Date and Time
Water Beads
Water Beads is a clock and time-based visual in BeamTracer Audio Visualizers, built on WebGPU. Settings, audio modulation, presets, and tips.
Water Beads is a clock and time-based visual in the Date and Time category. Open it from the left visualizer list, start an audio source, and use the settings panel to shape its response.
Open Water Beads
Launch the visualizer with its matching left-nav entry selected.
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
Mercury · Neon Rain · Aurora · Copper · Deep Sea · Sunset
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 |
|---|---|---|
| FFT Amplitude | Time Circles | Controls the distance of the motion from its resting position. |
| FFT Radius | Time Circles | Sets the visible fft radius. |
| FFT Rotation | Time Circles | Sets the fft rotation of the visible composition. |
| Refraction | Material | Sets how strongly the glass beads bend the light, from a flat look at 1 to a heavily distorted, lens-like look at 2; it can be driven by audio. |
| Brightness | Material | Sets the visible strength of brightness. |
| Flow Strength | Material | Sets the visible flow strength. |
| Hue Speed | Colors | Sets how quickly hue changes or moves. |
| Beat Seed Strength | Audio | Sets the visible beat seed strength. |
| Dispersion | Optics & Motion | Sets how far the red, green and blue colors split apart at the bead edges, like a prism; higher values give stronger rainbow fringing. Available when CHROMATIC DISPERSION is on. |
| Condensation Amount | Optics & Motion | Sets how many small condensation beads cover the glass. |
| Velocity Ripple | Optics & Motion | Sets how strongly the highs in the music make the beads ripple and shimmer; higher values give more movement. Available when FFT VELOCITY is on. |
Settings reference
Core
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Format | 12H, 24H | Chooses the format mode or style. |
| Time Zone | ACCOUNT DEFAULT, UTC, BERLIN, PACIFIC, NEW YORK, HONG KONG, LONDON, TOKYO, PARIS, MOSCOW, SYDNEY, MANILA, ROME, CAIRO, ANCHORAGE, DUBAI, DALLAS | Chooses the time zone mode or style. |
| Show Seconds | On / Off | Shows or hides seconds. |
| Sim Scale | 0.3–1 | Sets the visual sim scale. |
| Iterations | 2–30 | Trades visual detail against performance. |
Time Circles
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Circle Mode | BASIC, FFT | Chooses the circle mode or style. |
| FFT Bins | 8–64 | Sets how many frequency segments are drawn around each time ring; higher values show finer spectrum detail. Available when CIRCLE MODE is FFT. |
| FFT Smoothing | 0–0.95 | Balances immediate audio response against steadier motion. |
| FFT Amplitude | 0–0.8 | Controls the distance of the motion from its resting position. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| FFT Radius | 0.06–0.4 | Sets the visible fft radius. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| FFT Rotation | -0.5–0.5 | Sets the fft rotation of the visible composition. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Hour Route | NONE, BASS, MID, HIGH, VOLUME | Chooses the hour route mode or style. |
| Minute Route | NONE, BASS, MID, HIGH, VOLUME | Chooses the minute route mode or style. |
| Second Route | NONE, BASS, MID, HIGH, VOLUME | Chooses the second route mode or style. |
Material
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Glass Color | Color | Sets the glass color. |
| Refraction | 1–2 | Sets how strongly the glass beads bend the light, from a flat look at 1 to a heavily distorted, lens-like look at 2; it can be driven by audio. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Shadow | 0–0.2 | Sets how dark the shaded edges of the beads get; higher values give the beads more depth and a heavier shadow. |
| Brightness | 0–0.2 | Sets the visible strength of brightness. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Feed Rate | 0.02–0.08 | Sets how quickly feed changes or moves. |
| Kill Rate | 0.04–0.08 | Sets how quickly kill changes or moves. |
| Viscosity | 0.99–1 | Moves the motion between fluid and resistant. |
| Flow Strength | 0.01–0.5 | Sets the visible flow strength. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
Colors
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Background | Color | Sets the background. |
| Hour Circle | Color | Sets the hour circle. |
| Minute Circle | Color | Sets the minute circle. |
| Second Circle | Color | Sets the second circle. |
| Hue Animation | On / Off | Turns hue animation on or off. |
| Hue Speed | 0.01–1 | Sets how quickly hue changes or moves. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
Audio
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Master Gain | 0x–3x | Sets how strongly the input signal affects master. |
| Smoothing | 0.01–0.8 | Balances immediate audio response against steadier motion. |
| Beat Seeding | On / Off | Turns beat seeding on or off. |
| Beat Seed Strength | 0–0.4 | Sets the visible beat seed strength. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
Optics & Motion
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Chromatic Dispersion | On / Off | Turns chromatic dispersion on or off. |
| Dispersion | 0–0.08 | Sets how far the red, green and blue colors split apart at the bead edges, like a prism; higher values give stronger rainbow fringing. Available when CHROMATIC DISPERSION is on. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Condensation | On / Off | Turns condensation on or off. |
| Condensation Amount | 0–1 | Sets how many small condensation beads cover the glass. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| FFT Velocity | On / Off | Turns fft velocity on or off. |
| Velocity Ripple | 0–0.3 | Sets how strongly the highs in the music make the beads ripple and shimmer; higher values give more movement. Available when FFT VELOCITY is on. 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
- Keep the clock face readable; route audio to the surrounding material, particles, or glow rather than every time element.
- Try assigning Bass to FFT Amplitude, then compare Mid, High, and Volume while the demo track plays. The slider's live fill shows the signal reaching that control.