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EVZ Phase Strategy & Implementation

Date: February 21, 2026 Status: 82 Total Phases (66 Track-Exclusive + 16 Shared)

This document outlines the strategic approach to visual phases in the Everything is Visualized system, detailing the unique identity for each track and the shared phase pool.

1. Design Philosophy

Phases are designed to:

  • Use all 27 motion modes and 25 camera modes to maximize visual diversity.
  • Leverage organic and synthetic effects for a "Digital-Organic" aesthetic.
  • Be visually distinct from all other phases while maintaining track identity.
  • Derive from track lyrics, chemical properties, and elemental themes.
  • Utilize 5-second double-buffered transitions for cinematic continuity.

2. Phase Pool Architecture

The visualizer uses a Separate Phase Pools approach:

  • Shared Phases: 16 phases available to all tracks, covering core geometric and nature themes.
  • Track-Exclusive Phases: 66 phases (8-11 per track) that only appear for their designated track.

Each track's phase bag contains: SHARED_PHASES + TRACK_PHASES[trackId] = 24-27 phases per track.

Spectral History Coverage:

  • All phases have access to the 128x64 uAudioHistory texture.
  • ~40% of phases use the history for frequency-domain displacement (Spectral Sculpting).

3. Track Identities & Exclusive Phases

A. HYDROGEN - "The First Element"

Identity: Light, airy, infinite possibility. Geometry: Octahedron | Color: Blue (#25daf0) Key Phases: AETHER, SOURCE, ORBITAL, BIOLUME, WISP, VOID, PROTO.

B. LITHIUM - "The Hammer"

Identity: Raw energy, mental intensity, battery acid. Geometry: Plane | Color: Red (#cf2739) Key Phases: FORGE, SURGE, BATTERY, QUANTUM, FRACTAL, ATTRACTOR, FLUX.

C. SODIUM - "The Dual State"

Identity: Reaction, explosive, streetlights, duality. Geometry: Box | Color: Yellow (#f7ca47) Key Phases: DUALITY, REACTION, FISSION, POLYMER, COCOON, GILDED, NOIR, MATRIX.

D. POTASSIUM - "The Violet Flame"

Identity: Nervous system, volatility, delicate balance. Geometry: Cone | Color: Purple (#8f01ff) Key Phases: NERVE, VOLATILE, ISOTOPE, PETAL, ABYSS, SYNAPSE, BREATH.

E. RUBIDIUM - "The Love Letter"

Identity: Rain, nostalgia, optics, red spectrum. Geometry: Cylinder | Color: Magenta (#c71585) Key Phases: OPTICS, MONARCH, EFFLORESCE, NACRE, WAVE, KINETO, DIFFRACT, MOIRE.

F. CAESIUM - "The Timekeeper"

Identity: Atomic precision, liquid metal, temporal flow. Geometry: Torus | Color: Soft Purple (#afa0ef) Key Phases: SECOND, FLOW, MEMBRANE, GLACIER, SIGIL, BOREALIS, FERRO, CHRONOS, MERCURY.

G. FRANCIUM - "The Archive"

Identity: Authenticity, brutality, decay, mathematical form. Geometry: Torus Knot | Color: Silver (#c1c1c1) Key Phases: SPLICE, DRONE, MONOLITH, TOPOLOGY, DECAY, TESSELLATE, MIRAGE, ISLAND, NUCLEUS.

4. Technical Implementation

Double-Buffered Transition Manager

The system eliminates stutters by pre-loading the next scene 3 seconds early and rendering to off-screen buffers.

  • Blend Modes: 20 modes (Crossfade, organic, shatter, chromatic melt, etc.).
  • Clean Handoff: A short post-transition buffer fade (~1s, multiplicative decay) eases the return from the composited buffer to direct-to-screen rendering. Transition buffers render at full resolution on high/medium tiers (low tier uses 0.85×), so the handoff is brightness- and resolution-neutral.

Scene Isolation

Each phase is an isolated VisualizerScene instance. No state is inherited; visual continuity is managed by the compositor during the 5-second blend.

Aperture-Synchronized Deceleration

When pausing, beginDeceleration(700ms) smoothly winds down mesh rotation and recedes the camera, perfectly synchronized with the CSS aperture contraction.

Spectral History

The uAudioHistory texture allows phases like TICKER and CYMATICS to visualize frequency evolution over time (up to 1 second of history).