Cavalry Node System: Create Procedural Animations

Cavalry's node system is what makes it uniquely powerful for procedural animation. Here's how data flows between nodes to create complex motion from simple rules.

Understanding the Graph View:
Window → Graph Editor (or press G) to see your node connections visually. Every shape, behaviour, and modifier is a node. Lines between them show data flow.

Data flow basics:
- Data flows from OUTPUT (right side of a node) to INPUT (left side)
- One output can connect to many inputs (one behaviour driving many shapes)
- Connections are type-aware: number outputs connect to number inputs, color to color, etc.

Making connections:

Method 1: Right-click property
1. Select a shape → Attribute Editor
2. Right-click any property → Connect Behaviour
3. Choose from the list

Method 2: Drag in Graph Editor
1. Open Graph Editor (G)
2. Click an output port → drag to an input port
3. Release to create connection

Method 3: Pick whip style
Drag from the connection icon next to any property to another property.

Building a procedural system (example):
Let's create 50 circles that react to music:

1. Create an Ellipse (Shape tool)
2. Create a Duplicator → set to Circle layout, 50 copies
3. Drag the Ellipse into the Duplicator
4. Add an Audio Analysis behaviour → import your audio file
5. Add a Value Remap → Input: Audio Analysis output, Output: 0-200
6. Connect the Value Remap output to the Duplicator's Radius offset
7. Hit Play → 50 circles pulsing to music!

Key node types for procedural work:
- Duplicator — Creates copies with variation
- Noise — Organic randomness
- Math — Add, multiply, remap values
- Logic — If/then decisions
- Index — Knows which copy number an object is (for variation)
- Time — Drives continuous change

The Index node — Cavalry's secret weapon:
When objects are inside a Duplicator, the Index node tells each copy its number (0, 1, 2, 3...). Use this to create variation:
- Feed Index into a Noise behaviour's Seed → each copy gets unique randomness
- Feed Index into a Color Range → each copy gets a different color
- Feed Index × 0.1 into a Time Delay → staggered animation cascade

Pro tip: The Graph Editor is where you'll spend most of your time once comfortable. It's Cavalry's equivalent of After Effects' expressions, but visual. You can see data flowing through your system and debug by clicking any connection to see its current value. Start simple — even 3-4 connected nodes can produce beautiful, complex motion.