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This page provides information about V-Ray Scatter in V-Ray for Revit.

 


Overview

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The V-Ray Scatter tool creates instances of objects on using the surface of a selected object. The most common example is scattering trees and planting on the terrain.surfaces and edges of other objects or splines to generate points.

 
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UI

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Paths

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Creating Scatter:

||V-Ray Asset Editor|| > Geometries (right-click) > Scatter

||V-Ray Asset Editor|| > Create Asset (left-click) > Geometries > Scatter

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Assigning Scatter:

||Appearance Manager|| > Families tab > Scatter subtab > Add Scatter Host button (left-click)

||Appearance Manager|| > Families tab > Scatter subtab > Add Scatter Host button (right-click) > Pick Face

 
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Workflow

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V-Ray Scatter

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consists of two types of objects

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– Host objects, and Guest objects that are scattered over the Host object's surface. There are several ways to create Scatter Host and Guest objects.



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Creating Scatter Host Objects

Select an object in the viewport. Go to Appearance Manager > Families tab > Scatter subtab > Add Scatter Host button (left-click) > Pick Face.

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To remove the Scatter from an object, use the Delete keyboard button.



Creating Scatter Guest Objects

Add Guests – Select an object in the viewport and use the Add Guests button in the Asset Editor. The object appears under the Add Guests button.

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When Fur or Displacement geometry is part of a Scatter guest, it is ignored for both the added guest instance and its scattered instances.

which are referred to as Scatter Guests
  • and the object or surface on which the guests are scattered, which is referred to as Scatter Host

    • V-Ray Scatter is created and filled with guests in the V-Ray Asset Editor. It is then associated with a host from within the Scatter sub-tab of the Appearance Manager Families tab. The scattered objects are visible only at render time.

    The V-Ray Scatter asset is found in the Geometry creation menu of the V-Ray Asset Editor.
    Once created, use the Add Guests button to add guest(s) to it in one of two ways:

    1. In any Revit view, select a family which you want to scatter and press the Add Guests button. It appears in the Guests List below that button.
    2. Click the Add Guests button. You are prompted to make a selection. Select a single or multiple families. Click the Finish button at the bottom part of the Revit ribbon to finalize the selection and see the families added to the Guests List.
     

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    If a Revit family which has been added as a Scatter Guest is deleted from the model, it is also deleted from the Scatter Guests List.

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    When Fur or Displacement geometry is part of a Scatter guest, it is ignored for both the added guest instance and its scattered instances.

    After Scatter is created and guests are added to it, it needs to be applied to a host object. Adding hosts and associating Scatter with them is explained in the following article

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    Scatter

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    Scatter – Enables Scatter.

    Add Guests – Adds the currently selected scene objects to the Guests list. The objects in this list are scattered on the base geometry.

    Guest Origin – Determines how the objects are positioned relative to the random Scatter points.

    Bounding box bottom center – The bounding box bottom center of the object.
    Bounding box volume center – The bounding box volume center snaps to the instance.
    Object origin – The original object origin point snaps to the instance point.

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    Parameters

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    Besides adding guests, V-Ray Scatter's UI in the Asset Editor includes various parameters that affect how the scattered items are rendered in terms of density and orientation.

    Scatter – Turns on/off V-Ray Scatter.

    Density – Determines the approximate count of instances in a square meter. When a texture is used, the density value can still be used. Black color in the texture discards all instances in the area. Areas colored with white receive maximum density.

    Seed – Controls the random seed of the Scatter. Change the integer value and refresh to get a different random distribution.

    Axis Filter – Filters the faces that will be used for instance positioning.

    All Faces – The points/instances are generated uniformly on all object faces.
    Facing Up – The points/instances are only placed on object faces oriented upwards in the scene. Note that host component transformations are ignored.

    Orientation – Specifies the initial orientation of the instances.

    World Up – All instances are positioned upright independent of the base/host surface face normals.
    Along Normals – The instances are oriented based on the base surface face normals.

    Collision Detection – When enabled, instances with overlapping bounding boxes are discarded. Eliminating collisions reduces the initial density count and may alter the predetermined ratio between multiple guests.

    Add Guests – Adds the currently selected scene objects to the Guests list. The objects in this list are scattered on the base geometry.

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    Scattering Mode – Specifies the guest objects scattering mode.

    1D - On Splines – Objects are scattered along splines. When a mesh is added to the guests' list, the items are scattered along all mesh edges.
    2D - On Surfaces – Objects are scattered on surfaces. It doesn't matter if the surface is horizontal, vertical, or if it is a complex 3D object
    3D - In a Bounding Box – Objects are scattered inside the object's bounding box. Keep in mind that bounding boxes are cube-shaped. Using this mode on a round object, scatters instances in a cube around it.

    Max Count (Limit) – Limits the maximum number of instances. See the Max Count (Limit) example below.

    Seed – Controls the random Scatter seed.

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    titleClick here for Seed example.
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    Seed = 1

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    Seed = 2

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    Seed = 3

    Avoid Collisions – When enabled, instances colliding with each other get discarded. See the Avoid Collisions example below.

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    Example: Max Count (Limit)
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    Max Count (Limit) is a limit to help avoid creating too many instances and overloading the system. This option has no effect if the Instance Count value is lower than the Max Count value. Depending on the hardware, this limit can be adjusted to ensure smooth performance and avoid excessive memory consumption. At Instances Count - 100, the scattered objects do not exceed the Max Count (Limit) - 50 and the render is the same as when the Instances Count is 50. Scattering Mode = 2D On Surfaces; Max Count (Limit) = 50.

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    Instances Count = 5

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    Instances Count = 25

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    Instances Count = 50

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    Example: Multiple Objects as One - Combined Surface Area
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    Scatter treats multiple host objects as one with combined surface area (or volume). If you set Scatter to produce 100 instances of a guest object over two host objects, it does not produce 100 for each host. Instead, it produces 100 randomly distributed instances over both host objects' combined surface area (or volume).

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    Example: Avoid Collisions
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    This example shows how the Avoid Collisions function works. Higher values result in larger distance between instances.

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    01_Scatter_AvoidCollisions_OffImage AddedAvoid Collisions = Off

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    02_Scatter_AvoidCollisions_0x25Image AddedAvoid Collisions = 0.25

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    03_Scatter_AvoidCollisions_0x5Image AddedAvoid Collisions = 0.5

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    04_Scatter_AvoidCollisions_1Image AddedAvoid Collisions = 1

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    05_Scatter_AvoidCollisions_2Image AddedAvoid Collisions = 2

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    Notes

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    • When a Revit family is replaced with a V-Ray Proxy or a Cosmos asset and its instance is associated with a Scatter, the V-Ray Proxy/Cosmos asset is the one that is scattered across the Scatter's Host object.
    • When a Revit family is replaced with a V-Ray Scene, the Scatter is ignored.

    • Currently, only the following family types can be selected as Scatter hosts: Floor, Wall, Roof Ceiling, Curtain System, Curtain Panels, Column, Ramp, Stair, Toposurface, Mass.

    • Currently, only the following family types can be selected as Scatter guests: Casework, Entourage, Furniture, Furniture Systems, Generic Models, Planting, Site, and Specialty Equipment. It is not allowed to add the V-Ray Decal family as a Scatter guest.
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    Next:

    Spline Scattering Rollout



    Rollouts

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    Each Scatter rollout has its own dedicated page listed below:

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    Columns1repeat(3, 1fr)
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    Columnsrepeat(4, 1fr)
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    PageToIncludeSystem Requirements
    CardPageLinkSpline Scattering Rollout

    Spline Scattering Rollout

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    PageToIncludeSystem Requirements
    CardPageLinkSurface Scattering Rollout

    Surface Scattering Rollout

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    PageToIncludeSystem Requirements
    CardPageLinkBounding Box Scattering Rollout

    Bounding Box Scattering Rollout

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    PageToIncludeSystem Requirements
    CardPageLinkTransforms Rollout

    Transforms Rollout

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    PageToIncludeSystem Requirements
    CardPageLinkArea Modifiers Rollout

    Area Modifiers Rollout

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    PageToIncludeSystem Requirements
    CardPageLinkArea Modifiers Rollout

    Camera Clipping Rollout