Particles
Strange Attractors
Strange Attractors is a particle-driven audio-reactive scene in BeamTracer Audio Visualizers. Shape its response in your browser with settings, audio modulation, presets, and tips.
Strange Attractors is a particle-driven audio-reactive scene in the Particles category. Open it from the left visualizer list, start an audio source, and use the settings panel to shape its response.
Open Strange Attractors
Launch the visualizer with its matching left-nav entry selected.
Hold the attractor in your hand
In this example, Hand is set to Follow: the visualizer moves toward the tracked hand as it crosses the picture. Use the playback controls to pause or replay the motion.
- Switch to Performer, pick Strange Attractors, and put your camera under it: open the FX Rack, add Visual Source, choose your camera and set its Visualizer to Over.
- Open Hand Tracking, leave Hand on Follow and raise a hand. The whole attractor glides to it and keeps turning under it on screen; push your hand toward the camera and it fills the frame, pull it back and it shrinks away.
- Scatter sends it to the other side instead. With no hand in view it returns to the middle.
Set Hand to Draw Path, then point with one finger and trace a loop in the air (or drag one with the mouse). A thin line shows what you drew, then the attractor travels it, round and round for a closed loop or back and forth along an open stroke, until Path Life runs out. Hold up an open palm for a moment, or double-click, to clear it.
Quick start
- Start the demo track, choose a local audio file, or enable a live input.
- Try a preset or style first, then open the section for the part of the image you want to change.
- On a control with Assign modulation, open the source picker, choose a signal, and watch the slider's live fill.
- Use Reset to Defaults whenever you want to return to the original look.
Presets and styles
Default · Lorenz · Chaos · Minimal · Neon Burst · Butterfly
Audio modulation
On a control with Assign modulation, select the activity icon to open Modulate with. Choose a named source, or choose — None to leave the control unmodulated. After you assign one, its name appears below the slider; select that name to edit the route, or use Clear modulation to remove it. The slider track shows the live signal reaching the control.
| Modulated control | Section | What the route changes |
|---|---|---|
| Particle Size | Material | Sets the visible particle size. |
| Particle Opacity | Material | Sets how transparent the particle appears. |
| Dissolve Intensity | Material | Sets the visible dissolve intensity. |
| Hue | Colors | Moves the color around the color spectrum. |
| Saturation | Colors | Moves colors from muted toward vivid. |
| Brightness | Colors | Sets the visible strength of brightness. |
| Simulation Speed | Animation | Sets how quickly simulation changes or moves. |
| Param Morph | Animation | Changes one of the selected formula’s shape parameters. |
| Camera Distance | Camera | Sets how far the camera sits from the subject. |
Settings reference
Core
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Attractor Type | THOMAS, AIZAWA, SIMONE, CHEN-LEE, LORENZ, LORENZ MOD 2, WANG-SUN, DEQUAN LI, DADRAS, RÖSSLER, ARNEODO, HALVORSEN, THREE SCROLL, CHUA'S CIRCUIT | Chooses the attractor type mode or style. |
| Particle Count | 50²–500² | Sets how many visible elements are drawn. |
| Initial State | CUBE, SPHERE, RANDOM | Chooses the initial state mode or style. |
| Parameter A | -10–45 | Tunes the first constant of the selected Attractor Type, reshaping the swirling figure; the exact change depends on the attractor, and small moves can transform the form dramatically. |
| Parameter B | -15–60 | Tunes the second constant of the selected Attractor Type, reshaping the swirling figure; the exact change depends on the attractor. Available for every Attractor Type except Thomas. |
| Parameter C | -30–30 | Tunes the third constant of the selected Attractor Type, reshaping the swirling figure; the exact change depends on the attractor. Not available for Thomas, Halvorsen, or Simone. |
| Parameter D | -5–20 | Tunes the fourth constant of the selected Attractor Type, reshaping the swirling figure. Available for Aizawa, Chen-Lee, Lorenz Mod 2, Wang-Sun, Dequan Li, Dadras, Three Scroll, and Chua's Circuit. |
| Parameter E | -5–60 | Tunes the fifth constant of the selected Attractor Type, reshaping the swirling figure. Available for Aizawa, Wang-Sun, Dequan Li, Dadras, and Three Scroll. |
Material
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Particle Size | 0.1–5 | Sets the visible particle size. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Particle Opacity | 0–1 | Sets how transparent the particle appears. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Background Opacity | 0–1 | Fades the black backdrop behind the particle swarm so it floats over whatever sits behind the visualizer; 1 keeps the solid black background and 0 leaves only the glowing particles. |
| Velocity Trails | 0–1 | Sets how long velocity trails remains visible. |
| Turbulence Dissolve | On / Off | Turns turbulence dissolve on or off. |
| Dissolve Intensity | 0–2 | Sets the visible dissolve intensity. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Dissolve Scale | 0.1–5 | Sets the visual dissolve scale. |
Colors
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Color Mode | RADIUS, SOLID, ANGULAR | Chooses the color mode or style. |
| Hue | 0°–360° | Moves the color around the color spectrum. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Saturation | 0%–100% | Moves colors from muted toward vivid. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Brightness | 0%–100% | Sets the visible strength of brightness. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Hue Animation | On / Off | Turns hue animation on or off. |
| Hue Speed | 0.01–1 | Sets how quickly hue changes or moves. |
Audio
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Master Gain | 0x–3x | Sets how strongly the input signal affects master. |
| Bass Intensity | 0–2 | Sets the visible bass intensity. |
| Mid Intensity | 0–2 | Sets the visible mid intensity. |
| High Intensity | 0–2 | Sets the visible high intensity. |
| Smoothing | 0–0.99 | Balances immediate audio response against steadier motion. |
Hand Tracking
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Hand | FOLLOW, SCATTER, DRAW PATH, OFF | In Performer with your camera on, FOLLOW draws the attractor to your hand, SCATTER makes it flee, and DRAW PATH lets you point and draw a curve in the air (or drag with the mouse) for the attractor to travel along; with no hand in view it stays in the middle. |
| Hand Strength | 0–3 | How hard your hand, or the drawn path, pulls or pushes the attractor. |
| Hand Depth | 0–3 | How far the attractor moves toward you or away as you hold your hand nearer the camera than your face, or farther back; with DRAW PATH, how deep the drawn curve runs. 0 keeps the attractor on one plane. |
| Path Speed | 0–1 | How fast the attractor travels along the drawn path. |
| Path Life | 2–30 | How long a drawn stroke stays before it fades; holding up an open palm for a moment clears it. |
| Show Path | ON, OFF | Draws the path itself as a trail of dots while you draw it, larger where it comes toward you, then fades it out as the attractor take it over. |
Animation
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Simulation Speed | 0.1x–3x | Sets how quickly simulation changes or moves. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Morph Speed | 0.2x–5x | Sets how quickly morph changes or moves. |
| Morph Easing | EASE OUT, EASE I/O, LINEAR, ELASTIC, BOUNCE | Chooses the morph easing mode or style. |
| Param Morph | 0–1 | Changes one of the selected formula’s shape parameters. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Morph Target | PARAM A, PARAM B, PARAM C, PARAM D, PARAM E, ALL | Chooses the morph target mode or style. |
Camera
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Camera Orbit | On / Off | Turns camera orbit on or off. |
| Orbit Speed | -1–1 | Sets how quickly orbit changes or moves. |
| Camera Distance | 5–300 | Sets how far the camera sits from the subject. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
Some controls appear only after you enable a related mode or style. The settings panel always reflects the options available for the current selection.
Tips for a better audio visualization
- Let bass control particle scale or spread, while highs drive sparkle or trail detail for a clearer sense of depth.
- Try assigning Bass to Particle Size, then compare Mid, High, and Volume while the demo track plays. The slider's live fill shows the signal reaching that control.