Point Cloud Displacement
The Point Cloud Displacement card in the 3D track inspector controls how point cloud particles move each frame. Four independent sub-systems can be enabled simultaneously, each with its own toggle.
The four modes
Section titled “The four modes”| Mode | UI label | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Noise | NOISE | Simplex noise field applied to every particle’s rest position. Instant, zero-setup, organic. |
| Fluid Simulation | FLUID DISPLACEMENT | GPU Navier-Stokes velocity field driven by force generators. Flowing, turbulent, physics-based. |
| Particle Sim | PARTICLE SIM | Spring-mass system. Each particle springs back to rest while forces scatter it away. Elastic, bouncy. |
| Track Displacement | TRACK DISPLACEMENT | A Layer track’s texture is decoded frame-by-frame — RGB channels map to XYZ offsets. Shape-driven, scriptable. |
Choosing a mode
Section titled “Choosing a mode”| You want… | Use |
|---|---|
| Quick organic motion with no setup | Noise |
| Flowing, self-interacting fluid dynamics | Fluid Simulation |
| Elastic, bouncy particle response to forces | Particle Sim |
| Motion driven by a specific ISF shader or visual | Track Displacement |
Modes are not mutually exclusive — you can combine Noise with any of the three simulation modes for layered results.
How the modes combine
Section titled “How the modes combine”Noise stacks with everything. It offsets each particle’s rest position before any simulation runs. Enable NOISE alongside Fluid, Particle Sim, or Track Displacement to add organic variation on top of structured motion.
Particle Sim overrides Fluid and Track Displacement. When PARTICLE SIM is enabled, the FLUID DISPLACEMENT and TRACK DISPLACEMENT sections show “Inactive — Particle Sim owns position”. Particle Sim takes exclusive control of position integration; the other two are bypassed until it is turned off.
Applies simplex noise directly to every particle’s rest position each frame. There is no simulation state, no warm-up time, and no force generators — just a smooth animated field that runs immediately.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Amplitude | How far particles are displaced from their rest position |
| Scale | Spatial frequency of the noise field — lower = larger blobs, higher = finer detail |
| Speed | How fast the noise field animates over time |
| Seed | Shifts the noise pattern — useful when running multiple 3D tracks side by side |
| Octaves | Layers of noise detail: 1 (smooth) to 4 (rough) |
Noise is the lightest option. It has no GPU simulation cost beyond the per-particle offset and is a good first step before adding a heavier simulation mode.