ZENITH is a sparse CUDA fluid simulation engine developed by Svetlin Nikolov (the prior lead developer of PhoenixFD by Chaos). It was created specifically for tyFlow as a next-generation solution for simulating high-fidelity fire and smoke entirely on the GPU. Integrated directly into tyFlow 2.0, ZENITH represents the culmination of an elaborate collaboration between myself (Tyson Ibele) and Svetlin.
Within tyFlow, ZENITH appears as a comprehensive suite of 20+ new Inferno operators, exposing nearly every aspect of the solver for customization. Users have direct control over core simulation settings, forces, vorticity, advection, motion, emission and more, all while remaining tightly integrated into tyFlow’s existing operators and workflow. Emission sources can be driven using particle data, surface properties, texture maps, expressions, and virtually any other data source available inside tyFlow.
Unlike traditional grid-based fluid solvers which are constrained to fixed simulation domains, ZENITH is built around an unbounded sparse voxel architecture designed to maximize VRAM efficiency and computational performance. This allows extremely large simulation domains containing hundreds of millions of voxels to be simulated comfortably on modern GPUs.
ZENITH also features a fully custom volumetric rendering and display pipeline integrated directly into 3ds Max’s Nitrous viewport system. Native viewport support includes heat glow, motion blur, temperature blur, ambient occlusion, and progressive refinement for interactive previewing of volumetric effects.
As of tyFlow 2.0, all new Inferno operators powered by ZENITH are available for free at full simulation speed with no GPU restrictions and no license required. Upgrading to tyFlow PRO unlocks ZENITH rendering, advanced volume interfaces, full file I/O support, and accelerated asynchronous VDB export.
ZENITH runs entirely on the GPU using CUDA acceleration, allowing it to handle extremely high-resolution smoke and fire simulations with exceptional performance.
ZENITH utilizes an unbounded sparse voxel architecture which dynamically allocates simulation data only where needed, dramatically improving VRAM efficiency compared to traditional dense-grid solvers.
ZENITH is deeply integrated into tyFlow’s existing procedural workflow. Simulation parameters, emission, forces, and motion can all be driven using particles, texture maps, surface properties, expressions, and Value operators.
ZENITH includes a custom volumetric raymarching engine specifically designed for high-quality viewport rendering inside 3ds Max’s Nitrous display system.
ZENITH supports advanced viewport effects natively, including heat glow, motion blur, temperature blur, ambient occlusion, and progressive refinement.
ZENITH includes a highly compressed cache recall system which stores simulated frames directly in system RAM, allowing near-instant scrubbing of simulations without expensive disk import/export operations.
ZENITH features native VQVDB support and accelerated asynchronous VDB export for efficient interoperability with external rendering pipelines and applications.
ZENITH ships with pre-trained machine learning models capable of post-simulation upresing, sharpening, and detail enhancement.
ZENITH includes a velocity-traced voxel interpolation system for retiming and extreme slow-motion effects while minimizing stuttering and preserving fluid motion.
ZENITH exposes all simulation data through a dedicated API, allowing third-party developers to integrate custom renderers, plugins, or external tools directly with the solver.
All users, including those using tyFlow FREE, have access to the new Inferno simulation operators powered by ZENITH, with no GPU limitations or simulation speed restrictions (the GPU/multithreaded acceleration used internally by ZENITH is available to all users, with no license requirements).
However, upgrading to tyFlow PRO unlocks advanced functionality including:
This allows users to freely experiment with and simulate fluids using ZENITH before deciding whether they require the additional rendering and export capabilities provided by the PRO version.
Currently ZENITH is only available as part of tyFlow within 3ds Max. However, all simulation data is exposed through a dedicated API, allowing third-party developers to integrate external renderers, plugins, or custom tools with ZENITH simulation output.
For many years, tyFlow intentionally avoided integrating a dedicated fluid simulation engine due to the immense complexity and development effort involved. Existing fluid solutions either lacked the flexibility required for tyFlow’s procedural workflows or were difficult to integrate deeply into the particle system.
The development of ZENITH by Svetlin Nikolov ultimately made this goal achievable. By combining Svetlin’s extensive experience developing fluid simulation technology with tyFlow’s procedural architecture, ZENITH became a fully integrated GPU fluid solution purpose-built for modern VFX workflows inside 3ds Max.