Bezier Guides

I've come up of a idea of using bezier curves to guide our smoke spheres (particles). The beizier control points serves as handles for the artist to control how the smoke animates. Thus, the smoke particles movement will follow the bezier curves forming a tube-like effect. This can be combined with the control rings for the emitting point and ending point that we have discussed earlier. We can also add in multiple curves between the control rings to create multiple streams of smoke.

Questions to be answered:

1. Are the metaballs being generated only at the base?
2. How do the metaballs conform to the shape of the spline?
3. How is the spline animated procedurally? How is it specified by a designer/animator in suitable detail, yet reactive to dynamic changes in the world, like moving objects, wind, impact events, etc.
4. Do the metaballs change shape? Or do we continue to have round spheres (which can be a give-away for thin but bright smoke strands)? We can start without any shape changes to begin with, but we must explore a seamless shape deformation of individual primitives.
5. How do you address the texture space animation issue, if one texture should represent an entire particle system (vs. one metaball, as in our current implementation)?
6. How do you cater for efficient collision against rigid and moving objects?
7. List the concrete effects and situations you will test this model.
8. How will light sources be placed or configured to maximize the effect from a give view point?
9. A thorough description of how you will modify each shader parameter to contribute to a given stage in an effect.