Meshes - Particle Mesh Legacy (PML)

This is the traditional mesh type from previous RealFlow versions and we kept it for legacy reasons, not really as an alternative to our modern engines. Nevertheless it has some nice features making it interesting for some applications. Like the other particle mesh engine, this type is also subdivided into two parts for mesh polygon settings and particle-based adjustments for the attached emitters. One of the main differences is that this mesh engine is single-threaded.

The legacy mesh’s core function is based on a powerful metaball algorithm to create the organic look of fluids. Metaballs can influence each other, or in other words: the individual spheres around the particles attract each other and make connections. With growing influence the mesh becomes thicker and smoother. Many 3D programs offer metaball functions, but RealFlow’s engine is highly optimized and provides a couple of special features for fluid generation. Even UV coordinates are supported. The legacy mesh type offers more modes: Polygons and cloned objects. Polygons can be used for shattering effects, while cloned objects are good for grainy substances.