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FLIP Fluids Development Notes #40

Weekly Development Notes #40 – FLIP Fluids Version 1.0.9 is now available!

Ryan Guy 26. November 2020 0 Comments

Covering the week of November 16th – 20th, 2020.

Hey, we’re back with our 40th update for the FLIP Fluids liquid simulation addon for Blender!

It’s been a busy few weeks getting ready for the new FLIP Fluids version 1.0.9 release: testing, updating documentation, and packaging the new addon version. The last version was an incredibly stable version and 1.0.9 is looking to be as well!

FLIP Fluids version 1.0.9 is now available on the Blender Market. Already own a copy? The new version can already be found in your Blender Market account. All version updates to the FLIP Fluids addon are provided at no extra cost.

Blender Market Black Friday Sale

The Blender Market Black Friday sale begins tomorrow and will run from November 7th to 30th. During this time, the FLIP Fluids addon as well as hundreds of other fantastic Blender products will be available for 25% off!

[gfycat data_id="ampleminiaturechimneyswift"]

Check us out on the Blender Market!

New FLIP Fluids Free Trial

With a new FLIP Fluids release, we also have a brand new free trial containing all of the new features, changes, and fixes!

We have removed some of the previous limitations: No more frame limit and no more object limit. Now you can use the demo to follow along with tutorials and documentation, and create more complex simulations.

The Blender Market Black Friday Sale begins tomorrow, so now is the perfect time to take it for a test drive!

Try out the new demo today!

New Example Scenes

FLIP Fluids version 1.0.9 adds a new force fields feature set. We have added 7 new example scenes to showcase our new force field modes:

[gfycat data_id="amusedlongkitfox"]

FLIP Fluids Version 1.0.9 Release

FLIP Fluids version 1.0.9 is our biggest update yet. Some of the features added to this new version have been in the works for over a year! This version includes a large new force field feature set as well as many other features, tweaks, and workflow improvements. Thank you to all of the testers who helped us develop this new version!

Release notes for older versions can be found here.

Release Notes: version 1.0.9 (Nov 26 2020)

  • Compatibility notes older .blend files:
    • FLIP Fluids 1.0.9 is fully compatible with .blend files and caches created in 1.0.8, however some settings have been replaced and updated. If opening an older .blend file, you may want to check the following settings and adjust if necessary:
  • Changes to default behavior:
    • Default value change: Update Settings on Resume in FLIP Fluid Simulation panel is now enabled by default.
    • Default value change: Surface Subdivision in FLIP Fluid Surface panel is now set to 1 by default. Tip: set to 0 (low quality) for quicker iteration when prototying a simulation.
  • Added 4 new force field modes (Documentation):
    • Point Force – A force field that attracts fluid towards a single point.
    • Surface Force – A force field that attracts fluid towards the surface of a mesh.
    • Volume Force – A force field that attracts fluid into the volume of a mesh.
      • Can be used similarly to Blender’s older Fluid Control feature that was removed since Blender 2.82.
    • Curve Guide Force – A force field that attracts towards or along a curve, or to spin around a curve.
    • More force field modes are in development! Try our experimental versions here.
  • Added 7 new example scenes to showcase the FLIP Fluids force field feature set, including detailed notes about the simulation setup and settings (Blender 2.82+, 2.9+ only).
  • Added force field debug visualizer to FLIP Fluid Debug panel. See development update #13 for detailed information.
  • Added Force Field Resolution option to FLIP Fluid World panel.
  • Added a README.html file to the Blender Market product downloads that contains info and links for how to get started with the addon.
  • Added a Grid Info section to the FLIP Fluids Simulation panel to display info about the simulation grid including tooltips to help explain the simulation grid.
  • Added feature to upscale a simulation to an increased resolution on resuming the bake (Documentation).
  • Added functionality for Inflow/Fluid objects to emit fluid in the direction of the object’s local axis.
  • Added functionality to Skip Re-Export of static and keyframed meshes in addition to skipping animated meshes.
  • Added a Force Re-Export On Next Bake feature for FLIP Fluid simulation objects.
  • Added expanded functionality for skipping/forcing mesh data to be exported in Settings and Mesh Export submenu in FLIP Fluid Simulation panel.
  • Added functionality to link exported geometry data from another cache directory in FLIP Fluid Cache panel (Documentation).
  • Added exponent precision editing for viscosity and surface tension values.
  • Added preferences option to rename the FLIP Fluids Helper menu panel name.
  • Added preferences option to display links to relevant documentation in the UI.
  • Added UI reminder that displays in the physics panel if the preferences Beginner Friendly Mode is activated.
  • Added functionality for Enable Stable Rendering operator to also undo this operation (Blender 2.8+ only).
  • Added prompt/warning to Domain UI to warn that the .blend file has not been saved. Includes operator to open the save file menu.
  • Added features to and organized the FLIP Fluids Helper Menu panels.
    • Added domain bake and cache operators to the FLIP Fluids Helper menu.
    • Added Create Domain operator to FLIP Fluids Helper Menu to generate a domain depending on the context of what type of objects are selected and in your scene.
    • Added operators to FLIP Fluids Helper Menu to select all simulation objects of a certain type (Obstacle/Fluid/Inflow/Outflow/ForceField).
    • Added operators to FLIP Fluids Helper Menu to help organize your simulation objects in the Blender Outliner.
    • Added Override Frame settings to FLIP Fluids Helper Menu that works similar to the setting of the same name in Blender’s Alembic Cache modifier.
  • Updated for compatibility with latest version of OctaneRender.
  • Updated addon packaging, distribution, and testing processes to be automated to reduce issues related to human-error.
  • Updated Blender Market product downloads naming conventions to use a more consistent naming format that includes the date that the file was last updated (See FLIP Fluids Downloads).
  • Removed Rigid/Deformable mesh option for Inflow object. The simulator will now automatically detect whether the object is rigid or deformable.
  • Removed Preserve Foam options from FLIP Fluid Whitewater UI. These settings were not working as expected and are no longer needed.
  • Fixed: potential compatibility issues on MacOS systems.
  • Fixed: bug where command line tools would not be displayed for MacOS/Linux operating systems.
  • Fixed: issue where rectangle artifacts could appear in the fluid surface preview mesh (issue #491).
  • Fixed: bug in Blender versions 2.9+ where toggling a FLIP object’s render visibility would not update the object visibility in the viewport rendered display.
  • Fixed: error during export that could be triggered by exporting an Empty type object as a fluid/inflow target.
  • Fixed: issue where Empty type objects could be exported to incorrect locations within the simulator.
  • Fixed: issue where the simulation mesh could be loaded into the viewport during animated object export, causing a very slow export process.
  • Fixed: bug that could cause a crash if viscosity feature was enabled while simulating small amounts of fluid.
  • Fixed: bug that could cause a crash if a object contained all vertices outside of the domain.
  • Fixed: issue where changing particle size in the FLIP Fluid Debug particle debugging tool would not affect the draw size.
  • Fixed: issue that was causing inflow object to require too much memory. More info in development update #14.
  • Fixed: issue where Strawberry Splash example scene was not compatible with newer versions of Blender.
  • Fixed: bug where a rare divide-by-zero error could cause the simulation to collapse in on itself.
  • Fixed: issue where a mesh containing a zero-area triangle could cause a crash.
  • Fixed: issue where an Attribute Error could be displayed when selecting the Domain object.
  • Fixed: possible FLIP Fluid Stats alignment issue when selecting a frame that was outside of the cache range.
  • Fixed: issue where FLIP Fluid Stats panel could display out-of-date info after a cache reset.
  • Fixed: issue where FLIP Fluid toolshelf menu was missing operator to select the whitewater dust object.
  • Fixed: Fixed potential crash issues that could be triggered when using Blender’s Undo (Ctrl+Z) after creating a domain.
  • Fixed: bug where FLIP Fluid Simulation panel would not be drawn in the case that the user has run out of drive space during the previous simulation.
  • General performance improvement of 10% – 15% for medium to large simulations (Detailed notes in Development Update #33).
  • Improved speed and flexibility of geometry export system (Detailed notes in Development Update #28).
  • Improved accuracy of surface tension calculations to improve stability (prevent blow-ups).
  • Improved multithreaded performance of adding new fluid particles into simulation domain.
  • Improved performance in grid initialization.
  • Improved performance in handling FLIP Fluid Obstacle objects.
  • Miscellaneous UI tweaks, usability, stability, reliability improvements.
  • New Documentation: What is the domain simulation grid?.
  • New Documentation: FLIP Fluids Helper Menu.
  • New Documentation: FLIP Fluids Preferences Menu.
  • New Documentation: Current Status of the Preset System.
  • New Documentation: Updated installation instructions using Blender 2.8x screenshots.
  • New Documentation: Limitations of the FLIP Fluids addon.
  • New Documentation: Expanded CPU Usage Topic.
  • New Documentation: What is the difference between Blender’s Mantaflow fluid simulator and the FLIP Fluids addon.
  • New Documentation: Does my obstacle object need to be completely contained by the domain?.
  • New Documentation: Tips for Creating Ship Simulations.
  • New Documentation: Scene Troubleshooting: Fluid behaviour changes when increasing resolution.
  • New Documentation: Whitewater Rendering Tips.
  • New Documentation: notes on potential feature of Motion Blur Support on Alembic Exports.
  • New Tutorial: Episode Eight: Layering Fluid to Make Delicious Sweets.
  • New Tutorial: Complete Guide Episode: Mastering Foam (part 3a).
  • New Tutorial: Complete Guide Episode: Mastering Bubbles, Spray, and Dust (part 3b).