Q: Can i render feathers on a renderfarm without extra licenses?
A: Yes, you need to cache the simulation as 'ICECache':
Animate->Tools->Plot->Write Geometry Cache
Then create an empty pointcloud and choose -
Animate->Tools->Plot->Load Geometry Cache
Q: Can i save presets for my simulation settings?
A: Yes, you can use the "Save ICE Node Preset" Addon by Fabricio Chamon.
Download Mirror
Q: Is there a way to export a simulation?
A: Yes, to export a simulation to other 3d packages, follow this tutorial. These are just a few of the many possible ways to get
the data out of Softimage.
Q: When I export the feathers as a model and then import the model into a clean scene, why do the point clouds not show the instanced geometry?
A: When importing a model, the name of the model sometimes changes. To avoid hardcoded model names in the compounds, open the ICE compounds and change all references of the model to "this_model".
Q: How do I make the feather color show up in the render?
A: The particle color is set accordingly to the texture map on the reference emitter. To use this color for rendering, the material on the feather instances need to have a color attribute. This can be plugged into a diffuse slot for example.