Troubleshooting & FAQ

The addon does not enable

Check the Blender version and package platform in Getting started. Install the complete extension ZIP without unpacking it. If Blender reports an import or driver error, keep the exact message when investigating; the supported driver minimum is not specified by this package.

No particles are generated

Assign a mesh as Fill Volume. Use a closed, watertight mesh with consistent normals. Reduce Grain Radius for a very small volume, or reduce a negative Source Offset that may have eroded the usable interior. Keep Inside Fill controls initialization only.

Grains do not move

Check that timeline playback is advancing and Grains Active is on. Review Progressive, Empty, Object, Mask, Infection, and Start Asleep settings: an unreached or sleeping grain may intentionally stay still. Point Deform holds inactive grains to the source. Also check gravity and strong attachment constraints.

Infection waits for Start Frame and an enabled emitter. With Start Asleep, explicit activation can wake grains as well as nearby active grains.

Grains leak through colliders

Confirm the collider entry is enabled and points to the intended object. Enable Animated for moving meshes. For fast motion, test more Substeps and appropriate Collider Substeps, then review Margin and Velocity Margin. Convex Hull and Bounding Box do not preserve the original concave surface.

For an SDF collider, Preview SDF Field and inspect Field Radius, Field Resolution, and Surface Offset. An offset greater than or equal to the field radius can remove the collision surface.

The material bursts or jitters

Check initial overlaps and extreme source jitter. Enable Relax Overlaps, then test a fresh run with more Substeps or Constraint Iterations. Very stiff glue, dense bonds, and aggressive deformation can require more work. Max Collision Speed can limit bursts, but a low nonzero cap can prevent proper collision separation.

A setting change has no effect

Existing cached frames are replayed, not simulated again. Reset and create a new bake after changing keys or setup. Some settings only apply at initialization; see Animation & keyframes.

History storage fails

Check free disk space and write access in the addon Preferences → Temporary Cache Folder. Correct the storage issue, then Reset and start again. History RAM limits only resident history arrays; Blender and GPU allocations are additional. Use Write Cache for results you need to keep.

Simulation controls are disabled

Geometry Nodes output locks the simulation panels. Use Meshing → Geometry Nodes → Back to Simulation. Cached playback still needs a fresh simulation if you want changed physics.

If Carnage reports that the active simulation belongs to another scene, switch back to that scene before starting or loading a cache.

Meshing or post processing cannot start

Write a point cache first and verify Cache File. Post processing needs a loaded cache. Both mesh creation paths require saved frames. If output links are broken after moving a project, check external paths and retain metadata/sidecars with the frame files.

The output is too heavy

For viewport work, use Point Cloud instead of Spheres. Reduce grain count with a larger Grain Radius, limit unnecessary glue connectivity, and test meshing without constraints. For Carnage Meshing, use a coarser Voxel Scale or lower resolution; try Tiled Meshing and a smaller Tile Size to lower peak field memory.

Masks or points are not visible

Use Material Preview or Rendered shading for grain mask colors. Weight Paint needs the named vertex group on the fill mesh, and UV texture mapping needs its UV map. Attachment Break Mask uses the attachment target’s data; its Show Mask overlay is visible in the viewport but hidden in Rendered shading and final renders.

Geometry Nodes native points render in Cycles; use Instance on Points for EEVEE. For infection shading, use Transfer Infection Mask and the correct Attribute node type.

Recorded Motion is unavailable

Enable Record Render Motion before a fresh simulation. Use the same frame rate and centered shutter when meshing, and let the following frame finish so the exposure is complete. Missing or mismatched recordings stop a Recorded Motion bake. Re-simulate with the intended settings or choose Particle Velocity. See Record Render Motion.

Reference Surface UVs are unavailable

Give the fill mesh an active UV map before simulation and keep the saved surface reference with the point cache. If that reference is absent, use Dual Rest or create a fresh point cache. Jitter, Per Frame removal and Upres do not preserve Reference Surface data; see Processed cache attributes.

Post processing reports missing frames

Check Start and End in Post Processing Cache. Every source frame in the selected range must exist, and removal needs consistent grain tracks. Adjust the range or cache the missing frames. Choose a separate output name; replacing an existing output requires confirmation.

An Alembic export is missing materials or attributes

Keep the full export folder together, including metadata, the output library and any attribute/constraint Alembic files. Use File → Import → Carnage Alembic (.abc) to restore the saved setup. See Import an Alembic export.

Does Reset delete a saved cache?

Reset clears session simulation history, not permanent exported caches. A subsequent point-cache write to the same path can overwrite previous frames. Likewise, Clear Mesh Bake returns to live meshing while leaving mesh cache files on disk.