pyroCluster 3.5

The Mars landscape shown below was rendered with pyroCluster; none of the stones and rocks are real geometry. By adjusting only a few parameters, a soft vapor effect can be turned into rock solid stones or other landscape like formations. Enjoy true 3 dimensional volumetric displacement with proper and flexible self-shadowing with a minimal amount of render time.

pyroCluster effects can be rendered in many different ways to represent all kinds of natural phenomena, including realistic dense clouds with super crisp self-shadowing. However, there is more! pyroCluster can not only be used to create smoke or haze - it is also perfect for fiery or solid liquid effects. Turbulent water falls or snow avalanches are all possible with one single product.

pyroCluster features an all new Volume Tracer engine that fully supports all standard 3ds Max lighting effects. Advanced optimization features of the pyroCluster Volume Tracer engine offer many ways to improve render speed and quality. For example, pyroCluster is yet the only plug-in that offers two shadow map creation methods for one single light source! One light source may affect self shadows in the volume differently than the shadow that is thrown onto other objects by the cloud or volume effect! Flexibility and power of control is the new credo of pyroCluster. Where does the name pyroCluster come from?

pyroCluster is a name that was taken from a natural phenomenon called Pyroclastic Cloud. Pyroclastic clouds are often caused by an erupting volcano. It's a mixture of "super heated" gas and small dust particles. The Pyroclastic Cloud phenomenon is so powerful that it is more dangerous than the actual eruption or explosion of a volcano. Even fresh hot lava currents running down a volcano do not compare with a super heated 100 mph fast, gas and particle cloud. It's a real KILLER! There is no chance for escape while it burns and covers everything in seconds. If you are interested in the nature of volcanoes, you might want to try out any web search engine to get more in depth details.