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Version: 10.0

Pathing

Pathing is a powerful and flexible way to create effects that follow along paths defined using gradients. It can be used for complex effects like emissions traveling across a material, or selectively showing an underlying texture based on a defined path.

Documentation Info

Options in this section will be labeled as "R/G/B/A", each corresponding to a common option with separate values for each different channel of the gradient.

For example, "R Path Type" will be documented here as "R/G/B/A Path Type" instead.

Example of Paths used on the lines of this Jacket. Notice the timing of each Path as they animate.

Path Source​

Type
Dropdown
Options
Tex GradientUV Gradient

Choice of what Path Gradient should be used.

  • Tex Gradient: Uses a Texture to fetch the Gradient.
  • UV Gradient: Fetches the gradient from the UV of the mesh.

Blend Mode​

Type
Dropdown
Options
ReplaceAddMultiply

Choice of blending operator to use for the Pathing gradient.

Gradient Type​

Type
Dropdown
Options
Split ChannelsMerged Channels

Determines whether to sample the Path Map texture. There are two modes:

  • Split Channels: Samples the Path Map texture independently for each channel of the gradient. Makes 4 separate paths, with each being able to be independently set up or disabled.
  • Merged Channels: Samples the Path Map texture as a single channel. This makes each channel use the same extended path, with four times the path levels available, allowing for more precise effects. This mode should generally be created with the help of the Poiyomi Pathing tool.
info

The Gradient Type setting is only visible with Path Source set to Tex Gradient.

UV​

Type
Dropdown
Options
UV0UV1UV2UV3PanosphereWorld PosLocal PosPolar UVDistorted UV

Determines which UV to sample the Path Map from.

info

The UV setting is only visible with Path Source set to UV Gradient.

Point Sampling​

Type
Toggle

If enabled, will sample the Path from points.

Override Alpha​

Type
Toggle

If enabled, multiplies the base alpha of the material with the Path's final alpha.

RGBA Path Gradient / Mask​

Type
Texture Slot
Accepts
Data texturesRGB Off

Defines the gradients for the path. If using Split Channels mode, this texture should consist of between 1 and 4 channels of gradient data, with each channel representing a different path. Each channel used will flow between a value of 1 to a value of 255 (in 0-255 range), and should be defined from linear textures.

When expanded, 4 slots will be visible, one for each path. This is an integrated Thry Texture Packer, which you can use to define gradient paths for each channel.

If using Merged Channels mode, this texture should be the output of the Poiyomi Pathing tool. The 4 channels will be sampled in order, from R -> G -> B -> A.

Color & Mask​

Type
Texture Slot
Accepts
Color texturesRGB On

Defines the underlying color for the paths, and a mask for the paths. Both the RGB Color and the Alpha Mask will apply to all paths.

The RGB Color can be used to show textures or colors where the path is active. The Alpha Mask can be used to define where the path is shown, and is very useful for creating clean paths, by creating "wider" paths on the path map, and masking out the edges (which often cause artifacts).

Path Types​

R/G/B/A Path Type​

Type
Dropdown
Options
FillPathLoopDashedOff

Defines the path type for each path channel.

R/G/B/A Path Type Options
  • Fill: The path will fill the gradient from 0-255, then restart.
  • Path: The path will follow the gradient from 0-255 and will completely disappear before re-appearing at the beginning.
  • Loop: The path will follow the gradient from 0-255 and will immediately start showing at the beginning while the end disappears.
  • Dashed: The path will follow the gradient from 0-255 and will continue to fire every Gap specified.
  • Off: The path will be disabled.

Path Colors​

R/G/B/A Color​

Type
HDR Color

Colors for each path channel. This is overlain on the Color texture, if defined. Otherwise, the Color will be used directly.

The Alpha value of these colors determines the strength of the path. Path channels can be disabled by setting their colors' alpha to 0.

Path Source Directions​

R/G/B/A Direction​

Type
Dropdown
Options
UV X AxisUV Y Axis

Choice of which direction the Path should travel on the UV's axis. X is left to right, and Y is bottom to top.

info

Path Source Directions will only appear when Path Source is set to UV Gradient.

Path Appearance​

Each of these settings below has 4 fields, one for each path channel. They are labeled accordingly as R, G, B, and A, referring to their respective channels.

Emission Strength​

Type
Float4

How strong the emission of the active part of the path should be.

Softness​

Type
Float4

How sharp the edges of the active path segment should be. This smooths and softens the appearance of the path.

Speed​

Type
Float4

How fast the path should move from minimum to maximum along the gradient. A value of 1 will result in a complete path cycle every 20 seconds.

Length​

Type
Float4

How long the path should be, relative to the gradient. A value of 1 will result in a path that extends across the entire gradient.

Gap Length​

Type
Float4

Determines the Gap in between each Path fired when R/G/B/A Path Type is set to Dashed.

info

This option is only visible when any R/G/B/A Path Type is set to Dashed.

Timing Options​

Each of these settings has 4 fields, one for each path channel.

Manual Timing​

Type
Float4

Determines whether to use manual timing, useful for animating a path in response to avatar parameters.

A value of -999 will result in automatic timing; any other value will offset in terms of path cycles, looping every 1.

Timing Offset​

Type
Float4

How much to offset the time by, in terms of path cycles. This can be used whether automatic or manual timing is active.

Path Segments​

Type
Float4

How many segments to split the path into. At a value of 0, this defaults to the texture precision. If set to a value greater than 0, the path will be split into that many segments - for most paths, this will be 255 by default, so lower values can be used to break up the path into blockier segments.

Path Remapping​

Type
Toggle

Enables Path Remapping, allowing the ability to change the entire range of the Path to a clamped range instead. This is especially useful when using UV Gradient as the Path Source.

R/G/B/A Range​

Type
Clamped Slider
Range
0to1

Adjusts the mapping range of the specified Path.

info

The settings in this section will only be visible when Audio Link is activated on the Material.

For any audio link values with a Vector2 offset, the X represents the value to add when the audio is at minimum (no audio), and the Y represents the value to add when the audio is at maximum (full audio).

Time Offset​

Type
Toggle

Time Offset adds an offset to the time based on the audio. This can be used to make the path "bounce" in response to the audio.

R/G/B/A Band​

Type
Dropdown
Options
BassLow MidHigh MidTreble

Band of audio to use for the time offset.

R/G/B/A Offset​

Type
Vector2

How much time offset to apply to the path based on audio.

Emission Offset​

Type
Toggle

Emission Offset adds emission strength to the path based on the audio. This can be used to make the path "glow" in response to the audio.

R/G/B/A Band​

Type
Dropdown
Options
BassLow MidHigh MidTreble

Band of audio to use for the emission offset.

R/G/B/A Offset​

Type
Vector2

How much emission offset to apply to the path based on audio.

Width Offset​

Type
Toggle

Width Offset adds width to the path based on the audio. This can be used to make the path "thicken" in response to the audio.

R/G/B/A Band​

Type
Dropdown
Options
BassLow MidHigh MidTreble

Band of audio to use for the width offset.

R/G/B/A Offset​

Type
Vector2

How much width offset to apply to the path based on audio.

History​

Type
Toggle

History applies a mask on top of the path that corresponds to the history of the audio in the selected channel. This consists of about a second of audio data.

This is often useful when applied to a path that's completely filled, which can be achieved by setting Softness to 0, Speed to 0, and Length to 1.

History Mode​

Type
Dropdown
Options
MaskOverride

Sets the History pattern mode.

R/G/B/A History​

Type
Toggle

Whether to apply history masking to the path.

R/G/B/A Band​

Type
Dropdown
Options
BassLow MidHigh MidTreble

Band to use for history masking.

R/G/B/A Range​

Type
Clamped Slider
Range
0to1

Sets the range of the history masking in the path.

Chrono Time​

Type
Toggle

Chrono (Chronotensity) Time is a very useful feature for advancing the path based on audio, while maintaining how far the path has already progressed.

R/G/B/A Band​

Type
Dropdown
Options
BassLow MidHigh MidTreble

Band to use for Chrono Time.

R/G/B/A Motion Type​

Type
Dropdown
Chronotensity Options
  • Motion Increases as intensity of the band increases
  • Above but Smooth
  • Motion moves back and forth as a function of intensity
  • Above but Smoooth
  • Fixed Speed Increase when the band is dark Stationary when light
  • Above but Smooooth
  • Fixed Speed Increase when the band is dark Fixed speed decrease when light

Chrontensity mode to use for the chrono time offset.

R/G/B/A Speed​

Type
Float

How much to incorporate the chronotensity adjustment into the path timing. Good starting values are 0.1 - 0.5.

Auto Correlator​

Type
Toggle

Whether to apply the autocorrelator as a mask along the path. Autocorrelatior roughly corresponds to the intensity of the audio at various frequencies.

Autocorrelator Mode​

Type
Dropdown
Options
MaskOverride

Sets the autocorrelator mode.

R/G/B/A Type​

Type
Dropdown
Options
OffOnMirrored

Autocorrelator mode to use for the autocorrelator mask in each channel. Mirrored will mirror the autocorrelator mask to the other side of the path.

Color Chord​

Type
Toggle

Enables Color Chord Strip mode for the Path.

R/G/B/A Color Chord Strip​

Type
Toggle

Color Chord assigns a color to each segment of the path based on the audio. This can be used to create a unique colorful rainbow effect.

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