Flame
Overview
Flame is a matrix particle effect that simulates fire-like motion.
It is audio reactive, using low, mid, and high band-pass audio filters to control three independent particle groups. Each group flares and becomes more energetic in response to the instantaneous audio level for its band.
In this example, three devices with 1,024, 4,096, and 16,384 pixels (32×32, 64×64, and 128×128 matrices) are set to the FIRE preset:
Note
Particle effects are inherently more CPU-intensive. If performance is a concern, monitor frame time in Advanced → Diag switch.
All further examples in this guide use a 64×64 matrix for illustration.
Presets
Base colors are assigned to the low, mid, and high audio bands.
RESET — Similar to RGB, but with a slightly higher particle spawn rate. Uses red, green, and blue.
FIRE — Uses red, orange, and yellow for a classic flame look.
PLAGUE — Uses white, bright green, and dark green for a sickly flame.
Some presets disable certain bands entirely by setting their base color to black. Particles from disabled bands are not spawned or rendered.
BASE RED — Only renders red, driven by the low band.
MID GREEN — Only renders green, driven by the mid band.
HIGH BLUE — Only renders blue, driven by the high band.
Settings
The Flame effect includes a few unique controls:
LOW BAND — Base color for particles driven by the low band-pass filter.
MID BAND — Base color for particles driven by the mid band-pass filter.
HIGH BAND — Base color for particles driven by the high band-pass filter.
BLUR AMOUNT — Horizontal blur applied to soften particles.
SPAWN RATE — Controls how many new particles are generated, relative to the matrix width.
VELOCITY — Approximate number of seconds a particle takes to travel from bottom to top. On spawn, this is randomized between 0.5× and 1.2× the set value.
INTENSITY — Scales how strongly audio input affects wobble and lift. Setting this to 0 produces a steady, non-audio-reactive flame.
Enjoy — and don’t burn yourself! 🔥