Note: We still need some artist feedback to see if the node would be useful enough.
The node copies part of a geometry a dynamic number of times. Different parts of the geometry can be copied different amounts of time.
Besides the sockets shown in the mockup, the node also has a mode/domain (all domains except Face Corner) dropdown.
The basic behavior is:
- Compute the amount for every selected element in the specified domain.
- Duplicate every element the computed number of times. If the amount for an element is 0, it is not included in the output.
- Propagate all existing attributes.
- If there is an id attribute on the input, create new stable ids for the output elements.
- Add a new anonymous attribute "Copy Index" that is an integer between 0 and amount - 1 on the selected domain.
Modes:
- Point: The output is always a point cloud independent of the input geometry type.
- Edge: The output is always a mesh that only contains disconnected edges.
- Face: The output is always a mesh that only contains disconnected faces.
- Spline: The output is always a curve that contains splines.
- Instances: The output only contains instances.
3D Point Grid Example (also also possible to create a 3D grid when starting with a single point when the node is used 3 times):
Possible future enhancements:
- Keep edges/faces linked when they have the same copy index (should be possible to enable and disable that with a boolean input).