In article <3a9c1ad0@news.povray.org>, "Rune" <run### [at] inamecom> 
wrote:

> Generally I am against the whole concept of types in POV-Ray 
> features. They are unavoidable sometimes, but I think that they 
> should be avoided for the most part.

In this case, they could be a very useful memory enhancement, since not 
all particles will use the same amount of memory. (in the current patch, 
they do, but I plan to change this some day)


> When a feature has different types it is the programmer who decides 
> which types are available. Instead the programmer should make the 
> feature so flexible that all types can be achieved by using different 
> settings, as well as everything in between, and also for things the 
> programmer didn't even think of.
...
> I think the particle_system should be general enough to simulate all 
> kinds of particles using the same set of settings, and without having 
> specific preset types.

My initial goal was to make it easier to use...I didn't want people to 
wonder "do I need this parameter for sand?", for example. Also, 
particles used for different purposes use a different set of features, 
and so a type of particle that only uses a subset of those won't waste 
memory on the unused parameters.
I plan on having 4 types:
Atmospheric, for doing smoke, etc.
Liquid, for water, paint, etc.
Solid, for sand, snow, and other stuff composed of solid "grains" that 
can pile up.
Generic, that can do any combination of the above, but uses more memory.
When you have thousands of particles, it can really make a difference.

-- 
Christopher James Huff
Personal: chr### [at] maccom, http://homepage.mac.com/chrishuff/
TAG: chr### [at] tagpovrayorg, http://tag.povray.org/

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