Flow presets or modifiers for various common tasks and materials
#1
From a lookdev and artist perspective it would make tyflow so much more useful to casual users if there was presets for various setups and materials.
Instead of having to go to youtube each time i want to produce some destruction elements or bending metal or ropes and cables or a spring or something, then play around for hours with the settings to make it appear correct. It would be an absolute gamechanger if there was presets available for these things. Currently i know that if i have to create some destruction in tyflow, i need to set aside multiple hours or days to follow a youtube tutorial which rarely ever goes smoothly due to things like scene units, object size, differences in scene scale etc.

Without extensive node editor knowledge its impossible to troubleshoot without feeling like youre just randomly changing spinners. The sheer volume of parameters in every node is overwhelming for anyone that isnt completely enveloped by tyflow, daily. Meaning i rarely get any useable results from following basic tutorials and have no way to troubleshoot without spending vast amounts of time and effort to do a physics simulation that should realistically be minmicing the constraints of reality. Having time to do r&d or lengthy troubleshooting sessions is a luxury during actual production.

I dont have the VFX level requirement for absolute control over the effect and im sure im not the only one that would appreciate a much simpler and quicker way to get a physically plausible result thats 90% of the way there in 90% less time.

Perhaps these could be in the form of a modifier so those less technical don't need to use the node editor as much.
Anything to make getting to the simulating stage easier and faster and more accessible for more artists should be welcome development in my opinion and would make for a more useful tool for a broader selection of artists. Most common materials for destruction as well as cables and ropes could be much easier to generate with this kind of preset system and as a concept artist and lookdev artist, i would find tyflow much less of a hinderance in my process if im could generate assets really quickly like this.

One example would be a TyMetal modifier with only a few attributes exposed and a list of colliders and material presets for flexibility, how much compression force it can take etc and have tyflow just know what to do rather than need the technical knowledge to produce a flow from scratch every time. A list of things like copper, structural steel, sheet steel, sheet aluminum etc would just be a huge time saver much like the material presets in vray and corona, they give you a really good starting point for various common tasks.

Another example i can imagine would be a tyRope or tyCable object that lets you select objects and have tyflow generate ropes and cables between them with properties like hang, weight, how bendy the material is for differing things like rope, rubber or metal sheathed cables. A list to add colliders would also be great.

One more example could just be preset node flows for various destruction styles or the ability to combine multiple preset materials into one simulation by defining objects in a flow as different materials like steel beams interacting with brick and fractured plaster.

Anything that makes it quicker to create lookdev and concept work would be really welcome in my side of the industry just because of how quickly everything moves in pre-production. Yes VFX is super fast paced too but they need far more control for final renders thant the people at the start of the pipeline like myself do.
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#2
Yes, I could see the usefulness of more presets in the future.

I developed a preset framework that is used internally in the next build, that I hope to expand into a UI-facing feature in the future. It will allow users to save/load flow setups more easily, and also allow me to bundle more preset flows with tyFlow.
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#3
(02-07-2023, 03:18 AM)tyFlow Wrote: Yes, I could see the usefulness of more presets in the future.

I developed a preset framework that is used internally in the next build, that I hope to expand into a UI-facing feature in the future. It will allow users to save/load flow setups more easily, and also allow me to bundle more preset flows with tyFlow.

Thats good to know thanks.

Just being able to quickly set up an accurate simulation for something as simple as metal bending from a collider, by using a preset flow where you just need to select your meshes and everything is physically correct, would save so much time and effort. Today ive spent several hours just trying to get a steel column to bend and tear whilst staying stuck to the ground, a simple simulation by tyflow standards, and ive been through every tutorial on YouTube as well as the facebook group looking for a solution as to why my setup isnt working as it should and im completely at a loss to the point where im abandoning tyflow entirely and just going to sculpt it in zbrush.

I would emplore you to implement physically correct destruction simulation presets for common materials and objects for this reason alone. When its not something you use daily, needing to be an expert in every node becomes a hinderance and a barrier every time i need to use it.
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