Ball Trails and Motion Paths
Every trail control with its range, and the combinations that produce geometric patterns rather than smears.
In This Tutorial
Turning Trails On
Trails live in the Arts tab under Ball Trails, and there is also a Line Trail Engine toggle in the Engine tab Add-ons that switches them on from the mode picker. A trail records the recent positions of the ball and draws a fading shape through them, so instead of a dot you see the path. Trails are what turn a simple bounce pattern into something that looks composed, because the accumulated geometry is visible all at once.
- •Trails are on by default with a length of 30. If you see none, check the toggle in Arts or in the Engine Add-ons.
Length and Opacity
Length accepts 0 to 200 and defaults to 30. It is the number of recorded points in the trail, so it sets how much history is visible. Around 20 to 40 gives a motion streak. Around 100 or more gives long sweeping arcs that map out the whole recent path. Fill Opacity and Stroke Opacity each accept 0 to 1. Dropping fill opacity below 1 lets overlapping passes accumulate density, so areas the ball crosses repeatedly become brighter, which is what creates structure instead of a flat ribbon.
- →Length: 0 to 200 (default 30)
- →Fill Opacity: 0 to 1, step 0.01
- →Stroke Opacity: 0 to 1, step 0.01
- →Trail Thickness: 0.1 to 10, step 0.1
Infinite Trails
Infinite Trails stops the trail fading, so the entire path from the start of the run stays on screen. This is how you get a finished geometric drawing rather than a moving streak. It suits shorter runs, since a long run with permanent trails eventually covers the frame. Border on Permanent Trails controls whether the stroke outline is drawn on the persistent section. Combine infinite trails with a low ball count and a symmetric arena, and the result assembles into a pattern as the run proceeds.
- •Infinite trails plus a short run is the recipe for a clean geometric still.
- •If the frame saturates, shorten the run rather than reducing opacity. Faded clutter is still clutter.
Shape Along the Trail
Starting Width and Ending Width each accept 0.1 to 3 and taper the trail from head to tail. A starting width above the ending width gives a comet shape that points in the direction of travel, which reads as speed. Match Ball Size links the trail width to the ball instead, which keeps proportions right when the ball grows during a run. Trail Thickness, 0.1 to 10, is the overall multiplier. Width, 0 to 10, sets the border stroke, with its own colour and the option to apply it to permanent trails.
- →Starting Width / Ending Width: 0.1 to 3 each, step 0.1
- →Border Width: 0 to 10
- →Trail Glow: 0 to 50
Colour and Glow
Rainbow Trails cycles the trail hue over time, which gives the shifting spectrum look. Custom Trail Color sets a fixed colour instead. Trail Glow accepts 0 to 50 and adds a luminous spread around the path, which on a dark background turns the trail into a light streak rather than a painted line. Glow is where trails become expensive to render, so raise it deliberately and check your frame rate before a long export.
- •Rainbow trails on a dark background is the highest-contrast option and reads well at phone size.
- •A moderate glow of 10 to 20 gives most of the effect. Values near 50 mostly cost performance.
Spawn Timing
Time Spawn Interval accepts 1 to 500 and controls how often a trail point is recorded. Spawn by Distance switches to distance-based recording with a Distance Spawn Interval from 1 to 100, which produces even spacing regardless of speed. Distance-based spawning is the better choice when the ball changes speed a lot during a run, because time-based recording bunches points where the ball is slow and stretches them where it is fast.
- →Time Spawn Interval: 1 to 500
- →Distance Spawn Interval: 1 to 100
- →Launch Offset X / Y: -500 to +500 | Launch Angle: 0 to 360 | Launch Speed: 0 to 100
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