Creating Chaser Patterns
What Is a Chaser?
A chaser is a type of LED effect that appears like points of light moving, or “chasing,” along the LED strip.
When the spinning motion of the prop combines with the movement of the chaser, it can create striking visual illusions. If you have used FutureHoop Pro, the Blizzard setting is a classic example of a chaser pattern.
Remember that Designer displays bitmap files one row at a time, moving from the top of the image to the bottom. Each time playback advances to the next row of the bitmap, the point of light appears to move forward by one pixel. This repeated movement creates the chasing effect.
Create a Chaser Pattern
To make a simple chaser pattern, start by creating an all-black bitmap image. For this first example, try making it 20 pixels wide by 20 pixels tall.
The simplest chaser is a straight diagonal line from the top-left pixel of the bitmap to the bottom-right pixel.
Using a simple image editor that lets you work in fine detail, such as Microsoft Paint, can make this easier. For tiny pixel patterns, simple tools are sometimes easier than advanced image editors.
Your First Chaser Pattern
- Create a new 20 x 20 bitmap image.
- Fill the background with black.
- Draw a white diagonal line from the top-left corner to the bottom-right corner.
- Save the image as a .bmp file.
- Copy the file into a Mode folder on your prop.
- Safely eject the prop before unplugging it.
Once loaded, turn on your prop and navigate to the Mode that contains your chaser pattern.
Change the Bitmap Size to Adjust Chaser Count
If a bitmap’s width is less than the number of LEDs in your prop, the bitmap repeats along the length of the prop.
For example, if your hoop has 100 LEDs and your chaser bitmap is 20 pixels wide:
- 100 LEDs divided by 20 pixels = 5 repeats
- This means you will see about 5 chasers around the hoop at the same time.
You can change the width of the bitmap to change the number of chasers.
- A 10 pixel wide bitmap on a 100 LED hoop creates about 10 chasers.
- A 20 pixel wide bitmap on a 100 LED hoop creates about 5 chasers.
- A 50 pixel wide bitmap on a 100 LED hoop creates about 2 chasers.
For best results, choose a bitmap width that divides evenly into the LED count of your prop.
You can find your hoop’s LED count in the LED Counts section.
Edit options.txt to Adjust Chaser Speed
Once you have a chaser pattern loaded into a Mode folder on your prop, you can use Mode Options like ConstantSpeed and SpeedToggle to control how fast the chasers move.
A slower ConstantSpeed can look good for isolations and other off-body tricks.
A faster ConstantSpeed can create a dramatic illusion when the hoop is spinning or twirling.
You can also change animation speed while using the prop by pressing the Heart / Special button on the remote control. This uses the values set in the SpeedToggle option.
