Thanks. Particles works since it treats each hit as its own whereas the alembic doesnt.

Thanks Dr. Sassi. I think I can adapt that to my setup. I wouldnt have thought to put the freeze above the point object though. My thinking was bottom-to-top: point object -> grow it -> decay it.

Nope..still not working. This setup works until more hits are registered after grow/decay has already passed that area. Any ideas?

I may have it...the alembic needs to go in a folder as well, and the alembic, freeze, and the freeze folder set to max, with the decay above set to subtract.

Re: https://cineversity.forums.maxon.net/topic/954/vertex-map-growth-and-decay-how-to-achieve

Referencing the thread above...

I have the grow/decay working, but need subsequent "hits" (by an alembic) to repeat the process. Almost like rain drops/ripples hitting a surface...each hit should spread out and decay.

Subsequent hits now are registering the alembic touching it, but only the first hit grows.

VertexMap_MultipleHits.c4d

Found this buried in the Maxon FAQ page:
https://support.maxon.net/hc/en-us/articles/9057076364572-Why-is-the-CV-Toolbox-not-showing-up-under-my-Extensions-menu-after-updating-to-Cinema-4D-2023-2-and-later-

My guess is that it's similar to their answer on the Toon shader: The developer that originally made it is no longer there and nobody knows anything about it (how its written, etc)