It is used for the creation of static or animated electrical effects such as atmospheric lightning, forked energy bolts, ray-gun and plasma style discharges. Procedural objects are generated by a mathematical algorithm and create what would appear as a fractal patterned object. As a result, the types of controls you might find for a procedurally generated object will vary depending on the capabilities of the procedure. Lightning gives the user precise control over how fast or slow the bolt zaps, how jagged or complex the bolt is, how many forks it emits as well as where the bolt begins and ends. In addition, the user can draw a simple open or closed 2d shape and instruct the routine to use this as the basis for the path that Lightning will follow.
Lightning is very simple and intuitive to use.
It allows the user to pick one of two methods for creating the animated Procedural Geometry which will represents the bolt of lightning. One method is by picking other object in the scene to represent the starting and ending points of the lightning bolt. As the referenced objects animate their position, the lightning bolt will strike in those locations. The other method for determining the position and animation of the lightning bolt is to assign it to a shape. As the referenced shape animates its starting and ending points, the lightning bolt will follow.