Documentation
Aether Gates
20 procedural portals and dimensional rifts. Each gate is 6–11 separate parts, every part driven by Geometry Nodes and its own material, all steered by one controller. Blender 5.0 and newer, EEVEE & Cycles.
Compatibility
| Blender 5.0 |
Supported |
| Blender 5.1 |
Supported |
| Blender 5.2 |
Supported (built in 5.2) |
| Newer |
Supported |
In 5.0 and 5.1 Blender may say the file was saved in a newer version. That's normal, just continue. No add-ons, textures or images needed.
In the download
AetherGates.blend |
All 20 gates on a stage, with cameras, lights and glow. Gates, materials and Geometry Nodes are marked as assets. |
blender_assets.cats.txt |
Catalogs: Aether Gates / Gates, / Materials / NN Name, / Geometry Nodes
|
README.txt |
Quick start and the control list |
Quick start
| 1 |
Unzip the folder somewhere permanent. |
| 2 |
Edit > Preferences > File Paths > Asset Libraries, click + and pick that folder. Set Import Method to Append. |
| 3 |
Open an Asset Browser, choose the library, then Aether Gates > Gates. |
| 4 |
Drag a gate into the scene. In Adjust Last Operation turn Instance off so every part stays editable. Press play. |
Or just open AetherGates.blend: each gate has a Hero and a Three-Quarter camera, plus one showcase camera for all 20.
The controller
Every gate has one controller: the circle on the floor named AG_NN_Name. Select it and open Object Properties > Custom Properties. The same 18 controls on all 20 gates:
| Look |
Color A · Color B · Energy Intensity · Edge Glow · Master Visibility
|
| Motion |
Animation Speed · Portal Rotation Speed · Ring Rotation Speed · Particle Speed
|
| Interior |
Interior Distortion · Swirl Strength · Turbulence
|
| Life cycle |
Activation Progress (0 dormant, 1 open) · Deactivation Progress (0 running, 1 shut down) |
| Interaction |
Impact Strength, aimed with the AG_NN_Impact empty: ripples, pushed particles, glow |
| Other |
Overall Scale · Particle Density · Random Seed
|
The included animation is keyed on these properties. Delete the keys and set your own.
Animation
288 frames at 24 fps, marked on the timeline. Every gate has its own curves.
| 1 Activation |
The frame assembles, symbols ignite, particles gather, the interior forms. |
| 84 Idle |
Continuous rotation, flow, pulses and an impact ripple. |
| 168 Destabilization |
Energy rises, the interior turns turbulent, rings race. |
| 216 Deactivation |
The interior collapses, energy retracts, structures power down. |
Parts and node groups
Each part (outer ring, interior, particles, runes, tendrils...) is its own object. Its Geometry Nodes modifier holds shape, motion and build settings; its material holds the look, with an Intensity slider. Eight reusable GN systems build everything:
| AG Ring |
frames, halos, gears, polygons, segmented rings |
| AG Disc |
interiors, funnels, membranes, layered depth, impact ripples |
| AG Particles |
orbiting, spiralling, rising particles, sparks, grains |
| AG Fragments |
rocks, shards, panels, plates and orbs |
| AG Glyphs |
procedural rune circles and floating symbols |
| AG Tendrils |
roots, vines, veins, lightning, ribbons, flames |
| AG Crystals |
crystal spikes and fangs |
| AG Rays |
light blades, jets and petals |
Used on their own, the GN systems and materials still animate (Use Scene Time / frame driver).
Rendering
| Glow |
The compositor (Bloom + Fog Glow) is set up in the file. |
| EEVEE |
Works as is. Ray tracing is on for reflections. |
| Cycles |
Transparent bounces 32+. Distortion membranes refract for real in Cycles and shimmer in EEVEE. |
| One gate only |
Exclude the other gate collections in the Outliner for faster renders. |
The 20 gates
01 Astral Gateway
02 Rune Nexus
03 Celestial Sanctum
04 Verdant Passage
05 Blood Omen
06 Infernal Maw
07 Glacial Threshold
08 Thunder Rift
09 Abyssal Current
10 Dune Collapse | 11 Chrono Gate
12 Data Breach
13 Plasma Reactor
14 Mirror Dimension
15 Event Horizon
16 Nebula Bloom
17 Reality Fracture
18 Prism Rift
19 Wraith Passage
20 Living Singularity |
LarkLab
