I wanted to tackle maxMass today, I can't count the hours I've spent trying to make sense of it throughout multiple weeks. Demonstrating settings that are well-named and intuitive (like gravity) isn't as helpful as explaining the ones that either have confusing names or complex behavior.
My process is basically to test, understand, and after I feel certain that I understand, then I collect screenshots.
maxMass drives me crazy, but I may just be encountering oddities with my own computer. I would swear on my life that I saw the default value behave one way when I started, but after testing lower values and resetting the value to its default, the default behavior was not restored.
I tried what I could think to do: closing all files, including the projector, and restarting. Original behavior was not restored. I tried loading vanilla SDT instead of the loader, but mysteriously vanilla loaded with several non-default settings that I had only started using while in loader (custom character for example).
I'm at a loss for the moment, because I lack screenshots to help demonstrate all this, and it puts me in the position where I could use some help/verification from others.
My understanding was that the default for maxMass was 1.1
What I generally observed when I started was that strands did not elongate much over time. A hanging strand might elongate slightly for a short second or two, but typically would settle at a certain length and remain that length for at least a minute. These strands are capable of breaking when subjected to vigorous movement.
As I lowered maxMass (0.9, 0.7) the strands were elongating more quickly. I generally dislike this behavior, because depending on the position used these strands can elongate far too much to make any sense - they appear to be magically increasing their volume as they stretch out towards the floor. These strands are also more resistant to breaking when subjected to movement.
After proving a point that I had repeatedly noticed with low maxMass values (<= 0.69 strands begin to stick to the penis with increasing frequency), I set maxMass at 1.1 again to attempt screenshots. However, the strands now elongated more than they did when I started.
I tried raising maxMass to counter my problems with the default not behaving as I expected. The strands were now capable of appearing thicker, and the ability to break under the force of movement was restored. Again, I set maxMass to 1.1, but the behavior seemed nothing like my initial observations.
The only screenshot I will attach for the moment is the one for 0.69 - the behavior of strands sticking to the penis is the only behavior that I can be confident maxMass causes.
Non maxMass values were kept at defaults:
cumRGB=16776439
gravity=5.5
friction=1.18
spitMass=0.4
massGenerateSpeed=0.001
massFlow=0.005
maxStrandLength=18