Snowboarding demo particles: only 25% are simulated, big chunks always are
sterlingcrispin · x · 2026-10-22
Sterling Crispin details three reactive particle systems in his interactive snowboarding experience:
- Projectile snow sprayed as you carve, ranging from thick chunks to fine mist
- A ribbon of mist forming behind you during high-speed carves
- Clumps and dents as snow particles land on the snow surface
The key engineering trick is compute budgeting: only 25% of particles are actually calculated, and each landing particle can spawn up to 4 additional dents, creating the illusion that every particle makes impact. But a large chunk visibly not landing would break the effect, so all big chunks are always fully simulated — only fine mist and small particles are budgeted.
More from Fun
- CISO greentext: our approvals take days, the attacker's AI agent just keeps typing — zephyr_z9 · 2026-10-22
- Higgsfield accused of reselling Wan 3.0 and Seedance 2.5 as its own "Genjutsu" models — teortaxesTex · 2026-10-22
- Customers happily pay $150/mo for my SaaS, and indie hackers can't fathom it — kylegawley · 2026-10-22
- The 'Formula Crosstalk' Meme Nails What's Wrong with AI-Generated Projects — ezshine · 2026-10-22
- Railway Breach: Dev Says Claude Refused to Help with Hack Response, Slams Anthropic — adamamcbride · 2026-10-22
- Jessica Hische charged ~$12.5k for a two-day Meta Muse logo sprint — and Instagram designers are furious — floguo · 2026-10-22