---
title: "Cluster"
url: "https://help.maxon.net/c4d/en-us/Content/html/OMOGRAPH_FXSCATTER-MG_SURFACE_SCATTER_CLUSTERS_GROUP.html"
section_path: "MoGraph > Generators > Scatter Object > Cluster"
element_id: "OMOGRAPH_FXSCATTER"
group_id: "MG_SURFACE_SCATTER_CLUSTERS_GROUP"
description: "Using Clusters, instances can be placed randomly based on a parametric noise pattern."
---

## Cluster

![Example for placing scattered instances with the Cluster option, based on a parametric noise pattern.](https://help.maxon.net/c4d/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/2027-0_Scatter_Generator_Cluster_01.png)

Using Clusters, instances can be placed randomly based on a parametric noise pattern.

The *Cluster* settings offer an additional placement feature that uses a noise pattern, which can be scaled and rotated as desired. This allows you to place seemingly random groups and clusters of instances on a surface without having to create additional selections or work with fields.\
An additional benefit arises from using *Scatter Tags* on the objects to be distributed, as this also allows for the placement of individual objects in specific cluster cells.

### Enable

Parameter ID: `MG_SURFACE_SCATTER_CLUSTERS_ENABLE`

This enables you to place instances in contiguous groups. This allows you to quickly place clusters or islands of objects without having to resort to additional selections.

### Count

Parameter ID: `MG_SURFACE_SCATTER_CLUSTERS_COUNT` · Range: [1..100]

Use this value to control the density and, consequently, the maximum number of contiguously placed instances within an island. For larger, contiguous cluster islands, choose smaller values, such as 2 or 3.\
In addition, the Cluster cells are also divided internally into indexed groups. This makes it possible to use individual objects via *Scatter Tag* only within specific cluster groups.

![Highlighting cluster cells for different count thresholds on a landscape.](https://help.maxon.net/c4d/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/2027-0_Scatter_Generator_Cluster_Count.png)

Highlighting cluster cells for different **Count** thresholds on a landscape.

For example, the figure above shows the use of 1, 2, and 3 for the **Count** value and how this changes the arrangement and number of individual cluster islands in the landscape. The colored highlighting of these areas can be enabled using the **Show** option for the placed instances. This color coding makes it immediately clear in which cluster cell the instances have been placed.

![Example rendering of distributed objects in only one of three defined Scatter cells.](https://help.maxon.net/c4d/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/2027-0_Scatter_Tag_04.png)

Example of using Scatter tags to place instance only in one specific cell.

The example shown in the figure above uses **Count** 3 for the clusters on the *Scatter* object and also uses *Scatter* tags on the sphere objects distributed across the landscape. Only **Cluster ID** 1 was specifically activated on each of these *Scatter* tags. As a result, all sphere instances remain visible only in the cells with index number 1. All other cluster cells remain empty.

### Rotation

Parameter ID: `MG_SURFACE_SCATTER_CLUSTERS_ORIENTATION` · Range: [HBP °]

### Scale

Parameter ID: `MG_SURFACE_SCATTER_CLUSTERS_SCALE` · Range: [1..1000%]

### Relative Scale

Parameter ID: `MG_SURFACE_SCATTER_CLUSTERS_RELATIVE_SCALE` · Range: [XYZ %]

These settings affect the noise structure used to calculate the clusters. You can adjust the size of the noise pattern proportionally using **Scale**, or individually along each of the three axes using **Relative Scale**. **Orientation** also allows you to rotate the noise structure individually around all three axes.

### Border Breakup

Parameter ID: `MG_SURFACE_SCATTER_CLUSTERS_BORDER_BREAKUP` · Range: [0..300%]

This allows instances near the cluster boundaries to be placed more unevenly. As a result, the cluster boundaries appear less jagged.

### Smoothness

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

This results in a blurring of the boundaries between adjacent cluster islands.

### Seed

Parameter ID: `MG_SURFACE_SCATTER_CLUSTERS_SEED` · Range: [0..10000000]

The noise structure is based on this value. To obtain a new variant of the cluster distribution, change this value.

### Show

Parameter ID: `MG_SURFACE_SCATTER_CLUSTERS_SHOW`

This assigns random colors to all instances based on the Cluster ID in which they were placed. For example, all instances located in cells with Cluster ID 1 will then be displayed in red.