Meteorological & Shader Architecture Reference
TempestForge 3D: Volumetric Cloud Physics & Metallic Ocean Synthesis
01. Volumetric FBM Cloud Clusters & Beer-Lambert Light Attenuation
Real cumulus and cumulonimbus thunderheads scatter sunlight through dense water droplet suspension. Instead of flat opaque primitives, each interactive storm cloud in TempestForge 3D is assembled as a multi-layered 3D cluster displaced by 4-octave Fractional Brownian Motion (FBM) simplex turbulence. Optical density follows the Beer-Lambert Attenuation Law (T = exp(-σ · d)), producing luminous silver-lined crowns via forward Subsurface Scattering (SSS) while darkening the heavy cloud base as moisture accumulates.
02. Tactile Sponge-Squeeze Condensation & GPU Rain Sheets
In nature, updraft compression and coalescence cause suspended cloud droplets to exceed terminal updraft velocity and fall as precipitation. Holding a cloud in Squeeze & Drag Mode (or holding Shift + Click / Right-Click) applies second-order Hookean spring-damper compression. As the cloud squishes vertically, its internal moisture uniform saturates into deep slate grey and activates a pre-allocated GPU-instanced rain sheet directly beneath its 3D coordinates, generating concentric splash ripples on the water surface below.
03. Electrostatic Proximity & Dielectric Breakdown (Forked 3D Lightning)
When graupel and ice crystals collide inside converging storm cells, triboelectric charge separation creates an intense electric potential gradient. Dragging two clouds into close proximity triggers high-voltage electrostatic arcs and internal violet plasma glow. Colliding two clouds exceeds the dielectric breakdown threshold—unleashing an internal volumetric flash, a multi-branched 3D forked lightning strike into the ocean, an expanding surface shockwave, and a subtle camera thunder rumble.
04. 6-Octave GPU Gerstner Metallic Ocean & Procedural Web Audio Engine
Beneath the clouds lies a 1200×1200 ocean mesh driven 100% by a custom GLSL vertex and fragment shader evaluating 6 octaves of 3D Trochoidal Gerstner Waves with Schlick's Fresnel metallic reflections, cloud silhouette projections, and crest foam. All soundscapes—including stereo-panned pouring rain, Geiger-like static crackles, and resonant low-pass brown-noise rolling thunder—are synthesized in real time via the native Web Audio API with zero external audio files.
Frequently Asked Questions (Interactive Controls & Technical FAQ)
How do I make a cloud rain vs. make lightning?
With Mode: Squeeze & Drag enabled in the bottom dock, simply click/touch and hold any cloud to wring out pouring rain while dragging it across the sky. Push any two clouds together until they touch to trigger electrostatic sparks and a forked lightning strike! You can also hold Shift + Click or Right-Click at any time to squeeze a cloud.
How does TempestForge 3D maintain a locked 60 FPS with thousands of raindrops?
Every raindrop streak, concentric splash ring, and forked lightning segment is pre-allocated once at startup inside GPU buffers (THREE.InstancedMesh and custom shader attributes). Zero geometries or materials are created or destroyed during the animation loop.
How does Beer-Lambert light attenuation work in the cloud shader?
The shader computes exponential optical decay T = exp(-density * absorption) through the 3D FBM volume. Forward scattering creates brilliant silver-lined edges when backlit, while thick core regions absorb light and shift into realistic storm-grey cumulonimbus tones.
What happens during cloud electrostatic proximity and dielectric collision?
As clouds approach, charge accumulation creates high-voltage plasma arcs. Upon collision, the dielectric threshold is exceeded, firing a 3D forked lightning branch into the ocean and generating expanding water shockwave ripples.
How are procedural thunder and rain synthesized?
The Web Audio API engine synthesizes multi-layer rain textures using modulated pink noise, static crackles via granular micro-impulses, and rolling low-frequency thunder rumbles using low-pass filtered brown noise.
What are the 4 interactive storm presets?
Switch between Silver Tempest (liquid mercury ocean, heavy cumulonimbus), Molten Gold Gale (warm amber sunset waves), Violet Cyber-Storm (neon violet lightning and dark sea swells), and Whispering Calm (calm titanium ripples, soft mist).
Does TempestForge 3D require downloads, installations, or an account?
No. TempestForge 3D runs 100% client-side in pure HTML5 WebGL2 and Web Audio directly inside modern mobile and desktop browsers with zero downloads or accounts required.