最近在 cgtalk 的 max 版塊出現了不少好文章...大概是因為 max 2010 的出現，導致很多反 ad 的人出來吧...
這是我目前看過關於 pf 和 tp 最中肯的比較，有空的話也許可以來翻譯一下...或是哪位好心人幫個忙...
原始討論網址
Let me start with this: PFlow and TP are VERY different. They appear to be doing the same, but they do not. So usually the decision which one to use (at least in real world production) depends on what has to be done and which one does that particular thing better.
As mentioned already, your question is very similar to "Max or Maya, and why", and the summary answer is also very similar: Max does the things you do 90% of the time easier, but lacks in those last 10% where things get hard. Maya is missing the first 10% that should have been easy, but makes the rest eaiser, including the difficult stuff. Replace "Max" with "PFlow" and "Maya" with "TP" and you'll get the picture...
You have been exposed to what used to be TP 1.0 in C4D, TP for Max is at version 3 and growing. It is VERY powerful and relatively complex for new users. It is great for breaking things apart with interparticle collisions and anything that requires mesh-to-mesh collisions and flexible rules that let you change the starting conditions while still producing a plausible result. TP tends to store its particle data as part of the mesh shape, so while doing abstract point clouds is possible, integrating TP with Krakatoa for example was not very easy. TP has a wonderful presets system (Black Boxes) for storing your work in encapsulated form and reusing later. Caching is good and baking to scene objects is directly supported. MAXScript exposure is lacking to say the least.
Particle Flow has a more abstracted representation of particles as points in space that can contain all related data without depending on the mesh shape, although steps are being made to add interparticle mesh collisions in the future. It is VERY easy to set up quickly (IMVHO, one of the easiest particle system UIs to use) and does most of the everyday things with less work, but when it comes to the heavy stuff, it lacks some abilities. It integrates great with Krakatoa (which is what matters for me personally ) and provides some caching out of the box, but the real deal is part of a 3rd party extension called PFlow Tools Box #3 which provides in addition to disk caching also low-level channel access via so-called Data Operators, very similar to the way TP works with data. The MAXScript exposure is phenomenal (see my signature). Although scripted operators are generally orders of magnitude slower, a slower solution is better than no solution at all, so this adds flexibility, but the event-based nature of the system is more rigid than the rule-based concept of TP.
I find myself using PFlow a lot more for everyday's tasks, but there are effects we couldn't have done without TP (at least in the time allocated). For a starter in the field of particles, PFlow is easier accessible (since it ships with Max) and easier to master since the learning curve is less steep.
But in the end it is your choice - it is possible that your brain is better wired for the one than the other...
