Unstable TFU (unstable=6)

Introduction

The Unstable TFU effect (unstable=6) is inspired by the crackling, barely contained crystal energy from Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. It simulates individual spots on the blade that slowly build up heat, then burst and cool down, like pockets of instability inside a damaged kyber crystal.

This effect returns to the heat-based simulation used in earlier unstable modes, but with an important twist: every part of the blade is either currently heating up or cooling down. Areas heat gradually, then eventually burst and begin cooling rapidly. Cold areas can be re-ignited at random, restarting the cycle.

The result is an organic, slow-burning instability with bright spots that swell, flash, and fade back into the blade.

Classic Unstable vs. Fire vs. Unstable TFU

Enabling Unstable TFU

In your blade profile section, set:

unstable=6

How Unstable TFU Works

Each part of the blade has two internal behaviors: a current heat value and a current phase. A section can either be heating up or cooling down.

Each frame runs through these main stages:

Step 1: Burst Check + Cooling

If a heating area becomes hot enough, it can suddenly burst and switch into cooling mode. Some areas burst early, while others hang on longer before finally snapping. This randomness gives the effect its spontaneous feel.

Once an area is cooling, it loses heat every frame. The cooling speed is influenced by hcool.

Step 2: Sideways Diffusion

Heat from active hot spots spreads sideways into neighboring pixels. Unlike Fire, there is no upward drift. The spread is symmetrical, which makes hot regions grow outward into soft zones before they burst.

The width of that spread is controlled by lcool.

Step 3: Ignition + Heating

With a probability controlled by sparkf, the effect tries to re-ignite cold cooling areas at random positions across the blade. The number of attempted ignition points is controlled by sparkd.

All reignited areas then begin heating again. With drift=0, they heat at a fixed moderate rate. With drift=1, they heat faster and more erratically.

Step 4: Visible Color Output

Finally, the heat values are turned into visible color using your mapping_color, mapb, mapc, and ecolor settings.

Parameter Mapping

lcool — Diffusion Range

Default: 20

This controls how far heat spreads sideways from each heating area.

The diffusion range in pixels is:

range = (lcool × blade_length) / 220

For a 144-pixel blade:

Tip: Low lcool gives scattered pinpoint activity. High lcool creates broad, slow-building waves of heat that burst in larger regions.

hcool — Cooling Rate

Default: 70

This controls how quickly cooling areas lose heat after they burst. Higher values make bursts fade faster.

Note: Fast cooling plus slow sparking gives a mostly dark blade with brief flashes. Slow cooling plus fast sparking keeps much more of the blade lit at once.

sparkf — Ignition Probability

Default: 120

This controls how often the effect tries to re-ignite cold areas each frame.

sparkd — Ignition Density

Default: 10

This controls how many positions are checked during each ignition attempt.

The number of checks per event is:

MaxSparks = (sparkd × blade_length) / 100

For a 144-pixel blade:

Tip: sparkf is the “how often” control. sparkd is the “how many” control. Both matter.

drift — Heating Rate Mode

Default: 0

In TFU, drift does not control movement direction. There is no directional drift. Instead, it changes how areas heat up.

drift=0    Fixed, moderate heating rate
drift=1    Faster, more variable heating rate

With drift=1, areas reach their burst point faster and less predictably, which makes the effect more chaotic.

Color Controls

Unstable TFU uses the same heat-based color behavior as the earlier simulation-style unstable effects.

mapping_color — Color Mode

Default: 0

mapping_color=0    Legacy mode
mapping_color=1    Heat mode

Legacy mode keeps cold pixels near the blade base color and blends hotter pixels toward ecolor.

Heat mode adds a more thermal progression before reaching the effect color, which often looks richer and more dramatic.

ecolor — Effect Color

This is the target color used for the hottest burst regions.

ecolor=1023,1023,1023,0   # white
ecolor=1023,320,0,0       # orange
ecolor=400,600,1023,0     # pale blue

On CFX, color channel values can go up to 1023.

mapb — Brightness Mapping

Default: 50

This controls how strongly heat changes pixel brightness.

mapc — Color Mapping Intensity

Default: 50

This controls how strongly heat shifts color toward ecolor.

Tip: In TFU, mapb controls how bright the bursts feel, while mapc controls how colorful they feel.

Audio Reactivity

mapping_unstable — Reactivity Source

Default: 1

mapping_unstable=0 — None

The effect is fully self-contained. Sound does not change the simulation.

mapping_unstable=1 — Audio

Two main things happen when the sound gets louder:

1. Cooling becomes weaker, so bursts linger longer
2. Ignition becomes more likely, so more areas restart heating

The result is that quiet moments look sparser and more controlled, while loud moments create more activity and longer-lasting bursts.

Note: Unlike some other unstable modes, TFU respects your mapping_audio sensitivity settings for the audio response.

Refresh Rate

refreshfx — Effect Refresh Interval

Default: 12 ms

This controls how quickly the whole simulation advances. Since TFU is all about buildup, bursting, and fading, refresh rate strongly affects the overall pacing.

Putting It All Together: Recipes

Recipe 1: Classic TFU Instability

The signature barely-holding-together look with scattered hot spots that build, burst, and fade.

unstable=6
lcool=15
hcool=80
sparkf=100
sparkd=8
drift=0
mapb=150
mapc=180
mapping_color=1
mapping_unstable=1
ecolor=1023,1023,1023,0

Recipe 2: Slow Burn

Very slow, wide zones of heat that build and burst together.

unstable=6
lcool=60
hcool=50
sparkf=60
sparkd=5
drift=0
mapb=200
mapc=200
mapping_color=1
mapping_unstable=1
ecolor=1023,480,0,0
refreshfx=25

Recipe 3: Rapid Flicker

Fast-heating cells with quick cooling and lots of short flashes.

unstable=6
lcool=5
hcool=200
sparkf=200
sparkd=20
drift=1
mapb=220
mapc=150
mapping_color=0
mapping_unstable=1
ecolor=1023,1023,800,0
refreshfx=8

Recipe 4: Scattered Embers

Pinpoint spots with no diffusion that glow and fade independently.

unstable=6
lcool=0
hcool=100
sparkf=80
sparkd=15
drift=0
mapb=180
mapc=120
mapping_color=1
mapping_unstable=0
ecolor=1023,320,80,0

Recipe 5: Breathing Crystal

Wide diffusion and slow ignition so large sections glow and dim together.

unstable=6
lcool=100
hcool=60
sparkf=40
sparkd=3
drift=0
mapb=100
mapc=200
mapping_color=1
mapping_unstable=1
ecolor=800,720,1023,0
refreshfx=20

Recipe 6: Chaotic Surge

Fast heating, dense sparking, and narrow diffusion for constant eruptions.

unstable=6
lcool=10
hcool=120
sparkf=220
sparkd=30
drift=1
mapb=255
mapc=255
mapping_color=0
mapping_unstable=1
ecolor=1023,1023,1023,0
refreshfx=10

Quick Reference Card

Tuning Tips

1. lcool is the character-defining parameter. Zero diffusion gives isolated spots. High diffusion gives broad connected zones that heat and burst together.
2. sparkf and sparkd set the activity level together. Think of sparkf as how often, and sparkd as how many.
3. You cannot directly change the burst threshold. What you can change is how quickly regions reach it, how fast they cool, and how often they reignite.
4. drift=1 makes the effect more chaotic. Use drift=0 for measured instability and drift=1 for rapid-fire bursts.
5. mapb and mapc are rendering controls, not pattern controls. They decide how clearly the heat simulation shows up in brightness and color.
6. Heat mode often looks richer. Try mapping_color=1 if you want more thermal complexity in the hot spots.
7. Very low sparkf can create a dying-crystal look where the blade stays mostly dark with rare isolated bursts.

Crystal Focus X firmware guide · Unstable Effects Collection · Part 6 — Unstable TFU (unstable=6)