VFX Presets

Volume FX presets are procedural 3D texture generators. Each preset produces a characteristic density/temperature distribution using analytical noise functions. When no .vdb file is provided, the preset generates the volume data at runtime.

Preset Reference

🔥 Fire

Rising plume with hot core and density falloff. The flame concentrates at the base with a narrow column that widens upward.

Channel	Content
R (Density)	Column shape × vertical falloff × turbulence
G (Temperature)	Hot center-bottom, cooling at edges
B (Flame)	Concentrated at base

Recommended material: Combined (emission for core, scatter for smoke edges)

💨 Smoke

Diffuse, billowing clouds. Multi-octave noise creates a billowy, organic look.

Channel	Content
R (Density)	Soft sphere with heavy noise
G (Temperature)	None (0)
B (Flame)	None (0)

Recommended material: Scatter (albedo: neutral gray)

🌫️ Fog

Uniform low-lying density field. Sits in the lower half of the volume and thins out above.

Channel	Content
R (Density)	Height-masked slab with gentle noise
G (Temperature)	None (0)
B (Flame)	None (0)

Recommended material: Scatter (low extinction for translucency)

🌧️ Rain

Vertical streaks of density simulating rainfall. Uses xz-plane noise for sparse vertical columns.

Channel	Content
R (Density)	Sparse vertical streaks with y-variation
G (Temperature)	None (0)
B (Flame)	None (0)

Recommended material: Scatter

❄️ Ice

Crystalline radial density with cool temperature. Mixes cube-distance and sphere-distance for angular, crystal-like shapes.

Channel	Content
R (Density)	Sharp angular forms (cube + sphere blend)
G (Temperature)	Cool (0.1–0.5 range for blue glow)
B (Flame)	None (0)

Recommended material: Emissive (low temperature_scale for blue glow)

☁️ Cloud

Puffy cumulus shape, biased toward the upper half. Flat bottom with lumpy protrusions.

Channel	Content
R (Density)	Ellipsoid with multi-octave noise + lumps
G (Temperature)	None (0)
B (Flame)	None (0)

Recommended material: Scatter (high albedo for bright white cloud)

✨ Ember

Scattered hot particles floating upward. Very sparse — only ~5% of voxels have density.

Channel	Content
R (Density)	Sparse bright dots, concentrated in lower 2/3
G (Temperature)	High (0.7–1.0 for orange/white glow)
B (Flame)	High (0.5–1.0)

Recommended material: Emissive (high temperature_scale)

🌾 Dust

Thin drifting particulate haze filling the volume. Subtle, mostly uniform with wispy clumps.

Channel	Content
R (Density)	Fine-grain multi-scale noise (max ~0.6)
G (Temperature)	None (0)
B (Flame)	None (0)

Recommended material: Scatter (low extinction)

🌁 Mist

Ground-hugging, translucent, very soft density. Exponential height falloff keeps mist at floor level.

Channel	Content
R (Density)	Exponential height decay + gentle noise (max ~0.8)
G (Temperature)	None (0)
B (Flame)	None (0)

Recommended material: Scatter (very low extinction for ethereal look)

💥 Shockwave

Expanding spherical shell with hot leading edge. The shell has a defined radius and thickness with a residual fireball core.

Channel	Content
R (Density)	Thin spherical shell at radius 0.6, thickness 0.12
G (Temperature)	Hot at outer edge of shell
B (Flame)	Residual fireball at center

Recommended material: Combined (emission at leading edge, scatter for debris)

Preset Summary Table

Preset	Density	Temperature	Flame	Best Material
`fire`	Column + vertical	Hot core	Base-concentrated	Combined
`smoke`	Billowy sphere	—	—	Scatter
`fog`	Low-lying slab	—	—	Scatter
`rain`	Vertical streaks	—	—	Scatter
`ice`	Crystal shape	Cool glow	—	Emissive
`cloud`	Puffy cumulus	—	—	Scatter
`ember`	Sparse particles	Very hot	Hot	Emissive
`dust`	Fine haze	—	—	Scatter
`mist`	Ground-level	—	—	Scatter
`shockwave`	Spherical shell	Hot edge	Core fireball	Combined

Lua API

-- Add each preset
local presets = {
  "fire", "smoke", "fog", "rain", "ice",
  "cloud", "ember", "dust", "mist", "shockwave"
}

for i, preset in ipairs(presets) do
  pl.cmd("slot:add", {
    name = preset:sub(1,1):upper() .. preset:sub(2),
    source = {
      type = "volume_fx",
      volume_preset = preset,
      volume_density = 0.8,
      volume_brightness = 1.0,
      volume_speed = 0.5,
      volume_steps = 32
    }
  })
end

Custom Volumes (VDB)

For production-quality volumes, load OpenVDB (.vdb) files instead of procedural presets. VDB files contain simulation data from Houdini, Blender, or other DCC tools. The material auto-detection examines VDB grid names:

density grid → Scatter material
temperature / flame grids present → Emissive or Combined

Volume FX — Material system and layer properties
Compositor — Layer system overview