The Translation CmdStream type controls the 3D position of the Item, has 4 different commands, and one command (Orbit) which has two forms. The first parameter after each command directive is the number of frames for which the command will execute. The parameters which follow vary with the command. An example Translation CmdStream is presented below:

CmdStream Translation {
   Stay 100;
   Move 60 (0, -256, 512);
   Orbit 240 (25, -200, 400) 0.0 2.2; // Pc, Alpha(z), V(theta)
                                      // [degrees] [degrees/frame]
   Orbit 120 Star1 0.0 2.2; // Object Name, Alpha(z), V(theta)
                            // [degrees] [degrees/frame]
   Spline 120 (128, 0, 512) (0, 256, 400) 60 60;
           //      P1             P2      F1 F2
   };

The Stay command causes the Item's position to stay stationary for the number of frames given by the first parameter. The Stay command has no extra parameters.

The Move command causes the Item to move with a constant velocity to the specified point. The Move command has one extra parameter, which is the destination point (a Triplet).

The Orbit command has two forms: the first causes the Item to orbit around a specified point, and the second causes the Item to orbit around another Item. The second parameter for the Orbit command is either the specified point to orbit (in a Triplet), or the name of the Item to orbit. The third parameter is an angle called Alpha(z) which determines angle of the path along which the Item will orbit. The range of the Alpha(z) parameter is: (-360,360). The fourth and final parameter for the Orbit command is the speed at which the item will orbit, called V(theta), in degrees per frame. If an Orbit command goes for 120 frames and orbits at a speed of 3.0 degrees per frame, then it will end at the point at which it started.

The Spline command does a two-stage spline movement using two specified points and two Int frame counts. Parameters 2 and 3 are 3D points (Triplets), called P1 and P2. Parameters 4 and 5 are Int frame counts, called F1 and F2. The Spline movement progresses through stage 1 starting at its current position and velocity, and ending at point P1 with its acceleration equal to zero (constant velocity). Stage 2 begins at point P1 with a calculated velocity (the end velocity from stage 1) and no acceleration, and ends at point P2. Stage 1 lasts for F1 frames, and stage 2 is F2 frames long. F1 plus F2 should equal the first parameter (the total frame count).

The Rotation CmdStream type controls the 3D angular position of the Item. This CmdStream type has 4 different commands. The first parameter after each command directive is the number of frames for which the command will execute. The parameters which follow vary with the command. An example Rotation CmdStream is presented below:

CmdStream Rotation {
   Stay     60;
   Spin     60 -6.0;            // [degrees/frame]
   Move     120 0.0 -90.0 45.0; // Phi(x)    Phi(y)    Theta(z)
                                // [degrees] [degrees] [degrees]
   MoveSpin 120 4.5 90.0 0.0;   // V(Theta(z)) Phi(x) Phi(y)
                                // [degrees/frame]  [degrees]  [degrees]
   };

The angular position of each Item in the Scene is stored in three parameters. The first two, called Phi(x) and Phi(y), are like spherical coordinates. They specify an axis of rotation. The third angular parameter, called Theta(z), specifies the amount of rotation to apply to the Item around the current axis of rotation. For more information on this, see 8. NeonJax3D Engine Overview.

The Stay command causes the Item's angular position to stay stationary for the number of frames given by the first parameter. The Stay command has no extra parameters.

The Spin command has a single extra parameter, called V(theta). This parameter specifies the angular speed (in degrees per frame) at which the Item will rotate around its axis of rotation. The Item's axis of rotation will remain stationary during this time. If a Spin command lasts 50 frames and spins at 7.2 degrees per frame, the Item will end up in the same orientation in which it began.

The Move command causes the Item to move with a constant angular velocity to the given angular position. The three extra parameters for the Move command are Phi(x), Phi(y), and Theta(z). These are Floats and are interpreted to be in degrees.

The MoveSpin command causes the axis of rotation to move to a given angular position, and moves the Theta(z) position parameter at a constant rate. The first extra parameter for the MoveSpin command is called V(Theta(z)). This specifies the rotational speed of the Item to be applied to the Theta(z) position during the command, in degrees per frame. The last two parameters in the MoveSpin command are Phi(x) and Phi(y) and specify the angular position to which the Item's axis of rotation will move with a constant velocity.

The Morph CmdStream type controls the special effect to be applied to the 1000 Points of Light object. Each Morph command has two stages. During the first stage, the points morph between the old effect and the new effect. The second part of each Morph command executes the desired special effect. The morphing between effects is accomplished via a spline interpolation. The initial position and velocity are given by the final frame of the old effect, and the final position and velocity for each point are calculated from the initial state of the new effect. In this way the transitions between effects are as smooth as possible.

This Morph CmdStream type has 12 different commands. The first TWO parameters after each command directive are frame counts. The first parameter is the number of frames for which the Points will morph as described above from the previous effect to the new effect. The second parameter is the number of frames for which the new effect will execute. The parameters which follow these two vary with the command. An example Morph CmdStream is presented below:

CmdStream Morph {
  EmptyCube     60 1500 20;     // Point Spacing [pixels]
  FilledCube    60 120 20;      // Point Spacing [pixels]
  Sphere        60 120 100      // Minimum Radius [pixels]
                       120      // Maximum Radius [pixels]
                       15.0     // Velocity Theta(R) [degrees/frame]
                       8        // Radial Points [count]
                       125;     // Axial Points [count]
  Corkscrew     60 120 100      // Minimum Radius [pixels]
                       200      // Height [pixels]
                       1.5      // Minimum Velocity (Theta) [degrees/frame]
                       0.5;     // Minimum Velocity (Z) [pixels/frame]
  GridCurve     60 120 400      // Side Length [pixels]
                       1000     // Radius [pixels]
                       20       // Stationary Frames [count]
                       40;      // Moving Frames [count]
  RandomCloud   60 120 100      // X Size [pixels]
                       100      // Y Size [pixels]
                       100;     // Z Size [pixels]
  SnowField     60 120 448      // Initial Field Size [pixels]
                       0.285    // Scale Factor [degrees/pixel]
                       0.375    // Maximum Sin Acceleration [degrees/frame^2]
                       0.25     // Positive Threshold [coefficient]
                       -0.25    // Negative Threshold [coefficient]
                       0.625    // Maximum Force [pixels/frame^2]
                       0.00976; // Friction Coefficient [coefficient]
  GaseousSphere 60 600 150      // Radius [pixels]
                       20       // Points [count]
                       0.5      // Minimum Velocity [pixels/frame]
                       7.5      // Maximum Velocity [pixels/frame]
                       0;       // Minimum Radius [pixels]
  BouncingCubes 60 120 800      // Arena Size [pixels]
                       70       // Cube Size [pixels]
                       8        // Inter Points [count]
                       0.2539   // Gravity Strength [coefficient]
                       0.39868  // Outer Spring Coefficient [coefficient]
                       0.07629  // Outer Damper Coefficient [coefficient]
                       0.58313  // Inner Spring Coefficient [coefficient]
                       0.07019; // Inner Damper Coefficient [coefficient]
  Vortex        60 120 120      // Minimum Radius at top [pixels]
                       30       // Maximum Velocity (Theta) [degrees/frame]
                       2.0      // Minimum Velocity (Final Z) [pixels/frame]
                       10.0;    // Maximum Velocity (Final Z) [pixels/frame]
                                // vortex height is always 256
  Marquee       60 120 NukePath // Path Name
                       1.0      // Velocity [steps/frame]
                       200;     // Number of Points [count]
  SaturnRings   60 120 20       // Ring Height [pixels]
                       100      // Minimum Ring Radius [pixels]
                       200      // Maximum Ring Radius [pixels]
                       80       // Planet Radius [pixels]
                       1.0      // Planet Rotation Velocity [degrees/frame]
                       0.25;    // Minimum Ring Velocity [degrees/frame]
  };

The EmptyCube effect causes the points to stay stationary in a cubic arrangement. The points will be on a grid surrounding the surface of a cube. The distance between adjacent points is given by the Point Spacing parameter.

The FilledCube effect creates a 10x10x10 cube which is filled with the Points. The distance between adjacent points is given by the Point Spacing parameter.

The Sphere effect creates a grid of points on the surface of a sphere and modulates the size of the sphere in a sinusoidal fashion. The Points are laid on the surface of the sphere in a series of stacked rings of varying radius. The number of rings is given by the Axial Points parameter, and the number of points on each ring is given by the Radial Points parameter. The product of these two quantities must be less than or equal to 1000. The Minimum Radius and Maximum Radius parameters give the size boundaries for the sphere as it changes size. The Velocity Theta(R) parameter gives the speed at which the sphere pulsates. At 20.0 degrees per frame, the sphere would go through a complete size cycle every 18 frames, or over 3Hz at 60 fps.

The Corkscrew effect gives each point a radius and a height value, and moves it around in a circle in the X-Y plane, and down in the Z direction. The radii of all of the points are distributed evenly within a range. The minimum (inner) radius is given by the Minimum Radius parameter. The thickness of the cylinder is equal to half of the Minimum Radius. The height of the cylinder is given by the Height parameter. The Minimum Velocity (Theta) parameter specifies the minimum angular speed of each point, and the Minimum Velocity (Z) parameter sets the minimum downward (+Z) speed of each point. The actual velocity (Z and Theta) for each point is chosen randomly in a range between the minimum and twice the minimum.

The GridCurve effect places all of the points on a large square grid (31 x 31 with a few left over). The points stay stationary in the X and Y plane but move in the Z direction to 'bend' around the surface of a sphere. In this way the grid is modulated to curve around a sphere. The Side Length parameter specifies the length of each side of the grid. The Radius parameter gives the radius of the imaginary sphere around which the grid will be bent. This parameter should be larger than the Side Length parameter. The timing of the grid's movement is handled by the Stationary Frames and Moving Frames parameters. The GridCurve effect executes a 2-phase cycle. First, the grid will be still (and flat) for Stationary Frames number of frames. Then the grid will curve through a complete sinusoidal cycle in Moving Frames number of frames. This 2-phase cycle is executed for the number of frames specified in the second parameter of the command.

The RandomCloud effect is simply a 'cloud' of randomly-placed points which move in small random steps. The three extra parameters specify the size of the cube in which the points are initially confined.

The SnowField effect simulates a set of particles which are confined to a plane and being acted upon by an underlying force field. The force field is a sum-of-sines vector field which changes with time. It is very similar to the background effect for NeonJax3D, but the force field is a vector field, and each point in the field has direction. The Initial Field Size parameter specifies the length of any side of the initial field of points. When the effect is running the points are allowed to spread out into an area with twice the side length, or 4 times the area. The Scale Factor specifies the scaling factor for the lowest frequency sine component in the force field. In order to make the effect look un-patterned, the product of the Initial Field Size and the Scaling Factor should be less than 180 degrees. The Maximum Sin Acceleration parameter controls the maximum rate at which the phase velocities of the sine components may be varied. The Positive and Negative Threshold parameters are used to create a 'dead zone' where the force field will not act on the particles at all. The Positive Threshold must be in the range [0,1], and the Negative Threshold must be in the range [-1,0]. The Maximum Force parameter specifies the maximum amount of force which may be exerted per frame on any point by the force field. The Friction Coefficient controls the amount of frictional force which will be applied every frame. Many of these parameters are very sensitive to variation. It may be easiest to start with one of the examples provided and tweak the values to see their effects. It is difficult to tune the parameters of this effect to get a good quasi-stable but dynamic state. It has the tendency to be either too dead (over-damped) or too chaotic (under-damped).

The GaseousSphere effect simulates a set of particles which act like oxygen molecules in a balloon. Each point travels with a constant velocity until reaching the edge of the sphere, where it ricochets while maintaining the same speed. The Radius parameter specifies the radius of the sphere containing the points. The Points parameter controls the total number of points displayed. The Points parameter must be greater than 0 and less than or equal to 1000. The Minimum and Maximum Velocity parameters give the range of point velocities. The actual velocity for each point will be randomly select in the range between these two values. The Minimum Radius must be greater than or equal to 0 and must be less than Radius. If this parameter is greater than 0, then the Points are initialized in such a way that they never enter any portion of the sphere where the distance to the center is less than Minimum Radius. In this way the points can be made to skim around the inner surface of the sphere rather than travel randomly in all directions through it.

The BouncingCubes effect simulates several cubes which behave similarly to cubes of gelatin. This effect simulates gravity and causes the cubes to bounce around within a virtual arena. The Arena Size parameter specifies the length of each side of the arena. The Cube Size gives the length of each side of each cube. Each cube automatically requires 8 points, for the 8 corners. Additional points can be added to the line segments between the corners. The Inter Points parameter controls the number of points between each pair of corners. The total number of points required for each cube is 8 + Inter Points * 12. The total number of cubes is floor(1000/PointsPerCube). The allowed range of Inter Points is [0,15]. The GravityStrength parameter controls the strength of the applied gravity. The BouncingCubes effect simulates the bouncing of the cubes by using struts: springs and dampers. There are 12 Outer Springs and Dampers which are placed between each pair of adjacent corners. There are also 4 Inner Springs and Dampers which are placed between the four pairs of opposite corners. The Spring and Damper in each pair are placed mechanically in parallel with each other. The Outer Spring and Damper Coefficients, and the Inner Spring and Damper Coefficients, adjust the properties of these struts to achieve the desired effect. This effect is also difficult to tune properly. Since most quantities are stored as integers, there are severe oscillations which can result from round-off type errors if the parameters are not properly set.

The Vortex effect is like a funnel or a whirlpool. Each point starts at the top (the mouth of the vortex, Z=0) with a random radius between Minimum Radius and 25% more than Minimum Radius, and proceeds downward in a spiral with an exponentially decaying radius. The height of the Vortex is always 256. The Maximum Velocity (Theta) parameter specifies the maximum angular velocity for a point, which is reached at the bottom (Z = 255). The Minimum and Maximum Velocity (Final Z) parameters control the range of possible final Z velocities for the points (at Z=255). The actual velocities (angular and Z) for a point are scaled back from the randomly pre-selected Final values. Both the angular and Z velocities are smaller at smaller Z levels (near the mouth of the vortex), and greater at higher Z levels (near the neck of the vortex).

The Marquee effect uses the Path objects to display line drawings in a movie marquee-like display. The Points march around the path referenced by the Path Name parameter. The Velocity parameter determines the speed of all of the points, in steps per second. The Number of Points parameter specifies the total number of points displayed for this effect. It is important to control the point spacing to make this effect look good. For example, if a Path has 1200 steps and you do a Marquee effect with 200 displayed points, then the points displayed will be 6 steps (or pixels) away from each other. The effect may not look good if this point spacing value is too low or too high. The Number of Points parameter must be greater than 0 and less than or equal to 1000. Path definitions may be created from two-color 8-bit BMP images with the PathFind.exe program. See the NeonJax3D Path Crawler Manual for more information.

The SaturnRings effect simulates a planet with rings. 250 Points are used to form the planet, and the remaining 750 Points zip around the belt of the planet to form the ring. The planet also rotates independently from the frame of reference of the Points object. The Ring Height parameter sets the thickness of the planet's ring, in pixels. The Minimum and Maximum Ring Radius parameters control the width and the inner radius of the ring. The Planet Radius parameter specifies the radius of the planet, in pixels. The Planet Rotation Velocity parameter gives the angular speed of one component of the planet's orientation state. The other two components of the planet's orientation state are incremented by a small value every frame. The Minimum Ring Velocity parameter controls the range of velocities of the points in the ring. Each point's angular velocity is randomly chosen in the range between the Minimum Ring Velocity and 5 times the Minimum Ring Velocity.