This
tutorial leaves off from where the Fire Material Tutorial
ended. The most amazing part about creating a material
that can be used to create the illusion of fire is
that it can be controlled. If you would like to have
a bowl of fire and for the fire to drip down off the
edges, this is possible. If you would like the fire
to travel through pipes or forced to hit a wall and
then spread out, this is possible. The material, when
placed upon a PArray can be forced to conform to any
spacewarp and therefore can be bent to your will for
your scene.
If you have taken the time to complete the previous
tutorial (Creating A Fire Material), then you will
have a file that contains fire material. The problem
you may be thinking to yourself is "how do I
use the material in another project without having
to recreate it all over again?" This is an important
question that will be answered in this next section.
 Open
the file that you created your fire material in.
 Press
'M' on the keyboard to bring up the Material Editor.
 Select
the fire material and click on the Put To Library icon
[ ].
You will be asked to provide a name, such as "Fire
Material".
 If
you would like to use the material in any other Max
file, click on the Get Material icon []. You will need
to select the Mtl Library section to see the custom
made materials.
 The
PArray Particle System (PArray) rollouts become quite
complicated and you will want to play around with some
of the settings not mentioned here. However, the following
will provide you with a good overview of what is needed
to make your fire more realistic.
 Click
on the PArray icon located under the Particle Systems
tab.
 You
can now left click and drag anywhere in a viewport
and a box with three triangles will be created. This
box is only a placeholder. It does not actually do
anything and cannot be rendered on its own. It simply
says that a PArray exists in the scene.
 To
activate the PArray goto the Modify panel.
 Under
the BASIC PARAMETERS:
Select the Pick Object button and
select the object that will have the fire material
applied.
 Under
the PARTICLE GENERATION:
 Keep
a low rate if you have a large Particle Size. The example
provided only has a rate of 3, but the size of each
particle is 12.
The Speed should be brought right
down to '0'. A wind spacewarp can be added later to
control the speed and direction.
The Particle Timing should be changed
to match when the fire should start and end.
The life of the material is how long
it will last for. The default of 30 is way too long.
The settings in the example is only 12.
In the Particle Size area, the 'Grow
For:' and "Fade For:' are very important. Fire
should have a whimsical fade in and fade out. By providing
a very brief time, such as 2 or 3 for each, a more
realistic effect will be created.
 Under
the PARTICLE TYPE:
Use Standard Particles and Facing.
The Get Material From: area should be left with the
default icon. The fire material will be dragged and
dropped from the material editor onto the PArray icon
in the viewport.
 Under
the ROTATION and COLLISION::
This final area is also important
as a slight spin will create a bit of movement or flicker
in the flame. Have a very short spin time of '1'.
The Spin Axis Controls should be given
to one axis - the one that allows the material face
to spin towards the camera, or renderable view. At
this point, you may want to activate the Material Editor
and drag your fire material onto the PArray emitter
icon.
 Although
you should already be able to see your fire being created
around your object, there will probably be a randomness
about where the particles are going. The following
section will help you to control the particles.
 Wind
Spacewarp: This can be used to control the direction
and movement of particles. By placing a Wind Spacewarp
under the particles it will attempt to push the particles
upwards, providing a flame like appearance. Be cautious.
Too much strength will cause the fire to look broken
up. This can be helped by increasing the size and number
of particles.
 Gravity
Spacewarp: This can be used to create a 'drip down'
effect. The fire could be in a cauldron or tube and
forced to spill onto the floor. This might be usefull
with molten rock or metal being burned.
 Containment:
Containment of fire is sometimes necessary. The particles
will want to go through most objects, so it is necessary
to protect them.
To accomplish this use the UOmniFlect.
It is "the universal omniflector, provides more
options than the original UDeflector. This space warp
lets you use any other geometric object as a particle
deflector. The deflections are face accurate, so the
geometry can be static, animated, or even morphing
or otherwise deforming over time." (Taken from
the 3DSMax Online Help). Woohoo! You survived.
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