Chain Snapshots

Chain Snapshots are parameter presets for a single chain. Dial in a look, save it to a slot, dial in another, save that too. You can then switch between them at any time — instantly or with a smooth crossfade.

Each chain has 8 slots. Each slot stores every parameter value in the chain: effect settings, enabled/disabled state, and dry/wet mix. On 3D tracks that also covers the 3D parameters — point clouds, splats, SDF shapes, lights, displacement and scene FX.

Think of them like preset buttons on a synth — A, B, C — except for a visual effect chain.

When to use chain snapshots

• You want to toggle between a subtle and an intense version of the same chain mid-set
• You have a chain with lots of parameters and want to save a few “looks” to jump between
• You want to autoplay through states on a beat-sync schedule for evolving visuals
• You want to crossfade smoothly between two completely different effect configurations

For switching entire effect stacks, use Scenes → (which switch the active chain on a track). For saving the full state of the whole project, use Snapshots →.

Enabling the snapshot bar

Chain Snapshots are hidden by default. To show them, open the track inspector and enable Chain Snapshots in the settings section. A row of numbered slots appears below the chain name.

Saving a snapshot

Click the + button at the left of the snapshot bar to save the current chain state into the next empty slot. The slot shows a small thumbnail of the chain output at that moment.

Recalling a snapshot

Click any filled slot to recall it. All parameters jump to the stored values immediately — or crossfade if a fade duration is set.

Fade transitions

The Fade slider in the snapshot bar header controls transition length — from instant up to 5 seconds. The easing curve (Linear, Ease In/Out, Cubic In/Out, Expo In/Out, Bounce) is selectable from the dropdown next to the slider.

Non-interpolatable state (effect enabled/disabled, media selection, texture routing) is applied at the start of the fade so the new source is already loaded when the crossfade completes.

3D tracks

On a 3D track, snapshots store every numeric 3D parameter in the chain — point size, gains, colorizer, lens and bokeh, morph amount, SDF shape position and material, light position and colour, the 3D camera, fog, depth of field, god rays, film, floor and backdrop and their colours, fluid sim, particle sim and their force generators, and all point cloud displacement: noise (including Drip and Structure), audio displacement, directional flow and track displacement. They all fade with the same easing curve as 2D effect parameters.

Snapshots also store the switches and dropdowns, which change at the start of a fade like effect on/off:

• Section switches — Track, Noise and Audio Displacement, Directional Flow (with Mirror and Crop), Fluid Sim, Particle Sim, Glow, AO, Fog, DOF, God Rays (and their quality), Film, Floor, Backdrop, Point Cloud Shadow, Normal Blend, and each light’s enable, Spotlight and bulb switch.
• Displacement dropdowns — decode mode, noise octaves, Structure mode, audio mapping, flip and ripple source, plus the fluid sim’s symmetry, input and Z source, the particle sim’s emitter shape, and each force generator’s on/off, bounds shape and falloff.
• Point clouds — render mode, scan axis, X/Y/Z channels, audio XYZ mode, wrap shape, distribution, layers and repeats, wireframe, glass, lens effects, proximity lines, and the colorizer’s sources, ramps and invert switches.
• SDF shapes — shape type, operation, platonic solid, morph target, gradient on/off and axis, texture on/off and mapping, glass, spiral noise, radial fold and each shape’s enable.
• 3D camera — orbit mode.

Snapshots do not store the point cloud’s input source or anything sized by a resolution or count — grid size, trail length, downsample, sample count, fluid sim resolution and depth. Changing those reallocates the scene, so they stay wherever you left them when you recall a slot.

For variations that need different objects or a different input source, duplicate the chain instead: the 3D environment belongs to the chain, so each copy gets a fully independent 3D setup that scenes can switch between.

Updating a slot

Right-click a slot → Overwrite with Current State to replace it. You can also enable Autosave (⋯ menu in the header) — when active, switching away from a slot automatically saves the current chain state back into it before loading the new one.

Naming slots

Right-click a slot → Rename to give it a meaningful label (e.g. “Calm”, “Full Blast”). The label replaces the slot number in the bar.

Deleting a slot

Right-click → Delete Snapshot.

MIDI / modulation trigger

Right-click a slot → MIDI Learn (or use the mapping options) to assign a pad, button, or any boolean source. The snapshot restores on every rising edge of that trigger.

Navigation controls

Below the slot row, three buttons let you step through filled slots:

Button	Action
←	Restore the previous filled slot
⇄	Restore a random filled slot
→	Restore the next filled slot

All three are mappable to MIDI or any boolean modulation source.

Autoplay

The Auto menu cycles through snapshots on a beat-sync schedule. Choose a bar division (32, 16, 8, 4, 2, 1 bars, or note subdivisions down to 1/16) and Arkestra advances to the next filled slot on every interval. Set to None to disable.

Chain Snapshots vs Scenes vs Project Snapshots

	Chain Snapshots	Scenes	Project Snapshots
Scope	One chain	All tracks	Entire project
Slots	8	Unlimited	32
What’s stored	Effect and 3D parameters, enabled state, dry/wet	Active chain per track	Everything
Fade transition	✅ Yes (0–5s)	—	—
Restore speed	Instant or faded	Instant	Async
Use for	Parameter presets on one chain	Section switching	Project checkpoints