Choosing a Mode
What each BallEngine mode does, what it is best for, and which plan unlocks its settings.
What a Mode Is
A mode is the "game" your video plays: the rules the ball follows and what the viewer is watching for. Rhythmic plays a song, Escape breaks out of rings, Drawer paints a picture, Accumulate multiplies. Everything else in the Studio (ball look, colours, background, camera, sound, export) works on top of whichever mode you pick.
You pick a mode in Basics, under Simulation type, the first thing on the Studio rail. Picking a mode is open on every plan, including Starter Studio. A mode's own settings are in Engine on the rail, and its own sounds are in the Audio section.
The Finished Modes
These modes are finished: every setting works and you can export them. The last column is the plan that unlocks the mode's own settings panel. On a lower plan you can still pick the mode, watch it and record it on its standard settings.
| Mode | What you see | Best for | Settings unlocked on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhythmic Mode | Every bounce plays the next note | Music clips: "the ball plays a song". Clear melodies, satisfying sync. | Lite |
| Escape Mode | Break out through the rings | Suspense and retention: will it get out? Countdown and progress clips. | Lite |
| Drawer Mode | The ball paints as it moves | Art and relaxing clips: a picture or mandala assembles itself. | Lite |
| Accumulate Mode | One ball becomes hundreds | Growth and chaos: one ball becomes a screen full. | Lite |
| Ghost Escape | Find the gap, dodge the spikes | Survival clips with a real fail state: dodge the spikes. | Lite |
| Spiral Mode | Orbit a spinning spiral tunnel | A tunnel of movable boxes the ball pushes around. | Lite |
| Breaker Mode | Smash the spiral apart | Smashing through a spiral track. | Lite |
| Glass Tower | Shatter a tower of glass plates | Satisfying destruction that escalates: twice as much glass breaks every bounce. | Lite |
| Flag Battle | Country flags battle down to one winner | Comment clips: viewers pick a flag and watch it to the end. | Lite |
| Wave 3D | A 3D grid rippling in waves | A 3D grid rippling in waves, a calm and hypnotic look. | Pro |
| Marble Run 3D | A marble plays a real instrument in sync | Music clips with a visible cause: the marble lands on the instrument that plays each note. | Pro |
Modes Marked "In development"
Some tiles in the mode picker carry an "In development" badge. Those are modes in development, which you can vote on. You can open one and watch it, but it always plays on its default settings, its settings panel stays locked, and it cannot be exported yet. Your own settings are kept safe while you look and come back when you switch to another mode.
Every tile in the picker has a small heart for voting. Votes help us decide what to finish next.
Pick by What You Want the Viewer to Feel
Start from the reaction you want, not the mode name.
| You want the viewer to... | Start with | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Recognise a song | Rhythmic | Every bounce plays the next note, so the tune builds as the ball moves. |
| Wait for an outcome | Escape | The ring counter and the moving gaps create a "will it make it" moment. |
| Hear a song AND wait for an outcome | Rhythmic Escape (Escape + Music Sync) | The song and the breakout progress together. |
| Relax and watch something form | Drawer | The picture is only complete at the end, so viewers stay. |
| See things get out of hand | Accumulate | The ball count climbs from one to hundreds. |
Basics and the Engine Section
There are two places to edit a mode. Basics, the first item on the Studio rail, shows a short list of the settings that change the video in a big, obvious way, under Mode settings. Engine on the rail shows every control the mode has. Both edit the same project, so a change in one is already there in the other.
Each mode article in this guide lists the settings in Basics first, then the full Engine panel.
More from BallEngine
Guides, plans and answers for making your videos.