I’m working on this really kick-ass Particle System visualizer that uses Perlin Noise to control movement. It’s almost exactly what Robert Hodgin does in processing, and I’m finding it a great exploration into the sorts of performance and effects possible in a stressed out flash player.

These experiments have been accomplished in one form or another by loads of other ActionScript developers, but the concepts behind the idea are rad and I am looking for my own Frosty path through the woods. Also, the organic undulating effects achieved through Perlin Noise are completely mesmerizing, and in this industry I can only achieve the same relaxing effect by staring into a tropical fish tank.

Anyway, you can play with the first iteration of the application above. It’s really raw, and I haven’t built in any visual controls yet, but there are some keyboard commands and an output panel to display results. Make sure the application has focus by clicking on it, only then will you be able to use your keyboard to mess around.

You can toggle the perlin bitmap display using “0″ ( Zero ), and change bitmapChannels using 1,2,3,4,5,6,7.

Eight other values can be altered, shown in the list below:
First click the corresponding letter of the value you want to alter, and then use the arrow keys. Up and Right increases values (Boolean = True), Down and Left Decreases them (Boolean=false).

Value	Data Type	Key Stroke
Octaves	uint	“o”
Noise Velocity	Number	“v”
BaseX	Number	“x”
BaseY	Number	“y”
Random Seed	int	“r”
Stitch	Boolean	“s”
Fractal Noise	Boolean	“f”
Greyscale	Boolean	“g”

What I am doing? I’m testing the bitmapData in corresponding particle locations using the getPixel(x,y) method, and then plugging this result into a trumped up Trig expression that outputs magnitude. I’m going to keep pushing this project further, and when I’m finally satisfied with the results, I’ll release the source code.

Tags: Actionscript 3.0, Data Visualizer, Particle Systems, Perlin Noise, Physics, Programming

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 3rd, 2008 at 9:34 am and is filed under Tech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.