Array settings
The ARRAY section repeats the selected object in a pattern. It is the last section of the INSPECTOR when one object is selected, and each MODE adds controls of its own. WATER and EMITTER objects do not have it. To set up each layout, follow Repeat objects with arrays.
The ARRAY section
| Label | Values and default | Effect | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box in the ARRAY title | Shows whether the array is on. Clicking it does nothing. | Always | |
| ENABLE ARRAY | Off | Turns the copies on. The label then reads ARRAY ENABLED, and clicking it turns them off again. Turning the array off keeps its settings for next time. | Always |
| MODE | SCATTER (default), GRID, RADIAL, LINEAR, TERRAIN, PATH | The layout of the copies. Each mode shows its own settings below SEED. | Array on, as are all the rows below |
| COUNT | 1 to 200, default 20 | Number of copies | Every mode except GRID |
| SEED | 1 to 999, default 42 | Sets the random choices of the layout, as listed under What the seed decides. The button beside it, whose tooltip reads "Randomize seed", picks a new seed at random. | Array on |
| VARIANTS | 1 to 8, default 1 | Mixes up to that many differently shaped plants in the array. One is the plant you selected, and the others grow from seeds derived from its own. The SEED of the array decides which copy gets which plant. | GROWTH objects only |
The array, with the settings of every mode, is saved with the scene, and each change is an undo step.
SCATTER
Places the copies at random inside a box centered on the object, which reaches VOLUME meters from it along each axis, above and below included.
| Label | Values and default | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| VOLUME | 0.50 to 10.00 m, default 3.00 m | Distance from the object to each side of the box |
GRID
Sets the copies out in columns along X, rows up Y and layers along Z, centered on the object. COUNT is hidden. A line under MODE gives the number of copies the grid makes, such as 27 INSTANCES · ROWS × COLUMNS × DEPTH, and a grid stops at 500 copies whatever the three numbers multiply to.
| Label | Values and default | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| COLUMNS | 1 to 20, default 3 | Copies along X |
| ROWS | 1 to 20, default 3 | Copies up Y |
| DEPTH | 1 to 20, default 3 | Copies along Z |
| SPACING | 0.10 to 10.00 m, default 2.00 m | Distance between neighboring copies in all three directions |
RADIAL
Places the copies in rings around a vertical line through the object's position, each copy turned to face outward. The rings stay level when the object is rotated. With more than one ring, the rings are stacked and centered on the object's height.
| Label | Values and default | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| RADIUS | 0.10 to 20.00 m, default 3.00 m | Distance from the object's position to the copies |
| RINGS | 1 to 10, default 1 | Number of rings. COUNT is shared among them, and any copies left over go one each to the lowest rings. |
| HEIGHT | 0.00 to 5.00 m, default 0.00 m | Distance from one ring to the next. At 0.00 every ring sits at the same height. |
LINEAR
Places the copies in a straight line centered on the object. LINEAR has no VARIATION settings, and SEED has no effect on it.
| Label | Values and default | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| AXIS | X, Y or Z, default X | Direction of the line |
| SPACING | 0.10 to 10.00 m, default 2.00 m | Distance between neighboring copies |
| SCALE STEP | 0.50 to 1.50, default 1.00 | Size of each copy as a multiple of the one before it. The copy at the negative end of the line keeps the object's size. Above 1.00 the copies grow along the line, and below it they shrink. Growth stops at 1,000 times the object's size and shrinking at a thousandth. |
| ROT STEP | −90° to 90°, default 0° | Turn of each copy around AXIS beyond the one before it |
TERRAIN
Stands the copies on the ground of a terrain, spread over the whole terrain and upright. The terrain is the one under the object, or the nearest one when the object is not above a terrain. Orbit tries a fixed set of 2,048 spots and keeps those that pass SPACING, SLOPE LIMIT and the height limits, up to COUNT. Raising COUNT adds copies and lowering it removes some, and the rest stay where they are.
| Label | Values and default | Effect | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPACING | 0.20 to 5.00 m, default 1.20 m | Smallest distance allowed between two copies, measured horizontally | |
| SINK | −0.50 to 0.50 m, default −0.05 m | Moves each copy down into the ground or up out of it. The copy's pivot is set on the ground and then moved by this amount. | |
| SLOPE LIMIT | 0° to 85°, default 35° | Ground steeper than this, measured from level, gets few or no copies | |
| SOFTNESS | 0° to 30°, default 8° | Width of the band around SLOPE LIMIT in which copies thin out gradually. Ground steeper than SLOPE LIMIT plus SOFTNESS gets none. | |
| ALT MIN OFF | Off | Click to read ALT MIN ON and show ALT MIN | |
| ALT MIN | −5.00 to 10.00 m, starting at 0.00 m | Keeps copies off ground lower than this height in the scene | ALT MIN ON |
| ALT MAX OFF | Off | Click to read ALT MAX ON and show ALT MAX | |
| ALT MAX | −5.00 to 10.00 m, starting at 3.00 m | Keeps copies off ground higher than this height in the scene | ALT MAX ON |
The height limits test the ground before SINK moves the copy. Switching a limit off forgets its value, and switching it on again starts from 0.00 m or 3.00 m.
A line under the settings reports the result. PLACED and two numbers give the copies placed and the COUNT asked for, as in PLACED 60 / 60. SPACING SATURATED after the numbers means the limits left fewer spots than COUNT. NO TERRAIN IN SCENE means Orbit found no terrain, and only one copy shows, at the object's own place.
PATH
Spaces the copies evenly along the spine of a spline tube, from one end to the other with both ends included. A single copy sits halfway along. The tube is the one whose center is nearest the object, and no control picks another.
| Label | Values and default | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| ALIGN TO PATH | On | Turns each copy around the vertical so that it faces along the spine at its spot. Click it to read ALIGN OFF, and every copy faces the same way. |
A line under the setting reads "Follows the nearest spline tube's spine." With no spline tube in the scene it reads "No spline tube in the scene. Add one and the array follows it." in amber, and only one copy shows, at the object's own place. Copies stay upright on a spine that climbs or falls.
VARIATION
These settings follow the mode's own settings in every mode except LINEAR.
| Label | Values and default | Effect | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| POSITION | 0.00 to 10.00, default 2.00 | Moves each copy a random distance from its place along each axis, up to a tenth of this value in meters. At 2.00 a copy moves up to 0.2 m. | Has an effect in SCATTER and GRID only. Shown but inactive in the other modes. |
| ROTATION | 0° to 180°, default 45° | Turns each copy by a random angle up to this amount either way. In SCATTER, GRID and RADIAL the turn is around all three axes. In TERRAIN and PATH it is around the vertical only, so the copies stay upright. | |
| SCALE MIN | 0.10 to 2.00, default 0.80 | Smallest size a copy can have, as a multiple of the object's size | |
| SCALE MAX | 0.10 to 2.00, default 1.20 | Largest size a copy can have. Set both to 1.00 to make the copies the same size. |
What the seed decides
A seed gives the same layout every time it is used with the same settings.
| Mode | What SEED changes |
|---|---|
| SCATTER | Position, turn and size of each copy |
| GRID | The random shift, turn and size of each copy. The grid itself stays. |
| RADIAL | Turn and size of each copy. The rings stay. |
| LINEAR | Nothing |
| TERRAIN | Which spots are used, and the turn and size of each copy |
| PATH | Turn and size of each copy |
With VARIANTS above 1, the seed also decides which plant each copy shows.
How copies appear
The copies share the object's shape as its deformers and ORGANIC leave it, along with its material. They show in the viewport and in every render and export of the scene. Clicking any copy selects the object, and a change to the object shows on every copy at once.
| Where | What the array does |
|---|---|
F, DROP TO GROUND, CENTER TO ORIGIN and the ALIGN & DISTRIBUTE buttons | Take every copy into account, so F frames the whole array |
| Triangle count at the top right of the viewport | Counts the object once |
| GEOMETRY line in EXPORT RENDER | Counts every copy, and adds ARRAYS EXPANDED |
| An OBJ export of the object | Writes every copy into the file |
| The BOOLEAN menu | Stays dimmed while the object's array is on, because the result would keep only the object and none of its copies |
Related: Repeat objects with arrays, Grow plants, Build a terrain and How Orbit builds objects.