Scatter Patterns on Grid

[emresumer]

Hello,

I am trying to find a way to scatter some random points on a grid with some point relaxation. However I couldn't get a natural result with the Scatter Sop. Increasing relax iterations can cause some patterning, and without it I get intersecting points or empty patches. 

Not sure If I am missing something very obvious here, but wanted to ask if there's a more controllable way to scatter points on a grid (looking random but keeping some random distance between points). Relax iterations is doing what it should but it feels like it's aligning the points and it's causing patterns. It becomes more obvious with larger grid and lots of points. Scattering everything very equally at first and then point jittering afterwards seems to give better results. 

 

Thank you

scatter_on_grid.hipnc

 

Edited October 7, 2021 by emresumer

[Fenolis]

If you consider that evenly spaced points on a triangular grid are the "optimal" result of a point-relax algorithm, it shouldn't be hard to see why patterns emerge when you turn up relax iterations. The first image with gaps in the distribution is more "random" than a relaxed scatter (which causes the distance between nearby points to be more uniform)

 

If the default pseudo-random noise used for Scatter does not suit your purpose, you can try using the Density attribute or write your own scatter algorithm using VOPs. Inserting an Attribute Noise before Scatter and then setting the Density on Scatter to use that attribute should give you more control over the distribution and better visualization of the output of the node.

[Fenolis]

Have a read through this article, the technique of using circular arcs to scatter points may be something that suits your needs.

[konstantin magnus]

Hi Emre,

the planar patch-node creates even point distribution without showing patterns and always touches the border.

₁ Planar patch plus add-node. ₂ Scatter node on 10x10 grid with 100 iterations. ₃ Scatter node with 10 iterations.