Caustics

Water-to-light ramp, 2-5 hex colors ordered dark to bright: first stops paint the deep pool floor, last stops paint the hot filament cores. Higher contrast between first and last = more dramatic glowing webs; low contrast = soft hazy water. Keep one hue family for realism (teal, violet, emerald) or end on near-white for sun-through-water sparkle.

Deepest shadow color that corners and the frame bottom sink into. Darker than the first palette color = stronger sense of depth; matching the host section color makes the effect melt into the page.

Opacity of the water body itself. 1 = full submerged scene with floor and depth grading; 0 = only the glowing caustic webs and ray shafts float transparently over the host section behind.

How fast the light webs dance and drift. Lower = serene, almost-still deep water; higher = lively shallow pool on a windy day. Above 1.2 starts to feel energetic rather than calm.

Density of the caustic network. Higher = many small tight cells (shallow sparkling water, busier texture); lower = few large languid cells (deep cathedral light, more restful and monumental).

Brightness of the light filaments. Higher = blazing white-hot webs that dominate the frame; lower = faint ghostly shimmer barely rising out of the depth. 0 removes the webs entirely, leaving only graded water.

Chromatic splitting of the filaments into subtle rainbow fringes, like real underwater light. Higher = visibly prismatic, jewel-like edges; 0 = clean monochrome light lines. Keep near default for realism, push high for an iridescent fantasy look.

Strength of the faint god-ray shafts slanting across the upper frame. Higher = visible cathedral light beams piercing the water; 0 = no shafts, pure floor caustics. They stay soft and never overpower the webs.

How deep the scene feels: drives the corner vignette, the dark-at-bottom grading, and how strongly an image floor is tinted and shadowed by the water. Higher = sunk in a deep pool with moody falloff; lower = flat, bright, shallow and evenly lit.

Organic distortion of the light network and refractive wobble of the floor image. Higher = drunker, more liquid meandering lines and a visibly swimming image; lower = calmer, more geometric web and a steadier floor.

Optional https image rendered as the submerged pool floor (cover-fit). It gets depth-tinted toward the palette, wobbles refractively, and the caustic webs dance on top with soft shadows between filaments. Leave empty for the procedural graded floor.

Strength of the cursor's water-lens ripple: expanding rings that warp the light web plus a soft local focusing of brightness. Higher = a clear interactive ripple following the pointer; 0 = fully off, pure ambient water. Idle always settles back to the exact ambient look.