Physics Settings Deep Dive
Gravity, bounciness, speed, growth and arena resizing: what each physics setting does to a run, with the ranges you will find on the controls.
Read the Units First
The Studio uses simulation units, not real-world ones. Gravity tops out at 0.5, not 9.8, and bounciness is not a material constant. The ranges are tuned so the useful part of each slider is easy to reach. The quick versions of the most important ones (Gravity, Bounciness, Ball speed) are in Basics > Common; everything below is in Physics on the rail.
Key tips
- Every slider also has a number box. Type exact values when you rebuild a setup you liked.
Gravity and Bounciness
Gravity (0 to 0.5) is often 0 in the ring modes on purpose: a ball that keeps its energy travels in straight lines between hits, which makes bounce patterns predictable enough to sync to music. Add gravity when you want the ball to drift, fall or pool: around 0.02 to 0.08 is a slow drift, 0.15 to 0.3 a definite fall. Bounciness (0 to 2) at 1 is a perfectly elastic bounce. Below 1 the ball loses energy and settles; above 1 it gains energy on every hit until it reaches the speed limit. Bounce randomness (0 to 1) adds variation to the rebound angle so a ball never settles into a repeating loop.
Technical parameters
- Physics > Physics & dynamics: Starting arena size 10 to 800, Arena frame fill 30% to 100%, Gravity 0 to 0.5, Bounciness 0 to 2, Bounce randomness 0 to 1, Ball weight 0.1 to 10
- Increase weight over time: Starting and Maximum weight 0.1 to 100, over 1 to 300 seconds
Speed Control
Physics > Ball speed starts with Speed control, which decides who sets the speed. Natural lets gravity, bounciness and impacts decide, inside the limits. Constant speed holds one speed for the whole run while the ball still falls and bounces. Speed ramp climbs from a start speed to an end speed, over time or per bounce, with a choice of build shape. Soft range lets the ball move freely between two limits and eases it back when it strays. A ramp is the cleanest way to build a clip that starts calm and ends frantic without touching gravity.
Technical parameters
- Starting speed 0 to 5, Minimum speed limit 0 to 50, Maximum speed limit 1 to 120
- Held speed, Start speed and End speed 0 to 120; reach the end speed in 1 to 600 seconds or bounces
- Build shape: Steady, Soft start & finish, Slow build, fast finish
Growth and Arena Resizing
Physics > Movement & growth labs makes things change over the run. World speed build-up speeds the whole run up (Speed increase mode: static, over time or per collision). Size growth dynamics grows or shrinks the ball, by time, by collision or in step with the playlist, either at a rate or to an exact target in a set time. Arena resizing dynamics grows or shrinks the arena; a slowly shrinking arena is the most reliable way to build to a climax, because the ball has less room and the hit rate rises by itself. For the simplest version, use Growth in the top bar: Grow mode makes the ball fill the arena right at the end of your clip.
Technical parameters
- Speed build-up rate 0 to 0.1, Speed acceleration 0 to 0.01
- Minimum ball size 1 to 50, Maximum ball size 5 to 1000 (or match the outer ring)
- Resize speed -5 to 5 (negative grows the arena), Resize acceleration -0.1 to 0.1, Minimum arena size 10 to 2000, Maximum 10 to 5000
Advanced Physics
Physics > Advanced physics holds the engine-level controls. Raise Substeps (1 to 20) only when a fast ball passes through a wall: it splits each frame into smaller steps and costs performance in proportion. Air resistance (0 to 1, where 1 means no drag) slowly bleeds speed away. Anti-stall force (0 to 10) nudges a ball that has settled into a corner back into play.
Technical parameters
- Substeps 1 to 20, Air resistance 0 to 1, Max velocity 1 to 120, Min velocity 0 to 50, Anti-stall force 0 to 10
Make It Repeatable
Physics > Ball initial state sets where and how the ball starts (position, angle and speed), and the seed generator in the top bar finds a run that ends at your clip length. Change one physics value at a time, watch a full run from Restart, and save the setup in Cloud on the rail once you like it. A seed belongs to the physics it was found with, so search for it last.