Incorporating Noise into Boid Velocity Calculations

The issue you're encountering is likely related to type mismatches when trying to combine the noise value with your velocity calculations. The mx_noise_float function returns a scalar float value, but you need to properly incorporate it into your vector-based velocity calculation.

Here are some correct approaches to incorporate the noise value:

Option 1: Use noise as a speed multiplier

JAVASCRIPTCopied
// Generate noise value (returns a float between 0 and 1)
const noise = mx_noise_float(boid_pos.mul(time.div(100.).add(noise_offset)))
              .add(1.0)
              .div(2.0)
              .toVar();

// Use noise as a multiplier for speed variation
const velocity = boidSpeed.mul(noise).toVar();

// Apply velocity to position
boid_pos.addAssign(boid_dir.mul(velocity).mul(this._deltaTime));

Option 2: Use noise to influence direction

JAVASCRIPTCopied
// Generate noise value
const noise = mx_noise_float(boid_pos.mul(time.div(100.).add(noise_offset)))
              .add(1.0)
              .div(2.0)
              .toVar();

// Calculate base velocity
const baseVelocity = boidSpeed.mul(float(10).add(sin(time))).toVar();

// Create a noise-influenced direction vector
const noiseDirection = vec2(
  noise.sub(0.5).mul(2.0), // Map to range [-1, 1]
  noise.sub(0.5).mul(2.0)
).normalize().toVar();

// Blend original direction with noise direction
const blendFactor = float(0.2).toVar(); // Adjust this value to control noise influence
const blendedDir = boid_dir.mul(float(1.0).sub(blendFactor))
                   .add(noiseDirection.mul(blendFactor))
                   .normalize()
                   .toVar();

// Apply velocity with new direction
boid_pos.addAssign(blendedDir.mul(baseVelocity).mul(this._deltaTime));

Option 3: Add noise-based perturbation to velocity

JAVASCRIPTCopied
// Generate noise value
const noise = mx_noise_float(boid_pos.mul(time.div(100.).add(noise_offset)))
              .add(1.0)
              .div(2.0)
              .toVar();

// Map noise to a reasonable range for perturbation (e.g., -0.5 to 0.5)
const noiseFactor = noise.sub(0.5).toVar();

// Calculate base velocity
const baseVelocity = boidSpeed.mul(float(10).add(sin(time))).toVar();

// Add noise-based perturbation to velocity
const velocity = baseVelocity.add(noiseFactor.mul(2.0)).toVar();

// Apply velocity to position
boid_pos.addAssign(boid_dir.mul(velocity).mul(this._deltaTime));

The key is to ensure that the noise value is properly scaled and applied in a way that makes sense for your simulation. Since noise is a scalar value, you need to decide whether it should affect speed, direction, or both.