Mesh Cache Modifier¶
The Mesh Cache Modifier is used so animated mesh data can be applied to a mesh and played back, deforming the mesh.
This works in a similar way to shape-keys but is aimed at playing back external files and is often used for interchange between applications.
Note
When using this modifier, the vertex locations are overwritten.
Options¶
- Format
- The input file format (currently
.mdd
and.pc2
are supported). - File Path
- Path to the cache file.
Evaluation¶
- Influence
- Factor to adjust the influence of the modifiers deformation, useful for blending in/out from the cache data.
- Deform Mode
This setting defaults to ‘Overwrite’ which will replace the vertex locations with those in the cache file. However, you may want to use shape-keys, for example, and mix them with the mesh-cache. In this case you can select the ‘Deform’ option which integrates deformations with the mesh-cache result.
Note
This feature is limited to making smaller, isolated edits and will not work for larger changes such as re-posing limbs.
- Interpolation
- None or Linear which will blend between frames; use linear when the frames in the cache file do not match up exactly with the frames in the blend-file.
Time Mapping¶
- Time Mode
Select how time is calculated.
- Frame
- Allows you to control the frames, which will ignore timing data in the file but is often useful since it gives simple control.
- Time
- Evaluates time in seconds, taking into account timing information from the file (offset and frame-times).
- Factor
- Evaluates the entire animation as a value from (0 - 1).
- Play Mode
Select how playback operates.
- Scene
Use the current frame from the scene to control playback.
- Frame Start
- Play the cache starting from this frame.
- Frame Scale
- Scale time by this factor (applied after the start value).
- Custom
Control animation timing manually.
- Evaluation Value
- Property used for animation time, this gives more control of timing – typically this value will be animated.
Axis Mapping¶
- Forward/Up Axis
- The axis for forward and up used in the source file.
- Flip Axis
- In rare cases you may also need to flip the coordinates on an axis.
Tip
Both MDD and PC2 depend on the vertex order on the mesh remaining unchanged; this is a limitation with the method used so take care not to add/remove vertices once this modifier is used.