Creating Organic Trigger Interactions with Spring-Mass Model and Randomization

Hi everyone,

I’m working on a project in Max where I have a 9x9 grid of 81 triggers. My goal is to create an organic, dynamic system where activating one trigger affects its neighboring triggers in a fluid and chaotic way, similar to how wind chimes respond to each other. Ideally, I’d like to simulate these interactions using a spring-mass physical model and add some randomness for unpredictability.

Here’s what I’m thinking so far:

1. Grid setup: I’m using a matrixctrl or jit.matrix to represent the grid.

2. Spring-mass model: I want to use jit.phys.body and jit.phys.6dof to simulate the triggers as masses connected by springs. When a trigger is activated, it would apply a force to its neighboring triggers via these spring connections.

3. Random elements: I’d like to introduce random forces or delays to make the behavior less uniform and more unpredictable, keeping the system in a constantly evolving state of interaction.

4. Chaotic triggering: The idea is to have the initial trigger cause a ripple effect that spreads organically through the grid, with some probability of neighboring triggers being activated based on the physics and randomness.

I’m struggling to figure out the best way to implement the physical model in Max and how to integrate the randomness for ongoing chaotic interactions. I’d really appreciate any advice, example patches, or tips on how to approach this!

Thanks so much!