Hello,

I'm exploring Houdini at the moment and trying to learn what each node I'm working with is actually doing behind the scenes.

At the moment I'm working with the small ocean effect and I've stumble upon a question regarding the Merge Node.

So for my (very limited) understanding the Merge node can combine multiple objects and merge it into one object.
But when I look at the node tree from the small ocean effect, I see one merge node that only merge from 1 object.

Here is an img of the effect:
https://imgur.com/a/O0yGAxI [imgur.com]

The merge_foam node:
https://imgur.com/a/LeQnMCB
[imgur.com]

The merge_foam node. What does that merge node exactly do here? I feel like it would only be useful if I had 2 objects I wanted to merge into 1.

Thank you!

The merge node doesn't do anything when there's only one input. It looks like it was placed there as part of a script. Did you use a shelf tool? The script might be built to handle multiple inputs.

yes, this is likely a placeholder for convenience.
it will have no effect on the scene.

jsmack
The merge node doesn't do anything when there's only one input. It looks like it was placed there as part of a script. Did you use a shelf tool? The script might be built to handle multiple inputs.

Yes, it was a shelf tool (the small ocean effect). That make sense, thanks!

goldfarb
yes, this is likely a placeholder for convenience.
it will have no effect on the scene.

Thanks!