Drift Attractor

The Drift Attractor behavior is similar to the Attractor behavior, but by default objects within the area of influence move toward the object of attraction and come to rest, rather than overshooting the object of attraction and bouncing around.

Adjust this behavior using the controls in the Behaviors Inspector:

  • Affect: A pop-up menu that limits which objects in your project are affected by the Drift Attractor behavior. There are three options:

    • All Objects: All objects in the Canvas are affected by the Drift Attractor behavior.

    • Related Objects: The default setting. Only other objects in the same group as the object of attraction are affected.

    • Specific Objects: Only objects appearing in the Affected Objects list are affected by the Drift Attractor behavior.

  • Affected Objects: A list that appears when Specific Objects is chosen in the Affect pop-up menu. Drag objects from the Layers list into this list to have those objects affected by the behavior. To remove an item from the list, select the item and click Remove. There are two menu items:

    • Layer: This column lists the name of the layer containing the object.

    • Name: This column lists the name of the object.

  • Strength: A slider that sets the speed at which attracted objects move toward the target object. With a value of 0, attracted objects don’t move at all. The higher the value, the faster attracted objects move.

  • Falloff Type: A pop-up menu that determines whether the distance defined by the Influence parameter falls off linearly or exponentially. There are two options:

    • Linear: Object attraction falls off in proportion to the object’s distance.

    • Exponential: The closer an object is within the area of influence, the more strongly it is attracted, and the faster it moves toward the object of attraction.

  • Falloff Rate: A slider that determines how quickly the force of attraction between objects affected by this behavior falls off. A low Falloff Rate value results in objects quickly getting up to speed as they move toward the object of attraction. A high Falloff Rate causes objects to accelerate much more slowly. When Falloff Type is set to Exponential, the attraction falls off more quickly than when set to Linear.

  • Influence: A slider that sets the radius of the circle of influence, in pixels. Objects that fall within the area of influence move toward the object of attraction. Objects outside the area of influence remain in place.

  • Drag: A slider that reduces the distance attracted objects overshoot the object of attraction. Lower Drag values result in the object overshooting the object of attraction, moving past and then careening back around toward the target object again and again. Higher Drag values result in the object coming to rest sooner.

  • Include X, Y, and Z: Buttons that specify the space in which the object (or objects) drift toward the target object. For example, when X and Y are enabled, the object drifts in the XY plane; when Y and Z are enabled, the object drifts in the YZ plane.