iCrowds Systems - Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
Q: What's the difference between dynamic and static systems? A: Dynamic systems have moving agents with autonomous behaviors, while static systems place agents in fixed positions for background crowds.
Q: What's the maximum number of agents supported? A: Most systems support up to 100,000 agents, but performance depends on your hardware and scene complexity.
Q: Can I mix different systems in one scene? A: Yes! Combine systems like Walkers for paths + City for plazas + Stadium for seating areas.
Q: How do I control where agents appear? A: Use weight painting, sphere masks, or vertex groups to define density areas.
Dynamic Systems Questions
City System
Q: How do agents decide where to go? A: Agents have needs (hunger, sleep, fun, bladder) and pathfind to nearest relevant activities when needs get low.
Q: What's the difference between walk and run speeds? A: Below walk speed = idle, between walk/run = walking animation, above run speed = running animation.
Q: How does pathfinding detail affect performance? A: Lower values = faster simulation but less precise navigation. Use lower values for large scenes.
Fluid System
Q: How do flow curves work? A: Agents follow curve tangents. Use Alt+S in edit mode to scale radius and control zone of effect.
Q: What's the purpose of relax iterations? A: Higher values prevent agents from passing through each other but cost performance.
Q: Can attracters/repelers be animated? A: Yes! Animate the control objects to create dynamic crowd movements.
Walkers System
Q: What's the difference between respawn and delete modes? A: Respawn recycles agents at the start; delete removes them when they reach the end.
Q: How do I create bidirectional traffic? A: Adjust the direction parameter above 0.5 to make some lanes go opposite directions.
Static Systems Questions
Stadium System
Q: Which distribution type should I use? A: Use On Face for bleachers, On Instance for pre-built seats, On Collection for organized sections, On Vertex for precise seating.
Q: How do I make some sections have different agent types? A: Use face attributes or instance attributes to assign different agent collections to different areas.
Scatter Systems (On Ground/Curve/Vertex)
Q: When should I use On Ground vs On Curve vs On Vertex? A: On Ground for natural crowds, On Curve for lines/queues, On Vertex for precise formations.
Q: How do I prevent agents from overlapping? A: Use personal space settings and increase relax iterations.
Q: Why are my agents floating or sinking? A: Adjust the up direction parameter and ensure your terrain is properly aligned.
Technical Questions
Q: How do I improve performance with many agents? A: Reduce pathfinding detail, lower relax iterations, use simpler agent meshes, and limit max agents.
Q: Why aren't my agents moving? A: Check that activities are properly assigned, colliders are set up, and speed thresholds are correct.
Q: How do I create custom agents? A: Prepare animated meshes with armatures, then add them through the custom agents panel in any system.
Q: What does the seed parameter do? A: It ensures reproducible random patterns. Same seed = same agent distribution every time.
Q: How do I make agents face different directions? A: Use the random rotation mode or At Object mode with randomization for natural variation.
Troubleshooting
Q: Agents are passing through each other A: Increase relax iterations and personal space settings.
Q: Crowds look too uniform and artificial A: Add rotation randomization, scale variation, and position variation.
Q: Simulation is running too fast/slow A: Adjust time scale for need depletion rates and speed scalars for movement speeds.
Q: Agents stuck or not pathfinding properly A: Check collision objects, ensure activities are accessible, and increase pathfinding detail.