value defines the number of particles born per second of animation; the total number of particles will therefore be affected by the frame rate.

### Shot

Parameter ID: `OP_BORN_SHOT` · Range: [0..2147483647]

In Shot mode, Shot defines the number of particles created per frame of animation.

### Life

Parameter ID: `OP_BORN_LIFE`

### Life Variation

Parameter ID: `OP_BORN_LIFEVAR` · Range: [0..100%]

The Life value defines how long each particle lives, in frames. You can vary the life span of the particles using the Life Variation parameter.

Additional input ports:

### On

Parameter ID: `OP_BORN_IN_ON`

A Boole value of True switches the node on; a value of False switches it off.

### Animation Time

Parameter ID: `OP_BORN_IN_ATIME`

Since the node's parameters can be keyframe animated, by default the Cinema 4D time is used internally to ensure that the values are interpolated correctly. However, you can pass your own time value to this port. This should be of the data type Time, which is a Real number in the simplest case. If no value is passed, Cinema 4D's time is used.

Output ports:

### Particle Birth

Parameter ID: `OP_BORN_OUT_PARTICLE`

The particle stream that is available here is the particles that have been born at the current frame. So, if you connect this up to a Particle input port of another node, the node will affect particles only as they are born. If instead you want to affect all particles created by PStorm, put them into a group by connecting this port to a PGroup node and then use a PPass node to pass on all the particles within that group. This is normally the most useful thing to do.

### Birth Count

Parameter ID: `OP_BORN_OUT_PARTICLECOUNT` · Range: [-2147483648..2147483647]

Outputs the number of particles born at the current frame.

### Birth Num

Parameter ID: `OP_BORN_OUT_PARTICLENUM` · Range: [-2147483648..2147483647]

Outputs the number of the last particle born at the current frame, starting from 0.