AB_shortest_paths

About:

AB_shortest_paths is a Bifrost compound that lets you create strands that travel along a mesh or through a point cloud. It uses Dijkstra's Algorithm to calculate the distances between points by traveling the the shortest point neighbors. The compound also outputs a cost array that can also be used for other effects.

Four modes are available closest_start_to_all_ends is the default.

• a_start_to_a_closest_end: This will construct the shortest path available from one start to it's nearest end.

• each_start_to_a_closest_end: This will construct a path from each start to it's nearest end. This iterates per start index and can be slow.

• closest_start_to_all_ends: This is the traditional method of finding a the shortest path for every goal. Which ever start point is closest it will use for the path.

• all_starts_to_all_ends: This is very slow and does the above but for every start point. Meaning it calculates the tree every time and depending on the amount of points and the amount of start indices it could take a long time.

You are able to add extra cost to the paths with an auto interpret scalar port to create different shapes the paths make. This way field noise or shapes can be used to manipulate the output. Strands can also be culled if overlapping strands is undesired.

Installation:

Unzip and place the versioned folder into your User/<Username>/Bifrost/Compounds folder.

Requirements:

The compound was created using Bifrost version 2.3.1.0. It hasn't been tested on earlier versions. It has no dependencies to other compounds. Having the Rebel Pack will help create the point neighbors needed for the compound.