CRYSTAL FOCUS X
Unstable Effects Collection
PART 16 OF 18
Unstable series · Color Pulse · unstable=16

Color Pulse (unstable=16)

A practical guide to the Color Pulse effect on Crystal Focus X, including waveform shape, pulse speed, amplitude, offset, and audio-reactive whole-blade color pulsing.

What you will learn
  • How Color Pulse blends the whole blade uniformly
  • How waveform choice changes the pulse character
  • How amplitude and offset work together
  • How to tune recipes you can paste into your blade profile
Main parameters
Pulse shape
lcool
Pulse speed
sparkd
Blend
mapb, mapc, fxmap
Best used for
  • Whole-blade breathing effects
  • Police strobe style pulses
  • Subtle tint pulsing
  • Audio-reactive color shifts
Crystal Focus X Guide
Color Pulse (unstable=16)
Series: Customizing Unstable Effects on Crystal Focus X · Guide 16 of 18

Introduction

Color Pulse is a whole-blade phasor effect. Every pixel blends between the blade color and the Fx color by the same amount each frame, so the entire blade pulses together instead of showing a spatial pattern.

You can think of it as Wave without the movement along the blade.

Waveform Shapes

<code>lcool</code> rangeWaveformCharacter
0–40SawtoothLinear ramp up, instant drop
41–80TriangleSmooth linear ramp up and down
81–120SineSmooth sinusoidal pulse
121–160SquareInstant on/off pulse
161–200DrunkRandom value every frame

Parameter Reference

ParameterRole in Color Pulse
unstableSet to 16 to select the effect
lcoolWaveform shape
sparkdPulse speed
mapbAmplitude
mapcOffset
fxmapMapping mode: 0 none, 1 audio

spark and hcool are read internally but do not change the visible result.

How It Works

  1. A phasor index cycles through 0–255.
  2. The selected waveform shapes that cycle.
  3. mapb scales the pulse depth.
  4. mapc raises the floor so the Fx color can remain partially blended in at all times.
  5. Every pixel on the blade uses the same blend value.

Lockup, Clash, and Audio

During lockup the pulse speed is tripled. During clash it is doubled. With fxmap=1, volume further boosts pulse speed and adds an extra Fx color blend.

Recipes

Gentle Sine Pulse

A smooth slow breathing effect.

unstable=16
lcool=100
sparkd=20
mapb=200
mapc=0

Police Strobe

A high-speed square pulse.

unstable=16
lcool=140
sparkd=80
mapb=255
mapc=0

Sawtooth Ramp

A build-and-release pulse.

unstable=16
lcool=10
sparkd=40
mapb=255
mapc=0

Triangle Fade

A more geometric balanced pulse.

unstable=16
lcool=60
sparkd=30
mapb=255
mapc=0

Subtle Tint Pulse

A shallow pulse riding over a permanent tint.

unstable=16
lcool=100
sparkd=15
mapb=120
mapc=30

Audio-Reactive Pulse

Pulse speed and Fx blend react to sound.

unstable=16
lcool=100
sparkd=30
mapb=200
mapc=0
fxmap=1

Tuning Tips

  1. Waveform choice defines the feel.
  2. mapc acts like a constant tint floor.
  3. Moderate sparkd values usually make lockup and clash boosts easier to appreciate.

Crystal Focus X firmware guide · Unstable Effects Collection · Part 16 — Color Pulse (unstable=16)