--- title: "Displacement" canonical: "https://documentation.chaos.com/space/PHX4MAYA/125737426/Displacement" format: markdown --- This page provides general information about the Displacement sub-section of the Rendering rollout of Chaos Phoenix. ## **Overview** --- Displacement is a technique intended to add detail to the simulation during the rendering. The idea of the Phoenix displacement is similar to the usual geometry displacement: a texture is sampled, and the corresponding point of the fluid volume or surface is shifted in a direction at a distance determined by the texture. You can plug any V-Ray, Maya or Phoenix texture maps. You can use the Phoenix Simulator's Mesh Preview option to check how the attached displacement map is affecting the surface when **Render** **Mode** is set to **Mesh**, **Ocean Mesh **or **Cap Mesh**. > Macro (ui-text-box) > > UI Path: ||Select [PhoenixFDSim](https://docs-chaos.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PHX4MAYA/pages/125895496)|| **> Attribute Editor > Rendering rollout > Displacement rollout** ## **Parameters** --- ![image](media://0e2e2b24-390f-4e44-82bf-f17abe1a850b) **Displacement Amount** | *rendDispl*, *rendDisplEnbl *– Specifies a displacement strength multiplier. **Texture** | *rendDisplFine* – Specifies the displacement map. Depending on the **Type** option selected, a monochrome map or a color map could be required. If a colored map is specified when a monochrome map is needed, the strength of the displacement is determined by the total intensity of the color. If a monochrome map is specified when a vector map is needed, the entire displacement will point in a single direction. For more information on texture mapping in Phoenix, please check the [Texture mapping, moving textures with fire/smoke/liquid, and TexUVW](https://docs-chaos.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PHX4MAYA/pages/125832240) page. *See the **[Advection Displacement with a Monochrome Map example](https://docs-chaos.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PHX3MAYA4EDIT/pages/117277162)** below.* > Macro (ui-text-box) > > The **Type** parameter is ignored when **Mode** is set to **Mesh**, **Ocean Mesh** or **Cap Mesh**. In these modes Phoenix automatically recognizes whether the texture map is monochrome or colored and uses respectively **Surface-driven** or **Vector** displacement. > > The difference between **Surface driven** and **Vector** displacement is that vector displacement can produce more complicated surfaces. For example, a wave texture in **Vector** mode produces waves that have a convex back side and a concave front side, in contrast with the symmetrical forms produced by **Surface driven** displacement. **Type** | *rendDispltSurf* – Specifies the displacement technique. **Gradient driven** – Requires a monochrome texture map. The displacement amount is the texture's brightness at each point. Each point of the fluid is shifted along the gradient of the **Surface** channel. This means that each point in space could have a different displacement direction. This method is suitable for smoke and fire. **Surface driven** – Requires a monochrome texture map. The displacement amount is the texture's brightness at each point. Each point of the fluid is shifted along the normal of the point's projection on the isosurface of the fluid's **Surface** channel. The texture is also sampled at the projection point.  Unlike the **Gradient driven** displacement, this ensures that all points above of below the fluid surface will be displaced in the same direction, and so displacing fire/smoke simulations produces better results that are more similar to displaced solid geometry surfaces. However, the **Surface driven** method is slower than **Gradient driven**. **Vector** – Requires a colored vector texture map (with negative and positive values). The point is shifted by the texture color, interpreted as a 3D vector. This displacement mode is intended to be used with the [Phoenix Ocean Texture](https://docs-chaos.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PHX4MAYA/pages/125961067) but can be used with any other vector displacement texture. - - If **Mode** is set to **Mesh**, **Ocean Mesh** or **Cap Mesh**, then it requires a texture in the format used for V-Ray Tangent Vector displacement, where X and Y of the texture are 0.5-based, and the Z direction is 0.0-based. This means that if you use a texture where the Red and Blue colors are gray and the Green color is black, it will produce no displacement; brighter color than these will move the fluid points along the positive axes, and darker and negative colors will displace the fluid point along the negative axes. A texture in such a format is the [Phoenix Ocean Texture](https://docs-chaos.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PHX4MAYA/pages/125961067) in **Vector Mode**. - If **Mode** is other than the mesh modes, **Vector** displacement requires a texture which is 0.0-based, so black color means no displacement, brighter colors shift the fluid points towards the positive axes and negative colors - along the negative axes. Such a texture is the [Phoenix Grid Texture](https://docs-chaos.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PHX4MAYA/pages/125731978) with its **Channel** set to **Velocity**. **Advection** – Requires a colored 0.0-based vector texture map (with negative and positive values). A very similar method to **Vector**, but does not produce grainy structures for fire and smoke. Can be combined with the Phoenix [Grid Texture](https://docs-chaos.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PHX4MAYA/pages/125731978), with its **Channel** set to **Velocity**, to produce render-time gridless advection.  *For more information, see the **[Advection Displacement example](https://docs-chaos.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PHX3MAYA4EDIT/pages/117277162)** below*. > Macro (anchor) ### **Example: Advection Displacement** --- > Macro (anchor) ### **Example: Advection Displacement with a Monochrome Map** --- > Macro (ui-text-box) > > This example illustrates how displacement is affected when a monochrome map is passed when a vector map is needed.