Fractal Designer – Version history

Improvements

Timeline: in windows from about 1180 pixels wide the controls fit on one row, which leaves the picture more room.

Bug fixes

Timeline: selecting a keyframe reset the document name to "Untitled" and moved the selection to the bottom layer.

New features

Templates: all starter projects reworked and six new ones added, from 3D solids and particle flames to plants and typography; most of them move when played.
"New" menu: templates are picked from cards with previews, also by keyboard.
The document has a name, shown and editable above the picture and used as the file name for saving and exports.

Improvements

New look for the whole editor, with drawn icons throughout.
Layer list: layers are numbered as figures in paint order ("Fig. 1" is the bottom layer), and the list scrolls to keep the selected layer in view.
Narrow windows: the index folds into a slim column, and below about 820 pixels layers and properties open as a drawer.
Canvas: the transform handles appear only while the pointer is over the picture, while dragging and briefly after selecting a layer.
Choosing a template asks for confirmation only when there are unsaved changes.

Bug fixes

Page format: a 1280 × 720 page was shown as "Custom" and "1280:720" instead of "16:9".
Playback: in some window sizes, the picture jumped when the time readout gained a digit.

Improvements

Layers: a layer added from the toolbox is inserted directly above the selected layer, inside its group, instead of at the top of the stack.
Transform: every field has its own reset button, and "Reset transform" resets offset, scale, rotation, tilt and depth in one undoable step.
"Open" asks before replacing unsaved changes, can be reached with the keyboard and also works with Ctrl+O.
Autosave: a notice appears when a project grows too large for the browser's storage, and closing the tab then warns before unsaved work is lost.
Export dialogs work with the keyboard: Escape closes them and Tab stays inside.
Accessibility: keyboard focus is visible in both themes, and buttons, sliders, fields and gradient stops have proper names for screen readers.
Small interface improvements, including a confirmation before a gradient is removed from the library and shorter hints and tooltips.

Bug fixes

Canvas: a double-click reset the view by accident; resetting now takes Ctrl+double-click or the "Reset the view" button.
Export dialogs: pressing Del deleted the selected layer in the editor behind them.
A lost connection to the graphics card was reported as missing WebGPU; the message now says what happened and offers "Reload".

Improvements

Mandelbrot, Julia, Burning Ship, Tricorn, Celtic and Spider render two to seven times faster at high iteration counts, with an identical picture.
Attractors and flames respond faster to panning, zooming and changes to point size, brightness or extent.
Editing is smoother: letting go of a handle is instant, and dragging a slider above blurred or glowing layers runs several times faster.
Halftone effects render up to three times faster, and video exports up to twice as fast.
Groups: once a group with an effect or a 3D tilt is moved, rotated or scaled, a dotted outline shows where its content is cut off.

Bug fixes

Canvas: for layers inside a moved, rotated or scaled group, the handles appeared in the wrong place and dragging sent the layer the wrong way.
Groups: layers moved or shrunk inside a group were cut off at an invisible page-sized edge, and enlarged groups looked blurred.
A tool dropped onto the canvas while a transformed group was selected did not land under the pointer.

New features

Effects: the new mask "Frame (where it acts)" confines an effect to a rectangle or ellipse that can be pulled out by its corners, moved, rotated and given a soft edge.

Improvements

Waves: a "Reference line" with "Amplitude damping" and "Frequency damping" lets the waves shrink or grow toward the bottom of the picture.

Bug fixes

Video export: in Firefox, the export failed at the very end, after all frames had been rendered.
Video export: MP4 files exported from Firefox played smeared and ghosted in VLC and other players.
Video export: after a WebM export, the dialog showed MP4 as the format but still produced WebM.
Video export: since 1.37.1, the dialog took about a second longer to open.
Timeline: the play button stayed disabled for the first seconds after the app started.

Bug fixes

Video export: MP4 exports failed at the very end in some browsers (fully fixed in 1.38.0).

Improvements

Toolbox: the fractals are divided into "Escape-time fractals", "Chaotic maps", "Curves & constructions" and "3D fractals".
Toolbox: the effects are divided into "Color & tone", "Blur & light", "Distort" and "Halftone & retro".

New features

New fractal: Feather, with long feathery plumes and an adjustable exponent.
New fractals: SFX, Hénon, Duffing, Ikeda and Chirikov.

New features

Space-filling curve: the former Hilbert curve layer draws Hilbert, Moore, Peano, Serpentine or Spiral; existing projects keep Hilbert.
Space-filling curve 3D: the same five curves inside a cube.

New features

New layer: Hilbert curve, with the palette running along the line and adjustable depth and line width.
New layer: 3D Hilbert curve, drawn as a lit tube through a cube that can be rotated and tilted.

New features

Julia, Burning Ship, Tricorn, Celtic, Spider and Phoenix keep their detail at deep zoom, with the same "Arithmetic precision" setting as the Mandelbrot.

New features

Mandelbrot: keeps its detail up to about a million million times magnification; the new "Arithmetic precision" setting switches this on automatically.
Mandelbrot: "Iterations" can grow with the zoom ("Automatic (with depth)", the default for new layers) and be scaled with "Iterations ×"; a "Fixed count" now goes up to 20,000.
Formulas: the new variables zoom and depth follow the camera's magnification, also during playback.
Coloring method "Smooth + angle (2D)": new settings scale, offset and rotate the image and choose what happens at its edges.
New fractal: Julia (deep zoom), which keeps its detail down to the deepest zoom.

Improvements

Inspector: a reset button beside every changed parameter restores its default, as does a double-click on the slider.
Sliders for wide ranges such as color scales, frequencies and radii give finer control at small values.
Fractals placed small or off-center can be zoomed into as deeply as full-page ones, and layers can be placed at any zoom depth.
Small improvements: American spelling in the English interface, "Color scale" and the image scales up to 100, and "Scale" in the transform block as a number field.

Bug fixes

Timeline: the playhead sometimes refused to move when dragged.
Angle and rotation sliders could not be set exactly to zero.
Mandelbrot (deep zoom): zoomed far out, colored rings covered the empty space around the set. Existing projects may show a slight shift in the gradient.

New features

Video export: optional "Motion blur", also for animated PNG, with an adjustable "Length of the blur".
Transform: the new "Place in the view" button centers a layer in the current view at its starting size.

Improvements

Transform: the scale goes down to a ten-millionth instead of a tenth.
Mandelbrot (deep zoom): up to 100,000 iterations instead of 4,000, entered in a number field.
Export dialogs: after an export, the dialog shows the file written and how long it took, or that the export failed or was canceled.

Bug fixes

When the connection to the graphics card was lost, the picture froze without a message; the app now asks for a reload and restores the project.
Mandelbrot (deep zoom): offset, scale and rotation had no effect; the 3D rows are now dimmed with "No effect with deep zoom".
Formulas: a formula set on only one of two keyframes had no effect between them; it now fades in or out over that stretch.
Video export: a second export from the same dialog overwrote the previous file without asking.
Video export: the time estimate was missing when the dialog was opened shortly after the app started.

New features

The interface is available in English as well as German; the DE/EN switch beside the color scheme changes it instantly without losing any work. On a first visit, the browser's language is used.

Improvements

Numbers follow the interface language: 1,5 in German, 1.5 in English.
Corrected quotation marks in the German interface.

Bug fixes

Screen readers pronounced the German interface as English.

Bug fixes

Toolbox: the Text tool preview was barely visible in the light color scheme.

Improvements

Toolbox: the Image and Video tools show a preview instead of an empty square.

Bug fixes

Toolbar: the image export button was labeled "PNG" instead of "Image".

New features

Image export: JPEG and WebP as well as PNG; only formats the browser can actually write are offered.
Image export: "Copy to clipboard" copies the picture as PNG at the chosen resolution.
Image export: for JPEG, the dialog warns about transparent areas and shows the color they are filled with.
Image export: the destination can be chosen in the browser's save dialog.

Bug fixes

Image export: during playback or with an active formula, the exported image did not match the frame on screen.

New features

The application version is shown beside the title.

Improvements

Browser storage: media a project no longer uses are released at start-up.
Loading a picture is faster in projects with large embedded clips or music.

Bug fixes

With the editor open in two windows, saving in one deleted the pictures, clips and music of the other.
A removed soundtrack came back after a reload.

Bug fixes

Gradients: editing the stops of a picture gradient used by two layers replaced the picture with a black-to-white ramp.

Bug fixes

Music: a loaded track was missing after a reload. In older projects, loading the track again repairs this.
Very large sessions lost their music, duration and frame rate after a reload.

New features

Picture gradients: the transparency of the color stops now applies to the picture, so shapes can fade out at their edge as with Fire or Ice. Newly loaded pictures start with a soft edge.

Breaking changes

Picture gradients loaded before this version may now look partly transparent; setting their color stops to full opacity restores the earlier look.

Bug fixes

Fractals: zoomed far out, the outside turned pale yellow instead of staying transparent.

Bug fixes

Mandelbrot and Julia: the area outside the set was filled with color instead of staying transparent.

Improvements

Mandelbrot and Julia: the lighting is smooth to the pixel, without stair-stepped contour lines.

Bug fixes

Escape-time fractals: a faint step appeared at every color band edge, clearly visible with lighting. Colors in existing projects are now spaced more widely.

Bug fixes

Lighting: the relief changed with the "Display" setting, so exports could look different from the preview.
Lighting: hard, pixelated lines appeared along the edge of a set.

Improvements

Gradients: picture gradients appear in the gradient list like Fire or Ice, marked with a picture icon; "Load an image …" at the end of the list adds one.

Improvements

Fractals render faster without lighting and where much of the picture lies inside the set.

Bug fixes

At a "Display" resolution below 1×, dragging or zooming rendered at full resolution and was slow.

Improvements

Gradients: the button for loading a picture sits next to the gradient selector, shows the file name and has a button to return to the color stops.
The color stop editor is labeled "Edit color stops".

New features

Display: new ½× and ¼× preview resolutions keep heavy scenes responsive; exports are unaffected.
Lighting is available for Multibrot, Phoenix, Magnet, Sine Julia, Kali and Lyapunov as well.

Improvements

"Smooth + angle (2D)": the inspector explains that this coloring method needs a picture gradient and where to load one.

New features

New layer: "Flame IFS", the fractal flame, with fifteen variations, rotational symmetry and a "Seed" for new random forms.
New effect: "Log density" brings out faint detail in flames and particle attractors.

New features

Orbit trap: the orbit can be measured against a point, line, cross, ring or square of adjustable size ("Trap shape", "Trap size").
Escape-time fractals: a new "Lighting" setting shades the color bands as lit, rounded surfaces; it is off by default.

Bug fixes

Video export refused projects without keyframes; such projects now export with a note.
A project containing only a video clip could not be played, presented or exported.

Bug fixes

Video layers were silent when added; the volume now starts at full.
Pictures, clips and music were missing after a reload. In private windows or with a full disk, they still last only as long as the tab.

Bug fixes

Video layers: in exports, the sound did not follow an animated start time, speed, duration or volume.

Improvements

Particle layers draw slightly faster.

New features

Gradients: a picture can be loaded as a gradient; it is saved with the project, and removing it brings back the color stops.
Escape-time fractals: the new coloring method "Smooth + angle (2D)" uses the whole picture of a picture gradient.

New features

New effect: "Lighting" shades the picture as a relief, with adjustable light direction and elevation and the height taken from brightness or opacity.

New features

New "Present" button: plays the piece full-screen without any editing controls; Escape returns to the editor.

New features

Video export: the sound of video layers is included, mixed with the music.

Bug fixes

A video layer with "At end" set to "Fade out" kept playing its sound after disappearing.

Improvements

Video export is faster, especially at high resolutions.
Particle layers draw about a third faster.

Improvements

Video export: the destination is chosen in the browser's save dialog before rendering starts.
Video export: the dialog sums up format and sound in one line, such as "MP4 · H.264 · Sound: AAC".
Video export: all settings are locked while an export is running.

New features

New layers under "Media": "Image" and "Video" show a file from the computer and are saved with the project. Like any layer, they can be transformed in 3D, blended and masked.
Video layers: start time, duration, speed (negative plays backwards), volume, and what happens at the end: hold, loop or fade out.

New features

Music is saved inside the project and plays straight away when it is reopened, also on another computer; the panel shows the added file size.

Improvements

Saved projects no longer contain soundtracks that have been replaced.

Bug fixes

Ctrl+S saved the animation slightly differently from the "Save" button.

New features

Video export: MP4 and WebM are offered separately, each with its codec, and only if the browser can encode them.
Animation export: a "Transparency" switch keeps the alpha channel in animated PNG or fills transparent areas with the page background.

Improvements

Video export: the chosen format is always used; if it cannot carry the soundtrack, the dialog warns beforehand that the video will be silent.

Improvements

Five new gradients in new projects: Patina, Moss & Gold, Sepia & Ivory, Ember & Cyan and Peacock.

New features

Video export writes directly to a chosen file, so long, high-resolution videos no longer run out of memory.

Improvements

Video export: the dialog shows which format, codecs and sound embedding are actually used on this computer.
Video export: in browsers that cannot write files directly, the dialog warns when a video is likely to be too large.

Improvements

Numbers are shown in the browser's format, such as 1,5 on a German system; input fields and formulas are unchanged.

Bug fixes

Domain warp: the "Animation" slider moved the whole picture in a circle instead of animating the distortion. Projects that keyframed it now animate differently.

Improvements

Settings without effect in the chosen mode are dimmed, with a hint naming the setting that enables them.

New features

Posterise: colors can also be reduced in HSV or OkLCh, with separate levels for hue and saturation.

New features

New effect: "Halftone (color)" with CMYK, CMY, RGB or duotone inks whose dots form rosettes.

Bug fixes

Halftone: dots turned into squares in dark areas.

Bug fixes

Halftone: areas with small dots turned transparent instead of showing the paper color.
Background opacity: the slider jumped away from the pointer near zero.

Breaking changes

Halftone layers cover the page with their paper color; projects that relied on the old transparency need the paper color's alpha set to 0.

New features

New particle layers: Lorenz, Rössler, Thomas and Halvorsen attractors in 3D, which the layer's 3D tilt rotates.

Improvements

Particles: "Color by" offers "Depth".

Bug fixes

Toolbox: the pulse on previews still being drawn was barely visible.

Improvements

Toolbox: tool previews appear one by one as they are drawn, with a pulse on tiles still waiting.

New features

New layer: "Attractor particles" with the De Jong, Clifford and Svensson maps, whose coefficients can follow formulas.

New features

Formulas: position, scale, rotation, 3D tilt and depth can be driven by formulas; on a group, they move all its contents.

Improvements

A rotation driven by a formula can keep turning beyond the slider's range.

Bug fixes

Video export: an export started during playback left the music playing and the controls moving over a still picture.

Bug fixes

Video export could fail right at the start with a message about a module that could not be fetched.

New features

Formulas also work without keyframes.
Every numeric parameter can be driven by a formula, including whole numbers and single components of vectors and colors.

Improvements

Formula editor: the slider stays in place while typing, active formulas are visible at a glance, and the examples fit the parameter's range.

Bug fixes

Deleting a layer used as a mask made the masked layer disappear.
Timeline: pressing Del deleted the selected layer.

New features

Timeline: a section can be linked to a layer, which then appears only during that part of the song.

New features

Timeline: named sections whose edges snap to the beat grid.
Timeline: "In from here" and "Out from here" add or remove a layer for all following keyframes.

Bug fixes

Exported videos were silent although the dialog reported a soundtrack.
With a soundtrack loaded, ping-pong exports reversed while the preview did not; both now play forwards only.

New features

Music: a loaded audio file shows its waveform under the timeline, and keyframes snap to a tapped beat grid.
Formulas: any continuous parameter can follow the music, for example base + bass * 0.4.
Playback stays in sync with the music.
Video export includes the music.

Improvements

The export dialog estimates how long a render will take.

New features

First public release: a layer-based editor with 58 generators and 33 effects, groups with their own effects, eleven blend modes and three mask modes.
Deep-zoom Mandelbrot and six 3D fractals.
Keyframe animation with smooth camera zoom and pan, onion skin and ping-pong playback.
Export as PNG, animated PNG, MP4 or WebM video, and as a 300 dpi PDF at physical page sizes.
Gradient editor with transparent stops and a gradient library in the browser.
Light and dark theme following the system, and automatic saving of the working session in the browser.

Version history: Fractal Designer

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