Session features: spirals, images, distractors, audio¶
Mantra and Brainwash Spiral Tasks always carry a spiral feature and an images feature. Distractors, wall distractors and audio are optional features any session type can add from the Add optional feature row on the editor’s Content tab.
Spirals¶
The Spiral tab has three type chips. Switching type asks for confirmation because it resets the spiral settings.
Media/Image Spiral¶
Displays an image, GIF or video as the spiral layer.
Setting |
Default |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
Media URL |
|
Must be a direct link to the file. Use the Stash to host your own. |
Opacity |
0.5 |
0 is invisible, 1 is fully opaque |
Is media an Image? |
checked |
Uncheck for a video URL. Videos play once without sound control, so keep them long or loop them yourself. |
The media does not have to be a spiral. Anything you want overlaid on the session works.
WebGL Spiral¶
The built-in shader spiral: concentric rings that throb and travel inward.
Setting |
Default |
|---|---|
Opacity |
0.6 |
Spiral Color |
|
Background Color |
|
Spin Speed |
1 |
Throb Speed |
2 |
Throb Strength |
1 |
Zoom |
1 |
Every one of these can be changed live from YSS, with an optional fade.
Scripted WebGL Spiral¶
The same settings as the WebGL spiral plus an editable GLSL fragment shader with presets and a live preview. See GLSL spirals.
Images¶
The Images tab holds the uploader and the display mode. Uploading is covered in Sessions and the editor. Switching mode asks for confirmation; it resets the display settings but keeps your uploads.
Full-screen Cycler¶
One image at a time fills the screen behind the spiral, with a slow zoom. Each switch picks an image at random, so the order varies between runs.
Setting |
Default |
|---|---|
Switch frequency (ms) |
950 |
A low value makes a subliminal blur; a high value a slow slideshow. Together with the line or word duration this sets the session’s pace.
Scatter (floating images)¶
Images appear one at a time at random spots, fade and zoom in, hold, then fade out. Several can be on screen at once. In XR each one floats at its own depth in front of the viewer.
Setting |
Default |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
New image every (ms) |
1500 |
minimum 100 |
Time on screen (ms) |
4000 |
includes the fades; minimum 300 |
Fade in / out (ms) |
800 |
capped at half the time on screen |
Most images at once |
6 |
new images wait until one leaves |
Image width (% of screen width) |
25 |
1 to 100 |
Zoom in from (scale) |
0.6 |
starting scale before zooming to full size |
Opacity when fully in (0-1) |
0.9 |
Distractors¶
Distractors are extra lines of text that pull the subject’s attention away from the centre and reinforce the theme in their peripheral vision. Keep them to single words or short phrases.
Adding + Distractors creates two things: a Distractors line list on the Content tab and a Distractors (Basic) box on the Settings tab. Basic distractors appear at random positions (between 20% and 80% of the screen in each direction) with a gentle breathing animation.
Setting |
Where |
Default |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Enabled? (random placement) |
Settings tab |
checked |
In the current player, basic distractors run whenever the feature is present; to stop them, remove the distractor lines. |
Distractor duration |
Script tab only, |
3501 ms |
how long each stays on screen |
Base frequency |
Script tab only, |
1501 ms |
time between spawns |
Random offset |
Script tab only, |
true |
jitter the frequency by ±20% |
A low frequency with a long duration clutters the screen with suggestions; a high frequency with a short duration gives brief flashes.
Wall distractors¶
+ Wall Distractors adds a second style: the distractor lines are repeated to fill the whole screen as a translucent wall of text that is regenerated on a timer. It uses the same distractor lines. Both styles can be active at once.
Setting |
Default |
|---|---|
Enabled? (wall-like layout) |
unchecked |
Re-render Frequency (In Milliseconds) |
3500 |
Audio¶
+ Audio adds one field, Custom Audio to Play During Session: a direct URL to an audio file (mp3, ogg, flac, wav and so on). The track starts with the session and loops until the session ends. There is no volume control; the subject uses their device volume.
Links to YouTube, SoundCloud or other streaming pages do not work. Host the file in your Stash or use a file from the audio repository.
Browsers may block autoplay until the page has been interacted with; the player keeps retrying every second, and subjects can enable Require a touch or keypress in their settings to make the player wait.
Sessions with audio show a red speaker icon on the project page.
Custom CSS and YSS¶
The remaining optional features have their own chapters: Custom CSS and YSS.