RealFlow's “Connectivity Plugins for Cinema 4D” contain a set of tools to establish a bridge between both programs. The data, written by RealFlow, cannot be loaded and processed in Cinema 4D by default. Cinema 4D's object geometry, UV coordinates, and particles, on the other hand, cannot be used in RealFlow without a common platform. In contrast to the RealFlow RenderKit (RFRK), the plugins support all of RealFlow's data: geometry, particles, meshes, and RealWave surfaces. The RFRK's main purpose is different, and therefore the workflow of both tools is different as well. Here is a short compilation showing the main aspects of the connectivity plugins and the RenderKit:
The Channel Concept
One of the most important concepts with particles and meshes are channels. A channel can be seen as a placeholder for storing specific physical data or properties, e.g. velocities, temperature, pressure, vorticity, or other data. The Cinema 4D plugins can read this information and provide it via vertex maps, special shaders, or XPresso nodes. From there, the channels can be connected with Cinema 4D materials to drive transparency, or other attributes.
With particles these channels are stored automatically, and you do not have to worry about export resources. Anyway, there is a difference between standard and Hybrido particles: standard particles store far more channels.
| Channel | BIN & PXY (SPH) | RPC & PXY (HySPH) | RPC & PXY (Hybrido) | BIN (Particle Meshes) | BIN (Hybrido Meshes) | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Vector 3D | |||||
| Velocity | Vector 3D | |||||
| Texture | Vector 3D | |||||
| Vorticity | Vector 3D | |||||
Normal | Vector 3D | |||||
| Id | Integer | |||||
| Radius | Real | |||||
| Emitter Id | Integer | |||||
| Force | Vector 3D | |||||
| Neighbors | Integer | |||||
| Mask | Integer | |||||
| Age | Real | |||||
| Isolation | Real | |||||
| Density | Real | |||||
| Pressure | Real | |||||
| Mass | Real | |||||
| Temperature | Real | |||||
| Viscosity | Real | |||||
| UV | Vector 3D | |||||
| Curvature | Real | |||||
| Splashity | Real | |||||
| Weight | Real |
Meshes, on the other hand, extract their channel data from the particles, and here you can decide which attributes you want to a) include with mesh and b) finally export. This process requires a certain workflow. For more information, please read the "How to...Work with Channels in RealFlow?" and "How to... Export Meshes Correctly?" chapters..
When you work with channels you have to differentiate between vectors, reals, and integers. A RealFlow vector consists of three elements for the X, Y, and Z direction. A real number (also known as floating number) is a decimal fraction, e.g. 3.14, 745.6756, or 6.9999. Integers are numbers without decimals like 7, 433, and 264533.
These different data types are the reason why some channels have three vertex maps, while others provide just a single tag. From vectors it is also possible to calculate the so-called magnitude. If you imagine a vector as an arrow (which is the actual mathematical representation) then the arrow's spatial direction is defined through the XYZ coordinates. The arrow's length is the vector's magnitude and this value is a real number.
Some channels can also be made visible in RealFlow. Go to an emitter's “Display” channel and choose from the “Property” menu which attribute you want to see. With the colours under “Min/Max range color” it is possible to alter the fluid's character. If the colours lack contrast set “Automatic range” to “No” and play with the “Min/Max range” parameters to enhance contrast.