Time Condition
By activating this option, the sorting of particles by this Condition can be switched on or off at any time. This can be combined with keyframes, for example, to briefly let all particles through for influencing, e.g., by subordinate Modifiers.
This setting makes it possible to combine several Conditions. This allows even more complex filtering and queries of particle properties to be created. Concrete examples of use can be found in the description of the other Condition objects and also on the Conditions main page. The following Combine Modes are available:
- And: This combines the Conditions and they must all apply to a particle at the same time so that it is allowed through to subordinate Modifiers, for example. This applies to all Conditions that are hierarchically dependent on one another. As a rule, you can use And with all Conditions that are directly subordinate to the Particle Group and can then configure various Combine Modes with the child Conditionsof these main Conditions.
- Or: All particles that match either the superordinate OR this Condition will be allowed through. This often results in an increase in the quantity of particles processed compared to each of the individually considered Conditions.
- Xor: This abbreviation stands for exclusive or and means that only one Condition may apply to the particles at any one time. If two Conditions apply to a particle, it will no longer be processed.
Here you can select the type of time measurement that should be used:
- Scene Time: The current frame number of your scene will be read out and can be compared with your own values or value ranges. This is suitable for sorting out particles within a defined period of time without repetitions occurring. There is only one exception when using the Outside Range Comparison, as the Condition can also be activated in two separate periods of the animation.
- Pulse: You can define any time period and also a cycle interval for its repetition during the animation. This allows the Condition to let particles through at regular intervals.
If you select Scene Time Mode, you can select a logical comparison here to compare the current screen number with your own value or value range. If the comparison is positive, the particles will be passed through the Time Condition, e.g., to subordinate Modifiers. The following Comparisons all work according to the same principle: Equals, Greater Than, Less Than, Greater Than or Equals, Less Than or Equals and Not Equals all compare the current image number with the entry in the Frame field. If the Comparison is Greater Than the Frame value 100, all particles will be passed through the Time Condition from frame 101 up to and including the end of the animation.
You can directly enter two values for the lower and upper limits of a frame range in the Inside Range and Outside Range Comparisons. If the current frame number for Inside Range is within this value range, the particles will be allowed through. Outside Range corresponds to the exact inverse of this principle. All particles on the animation frames that lie outside the defined frame range will then be let through.
Here you can enter the frame number that should be compared with the current frame number of your animation.
Here you can enter different screen numbers to delimit a screen area. These entries are available for the comparison selection of Inside Range and Outside Range. The Time Condition will then automatically pass through the particles for all frame numbers within or outside this range.
If Pulse Mode is selected, use this to define the first animation frame at which particles should be allowed to pass through the Condition.
If Pulse Mode is selected, use this to define the number of animation frames that should be used cyclically to pass particles through the Condition.
If you select Pulse Mode, you can use this to define the number of animation frames that should lie between the active cycles. This means that no particles will be passed through the Time Condition within the time gap.
This value can be used to add a random evaluation of the Time Condition. At 100%, all randomness will be eliminated and all particles will always be passed through during an active cycle or a positive Comparison. If Chance is set below 100%, the number of particles passed through decreases accordingly, which will be processed by the Condition. With a value of 25%, only a quarter of the particles will be processed by the Time Condition. The particles will be selected at random.
The random calculation is based on this Chance value. A changed Seed value will also lead to a recalculation of the Chance coincidences.