Speed & size

Speed

Every pattern has a tuned speed: the rate its designer intended. speed multiplies it: 1 is the tuned rate, 0.5 half, 2 twice as fast. 0 holds still. A lifecycle state can set its own speed, e.g. a slightly faster orb while the agent speaks.

{
  "fxSpec": "1.8",
  "object": "signal",
  "pattern": "waveform",
  "size": 32,
  "speed": 1.5
}

Materials with their own timing (a pulse's period, a particle's life, noise drift, the holographic sweep) are set in real seconds, so they read the same on a fast pattern and a slow one. speed scales them along with the pattern, so "the whole thing, faster" stays one knob.

A view's clock only runs while it's on screen and your app is in the foreground. Pausing resumes from the same pose. With the system's reduced-motion setting on, views draw one still frame (a voice cue keeps redrawing, gently, because it carries information).

Size

Patterns come in three engine sizes: 20, 32 and 64 (the default). The size is a level of detail, not pixels. Small sizes use fewer, bolder dots and thicker strokes, so a 20 still reads at icon scale. The view scales whatever you pick to fill its box, crisply, at any resolution.

• 64 for anything larger than about 48 pt / 48 dp on screen.
• 32 for list rows, chips and avatars.
• 20 for inline status icons.

Some props have different defaults per size; the catalog lists them.

Frame rate and low power

Views run at the display's rate. maxFps caps them (30 is plenty for most ambient visuals). In low-power mode, a view drops to 30 fps and turns off the costliest materials, unless your FX Spec says what to shed:

{
  "fxSpec": "1.8",
  "object": "orb",
  "pattern": "working",
  "materials": {
    "glow": {
      "strength": 0.5,
      "mode": "blur"
    }
  },
  "performance": {
    "maxFps": 60,
    "lowPower": {
      "maxFps": 30,
      "disable": [
        "glow"
      ]
    }
  }
}

More in Performance.