Interface Layout
- Left sidebar (300px): All controls: seed navigation, swarm parameters, palette selection, and export tools
- Main canvas (right): The live swarm simulation at 16:9 aspect ratio
Seed Navigation
| Control | Action |
|---|---|
| Seed input field | Type a specific seed number and press Enter |
| Prev / Next | Step through seeds one at a time |
| Random | Jump to a random seed (1–999,999) |
| Jump | Apply the seed currently typed in the input |
Colony Parameters
These control the swarm cells: how many, how fast, and how they navigate.Cell Count
- Range: 500 – 8,000 | Default: 6,000
- Sweet spot: 4,000 – 7,000
- Sparse below 4,000. Sluggish above 7,000. Higher counts produce denser, more intricate networks.
Speed
- Range: 0.5 – 30.0 | Default: 2.8
- Sweet spot: 2.0 – 3.5
- How far each cell moves per frame. Low = deliberate crawl. High = chaotic scatter.
Sensor Distance
- Range: 5 – 40 | Default: 22
- Sweet spot: 15 – 30
- How far ahead each cell “senses” signal trails. Short = tight spirals. Long = blobby structures.
Sensor Angle
- Range: 10° – 80° | Default: 40°
- Sweet spot: 30° – 55°
- The angle between a cell’s forward direction and its side sensors. Narrow = straight filaments. Wide = noisy branching.
Turn Speed
- Range: 5° – 60° | Default: 20°
- Sweet spot: 12° – 30°
- Maximum turning rate per frame. Low = stiff angular paths. High = jittery movement.
Signal Chemistry
These control the signal trail system that cells use to communicate and self-organize.Signal Deposit
- Range: 5 – 80 | Default: 12
- Sweet spot: 8 – 20
- How much signal each cell deposits per frame. Low = faint trails. High = thick concentrated blobs.
Signal Decay
- Range: 0.900 – 0.999 | Default: 0.965
- Sweet spot: 0.955 – 0.985
- How quickly signals fade. Lower = trails vanish fast. Higher (closer to 1.0) = signals persist and accumulate.
Diffusion
- Range: 0.0 – 1.0 | Default: 0.25
- Sweet spot: 0.1 – 0.4
- How much signal spreads to neighboring cells. At 0, trails are pixel-sharp. Above 0.6, everything becomes soft and blurry.
Environment
Attractors
- Range: 0 – 20 | Default: 12
- Sweet spot: 6 – 15
- Number of signal attractors placed around the canvas. Set to 0 for pure radial growth from center.
Attractor Strength
- Range: 0 – 50 | Default: 15
- Sweet spot: 8 – 25
- How strongly attractors pull nearby cells. High values cause cells to cluster at attractor sites.
Spawn Radius
- Range: 5 – 100 | Default: 20
- Sweet spot: 5 – 25
- Size of the initial spawn area at the hub. Tight = clean burst. Wide = diffuse start.
Rendering
These affect the visual output without changing the underlying swarm behavior.Trail Brightness
- Range: 0.3 – 3.0 | Default: 1.8
- Sweet spot: 1.2 – 2.5
- Brightness multiplier for signal trails.
Cell Glow
- Range: 0.0 – 2.0 | Default: 0.5
- Sweet spot: 0.2 – 0.8
- Brightness of individual cell dots. Cells glow brighter at the frontier, the unexplored edge of the swarm.
Cursor Influence
- Range: 0 – 500 | Default: 0 (off)
- Sweet spot: 0 for recording, 100–300 for interactive play
- Radius within which the mouse cursor attracts cells. Set to 0 when recording.
Color Presets
The Generator includes 8 curated palettes. See Swarm Palettes & Modes for full color details.| Preset | Character |
|---|---|
| Shumi Gold (default) | Warm amber networks, burnt orange accents |
| Emerald | Bioluminescent green, deep ocean |
| Violet | Purple-magenta neural glow |
| Ice | Cool blue, ethereal and minimal |
| Ember | Fire and molten gold |
| Toxic | Neon green, cyberpunk |
| Rose | Pink-magenta, soft organic |
| Mono | Grayscale, raw topology |
Export Options
The Generator has the most complete export toolkit. See Recording & Export for full details.| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Save PNG | Snapshot of current frame |
| Record WebM | VP9 video at 60fps / 8Mbps |
| Export GIF | Animated loop, center-cropped square (128–720px) |
| Fullscreen 1080p | Hides sidebar, records at 1080×1080 |
| Seed Preview | Random seeds cycle every 4s, bookmark with Space |
| Batch Record | Records all bookmarked seeds sequentially |