For those who don’t know the tool: Pulldownit is a dynamics plug-in for Autodesk Maya used in VFX, game, and CG pipelines to simulate fractures, shattering, and rigid-body destruction. It bridges between artistic control and physically-based dynamics without forcing your workstation into meltdown.
Shattering without regrets
Thinkinetic has released Pulldownit 6.5 for Maya, introducing a non-destructive workflow for fracture simulation. Artists can now sculpt and iterate breakage directly on models, recomputing dynamics instantly without losing prior setups. Transforming or deforming the original mesh automatically updates the corresponding fracture body, and any shattering stage can be reverted or undone at any time.
The new workflow supports Maya mesh modifiers, with a few exceptions noted in the Maya Script Editor pane. This allows artists to combine procedural modelling tools with physical fracture setups, preserving flexibility throughout shot development.
Xrefs finally get to explode
Version 6.5 extends full support to Xref Objects, meaning referenced geometry can now participate in Pulldownit’s non-destructive shatter workflow. This enables studios using heavy referencing pipelines to keep destruction setups linked and editable across multiple scenes. Thinkinetic notes that inherent Maya Xref limitations still apply.
Clusters, cuts, and control
A new feature allows resizing fracture clusters directly inside the simulation panel, letting users increase or reduce cluster size interactively before recomputing dynamics. Combined with the Edge Fracture mode introduced previously, this gives more granular control over how geometry detaches or holds together under stress. A new Reshatter option, “Set Current as Base Breakage”, lets users define any fracture state as the new base. This means a destructive test can become the baseline for further work without starting over.
Interface tuned for production
Pulldownit’s “Shatter It” window has been redesigned to display only parameters relevant to the current shatter style, reducing clutter and simplifying navigation. A new SwatchDisplayPort shows the active cut material as an icon, giving quick visual feedback and one-click access to its properties.
Several new buttons streamline common operations: “Show/Hide Source Node” for mesh editing, “Refresh Breakage from Source” to update the fracture from the latest model changes, “Revert to Base Shape” to undo deformations, and “Update Base Shape” to set the current mesh as the new baseline.
Bug fixes and stability
The update addresses numerous long-standing issues, including broken undo behaviour across shatter groups, missing rigid bodies, and Maya crashes when faces lacked materials. Improvements also cover fractured clusters, jagginess application, and interactions between dynamic and static fragments. Several fixes target how Maya’s Undo system handles Pulldownit nodes, reportedly improving reliability in larger destruction scenes.
Production advice
As with all simulation plug-ins, users are advised to test Pulldownit 6.5 carefully in production environments, especially when combining it with complex mesh modifiers or Xref structures.
