After Burn 3dmax

Table Of Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1
License Agreement............................................................................................................... 1
Support and Contact Information ....................................................................................... 4
Stay in Contact .................................................................................................................... 4
Technical Support Information .............................................................................................. 5
Welcome ............................................................................................................................. 7
AfterBurn 3.2 Overview ........................................................................................................ 9
What's New in AfterBurn 3.2 ............................................................................................... 15
What's New in AfterBurn 3.1 ............................................................................................... 18
Reference Guide ................................................................................................................ 22
AfterBurn Atmospherics................................................................................................... 22
AfterBurn Renderer ............................................................................................................ 22
AfterBurn Atmospheric ................................................................................................. 23
AfterBurn Manager rollout................................................................................................... 23
Procedure ...................................................................................................................... 27
AfterBurn Manager rollout................................................................................................... 32
Procedure ...................................................................................................................... 36
Illumination/Shading Parameters rollout............................................................................... 41
Color Parameters rollout ..................................................................................................... 48
Particle Shape/Animation Parameters rollout......................................................................... 50
Noise Shape Parameters rollout........................................................................................... 55
Noise Animation Parameters rollout ..................................................................................... 60
AfterBurn Combustion Atmospheric ............................................................................... 62
AfterBurn Combustion Parameters rollout ............................................................................. 62
AfterBurn Combustion Parameters rollout ............................................................................. 70
AfterBurn Volume Fog Atmospheric ............................................................................... 78
AfterBurn Volume Fog Parameters rollout............................................................................. 78
AfterBurn Volume Fog Parameters rollout............................................................................. 82
AfterBurn Fog Atmospheric........................................................................................... 86
AfterBurn Fog Parameters rollout......................................................................................... 86
AfterBurn Fog Parameters rollout......................................................................................... 90
AfterBurn Video Post Effects ............................................................................................ 94
AfterBurn Glow Render Effect.............................................................................................. 94
AfterBurn Glow Render Effect.............................................................................................. 97
AfterBurn Daemons........................................................................................................100
AfterBurn Wind Daemon ....................................................................................................100
AfterBurn Swirl Daemon ....................................................................................................102
AfterBurn Void Daemon .....................................................................................................104
AfterBurn Explode Daemon ................................................................................................107
AfterBurn VMap Daemon ...................................................................................................112
AfterBurn Daemon Link Map Type ......................................................................................113
AfterBurn Particle Flow Operator ........................................................................................114
AfterBurn Shadow Generators ............................................................................................120
Sticky Particles..................................................................................................................121
Animation Flow Curves ......................................................................................................124
Keyboard Shortcuts when over a curve point:...................................................................125
Interpolation Controllers ....................................................................................................126
Particle Age (PA)............................................................................................................126
Particle Velocity (PV)......................................................................................................126
Emitter Distance (ED).....................................................................................................126
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Table Of Contents
Object Distance (OD) .....................................................................................................127

Expression (XE) .............................................................................................................127
Gradient Controls ..............................................................................................................128
Gradient Usage..............................................................................................................129
RapidRay..........................................................................................................................130
MAXScript Controls............................................................................................................131
Tutorials...........................................................................................................................132
Tutorial 1: Octane Shader ..................................................................................................132
Tutorial 2: Colors and Noise ...............................................................................................137
Tutorial 3: Raymarcher & The Explode Daemon...................................................................142
Tutorial 4: Cloud Modeling .................................................................................................149
Tutorial 5: AfterBurn Daemon Link Map ..............................................................................154
Tutorial 6: AfterBurn HyperSolids (1) ..................................................................................156
Tutorial 7: AfterBurn HyperSolids (2) ..................................................................................160
Tutorial 8: AfterBurn Glow .................................................................................................164
Tutorial 9: Tendrils ..................................................................................................167
Tutorial 10: Cigarette Smoke..............................................................................................175
Index ...............................................................................................................................183
iii
Introduction
License Agreement
Sitni Sati d.o.o End User License Agreement (EULA) for AfterBurn 3
IMPORTANT -- READ CAREFULLY:

This Sitni Sati d.o.o End User License Agreement ("License Agreement") is a legal agreement
between you (either an individual or an entity) and Sitni Sati d.o.o, a company under Croatian
law with residence in Zagreb, Croatia. By clicking on the "Accept" button, installing, copying or
otherwise using AfterBurn 3, you agree to be bound by the terms of this License Agreement. If
you do not agree to the terms of this License Agreement, click on the "Cancel" button and/or do
not install AfterBurn 3.
*******************************************************************************
NOTE, THIS PRODUCT MUST BE REGISTERED WITHIN 30 DAYS BEFORE YOU
CAN CONTINUE USING THE SOFTWARE FOR AN UNLIMITED TIME
*******************************************************************
************
1. General
This is a license agreement and NOT an agreement for sale. Under this contract Sitni Sati d.o.o
grants to you a non-exclusive license to use AfterBurn 3, which is software and documentation.
AfterBurn 3 itself as well as the copy of AfterBurn 3 or any other copy you are authorized to
make under this contract remain the property of Sitni Sati d.o.o at all times.
2. Use of AfterBurn 3
(1) Sitni Sati d.o.o grants you a nonexclusive, nontransferable license to use AfterBurn 3 and its
manual and other accompanying printed material and “online” or electronic documentation with
equipment owned by you or under your control, according to the terms and conditions of this
Agreement. This Agreement permits a single user to install and use AfterBurn 3 on only one
computer at one location at any one time.
(2) If AfterBurn 3 is identified as a demonstration, evaluation, or NFR version, you may use it
only for the purpose of commercial evaluation and demonstration. Such licenses are generated
for a specific fixed time period. After a NFR license has been expired, all related documentation
and data must be destroyed or sent back to Sitni Sati d.o.o or the reseller who handled the NFR
version. You may not use it for commercial, professional, or for-profit purposes.
3. Multiple use and network operation

If this Software is a Network Version, you may use it only over an internal local area network
environment with a Floating License Tool, and you may install and operate AfterBurn 3 on a
single server computer in a single location which may be accessed by other computers, or on an
individual computer, as a multiple-user installation with either:
(1) The maximum number of concurrent users being one (1), so that multiple individuals may
access or use AfterBurn 3, but that only one person at a time may do so, or
(2) The maximum number of concurrent users being more than one (1), in which case you must
purchase single seat licenses for each additional concurrent user.
1
AfterBurn 3.2 Reference Guide
The use of software or any device that reduces the number of computers/devices which access
AfterBurn 3's licensing tool when used in a Server configuration may interfere or damage the
licensing tool or prevent AfterBurn 3 from running properly. In no case will such a device
"reduce" or prevent you from buying the number of single seat licenses required.
4. Transfer
(1) You may not rent, lease, sublicense or lend AfterBurn 3 or documentation. You may,
however, transfer all your rights to use AfterBurn 3 to another person or legal entity provided
that you transfer this agreement, AfterBurn 3, including all copies, updates or prior versions. You
must inform Sitni Sati d.o.o in writing about a license transfer and the new user has to sign and
accept this license agreement.
(2) In case of such a transfer the license of the former user expires and all remaining data
covered by this license must be deleted/destroyed
5. You May Not:

(1) Copy or use AfterBurn 3 or Documentation except as permitted by this Agreement.
(2) Reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble AfterBurn 3 except to the extent permitted by
law where this is indispensable to obtain the information necessary to achieve interoperability of
an independently created program with AfterBurn 3 or with another program and such
information is not readily available from Sitni Sati d.o.o or elsewhere.
(3) Install or use AfterBurn 3 on the Internet or over a wide area network, including, without
limitation, use in connection with a Web based render farm or similar service.
(4) Remove, alter, or obscure any proprietary notices, labels, or marks from AfterBurn 3 or
documentation.
(5) Utilize any equipment, device, software, or other means designed to circumvent or remove
any form of copy protection used by Sitni Sati d.o.o in connection with AfterBurn 3, or use
AfterBurn 3 together with any authorization code, serial number, or other copy protection device
not supplied by Sitni Sati d.o.o directly or through an authorized reseller.
6. Limited warranty
(1) SPECIAL EFFECTS AND RENDERING PLUG-INS ARE TOOLS INTENDED TO BE USED BY
TRAINED PROFESSIONALS ONLY. SITNI SATI D.O.O WARRANTS THAT AFTERBURN 3 WILL PERFORM
IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE DOCUMENTATION. SITNI SATI D.O.O CAN NOT WARRANT THAT
AFTERBURN 3 WILL WORK TOGETHER WITH OTHER SOFTWARE AND PLUG-INS FROM OTHER 3RD
PARTY DEVELOPERS, BECAUSE OF THE COMPLEXITY OF SUCH INTERACTIONS BETWEEN
DIFFERENT OPERATING SYSTEMS OR SOFTWARE PACKAGES. THE USER MAY HOWEVER
IMMEDIATELY REPORT SUCH INCOMPATIBILITIES FOR FURTHER INSPECTION BY SITNI SATI
D.O.O SUCH A REPORT HAS TO BE DONE IN WRITING.
7. Warranty Disclaimer
THE INFORMATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. SITNI SATI D.O.O
DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES
OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL SITNI
SATI D.O.O, ITS SUPPLIERS, TURBO SQUID, INC., OR AUTODESK MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT, A
DIVISION OF AUTODESK BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT,
INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES,
EVEN IF SITNI SATI D.O.O OR ITS SUPPLIERS, TURBO SQUID, INC., OR AUTODESK MEDIA &
ENTERTAINMENT, A DIVISION OF AUTODESK HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
2
Introduction
SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT
APPLY.
8. Confidentially
All Licensing information, including license files, descriptions of code activation and written
instructions of any kind created by Sitni Sati d.o.o are only intended for the licensed user of
AfterBurn 3 and no one else. Such information may not be spread or distributed in any form to
other users.
9. Registration Data
For the purpose of customer registration and control of proper use of the programs Sitni Sati
d.o.o will store personal data of the users in accordance with the Croatian law on Personal
Privacy and Data Protection. This data may only be used for the above-mentioned purposes and
will not be accessible to third parties.
10. Other
If any provision of this Agreement is found to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable, the further
conditions of this Agreement will remain fully effective and the parties will be bound by
obligations which approximate, as closely as possible, the effect of the provision found invalid or
unenforceable, without being themselves invalid or unenforceable.
BY INSTALLING AND AUTHORIZING THIS SOFTWARE, YOU HEREBY

AGREE TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS PRESENTED ABOVE.
3ds Max is a registered trademark of Autodesk Media & Entertainment, a division of Autodesk
Inc.
3
Support and Contact Information

Stay in Contact
AfterBurn 3 is under constant development and we need your help to improve it. If you think of
features you'd like to see within AfterBurn 3, please let us know. We'd love to hear from you and
we will always answer your emails. It doesn't matter if you just want to write in to give us your
opinion. Tell us what you think and what you would like to see in upcoming releases.
The easiest way to contact us is by email.
Our contact information is as follows:
Sitni Sati d.o.o.

Zapoljska 6, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Ph: +385 (0)1 23 33 342
Fx: +385 (0)1 23 05 453
http://www.afterworks.com
Email: info@afterworks.com
NOTE: If you are looking for technical support for AfterBurn 3, then please go HERE.
Copyright Notice
The copyright of AfterBurn 3 and the manual is owned by Sitni Sati d.o.o. Reproduction of the
software or associated digital information of this manual is forbidden, unless confirmed and
signed in writing by Sitni Sati d.o.o. All Rights are Reserved. AfterBurn, DreamScape, Enlight and
ScatterVL Pro are trademarks of Sitni Sati d.o.o.
AfterBurn © Sitni Sati d.o.o 2000-2005
This software is designed to work as a plug-in only for 3ds Max.
4
Introduction
Technical Support Information

General Technical Support
Turbo Squid, Inc. is pleased to have been chosen as Autodesk Media & Entertainment's partner
for the Autodesk Certified Animation Plug-in Program, and as part of our commitment to the 3ds
Max users and our development partners, we are proud to announce that we are offering free
email-based technical support for all Autodesk Certified Animation Plug-in tools. The most
important goal behind our technical support endeavors is to ensure that you have a good
experience with your software, and in those cases where there are problems, that you have a
good experience with Turbo Squid in getting your issues resolved quickly.
If you are having any difficulties with your Autodesk Certified Animation Plug-in products, then
feel free to contact our support team at the following online site:
Online Web-based Support System: http://www.turbosquid.com/Support
From this section of our website, fill out an online Product Support Ticket, so our technical
support staff can get you an answer.
Please be sure to include as much specific information as possible when reporting errors
including the following:
• The Autodesk Certified Animation Plug-in tool that is giving you trouble along with your
product Serial Number (without your serial number, Turbo Squid will NOT be able to
assist you)
• Hardware configuration (single / dual motherboard, amount of RAM, etc.)
• Operating System (including language and Service Packs)
• Version of 3ds Max you are using
• Step-by-step description to reproduce the problem
• Other miscellaneous notes, plug-ins present and observations
• A *.max file that shows the problem
• A daytime phone and return email address (if different from the one sent in on)
When sending files for diagnosis, please be sure to compress them with a Windows utility like
WinZip or WinAce. This will make transfer a much faster, and simpler process.
Online Forums
You are also encouraged to visit the Autodesk Certified Animation Plug-in Technical Support
forums to get answers from fellow users and from the developers directly. This online community
has been set up specifically to make sure that you get the help you need, when you need it. It
can be found at the following URL: http://support.discreet.com. Click on Autodesk
Certified Plug-ins, and there will be a forum for AfterBurn 3.2.
FAQs
Within the Turbo Squid website are FAQs for all of the Autodesk Certified Animation Plug-ins,
including AfterBurn 3.2. Check here for answers to common questions. As problems are reported
and solved, answers to these issues will also be added to this FAQ area, so check back often.
Installation & Authorization Support
5
If you’re having difficulty installing or authorizing your new Autodesk Certified Animation Plug-in
software, then you may also choose to call our technical support staff directly so that we can get
you up and running quickly. If you decide to call, be sure that you have your Product Serial
Number available. If you do not have it, our staff won't be able to assist you.
Phone: (504) 525-0990
Please understand this phone line is for Installation support only, and all other technical and
usage support questions will be referred to email or to our support forums for assistance.
Other Options
Sitni Sati will continue to enhance AfterBurn 3 as part of the Autodesk Certified Animation Plug-in
program. When there are new releases or updates to AfterBurn 3, you will be informed by your
authorized reseller and through direct contact from Sitni Sati, Autodesk Media & Entertainment
and Turbo Squid. To best keep you informed about new releases and free updates you must be
a registered user.
6
Introduction
Welcome
Obsession - image courtesy of Essen Syed © 2003
Thank you for purchasing AfterBurn 3 for 3ds Max®. AfterBurn is an advanced volumetric
particle effects engine plug-in that works exclusively with Autodesk Media & Entertainment's 3ds
Max program, and gives you the ability to create realistic smoke, clouds, explosions and other
organic fiery and gaseous effects. We hope that you will find that AfterBurn 3 allows you to
create the incredible effects you are looking for. Our philosophy is to integrate powerful software
design and ease-of-use into our plug-ins so that as an artist, you can be productive instead of
having to fight with the tools. If you find we need to improve in some areas of AfterBurn 3,
please let us know.
AfterBurn is designed to work in concert with the integrated 3ds Max particle systems to
augment their effects, and, in many cases, to create visual effects that you could not achieve
easily using the 3ds Max program’s native tools. AfterBurn makes it possible for you to create
convincing exhaust trails from rockets and missiles, fiery explosions that rival the real thing,
swirling tornados that can rip buildings to shreds, gooey lava flows and much more. Just think of
this tool as your organic effects generator within the 3ds Max environment.
AfterBurn is an incredibly powerful plug-in, used currently by major film effects companies,
computer game developers, and “boutique” video production houses to create amazing visual
7
results. We are glad you've invested in this powerful application to enhance your work, and we
hope you’re eager to get started.
AfterBurn is a complex system, and may appear confusing at first. However, if you follow the
tutorials and watch the training videos, the ideas behind AfterBurn's design should become clear
to you. Follow the instructions in this manual and try to work through it in easy stages, don't
make the mistake of trying to learn everything at once. Practice with AfterBurn will help you get
comfortable quickly.
Where to find AfterBurn

AfterBurn is a very complex piece of software, and as such, it has components intertwined with
many aspects of the 3ds Max application. In an effort to help you get up to speed quickly with
the software, provided below are a number of quick links for you to use to get to the specific
area of the help that you need.
AfterBurn 3.2 Overview

AfterBurn Renderer
AfterBurn
Gradient Controls
Animation Flow Curves (AFCs) & Interpolation Controllers
AfterBurn Shadow Generators
AfterBurn Combustion
AfterBurn Volume Fog
AfterBurn Fog
AfterBurn Glow
AfterBurn Daemons
Tutorials
8
Introduction
AfterBurn 3.2 Overview
Image courtesy of Allan McKay
AfterBurn is an advanced volumetric particle effects engine plug-in that works exclusively with
Autodesk Media & Entertainment's 3ds Max program, and gives you the ability to create realistic
smoke, clouds, explosions and other organic fiery and gaseous effects. AfterBurn is designed to
work in concert with the integrated 3ds Max particle systems to augment their effects, and, in
many cases, to create visual effects that you could not achieve easily using the 3ds Max
program’s native tools. AfterBurn makes it possible for you to create convincing exhaust trails
from rockets and missiles, fiery explosions that rival the real thing, swirling tornados that can rip
buildings to shreds, gooey lava flows and much more. Just think of this tool as your organic
effects generator within the 3ds Max environment.
AfterBurn is an incredibly powerful plug-in, used currently by major film effects companies,
computer game developers, and “boutique” video production houses to create amazing visual
results. We are glad you've invested in this powerful application to enhance your work, and we
hope you’re eager to get started.
But before you dive into the tutorials, we strongly recommend that you read this section first, to
understand exactly the way AfterBurn works. It will give you a better understanding of the way
you set up an AfterBurn effect, the way it behaves, and what sort of advanced controls you will
have at your disposal.
As an effects artist and creator, you can use this knowledge to consider how AfterBurn will affect
and interact with your scenes, and how you need to prepare your 3ds Max particle systems to
take best advantage of this astonishing plug-in. Now, let’s get started.
Understanding how AfterBurn works

Particle System Information
AfterBurn Environment
9
AfterBurn Daemons
Understanding how AfterBurn works

As mentioned earlier, AfterBurn is an advanced particle effects engine. To work with it, you need
to have a particle system already present in your scene. If you are new to particle systems, you
may first want to go through the tutorials provided with 3ds Max, covering these object types.
Since you won't create any new particle systems within the AfterBurn tutorials, once you get
familiar with the native 3ds Max particle tools and the forces that act upon them, you can then
make adjustments to the AfterBurn tutorial files and fine-tune the effects that AfterBurn
produces.
To start, what is a particle effect in 3ds Max? In general terms, a particle effect takes the
appearance of particles within a specific particle system and transforms them to look like
something entirely different. When you add an AfterBurn effect to your particles, the AfterBurn
engine will create a volumetric “puff” surrounding each individual particle within a chosen particle
system. (Think of it as a sort of a spherical cloud.)
In the example below, you can see a single particle represented on the far left. In the center, is
the representation of the AfterBurn volumetric puff as defined by the user. Finally, on the right is
the volumetric effect created when rendered.
When these “puffs” overlap, they tend to blend together, creating the illusion of one larger,
organic entity, like the dust storm below.
10
Introduction
Of course, the appearance of these puffs, their coloration and noise parameters, as well as the
degree of their blending together will be entirely up to you, and that’s half the fun while working
with AfterBurn! There are plenty of options, so you can tweak your effects to get very specific
results.
Additionally, you don't have to worry about rendering test frames endlessly to see how your
AfterBurn effects will look, since the plug-in comes with a sophisticated preview engine, taking
the guesswork out of your setup.
In the following sections we'll cover the basics of AfterBurn operation, along with the locations of
AfterBurn’s major plug-in components.
Particle System Information

Before creating an AfterBurn effect, you need to build a particle system within 3ds Max. By
default, AfterBurn supports all of the built-in particle systems that come with 3ds Max, as well
as many other third-party particle plug-ins.
Many of these particle systems give you the ability to set the life span of the particles over time.
This way, the particles are born at a specific point, live for a given period of time and then die.
AfterBurn can take advantage of these particle settings and apply them automatically to the
volumetric puffs that it creates.
For example, if you have a Super Spray particle system set up so the particles are born on frame
10 and live for 30 frames, AfterBurn will recognize this and automatically adjust it's settings to
match for the puffs it creates. The result is that your particles and their corresponding AfterBurn
effects are always in sync. By default, AfterBurn is aware of the built-in particle systems, and you
11
won't have to manually set any lifespan parameters. Be aware that certain commercial and
freeware particle system plug-ins may require you to set the lifespan for the AfterBurn volumetric
effects manually. Once your particle system is set up, you then need to apply AfterBurn to it.
When it comes to particle systems, you should spend some time learning how they work, how
you can control them, and what they are capable of on their own. This is important as much of
AfterBurn is reliant upon how these particle systems move around your scenes. There are a
number of tutorials that come with the 3ds Max software. You can also go onto the Internet as
there is quite a bit of information as well as countless tutorials covering how to work and master
the particle systems.
AfterBurn Environment
AfterBurn contains a set of 3ds Max environmental effects that resides within the Rendering-
>Environment dialog. This is the core of the AfterBurn plug-in, and the place where you will
spend most of your time creating and fine-tuning your effects.
Please note that since much of AfterBurn is set up as Environmental effects, these effects does
not create any actual geometry in your scenes.
In addition, you are not limited to a single AfterBurn effect in your scene. You can either add one
AfterBurn entry to affect selected particle systems globally, or you can add multiple AfterBurn
entries for different particle systems. For example, in case of a tornado scene, you may have one
AfterBurn entry for the swirling clouds above the funnel, another one for the funnel itself, and a
third one for the ground debris.
You can activate and work on each of these effects independently, and you can copy settings
from one to another quickly and easily.
AfterBurn also comes with three different rendering technologies: the Raymarcher, the Octane
Shader and HyperSolids. Between them, you can create just about any organic particle effect you
can dream up. Raymarcher is the photorealistic engine, while the Octane Shader is AfterBurn's
ultra-fast render system for dust and more transparent effects. HyperSolids is a special engine for
creating blobby, organic forms and other procedural solid looking objects as shown below.
12
Introduction
AfterBurn Daemons
AfterBurn Daemons are helper objects that affect AfterBurn and AfterBurn Combustion in
different ways. (Think of them as “Space Warps for volumetrics.”) These daemons affect the
volumetric effects by altering the noise and shape of the puffs.
For example, the wind daemon can affect the puffs and make them appear as if they are moving
in a particular direction.
The new Explode Daemon
AfterBurn ships initially with a number of Daemons. For any AfterBurn effect to take advantage of
these daemons, they must be added to the respective plug-in slot.
13
If there is more than one Daemon applied to the same effect, you need to take care about which
one is going be applied first (the final effect can look different!) You can control this by re-
ordering Daemons in the AfterBurn or AfterBurn Combustion [Pick Sources/Daemons] Combo
Box.
14
Introduction
What's New in AfterBurn 3.2

AfterBurn 3.2 is the latest update of this award winning plug-in. Since it's first introduction back
in 1997, AfterBurn has been used in numerous movies, IMAX films, games and commercials. This
all-in-one solution enables rendering of ultra-realistic effects ranging from clouds, pyroclastic
smoke, dust, superb explosion effects, liquid metals, water and various procedurally defined solid
objects. High quality output and flexibility are hallmarks of AfterBurn that makes it a perfect
solution for any production pipeline.
For existing AfterBurn users, here is a short list of the major features and additions to this
exciting new version:
ThinkingParticles 2 Support:
AfterBurn 3.2 now supports multiple ThinkingParticles 2 particle groups within the Master
System. From the AfterBurn user interface, you can select ThinkingParticles as your source
particle, and a new Group selector dialog will appear. Whichever TP2 particle Groups you pick will
be displayed inside the Source Particles/Daemons group of controls (as shown below).
New ThinkingParticles multiple system support
To learn more about the ThinkingParticles 2 support, click HERE.
Improved Explode Daemon Calculations:
Image Courtesy of Allan McKay
AfterBurn 3.2 has re -worked the core algorithms of the Explode Daemon so that it achieves
faster results and is not as memory intensive. In terms of controls, it is identical to previous
versions, but in terms of speed, you will see a marked improvement.
15
To learn more about the Explode Daemon, click HERE.
AFCs now use full Bezier interpolation:
Full Bezier Interpolation
AfterBurn 3.2 has added full Bezier interpolation to all of its AFC control dialogs. Now users can
manipulate full Bezier curves and handles to define your curves and gives you more control over
how your flow curves appear.
Added Support for finalRender Stage-1 Global Illumination and

Caustics
As part of the interoperation between ACAP plug-ins, AfterBurn 3.2 now offers a tighter
connection to finalRender Stage-1's Global Illumination and Caustics generation. In previous
versions of AfterBurn, all GI and Caustics data would not affect the output look of the AfterBurn
volumetrics as shown in the image below.
Stage-1 Global Illumination off
Now, within AfterBurn 3.2, you can right-click on the particle system to which AfterBurn is
assigned, choose fR-Properties and from the resulting dialog turn on Calculate Self-GI and/or
16
Introduction
Generate Caustics controls. At that point, the volumetric puffs will use the Global Illumination
and Caustics data from Stage-1 to light the scene.
Stage-1 Global Illumination on
17
What's New in AfterBurn 3.1

AfterBurn 3.1 is the latest update this award winning plug-in. Since it's first introduction back in
1997, AfterBurn has been used in numerous movies, IMAX films, games and commercials. This
all-in-one solution enables rendering of ultra-realistic effects ranging from clouds, pyroclastic
smoke, dust, superb explosion effects, liquid metals, water and various procedurally defined solid
objects. High quality output and flexibility are hallmarks of AfterBurn that makes it a perfect
solution for any production pipeline.
For existing AfterBurn users, here is a short list of the major features and additions to this
exciting new version:
Animation Flow Curves

AfterBurn's AFC controls, which are used to vary parameters over a particle's lifespan, have now
been enhanced in version 3.1. Besides Smooth and Corner knot types within the AFC dialogs, you
now have the additional option of using Bezier curves and handles to define your curves and
gives you more control over how your flow curves appear.
New Bezier controls for your AFC dialogs
To learn more about the AFC controllers, go HERE.
Gradients
Gradients in AfterBurn 3.1 have also had a face-lift to give them additional refinement controls.
In addition to the standard linear interpolation between gradient flags, a new TCB (Tension,
Continuity, Bias) method has been built in, allowing you to set fewer flags and still achieve
amazing results. When you activate the new TCB controller, each gradient flag gets the TCB as
well as Ease To and Ease From control spinners for your color interpolation.
18
Introduction
To learn more about the new TCB gradient options, go HERE.
Interpolation Controllers
One of the biggest enhancements to AfterBurn 3.1 is in regards to the way the Animation Flow
Curves for all of your AfterBurn parameters are interpolated over time. In previous versions, all
AFCs were based off of the individual particle's age. Now, with AfterBurn 3.1 you now have the
ability to choose from Particle Age, Particle Velocity, Emitter Distance, Object Distance
and Expression based interpolation methods, freeing you to create astonishing animations that
would be nearly impossible to create otherwise.
To learn more about these sophisticated Interpolation controllers, go HERE.
Explode Daemon
The Explode Daemon has gotten a lot of attention between versions, and now offers a number of
new color blending options, including Add, Multiply, Replace and Intensity Blend, so that
you can create more realistic effects than ever before.
19
To see more on the Explode Daemon, go HERE.
Reflection & Refraction for HyperSolids

AfterBurn 3.1 offers users familiar with the HyperSolids rendering technology a way to create
convincing liquids, complete with Reflections of surrounding scene geometry as well as now full
Refraction, for amazing results.
For more information on the new HyperSolids controls, go HERE.
Particle Flow Integration

AfterBurn 3.1 comes with a new plug-in component designed to compliment and extend
Autodesk Media & Entertainment's powerful Particle Flow extension. It allows you to assign
different AfterBurn volumetric effects to specific portions of your particle flows. In this way, you
can mix and match AfterBurn looks without having to set up multiple particle systems in order to
user them.
For more information on the Particle Flow controls, go HERE.
Speed and Performance
20
Introduction
Finally, the AfterBurn 3.1 core engine has been further optimized and enhanced so that the entire
process of rendering, regardless of the engine is sped up by as much as 40%! You should see
quite remarkable speed gains on all of your existing AfterBurn scenes, and the most
enhancement on scenes that utilize very transparent Raymarcher effects.
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Reference Guide
AfterBurn Atmospherics
AfterBurn Renderer
When you load any AfterBurn effect into Rendering->Environment, this plug-in is added
automatically to your list. Without it, your AfterBurn effects will not render. Regardless of the
number of AfterBurn entries you have in your list, you only need to have the AfterBurn Renderer
in their once.
Click on any part of the image to go to that group of controls
The order of AfterBurn entries is not as important as it is with standard 3ds Max volumetrics.
However, it is a good idea to put effects that are closer to the Camera’s point of view above
other entries in the list to achieve faster rendering times.
Rendering group of controls

Global Step Scale - This spinner is useful in case you have many AfterBurn entries. With this
parameter, you can easily increase or decrease the rendering quality of all AfterBurn entries. A
smaller step scale provides better quality while a larger step scale provides quicker rendering
times.
Output group of controls

Clamp Output checkbox: If this option isn't checked, the default algorithm (exponential) will
be used to limit the final color value (0.0 to 1.0 range). Clamping can be used for bright output
which is more realistic in some cases.
Create Image Channels checkbox: This option allows you to control whether various image
channels will be created (such as a velocity channel, Material ID channel, etc.)
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Reference Guide
AfterBurn Atmospheric
AfterBurn Manager rollout
This rollout is one of the main panels for the AfterBurn 3 atmospheric volumetric effects. When
using AfterBurn, this rollout is where you'll pick which particle systems are to be included in the
AfterBurn effects along with several of the properties that affect the overall quality and speed of
the system. If you do not have a source particle system selected within this rollout, then no
AfterBurn volumetric effects will be generated.
Source Particles/Daemons group of controls

AfterBurn uses the 3ds Max program’s built-in particle systems, or compatible third-party
particle systems, for position and velocity information. In order to begin working with AfterBurn,
you'll need to select which particle systems you want it to create volumetric effects for.
In addition, if you want any AfterBurn Daemons to modify your final volumetric effect, then you
need to add these as well in this section. The order in which particle systems and daemons are
selected does not affect the final rendered output.
23
Pick - Lets you choose any 3ds Max standard particle system and any daemons you might
want to include. To select a particle system or a daemon, press the “H” key to bring up the Select
by Name dialog box. This allows you to choose a particle system in your scene by the emitter’s
name. You can add as many particle systems or daemons as you want.
When you pick a ThinkingParticles 2 particle system, you will get the following dialog:
Within it, you can choose any or all of the particle groups that have been created inside of
ThinkingParticles 2 that you want to have AfterBurn affect. Once selected, they will show up in
the AfterBurn atmospheric as follows:
Be aware that if you want to change the groups listed, you must double-click on the master TP2
particle system listed in the Source Particles/Daemons dialog to re-access the pop-up window.
Remove - Removes the particle system or the daemon that is currently listed in the drop-
down menu located directly on the right. The drop-down menu informs you which particle
systems and daemons are included.
Edit - This button will open the selected particle system or daemon for editing in the Modify
panel.
Source Lights group of controls

This works the same way as the Source Particles/Daemons, but lets you pick lights instead. You
need to pick lights in your scene if you want to illuminate the AfterBurn effect.
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Reference Guide
Pick - Allows you to choose the light(s) you want to include. Press the “H” key to bring up
the Select by Name dialog box, which then lets you choose lights by name. If you want your
volumetric effects to cast shadows, you need to select AfterBurn Shadows inside the light’s
rollout dialog (make sure you have the “Cast Shadows” option checked in the AfterBurn’s
Illumination/Shading Parameters rollout.)
Remove - Removes the light that is currently listed in the dropdown menu located directly
on the right. The dropdown menu informs you which lights are included.
Edit - This button will open the selected light for editing in the Modify panel.
Tools group of controls

This group of controls provides quick access to tools and dialogs for common tasks in AfterBurn.
Open - Clicking this button lets you load AfterBurn setting (.ABN) files. This file type does
not include the animation done over time in 3ds max (that is, animation of low and high value
spinners over time.) You use the .ABN files to save and retrieve parameter settings at the current
frame.
Save - Save settings (at the current frame) as an .ABN file at the specified time(s) in 3ds
max. Again, as above, only low and high numeric values at a particular frame will be saved. All
gradients and Animation Flow Curves (AFCs) are also saved in the .ABN file. (AFCs are described
in further detail later on in this document.) Most of the time in AfterBurn, you do not need to
directly animate high and low value spinners over time; the AFCs work well instead.
Reset - Clicking this button launches a dialog that asks if you want to reset the AfterBurn
parameters. Clicking Yes, resets all AfterBurn parameters, Animation Flow Curves, gradients and
spinners back to their defaults. This is a global change and is NOT undoable, so use it with care.
Help - This button opens this AfterBurn .CHM Help file directly within the 3ds max
application.
Preview - Clicking this button opens the Interactive Preview window. This Window can help
you to visualize current AfterBurn parameters and to easily understand the influence of certain
parameters.
25
You can also use it to render a single particle over its entire lifespan. If your particle effect is
particularly complex, you can render the Preview as an .AVI file, and then view it when the
rendering is finished. Or you can scrub the frame slider beneath the preview window to manually
see a particular frame within the AfterBurn lifespan.
NOTE: AfterBurn Daemons, Reflections, Refractions, and Metaballs are not represented in the
Preview window.
Show in Viewport - Enabling this button displays a colored AfterBurn wireframe or a

shaded shape in the Viewport. The shape is colored with the highest number gradient (if you've
selected two colors, the second color gradient will be used to color the shape). Shape sizing,
squashing, and auto stretching (but not the Variation parameter) are reflected in the Viewport as
shown below.
26
Reference Guide
Particles in viewport AfterBurn particles in viewport
Scale - Used for scaling the whole AfterBurn effect. You can use this option to “fit” your
existing and saved .abn file settings into a new project of a different scale. When you click this
button, the following dialog appears:
Here you can quickly set a percentage that you'd like to scale your entire AfterBurn volumetric
effect.
Procedure
To scale an AfterBurn Effect:
1. Set the desired Percentage in the spinner. Normal logic applies: a setting of 10
means 10% of the original size, etc.
2. Click on the Scale Up or Scale down button depending on your needs.
3. Press Apply.
NOTE: A good trick to help you visualize the effect of your scaling is to use this feature in
concert with the Show in Viewport option.
Preferences - Lets you set various parameters quickly.
RapidRay - AfterBurn uses RapidRay for calculating the reflection/refraction of other

objects in the scene. For more information about this feature, please go HERE.
About - The About box gives you information about AfterBurn 3 including the build number
and your hardware information.
Particles Property group of controls

Usually, AfterBurn gets the particle life information from the existing particle system in order to
apply it's volumetric effect. AfterBurn natively supports all of the built in particle systems that
come with the 3ds Max application. This means that your normally don't have to use AfterBurn’s
own Particle Life settings unless you want to achieve some sort of special look - possibly to
have the particles ignite after a specific frame, etc.
27
However, AfterBurn cannot get particle life parameters from certain third-party particle systems
and in these cases you will be required to set the particle life manually. (For more information,
please consult the developer of those systems if you are having trouble using them with
AfterBurn.)
Part. Start - By default, this spinner is disabled, however if you enable the Use button within
this group of controls, you can set the start frame where the AfterBurn volumetric effects will
begin.
Part. Life - This spinner sets the overall lifespan over the AfterBurn volumetric effect.
If you are having difficulty using a third-party particle system, try enabling the AfterBurn Use
button and set the Particle Start and Particle Life parameters manually. If the Use button is
not checked, you should nevertheless set the particle life parameters. Otherwise, all Previews will
be 100 frames long by default.
Use - Overrides the existing particle lifespan in favor of the Particle Start and Particle Life
Spinner values. Activate the checkbox only if you want to limit which particles receive the
volumetric effects.
Seed - This spinner represents a random number parameter used to change the look of the
AfterBurn Noise pattern. Clicking on the New button will cause the seed value to change.
Volume Rendering group of controls

This group of controls affects the overall quality of the AfterBurn volumetric effects and are used
to help tweak the look and speed at which AfterBurn renders its effects.
Falloff - The greater this spinner's value, the more opaque the volumetric effect will be. Lower
values are good for clouds but will increase rendering times due to a higher number of samples
that need to be calculated for each pixel of the volumetric effect. With Falloff set close to zero,
the AfterBurn effect will be rendered in a similar fashion as the 3ds Max program’s native Fire
Effect (in Rendering->Environment->Atmosphere->Effects). This is generally not desirable since
all samples along a ray in this case contribute equally to the final pixel color. This tends to lessen
the appearance of depth in the effect, making it hard to tell which areas of the “cloud” are near
or far relative to your point of view.
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Reference Guide
NOTE: You do not need to use this parameter for AfterBurn’s HyperSolids as it has no effect.
Falloff = 0.25 Falloff = 0.5 Falloff = 1.0
Step Size - This value indicates the step size of an integration path in 3ds Max world units. For
an insight on how many steps will be performed, this value can be calculated using the formula:
particle size divided by the number of steps. A lower Step Size value will produce a better-looking
image. With very high density and a big step size, rendering artifacts may be produced. To avoid
them, you should use smaller step sizes. Small step sizes are also required when rendering
HyperSolids.
Step Size = 0.125 Step Size = 3.0 Step Size = 6.0
Limit - Instructs AfterBurn when to stop ray marching along an integration path. Low values are
used for high-density volumetrics while high values are used for low density volumetrics. With a
higher limit value, rendering time will be faster. If a larger limit value (>0.1) is used on a very
dense effect, rendering artifacts may occur.
NOTE: This parameter is not used for HyperSolids.
Affect Z-Buffer - If you want an AfterBurn volumetrics to affect the Z-Buffer (which provides
depth information in the 3ds Max rendering), then this button should be enabled. If the button
is not enabled, AfterBurn's Video Post filters won't work for this AfterBurn instance. You can use
this to make an occluded AfterBurn effect glow (you should turn OFF the [Affect Z-Buffer]
parameter for the AfterBurn effect which is occluding the one you want to glow.)
Particle Quantity group of controls
29
Every Nth - The “Every Nth” parameter lets you specify which Nth particle should be rendered
with an AfterBurn effect. For example, if you have a particle system with 100 particles and you
specify that every 10th particle should have an AfterBurn effect, 10 particles will be rendered
with an AfterBurn effect (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90).
Excl. - The Exclude button computes the Nth particles in the reverse order - instead of rendering
an AfterBurn effect on the Nth particle, it's excludes every Nth particle.
Offset - The Offset spinner lets you specify the particle from which the Every Nth setting
should be applied from. Following the example above, if you have a particle system with 100
particles, and you specify an Every Nth value of 10 with an Offset of 1, it will render particles
11, 21, 31 and so on with the AfterBurn effect.
Procedure
How to make every 2nd particle colored by a different AfterBurn entry:
Let’s assume you have a particle system of 100 particles (indexed from 0 to 99), and that
you would like to apply a slightly different AfterBurn effect to every other particle, without
adding another particle system into the scene.
1. In Rendering->Environment, create one AfterBurn entry, and set Every Nth to 2,

and Offset to 0. This will result in rendering particles (0, 2, 4, 8...98.)
2. Pick your particle system, and modify the AfterBurn parameters to get the desired
effect.
3. Add another AfterBurn entry, and set Every Nth to 2, and Offset to 1. This will
result in rendering particles (1, 3, 5, 7...99.)
4. Pick the same particle system as in Step 2 above, and modify the new AfterBurn
parameters to get a different look.
Rendering Type group of controls

AfterBurn comes with three different types of rendering engines, and each one is useful for
specific cases.
Raymarcher - The Raymarcher engine is a high-quality rendering engine in AfterBurn. It is

capable of producing very crisp shadows on high-density smoke, explosions and clouds. Light
interaction algorithms provide superb lighting and shadowing. However, they have a serious
impact on the rendering speed because of complex calculations between AfterBurn and light
interaction. Therefore, use it only if you really need the photorealistic output that the Raymarcher
offers in your animation.
Octane Shader - The Octane Shader provides up to 10 times the rendering speed of the
Raymarcher, but lacks the latter’s crisp, self-shadowed volumetrics. This render engine is good
for light dust and background smoke or "atmosphere" in your scenes.
NOTE: You may experience rendering artifacts if you create extremely dense volumetrics so
watch your Falloff settings.
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Reference Guide
HyperSolids - HyperSolids is a new way of rendering volumetric effects as blobby solids. This
render engine is perfect for liquids or other organic solids like slime, jello and mud. With the
HyperSolids engine, it is possible to render a volumetric effect as a true solid object with
unlimited details but without a single polygon. Depending on the settings, you can use Noise as a
Bump map, or as a Displacement map.
Antialias - This button can be used only with HyperSolids. Ideally, you might use another 3rd-
party renderer within 3ds Max which supports anti-aliasing of volumetric effects, and render
HyperSolids with it instead. There are several good options available on the market now. If you
don't have one, the built-in anti-aliasing algorithm will do the job very well with the built-in 3ds
Max scanline renderer, but it will be slower.
31
AfterBurn Manager rollout
This rollout is one of the main panels for the AfterBurn 3 atmospheric volumetric effects. When
using AfterBurn, this rollout is where you'll pick which particle systems are to be included in the
AfterBurn effects along with several of the properties that affect the overall quality and speed of
the system. If you do not have a source particle system selected within this rollout, then no
AfterBurn volumetric effects will be generated.
Source Particles/Daemons group of controls

AfterBurn uses the 3ds Max program’s built-in particle systems, or compatible third-party
particle systems, for position and velocity information. In order to begin working with AfterBurn,
you'll need to select which particle systems you want it to create volumetric effects for.
In addition, if you want any AfterBurn Daemons to modify your final volumetric effect, then you
need to add these as well in this section. The order in which particle systems and daemons are
selected does not affect the final rendered output.
Pick - Lets you choose any 3ds Max standard particle system and any daemons you might
want to include. To select a particle system or a daemon, press the “H” key to bring up the Select
by Name dialog box. This allows you to choose a particle system in your scene by the emitter’s
name. You can add as many particle systems or daemons as you want.
32
Reference Guide
When you pick a ThinkingParticles 2 particle system, you will get the following dialog:
Within it, you can choose any or all of the particle groups that have been created inside of
ThinkingParticles 2 that you want to have AfterBurn affect. Once selected, they will show up in
the AfterBurn atmospheric as follows:
Be aware that if you want to change the groups listed, you must double-click on the master TP2
particle system listed in the Source Particles/Daemons dialog to re-access the pop-up window.
Remove - Removes the particle system or the daemon that is currently listed in the drop-
down menu located directly on the right. The drop-down menu informs you which particle
systems and daemons are included.
Edit - This button will open the selected particle system or daemon for editing in the Modify
panel.

This works the same way as the Source Particles/Daemons, but lets you pick lights instead. You
need to pick lights in your scene if you want to illuminate the AfterBurn effect.
Pick - Allows you to choose the light(s) you want to include. Press the “H” key to bring up
the Select by Name dialog box, which then lets you choose lights by name. If you want your
volumetric effects to cast shadows, you need to select AfterBurn Shadows inside the light’s
33
rollout dialog (make sure you have the “Cast Shadows” option checked in the AfterBurn’s
Illumination/Shading Parameters rollout.)
Remove - Removes the light that is currently listed in the dropdown menu located directly
on the right. The dropdown menu informs you which lights are included.
Edit - This button will open the selected light for editing in the Modify panel.
Tools group of controls

This group of controls provides quick access to tools and dialogs for common tasks in AfterBurn.
Open - Clicking this button lets you load AfterBurn setting (.ABN) files. This file type does
not include the animation done over time in 3ds max (that is, animation of low and high value
spinners over time.) You use the .ABN files to save and retrieve parameter settings at the current
frame.
Save - Save settings (at the current frame) as an .ABN file at the specified time(s) in 3ds
max. Again, as above, only low and high numeric values at a particular frame will be saved. All
gradients and Animation Flow Curves (AFCs) are also saved in the .ABN file. (AFCs are described
in further detail later on in this document.) Most of the time in AfterBurn, you do not need to
directly animate high and low value spinners over time; the AFCs work well instead.
Reset - Clicking this button launches a dialog that asks if you want to reset the AfterBurn
parameters. Clicking Yes, resets all AfterBurn parameters, Animation Flow Curves, gradients and
spinners back to their defaults. This is a global change and is NOT undoable, so use it with care.
Help - This button opens this AfterBurn .CHM Help file directly within the 3ds max
application.
Preview - Clicking this button opens the Interactive Preview window. This Window can help
you to visualize current AfterBurn parameters and to easily understand the influence of certain
parameters.
34
Reference Guide
You can also use it to render a single particle over its entire lifespan. If your particle effect is
particularly complex, you can render the Preview as an .AVI file, and then view it when the
rendering is finished. Or you can scrub the frame slider beneath the preview window to manually
see a particular frame within the AfterBurn lifespan.
NOTE: AfterBurn Daemons, Reflections, Refractions, and Metaballs are not represented in the
Preview window.
Show in Viewport - Enabling this button displays a colored AfterBurn wireframe or a

shaded shape in the Viewport. The shape is colored with the highest number gradient (if you've
selected two colors, the second color gradient will be used to color the shape). Shape sizing,
squashing, and auto stretching (but not the Variation parameter) are reflected in the Viewport as
shown below.
35
Particles in viewport AfterBurn particles in viewport
Scale - Used for scaling the whole AfterBurn effect. You can use this option to “fit” your
existing and saved .abn file settings into a new project of a different scale. When you click this
button, the following dialog appears:
Here you can quickly set a percentage that you'd like to scale your entire AfterBurn volumetric
effect.
Procedure
To scale an AfterBurn Effect:
1. Set the desired Percentage in the spinner. Normal logic applies: a setting of 10
means 10% of the original size, etc.
2. Click on the Scale Up or Scale down button depending on your needs.
3. Press Apply.
NOTE: A good trick to help you visualize the effect of your scaling is to use this feature in
concert with the Show in Viewport option.
Preferences - Lets you set various parameters quickly.
RapidRay - AfterBurn uses RapidRay for calculating the reflection/refraction of other

objects in the scene. For more information about this feature, please go HERE.
About - The About box gives you information about AfterBurn 3 including the build number
and your hardware information.
Particles Property group of controls

Usually, AfterBurn gets the particle life information from the existing particle system in order to
apply it's volumetric effect. AfterBurn natively supports all of the built in particle systems that
come with the 3ds Max application. This means that your normally don't have to use AfterBurn’s
own Particle Life settings unless you want to achieve some sort of special look - possibly to
have the particles ignite after a specific frame, etc.
36
Reference Guide
However, AfterBurn cannot get particle life parameters from certain third-party particle systems
and in these cases you will be required to set the particle life manually. (For more information,
please consult the developer of those systems if you are having trouble using them with
AfterBurn.)
Part. Start - By default, this spinner is disabled, however if you enable the Use button within
this group of controls, you can set the start frame where the AfterBurn volumetric effects will
begin.
Part. Life - This spinner sets the overall lifespan over the AfterBurn volumetric effect.
If you are having difficulty using a third-party particle system, try enabling the AfterBurn Use
button and set the Particle Start and Particle Life parameters manually. If the Use button is
not checked, you should nevertheless set the particle life parameters. Otherwise, all Previews will
be 100 frames long by default.
Use - Overrides the existing particle lifespan in favor of the Particle Start and Particle Life
Spinner values. Activate the checkbox only if you want to limit which particles receive the
volumetric effects.
Seed - This spinner represents a random number parameter used to change the look of the
AfterBurn Noise pattern. Clicking on the New button will cause the seed value to change.
Volume Rendering group of controls

This group of controls affects the overall quality of the AfterBurn volumetric effects and are used
to help tweak the look and speed at which AfterBurn renders its effects.
Falloff - The greater this spinner's value, the more opaque the volumetric effect will be. Lower
values are good for clouds but will increase rendering times due to a higher number of samples
that need to be calculated for each pixel of the volumetric effect. With Falloff set close to zero,
the AfterBurn effect will be rendered in a similar fashion as the 3ds Max program’s native Fire
Effect (in Rendering->Environment->Atmosphere->Effects). This is generally not desirable since
all samples along a ray in this case contribute equally to the final pixel color. This tends to lessen
the appearance of depth in the effect, making it hard to tell which areas of the “cloud” are near
or far relative to your point of view.
37
NOTE: You do not need to use this parameter for AfterBurn’s HyperSolids as it has no effect.
Falloff = 0.25 Falloff = 0.5 Falloff = 1.0
Step Size - This value indicates the step size of an integration path in 3ds Max world units. For
HyperSolids.
Step Size = 0.125 Step Size = 3.0 Step Size = 6.0
Limit - Instructs AfterBurn when to stop ray marching along an integration path. Low values are
used for high-density volumetrics while high values are used for low density volumetrics. With a
higher limit value, rendering time will be faster. If a larger limit value (>0.1) is used on a very
dense effect, rendering artifacts may occur.
NOTE: This parameter is not used for HyperSolids.
Affect Z-Buffer - If you want an AfterBurn volumetrics to affect the Z-Buffer (which provides
depth information in the 3ds Max rendering), then this button should be enabled. If the button
is not enabled, AfterBurn's Video Post filters won't work for this AfterBurn instance. You can use
this to make an occluded AfterBurn effect glow (you should turn OFF the [Affect Z-Buffer]
parameter for the AfterBurn effect which is occluding the one you want to glow.)
Particle Quantity group of controls
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Reference Guide
Every Nth - The “Every Nth” parameter lets you specify which Nth particle should be rendered
with an AfterBurn effect. For example, if you have a particle system with 100 particles and you
specify that every 10th particle should have an AfterBurn effect, 10 particles will be rendered
with an AfterBurn effect (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90).
Excl. - The Exclude button computes the Nth particles in the reverse order - instead of rendering
an AfterBurn effect on the Nth particle, it's excludes every Nth particle.
Offset - The Offset spinner lets you specify the particle from which the Every Nth setting
should be applied from. Following the example above, if you have a particle system with 100
particles, and you specify an Every Nth value of 10 with an Offset of 1, it will render particles
11, 21, 31 and so on with the AfterBurn effect.
Procedure
How to make every 2nd particle colored by a different AfterBurn entry:
Let’s assume you have a particle system of 100 particles (indexed from 0 to 99), and that
you would like to apply a slightly different AfterBurn effect to every other particle, without
adding another particle system into the scene.
1. In Rendering->Environment, create one AfterBurn entry, and set Every Nth to 2,

and Offset to 0. This will result in rendering particles (0, 2, 4, 8...98.)
2. Pick your particle system, and modify the AfterBurn parameters to get the desired
effect.
3. Add another AfterBurn entry, and set Every Nth to 2, and Offset to 1. This will
result in rendering particles (1, 3, 5, 7...99.)
4. Pick the same particle system as in Step 2 above, and modify the new AfterBurn
parameters to get a different look.
Rendering Type group of controls

AfterBurn comes with three different types of rendering engines, and each one is useful for
specific cases.
Raymarcher - The Raymarcher engine is a high-quality rendering engine in AfterBurn. It is

capable of producing very crisp shadows on high-density smoke, explosions and clouds. Light
interaction algorithms provide superb lighting and shadowing. However, they have a serious
impact on the rendering speed because of complex calculations between AfterBurn and light
interaction. Therefore, use it only if you really need the photorealistic output that the Raymarcher
offers in your animation.
Octane Shader - The Octane Shader provides up to 10 times the rendering speed of the
Raymarcher, but lacks the latter’s crisp, self-shadowed volumetrics. This render engine is good
for light dust and background smoke or "atmosphere" in your scenes.
NOTE: You may experience rendering artifacts if you create extremely dense volumetrics so
watch your Falloff settings.
39
HyperSolids - HyperSolids is a new way of rendering volumetric effects as blobby solids. This
render engine is perfect for liquids or other organic solids like slime, jello and mud. With the
HyperSolids engine, it is possible to render a volumetric effect as a true solid object with
unlimited details but without a single polygon. Depending on the settings, you can use Noise as a
Bump map, or as a Displacement map.
Antialias - This button can be used only with HyperSolids. Ideally, you might use another 3rd-
party renderer within 3ds Max which supports anti-aliasing of volumetric effects, and render
HyperSolids with it instead. There are several good options available on the market now. If you
don't have one, the built-in anti-aliasing algorithm will do the job very well with the built-in 3ds
Max scanline renderer, but it will be slower.
40
Reference Guide
Illumination/Shading Parameters rollout

This rollout is where you control all of the shading controls over your AfterBurn effects. All
lighting interaction is handled here as well, including things like shiny the effects are along with
whether or not the AfterBurn volumetrics cast and receive shadows.
Shadow Tracing group of controls

This rollout controls the shadowing within the AfterBurn volumetric effects.
41
Shadow Samples - This spinner determines how many samples will be used for stepping
through the volume. More samples will produce better quality output, but in most cases a value
between 10 and 15 will produce good results.
Higher sampling produces more detailed and accurate shadows, but the tradeoff is that they take
longer to render. This is the case with very high-density volumetrics as there is very high
fluctuation of density inside a volume.
Fewer samples should be used for very low-density effects.
Shadow Falloff - This spinner makes the volumetric shadows appear lighter or darker,
depending on whether it is smaller or larger than the Global Falloff setting within the AfterBurn
Manager rollout. This makes the light “think” that volumetrics have different properties than
those used for rendering a camera ray. When this value is lower than the Global Falloff value, the
shadows will be ligther than normal, and when it's higher than the Global Falloff value, the
shadows are darker.
Global - Uses the Falloff value you have set in the “Global Parameters” rollout.
Limit - This spinner tells the AfterBurn rendering engine when to stop tracing secondary rays
needed for shadow calculations. For low-density volumetrics, use larger settings than those you
use for high-density effects.
Shadow Bias - Similar to the map bias used by the native 3ds Max lights. The spinner moves
the shadow toward or away from the shadow-casting AfterBurn volumetric effects. By default,
this value is 1.0 world coordinate unit. Increasing the bias moves the shadow away from the
effect, and decreasing the bias moves the shadow closer to the effect. The Map Bias value can be
any positive floating-point number.
For example, if a shadow-casting AfterBurn effect flows into another AfterBurn effect, but its
shadow doesn't appear to meet properly at the intersection, the bias is too high. This effect
varies with the angle of the spotlight to the object. Extremely shallow spotlight angles usually
require higher bias values.
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Reference Guide
Another purpose of bias is to avoid problems with objects that cast shadows onto themselves. If
you see streaks or moiré patterns on the surface of the object, the bias value is too low.
Shadow Opacity - An opacity of 0.0 means that there will be no shadow. Opacity of 1.0 means
that shadows will be calculated as in AfterBurn 1.0. This value can be animated over time via an
AFC control.
Shadow Cast checkbox: When unchecked, AfterBurn will not cast shadows on other objects in
your scene. For AfterBurn to cast shadows, the lights in your scene must be using AfterBurn
shadows.
Shadow Receive checkbox: When this checkbox is enabled, AfterBurn will receive shadows
from other objects in the scene.
Self Shadows checkbox: When this checkbox is enabled, AfterBurn will cast shadows onto the
AfterBurn volumetric effect itself.
Colored Shadows checkbox: This option works only with AfterBurn lights casting raytraced
shadows. When this checkbox is enabled, it produces a colored shadow as shown below.
Checkbox disabled Checkbox enabled
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Shading group of controls

The Shading rollout controls the highlights on the AfterBurn volumetrics as well as how the
normals are shaped and how they are colored.
Shading Type - This dropdown menu provides you with three types of volume shading: None,
Lambert and Phong.
None - When this option is selected, the AfterBurn volumetric puffs' normals are not affected
by the scene lights.
Lambert - Lambert shading changes the illumination of the surface based on the angle
between the surface normal and the light.
Phong - Phong shading is similar to Lambert, except that it includes specular highlights
(controlled by the Shininess and Shininess strength spinners below).
Normals - These options are activated when the Shading Type is set to either Lambert or
Phong. There are two options for normal calculations: Shape and Noise.
Shape - Shape-based normals are calculated from the Gizmo shape you are using (sphere,
box, cylinder, metaball), and thus are smooth on the surface.
Noise - Noise-based normals are the normals of the selected Noise function rendered from the
Noise Shape rollout below. Whichever noise function is selected is generated within the
AfterBurn atmospheric.
Light Scattering - Light Scattering is calculated as a modification of AfterBurn volumetric puff's

illumination based on an angle between the incident of light at the sampling point, and the 3ds
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Reference Guide
Max Camera direction. There are three options to choose from: Rayleigh, HGS and Isotropic. The
following AVIs illustrate how the light interacts with the volumetric puffs within each AfterBurn
effect.
Rayleigh HGS Isotropic
S Inf. - The Shape Influence spinner is used to mix between the Noise normal and the Shape
normal. A value of 1.0 causes the normals to be completely Shape based, while a value of 0.0
causes the normals to be completely Noise based. All values in between blend between the two
normals types.
Ambient Color - The ambient color swatch adjusts the ambient light contribution to an
AfterBurn volumetric effect.
Specular Color - The specular color swatch is only active when the Shading Type is set to
Phong, and it controls the specular color. The Specular color is the color of the highlight on a
shiny object.
Shininess - When the Shading Type is set to Phong, the shininess spinner becomes active and
controls the size of the specular area on the AfterBurn volumetric puffs. This value can be
animated over time via an AFC control.
Shininess Strength - When the Shading Type is set to Phong, the shininess strength spinner
affects the overall intensity of the shininess applied to the AfterBurn volumetric puffs. This value
can be animated over time via an AFC control.
Reflections group of controls

This group of controls is only available for shaded HyperSolids and determines how reflective the
volumetric effects are.
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Reflections checkbox: When enabled, other objects from the scene become visible in
reflections within the AfterBurn HyperSolids.
Refl. Strength - This spinner controls the reflectivity of HyperSolids. A value of 0.0 is no
reflectivity while a value of 1.0 represents full reflectivity. This value can be animated over time
via an AFC control.
Reflect MtlID checkbox: When an object is visible in the Volumetric HyperSolids surface
reflection it can leave its Material ID “imprinted” on the surface. This is useful if you want to
apply 3ds Max Video Post Effects or Render Effects to specific Material IDs within the scene.
Reflect Environment checkbox: With this option enabled, the AfterBurn effect can reflect the
Environment Map or Color if one is present in the scene. [???Note: if the Env. Color is black, does
it make a difference here?]
Refraction group of controls

This group of controls is only available for shaded HyperSolids and determines how refractive the
volumetric effects are.
Refractions checkbox: When enabled, other objects from the scene become visible in
refraction within the AfterBurn HyperSolids.
Refr. Strength - This spinner controls the refraction amount of HyperSolids. A value of 0.0 is no
refractivity while a value of 1.0 represents full refractivity. This value can be animated over time
via an AFC control. Also be aware that when you start working with reflection and refraction with
AfterBurn, once you've achieved the look you're after, you'll most likely want to turn on the Anti-
aliasing switch in the AfterBurn Manager rollout to clean up the rendered edges within the
HyperSolids.
Absorption checkbox: Using this option, HyperSolids can attenuate the light passing through
the medium. The higher the value, the more the selected absorption color attenuates the
refraction effect.
Absorption Color - This color swatch represents the absorption color visible in the effect.
IOR - Index of refraction. Higher IOR values produce more distorted rays. The IOR of glass is
around 1.6; the IOR of water is 1.333.
Refract Environment: With this option enabled, the AfterBurn effect can refract the Environment
Map or Color if one is used.
Refract Environment checkbox: When enabled, this checkbox instructs the AfterBurn
HyperSolids to calculate the environment in it's refraction solution.
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Reference Guide
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Color Parameters rollout

AfterBurn can use up to three colors for each volumetric puff as defined within the Color
Parameters rollout. Each color is controlled by 4 elements: a gradient, interpolation controller,
color position spinner, and Hue, Saturation, and Value variation spinners.
Color - The Color gradient defines color changes over the particle's lifetime as
controlled by a user-defined interpolation method. In simple terms, the gradient tells the
volumetric puff what color it's supposed to be over time. To learn how to set up gradients, you
should go to the Gradient Controls section of the Reference Guide.
There are several settings that determine how a gradient is applied to the AfterBurn effect:
Interpolation Controller - Next to the gradient is a small button. This button is responsible
for how the gradient is interpreted over the life of the AfterBurn effect. To learn about the
different Interpolation Controller options and how to control them, go to the Interpolation
Controllers section of the Reference Guide.
Pos - This spinner controls the position of color dominance for each volumetric puff. A lower
value tells AfterBurn to place that color more closely to the center of a particle's puff. A higher
value indicates that color will be placed close to the puff's outer boundary. When two or more
colors are used in combination, their relative settings determine which color will be more
prominent at any given point in time. This value is also affected by how the colors are instructed
to blend together via the c1->c2->c3 controls. Plus, you can animate the prominence of a
gradient's colors over the course of the animation through the use of an AFC control.
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Reference Guide
ID - This spinner lets you assign a Material ID to that color. If an ID is applied, you can use the
AfterBurn Glow filter to glow this color by specifying the ID in the Glow dialog. To use this
feature, you must check the Affect Z-buffer option in the AfterBurn Manager rollout.
Variation - There are three spinners that affect the overall Hue (H), Saturation (S) and Value
(V) of the volumetric puffs. Each one can go from 0 to 255. If you assign a value to one of these
parameters, each particle that is born will differ in that particular selection from other puffs by
that value. So if you want to introduce some randomness into the lightness/darkness of the
AfterBurn puffs, you'd adjust the Value variation spinner to achieve that effect.
You can also specify how many colors you want to use on a volumetric particle.
The particle to the far left, uses one color, which is a yellow-brown. The particle in the middle
uses 2 colors, the same yellow-brown, plus purple. The third particle uses three colors – grayish
brown, purple, plus blue. If you want the blue to be more towards the middle, then go to the 3rd
color gradient, and change the Pos. parameter to the lower value.
NOTE: Using more colors will slower rendering.
c1->c2->c3: This set of options lets you determine how the three color gradients blend
together.
Distance - This option changes the color of the volumetric puff from Color 1 to Color 2 and
then to Color 3, based on the distance from the particle center.
Density - This option changes the color of the volumetric puff from Color 1 to Color 2 and
then to Color 3, based on the particle density.
Toony - This last option gives the smoke a “cartoony” or high-contrast, posterized look. Two
or three colors are required to get the Toony effect.
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Particle Shape/Animation Parameters rollout

The Particle Shape/Animation Parameters rollout is where you define what shape you want the
volumetric puffs to be. AfterBurn can use any of five different shapes as a “container” for each
volumetric particle: Sphere, Cylinder, Box, Metaball and Hemisphere (Sphere must be selected for
the Hemisphere option to be available.)
Size group of controls

The Size group of controls affects the individual volumetric puff sizes as well as how they are
oriented in relation to their emitter and motion.
NOTE: Be aware that the labels within this group of controls is affected, and will change,
depending on the puff shape that is chosen in the Type group of controls below. As there are
four different shape types (Spheres, Cylinders, Boxes and Metaballs), the labels will adjust
accordingly when each is chosen.
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Reference Guide
Sphere:
Sph. Radius - The sphere radius spinner lets you set the individual spherical puff radius. The
value is in world units and can be animated over time via an AFC control.
Squash Height - This spinner lets you set a high and low value that squashes the sphere
height. The value is in world units and can be animated over time via an AFC control.
Squash Len - Squash Length; lets you set a high and low value that squashes the sphere
length. The value is in world units and can be animated over time via an AFC control.
Metaball:
Mb. Radius - The metaball radius spinner lets you set the individual metaball puff radius. The
Box:
Box Width - This spinner lets you set a high and low value for the box width. The value is in
world units and can be animated over time via an AFC control.
Box Height - This spinner lets you set a high and low value for the box height. The value is in
Box Length - This spinner lets you set a high and low value for the box length. The value is in
Cylinder:
Cyl. Radius - Cylinder radius. Lets you set a high and low value of the cylinder radius. The
Cyl. Height - Cylinder height. Lets you set a high and low value of the sphere height. The
Squash Len - Squash length. Lets you set a high and low value that squashes the cylinder
length. The value is in world units and can be animated over time via an AFC control.
Regularity - Lets you specify a high and low value of the regularity. Lower values will look more
varied and sporadic, while higher values will be more uniform and fill the volume boundary more
completely. The default value for regularity is 0.3, but values up to 0.5 are recommended.
When using HyperSolids, the regularity will behave as the displacement/bump strength.
Var% - Each of the parameters within this group of controls also has a variation percentage
spinner where you can cause the settings to vary from volumetric puff to puff. This introduces a
more natural look to the volumetric effects since all of the particles are slightly different.
NOTE: Lower regularity will produce a sparser look, but it will require a higher particle count to
cover the same area with higher regularity, resulting in a slower rendering time. You can also
achieve a sparser look by setting a low threshold parameter to a value between 0.3 - 0.5,
depending on the noise type. Play with this technique to fit your project needs and to avoid any
unnecessary additional rendering time.
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Rotation group of controls

This group of controls determines the rotation of the puff shape around any of its three axes.
Rotation axes are aligned to the world coordinates.
If the Alignment option in the Type group of controls is set to Particle Velocity, then rotation
axes are aligned to the particle velocity direction.
X - This parameter controls the rotation of the AfterBurn puff around the world X-axis. This
parameter can be animated over time via an AFC control.
Y - This parameter controls the rotation of the AfterBurn puff around the world Y-axis. This
Z - This parameter controls the rotation of the AfterBurn puff around the world Z-axis. This
more natural look to the volumetric effects since all of the particles will be rotated slightly
differently.
Type group of controls

The Type group of controls determines the overall shape of the volumetric puffs. There are four
different shapes to choose from: Sphere, Box, Cylinder and Metaball.
Type dropdown: This dropdown is where you determine the shape of the volumetric puffs.
Sphere - This option creates a spherical puff as shown below. The Spherical shape is the
default type of volumetric puff and is good for most tasks. It also offers the option of producing
a Hemispherical puff as well.
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Reference Guide
Spherical Hemispherical
Box - This option creates a cube shaped puff as shown below. Be aware that when you switch
between shape types, the new parameters don't automatically update. So when you switch
from Sphere to Box, you'll need to adjust the Box Height and Box Length to make it appear
correctly.
Box
Cylinder - This option creates a cylindrical puff as shown below. Be aware that when you
switch between shape types, the new parameters don't automatically update. So when you
switch from Sphere to Cylinder, you'll need to adjust the Cylinder Height and Squash Length to
make it appear correctly.
Cylinder
Metaball - This option creates metaball puffs that are used exclusively with the AfterBurn
HyperSolids option. This shape type does not function with any other rendering type.
Alignment: These two options control how the volumetric puffs are oriented in relation to the
particle motion.
None - When None is selected, the AfterBurn puffs keep their original orientation unless you
have specified rotation.
Particle Velocity - When this option is enabled, the AfterBurn puffs will rotate in such a way
that they will stay aligned to their travelling direction.
Auto Stretch - This spinner controls how the volumetric puffs will stretch according to the
particle velocity. The higher the value of this spinner, the more elongated the puffs will become.
This parameter is useful in situations where you want to create fast moving effects like
explosions. This parameter can be animated over time via an AFC control.
Shape Preview Window
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One of the benefits of AfterBurn is the options is provides you to visualize your effects before
having to render. Within the Particle Shape/Animation Parameters rollout is a preview window
that lets you see the overall shape of your volumetric puff.
Preview Window - The main preview window is activated by the lower button on the right (the
small green bar - called the Interactive update button), and will display the overall shape of
your volumetric puff along with the noise pattern that is to be applied.
Within this window, you can left-click and drag to rotate around the effect and right-click and
drag to zoom in and out from the preview as shown below.
Hit Stop then Play to restart
Frame slider - Directly beneath the preview window is a narrow slider where you can preview
any animation set up via the AFCs within your AfterBurn effect. The current frame is displayed
below.
X - This button resets any orientation and zoom changes you've made within the Preview
window.
Interactive update - This button enables the main Preview window.
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Reference Guide
Noise Shape Parameters rollout

The Noise Shapes Parameters rollout is where you define what kind of noise you want the
volumetric puffs to have applied to them. The noise is what gives the volumetric puffs a natural
appearance. AfterBurn can use any of seven different noise types as the distortion for each
volumetric particle. From this rollout you can determine the Noise function easily.
Size group of controls

The Size group of controls is where you define the overall look of the selected noise type you've
picked. The controls that are available are dependent upon which noise type you've selected.
Gain - This spinner controls the overall contrast of the noise. The higher the value, the more
contrast within the noise pattern. Likewise, the lower the value, the less contrast there will be
within the noise pattern. This spinner's values go from 0.0 to 1.0 and can be animated over time
via an AFC controller.
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NOTE: If you change Gain from the default value of 0.5, additional rendering time is needed for
computations.
If your volumetrics start with very high density and fade away at the end of the particle’s life,
you will probably experience a sharp transition. Use Gain along with the Density Falloff options to
achieve a smoother transition.
Bias - This spinner controls the overall brightness of the noise patter. The higher the value, the
brighter the noise pattern. Likewise, the lower the value, the dimmer the noise pattern. This
spinner's values go from 0.0 to 1.0 and can be animated over time via an AFC controller.
NOTE: If you change Bias from the default value of 0.5, additional time is needed for rendering
computations. Bias is a great tool for shaping and defining the noise pattern when used along
with Gain.
Blur - This spinner is only available with the Smoke, fBm Turbulence, and fBm Fractal noise
types. This spinner will blur/sharpen the noise pattern. Blur values higher than 1.0 blur the noise,
while values less than 1.0 sharpen it. This spinner can be animated over time via an AFC
controller.
Detail - This spinner is enabled only with the fBm Turbulence and fBm Fractal noise types, and
increases or decreases the detail amount in the noise. Higher values produce greater detail (a
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Reference Guide
more tightly packed noise pattern), while lower values produce less detail (a looser noise
pattern). This spinner can be animated over time via an AFC controller.
more natural look to the volumetric effects since all of the puffs will have slight variations to their
noise patterns.

This group of controls is where you define which noise pattern you want to have applied to the
AfterBurn volumetric puffs. There are seven different noise types to choose from. Each one has a
distinct appearance and you can further refine the overall look of the noise with the Size group of
controls above.
Type dropdown: Here is where you choose the noise pattern for your volumetric puffs. There
are seven different noise types that you can choose from, and by turning on the Noise Preview
window you can see what they look like prior to having to render out.
There are two ways to calculate the noise pattern. Beneath the Type dropdown are two options:
Fireball - When Fireball is selected, the noise pattern is generated normally.
Tendril - When Tendril is selected, the noise pattern is inverted, making it look more spiked.
Affect: These options are available only when you select the HyperSolids rendering type.
Surface Bump - When chosen, noise will affect only surface bump (very similar to the 3ds
Max program’s native Bump mapping.)
Surface Displacement - Displaces the surface (similar to what the 3ds max Displacement
Space Warp does to a mesh.)
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Density falloff by radius: The density around the edges of the volumetric puff is controlled
through these options.
None - When None is enabled, there is no attenuation to the volumetric puff. This is the
default setting and is generally quicker to render.
Linear - The Linear option causes the actual values of noise/density to be calculated as an
attenuated linear function from the center of puff shape to the radius. In other words, the
further away from the center of the puff, the less dense the particle becomes.
Cubic - The Cubic option causes the actual values of noise/density to be calculated as a
smooth s-curve function from the center of the puff shape to the radius.
Noise Preview window

Like the Shape Preview window in the Particle Shape/Animation Parameters rollout, the Noise
Preview window is used to view the noise pattern that is to be applied to the AfterBurn
volumetric puffs.
Preview Window - The main preview window is activated by the lower button on the right (the
small green bar - called the Interactive update button), and will display the overall noise
pattern of your volumetric puff.
NOTE: The Preview does not show the precise look of the final rendered AfterBurn effects. Its
purpose is to help you visualize how parameters affect Noise.
Within this window, you can left-click and drag to rotate around the effect and right-click and
drag to zoom in and out from the preview as shown below.
Frame slider - Directly beneath the preview window is a narrow slider where you can preview
any animation set up via the AFCs within your AfterBurn effect. The current frame is displayed
below.
Interactive update - This button enables the main Preview window.
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Reference Guide
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Noise Animation Parameters rollout

This rollout is used to further refine the selected noise pattern's look and motion over the course
of the animation.
Density - This spinner controls the overall density or opacity of the volumetric puffs. It works in
concert with the Density Falloff option in the Noise Shape Parameters rollout. Lower values
produce more transparent puffs, while higher values produce, more solid, opaque puffs. This
spinner can be animated over time via an AFC controller.
NOTE: If you use the Octane Shader, you should set the Density values much lower than the
ones used with RayMarcher rendering engine.
Noise Size - This spinner is used to control the overall size of the noise pattern. Larger values
will produce bigger noise patterns, while smaller values produce smaller patterns. This spinner
can be animated over time via an AFC controller.
Noise Levels - This spinner controls how much detail is put into the noise pattern. Use low
levels for a smooth/simple look. If you require more detail, a higher value is required. High-
resolution work (film or print) will need higher settings than normal resolution work (NTSC or PAL
broadcast) to achieve the same level of detail within the volumetric puffs. There is no need to set
it “too high”, because if increased above a certain value, further increasing will have no effect on
the output detail and rendering time will be significantly slower. Zero levels will produce a simple
density gradient going from the particle center outwards. This spinner can be animated over time
Threshold Spinners: The Hi and Lo Threshold spinners control the grayscale range within the
noise patterns. By default, that range extends from a Lo value of 0.0 to a Hi value of 1.0. If you
set these spinners to values less than the defaults, you will effectively compress the dynamic
range within the noise pattern.
Hi Threshold - Adjusting this spinner below it's default value of 1.0 will make the noise
pattern look more solid. All changes you make to this spinner will be reflected in the Noise
Preview window. This spinner can be animated over time via an AFC controller.
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Lo Threshold - Adjusting this spinner above it's default value of 0.0 will make the noise
pattern look more sparse. All changes you make to this spinner will be reflected in the Noise
Preview window. This spinner can be animated over time via an AFC controller.
Vert. Stretch - The Vertical Stretch spinner controls how much the noise pattern will stretch
along the World Z-axis. A value of 1.0 produces no stretch, while lower values will stretch the
noise pattern vertically and higher values will compress the noise pattern vertically. All changes
you make to this spinner will be reflected in the Noise Preview window. This spinner can be
animated over time via an AFC controller.
Phase - The Phase spinner controls the speed of the animation of the noise function. Be aware
that you must use an AFC control in order to get the noise pattern to change over time. Once
you've set up different High and Low AFC parameters, the changes will be reflected in the Noise
Preview window as you scrub it's frame slider.
Motion Drag - This spinner forces the noise pattern to move slower or faster than the actual
particles when they are in motion. Positive values cause the noise to move faster, while negative
values cause the noise to move slower. This spinner can be animated over time via an AFC
controller.
MBall effect - This spinner controls the Metaball effect strength when you use the HyperSolids.
The smaller this value is, the smoother the Metaballs are. This spinner can be animated over time
Local. noise - When turned on, the Localize Noise options forced the noise pattern to move with
the volumetric puff. When turned off, the volumetric puffs move through the noise in World
space.
Drift - The Drift spinner causes the noise pattern to move globally in the Z-axis direction. Higher
values cause more drift in the noise pattern along the World Z-axis.
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AfterBurn Combustion Atmospheric
AfterBurn Combustion Parameters rollout

AfterBurn Combustion is an enhanced version of the 3ds max 5 effect called Fire Effect found
in Rendering->Environment->Atmosphere->Effects.
NOTE: The Fire Effect feature was called Combustion in earlier versions of 3ds Max, then
renamed when Autodesk Media & Entertainment shipped its standalone compositing package,
called combustion™.
This version of the Fire Effect can interact to some extent with AfterBurn, and also adds a
number of features that are explained below. As the AfterBurn Combustion rollout is very long,
it's individual groups of controls are listed below so that you can click on any of them to go to a
particular part of the AfterBurn Combustion rollout.
Source Gizmo/Daemons group of controls

Soure Lights group of controls
Globals group of controls
Max 3D Texture group of controls
Characteristics group of controls
Noise Animation group of controls
Explosion group of controls

AfterBurn Combustion uses standard 3ds max Helpers (Atmospheric Apparatus Gizmos) as the
basis for the effect, just like the Fire Effect that ships with 3ds max.
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Reference Guide
Pick Gizmos/Daemons - Click this button and choose the Helper gizmos you want to have the
AfterBurn Combustion effect applied to. If you want any AfterBurn daemons applied to the effect,
you need to specify which daemons you want. You can add as many helper gizmos and daemons
as you want.
Remove Gizmos/Daemons - In order to remove a gizmo from the list, highlight it then click
this button. It will then remove the helper gizmo currently listed in the dropdown menu located
directly on the right.

AfterBurn Combustion needs one or more lights for illumination of its effects.
Pick Source Lights - Click this button and choose the lights you want to have illuminate the
AfterBurn Combustion effect. You can add as many lights to this list as you want.
Remove Source Lights - In order to remove a light from the list, highlight it then click this
button. It will then remove the light currently listed in the dropdown menu located directly on the
right.

The Globals rollout is where you control the type of AfterBurn rendering algorithm that is applied
to the Combustion effect, along with it's general shape and opacity.
Rendering Type - Besides Raymarcher, AfterBurn Combustion offers HyperSolids. The

HyperSolids rendering type is a modified Raymarcher designed for rendering procedural solids.
The final effect is similar to the one when you apply the native 3ds max Displace modifier to a
sphere (for example) with a Noise map as a displace map.
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The difference between those two techniques is that HyperSolids does not produce any polygons
and the level of detail (at render time) is almost unlimited. It also does not require any additional
RAM when you increase the detail level.
Antialias - This button controls AfterBurn's built-in anti-aliasing algorithm for rendering
HyperSolids. You may consider using a third-party renderer (instead of the built-in AfterBurn
renderer) for anti-aliasing, as this may prove to be much faster.
Step Size - This spinner value indicates the step size of the integration path in world units. For
HyperSolids.
Regularity - This spinner controls how homogenous the noise patterns are that are applied to
the AfterBurn Combustion effect. Lower values will look more random and sporadic while higher
values will be more uniform and fill the volume boundary more completely. For HyperSolids,
regularity will behave as the displacement strength.
Density - This spinner controls the overall density of the Raymarcher effect. Higher values
produce more solid effects while lower values produce more transparent effects.
NOTE: The HyperSolids rendering type does not use the Density parameter.
Falloff - This spinner controls the opaqueness for the AfterBurn Combustion effect. The higher
the value, the more opaque the final volumetric effect will be. Smaller values are good for clouds.
NOTE: The HyperSolids rendering type does not use the Falloff parameter.
MAX 3D Texture group of controls

This feature lets you use almost any native 3ds max 3D procedural texture (such as
Camouflage, Speckle, Cellular and many more) to affect the look of the AfterBurn Combustion
volumetric.
This texture can be used for AfterBurn Combustion density and color. The example below was
created by mixing several different Noise and Perlin Marble maps together.
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If you decide to use a map for density, you may also specify you want this map to color the
effect. The example below was created quickly by using the same map as the one used in the
example above, but with several colors mixed in.
Use for Density checkbox: Once you've chosen your 3ds Max texture to use as a map,
turning on this checkbox overrides the normal Density spinner and uses the grayscale information
from the map for the density of the effect. Also, you have to activate this checkbox if you want to
use maps for coloration as well as they are linked together. Be aware that in order for the
texturing to work, you'll need to make sure that the shading it turned on in the Shading group of
controls below.
Use for Color checkbox: When you activate the Use for Density checkbox, you can also choose
to use the same map for color as well. Be aware that in order for the texturing to work, you'll
need to make sure that the shading it turned on in the Shading group of controls below.
NOTE: You should notice that you can apply AfterBurn IDs under the colors in AfterBurn
Combustion (within the Characteristics group of controls). These IDs let you glow the AfterBurn
Combustion effect or apply any other 3ds max Video Post or Render Effect to it. If you are using
the 3ds Max texture for density only, you can apply IDs from the AfterBurn Combustion rollout.
If you’re using the texture for color, AfterBurn Combustion will use the Material ID. All other
options in AfterBurn Combustion are the same as those in the Fire Effect included in 3ds Max.

Unlike the built-in Fire Effect, AfterBurn Combustion allows you to use lights to shade the effect.
This group of controls is where you define how the lighting will interact with the AfterBurn
Combustion effect.
Type of shading: There are three types of shading available: Off, Lambert and Phong.
Off - When this is selected, no shading is applied.
(controlled by Shininess and Shininess Strength).
Normals: There are two options for normal calculations - Shape and Volumetric.
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Shape - Shape normals are calculated from the shape you are using (Sphere, Box, Cylinder),
and thus are smooth over the surface.
Volumetric - Noise normals are the normals of the actual Noise function rendered.
Shape Infl. - The Shape Influence spinner becomes active when you choose the Volumetric
normals method of shading and is used to mix between the Noise normal and Shape normal. A
value of 0.0 means the shape has no effect on the shading, while a value of 1.0 means the shape
fully controls the shading of the AfterBurn Combustion effect (this is identical to having selected
the Shape radio button).
Specular Color - This color swatch determines what color the specular highlights will be when
the Phong shading method is selected.
Shininess Strength - The Shininess Strength spinner affects the intensity of the shininess on
the AfterBurn Combustion effect.
Shininess - The Shininess spinner affects the size of the specular area of the highlight.

The Reflections group of controls is where you define how whether or not the AfterBurn
Combustion effect will reflect objects in your scene.
NOTE: The AfterBurn Combustion effect does NOT support reflections of the background
environment.
Use checkbox: When enabled, other objects in the scene become visible in reflections.
Strength - This spinner controls the overall reflectivity within the AfterBurn Combustion
volumetrics (in a similar way as native 3ds Max reflective maps and materials.) A value of 0.0 =
no reflectivity while a value of 1.0 = full reflectivity.
Reflect MtlID checkbox: This checkbox tells the AfterBurn Combustion effect to render out the
Material ID within it's reflections for use with other Video Post or Render Effects effects.

You can set three color properties for an AfterBurn Combustion effect using the color swatches
under Colors. Click a color swatch to display the software's Color Selector.
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Inner Color - Sets the color of the densest part of the effect. For a typical fire, this color
represents the hottest part of the flame.
Outer Color - Sets the color of the sparsest part of the effect. For a typical fire, this color
represents the cooler, dissipating edge of the flame.
The AfterBurn Combustion effect is colored using a gradient between the inner and outer colors.
The dense areas of the effect use the inner color and gradually blend to the outer color near the
edges of the effect.
Smoke Color - Sets the color of smoke for use with the Explosion option.
If you turn on Explosion and Smoke, the inner and outer colors animate to the smoke color. If
you turn off Explosion or Smoke, the smoke color is ignored.
ID - The spinners beneath each of the color swatches represents a separate Material ID. You can
set both the Inner and Outer Color swatches to have different Material IDs in situations where
you want to apply another Video Post or Render Effect to it such as a Glow.
Flame Type: You control the shape, scale, and pattern of flames within the AfterBurn
Combustion effect using controls under Shape. Two options set the direction and general shape
of flames.
Tendril - Creates directional pointed flames with veins along their center. The flames orient
along the local Z-axis of the fire apparatus. Tendril creates campfire-like flames.
Fireball - Creates round puffy flames. Fireballs are well suited for explosions.
Stretch - Scales flames along the Z-axis of the apparatus. Stretch works best with Tendril
flames, but you can use it to give Fireballs an oval shape. Values less than 1.0 compress flames,
making them shorter and thicker. Values greater than 1.0 stretch flames, making them long and
skinny.
You can also combine Stretch with non-uniform scaling of the apparatus. Use non-uniform scale
to change the boundary of the effect and scale the shape of the flames.
Use the Stretch parameter to scale only the flames inside the apparatus. You can also use Stretch
values to reverse the effect that scaling the apparatus had on the flames
Flame Size - Sets the size of individual flames inside the apparatus. The size of the apparatus
affects the flame size. A larger apparatus requires a larger flame size. Use a range from 15.0 to
30.0 for the best results. Large values work best for Fireballs. Small values work best for
Tendrils.
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If the AfterBurn Combustion flame size is very small, you might need to increase Samples to see
individual flames.
Noise Levels - This spinner controls the amount of color change and edge sharpness seen
within each flame. Range=0.0 to 10.0. Low values produce smooth, fuzzy flames and render
faster. High values produce patterned, sharp flames but render slower.
Use higher Noise Levels for large flame sizes. If the Noise Levels value is greater than 4, you
might need to increase the Step Size spinner (above in the Globals group of controls) to capture
the detail.

This group of controls defines how the noise patterns within the AfterBurn Combustion effect
animate over time.
Phase - Controls the rate of change for the AfterBurn Combustion effect. The phase spinner
should be animated over time to create a good effect.
Phase value can have several meanings, depending on the state of the Explosion check box.
If you clear the Explosion checkbox, Phase simply controls the churning of the fire. The faster the
value changes, the more furiously the fire burns. If the Phase function curve is a line, you get a
steadily burning AfterBurn Combustion effect.
If you turn on the Explosion checkbox, Phase controls the churning of the fire and the explosion
timing, using values between 0.0 to 300.0. The Phase function curve for a typical explosion starts
steep and flattens out.
Phase values control explosion timing in the following way:

0–100 Explosion begins and builds to peak density at 100.
100–200 Explosion burns. Effect turns to smoke if Smoke is turned on.
200–300 Explosion clears and is completely gone at 300.
> 300 No effect.
Drift - Sets how flames are rendered along the Z-axis of the fire apparatus. The value is the
amount of rise in units. Low values give a slow-burning cool fire. High values give a fast-burning
hot fire. For the best AfterBurn Combustion effects, drift should be a multiple of the height of the
fire apparatus. You can also animate the location and size of the fire apparatus and most of the
fire parameters. For example, an AfterBurn Combustion effect can animate color, size, and
density.

Use the parameters in the Explosion group to automatically animate explosions.
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Explosion checkbox: This checkbox, when enabled animates the size, density, and color
automatically based on the animation of the Phase value.
Smoke checkbox: This checkbox controls whether or not the explosion creates smoke.
When on, fire colors change to smoke between Phase values 100 to 200. Smoke clears between
Phase values 200 to 300. When off, fire colors remain at full density between Phase values 100
to 200. Fire fades away between Phase values 200 to 300.
Fury - This spinner varies the churning effect of the Phase parameter. Values greater than 1.0
cause faster churning. Values less than 1.0 cause slower churning.
Set Up Explosion - Clicking on this button displays the Set Up Explosion Phase Curve dialog.
You enter a Start time and End time, and then click OK. The Phase value animates automatically
for a typical explosion effect between the values you set.
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AfterBurn Combustion Parameters rollout

AfterBurn Combustion is an enhanced version of the 3ds max 5 effect called Fire Effect found
in Rendering->Environment->Atmosphere->Effects.
NOTE: The Fire Effect feature was called Combustion in earlier versions of 3ds Max, then
renamed when Autodesk Media & Entertainment shipped its standalone compositing package,
called combustion™.
This version of the Fire Effect can interact to some extent with AfterBurn, and also adds a
number of features that are explained below. As the AfterBurn Combustion rollout is very long,
it's individual groups of controls are listed below so that you can click on any of them to go to a
particular part of the AfterBurn Combustion rollout.

Soure Lights group of controls
Max 3D Texture group of controls

AfterBurn Combustion uses standard 3ds max Helpers (Atmospheric Apparatus Gizmos) as the
basis for the effect, just like the Fire Effect that ships with 3ds max.
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Pick Gizmos/Daemons - Click this button and choose the Helper gizmos you want to have the
AfterBurn Combustion effect applied to. If you want any AfterBurn daemons applied to the effect,
you need to specify which daemons you want. You can add as many helper gizmos and daemons
as you want.
Remove Gizmos/Daemons - In order to remove a gizmo from the list, highlight it then click
this button. It will then remove the helper gizmo currently listed in the dropdown menu located
directly on the right.

AfterBurn Combustion needs one or more lights for illumination of its effects.
Pick Source Lights - Click this button and choose the lights you want to have illuminate the
AfterBurn Combustion effect. You can add as many lights to this list as you want.
Remove Source Lights - In order to remove a light from the list, highlight it then click this
button. It will then remove the light currently listed in the dropdown menu located directly on the
right.

The Globals rollout is where you control the type of AfterBurn rendering algorithm that is applied
to the Combustion effect, along with it's general shape and opacity.
Rendering Type - Besides Raymarcher, AfterBurn Combustion offers HyperSolids. The

HyperSolids rendering type is a modified Raymarcher designed for rendering procedural solids.
The final effect is similar to the one when you apply the native 3ds max Displace modifier to a
sphere (for example) with a Noise map as a displace map.
The difference between those two techniques is that HyperSolids does not produce any polygons
and the level of detail (at render time) is almost unlimited. It also does not require any additional
RAM when you increase the detail level.
Antialias - This button controls AfterBurn's built-in anti-aliasing algorithm for rendering
HyperSolids. You may consider using a third-party renderer (instead of the built-in AfterBurn
renderer) for anti-aliasing, as this may prove to be much faster.
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Step Size - This spinner value indicates the step size of the integration path in world units. For
HyperSolids.
Regularity - This spinner controls how homogenous the noise patterns are that are applied to
the AfterBurn Combustion effect. Lower values will look more random and sporadic while higher
values will be more uniform and fill the volume boundary more completely. For HyperSolids,
regularity will behave as the displacement strength.
Density - This spinner controls the overall density of the Raymarcher effect. Higher values
produce more solid effects while lower values produce more transparent effects.
NOTE: The HyperSolids rendering type does not use the Density parameter.
Falloff - This spinner controls the opaqueness for the AfterBurn Combustion effect. The higher
the value, the more opaque the final volumetric effect will be. Smaller values are good for clouds.
NOTE: The HyperSolids rendering type does not use the Falloff parameter.
MAX 3D Texture group of controls

This feature lets you use almost any native 3ds max 3D procedural texture (such as
Camouflage, Speckle, Cellular and many more) to affect the look of the AfterBurn Combustion
volumetric.
This texture can be used for AfterBurn Combustion density and color. The example below was
created by mixing several different Noise and Perlin Marble maps together.
If you decide to use a map for density, you may also specify you want this map to color the
effect. The example below was created quickly by using the same map as the one used in the
example above, but with several colors mixed in.
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Use for Density checkbox: Once you've chosen your 3ds Max texture to use as a map,
turning on this checkbox overrides the normal Density spinner and uses the grayscale information
from the map for the density of the effect. Also, you have to activate this checkbox if you want to
use maps for coloration as well as they are linked together. Be aware that in order for the
texturing to work, you'll need to make sure that the shading it turned on in the Shading group of
controls below.
Use for Color checkbox: When you activate the Use for Density checkbox, you can also choose
to use the same map for color as well. Be aware that in order for the texturing to work, you'll
need to make sure that the shading it turned on in the Shading group of controls below.
NOTE: You should notice that you can apply AfterBurn IDs under the colors in AfterBurn
Combustion (within the Characteristics group of controls). These IDs let you glow the AfterBurn
Combustion effect or apply any other 3ds max Video Post or Render Effect to it. If you are using
the 3ds Max texture for density only, you can apply IDs from the AfterBurn Combustion rollout.
If you’re using the texture for color, AfterBurn Combustion will use the Material ID. All other
options in AfterBurn Combustion are the same as those in the Fire Effect included in 3ds Max.

Unlike the built-in Fire Effect, AfterBurn Combustion allows you to use lights to shade the effect.
This group of controls is where you define how the lighting will interact with the AfterBurn
Combustion effect.
Type of shading: There are three types of shading available: Off, Lambert and Phong.
Off - When this is selected, no shading is applied.
(controlled by Shininess and Shininess Strength).
Normals: There are two options for normal calculations - Shape and Volumetric.
Shape - Shape normals are calculated from the shape you are using (Sphere, Box, Cylinder),
and thus are smooth over the surface.
Volumetric - Noise normals are the normals of the actual Noise function rendered.
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Shape Infl. - The Shape Influence spinner becomes active when you choose the Volumetric
normals method of shading and is used to mix between the Noise normal and Shape normal. A
value of 0.0 means the shape has no effect on the shading, while a value of 1.0 means the shape
fully controls the shading of the AfterBurn Combustion effect (this is identical to having selected
the Shape radio button).
Specular Color - This color swatch determines what color the specular highlights will be when
the Phong shading method is selected.
Shininess Strength - The Shininess Strength spinner affects the intensity of the shininess on
the AfterBurn Combustion effect.
Shininess - The Shininess spinner affects the size of the specular area of the highlight.

The Reflections group of controls is where you define how whether or not the AfterBurn
Combustion effect will reflect objects in your scene.
NOTE: The AfterBurn Combustion effect does NOT support reflections of the background
environment.
Use checkbox: When enabled, other objects in the scene become visible in reflections.
Strength - This spinner controls the overall reflectivity within the AfterBurn Combustion
volumetrics (in a similar way as native 3ds Max reflective maps and materials.) A value of 0.0 =
no reflectivity while a value of 1.0 = full reflectivity.
Reflect MtlID checkbox: This checkbox tells the AfterBurn Combustion effect to render out the
Material ID within it's reflections for use with other Video Post or Render Effects effects.

You can set three color properties for an AfterBurn Combustion effect using the color swatches
under Colors. Click a color swatch to display the software's Color Selector.
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Inner Color - Sets the color of the densest part of the effect. For a typical fire, this color
represents the hottest part of the flame.
Outer Color - Sets the color of the sparsest part of the effect. For a typical fire, this color
represents the cooler, dissipating edge of the flame.
The AfterBurn Combustion effect is colored using a gradient between the inner and outer colors.
The dense areas of the effect use the inner color and gradually blend to the outer color near the
edges of the effect.
Smoke Color - Sets the color of smoke for use with the Explosion option.
If you turn on Explosion and Smoke, the inner and outer colors animate to the smoke color. If
you turn off Explosion or Smoke, the smoke color is ignored.
ID - The spinners beneath each of the color swatches represents a separate Material ID. You can
set both the Inner and Outer Color swatches to have different Material IDs in situations where
you want to apply another Video Post or Render Effect to it such as a Glow.
Flame Type: You control the shape, scale, and pattern of flames within the AfterBurn
Combustion effect using controls under Shape. Two options set the direction and general shape
of flames.
Tendril - Creates directional pointed flames with veins along their center. The flames orient
along the local Z-axis of the fire apparatus. Tendril creates campfire-like flames.
Fireball - Creates round puffy flames. Fireballs are well suited for explosions.
Stretch - Scales flames along the Z-axis of the apparatus. Stretch works best with Tendril
flames, but you can use it to give Fireballs an oval shape. Values less than 1.0 compress flames,
making them shorter and thicker. Values greater than 1.0 stretch flames, making them long and
skinny.
You can also combine Stretch with non-uniform scaling of the apparatus. Use non-uniform scale
to change the boundary of the effect and scale the shape of the flames.
Use the Stretch parameter to scale only the flames inside the apparatus. You can also use Stretch
values to reverse the effect that scaling the apparatus had on the flames
Flame Size - Sets the size of individual flames inside the apparatus. The size of the apparatus
affects the flame size. A larger apparatus requires a larger flame size. Use a range from 15.0 to
30.0 for the best results. Large values work best for Fireballs. Small values work best for
Tendrils.
If the AfterBurn Combustion flame size is very small, you might need to increase Samples to see
individual flames.
Noise Levels - This spinner controls the amount of color change and edge sharpness seen
within each flame. Range=0.0 to 10.0. Low values produce smooth, fuzzy flames and render
faster. High values produce patterned, sharp flames but render slower.
Use higher Noise Levels for large flame sizes. If the Noise Levels value is greater than 4, you
might need to increase the Step Size spinner (above in the Globals group of controls) to capture
the detail.
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This group of controls defines how the noise patterns within the AfterBurn Combustion effect
animate over time.
Phase - Controls the rate of change for the AfterBurn Combustion effect. The phase spinner
should be animated over time to create a good effect.
Phase value can have several meanings, depending on the state of the Explosion check box.
If you clear the Explosion checkbox, Phase simply controls the churning of the fire. The faster the
value changes, the more furiously the fire burns. If the Phase function curve is a line, you get a
steadily burning AfterBurn Combustion effect.
If you turn on the Explosion checkbox, Phase controls the churning of the fire and the explosion
timing, using values between 0.0 to 300.0. The Phase function curve for a typical explosion starts
steep and flattens out.
Phase values control explosion timing in the following way:

0–100 Explosion begins and builds to peak density at 100.
100–200 Explosion burns. Effect turns to smoke if Smoke is turned on.
200–300 Explosion clears and is completely gone at 300.
> 300 No effect.
Drift - Sets how flames are rendered along the Z-axis of the fire apparatus. The value is the
amount of rise in units. Low values give a slow-burning cool fire. High values give a fast-burning
hot fire. For the best AfterBurn Combustion effects, drift should be a multiple of the height of the
fire apparatus. You can also animate the location and size of the fire apparatus and most of the
fire parameters. For example, an AfterBurn Combustion effect can animate color, size, and
density.

Use the parameters in the Explosion group to automatically animate explosions.
Explosion checkbox: This checkbox, when enabled animates the size, density, and color
automatically based on the animation of the Phase value.
Smoke checkbox: This checkbox controls whether or not the explosion creates smoke.
When on, fire colors change to smoke between Phase values 100 to 200. Smoke clears between
Phase values 200 to 300. When off, fire colors remain at full density between Phase values 100
to 200. Fire fades away between Phase values 200 to 300.
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Fury - This spinner varies the churning effect of the Phase parameter. Values greater than 1.0
cause faster churning. Values less than 1.0 cause slower churning.
Set Up Explosion - Clicking on this button displays the Set Up Explosion Phase Curve dialog.
You enter a Start time and End time, and then click OK. The Phase value animates automatically
for a typical explosion effect between the values you set.
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AfterBurn Volume Fog Atmospheric
AfterBurn Volume Fog Parameters rollout

AfterBurn’s Volume Fog is similar to the native 3ds max Volume Fog atmospheric effect. Volume
Fog provides a fog effect in which the fog density is not constant through 3D space. This
AfterBurn plug-in provides effects such as puffy, cloudy fog that appears to drift and break up in
the wind.
However, there are some differences between the two. Afterburn’s Volume Fog:
1. Includes an option to have no noise affecting the fog.
2. Adds a feature that gives you more control over Exponential Coloration for the AfterBurn
Volume Fog effect.
3. Does not allow you to use the Fog Background feature. AfterBurn Volume Fog is
designed to mix properly with AfterBurn. When applied, AfterBurn effects can “fade into
it” in the same way as other 3ds Max objects.
For the best mixing of the AfterBurn effect and AfterBurn Volume Fog, both Step Size and both
Falloff spinner values should be identical. If not, the final look may not be satisfactory.
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Source Gizmos group of controls

By default, volume fog fills the entire scene. However, you can choose a gizmo (an atmospheric
apparatus) to contain the fog. The gizmo can be a sphere, a box, a cylinder, or some
combination of these.
Pick - Click this button to enter Pick mode and click an atmospheric apparatus in the scene. The
apparatus contains the volume fog when you render. The name of the apparatus is added to the
apparatus list.
Multiple apparatus objects can display the same fog effect.
You can pick multiple gizmos. Click Pick Gizmo and then press H. This displays a Pick Object
dialog on which you choose multiple objects from the list.
Changing the dimensions of a gizmo changes the region that fog affects, but doesn't change the
scale of the fog and its noise. For example, reducing the radius of a spherical gizmo crops the
fog, and moving the gizmo changes the fog's appearance.
Warning: When you press SHIFT while copying a gizmo, the new gizmo isn't bound to the
volume fog. If you want to use the new gizmo, you must use the Pick button to add it
explicitly.
Remove - Removes a gizmo from the AfterBurn Volume Fog effect. Select the gizmo in the list,
and then click Remove.
Soften Gizmo Edges - This spinner feathers the edges of the volume fog effect. The higher the
value, the softer the edges. Range=0.0 to 1.0.
NOTE: Don't set this value to 0. At 0, Soften Gizmo Edges can cause aliased edges.
Volume group of controls

This group of controls determines how the AfterBurn Volume Fog effect interacts with other
objects within your scene and how dense it is.
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Color - Sets the color for the fog. Click the color swatch, and then select the color you want in
the Color Selector. You can also animate the color effect by changing the fog color over time.
Exp. checkbox: When the Exponential checkbox is enabled, it increases the density of the
volume fog exponentially with distance. When turned off, density increases linearly with distance.
Activate this check box only when you want to render transparent objects in volume fog.
NOTE: If you turn on Exponential, increase the Step Size spinner value to avoid banding.
Falloff - This spinner is only available when you activate the Exponential checkbox and it affects
how the volume fog fades over the gizmo's volume. Higher values cause the fog to become more
opaque and darker.
Density - Controls the fog density. Range=0 to 20 (anything over that tends to obliterate the
scene).
Step Size - This spinner determines the granularity of the fog sampling; the "fineness" of the
fog. A large step size creates coarse (and to some extent, aliased) fog.
Max Steps - Limits the amount of sampling so that computing the fog doesn't take forever
(literally). This is especially useful when the fog is of low density.
NOTE: When both Step Size and Max Steps have low values, aliasing will result.
Noise group of controls

Noise options for AfterBurn Volume Fog are comparable to the noise options for the built-in Noise
Map with only a few exceptions.
Type: There are four radio buttons to choose the type of noise to apply to your Volume Fog
effect or you can choose to apply no noise at all.
Regular - This option uses a standard noise pattern.
Fractal - This option uses an iterative fractal noise pattern.
Turbulence - This option uses an iterative turbulence pattern.
None - No noise pattern at all
Invert - Reverses the noise effect. Dense fog becomes translucent and vice versa.
Noise Threshold
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This set of controls limits the noise effect. Each spinner has a range from 0.0 to 1.0. When the
noise value is above the Low threshold and below the High threshold, the dynamic range
stretches to fill 0-1. This makes for a smaller discontinuity (First order instead of 0 order) at the
threshold transition, and thus produces less potential aliasing.
High - Sets the high threshold.

Low - Sets the low threshold.
Uniformity - This spinner ranges from -1 to 1 and acts like a high-pass filter. The smaller the
value, the more transparent the volume is with discrete blobs of smoke. Around -0.3 or so your
image begins to look like specks of dust. Because the fog becomes thinner as this parameter gets
smaller, you'll probably need to increase the density or the volume will start to disappear.
Levels - This spinner sets the number of times the noise is iteratively applied. Range=1 to 6,
including fractional values. Enabled only for Fractal noise or Turbulence.
Size - Determines the size of the tendrils of smoke or fog. Smaller values give smaller tendrils.
Phase - This spinner controls the speed of the wind. If you have Wind Strength also set to
greater than 0, the fog volume animates in accordance with the wind direction. With no Wind
Strength, the fog churns in place. Because there's an animation track for phase, you can use the
Function Curve editor to define precisely how you want your wind "gusts" to occur.
NOTE: Wind moves the AfterBurn Volume Fog in the specified direction over time. Wind is tied to
the phase parameter so as the phase changes, the wind moves. If Phase isn't animated there will
be no wind.
Wind from the - Defines the direction the wind is coming from.
Wind Strength - Controls how fast the smoke moves away from the wind direction, relative to
phase. As mentioned above, if the phase is not animated then the smoke won't move, regardless
of the wind strength. By having the phase animate slowly with a large wind strength, the fog
moves more than it is churns.
Alternatively, if the phase changes rapidly while the wind strength is relatively small, the fog will
churn fast and drift slowly. If you want the fog to just churn in place, animate the phase but
keep Wind Strength at 0.
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AfterBurn Volume Fog Parameters rollout

AfterBurn’s Volume Fog is similar to the native 3ds max Volume Fog atmospheric effect. Volume
Fog provides a fog effect in which the fog density is not constant through 3D space. This
AfterBurn plug-in provides effects such as puffy, cloudy fog that appears to drift and break up in
the wind.
However, there are some differences between the two. Afterburn’s Volume Fog:
1. Includes an option to have no noise affecting the fog.
2. Adds a feature that gives you more control over Exponential Coloration for the AfterBurn
Volume Fog effect.
3. Does not allow you to use the Fog Background feature. AfterBurn Volume Fog is
designed to mix properly with AfterBurn. When applied, AfterBurn effects can “fade into
it” in the same way as other 3ds Max objects.
For the best mixing of the AfterBurn effect and AfterBurn Volume Fog, both Step Size and both
Falloff spinner values should be identical. If not, the final look may not be satisfactory.
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Source Gizmos group of controls

By default, volume fog fills the entire scene. However, you can choose a gizmo (an atmospheric
apparatus) to contain the fog. The gizmo can be a sphere, a box, a cylinder, or some
combination of these.
Pick - Click this button to enter Pick mode and click an atmospheric apparatus in the scene. The
apparatus contains the volume fog when you render. The name of the apparatus is added to the
apparatus list.
Multiple apparatus objects can display the same fog effect.
You can pick multiple gizmos. Click Pick Gizmo and then press H. This displays a Pick Object
dialog on which you choose multiple objects from the list.
Changing the dimensions of a gizmo changes the region that fog affects, but doesn't change the
scale of the fog and its noise. For example, reducing the radius of a spherical gizmo crops the
fog, and moving the gizmo changes the fog's appearance.
Warning: When you press SHIFT while copying a gizmo, the new gizmo isn't bound to the
volume fog. If you want to use the new gizmo, you must use the Pick button to add it
explicitly.
Remove - Removes a gizmo from the AfterBurn Volume Fog effect. Select the gizmo in the list,
and then click Remove.
Soften Gizmo Edges - This spinner feathers the edges of the volume fog effect. The higher the
value, the softer the edges. Range=0.0 to 1.0.
NOTE: Don't set this value to 0. At 0, Soften Gizmo Edges can cause aliased edges.
Volume group of controls

This group of controls determines how the AfterBurn Volume Fog effect interacts with other
objects within your scene and how dense it is.
Color - Sets the color for the fog. Click the color swatch, and then select the color you want in
the Color Selector. You can also animate the color effect by changing the fog color over time.
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Exp. checkbox: When the Exponential checkbox is enabled, it increases the density of the
volume fog exponentially with distance. When turned off, density increases linearly with distance.
Activate this check box only when you want to render transparent objects in volume fog.
NOTE: If you turn on Exponential, increase the Step Size spinner value to avoid banding.
Falloff - This spinner is only available when you activate the Exponential checkbox and it affects
how the volume fog fades over the gizmo's volume. Higher values cause the fog to become more
opaque and darker.
Density - Controls the fog density. Range=0 to 20 (anything over that tends to obliterate the
scene).
Step Size - This spinner determines the granularity of the fog sampling; the "fineness" of the
fog. A large step size creates coarse (and to some extent, aliased) fog.
Max Steps - Limits the amount of sampling so that computing the fog doesn't take forever
(literally). This is especially useful when the fog is of low density.
NOTE: When both Step Size and Max Steps have low values, aliasing will result.
Noise group of controls

Noise options for AfterBurn Volume Fog are comparable to the noise options for the built-in Noise
Map with only a few exceptions.
Type: There are four radio buttons to choose the type of noise to apply to your Volume Fog
effect or you can choose to apply no noise at all.
Regular - This option uses a standard noise pattern.
Fractal - This option uses an iterative fractal noise pattern.
Turbulence - This option uses an iterative turbulence pattern.
None - No noise pattern at all
Invert - Reverses the noise effect. Dense fog becomes translucent and vice versa.
Noise Threshold
This set of controls limits the noise effect. Each spinner has a range from 0.0 to 1.0. When the
noise value is above the Low threshold and below the High threshold, the dynamic range
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stretches to fill 0-1. This makes for a smaller discontinuity (First order instead of 0 order) at the
threshold transition, and thus produces less potential aliasing.
High - Sets the high threshold.

Low - Sets the low threshold.
Uniformity - This spinner ranges from -1 to 1 and acts like a high-pass filter. The smaller the
value, the more transparent the volume is with discrete blobs of smoke. Around -0.3 or so your
image begins to look like specks of dust. Because the fog becomes thinner as this parameter gets
smaller, you'll probably need to increase the density or the volume will start to disappear.
Levels - This spinner sets the number of times the noise is iteratively applied. Range=1 to 6,
including fractional values. Enabled only for Fractal noise or Turbulence.
Size - Determines the size of the tendrils of smoke or fog. Smaller values give smaller tendrils.
Phase - This spinner controls the speed of the wind. If you have Wind Strength also set to
greater than 0, the fog volume animates in accordance with the wind direction. With no Wind
Strength, the fog churns in place. Because there's an animation track for phase, you can use the
Function Curve editor to define precisely how you want your wind "gusts" to occur.
NOTE: Wind moves the AfterBurn Volume Fog in the specified direction over time. Wind is tied to
the phase parameter so as the phase changes, the wind moves. If Phase isn't animated there will
be no wind.
Wind from the - Defines the direction the wind is coming from.
Wind Strength - Controls how fast the smoke moves away from the wind direction, relative to
phase. As mentioned above, if the phase is not animated then the smoke won't move, regardless
of the wind strength. By having the phase animate slowly with a large wind strength, the fog
moves more than it is churns.
Alternatively, if the phase changes rapidly while the wind strength is relatively small, the fog will
churn fast and drift slowly. If you want the fog to just churn in place, animate the phase but
keep Wind Strength at 0.
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AfterBurn Fog Atmospheric
AfterBurn Fog Parameters rollout

AfterBurn Fog is similar to the native 3ds max Fog Atmospheric effect.
AfterBurn Fog is designed to mix properly with other AfterBurn effects. When applied, AfterBurn
can fade into the fog in the same way as other 3ds Max objects. We recommend you use
AfterBurn’s Exponential Fog setting (or Layered Fog) due to better accuracy.
If you don't specifically need volumetric fog, then use the regular AfterBurn Fog instead of
AfterBurn Volume Fog, because the former has very little impact on overall rendering time.
NOTE: AfterBurn Fog interacts best with Raymarcher high-density effects and Hyper Solids.
When used with the Octane Shader, you may experience undesirable results.
Fog group of controls

This group of controls the color of the AfterBurn Fog effect and if it interacts with the background
of your scene.
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Color - Sets the color for the AfterBurn Fog. Click the color swatch, and then select the color you
want in the Color Selector. You can animate the color over time as well.
Environment Color Map - Derives the AfterBurn Fog color from a map. You can map the
background and the fog color, you can animate the procedural map parameters in Track View or
Material Editor, and you can opacity-map the fog.
The large button displays the name of the color map, or None if no map is assigned. The map
must use Environmental mapping coordinates (spherical, cylindrical, shrinkwrap, or screen).
To assign the map you can drag a map from a Sample slot or Map button in the Material Editor
and drop it on the Environment Color Map button. A dialog asks if you want the environment
map to be a copy (independent) or an instance of the source map.
Clicking the Environment Color Map button displays the Material/Map Browser, where you can
choose a map type from the list. To adjust the environment map's parameters, open the Material
Editor and drag the Environment Color Map button over an unused sample slot.
Use Map checkbox: This checkbox toggles the effect of this map on or off.
Environment Opacity Map - Alters the density of the fog.
You assign the opacity map, edit it, and toggle its effect in the same way as the Environment
Color Map
Fog Background checkbox: Applies the AfterBurn Fog function to the background of the
scene.
Type: When you choose Standard it uses the parameters in the Standard section and when you
choose Layered is selected it uses the parameters in the Layered section.
Standard - Enables the Standard group.
Layered - Enables the Layered group.
Standard group of controls

This group of controls thins and thickens the AfterBurn Fog based on the distance from the
camera.
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Exponential checkbox: Increases density exponentially with distance. When turned off, density
increases linearly with distance. Activate this checkbox only when you want to render transparent
objects in your AfterBurn Fog effect.
Near % - Sets the density of the AfterBurn Fog at the Near Range (Camera Environment Range
parameter).
Far % - Sets the density of the AfterBurn Fog at the Far Range (Camera Environment Range
parameter).
Layered group of controls

This group of controls thins and thickens the AfterBurn Fog between an upper and lower limit.
You can have multiple layers of AfterBurn Fog by adding multiple AfterBurn Fog entries to the
list. Because you can animate all of the AfterBurn Fog parameters, you can also animate it rising
and falling, changing density and color, and add horizon noise.
Top - This spinner sets the upper extent (in 3ds Max world units) of the AfterBurn Fog layer.
Bottom - This spinner sets the lower extent (in 3ds Max world units) of the AfterBurn Fog
layer.
Density - This spinner controls the overall density of the AfterBurn Fog.
Falloff (Top/Bottom/None) - Adds an exponential falloff effect so that the density is reduced
to 0 at either the Top or Bottom of the AfterBurn Fog extent.
Horizon Noise checkbox: When this checkbox is active, it turns on the horizon noise system.
Horizon Noise perturbs just the horizon of the AfterBurn Fog layer to add realism.
Size - This spinner sets the scale factor applied to the noise. Larger scale values make the fog
tendrils larger.
NOTE: If you want tendrils to really pop out, try making the density greater than 100.
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Angle - Determines the affected angle off the horizon line. For example, if the angle is set to 5
(a reasonable value), then starting at 5 degrees below the horizon, the AfterBurn Fog effect will
begin to break up.
NOTE: This effect is mirrored above and below the horizon, which can produce strange results
when the height of the AfterBurn Fog layer traverses the horizon. Typically you'd want the
AfterBurn Fog to be either above or below the actual camera horizon. (You can use the horizon
line in the camera parameters as an aid to help you position this.)
Phase - Animating this parameter animates the noise. If Phase is moving in the positive
direction, then the AfterBurn Fog tendrils will drift upward (and deform at the same time). If your
AfterBurn Fog is above the horizon you may want to animate Phase in the negative direction to
make the tendrils fall downward.
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AfterBurn Fog Parameters rollout

AfterBurn Fog is similar to the native 3ds max Fog Atmospheric effect.
AfterBurn Fog is designed to mix properly with other AfterBurn effects. When applied, AfterBurn
can fade into the fog in the same way as other 3ds Max objects. We recommend you use
AfterBurn’s Exponential Fog setting (or Layered Fog) due to better accuracy.
If you don't specifically need volumetric fog, then use the regular AfterBurn Fog instead of
AfterBurn Volume Fog, because the former has very little impact on overall rendering time.
NOTE: AfterBurn Fog interacts best with Raymarcher high-density effects and Hyper Solids.
When used with the Octane Shader, you may experience undesirable results.
Fog group of controls

This group of controls the color of the AfterBurn Fog effect and if it interacts with the background
of your scene.
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Color - Sets the color for the AfterBurn Fog. Click the color swatch, and then select the color you
want in the Color Selector. You can animate the color over time as well.
Environment Color Map - Derives the AfterBurn Fog color from a map. You can map the
background and the fog color, you can animate the procedural map parameters in Track View or
Material Editor, and you can opacity-map the fog.
The large button displays the name of the color map, or None if no map is assigned. The map
must use Environmental mapping coordinates (spherical, cylindrical, shrinkwrap, or screen).
To assign the map you can drag a map from a Sample slot or Map button in the Material Editor
and drop it on the Environment Color Map button. A dialog asks if you want the environment
map to be a copy (independent) or an instance of the source map.
Clicking the Environment Color Map button displays the Material/Map Browser, where you can
choose a map type from the list. To adjust the environment map's parameters, open the Material
Editor and drag the Environment Color Map button over an unused sample slot.
Environment Opacity Map - Alters the density of the fog.
You assign the opacity map, edit it, and toggle its effect in the same way as the Environment
Color Map
Fog Background checkbox: Applies the AfterBurn Fog function to the background of the
scene.
Type: When you choose Standard it uses the parameters in the Standard section and when you
choose Layered is selected it uses the parameters in the Layered section.
Standard - Enables the Standard group.
Layered - Enables the Layered group.
Standard group of controls

This group of controls thins and thickens the AfterBurn Fog based on the distance from the
camera.
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Exponential checkbox: Increases density exponentially with distance. When turned off, density
increases linearly with distance. Activate this checkbox only when you want to render transparent
objects in your AfterBurn Fog effect.
Near % - Sets the density of the AfterBurn Fog at the Near Range (Camera Environment Range
parameter).
Far % - Sets the density of the AfterBurn Fog at the Far Range (Camera Environment Range
parameter).
Layered group of controls

This group of controls thins and thickens the AfterBurn Fog between an upper and lower limit.
You can have multiple layers of AfterBurn Fog by adding multiple AfterBurn Fog entries to the
list. Because you can animate all of the AfterBurn Fog parameters, you can also animate it rising
and falling, changing density and color, and add horizon noise.
Top - This spinner sets the upper extent (in 3ds Max world units) of the AfterBurn Fog layer.
Bottom - This spinner sets the lower extent (in 3ds Max world units) of the AfterBurn Fog
layer.
Density - This spinner controls the overall density of the AfterBurn Fog.
Falloff (Top/Bottom/None) - Adds an exponential falloff effect so that the density is reduced
to 0 at either the Top or Bottom of the AfterBurn Fog extent.
Horizon Noise checkbox: When this checkbox is active, it turns on the horizon noise system.
Horizon Noise perturbs just the horizon of the AfterBurn Fog layer to add realism.
Size - This spinner sets the scale factor applied to the noise. Larger scale values make the fog
tendrils larger.
NOTE: If you want tendrils to really pop out, try making the density greater than 100.
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Angle - Determines the affected angle off the horizon line. For example, if the angle is set to 5
(a reasonable value), then starting at 5 degrees below the horizon, the AfterBurn Fog effect will
begin to break up.
NOTE: This effect is mirrored above and below the horizon, which can produce strange results
when the height of the AfterBurn Fog layer traverses the horizon. Typically you'd want the
AfterBurn Fog to be either above or below the actual camera horizon. (You can use the horizon
line in the camera parameters as an aid to help you position this.)
Phase - Animating this parameter animates the noise. If Phase is moving in the positive
direction, then the AfterBurn Fog tendrils will drift upward (and deform at the same time). If your
AfterBurn Fog is above the horizon you may want to animate Phase in the negative direction to
make the tendrils fall downward.
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AfterBurn Video Post Effects

AfterBurn Glow Render Effect
AfterBurn comes with a special glow routine (called AfterBurn Glow), which enables you to glow
the AfterBurn effect based on the particle age.
AfterBurn Glow is also available as a Video Post plug-in.
You can use AfterBurn Glow to glow both AfterBurn and AfterBurn Combustion effects.
To use AfterBurn Glow, or any other Render Effect or Video Post filter that keys off an Object
and/or Material ID, you must select Create Image Channels in the AfterBurn Renderer User
Interface.
Glow Animation group of controls

These settings allow you to apply strength, size, and color (if you are using a user-defined color
instead of the material color) to the glow and animate them over the particle age using
Animation Flow Functions (AFFs).
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Size - Lets you specify the size of the glow at birth and death of the AfterBurn effect. You can
control the size interpolation using the AFF.
Strength - Lets you specify the strength of the glow at birth and death of the AfterBurn effect.
You can control how the glow dies off over time using the AFF. This is very helpful for situations
like explosions where the glow tends to taper off after the initial bang.
Color - This glow is based either on the color information from the AfterBurn effect or a user-
specified color.
Color group of controls

This group of controls determines what color the AfterBurn Glow will use to create the glow
effect.
Material - This option pulls the color of the AfterBurn Glow from the existing AfterBurn effect.
User - The User option applies the colors set within the Glow Animation group of controls above
and ignores the existing AfterBurn effect coloration.
Source group of controls

This setting is where you define what parts of the AfterBurn output should be glowed using the
AfterBurn Glow Render Effect.
Channel - Using this parameter, you can specify which Material ID channel should be affected
by the AfterBurn Glow. This ID should be the same as the ID you have specified within the
AfterBurn or AfterBurn Combustion effects.
AFF (Animation Flow Functions)

Animation Flow Functions are used for animation between the birth and death values of the glow,
as well as color and strength values within the AfterBurn Glow effect.
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The bottom left corner indicates the birth of the particle while the bottom right corner indicates
the death. The space in between is the life of the particle.
Low Clip - This spinner, if raised above 0.0, will hold a minimum value until the low clip value is
reached. In this way, the birth value is maintained until this point in the particle's life is reached.
High Clip - This parameter, if lowered below 1.0 will change the curve so it will reach the
maximum value much faster and tends to compress the time it takes to reach the high clip.
Presets - There is also a flyout next to the two spinners that contains three preset AFF curves: A
standard S-Curve, a Quick-Out and a Slow-Out.
S-Curve - This one keeps the start value low to begin, then gradually rises to the end value.
Quick-Out - This curve leaves the start value quickly and gradually eases into the end value.
Slow-Out - This curve eases out of the start value slowly and rapidly approaches the end
value.
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AfterBurn Glow Render Effect

AfterBurn comes with a special glow routine (called AfterBurn Glow), which enables you to glow
the AfterBurn effect based on the particle age.
AfterBurn Glow is also available as a Video Post plug-in.
You can use AfterBurn Glow to glow both AfterBurn and AfterBurn Combustion effects.
To use AfterBurn Glow, or any other Render Effect or Video Post filter that keys off an Object
and/or Material ID, you must select Create Image Channels in the AfterBurn Renderer User
Interface.
Glow Animation group of controls

These settings allow you to apply strength, size, and color (if you are using a user-defined color
instead of the material color) to the glow and animate them over the particle age using
Animation Flow Functions (AFFs).
Size - Lets you specify the size of the glow at birth and death of the AfterBurn effect. You can
control the size interpolation using the AFF.
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Strength - Lets you specify the strength of the glow at birth and death of the AfterBurn effect.
You can control how the glow dies off over time using the AFF. This is very helpful for situations
like explosions where the glow tends to taper off after the initial bang.
Color - This glow is based either on the color information from the AfterBurn effect or a user-
specified color.

This group of controls determines what color the AfterBurn Glow will use to create the glow
effect.
Material - This option pulls the color of the AfterBurn Glow from the existing AfterBurn effect.
User - The User option applies the colors set within the Glow Animation group of controls above
and ignores the existing AfterBurn effect coloration.
Source group of controls

This setting is where you define what parts of the AfterBurn output should be glowed using the
AfterBurn Glow Render Effect.
Channel - Using this parameter, you can specify which Material ID channel should be affected
by the AfterBurn Glow. This ID should be the same as the ID you have specified within the
AfterBurn or AfterBurn Combustion effects.
AFF (Animation Flow Functions)

Animation Flow Functions are used for animation between the birth and death values of the glow,
as well as color and strength values within the AfterBurn Glow effect.
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The bottom left corner indicates the birth of the particle while the bottom right corner indicates
the death. The space in between is the life of the particle.
Low Clip - This spinner, if raised above 0.0, will hold a minimum value until the low clip value is
reached. In this way, the birth value is maintained until this point in the particle's life is reached.
High Clip - This parameter, if lowered below 1.0 will change the curve so it will reach the
maximum value much faster and tends to compress the time it takes to reach the high clip.
Presets - There is also a flyout next to the two spinners that contains three preset AFF curves: A
standard S-Curve, a Quick-Out and a Slow-Out.
S-Curve - This one keeps the start value low to begin, then gradually rises to the end value.
Quick-Out - This curve leaves the start value quickly and gradually eases into the end value.
Slow-Out - This curve eases out of the start value slowly and rapidly approaches the end
value.
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AfterBurn Daemons
AfterBurn Wind Daemon
The Wind Daemon forces the Noise to move in a certain direction, giving the illusion of wind
affecting a volumetric effect.
On - Enables or disables the Wind Daemon.
Force group of controls

Strength - The Wind Daemon is animated automatically, so there’s no need to animate the
strength. For a fast-moving wind effect, set it to a high value like 25. If you want a slowly-
moving wind effect, use a lower value like 5. The Noise will appear to be moving in the direction
of the icon's arrow. If the Strength value is negative, the effect direction will be reversed.
Decay - Causes the wind force to fade to zero set from the emitter.
Shape group of controls

Planar - When the shape is set to planar, the wind blows in one straight line in the icon’s
direction.
Spherical - When the shape is set to spherical, the wind blows from the center of the icon
outwards in all directions.
This is similar to 3ds Max’s Wind Space Warp. The icon size is not important; however, the
direction of the wind is important.
NOTE: Use Spherical wind with caution as you may experience strange Noise motion after a
certain number of frames. This is due to large Strength/Decay values that are used. Lower the
Strength/Falloff values to fix the problem.
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Global - This setting causes the wind to affect the volumetric effects globally. This means that
whole particles (or AfterBurn Combustion) will be affected with the same amount of Wind.
Local - This setting causes the wind influence to be evaluated at each sample. By using this
option, you can affect every sample by a different amount of wind (for example, with Decay or
by using a Spherical Daemon Shape). You can use the Global Wind Daemon with more than 20
particles without noticing a difference from a Local one. However, if Decay or Spherical shapes
are not used, there’s no need to use the Local Daemon due to the effect being the same as using
the Global one.
Keep in mind that rendering speed will be slower when using the Local type.
Icon Size - The size of the Wind Daemon icon. This serves only for displaying the Daemon
inside the 3ds max viewports.
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AfterBurn Swirl Daemon

The Swirl Daemon enables you to “swirl” your AfterBurn effects, like the effect produced by a
dust devil or tornado. You can control how much swirling to apply and how fast it rotates.
On - This checkbox enables or disables the daemon.

Strength - The strength of the swirl effect. A higher value results in a stronger swirl. You must
animate the Strength setting to produce a moving swirl effect.
Decay - The decay from the swirl center outwards. As the AfterBurn volumetric puffs get further
away from the Swirl icon, the lower the amount of swirl will be applied to the puffs.
Radius - The radius of the swirl effect.
Volumetrics bounded by Decay and Radius will be affected by the Swirl effect only. As you move
towards the Swirl Decay limits, the influence will be lessened.
The left image is the rendering output of the scene on the right. Notice how the whole AfterBurn
Combustion is swirled.
In the images below, Daemons have been moved to the right and only Combustion parts that fall
inside the icon are affected by Swirl.
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Global - The swirl is evaluated at the center of the container and all samples contained are
affected by the same amount.
Local - A new swirling amount is evaluated for each sample.
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AfterBurn Void Daemon

The Void Daemon makes the Noise density fade to zero across some distance. Essentially, it can
poke holes within the AfterBurn volumetric effects.
On - Enables or disables the Void Daemon.

Size - The affected area that is represented by the icon size.
In the images above, the size of the Void is varied from 14 to 35. As you can tell, the bigger the
value, the bigger the hole 'drilled' in the AfterBurn Combustion effect.
Falloff - The falloff distance from the icon.
Below are left and camera viewport.
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The left image is a side view of scene used. Area marked as 1 acts as the point where the noise
is to disappear. Along area 2 volumetrics linearly becomes visible, and to become unaffected in
area 3. A small Falloff value is used here because if you animate the Void drilling through an
effect, noise will gradually disappear in front of Daemon. For this reason, it is always better to
use some falloff, because the transition area where the noise disappears will be smoother.
Otherwise artifacts can be produced unless an adequate Step Size is set in the AfterBurn effect.
The green border represents the effect limit set by size parameter
Shape group of controls

There are three different types of shapes you can choose from: Rectangular, Circular and
Spherical.
The Void Daemon effect is limited by its size and there will be no effect to the volumetrics falling
outside the icon size. The Falloff value also sets additional limits to the effect.
NOTE: For both the Rectangular and Circular Shape types, the effect extends in the direction of
the viewport icon outwards (dependent upon the Falloff spinner setting). Since both of these
shape types are 2D, they can be used to form a virtual cutoff plane for the volumetric effects.

Global - Each AfterBurn volumetric puff or Combustion Gizmo (container) will be affected on an
individual level. This means that all samples inside a single container will be affected equally by
the amount calculated in the center of the container.
Local - Enables the creation of density gradients along each AfterBurn volumetric puff or in an
AfterBurn Combustion gizmo. With the Local type feature, you can actually drill a hole through
your volumetric effects.
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Affect Noise group of controls

Normal - The normal way of calculating the method in which the Void Daemon affects the
volumetric puffs. By default, the arrows on the Void Daemon gizmo indicate the direction of the
Void effect which is outward.
Inverted - When this option is selected, the Void Daemon's affect on the volumetric puffs is
flipped. The easiest way to determine the direction of affect is to look at the viewport
representation of the Void Daemon.
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AfterBurn Explode Daemon

This Daemon lets you add a glowing color based on the sampling position, particle age and the
overall 3ds Max time.
NOTE: The Explode Daemon can be used with the Raymarcher effect type only. HyperSolids and
OctaneShader are not supported.
On - Enables or disables the daemon.

This group of controls lets you set the coloration of the explosion effect.
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Color - This gradient lets you define the color of the AfterBurn Explode effect based on density
or distance from the particle center (you choose it from the AfterBurn Color Parameters rollout).
For the AfterBurn Combustion effect, it is always interpolated by radius. The left part of the
gradient represents the volume (particle) center or low density. The right part of the gradient
represents the volume (particle) border or high density.
Color Key Shift with Age - Since the explosion intensity varies with time (the outer parts of
the explosion cool down first), this AFC (Animation Flow Curve) can shift the Color gradient keys
with time. At the explosion start frame, the hottest parts will be placed on the volume surface.
Frame by frame, the explosion then cools down – the hotter parts move toward the particle
center and finally fade to the cold smoke color. Key Shift with Age will “shift” the keys on the left
side of the gradient.
Multiplier - This AFC can vary the Color intensity over the particle life.
Color Blending group of controls

There are several methods for this daemon to blend with the AfterBurn effect’s color.
Add - The daemon’s color gradient is added to the AfterBurn effect's color. In the example
shown below, the original gradient is pure gray, and the Explode daemon's gradient goes from
white to red.
Multiply - The daemon’s color is multiplied by the AfterBurn effect's color. If any color is on the
AfterBurn gradient is black, the final result on the resulting volumetric will be black. In the
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example shown below, the original gradient is pure gray, and the Explode daemon's gradient
goes from white to red.
Replace - The AfterBurn effect's color is completely ignored and replaced by the daemon’s
gradient color. In the example shown below, the original gradient is pure gray, and the Explode
daemon's gradient goes from white to red. In the example shown below, the original gradient is
pure gray, and the Explode daemon's gradient goes from white to red.
Intensity Blend - The higher intensity of the daemon’s color will provide a higher influence on
the resulting volumetric. Brighter intensities (like white) will be blended into the AfterBurn effect's
output. In the example shown below, the original gradient is pure gray, and the Explode
daemon's gradient goes from white to red.
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Perturbation group of controls

The Perturbation parameter controls Noise used to perturb the sampling point. The point is
perturbed to avoid any regularity that may occur and serves to make the explosion more grainy.
Scale - This spinner controls the overall scale of the noise pattern. Lower scale values produce
more pronounced noise patterns while higher scale values produce more subtle noise patterns.
Amount - Controls the amount of noise used to perturb the sampling point. This spinner goes
from 0.0 (no perterbation) to 1.0 (full perterbation).
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Levels - More levels provide a more detailed Noise effect (and slower rendering). Be careful with
this parameter, as too many levels can slow the rendering down without adding any new detail to
the effect.
Limits group of controls

This parameter allows you to limit the effect by the Spherical boundary. This can be helpful in
localizing the explode effect to a particular portion of the particle system and volumetric effect.
Limit Effect checkbox: This checkbox tells the Explode daemon to limit the effect.
Size - This spinner controls the radius of the bounding Sphere. Everything within that sphere get
the Explode effect, while all puffs outside of it's boundary are not affected.
Regularity - A relative value to the Size beyond which the influence of the Explode Daemon will
gradually fade to zero.
Icon Size - Size of the icon (3ds Max viewport only.) It does not have any influence on the final
rendered effect.
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AfterBurn VMap Daemon

The VMap daemon allows you to use any native 3ds max 3D map for an AfterBurn Noise effect.
For the fastest results, set the noise levels in the AfterBurn UI to 0.0. This way only the VMap will
be computed while the computation of internal Noise will be skipped.
On - Enables or disables the daemon.
Map - Click to select the map that you want to use to create the noise for your AfterBurn
volumetric effect.
Map Scale - This spinner controls the overall scale of the selected 3D map type. Instead of
scaling a Map in the Material editor, you can scale with the Map Scale parameter.
Icon size - Size of the icon (3ds max viewport only.) It does not have any influence on the final
rendered effect.
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AfterBurn Daemon Link Map Type

This map type allows you to alter a map using AfterBurn Daemons. For example, you might use
the Swirl Daemon and make the underlying map swirls depending on the daemon settings and
movement.
With the Void Daemon, you can achieve effects such as color changing based on the distance
from the daemon.
Source Daemons group of controls

Pick - Click to select one or more AfterBurn Daemons within the 3ds Max viewports.
Remove - Highlight the AfterBurn Daemon you want to remove then click this button to
eliminate it from the dropdown list.
Map group of controls

Map Slot - This button allows you to pick a map to have the AfterBurn Daemon control and
distort.
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AfterBurn Particle Flow Operator

With the incorporation of Autodesk Media & Entertainment's Particle Flow Extension into 3ds
Max 5, you now have the ability to control AfterBurn in concert with any designed Flow. What
this means is that as particles branch into new flows, you can assign independent AfterBurn
atmospherics to each one, giving you a whole new level of precision. Explosions, waterfalls,
crumbling debris and much more is easily defined and rendered.
Say you have a particle animation that simulates water pouring into a hot skillet or pan. For all
particles that come in contact with the pan, you would want them to turn into steam and rise,
whereas for particles that don't hit the pan, you want them to simply land on another surface,
perhaps breaking into smaller water bits as they collide.
With the PFlow-ABurn Operator within Particle Flow, not only is this possible, but relatively
easy to accomplish.
The image above was created with a single Particle Flow entry, along with two AfterBurn entries;
one for the water look, and one for the steam look.
To learn more about the process of using the AfterBurn operator, click HERE.
To access the controls for the PFlow-ABurn operator, click HERE.
Using the AfterBurn Particle Flow Operator

To access the AfterBurn operator, you MUST have the Particle Flow extension installed. When
Particle Flow is opened, you will notice a new operator type within the Depot: PFlow-ABurn.
You can also access this operator by right-clicking within the main Particle View window. It is
located under New -> Misc. Event -> PFlow-ABurn.
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When you add a new AfterBurn operator to an existing flow, AfterBurn also creates a viewport
icon as well to indicate the presence of this operator, as shown below.
This icon is handy as it is what you select when you are applying an AfterBurn effect to a specific
part of your flow.
From within the AfterBurn atmospheric dialog, when you click on the Pick Particles/Daemons
button, you won't select the PFlow source, rather the individual PFlow-ABurn icons within the
viewport (or by using the H-key).
NOTE: If you do pick the PFlow source for AfterBurn, the effect is applied globally to all
subsequent portions of your flow. In certain situations, this might be desirable for layering
smoke effects and the like, but you will more often want to apply your AB effects to specific
areas within your flow.
Take the previous example of the water pouring into a hot pan. Below is the sample flow that
was created to get the effect:
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As you can see, there are three PFlow-ABurn entries within the system. The first is part of the
water emission (PFlow-ABurn (Water Look)), the second is associated with the steam section
(PFlow-ABurn (Water Look)), and the third is an instance of the first maintaining the original
water look (for all particles that don't collide with the pan). When it came time to select the
particle system to apply the AB3 effects to, the PFlow source was NOT chosen. Instead each of
the PFlow-ABurn entries was selected instead:
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IMPORTANT: Even instanced PFlow-ABurn entries must be chosen within AfterBurn in order
to apply the effect to them. It receives its own icon when created within the 3ds max UI and
need to be selected on their own.
PFlow-ABurn Operator Controls

Once you've assigned the PFlow-ABurn operator to a flow event, you can access it's parameters
in two ways. First, you can select the operator within the Particle View window and set the
controls within the Parameters portion of the floating dialog. Otherwise, you can select the
PFlow-ABurn icon within the viewports and set its controls via the Modify panel.
The interface for PFlow-ABurn operator is very simple.
Particle Scale checkbox - When this checkbox is active, the scale of the AfterBurn volumetric
particles is turned over to the Particle Flow system. If you have a Scale operator within your flow,
you can force the particles into sizes above and beyond what AfterBurn alone can produce.
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Particle Orientation checkbox - When this checkbox is active, the orientation of the AfterBurn
volumetric particles is turned over to the Particle Flow system. If you have a Rotation or Spin
operator within your flow, you can force the particles into directions above and beyond what
AfterBurn alone can produce.
Icon Size - This spinner controls the overall size of the viewport icon that is associated with the
PFlow-ABurn operator.
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ThinkingParticles 2 Support:
AfterBurn 3.2 now supports multiple ThinkingParticles 2 particle groups within the Master
System. From the AfterBurn user interface, you can select ThinkingParticles as your source
particle, and a new Group selector dialog will appear. Whichever TP2 particle Groups you pick will
be displayed inside the Source Particles/Daemons group of controls (as shown below).
New ThinkingParticles multiple system support
To learn more about the ThinkingParticles 2 support, click HERE.
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AfterBurn Shadow Generators

Within all of the standard 3ds Max lights, AfterBurn has incorporated two new shadow generator
types: AB Ray Trace Shadow and AB Shadow Map. Both are identical to the normal Ray Traced
Shadows and Shadow Map in terms of controls - the only difference is that they are AfterBurn
"aware", and can produce correct shadows for the AfterBurn effects.
For best results, we suggest you use AfterBurn Raytraced Shadows with very dense self-
shadowing Raymarcher effects such as volcanic eruptions and nuclear explosions. Ordinarily,
when using shadow maps (and self shadowing effects) you will not gain any speed
improvements. In addition, your shadows will look much worse than raytraced ones – you will
lose the great look of crisp shadows.
AB Shadow Maps are most welcome if you need soft shadows cast on objects or when you want
self-shadowing with transparent AfterBurn effects. By using Shadow maps on transparent effect,
your speed gains could vary from 2 to 4 times or more, compared with Ray Traced Shadows. If
there is no need for self-shadowing effects, but you want shadow casting on other objects,
Shadow maps with appropriate map sizes can produce good-looking soft shadows.
NOTE: Keep your light Hotspot and Falloff as small as possible, and your Shadow Map size as
small as possible as well. This will help you keep your memory requirements low. In addition, you
should avoid using Shadow-mapped AfterBurn Omni lights whenever possible, since Omni lights
are calculated as 6 spot lights with Hotspot/Falloff angles set to 45 degrees!
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Sticky Particles
This particle system enables you to create particles that move along the mesh surface. Particles
will be stuck in the same places even if the mesh is animated or morphed.
NOTE: No 3ds max Space Warp will affect the position and/or velocity of these particles.
Pick Object - Click on this button to pick an object in the 3ds Max viewports that will be used
as a base for particles distribution.
Particle Formation group of controls

This group of parameters lets you position the particles using various methods.
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There are three different places that the Sticky Particles object can place the particles.
Vertices - Particles will be placed at vertices of the selected object.
Face Centers - Particles will be placed at the face centers of the selected object.
UV Coord - This option enables you to place particles on arbitrary locations defined by the ‘U’
and ‘V’ parameters.
Reduce - To reduce the total number of particles stuck to the mesh, you need to increase this
value. It will effectively "skip" some parts of the selected geometry.
Mtl ID - This checkbox, when enabled, can further limit the placement of the particles on the
geometry by placing particles only at the faces with the specified Material ID.
Viewport Particles group of controls

This group controls the shape of the particles that are displayed in the viewport.
Drops - This viewport option makes the particles appear as drops.

Dots - This viewport option makes the particles appear as dots.
Ticks - This viewport option makes the particles appear as ticks.
Timing group of controls

The timing controls define when and for how long the Sticky Particles live.
Start - This spinner defines the Sticky Particles’ birth time.
Life - Once born, the Sticky Particles will exist between the defined start frame and Start+Life
frame. So if the start time is frame 10, and the particles are told to live for 40 frames, the
particles will die on frame 50.
Icon group of controls

Here is where you control the size of the Sticky Particle icon.
Width - This spinner controls the physical size of the icon in the 3ds Max viewports.
Hide checkbox: This checkbox controls whether the Sticky Particles icon is visible in the
viewports.
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Animation Flow Curves

Animation Flow Curves (AFCs) are used by AfterBurn to animate many parameters over time
from one value to another. By default, they are all disabled and need to be manually enabled to
create an effect.
Sometimes you don't need to animate a parameter over the particle age, thus you won't need to
use an AFC associated with it. However, many times it is advantageous to be able to animate the
parameter, such as the Phase of the noise so that the volumetric effects move realistically. In
such cases, you must right-click over the AFC icon to open the menu and switch it from the
[Disable] state to [Enable]. The right-click menu also provides quick access to AFC options such
as Copy, Paste and Reset.
When enabled, the AFC icon will become colored as shown in the image below. On it's left is the
icon for the Interpolation Controller.
When you left-click over an enabled AFC icon, the following Graph Editor will appear:
In the Graph Editor, the bottom left corner indicates the Low value for the chosen parameter,
and the top right corner indicates the High value. The curve you define will be used to interpolate
between these two values.
To refine the curve further, you can add keys simply by left-clicking on the curve. You can also
animate each key over the entire 3ds max scene time. (Note: in 3ds max 4, the Animate
button must be turned on. In 3ds max 5, you must turn on the Animate->Auto Key buttons.)
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You can change the key type by right-clicking on the points as shown below. Be aware that when
you click on a point, it turns white to indicate it is active.
When you do you get another pop-up where you can choose the type of curve you want applied
to that point.
Smooth – Creates a smooth curve, which has automatic tangent adjustment.
Corner – Parts of the segment that are closer to the point will have linear characteristics.
Bezier – Enables you to adjust the handles, which represent the curve slope at the point
location.
There’s also a toolbar in the bottom right corner; its buttons are described below.
Copy - Allows you to copy all keys.
Paste - Lets you paste keys from any other AFC.
Delete - Removes all selected points.
Reset - Resets the layout.
Keyboard Shortcuts when over a curve point:

Shift + left mouse button drag - restricts the movement to X-axis
Ctrl + left mouse button drag - restricts the movement to Y-axis
right mouse button - Pops up a menu (smooth, corner, delete key)
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Interpolation Controllers
Interpolation Controllers (ICs) enable you to vary the parameters by particle age (default PA
controller), particle velocity, distance from the emitter, distance from any other object in the
scene, or by using expressions. The easiest way to visualize how each controller works is to
enable the “Show in Viewport” button in the AfterBurn User Interface and to enable the “Sph.
radius” AFC.
In order to change between the various Interpolation Controller types, you right-click the AFC
Controller icon. You'll get the following dialog.
When you click the left mouse button over the Interpolation Controller, its dialog will show up.
Not all Interpolation Controllers have user interfaces.
Each controller is described below.
Particle Age (PA)

This is the default controller and it has no user interface. The AFC that uses this controller will
interpolate between Low and High values based on the particle's age.
Particle Velocity (PV)

The Interpolation between Low and High values is based on the particle velocity. Interpolation is
calculated using the AFC only if the particle velocity is in the Minimum to Maximum velocity
range.
Emitter Distance (ED)

The interpolation between Low and High values is based on the particle distance from the particle
system emitter. If the particle is further away than specified by the Maximum parameter, the
interpolation will be done using AFC, but the High value will be applied. If the particle is closer
than specified by Minimum, the Low values will be applied. All other distances ranging from
Minimum to Maximum will be used to interpolate the parameter.
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Object Distance (OD)

This Controller is similar to the Emitter Distance Controller, but instead of using a particle emitter
as the only reference object, you can pick any object from the scene.
Expression (XE)
Using this controller, you can write your own expressions that will be used to interpolate between
“Low” and “High” values using this AFC.
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Gradient Controls
Gradients are used to change the specific colors over the particle age. Gradients are accessible by
clicking the small icon located on the AfterBurn User Interface.
Some of the frequently used gradient options are accessible through the menu which is available
by right-clicking the Gradient’s icon as shown below.
Keyless mode - In this mode the Gradient will behave as a single color picker where the color is
constant throughout the particle life.
Copy - Copy the selected gradient.
Paste - Paste a selected gradient.
Load - Load a previously saved gradient .AGT file.
Save - Saves the selected gradient to an .AGT file.
Reset - Clears all the keys and sets the Gradient’s state to the default.
When you left-click on the small gradient icon within the AfterBurn dialog, a larger dialog box will
appear.
The left edge of the gradient is equivalent to the particle’s birth, while the right edge of the
gradient is equivalent to the particle’s death. The status line is located above the gradient and
shows the ID number of the currently edited key, with its color and position expressed as the
particle age. To get the best accuracy out of a particle age status line, you must manually adjust
the particle life (the default is 100) in the AfterBurn Particles Property dialog box.
There are two types of the Gradient: Linear and TCB.

Linear - This gradient type uses the linear interpolation between the color keys.
TCB - Tension, Continuity, Bias, Ease To (eT) and Ease From (eF) parameters provide a lot
more flexibility than the Linear gradient type. By using these parameters, you can change the
influence of each color key on the color interpolation along the segment.
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Gradient Usage
Left-click on gradient - After you release the button, a color key will be added at the selected
place.
Double left-click on key - Opens the color picker.
Left-click + drag mouse on gradient – Doing this allows you to select multiple keys
simultaneously.
Left-click on key + drag mouse - Moves the color key to the desired place.
Right-click on key - Opens the key menu as shown below. The options within this menu allow you
to copy flag colors from one color key to another quickly as well as delete a key.
Right-click on gradient - Opens the gradient menu where you can also reset the entire gradient
as well as copy, paste, load and save them.
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RapidRay
RapidRay is a raytracing acceleration system built specifically for Sitni Sati’s 3ds Max plug-in
DreamScape. (DreamScape enables you to create dynamic natural scenery in 3ds max, such as
realistic skies, clouds, terrains and ocean surfaces.)
RapidRay is also used in AfterBurn 3.0 to accelerate intersections with objects during HyperSolids
reflection/refraction effects.
Max. Depth - This parameter represents the maximum depth of grid nesting. Higher values
might result in shorter rendering times, but nested grids will occupy much more RAM.
Max. Faces/Voxel - Each cell of a uniform grid is called a “voxel.” When a voxel contains more
faces than specified by this parameter, this cell will be subdivided until the Maximum faces per
voxel or Maximum depth limit is reached.
Max. Width - Each grid is subdivided into a number of smaller voxels, where this parameter
limits the number of grid dividing voxels.
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MAXScript Controls
MaxScript Support
Methods:
<void>AddPartsDaemon <node>particle_daemon
- This method allows you to add particles or Daemons to AfterBurn
<void>AddLight <node>light
- This method allows you to add lights to AfterBurn
<void>RemovePartsDaemon <node>particle_daemon
- Use this method to remove particles or Daemons from AfterBurn
<void>RemoveLight <node>light
- Use this method to remove lights from AfterBurn
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Tutorials
Tutorial 1: Octane Shader
In this introductory tutorial you will learn how to use the Octane Shader. The Octane Shader is
AfterBurn's ultra-fast rendering algorithm that helps you quickly create dust and vapor trails.
1. In 3ds Max, select File->Open, and from your /Scenes/AfterBurn/Tutorials folder, select
the file AB-Tut1.max.
2. After the file loads, scrub the Time Slider.
You'll see a Super Spray emitter, moving left to right (trailing a line of particles) across the top of
a flat Box primitive. You're going to add the AfterBurn effect to this particle system and adjust it
so that it looks like light smoke.
3. To create the AfterBurn entry go to Rendering->Environment then from the

Atmosphere rollout click Add.
4. Select AfterBurn from the list and click OK.
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When the AfterBurn entry is added into the Effects list, you should notice that an AfterBurn
Renderer entry is added automatically as shown below. All AfterBurn Environmental effects
need this rendering engine in order render, and therefore it is added when any of these effects is
selected. Make sure that This entry is located somewhere in your AfterBurn Environment Effects
queue whenever you render with AfterBurn.
5. Click the Pick button in the Source Particles/Daemons list box. The button will turn
yellow to indicate that you should select a particle source from within your scene.
6. To pick SuperSpray01, press H on your keyboard to bring up the Select by Name dialog
box. From the Selection list, choose SuperSpray01.
NOTE: You can also move the mouse pointer over the SuperSpray01 object in the 3ds max
viewports and click it directly. The Pick button will switch off automatically after you've picked the
Super Spray emitter.
Next, we want to have the light in the scene affect the AfterBurn effect that we're creating.
7. From the Source Lights list box, click the Pick button, then select Spot01.
Again, you can do this either by clicking on the Spotlight itself in the 3ds Max viewports or use
the Select by Name feature (H-key) to pick the light.
8. From the AfterBurn Manager rollout, change the Rendering type to Octane Shader.
As was mentioned earlier, the Octane Shader is AfterBurn's very fast rendering engine and is
good for creating dust and vapor effects.
9. In the Noise Animation Parameters rollout, change the Density from 3.0 to 0.1.
10. Advance to frame 100 and render the Camera01 viewport.
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Notice that the smoke trail is way too light and does not look realistic since it should spread as it
moves away from the emitter. In order to make the smoke trail grow as the emitter moves away,
you'll need to animate the size of the volumetric effect over time. You do this within AfterBurn
through its AfterBurn Flow Curves.
11. In the Particle Shape/Animation Parameters rollout, right-click over the Sph. Radius AFC
button and select Enable.
Once set, the AFC button will highlight, and you should also see that the High value spinner
control becomes enabled. By default, the AFC controller will animate a value in a linear fashion
over the course of the AfterBurn effect from the Low to the High value.
12. Set the High value Sph. Radius to 50.0

13. Next, in the Noise Animation Parameters rollout, enable the Noise Size AFC.
14. Set the High value for the Noise Size parameter to 30.
This will make the noise grow together with the volumetric spheres.
15. Now, render frame 100 again.
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It looks better now, but some shadows would help provide depth to the image.
16. Select Spot01, then from the 3ds Max Modifier panel, go to the Shadow Parameters
rollout.
17. Turn the spotlight’s Shadows checkbox On.
18. From the Shadows dropdown list, choose AB Ray Trace Shadow.
NOTE: This is still not sufficient for AfterBurn to cast shadows, but you’ll fix that in a second.
19. Back in the AfterBurn Environment rollout, within the Illumination/Shading Parameters
rollout, check the Self Shadows checkbox.
This will make AfterBurn cast shadows on the AfterBurn effect itself.
20. Enable the Shadow Cast checkbox as well so that the AfterBurn effect cast shadows on
the ground plane.
21. Render frame 100 again.
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This looks okay, but the shadow is too dark for light smoke. We'll adjust that.
22. Set the Shadow Opacity spinner to 0.3.
With Shadow Opacity, you can control the darkness of the shadows. Higher values will produce
darker shadows. Since this is supposed to be light smoke, we don't want it as high, so the lower
value produces a more realistic look.
If you like, render out the complete animation (either an .AVI or an image sequence)
This introductory tutorial should have given you some idea of what is needed to create an
AfterBurn effect. As you can see, it's easy to get started, yet there are plenty of options available
to refine your effects. In the next tutorial, we'll start working with the color gradients and the
look of the noise that AfterBurn uses.
Tutorial 2
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Tutorial 2: Colors and Noise

In this tutorial, we'll start working with the gradient controls to affect the coloring of your
AfterBurn effect.
This tutorial picks up where Tutorial 1 ended, with a Super Spray emitter, moving left to right
across the top of a flat Box primitive.
2. Select Rendering->Environment, and click on the AfterBurn entry in Atmosphere->Effects

to open the AfterBurn atmospheric.
3. Go to the Color Parameters rollout and left-click on the Color1 Gradient field (the white
box) to bring up the Gradient Editor. This floating window is fully resizable.
4. Right-click on the rightmost color key, and from the dropdown menu, select Key Color.
5. Change this key color to Black (RGB: 0, 0, 0). Do not close the Gradient Editor yet.
6. Now, activate the Camera01 view and render frame 100.
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Notice how the smoke gradually changes from white to black. Those particles that are just born
are white, and as they get older, they turn black. This follows the gradient settings you just
made. You can add as many Color keys to the Gradient as you want to achieve the result you
want.
7. Return to the Gradient Editor, and in the middle of the color gradient, left-click to create
another Color key. The position of the key is not critical.
8. Change this new color key to Red (RGB: 255, 0, 0), then close the Color Selector and
Gradient Editor.
Next, you'll add another color gradient and blend between them.
9. In the AfterBurn atmospheric dialog, go to the Color Parameters rollout and activate the
Color 2 radio button.
Now you have two separate color gradients affecting the AfterBurn effect. The first is the
white/red/black one, and the second is this new, all-white one.
10. Activate the Camera01 viewport and render frame 100.
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You should see that the Color 1 gradient is visible at the center of the effect while the new Color
2 gradient is visible at the edges of the volumetric effect. This is due to the fact that the c1-
>c2->c3 option is set to Distance. This option changes the color of the volumetric puff from
Color 1 to Color 2 based on the distance from the particle center.
However, you can affect where the cross-over occurs between the two color gradients by using
the Pos. spinners. The Pos. (Position) spinners adjust the distance where Color1 starts to face
into Color2. And by using the AFC (Animation Flow Curve), you can also vary this blending over
the particle age.
11. Right-click over the Color1 Pos. AFC button and select Enable. The AFC default
transition function is linear, which is good enough for this tutorial.
12. Leave the left Pos. spinner at 0.0 and set the right Pos. spinner to 0.3.
These numbers indicate the relative distance from the particle center. 0.0 is the particle center
and 1.0 is the particle surface. By the end of the particles' lives, the Color 1 positioning is 0.3
(roughly one-third) away from the particle centers before the transition to Color 2 begins.
13. Activate your Camera01 viewport and render frame 100 again.
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Note that the red color is much closer now to the surface towards the end of the smoke trail than
it was before.
14. Go to the Noise Shape Parameters rollout and change the Noise type from Turbulence to
Fractal.
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The Fractal noise seems to be more voluminous than the Turbulence noise setting.
As you can see, the color gradients that AfterBurn uses can be a powerful tool in creating it's
effects, especially when you start blending multiple gradients together to get complex looks out
of the volumetric puffs. In the next tutorial, you'll discover other ways of coloring your AfterBurn
volumetric effects. Specifically, you'll get to work with the new AfterBurn Explode Daemon to see
how to create a convincing explosion.
Tutorial 3
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Tutorial 3: Raymarcher & The Explode Daemon

One of the improved features of AfterBurn 3.0 is the Explode Daemon. In this tutorial, you'll work
more with the AfterBurn color gradient and noise settings as well as the AfterBurn Explode
Daemon to set up a burning, fiery smoke effect.
The AfterBurn Explode Daemon lets you add color to an AfterBurn effect. This color can vary by
distance from particle center or by density.
When the file loads, you'll see a Plane object with a Noise modifier applied to make it look like
terrain. If you scrub the Time Slider, you'll see a Snow particle emitter spraying particles
upwards, like a geyser.
2. Go to Rendering->Environment dialog and from the Atmosphere rollout click Add.

3. Select AfterBurn to add an AfterBurn entry to the Effects list.
4. From the Source Particles/Daemons list box, pick the Snow01 particle system.
5. From the Source Lights list box, pick the Direct01 light.
6. In the AfterBurn Manager rollout, check the Show in Viewport button under the Tools
group of controls.
7. Advance the 3ds max Time Slider to frame 60. This will help to visualize the Sphere
radius parameter we are going to tweak.
As you can see, the particles show up as small spheres. These spheres represent the size of the
AfterBurn volumetric puffs that are to be applied to the Snow particle system. Unfortunately they
are much too small right now, but we can change that.
8. Under the Particle Shape/Animation Parameters rollout, right-click over the Sphere
Radius AFC and select Enable.
9. Set the Low value to 50.0 and the High value to 120.0.
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As you do, you'll see the spheres in the scene increase in size.
10. Select the Camera01 viewport and render frame 60.
As you can see, the size looks right, but the noise is too small and looks incorrect. You'll change
this next to something more appropriate.
11. In the Noise Animation Parameters rollout, set Density to 2.0.

12. Right-click over the Noise Size AFC, enable it, and set the Low value to 30.0 and the
High value to 80.0.
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The noise size now looks about right for the explosion effect you're designing. Now we'll start to
spice up the smoke effects with the Explode Daemon.
14. In the 3ds Max Command Panel, go to Create->Helpers and choose AfterBurn
Daemons from the dropdown menu.
15. Select Explode then left-click and drag to create its icon anywhere in the viewport. (It
creates an X-shaped gizmo)
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NOTE: The Explode Daemon has another unique capability to limit the range of its influence to
the AfterBurn effect. As you don't need this capability it doesn't matter where you create it in the
viewports.
16. In the Command Panel, go to Modify mode.

17. Right-click over the Color Gradient field (the white rectangle) and choose Load.
18. From the /Scenes/AfterBurn/Tutorials folder, load the explode.agt gradient.
To associate any Daemon with an AfterBurn effect, you have to make AfterBurn "aware" of the
Daemon by selecting it within the AfterBurn Source Particles/Daemons list box.
19. Back within the AfterBurn atmospheric, click the Pick Particles/Daemons button, and add
the Explode01 Daemon to the source list.
20. Inside the Color Parameters rollout, right-click over the Color 1 gradient field and select
Keyless mode. In this mode, the gradient is functioning just like a standard 3ds Max
Color Selector box.
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21. Left-click on the gradient to bring up the Color Selector, then set the color to Dark Gray
(RGB: 50, 50, 50).
This is necessary as we want the Explode Daemon to control the color of the fire and smoke
entirely. Be aware that by not setting the color to black, that there will be some subtle shadowing
contributed from the original gradient when we eventually have the effect cast shadows.
22. Activate your Camera01 viewport and render frame 60.
You're getting there, but right now you should notice that the entire smoke plume is colored the
same way. This is incorrect. We want to avoid that and make the explosion more fiery at the
beginning and black at the tail.
23. Go back to the Explode Daemon rollout.

24. Right-click the Key Shift with Age AFC and enable it.
25. Right-click the Multiplier AFC and enable it.
You will tweak the multiplier to make the beginning of the smoke look more “hot” than the tail.
23. Set the first Multiplier value to 10.0 and leave the second Multiplier value at 1.0.
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This is now starting to look like an explosion. But the AfterBurn effect still needs some shadows
to add some realism.
25. To add some shadows, go to the AfterBurn Illumination/Shading Parameters rollout and
check the Self Shadows box.
Before you render again, you also have to enable the Direct01 light shadows.
25. Select the Direct01 light, and from the Modify panel, enable the light’s Shadows
checkbox, then from the dropdown menu directly below, choose AB Ray Trace
Shadow.
That looks pretty good. If you like render out the entire animation to see how the rising fiery
plume looks over time.
With this tutorial, you've learned how to associate AfterBurn daemons with specific AfterBurn
volumetric effects. Moreover, you've seen how easy it is to build some thick, dense smoke by
combining standard AfterBurn color gradients and the special effects look of the AfterBurn
Explode daemon. Moving ahead, you'll next get to see how to quickly model clouds using
standard 3ds Max geometry.
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Tutorial 4
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Tutorial 4: Cloud Modeling

One of the abilities of AfterBurn is to create convincing clouds to populate your environments. In
this tutorial, you'll be taught how to convert a simple box object into a very effective cloud
generator.
When the file loads, you'll see a Box primitive, a Direct light, and AfterBurn Particles called
Sticky Particles01. If you scroll the Time Slider, you'll see the Box move left to right across the
Perspective viewport.
The first thing you need to do is add an AfterBurn atmospheric effect.
2. Go to Rendering->Environment and from the Atmosphere rollout, click Add.

3. From the resulting dialog, select AfterBurn to create an AfterBurn entry in the Effects
list.
4. From the Source Particles/Daemons list box pick the Sticky Particles01 particle system.
5. From the Source Lights list box pick the Direct01 light.
Next, you'll define how AfterBurn is going to use the box primitive to create the clouds.
6. Go to the Perspective viewport and select Sticky Particles01.

7. Go to the 3ds max Modify panel.
8. From the Sticky Particles01 UI, click the Pick Object button, then select the Box01
object in the viewports.
9. Change the Viewport Particles display option to Ticks.
Notice that one particle is created at each vertex of the object. The AfterBurn Sticky Particles
system works by literally reading the selected geometry and then places particles over the
surface as defined by the user.
10. We do not want Box01 to be visible in renderings, so select the Box01 object, then
right-click on it and choose Properties.
11. Within the Properties dialog, un-check the Renderable box and click OK.
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12. Go back to the AfterBurn atmospheric, and activate the Show in Viewport button from
the Tools menu.
13. If you scrub the 3ds max Time Slider you will see that Sticky Particles are following the
motion of the Box vertices.
14. In the Particle Shape/Animation Parameters rollout set the Sph. Radius to 50.0.
As shown above, you can quickly see that the volumetric puffs are much larger now. It is also
important to note that when you start scaling the size of the volumetric effects up, that you have
to be aware of the rendering Step Size, since this directly impacts rendering times. Since we have
increased the Sphere radius to 50.0, a Step Size of 0.5 will be too small and will produce longer
rendering times. This can be fixed rather easily.
15. In the AfterBurn Manager rollout, under Volume Rendering, set Step Size to 2.0.
Now, let's go ahead and further refine the look of the AfterBurn volumetric puffs.
16. Go back to the Particle Shape/Animation Parameters section and set the Squash Low
Value to 2.0.
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By doing this, you are compressing the spherical shape of the volumetric puffs so that they are
flattened.
17. Under Type, make sure Sphere is present in the dropdown menu, then activate the
Hemisphere button directly below.
18. In the Noise Animation Parameters rollout, set Noise Size to 40.0 and Noise Levels to
5.0.
19. Select the Perspective viewport and render frame 30.
Not too bad for a first attempt. But the clouds still look too regular and not shaded correctly.
Let's correct this problem.
20. In the Illumination/Shading parameters rollout, right-click on the Ambient Color

gradient field and choose Keyless mode.
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21. Left-click on it to bring up the Color Selector and set the Ambient Color to a Dark Blue
Green (RGB: 25, 50, 58).
By altering the Ambient Color swatch, you can effectively tell AfterBurn what color the non-lit
surfaces of the volumetric effects should be.
22. Select the Direct01 light and from the 3ds Max Modify panel, go to the Shadow
Parameters rollout.
23. Under Illumination/Shading Parameters, enable the Self Shadows checkbox.
24. Turn the light's Shadows on, then from the dropdown menu below Shadows, choose AB
Raytrace Shadow for the shadow type.
25. Activate the Perspective viewport and render frame 30 again.
The frame renders, and you see several white, puffy clouds that are self-shadowing, and also
cast shadows on one another.
26. To vary the look of the clouds, you can play with Noise settings and Falloff.
27. Select File->Open, and from your /Scenes/AfterBurn/Tutorials folder, select the file AB-
Tut4v2-done.max. Then, render another test frame and note the difference.
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In this sample file, there are several more changes. Falloff has been set to 0.2, Ambient color to
(R=8, G=14, B=16), Shadow Falloff to 1.0 (un-check the Global button) and Regularity to 0.3.
Continue to alter and refine these settings to get a good feel for how they interact with one
another.
You can also tweak each individual cloud by applying an Edit Mesh modifier to a Box01 object. By
editing the Box01 primitive in Vertex mode, you can even add additional vertices, producing more
clouds!
Next, you'll work briefly with the AfterBurn Daemon link map to create some unique material
effects for your scenes.
Tutorial 5
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Tutorial 5: AfterBurn Daemon Link Map

In this tutorial you will learn how to use the AfterBurn Void Daemon to affect an AfterBurn
Daemon Link-based material, depending on the source object’s relative position to the Void
gizmo.
When the file loads, you'll see a Sphere primitive, and an AfterBurn Daemon called Void01. If
you scroll the Time Slider, you'll see the Sphere move towards you in the Perspective viewport.
The Void Daemon does pretty much what you might expect - it creates a void in the AfterBurn
effects. This can be used to literally punch holes in your volumetric effects and much more. In
this tutorial, you're going to use it in concert with the AfterBurn Daemon Link Map type to change
the color of the material assigned to the sphere in your scene as it moves away from the gizmo.
1. Open the Material editor and select Material#1 in Slot 1.

2. Open the Maps rollout and click the map slot of the Diffuse Color channel.
3. From the Material/Map Browser, choose Mix for the map type.
4. Click the Mix Amount map slot and choose the AfterBurn Daemon link map for the
map type.
The AfterBurn Daemon link map lets you pick one or more AfterBurn daemons within your scene
to use to affect a map beneath it. Since it is being used in this tutorial within the Mix Amount
slot, it will be responsible for blending between two other materials based on the proximity to the
Void daemon gizmo.
5. Within the Daemon link map, select Pick, then click Void01 for the Source Daemon.
6. Click the Map slot beneath the Source Daemons group of controls and choose Noise.
7. Under the Noise Parameters, change both Noise colors to White (RGB: 255, 255, 255).
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Changing both colors within the Noise map is done so that the AB Daemon link map's influence is
uniform over the entire sphere as it moves away. Any parts of the underlying map that are white
will affect the change from Color #1 to Color #2 in the Mix map. If you'd left the noise colors at
their defaults, only the white areas would change colors as the sphere moved away from the
Void daemon.
Now you'll set the colors to blend between.
8. Click the Go to Parent button twice to return to the root of the Diffuse Color Mix Map.
9. Then, change the Mix colors to the following:
• Color #1 - Red Orange (RGB: 255, 117, 15)
• Color #2 - Teal (RGB: 0, 222, 255)
10. Now, assign this material to the Sphere01 object.
11. Finally render out several frames from the animation.
Sphere rendered at frame 0, 30 and 60
You can see how the sphere color changes based on the Void01's influence. You could now play
with the Void daemon's Falloff setting in order to tweak the range of influence of the Void gizmo.
In the next tutorial you'll learn about the HyperSolids rendering method and how it can be used
to create blobby, fluid volumetric effects.
Tutorial 6
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Tutorial 6: AfterBurn HyperSolids (1)

In this tutorial, you'll get to create a procedural liquid using a unique feature called
HyperSolids. AfterBurn’s HyperSolids feature makes rendering solid procedural objects very
easy and fast.
When the file loads, you'll see a Spray particle emitter, Wind Gizmos, an Omni light and a
Camera. If you scrub the Time Slider from frames 0-150, you'll see a fountain of particles flying
up in the Camera01 viewport, spreading out at the top and then falling down. As always, the first
thing to do is add an AfterBurn effect to your scene.

3. From the resulting dialog, select AfterBurn to create an AfterBurn entry in the effects
list.
4. Under Source Particles/Daemons, click the Pick Particles/Daemons button and then
pick the Spray02 particle system.
5. Under Source Lights, click the Pick Lights button and pick the Omni01 light.
Now that AfterBurn is entered and you have a source, it's time to apply the HyperSolids
technology to the particles.
6. From the Rendering type dropdown menu, choose HyperSolids.
Now, since we're looking to create a liquid type of effect here, we want to change the way the
blobbly particles look.
7. In the Illumination/Shading Parameters rollout, go to the Shading Type dropdown menu

and choose Phong.
8. Set Shininess to 0.7, then set Shin. Strength to 0.2.
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9. Change the Normals option from Shape to Noise.
By doing this, you can apply Bump maps to your HyperSolids objects.
10. Set Shape Influence (the spinner marked S Inf. located to the right of the Normals
radio buttons) to 0.0. This setting means there is no shape influence.
11. Go to the Particle Shape/Animation Parameters rollout and under Type, change the
Shape Type from Sphere to Metaball.
12. Next, change the Mb. Radius spinner to 30.

13. In the Noise Animation Parameters rollout, set Mball Effect to 0.2.
By lowering the Metaball Effect value, the metaballs will be smoother.
14. Set Noise Size to 20.0.

15. Drag your Time Slider to frame 66 and then render a single test frame from the
Camera01 viewport.
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The result looks rather jagged and it has no texture to it. We are now going to add some colors
and reduce the bumpiness that is present.
16. Go to the Particle Shape/Animation Parameters rollout and change Regularity to 0.95.
The metaball bumpiness is controlled by the Regularity parameter; the higher the regularity
value, the smoother the bumps are.
17. Re-render frame 66.
You can see that the jaggedness is reduced. The only thing left to do is to add some color to the
Metaballs.
18. Go to the Color Parameters rollout, then activate the Color 2 radio button.
19. Right-click the Color1 and Color2 Color gradient fields and choose Keyless mode for
both.
20. Choose the following colors for the Color1 and Color2 swatches:
• Color 1: Yellow (RGB: 255, 246, 0)
• Color 2: Purple (RGB: 170, 0, 170)
21. In the Color1 area, make sure that the Pos. spinner is set to 0.0.
22. Under c1->c2->c3 click on the Density button.
This way the colors will match the bumpiness of the surface.
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If you like, you can render out the full animation to see how the HyperSolids behave over time.
Beyond just surface bump maps, AfterBurn's HyperSolids can also have their surface normals
displaced to create all sorts of craggy, rocky surfaces. In the next tutorial, you'll learn how to use
the HyperSolids displacement capabilities.
Tutorial 7
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Tutorial 7: AfterBurn HyperSolids (2)

In this tutorial you will learn how to use the HyperSolids displacement feature.
When the file loads, you'll see an Omni light and a Particle Cloud (PCloud) Gizmo.

3. From the resulting dialog, select AfterBurn to create an AfterBurn entry in the effects
list.
4. Under Source Particles/Daemons, click on the Pick Particles/Daemons button, and
pick the PCloud01 object in the scene.
5. Under Source Lights, click the Pick Lights button and pick the Omni01 light in the
scene.
Now that the AfterBurn effect is present, we need to activate the HyperSolids again.
6. Under Rendering Type, change this to HyperSolids.

7. Winin the Particle Shape/Animation rollout, change the Sphere Radius value to 40.0.
8. Under the Noise Shape Parameters rollout, change the Noise Type from Turbulence to
Spots.
This noise type is what we'll use to displace the surface of our HyperSolids later on.
8. Select the Perspective viewport and render frame 0.
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When you do, you'll see simply a cluster of big white circles. This is because there is no Shading
model assigned to the effect.
8. Go to the Illumination/Shading Parameters rollout, then change the Shading Type to

Lambert.
9. Next, re-render frame 0.
Now the volumes render as shaded spheres.
NOTE: Be aware that AfterBurn’s Normals and Shape parameters influence the controls
underneath the shading model. This influences how much the surface interpretation is affected
by the shape of the volume object (Spherical, Cylindrical, Cubic, etc.). With Normals set to
Shape, a lower shape influence will cause a “flatter” look, while a higher value will impose more
bumpiness. With Normals set to Noise, lower Shape influence values will produce a highly
irregular appearance derived directly from the system’s Noise parameters, while the higher Shape
influence values will result in a more regular surface appearance.
10. Within the Illumination/Shading Parameters rollout and set the Normals options to Noise
and the Shape Influence spinner to 0.0.
11. Re-render the Perspective viewport.
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We now have a bunch of spheres with mottled lumpy surfaces. It’s only the surface appearance
that is being affected now; the profile is still smooth.
12. In the Noise Shape Parameters rollout, change the Affect dropdown to Surface
Displacement.
13. Re-render the scene.
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The spherical shapes are now displaced and no longer smooth. The shape of the AfterBurn
volumetric puff has changed but is still contained by the same spherical boundary.
NOTE: In the Particle Shape/Animation Parameters section there is a parameter called

Regularity. As with Raymarcher-based AfterBurn effects, Regularity controls the "severeness" of
the effect. By increasing the Regularity, the rendered effect will resemble its original container
shape more closely (Sphere, Cubic, Cylindrical, etc.) and will become more regular. As Regularity
decreases, the effect will degenerate and resemble the underlying Noise structure. Lower
Regularity values in HyperSolids provide a bumpier effect or greater displacement.
In the next tutorial, you'll work with the AfterBurn Glow Render Effect to enhance the final look
of your AfterBurn effects.
Tutorial 8
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Tutorial 8: AfterBurn Glow

In this tutorial you will learn how to glow AfterBurn rocket exhaust.
When the file loads, scroll the Time Slider. Zoom! You see the rocket fly past you, spewing a
stream of particles behind it.
If you examine the existing AfterBurn atmospheric, you'll see that under Source
Particles/Daemons, the Snow01 emitter (attached to the Rocket’s tail) is picked, and the Omni04
light is in the Source Lights box.
NOTE: You should also notice that we have used the Octane Shader. This is because the rocket
smoke is built out of 800 particles and we want it to render quickly.
2. In the Atmosphere->Effects field, click on the AfterBurn Renderer entry and check the
Create Image Channels box. You must use this option to apply any of the 3ds Max
program’s Rendering Effects or Video Post filter effects to AfterBurn.
3. Go to Rendering->Rendering Effects dialog and within the Effects rollout, click Add.
4. From the resulting dialog, choose AfterBurn Glow and click OK to add it to the effects
list.
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Note that most of the parameters have a birth (Low) value and a death (High) value. This is
because the AfterBurn Glow can apply glowing effects based on the particle age.
5. Set the Low Size value to 17.0, and the High Size value to 10.0.
6. Set the Low Strength spinner to 0.7 and the High Strength spinner to 0.5.
7. Left-click on the Strength AfterBurn Flow Function (AFF) button to open it and set the
High Clip value to 0.5.
You use the AFF to control how the Birth and Death values will be interpolated over the particle
age. The Low and High Clip values define the time interval over which the interpolation occurs.
With High Clip set to 0.5 and the Snow01 emitter Particle Age set to 100, all particles will be
“glowed” with some Glow Strength until the age of 50 is reached (0.5*100). For any older
particles, Afterburn Glow assume that the Strength is 0.0.
8. Click OK to close the AFF dialog box.

9. In the AfterBurn Glow Parameters rollout, make sure the Source Channel value is set to
2 and that the Color option set to Material.
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The Channel value has to correspond with the AfterBurn Material ID, and the Color option will
pull the glow color from the AfterBurn effect itself.
10. Scrub the frame slider to frame 90, and then render the Camera01 viewport.
If you look at the Material ID of the resulting render, you'll see that their are two MatIDs being
produced by the AfterBurn atmospheric, as shown below (ID 1 is in pink, and ID 2 is in green).
This kind of control is critical in creating believable explosions where you only want the hot
center of the volumetric effect to glow as if on fire, while the smoke around it does not.
To set the Material IDs for each portion of the AfterBurn effect, you should go to the Color
Parameters rollout and set the MatID spinners to the appropriate setting.
Tutorial 9
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Tutorial 9: Tendrils
In this tutorial, you will create some tendril-like effects similar to those you might see inside the
human body or brain. This tutorial takes advantage of AfterBurn's ability to react to lighting in the
scene, and its flexibility in creating different kinds of volumetric effects.
This scene contains a particle cloud, a camera, and some lights. For the initial steps you will
concern yourself with just one basic spot light, and later you will add the rest of the lights to
spice up the animation.
1. Start up 3ds max and open the ABTenderilStart.max scene.
Start Scene opened
2. Go to > Rendering Menu > Environment or press 8 on the keyboard to bring up the
Environment and Effects dialog.
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Environment Panel
3. Click the Add button in the Atmosphere Rollout and add AfterBurn. This will add both the
AfterBurn effect and the AfterBurn Renderer that is always needed to render volumetrics.
4. Select AfterBurn in the Effects: list and go to the AfterBurn Manager Rollout. Click on the
Pick Particles/Daemons button and choose PCloud01.
AfterBurn Manager Rollout with Particles Chosen
This adds the particle system to AfterBurn.
5. Click the Pick Lights button in the Source Lights section and choose Spot01.
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AfterBurn Manager Rollout with Light Chosen
This adds the light to AfterBurn that will illuminate the volume.
6. Do a quick render of the Camera view.
Render of smoke with default AfterBurn settings
This gives you some volumetri c puffs but it’s not quite what we are looking for. The fist thing to
edit is the overall size of the volumetric puffs.
7. Scroll down to the Particle Shape/Animation Parameters Rollout and adjust the Sph.
Radius: Low Value to 75.
Sphere Radius adjusted
This will make the spherical volume very large so the viewer will feel immersed in it.
8. Click the Show in Viewport button in the Tools section of the AfterBurn Manager
Rollout so you can see the volumetric spheres.
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Spherical Volumes displayed in the Viewport
Only about 10% of the PCloud particles are being displayed in the viewport but this will give you
an idea of the sphere size and placement. Now that the size is adjusted, you will lower the
density and change some of the noise parameters to add some wormlike tendrils.
9. Scroll down to The Noise Shape Parameters Rollout and click the Interactive Update
button under the preview window.
Turning on Interactive Update
10. Scroll down the Noise Animation Parameters Rollout and adjust these values:
Density: 0.2
Noise Size: 20
Noise levels: 1.0
When adjusting the Noise parameters you should be able to see the effects in the preview
window above.
If you do a quick render you will see it is starting to take a long time. Next you will change the
rendering type from Raymarcher to Octane Shader. The Octane Shader is much faster and better
suited for an immersive effect like this.
11. Scroll up to the AfterBurn Manager Rollout and choose Octane Shader form the
Rendering Type dropdown and render the scene.
12. Render frame 300.
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Frame 300 render
The frame renders much faster. The result is very interesting but not quite what we are after.
13. In the Noise Shape Parameters rollout click on Tendril to enable this type of noise, and
render.
You can see the preview window update and the render is basically washed out with white. To
get the tendrils thinner, you will have to adjust the Lo Threshold values.
14. Scroll down to the Noise Animation Parameters and adjust the Lo Threshold to about
0.98. Try to click and drag on the Lo Threshold value while looking at the noise shape
preview window to see the transition from thick to thin tendrils.
15. Render frame 0 to see the result. This is much closer to what we are looking for. Now
you will set up the Lo threshold AFC so the farther away form the camera the particles
are the lower the value will become, making the particles off in the have larger more
washed out tendrils.
16. Right click on the AFC button next to Lo Threshold and Enable. Set the Hi Value to 0.0.
17. Right click on the PA button and choose Object Distance. Left click on the OD button to
bring up the Object Distance dialog and enter 200 for Minimum and 700 for Maximum.
18. Click the Pick Object button in the Object Distance dialog and choose Camera01.
Object Distance dialog
None of the particles between 200 and 700 units away from the camera will use the AFC to go
from a Lo Threshold of 0.98 to 0.0. Now let’s set up a similar AFC for Density.
19. Right click on the AFC next to Density and Enable. Set the Hi Value to 0.05.
20. Right click on the Lo Threshold AFC and choose Copy. Right click on the Density AFC and
choose Paste.
Since you just set up all the object distance parameters for the Lo Threshold AFC, you can just
copy and paste them over to Density. Since the volume color is white and the lighting is white
the scene is looking pretty bland. Next you will change the volume color to give it a more
cerebral look.
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21. Scroll up to the Color Parameters rollout and right-click on the color swatch next to Color
in the Color 1 section. Select Keyless Mode, then double-click on the swatch to bring up a color
picker. Set the Color to about RGB 0,50,75.
22. Render frame 0 to see the result.
Render with color and AFC changes.
Next you will work with the lighting to make the scene come alive.
23. Right-click in any Viewport and choose Unhide By Name from the Quad Menu. Select
Omni02 and Omni03 and click Unhide.
These lights are animated to flash on and off with a bright green light.
24. Go to frame 40 in the timeline and you should be able to see the lights flash in the
Camera01 viewport. If you render the scene you will not see any lighting effect because these
lights have not been added to the AfterBurn effect.
25. Add both Omni02 and Omni03 to AfterBurn as you did with Spot01.
Both Omni lights Added
26. Render frame 40 to see the result of the lighting.
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Render with green flashing lights
27. Unhide the rest of the lights in the scene and add them to AfterBurn. There are two
more green Omni lights that float off in space and one white Omni light that is linked to
the camera.
28. Lastly, adjust the Falloff in the AfterBurn Manager rollout to 0.6 to give the scene a
more liquid feel.
29. Render the animation to see the final result.
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Frame 40 from the final animation
Tutorial 10
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Tutorial 10: Cigarette Smoke

In this tutorial, you will create some cigarette smoke. AfterBurn is often used for big puffs of
smoke, but can be very fast and effective for more wispy types of effects. For the this you will be
using the Octane Shader as it is very fast and lends itself to this type of effect very nicely.
This scene contains a cigarette model with particles emitting from the tip. The particle system
has Wind and Drag SpaceWarps bound to it so the particles have a smoke-like motion. Now you
will make these particles look like smoke at render time.
1. Start up 3ds max and open the ABcig.max scene.
Start scene opened
2. Go to > Rendering Menu > Environment or press 8 on the keyboard to bring up the
Environment Panel.
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Environment Panel
3. Click the Add... button in the Atmosphere Rollout and add AfterBurn. This will add both
the AfterBurn effect and the AfterBurn Renderer that is always needed to render out
volumetrics.
4. Select AfterBurn in the Effects list and go to the AfterBurn Manager Rollout. Click on the
Pick Particles/Daemons button and choose Superspray01.
AfterBurn Manager rollout with particles chosen
This adds the particle system to AfterBurn
5. Click the Pick Lights button in the Source Lights section and choose spot01.
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AfterBurn Manager rollout with light chosen
This adds the light to AfterBurn to illuminate the smoke.

6. Do a quick render of the Camera view.
Render of smoke with default AfterBurn settings
This gives you some nice volumetrics puffs but it’s not quite what we are looking for. Let’s adjust
some settings to get this looking more like cigarette smoke. The first thing to edit is the overall
size of the volumetric puffs.
7. Scroll down to the Particle Shape/Animation Parameters Rollout and adjust the Sph.
Radius: Low Value to 1.5. Right-click on the AFC to enable it so you can set the Hi
Value to 20.
Sphere Radius adjusted
This will make it so the spherical volume starts out small and gets bigger over the particles age.
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8. Click the Show in Viewport button in the Tools section of the AfterBurn Manager Rollout
so you can see the volumetric spheres.
Spherical volumes displayed in the Viewport
Now that the size is adjusted you will lower the density and change some of the noise
parameters to reduce the smokes thickness and noise. By increasing the noise size and lowering
the noise levels, you will smooth out the noise pattern applied to the volumetric puffs. To see this
more clearly while you work, you will turn on Interactive Update.
9. Scroll down to The Noise Shape Parameters Rollout and click the Interactive Update
button under the preview window.
Turning on Interactive Update
10. Scroll down the Noise Animation Parameters Rollout and adjust these values:
Density: 0.1
Noise Size: 15.0
Noise levels: 1.0
When adjusting the Noise parameters you should be able to see the effects in the preview
window above.
11. Go to frame 300 and render.
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Frame 300 render
The smoke is looking better but still needs some more tweaking. Next you will change the
Density so that the smoke is thicker in the middle and trails off at the end.
12. In the Noise Animation Parameters Rollout right click the AFC controller next to density
and enable it. Set the Hi Value to 2.5 .25and open up the AFC graph by clicking the AFC
button.
The default graph is a linear progression form .1 to .25.25 over the particle’s life. We want the
smoke to have a .1 Density at the beginning and end of its life and 2.5.25 in the middle. To do
this you will just adjust the graph to look more like a half circle.
13. Adjust the curve in the Graph to look like the image below by adding two points in the
middle and moving the endpoints.
Adjusted Density AFC graph
14. Render frame 300 and see the smoke is much thicker in the middle.
Now that we have adjusted the AFC for Density, you can do the same for the Sph. Radius.
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15. Scroll to the Particle Shape/Animation Parameters Rollout and click on the AFC button for
Sph. Radius. Adjust the graph to look like the image below.
Adjusted Sph. Radius AFC graph
Now the particle volumes grow and fade in both size and density over the particle’s age.
16. Render frame 300 to see the result.
Next you will change the rendering type from Raymarcher to Octane Shader. The Octane
Shader is much faster and better suited to thin smoke of this type.
17. Scroll up to the AfterBurn Manager Rollout and choose Octane Shader from the
Rendering Type dropdown, and render the scene.
18. Scroll down to the Noise Animation Parameters and adjust the Hi threshold to 0.5 and
Lo Threshold to .1.
This should ad some contrast to the smoke. These parameters are just like the Hi and Lo in a
standard 3ds Max noise map. Next you can adjust the Ambient Color of the smoke to add the
bluish tinge cigarette smoke often has.
19. Scroll to the Illumination/Shading Parameters Rollout and right-click on the black color
swatch next to Ambient Color. Choose Keyless Mode form the popup and then double-
click on the swatch to bring up a color picker. Set the color to RGB 25, 50, 75.
To give the smoke a bit more realism when you can turn on Auto stretch. This will stretch the
volumetric puffs according to the particle velocity.
20. Scroll to the Particle Shape/Animation Parameters Rollout and click the part. Velocity
button under Alignment and set the Auto Stretch value to 35.
Try to render with and without Auto stretch so you and see the difference it adds to the
animation. You might also want to play with the Seed in the AfterBurn Master Rollout a bit to get
the smoke you are looking for. This is a great way to reuse a setup as a preset and not have it
always look exactly the same. A Seed of 3 works well.
21. Render the animation.
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Final render
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Index
3 AfterBurn .............................................. 78
3ds max’s Wind Space Warp ................. 100 AfterBurn .............................................. 82
3rd-party......................................... 23, 32 AfterBurn .............................................. 86
A AfterBurn .............................................. 90
AB Ray Trace Shadow .......................... 120 AfterBurn .............................................. 94
AB Shadow Map................................... 120 AfterBurn .............................................. 97
ABN ................................................ 23, 32 AfterBurn .............................................104
ABN file........................................... 23, 32 AfterBurn .............................................107
About - The About ........................... 23, 32 AfterBurn .............................................112
Absorption checkbox .............................. 41 AfterBurn .............................................120
Absorption Color .................................... 41 AfterBurn .............................................124
Access AfterBurn .............................................131
AFC ................................................. 124 AfterBurn 3.0 .......................................130
Access ................................................ 124 AfterBurn Color Parameters rollout .........107
Activate AfterBurn Combustion
Use.............................................. 62, 70 burning ........................................62, 70
Activate................................................. 62 change .........................................62, 70
Activate................................................. 70 glow.............................................62, 70
Adjusting............................................... 60 illuminate .....................................62, 70
AFC Controller icon............................... 124 AfterBurn Combustion .............................. 9
AFC icon.............................................. 124 AfterBurn Combustion ............................ 62
AFCs AfterBurn Combustion ............................ 70
access ............................................. 124 AfterBurn Combustion ............................ 94
use.................................................... 60 AfterBurn Combustion ............................ 97
AFCs .................................... 23, 32, 50, 55 AfterBurn Combustion ...........................100
AFCs ..................................................... 60 AfterBurn Combustion ...........................104
AFCs ................................................... 107 AfterBurn Combustion ...........................107
AFCs ................................................... 124 AfterBurn Combustion Parameters rollout 62,
Affect 70
Z-Buffer ....................................... 23, 32 AfterBurn Combustion rollout
Affect.................................................... 23 part..............................................62, 70
Affect.................................................... 32 AfterBurn Combustion rollout.................. 62
Affect Noise......................................... 104 AfterBurn Combustion rollout.................. 70
Affect Z-buffer ............................23, 32, 48 AfterBurn Combustion volumetrics .....62, 70
AFFs ............................................... 94, 97 AfterBurn Daemon
After ................................................... 128 Remove - Highlight............................113
AfterBurn AfterBurn Daemon ................................113
benefits ............................................. 50 AfterBurn Daemon Link Map Type ..........113
Daemons ......................................... 131 AfterBurn Daemons ... 9, 23, 32, 62, 70, 113
lights ............................................... 131 AfterBurn dialog ...................................128
modify ......................................... 23, 32 AfterBurn Effect
rendering ..................................... 23, 32 scale ............................................23, 32
shadows .......................................... 120 AfterBurn Effect..................................... 23
AfterBurn ...................................... 4, 9, 22 AfterBurn Effect..................................... 32
AfterBurn .............................................. 23 AfterBurn Environment............................. 9
AfterBurn .............................................. 32 AfterBurn Explode.................................107
AfterBurn .............................................. 41 AfterBurn Explode Daemon....................107
AfterBurn .............................................. 48 AfterBurn Fog...................................86, 90
AfterBurn .............................................. 50 AfterBurn Fog Parameters rollout .......86, 90
AfterBurn .............................................. 55 AfterBurn Glow
AfterBurn .............................................. 62 color ............................................94, 97
AfterBurn .............................................. 70 AfterBurn Glow...................................... 48
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AfterBurn Glow ...................................... 94 Antialias................................23, 32, 62, 70

AfterBurn Glow ...................................... 97 Anti-aliasing ..........................23, 32, 62, 70
AfterBurn Glow Render Effect............ 94, 97 Atmospheric Apparatus Gizmos ..........62, 70
AfterBurn HyperSolids ...................... 41, 50 Auto Stretch.......................................... 50
AfterBurn IDs .................................. 62, 70 AVI file ............................................23, 32
AfterBurn lifespan ............................ 23, 32 B
AfterBurn Manager rollout...... 23, 32, 41, 48 Benefits
AfterBurn Noise ........................ 23, 32, 112 AfterBurn........................................... 50
AfterBurn Particles Property dialog......... 128 Benefits ................................................ 50
AfterBurn Raytraced Shadows ............... 120 Besides Raymarcher..........................62, 70
AfterBurn Renderer ................................ 22 Bezier ..................................................124
AfterBurn Shadow Generators ............... 120 Bias............................................... 55, 128
AfterBurn Shadows........................... 23, 32 Bias - This............................................. 55
AfterBurn UI Blobby .............................................23, 32
0.0. ................................................. 112 Blur - This............................................. 55
AfterBurn UI ........................................ 112 Blur/sharpen ......................................... 55
AfterBurn Use button Box
enabling....................................... 23, 32 Sphere .............................................. 50
AfterBurn Use button.............................. 23 Box ...................................................... 50
AfterBurn Use button.............................. 32 Box - This ............................................. 50
AfterBurn User Interface................124, 128 Box Height ............................................ 50
AfterBurn VMap Daemon ...................... 112 Box Length ........................................... 50
AfterBurn Void Daemon ........................ 104 Box Width ............................................. 50
AfterBurn Volume Fog Bump ........................................ 23, 32, 55
Exponential Coloration................... 78, 82 Burning
AfterBurn Volume Fog ............................ 78 AfterBurn Combustion....................62, 70
AfterBurn Volume Fog ............................ 82 Burning................................................. 62
AfterBurn Volume Fog ............................ 86 Burning................................................. 70
AfterBurn Volume Fog ............................ 90 C
AfterBurn Volume Fog Parameters rollout 78, C1->c2->c3 .......................................... 48
82 Camera Environment Range ..............86, 90
AfterBurn volumetrics Cast Shadows...................................23, 32
want............................................ 23, 32 Cellular ............................................62, 70
AfterBurn volumetrics ............................. 23 Change
AfterBurn volumetrics ............................. 32 AfterBurn Combustion....................62, 70
AfterBurn volumetrics ............................. 41 Change................................................. 62
AfterBurn Wind Daemon ....................... 100 Change................................................. 70
AfterBurn wireframe ......................... 23, 32 Characteristics..................................62, 70
AfterBurn’s ...................................... 23, 32 Checkbox.........................................62, 70
AfterBurn’s Exponential Fog .............. 86, 90 CHM Help file ...................................23, 32
AfterBurn’s HyperSolids .................... 23, 32 Choose
AfterBurn’s Illumination/Shading Parameters Helper ..........................................62, 70
rollout.......................................... 23, 32 Volumetric ....................................62, 70
AfterBurn’s Volume Fog .................... 78, 82 Choose ................................................. 62
AfterBurn's Video Post ...................... 23, 32 Choose ................................................. 70
Age..................................................... 107 Circular Shape ......................................104
AGT file............................................... 128 Clamp Output checkbox ......................... 22
Aliased ............................................ 78, 82 Clear
Alignment.............................................. 50 Explosion checkbox .......................62, 70
Ambient Color........................................ 41 Clear .................................................... 62
Amount - Controls................................ 107 Clear .................................................... 70
Animation Flow Curves .......23, 32, 107, 124 Clicking
Animation Flow Functions ................. 94, 97 New button...................................23, 32
184
Index
Yes.............................................. 23, 32 Daemon...............................................100

Clicking ................................................. 23 Daemon...............................................102
Clicking ................................................. 32 Daemon...............................................107
Cloud .............................................. 23, 32 Daemon...............................................112
Color Daemon...............................................113
AfterBurn Glow ............................. 94, 97 Daemons
specular....................................... 62, 70 AfterBurn..........................................131
Color..................................................... 48 Daemons .......................... 9, 23, 32, 62, 70
Color..................................................... 62 Daemons .............................................131
Color..................................................... 70 Decay..................................................100
Color..................................................... 94 Decay - Causes ....................................100
Color..................................................... 97 Density
Color................................................... 107 set .................................................... 60
Color - This ......................................... 107 use ..............................................62, 70
Color checkbox Density ................................................. 60
Use.............................................. 62, 70 Density ................................................. 62
Color checkbox ...................................... 62 Density ................................................. 70
Color checkbox ...................................... 70 Density - Controls .............................78, 82
Color Key Shift..................................... 107 Density - This........................48, 60, 62, 70
Color Parameters rollout ......................... 48 Density checkbox
Color Selector ....................... 62, 70, 78, 82 Use ..............................................62, 70
Colored Shadows checkbox ..................... 41 Density checkbox................................... 62
Combustion ..................................... 62, 70 Density checkbox................................... 70
Combustion Gizmo ............................... 104 Density Falloff ..................................55, 60
Combustion™ .................................. 62, 70 Depending
Continuity............................................ 128 daemon............................................113
Control Depending ...........................................113
grayscale ........................................... 60 Depth - This.........................................130
Metaball............................................. 60 Detail - This .......................................... 55
Control.................................................. 60 Determine
Controller ............................................ 124 Noise ................................................ 55
Copy ................................................... 124 Determine............................................. 55
Copy - Copy......................................... 128 Directly............................................50, 55
Create Image Channels .................... 94, 97 Disables
Create Image Channels checkbox ............ 22 daemon............................................112
Creating Void Daemon ....................................104
AfterBurn .............................................9 Wind Daemon ...................................100
Creating ..................................................9 Disables...............................................100
Cubic - The Cubic................................... 55 Disables...............................................104
Cyl........................................................ 50 Disables...............................................112
Cylinder Discreet ...........................................62, 70
Sphere............................................... 50 Displace..................................... 55, 62, 70
Cylinder ................................................ 50 Displacement ...................................23, 32
Cylinder ................................................ 62 Displacement Space Warp ...................... 55
Cylinder ................................................ 70 Displacement/bump ............................... 50
Cylinder - This ....................................... 50 Displays
Cylinder Height ...................................... 50 Daemon ...........................................100
D Set Up Explosion Phase Curve dialog... 62,
Daemon 70
depending........................................ 113 Displays................................................ 62
disables ........................................... 112 Displays................................................ 70
displaying......................................... 100 Displays................................................ 78
Daemon .......................................... 23, 32 Displays................................................ 82
185
Displays .............................................. 100 Environment Opacity Map..................86, 90

Distance - This....................................... 48 Environmental ......................................... 9
Dividing ET .......................................................128
voxels .............................................. 130 Every Nth.........................................23, 32
Dividing............................................... 130 specify .........................................23, 32
Doing.................................................. 128 Every Nth.............................................. 23
Dots - This viewport ............................. 121 Every Nth.............................................. 32
Drag ............................................... 86, 90 Excl .................................................23, 32
DreamScape ........................................ 130 Exclude button .................................23, 32
Drift - Sets....................................... 62, 70 Explode ...............................................107
Dropdown ............................................. 50 Explode Daemon ..................................107
Dropdown list ...................................... 113 Explosion .........................................62, 70
Dropdown menu ................... 23, 32, 62, 70 Explosion checkbox
Drops - This viewport ........................... 121 clear ............................................62, 70
During Explosion checkbox................................ 62
HyperSolids reflection/refraction......... 130 Explosion checkbox................................ 70
During................................................. 130 Exponential checkbox........................78, 82
E Exponential Coloration
Ease From ........................................... 128 AfterBurn Volume Fog....................78, 82
Ease To............................................... 128 Exponential Coloration ........................... 78
Edit - This button ............................. 23, 32 Exponential Coloration ........................... 82
EF....................................................... 128 F
Effect Face Centers ........................................121
Phase .......................................... 62, 70 Faces/Voxel .........................................130
volumetrics ...................................... 104 Falloff
Effect .................................................... 62 use ..............................................62, 70
Effect .................................................... 70 Falloff ..............................................23, 32
Effect .................................................. 104 Falloff ................................................... 62
Emitter Distance .................................. 124 Falloff ................................................... 70
Emitter Distance Controller ................... 124 Falloff ..................................................104
Emitter’s.......................................... 23, 32 Falloff ..................................................120
Enables Falloff - The ............................. 23, 32, 104
AfterBurn Use button .................... 23, 32 Falloff - This.....................................62, 70
Use button ................................... 23, 32 Far % - Sets ....................................86, 90
Enables ................................................. 23 Far Range ........................................86, 90
Enables ................................................. 32 FBm Fractal........................................... 55
Enables ............................................... 100 FBm Turbulence .................................... 55
Enables ............................................... 104 Fire Effect
Enables ............................................... 112 like...............................................62, 70
End Fire Effect ........................................23, 32
particle’s ............................................ 55 Fire Effect ............................................. 62
End....................................................... 55 Fire Effect ............................................. 70
End....................................................... 62 Fireball - Creates ..............................62, 70
End....................................................... 70 Fireball - When Fireball .......................... 55
Enter Fireballs
Start ............................................ 62, 70 best .............................................62, 70
Enter .................................................... 62 Fireballs................................................ 62
Enter .................................................... 70 Fireballs................................................ 70
Environment Color Map .................... 86, 90 Fit ...................................................23, 32
Environment Map Flame Size .......................................62, 70
reflect................................................ 41 Flame Type ......................................62, 70
refract ............................................... 41 Fog Atmospheric...............................86, 90
Environment Map ................................... 41 Fog Background ...............................78, 82
186
Index
Fog Background checkbox ................ 86, 90 selected............................................. 50

Fractal ............................................ 78, 82 Hemisphere........................................... 50
Function Curve ................................ 78, 82 Hemispherical
Fury - This....................................... 62, 70 producing .......................................... 50
G Hemispherical........................................ 50
Gain...................................................... 55 HERE...............................................23, 32
Gain - This ............................................ 55 HGS ..................................................... 41
Get screenshot................................. 23, 32 Hi 60
Gizmo ................................................... 41 Hi Threshold ......................................... 60
Global - Each AfterBurn ........................ 104 High ..................................................... 60
Global - This ........................................ 100 High ..................................................... 60
Global - Uses ......................................... 41 High Clip..........................................94, 97
Global Falloff ......................................... 41 High-resolution...................................... 60
Global Step Scale ................................... 22 Hit Stop ................................................ 50
Global Wind Daemon Horizon Noise...................................86, 90
use.................................................. 100 Hotspot ...............................................120
Global Wind Daemon............................ 100 Hotspot/Falloff .....................................120
Globals..................................... 62, 70, 100 However, AfterBurn ..........................23, 32
Globals rollout.................................. 62, 70 Hyper Solids.....................................86, 90
Glow HyperSolids
AfterBurn ..................................... 94, 97 rendering...........................23, 32, 62, 70
AfterBurn Combustion ................... 62, 70 select ................................................ 55
Glow ..................................................... 62 use ................................................... 60
Glow ..................................................... 70 HyperSolids............................................. 9
Glow ..................................................... 94 HyperSolids........................................... 23
Glow ..................................................... 97 HyperSolids........................................... 32
Gradient HyperSolids........................................... 41
types ............................................... 128 HyperSolids........................................... 50
Gradient.............................................. 128 HyperSolids........................................... 55
Gradient Controls ................................. 128 HyperSolids........................................... 60
Gradient Usage .................................... 128 HyperSolids........................................... 62
Gradient’s HyperSolids........................................... 70
sets ................................................. 128 HyperSolids..........................................107
Gradient’s............................................ 128 HyperSolids reflection/refraction
Gradient’s icon during ..............................................130
right-clicking .................................... 128 HyperSolids reflection/refraction ............130
Gradient’s icon..................................... 128 I
Graph Editor ........................................ 124 Icon
Grayscale Size..................................................112
control ............................................... 60 Icon ....................................................112
uses ............................................ 62, 70 Icon’s ..................................................100
Grayscale .............................................. 60 ID
Grayscale .............................................. 62 shows ..............................................128
Grayscale .............................................. 70 ID ........................................62, 70, 94, 97
H ID .......................................................128
H 23, 32 IDs..................................................62, 70
Height - Cylinder .................................... 50 Illuminate
Help - This button ............................ 23, 32 AfterBurn Combustion....................62, 70
Helpers Illuminate ............................................. 62
choose......................................... 62, 70 Illuminate ............................................. 70
Helpers ................................................. 62 Illumination/Shading Parameters rollout .. 41
Helpers ................................................. 70 Inner ...............................................62, 70
Hemisphere Inner Color ......................................62, 70
187
Intensity Blend .................................... 107 Limit - Instructs AfterBurn .................23, 32

Interactive Limit - This............................................ 41
called........................................... 50, 55 Linear..................................................128
Interactive............................................. 50 Linear - The Linear ................................ 55
Interactive............................................. 55 Linear - This.........................................128
Interactive Preview window Lo ........................................................ 60
opens .......................................... 23, 32 Lo Threshold ......................................... 60
Interactive Preview window .................... 23 Load - Load..........................................128
Interactive Preview window .................... 32 Local ........................................... 100, 104
Interpolation........................................ 124 Local - Enables .....................................104
Interpolation Controllers ..................48, 124 Local - This ..........................................100
Inverted - When .................................. 104 Local Daemon ......................................100
IOR....................................................... 41 Localize Noise ....................................... 60
J Low.....................................................124
Jello................................................ 23, 32 Low AFC ............................................... 60
K Low Clip...........................................94, 97
Key menu Lower
Opens.............................................. 128 Strength/Falloff .................................100
Key menu............................................ 128 Lower ..................................................100
Keyboard Shortcuts .............................. 124 M
L Map
Lacks scaling..............................................112
latter’s ......................................... 23, 32 Map.....................................................112
Lacks .................................................... 23 Map - Click...........................................112
Lacks .................................................... 32 Map Scale ............................................112
Lambert .....................................41, 62, 70 Map Slot ..............................................113
Latter’s Material ...............................................112
lacks............................................ 23, 32 Material ID
Latter’s.................................................. 23 use ..............................................62, 70
Latter’s.................................................. 32 Material ID.......................................22, 48
Layered Material ID............................................ 62
AfterBurn Fog............................... 86, 90 Material ID............................................ 70
Layered................................................. 86 Material ID............................................ 94
Layered................................................. 90 Material ID............................................ 97
Let’s................................................ 23, 32 Material ID...........................................121
Levels Material IDs .....................................62, 70
smooth/simple.................................... 60 Material/Map Browser .......................86, 90
Levels ................................................... 60 MAX 3D Texture ...............................62, 70
Levels - More....................................... 107 Max Steps ........................................78, 82
Life - Once .......................................... 121 Maximum..................................... 124, 130
Life - This........................................ 23, 32 MAXScript Controls ...............................131
Lifespan .......................................... 23, 32 MaxScript Support ................................131
Light Scattering ..................................... 41 Mb ....................................................... 50
Light’s rollout dialog ......................... 23, 32 MBall .................................................... 60
Lights Metaball
AfterBurn ......................................... 131 controls ............................................. 60
Lights.................................................. 131 Metaball................................................ 50
Like Metaball................................................ 60
Fire Effect .................................... 62, 70 Metaballs ..............................23, 32, 50, 60
Shape Preview window........................ 55 Minimum .............................................124
Like ...................................................... 55 Mixing
Like ...................................................... 62 AfterBurn......................................78, 82
Like ...................................................... 70 Mixing .................................................. 78
188
Index
Mixing................................................... 82 NTSC.................................................... 60
Modify O
AfterBurn ..................................... 23, 32 Object Distance ....................................124
Modify................................................... 23 Octane Shader
Modify................................................... 32 use ................................................... 60
Most ............................................... 23, 32 Octane Shader .................................23, 32
Motion Drag .......................................... 60 Octane Shader ...................................... 60
Moves ................................................. 128 Octane Shader ...................................... 86
Multiplier - This AFC ............................. 107 Octane Shader ...................................... 90
N OD ......................................................124
Name dialog .................................... 23, 32 OFF .................................................23, 32
Near % - Sets.................................. 86, 90 Off - When.......................................62, 70
Near Range ..................................... 86, 90 Off, Lambert ....................................62, 70
Need Offset ..............................................23, 32
photorealistic................................ 23, 32 OK ..................................................62, 70
Need..................................................... 23 Omni ...................................................120
Need..................................................... 32 Open - Clicking.................................23, 32
New button Opens
Clicking ........................................ 23, 32 Interactive Preview window............23, 32
New button ........................................... 23 key menu .........................................128
New button ........................................... 32 Opens................................................... 23
Node>light .......................................... 131 Opens................................................... 32
Node>particle_daemon ........................ 131 Opens..................................................128
Noise Outer Color ......................................62, 70
determine .......................................... 55 P
Noise .............................................. 23, 32 PA .......................................................124
Noise .................................................... 55 PAL ...................................................... 60
Noise .................................................... 62 Part
Noise .................................................... 70 AfterBurn Combustion rollout .........62, 70
Noise .................................................. 100 Part...................................................... 62
Noise .................................................. 104 Part...................................................... 70
Noise .................................................. 112 Particle Age..........................................124
Noise - Noise-based ............................... 41 Particle Flow ........................................114
Noise Animation............................... 62, 70 Particle Formation.................................121
Noise Animation Parameters rollout ......... 60 Particle Life ......................................23, 32
Noise Levels ...............................60, 62, 70 Particle Orientation ...............................114
Noise Preview window Particle Quantity ...............................23, 32
turning............................................... 55 Particle Scale........................................114
Noise Preview window ............................ 55 Particle Shape/Animation Parameters rollout
Noise Preview window ............................ 60 ...................................................50, 55
Noise Shape Parameters rollout......... 55, 60 Particle Start
Noise Shape rollout ................................ 41 set ...............................................23, 32
Noise Size ............................................. 60 Particle Start ......................................... 23
Noise/density Particle Start ......................................... 32
values................................................ 55 Particle System Information...................... 9
Noise/density......................................... 55 Particle Velocity
None - When ......................................... 41 set .................................................... 50
None - When None........................... 50, 55 Particle Velocity ..................................... 50
Normal - The ....................................... 104 Particle Velocity ....................................124
Normals - These .................................... 41 Particle’s
NOT..................................... 23, 32, 62, 70 end ................................................... 55
NOTE ....23, 32, 50, 55, 60, 62, 70, 100, 104 Particle’s ............................................... 55
Nth ................................................. 23, 32 Particle’s ..............................................128
189
Particles Property ............................. 23, 32 Radius - The metaball ............................ 50

Paste .................................................. 124 RAM ........................................ 62, 70, 130
Paste - Paste ....................................... 128 RapidRay ................................. 23, 32, 130
Percentage ...................................... 23, 32 Ray Traced Shadows.............................120
Perlin Marble ................................... 62, 70 Rayleigh ............................................... 41
PFlow-ABurn Operator .......................... 114 Raymarcher
Phase self-shadowing..................................120
effect........................................... 62, 70 Raymarcher ..... 9, 23, 32, 60, 62, 70, 86, 90
Phase.................................................... 62 Raymarcher .........................................120
Phase.................................................... 70 Raytraced ............................................120
Phase.................................................... 78 Raytracing ...........................................130
Phase.................................................... 82 Rectangular .........................................104
Phase.................................................... 86 Rectangular, Circular.............................104
Phase.................................................... 90 Reflect MtlID checkbox................ 41, 62, 70
Phase.................................................. 124 Reflection/refraction .........................23, 32
Phase - Controls............................... 62, 70 Reflections ............................23, 32, 62, 70
Phase - The Phase ................................. 60 Reflections checkbox.............................. 41
Phong ........................................41, 62, 70 Refract Environment .............................. 41
Photorealistic Refract Environment checkbox................ 41
need............................................ 23, 32 Refractions.......................................23, 32
Photorealistic ......................................... 23 Refractions checkbox ............................. 41
Photorealistic ......................................... 32 Regularity - Lets .................................... 50
Pick ..................................... 23, 32, 78, 82 Regularity - This ...............................62, 70
Pick - Allows .................................... 23, 32 Remove ...........................................78, 82
Pick - Click........................................... 113 Remove - Highlight
Pick - Lets ....................................... 23, 32 AfterBurn Daemon.............................113
Pick button ...................................... 78, 82 Remove - Highlight ...............................113
Pick Gizmo ...................................... 78, 82 Remove - Removes...........................23, 32
Pick Gizmos/Daemons ...................... 62, 70 Remove Gizmos/Daemons .................62, 70
Pick Object dialog ............................ 78, 82 Remove Source Lights.......................62, 70
Pick Source Lights ............................ 62, 70 Render Effect .................. 41, 62, 70, 94, 97
Pick Sources/Daemons .............................9 Rendering
Planar - When...................................... 100 AfterBurn......................................23, 32
Play ...................................................... 50 HyperSolids .......................23, 32, 62, 70
Pos ....................................................... 48 Preview ........................................23, 32
Preferences - Lets ............................ 23, 32 Type .................................23, 32, 62, 70
Press Apply...................................... 23, 32 Rendering ............................................. 23
Preview Rendering ............................................. 32
render ......................................... 23, 32 Rendering ............................................. 62
Preview ................................................. 23 Rendering ............................................. 70
Preview ................................................. 32 Rendering->Environment ............ 22, 23, 32
Preview ................................................. 55 Rendering->Environment dialog................ 9
Preview - Clicking............................. 23, 32 Rendering->Environment->Atmosphere-
Preview Window ................... 23, 32, 50, 55 >Effects ............................23, 32, 62, 70
Producing Reset...................................................124
Hemispherical..................................... 50 Reset - Clears.......................................128
Producing.............................................. 50 Reset - Clicking ................................23, 32
Program’s...................................23, 32, 55 Right-clicking
PV ...................................................... 124 Gradient’s icon ..................................128
R Right-clicking .......................................128
Radius................................................. 102 Rollout..................................23, 32, 55, 60
Radius - Cylinder.................................... 50 S
Radius - The.......................................... 50 S 23, 32
190
Index
S Inf ..................................................... 41 Shadow-mapped AfterBurn Omni ...........120

Samples .......................................... 62, 70 Shadows
Save - Saves............................. 23, 32, 128 AfterBurn..........................................120
Scale - This ......................................... 107 Shadows..............................................120
Scale - Used .................................... 23, 32 Shape........................................ 41, 62, 70
Scale Up.......................................... 23, 32 Shape - Shape..................................62, 70
Scaling Shape - Shape-based ............................. 41
AfterBurn Effect............................ 23, 32 Shape Infl ........................................62, 70
Map................................................. 112 Shape Influence ......................... 41, 62, 70
Scaling .................................................. 23 Shape Preview window
Scaling .................................................. 32 Like................................................... 55
Scaling ................................................ 112 Shape Preview window .......................... 50
Scanline .......................................... 23, 32 Shape Preview window .......................... 55
S-curve ................................................. 55 Shift ....................................................107
Seed - This ...................................... 23, 32 Shininess ................................... 41, 62, 70
Select Shininess - The Shininess ..................62, 70
Hemisphere........................................ 50 Shininess - When................................... 41
HyperSolids ........................................ 55 Shininess Strength...................... 41, 62, 70
Select ............................................. 23, 32 Show
Select ................................................... 50 ID ....................................................128
Select ................................................... 55 Show....................................... 23, 32, 124
Self Shadows checkbox........................... 41 Show...................................................128
Self-shadowing Shrinkwrap ......................................86, 90
Raymarcher...................................... 120 Sitni Sati d.o.o......................................... 4
Self-shadowing .................................... 120 Sitni Sati’s 3ds......................................130
Set Up Explosion .............................. 62, 70 Size
Set Up Explosion Phase Curve dialog icon..................................................112
displays ....................................... 62, 70 Size ......................................... 50, 55, 100
Set Up Explosion Phase Curve dialog ....... 62 Size .....................................................112
Set Up Explosion Phase Curve dialog ....... 70 Size - The ............................................104
Sets Smoke ....................................... 55, 62, 70
10 ............................................... 23, 32 Smoke checkbox...............................62, 70
Density .............................................. 60 Smoke Color ....................................62, 70
Gradient’s ........................................ 128 Smooth/simple
Particle Start ................................ 23, 32 levels ................................................ 60
Particle Velocity .................................. 50 Smooth/simple ...................................... 60
Sets ...................................................... 23 Source Daemons ..................................113
Sets ...................................................... 32 Source Gizmo/Daemons ....................62, 70
Sets ...................................................... 50 Source Lights ........................23, 32, 62, 70
Sets ...................................................... 60 Source Particles/Daemons .................23, 32
Sets ...................................................... 62 Space Warps ....................................9, 121
Sets ...................................................... 70 Specify
Sets .................................................... 128 Every Nth .....................................23, 32
Shading......................................41, 62, 70 Specify ................................................. 23
Shading Type ........................................ 41 Specify ................................................. 32
Shadow Bias .......................................... 41 Speckle............................................62, 70
Shadow Cast checkbox ........................... 41 Specular
Shadow Falloff ....................................... 41 color ............................................62, 70
Shadow Map........................................ 120 Specular ............................................... 41
Shadow Opacity ..................................... 41 Specular ............................................... 62
Shadow Receive checkbox ...................... 41 Specular ............................................... 70
Shadow Samples.................................... 41 Specular Color ............................ 41, 62, 70
Shadow Tracing ..................................... 41 Sph ...................................................... 50
191
Sphere Tendril - When Tendril ........................... 55

Box.................................................... 50 Tension ...............................................128
Cylinder ............................................. 50 The Drift ............................................... 60
Sphere .................................................. 50 The Octane Shader ...........................23, 32
Sphere - This ......................................... 50 The Offset .......................................23, 32
Sphere, Box................................50, 62, 70 The Raymarcher ...............................23, 32
Sphere, Cylinder .................................... 50 The Shininess Strength .....................62, 70
Spherical ................................ 50, 100, 104 The Vertical Stretch ............................... 60
Spherical - When ................................. 100 There’s ................................................100
Spherical Daemon Shape ...................... 100 These IDs ........................................62, 70
Spherical Hemispherical .......................... 50 This button ........ 23, 32, 50, 55, 62, 70, 113
Squash.................................................. 50 Threshold Spinners ................................ 60
Squash Height ....................................... 50 Ticks - This viewport.............................121
Squash Len ........................................... 50 Toony................................................... 48
Squash Length....................................... 50 Top/Bottom/None.............................86, 90
Start Turbulence.......................................78, 82
enter ........................................... 62, 70 Turning
Start ..................................................... 62 Noise Preview window ........................ 55
Start ..................................................... 70 Turning................................................. 55
Start - By ........................................ 23, 32 Type
Start - This .......................................... 121 Gradient ...........................................128
Step................................................ 23, 32 Rendering..........................23, 32, 62, 70
Step Size ................... 23, 32, 62, 70, 78, 82 Type..................................................... 23
Sticky Particle icon ............................... 121 Type..................................................... 32
Sticky Particles..................................... 121 Type..................................................... 41
Strength.............................................. 100 Type..................................................... 50
Strength - The Wind Daemon................ 100 Type..................................................... 62
Strength - This............................41, 62, 70 Type..................................................... 70
Strength/Decay.................................... 100 Type....................................................128
Strength/Falloff Type dropdown ................................50, 55
Lower .............................................. 100 U
Strength/Falloff.................................... 100 Uniformity - This...............................78, 82
Stretch Use
Use.............................................. 62, 70 activate ........................................62, 70
Stretch .................................................. 62 AFC................................................... 60
Stretch .................................................. 70 Color checkbox..............................62, 70
Stretch - Scales................................ 62, 70 Density.........................................62, 70
Surface Bump ........................................ 55 Density checkbox ..........................62, 70
Surface Displacement ............................. 55 Falloff...........................................62, 70
Swirl ................................................... 102 Global Wind Daemon .........................100
Swirl Daemon grayscale ......................................62, 70
use.................................................. 113 HyperSolids ....................................... 60
Swirl Daemon ...................................... 102 Material ID ...................................62, 70
Swirl Daemon ...................................... 113 Octane Shader ................................... 60
Swirl Decay ......................................... 102 Stretch .........................................62, 70
Swirl icon ............................................ 102 Swirl Daemon ...................................113
T Use ...................................................... 60
TCB .................................................... 128 Use ...................................................... 62
Tendril Use ...................................................... 70
best............................................. 62, 70 Use .....................................................100
Tendril .................................................. 62 Use .....................................................113
Tendril .................................................. 70 Use button
Tendril - Creates .............................. 62, 70 enable..........................................23, 32
192
Index
Use button ............................................ 23 Volumetrics ........................................... 62

Use button ............................................ 32 Volumetrics ........................................... 70
Use checkbox .................................. 62, 70 Volumetrics ..........................................104
Use Gain ............................................... 55 Voxel
Use Map checkbox ........................... 86, 90 voxel. ...............................................130
Use Spherical....................................... 100 Voxel...................................................130
UV Coord ............................................ 121 Voxel...................................................130
V Voxels
Value dividing ............................................130
0.0 .........................................60, 62, 70 Voxels .................................................130
0.5 .................................................... 55 W
1.0 .........................................60, 62, 70 Want
noise/density...................................... 55 AfterBurn volumetrics ....................23, 32
Value .................................................... 55 Want .................................................... 23
Value .................................................... 60 Want .................................................... 32
Value .................................................... 62 Width - Each ........................................130
Value .................................................... 70 Width - This .........................................121
Var ................................................. 50, 55 Wind ...................................................100
Variation ......................................... 23, 32 Wind Daemon
Variation - There.................................... 48 disables ............................................100
Video Post ............................ 62, 70, 94, 97 Wind Daemon ......................................100
Video Post Effects .................................. 41 Wind Daemon icon ...............................100
Viewport ...........................23, 32, 104, 112 Wind Strength ..................................78, 82
Viewport AfterBurn........................... 23, 32 World ................................................... 60
Viewport icon....................................... 104 World Z-axis.......................................... 60
Viewport Particles ................................ 121 X
Viewports .....................................100, 113 X - This................................................. 50
VMap .................................................. 112 X - This button ...................................... 50
VMap daemon...................................... 112 X-axis ............................................ 50, 124
Void.................................................... 104 XE .......................................................124
Void Daemon Y
disables ........................................... 104 Y 50
Void Daemon....................................... 104 Y-axis ............................................ 50, 124
Void Daemon....................................... 113 Yes
Void>AddLight..................................... 131 Clicking ........................................23, 32
Void>AddPartsDaemon......................... 131 Yes....................................................... 23
Void>RemoveLight............................... 131 Yes....................................................... 32
Void>RemovePartsDaemon................... 131 You’re..............................................62, 70
Volume Fog ..................................... 78, 82 Z
Volume Rendering............................ 23, 32 Z 50
Volumetric - Noise............................ 62, 70 Z-axis ...................................50, 60, 62, 70
Volumetric HyperSolids ........................... 41 Z-Buffer
Volumetrics affect ...........................................23, 32
choose......................................... 62, 70 Z-Buffer ................................................ 23
effect............................................... 104 Z-Buffer ................................................ 32
Volumetrics .......................... 22, 23, 32, 55
193

After Burn 3dmax

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After Burn 3dmax

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Table Of Contents

Object Distance (OD) .....................................................................................................127

IMPORTANT -- READ CAREFULLY:

3. Multiple use and network operation

5. You May Not:

BY INSTALLING AND AUTHORIZING THIS SOFTWARE, YOU HEREBY

Support and Contact Information

The easiest way to contact us is by email.

Our contact information is as follows:

Sitni Sati d.o.o.

AfterBurn © Sitni Sati d.o.o 2000-2005

This software is designed to work as a plug-in only for 3ds Max.

Technical Support Information

Online Web-based Support System: http://www.turbosquid.com/Support

Installation & Authorization Support

Phone: (504) 525-0990

Obsession - image courtesy of Essen Syed © 2003

Where to find AfterBurn

AfterBurn 3.2 Overview

AfterBurn 3.2 Overview

Image courtesy of Allan McKay

Understanding how AfterBurn works

Understanding how AfterBurn works

Image courtesy of Allan McKay

Particle System Information

Image courtesy of Allan McKay

The new Explode Daemon

What's New in AfterBurn 3.2

New ThinkingParticles multiple system support

To learn more about the ThinkingParticles 2 support, click HERE.

Improved Explode Daemon Calculations:

Image Courtesy of Allan McKay

To learn more about the Explode Daemon, click HERE.

AFCs now use full Bezier interpolation:

Full Bezier Interpolation

Added Support for finalRender Stage-1 Global Illumination and

Stage-1 Global Illumination off

Stage-1 Global Illumination on

What's New in AfterBurn 3.1

Animation Flow Curves

New Bezier controls for your AFC dialogs

To learn more about the AFC controllers, go HERE.

To learn more about the new TCB gradient options, go HERE.

To learn more about these sophisticated Interpolation controllers, go HERE.

To see more on the Explode Daemon, go HERE.

Reflection & Refraction for HyperSolids

For more information on the new HyperSolids controls, go HERE.

Particle Flow Integration

For more information on the Particle Flow controls, go HERE.

Speed and Performance

Click on any part of the image to go to that group of controls

Rendering group of controls

Output group of controls

AfterBurn Manager rollout

Click on any part of the image to go to that group of controls

Source Particles/Daemons group of controls

Source Lights group of controls

Tools group of controls

Show in Viewport - Enabling this button displays a colored AfterBurn wireframe or a

Particles in viewport AfterBurn particles in viewport

Preferences - Lets you set various parameters quickly.

RapidRay - AfterBurn uses RapidRay for calculating the reflection/refraction of other

Particles Property group of controls