trueParticles Metaball Fountain?

[Finis]

I want to make a fountain using trueParticles in TS 7.6 model side. The water particles should shoot up, fall due to gravity, and collect in a pool. Maybe run over in a succession of pools.

So far I can get trueParticles to shoot particles and have them fall with TP's gravity turned on. But, they don't interact with the pool object. With TP's physics turned on nothing seems to happen. The particles just go up forever and don't do physics with anything including each other. TS's physics gravity does not effect them even with TP's physics turned on.

Things I can't do:
- Turn on TP physics and gravity at the same time.
- Get TS or TP physics to effect particles.
- Select a metaball object as the particle. (Can use TP meta particle.)

Does anyone know how to do this? Also, where is documentation for TP? Where's my printed TS 7.6 manual ... maybe it is in there.

[Finis]

There is a section in the printed TS 7.6 manual for trueParticles.

To get physics to work you have to set up the particles and then run the physics simulation. (Duh. Slaps forehead.) Then you play the animation to see the particles. That doesn't work with meta-particles and you can't pick a metaball object as the particle. So no pooling fountain with trueParticles.

The meta-particles did look promising for fire but textures didn't work except with a picked object.

[Engelskrieger79]

But when I remeber correclty, you can setup the scene with other Particles and afterwards use Coolpowers (2? 3?) to change the Particle Objects against metaballs. Works quite well.

r:

[Finis]

That's a good idea Engelskrieger79. I thought about using global replace (a model side tool) but there aren't any normal particle objects and I haven't found a way to convert the trueParticles to normal objects. But, if a Cool Powers plugin can do that then good. I think Cool Powers has a particle plugin. Maybe that can do it.

I could probably do it just with TS physics. Regular metaballs work with physics. But that would be tedious and the physics system is slow doesn't work well anyway.

I'm just playing with the fountain idea though so I might just wait until I can learn other software like Blender. TS is on "do not resuscitate" status for me: Use where, and while, it works but it is time to learn non-TS software with a future that advances with new abilities.

[bitkar]

what about using tS-Blender fluid package? that should do the job.

[Finis]

Thanks Bitkar. I will try Blender's particles/fluids when I have time to learn Blender. If the "tS" in "tS-Blender" means trueSpace then no. TS is to be retired as I learn other programs. I've seen some impressive things done with Blender's (or its plugins) fluids/particles.

The fountain was just to pass some time anyway. It will be a good project for learning Blender or whatever particles/fluids.

[bitkar]

i will open this with the mentioned question above:
is there a digital manual/documentation for trueParticles?

[clintonman]

i will open this with the mentioned question above:
is there a digital manual/documentation for trueParticles?

The unofficial updates has documentation for trueParticles in the tS76_MS_Animation.pdf file.
The trueSpace76_MS_Edition_V2 has a ch29_trueParticles.PDF file.

There was a thread with missing manual information
viewtopic.php?t=326

The first posts mentions the modelspace animation chapter, but it looks like the attachments were lost.

Just checked my website and this link may have it

http://clintons3d.com/plugins/downloads ... apters.zip

[bitkar]

you are a legend! thanks mate!
i have a little problem there with TP --- helper: path.... I cannot choose a spline as path, only an object (usual polyhedron). Is that normal? in the manual, they say to pich a spline/path. But it does not see a path to pick, only objects. It kinda works tho...