New particles

X-Particles is a plugin for Cinema 4D, designed as a replacement for Cinema’s inbuilt basic particle system. It is a completely new particle system which does not need the standard Cinema 4D emitter or Thinking Particles. It has a number of components:

four generator objects – Emitter, Object Generator, Sprite Generator, and Trail Generator

three control objects – System, Question, and Action

two new primitive objects (Cross and 3-Plane) which can also be used independently of other X-Particles objects

seventeen particle modifiers including some new modifiers not provided with C4D as standard

two tags

a volume shader

a sprite channel shader

Control system

X-Particles contains a system of close control over almost all parameters using Questions and Actions. No Xpresso is required and everything is done through Cinema’s Object and Attribute Managers in the same way as for other objects. The system works by asking a ’Question’ of each particle – for example, does the particle age exceed a specified value. If the particle ‘passes’ the Question, an Action is called which has an effect on the particle, Most Actions work through the particle modifiers but others are independent of them.

Questions and Actions are not dependent on keyframes, so although most aspects of the X-Particles system can be keyframed, this is not essential to its operation.

Compatibility with other Cinema components

X-Particles is compatible with the existing particle modifiers in Cinema 4D. It can be used with object deformers and Mograph effectors, and works with the new dynamics system in R12 or later. For users of R11.5, it contains its own basic collision system for handling collisions with scene objects. Splines generated by the Trail object can be rendered with the Hair renderer. X-Particles can also emit Thinking Particles and particles can then be rendered with Pyrocluster or with the C4D Hair renderer.

Availability

X-Particles will be on sale via the dedicated web site (www.x-particle.com) from Tuesday, February 21st. It is available for Cinema 4D versions R11.5, R12, and R13.

Demo version

A 14-day unrestricted demo can be downloaded from the X-Particles web site (http://www.x-particle.com/?page_id=179)

Cost

The plugin will be available at the introductory price €99 until the end of March 2012, when it will revert to the standard price of €149.

About the creators

X-Particles is produced by Steve Pedler and Mike Batchelor.

Steve is a freelance software developer specialising in plugin development for Cinema 4D. Since 2008 he has written 8 plugins for Cinema 4D, both commercial and freeware. His personal web site is at www.microbion.co.uk.

Mike is Mograph artist woth 13 years exeriance working from shepperton studios in the UK.

His personal web site http://www.slouchcorp.com

Contact

Steve and Mike can be contacted via the dedicated web site (www.x-particle.com) or by email to info@x-particle.com. ]]> http://c4dlist.com/2012/02/x_particles-released/feed/ 0 http://c4dlist.com/2012/02/realflow-renderkit-now-available-for-cinema-4d/ http://c4dlist.com/2012/02/realflow-renderkit-now-available-for-cinema-4d/#comments Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:55:18 +0000 c4dlist http://c4dlist.com/?p=1059 This month we are delighted to announce the release of the latest patch for the current version of the RealFlow RenderKit: Version 2.5, which will be released at the end of the month and will be available for FREE for all RealFlow RenderKit license holders.

What IS the RealFlow RenderKit?

The RealFlow RenderKit (RFRK) is an invaluable toolkit which makes rendering RealFlow scenes faster and easier by

Generating procedural geometry at rendertime*
Reducing storage and handling memory in an efficient way
Bypassing 3D platform restrictions for faster, easier rendering

So what’s new in version 2.5?

RFRK plugin for Cinema4D:
Cinema4D users will now be able to enjoy RFRK as part of their RF workflow/pipeline

Enhancements to the viewport:
This allows users to use the RenderKit with any renderer

RFRK Mesher visualization in the 3d viewport for Maya, 3DSMax, Houdini and Cinema4D:
Users can now fine-tune their meshes with a visual clue in the viewport, without having to hit render to see the final result

New method to compute mesh normals to reduce flickering issues:
Smoother results for slow and viscous fluids

Support for RenderMan volumetric primitives and RMS3.0 particler + BlobbyVolume rendertype primitive:
The original implementation of RFRK Cloud in RMS has been replaced using RenderMan volumetric primitives, which include motion blur!

RFRK Cloud in Mental Ray now with 3D Texture coordinates:
Users can now add an extra level of detail to the RFRK Cloud in Mental Ray

Ability to set environment variables in the sequence paths:
Moving RFRK files around in different OS systems is now easier than ever!

Great! So how do I get it?

If you already have a RenderKit, you will be able to download this latest patch directly from your customer gateway.

If you do not have a RenderKit license, remember it is available for FREE with every standard license purchase** and it is available to buy from just $200/€140.

You can purchase a RenderKit directly from us or via one of our approved resellers.

* NB C4D does not use procedurals

** Upgrades and rentals are not included

LINK

LINK

Crowds is a plugin written to implement crowds simulations inside Cinema 4D. This program is still a beta version with no user manual, however, inside the available files you will find some simple examples. This plugin is FREE and will be compatible with all versions of Cinema 4D from 12 and up (Win & Mac).

LINK

White lights is a 2.5D volumetric post effect plugin for rendering splines, points,edges and partcles as solid light.
• Cinema 4D R12 or greater (all versions)
• For WIN PC & MAC OSX MAC
• 32 and 64 bit versions included.
• Works with NET render.
• Online Examples
• Online Help
• Free limited support.

new in Version 2.11

• Faster Noises
• new controls to increase performance
• Works better with AE
• Improved IRR preview
• Thinking Particles support
• Intensity shading
• New GUI layout

LINK

LINK

Magic Paint is a new free plugin. It utilizes code coming with the C.O.F.F.E.E. SDK, which I expanded on. You can make cool 3D paint animations, snap and pick colors. Python is used for this, so you need to install the free py4d plugin to use it.

LINK

Cinema 4D Tutorial 03 – Collision Deformer and Dynamics from Michael Auerswald on Vimeo.

This tutorial from 908 Lab. LINK

X-Particles is a new particle system for Maxon’s Cinema 4D. This system:

· is more powerful than C4D’s basic particle emitter in terms of options and control

· contains its own inbuilt control system that does not use Xpresso but utilises a system of question, controller, and action objects which are used in the object manager in the same way as other objects

· contains an inbuilt sprite generator

· is compatible with the standard C4D particle modifiers and (when generating sprites or other geometry) with the C4D object deformers and Mograph effectors

· contains inbuilt functions such as flocking, target following, and particle tracing

· is compatible with C4D’s dynamics system in C4D R12 and above