Debugging ICE Graphs

There is a special node called the LogValuesNode which allows you to log values to the Script Editor’s history pane while passing them through from one port to another port. For example, imagine a Turbulize Around Value compound as input to a Gravity Force compound in a particle simulation:

If you want to print the values that are being set on the Gravity Force compound, you can pass them through a LogValuesNode:

These are some of the ways you can customize what gets logged and how:

• Specifying a Range of Elements to Log

• Differentiating Multiple LogValuesNodes

Specifying a Range of Elements to Log

You can limit the values that get logged to a subset of elements. For example, if every element logs its value in a particle simulation, the more particles are have been emitted, the more the simulation will be bogged down logging values to the Script Editor.

To specify a range of elements to log

1. Set the allelements (All Elements) port to false.

2. Specify the range by setting the following values:

- The index of the first element in the range in the firstelement (First Element) port. The index is 0-based, and any invalid values (values that fall below 0 or above the lastelement value) will be clamped to the closest valid value.

- The index of the last element in the range in the lastelement (Last Element) port. The index is 0-based, and any invalid values (values that fall below the firstelement value or above the last available element for that time will be clamped to the closest valid value.

Tip: You can specify a very high value for both values, such as 5000, to set up a range of just the last element at every point in the simulation. That way, if there are 5 elements at frame 2 and 45 elements at frame 60, at frame 2 element 5’s values will log but at frame 60 element 45’s values will log.

Differentiating Multiple LogValuesNodes

If you have several LogValuesNodes connected in the same graph, you can use a special label to identify which node wrote the message to the history pane:

- Write the identifying label to the debugprinttag parameter.

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