Point Clouds
A Point Cloud object renders a surface or volume as a field of individual 3D points. The position, colour, and size of each point is determined by the cloud’s Input Mode and Render Mode, with optional displacement applied via the Point Cloud Displacement card.
Adding a point cloud
Section titled “Adding a point cloud”- Add a 3D track
- In the Inspector, click Insert 3D Object → choose Point Cloud
- A default point cloud appears in the scene
Input modes
Section titled “Input modes”Each point cloud has an Input Mode that determines where its point positions and colours come from. Select the mode using the tab bar at the top of the point cloud inspector.
| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| PLY File | Load one or more .ply point-cloud files via a playlist |
| Texture | Sample a live track texture for XYZ positions (mapped via channel pickers) |
| Solid | Generate a uniform grid of points (no external file) |
| Text | Render text as a cloud of points |
| LiDAR | Stream a live point cloud from a connected iPhone over your local network |
| Chladni | Simulate Chladni nodal patterns driven by your audio input, with frequency and mode shapes responding to the music in real time |
| Audio XY | Plot live Lissajous figures in 3D from your audio source |
| Radial | Concentric ring spectrum with waveform shimmer, rising bars, and Gaussian profiles — responds to audio and synth tones |
LiDAR streaming
Section titled “LiDAR streaming”Connect your iPhone over your local network to stream a live point cloud directly into the track. The inspector shows your Mac’s local IP address for quick setup, and includes a link to the setup guide.
Chladni and Audio XY
Section titled “Chladni and Audio XY”Both modes include a built-in audio source selector inside the input mode panel so you can pick the audio input without leaving the 3D inspector.
Render modes
Section titled “Render modes”The Mode selector controls how each point is drawn:
| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| Points | Classic pixel points with a Size slider |
| Cubes | Volumetric cube sprites |
| Spheres | Raymarched sphere sprites |
| Surface | Triangulated mesh surface |
| Scan Lines | Horizontal or vertical scan-line slices |
Noise Bits
Section titled “Noise Bits”Points and Cubes modes have a Noise Bits section that breaks up the uniform look of a cloud by giving individual particles their own size.
| Control | Description |
|---|---|
| Density | How much of the cloud is affected — up to roughly the top 1% of points |
| Max Size | How much larger affected particles become |
| Shape | (Cubes only) Gives every particle one of four silhouettes — a long thin needle, a flat plate, a blade, or a chunky chip — at a random orientation, turning the square specks into organic grit and dust |
Shape works on the whole cloud, not just the particles Density selects, and it never changes how large a particle is — only its outline. Sweep it up from 0 and the squares round off, stretch, and take on their silhouettes. It is only available in Cubes mode.
Camera
Section titled “Camera”Fly-through mode
Section titled “Fly-through mode”The default camera lets you navigate freely through the scene. Click the canvas to capture the cursor, then use WASD + mouse to fly. Click again to release.
Orbit mode
Section titled “Orbit mode”Switch to Orbit mode to rotate around a fixed point in the scene — useful when you want to frame a cloud from a distance and rotate around it. Fly-through mode is also available within orbit camera; click the canvas to enter it and click again to exit.
Materials & appearance
Section titled “Materials & appearance”Each point cloud has a Material section and a full post-processing chain:
- Color — base tint applied to all points
- Pixel Mix — blend between the material colour and the source pixel/vertex colour
- HSV Colorizer — spatially remap hue, saturation, and value across the cloud
Physically Based Lighting
Section titled “Physically Based Lighting”Point sprites use physically based lighting with luminous rendering, linear shading, and per-sprite sphere gradients. All lights in the scene cast proper shadow maps, including soft shadow penumbras calculated from the actual scene bounds.
Density Ambient Occlusion
Section titled “Density Ambient Occlusion”Point clouds compute ambient occlusion from particle density, adding real depth and shading to your scenes.
Filmic Post-Processing
Section titled “Filmic Post-Processing”The Camera tab contains a full filmic post-processing stack:
| Effect | Description |
|---|---|
| Tonemapping | HDR ACES resolve — clean highlights and natural-looking glow via a high dynamic range linear render pipeline |
| Volumetric God Rays | Atmospheric light scatter rays |
| Anamorphic Bloom | Wide-format lens bloom |
| Mip-Chain Bloom | Multi-scale bloom that layers naturally across the full scene |
Depth of Field
Section titled “Depth of Field”A gather-based Depth of Field effect is available in the Camera tab under the Lens section. Adjust Focal Distance and Aperture to bring a specific depth plane into focus.
Performance
Section titled “Performance”For PLY-based clouds, point count is set by the file. Use the Resolution downsample option (Full, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8) in the PLY DATA section to reduce draw count. For Solid mode, the Grid size directly controls point count. The GPU can handle millions of points at 60 fps on modern Mac hardware with Metal.