Objects - RealWave

This panel is only visible with a RealWave object existing in your scene.

The RealWave window contains all relevant parameters for the interaction with wave surfaces. Objects can create waves during interaction and influence the surface and you can, for example, define height and velocity of these waves. They can also be made to float or sink – objects are even coupled to wave surfaces once they are below the RealWave mesh. To make objects interact with RealWaves, the appropriate dynamics feature must be enabled (otherwise they behave just like static obstacles):

Node Params > Node > Dynamics > [ object dynamics method ]

Under RealWave’s menu entries you can also find two particle emitters for object and crest splashes. These emitters generate standard fluid particles and their settings are located under the "Particle Fluid Interaction" panel. From the RealWave node’s own parameter set it is also possible to activate the creation of foam-maps, but the object’s panel holds a special parameter to control its influence on foam-maps. RealWaves are – like rigid bodies, soft bodies or particles – a very complex field and thus explained separately in detail. Nevertheless, the settings from RealWaves and objects are coupled in many respects.

When you work with RealWave and objects you will recognize that both node types intersect each other: the floating object does not cut a hole into the wave surface. This is not a malfunction, but RealWave’s normal behaviour. The reason is that the propagation of the waves, introduced through the object's motion and the wave modifier(s), cannot be calculated correctly if the surface is not completely closed. It is also a very difficult task to update the mesh dynamically by adding and closing the holes which are created by the intersecting objects. For a single object this task could be solved, but imagine dozens of floating, sinking and emerging objects. Such a scenario produces a totally torn RealWave surface without the possibility of correcting the motion of both the waves and the interacting objects.

Body type

You can choose between “Closed” (default) and open. Closed types are actually all 3D objects, such as boats, spheres or characters. Open types are thin 2-dimensional items, for example tree leaves or sheets of paper.

Strength V/H

Here you control the displacement of the waves caused by the interacting object in vertical and horizontal direction. It is a very sensitive value and should be adjusted in small steps.

Interaction Wave

By default, an object is always connected to RealWave’s “Object interaction global” settings modifier, keeping the basic interaction settings, such as “Max height” or “Wave speed”. If there are further “Object interaction modifiers” attached, you can select one of them for individual adjustments.

Water friction

Like any other “object” in real world, even water has a certain amount of friction, but it is different from friction that can be observed between solids. Between solids, friction can be big when they are not sliding and drop somewhat when they start to slide. In a liquid, the faster something moves through the fluid, the more friction there is.

Perturbation res

Each object can create waves when interacting with a RealWave surface. Mostly the amount of details and waves is controlled via “Strength V/H” and “Max height”. In some cases the amount of waves might still not be enough, even though the appropriate settings are already rather high.

@ Perturbation no

This value cannot be edited and is calculated automatically by RealFlow, depending on the “Perturbation res” settings. Higher values may slow down the simulation.

Static points

“Static points” are displayed as red vertices and indicate zones without any motion. This parameter provides three different modes: “No”, “Inward” and “Outward”. “No” does not use any static points with this object. “Inward” is mostly used for obstacles like rocks. All objects meant to reflect waves should have set “Static points” set to “Inward”. With “Outward” the static points are created around the object. This could be useful for simulating a custom non-rectangular water surface, for example a pond or a puddle. 

“Static points” are directly connected to some of the RealWave node’s properties: “Autogen static" constantly updates the static points, which is useful for moving objects. “Damping factor” must be set to values greater than 0.0 if you want the waves become reflected from the static points.

Coast distance

This setting creates a circle shaped area with a gradient around the object. The gradient acts similar to a shore, where the water becomes more and more shallow with decreasing distance. Waves can refract within these zones and generate realistic surface structures. “Coast distance” can only be seen with activated flat shaded mode. This value is given in metres [m].

Texture strength

Objects can also contribute to foam-maps. To activate this feature, the RealWave mesh’s “Calculate texture” option must be set to “Yes” and “Texture strength” to a value greater than 0.0.

Balanced mass

By pressing this button, RealFlow automatically adjusts the correct mass of an object to make it swim or float. In this case you do not have to deal with mass, volume and density.