Arena Shapes, Rotation and Shape Shifting
The 21 shapes available for both the arena and the ball, and how to animate between them mid-run.
In This Tutorial
The Shape Library
The arena does not have to be a circle. Shapes and Arena, in the Arts tab, offers 21 shapes: Circle, Square, Triangle, Inverted Triangle, Pentagon, Hexagon, Heptagon, Octagon, Nonagon, Decagon, three stars with five, six and eight points, Heart, Diamond, Cross, Clover, Flower, Shield, Gem and Gear. The same list applies to the ball. Shape changes bounce behaviour as much as appearance, because flat walls give predictable reflections while a star produces sharp corner deflections that keep a run unpredictable.
- →21 shapes, available for both Arena Shape and Ball Shape
- →Arena shape is fixed to the spiral in Spiral mode
Rotation
Rotate Arena sets a static angle. Under Outer Layer and Boundary, Rotation Mode adds continuous or stepped rotation with a Spin Speed from -360 to +360 degrees per second, where negative reverses direction, and a Collision Step from -180 to +180 degrees for advancing the arena on each impact. A slowly rotating polygon is one of the cheapest ways to keep a long clip visually alive, because the reflection angles keep changing without any other setting moving.
- →Spin Speed: -360 to +360 degrees per second
- →Collision Step: -180 to +180 degrees
- →Base Size: 10 to 800 | Border Thickness: 0 to 50
- →Concentric Borders: 1 to 10
Shape Shifting
Enable Shape Shifting animates the arena between shapes during a run. Selected Shapes to Shift picks which shapes are in the rotation. Time Between Changes accepts 0.1 to 5 seconds and Transition Speed accepts 100 to 3000 milliseconds. Smooth Shape Morphing interpolates the geometry so the walls flow between forms rather than snapping. A morphing arena continuously changes the bounce geometry, so a clip that would have settled into a repeating pattern keeps producing new motion.
- →Time Between Changes: 0.1 to 5.0 s, step 0.1
- →Transition Speed: 100 to 3000 ms, step 100
Ball Shape and Rotation Style
Ball Shape uses the same 21 options. A non-circular ball rotates visibly as it travels, and Ball Rotation Style controls how: Locked holds it at zero degrees, Follow Velocity turns it to face the direction of travel, and Constant Spin rotates it steadily regardless of motion. Follow Velocity is the one that reads as physically correct. Constant Spin is the one that reads as stylised. A star or gem ball with Follow Velocity is a small change that makes a clip look considerably more deliberate.
- →Ball Rotation Styles: Locked (0 degrees), Follow Velocity, Constant Spin
The Boundary Itself
Outer Layer and Boundary controls the visible edge. Base Size accepts 10 to 800. Border Thickness accepts 0 to 50. Concentric Borders, from 1 to 10, draws multiple nested rings, which gives depth to the edge without adding any physics. Border Chrome and Internal Core change the surface treatment. A thick multi-ring boundary in a colour that contrasts with the background is what frames the simulation and stops it floating in the frame.
- •On a vertical clip the boundary is the strongest compositional element. Give it a thickness that reads at phone size.
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