Vortex

Vortex

The opposite of the Orbit Around behavior, the Vortex behavior exerts a force on all objects surrounding the object to which the Vortex behavior is applied.

Adjust this behavior using the controls in the Behaviors Inspector:

  • Affect: A pop-up menu that limits which objects in your project are affected by the Vortex behavior. There are three options:

    • All Objects: All objects in the Canvas are affected by the Vortex behavior.

    • Related Objects: The default setting. Only other objects in the same group as the object of attraction are affected.

    • Specific Objects: Only objects appearing in the Affected Objects list are affected by the Vortex behavior.

  • Affected Objects: A list that appears when Specific Objects is chosen in the Affect pop-up menu. Objects you drag from the Layers list into this list are affected by the Attractor behavior when the Specific Objects option is selected in the Affect pop-up menu. To remove an item from the list, select the item and click Remove. The Affected Objects lists contains the following columns:

    • Layer: This column lists the name of the layer containing the object.

    • Name: This column lists the name of the object.

  • Strength: A slider that sets the speed at which the affected objects move about the object of attraction.

  • Falloff Type: A pop-up menu that determines whether the distance defined by the Influence parameter falls off linearly or exponentially. The default is Linear.

    • Linear: Object attraction falls off in proportion to the object’s distance.

    • Exponential: The closer an object is within the area of influence, the more strongly it is attracted, and the faster it moves toward the object of attraction.

  • Falloff Rate: A slider that sets how quickly the force of attraction between objects affected by this behavior falls off. A low Falloff Rate value results in objects quickly getting up to speed as they move toward the object of attraction. A high Falloff Rate causes objects to accelerate much more slowly. When set to Exponential, the attraction falls off more quickly than when set to Linear.

  • Influence: A slider that defines the radius of the circle of influence, in pixels. Objects that fall within the area of influence move toward the object of attraction. Objects outside the area of influence remain in place.

  • Drag: A slider that causes the vortex to decay. The default value for Vortex is 0, which results in a stable vortex. Any other value causes the vortex to decay and the object to spiral into the object of attraction.

  • Include X, Y, and Z: Buttons that specify the space in which the objects vortex around the target object. For example, when X and Y are enabled, the object circles around in the XY plane; when Y and Z are enabled, the object circles around in the YZ plane.

  • Pole Axis: A pop-up menu that becomes available when the X, Y, and Z axes are enabled in the Include parameter. Because all points are at a fixed distance from the target or attractor object (the Pole Axis), the object can be visualized on a sphere of all possible orbits, with the target object at the center of the sphere. The Pole Axis defines the two points on the sphere that the orbit must pass through. For more information, see this parameter’s discussion in Orbit Around.

  • Direction: A pop-up menu that sets whether objects move around in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction.