RealFlow is a fluid and dynamics simulation tool for the 3D and visual effects industry, developed by Next Limit Technologies in Madrid, Spain. This stand-alone application can be used in conjunction with other 3D programs to simulate fluids, water surfaces, fluid-solid interactions, rigid bodies, soft bodies and meshes. In 2008, Next Limit Technologies was awarded a Technical Achievement Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for their development of the RealFlow software and its contribution to the production of motion pictures. In 2015, Next Limit Technologies announced the release of RealFlow Core for Cinema 4D.

Overview RealFlow technology uses particle based simulations. These particles can be influenced in various ways by point-based nodes (daemons) which can do various tasks such as simulate gravity or recreate the vortex-like motion of a tornado. RealFlow can also simulate soft and rigid body collisions and interactions. The inclusion of Python scripting and C++ plug-ins allows users to program their own tools to improve RealFlow capabilities, adding control to most aspects of the RealFlow workflow including batch runs, events, daemons, waves, and fluids.

The RealFlow Renderkit (RFRK) is a set of tools designed to facilitate the rendering of fluids. The RFRK enables the generation of procedural geometry at render time and the rendering of individual fluid particles. With this interface, fluids can also be rendered as foam and spray.

On July 30, 2015, RealFlow 2015 was released to the public. The main features in this major release include:

An increase in the quality of simulations. New DYVERSO solvers and GPU acceleration. Direct-to-render feature using Maxwell Render. Enhanced User Interface More controllabitlity: new splines nodes, text tools, daemons falloff, crown daemon, and spreadsheets DYVERSO solvers and rapid OpenVDB meshing speed up simulation times by 10x.

Plug-ins RFConnect RFConnect is a connectivity plugin between standalone RealFlow and DCC applications. The plugin is a successor of RF Connectivity and RF RenderKit (RFRK). The plugin supports following DCC applications: 3ds Max, Maya, Cinema 4D, and Houdini. The plugin is also available for Lightwave and Softimage but the development is currently not active.

RFCore RFCore is a plugin for bringing RealFlow functionality to the DCC applications. The plugin supports following DCC applications: 3ds Max, Maya, and Cinema 4D.

Third-party plug-in developers Next Limit lists three 3rd party plugins for Wetwork, IoSim, and V-Motion.

Version history

1998 RealFlow 1.0RealWave 1.0RealFlow 1.2 1999 RealFlow 1.3 2000 RealWave 2.0 2001 RealFlow 2.0 2002 RealFlow 2.5 2004 RealFlow 3.0 2006 RealFlow 4.0 2010 RealFlow 5.0 2012 RealFlow 2012 2013 RealFlow 2013 2014 RealFlow 2014 2015 RealFlow 2015 2016 RealFlow 10RealFlow Cinema4D 2017 RealFlow 10.1RealFlow Cinema4D 2.0 2018 RealFlow Cinema4D 2.5RealFlow MayaRealFlow 3ds Max 2019 RealFlow Cinema 4D 3.0RealFlow 10.5

Features RealFlow Particle based solver (liquid, gas, elastic and particles) Interaction bitmaps Custom particle behaviour UV data and weight maps UV texture mapping Automatic mesh generator Force fields Python / C++ plugins Direct-to-render feature OpenVDB meshing

Hybrido Hybrid fluid solver technology to simulate large bodies of water with secondary effects such as splashes, foam, and mist

Caronte Rigid/soft body dynamics solver Mix animation and dynamics

RealWave Physically accurate water surfaces

Python scripting / C++ plugins Daemons Waves Fluids Events Batch runs

Dyverso Solvers Drastic speed-up on simulations Smooth layered meshes,

Use in industry Motion pictures

Watchmen The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street National Treasure: Book of Secrets City of Ember Meet the Robinsons 300 Primeval Poseidon The Guardian Ice Age: The Meltdown X-Men: The Last Stand Slither The Da Vinci Code Chicken Little Robots The Incredibles Constantine Charlie and the Chocolate Factory The Matrix Reloaded The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Freddy vs. Jason Minority Report Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within Ice Age Lara Croft: Tomb Raider Lost in Space Pompeii Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit The Great Gatsby The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo The Avengers Looper The Impossible Resident Evil: Retribution Dredd Ice Age: Continental Drift The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! The Lorax

Television series Lost CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Get Ed Rome One-T video clips: "Tomorrow's War" and "Kamasutra" U2/Green Day video clip: "The Saints are Coming" Numberjacks Waybuloo

Direct-to-video Hermie and Friends

Commercials

Kraft Mac & Cheese Discovery Channel Coca-Cola Harpic Amp'd Mobile Strathmore Water Cinnamon Toast Crunch Nissan GT-R Bacardi Nickelodeon Mercedes Sony Ericsson Renault Laguna Nescafe Nespresso Frosted Flakes Chase Bank Guinness Heineken Grand Marnier Ariel Washing Powder Biotherm Vichy Nescafe Pontiac Gatorade Carlsberg Telia Xpress/Motorola Martini BMW Land Rover World of Color

Video games Ryse: Son of Rome Crysis 2 Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception God of War: Ascension X-Men Origins: Wolverine (video game) Mass Effect 3

See also Particle system Smoothed particle hydrodynamics Computer simulation 3D computer graphics

References

External links

Realflow Tutorials Realflow 2013 - New Features & Videos Realflow Templates