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Gemini 4 Hydrogen3D Worlds & Ecosystems2026-11-12

Porto Astrolabio

Mediterranean Maritime Observatory, Tidal Clockwork Mill & Sailing Lagoon

01 / What Was Built

An interactive 3D Mediterranean coastal sanctuary centered around a sheltered horseshoe lagoon (r = 0..60 m hero zone inside a 360 m seamless ocean expanse, Sea Level Y = 0.00 m). Engineered by combining Image-to-3D (local on-device TripoSG), parametric CAD (build123d), Blender 5.2 rigged PBR bakes, CC0 Poly Haven 2K PBR textures & HDRIs, and real-time GLSL water, caustics, and sailing physics on Three.js r187.

02 / Creation Pipeline & Workflow

Engineered with Gemini 4 Hydrogen across four integrated pipelines: (1) Blender 5.2 + Cycles PBR for the travertine & whitewashed observatory rotunda (articulated azimuth dome, split shutters, cutaway sector, Zodiac floor mosaic, mahogany/brass refractor) and double-ended carvel-planked Barca cutter hull; (2) exact metric build123d B-Rep CAD + Cycles PBR for the equatorial refractor & orrery, 12 RPM dual-beam Fresnel beacon, 1.75× bevel/spur tidal clockwork mill drive, astrolabe, and harbor lanterns; (3) local on-device TripoSG image-to-3D + Blender watertight repair for stratified karst headland cliffs, the navigable Arco Azul sea-arch, ancient olive trunks, amphorae, coastal gulls, and spotted eagle ray; and (4) Three.js r187 WebGL2 HalfFloat AgX rendering with three-zone Beer–Lambert optical water, seabed/grotto vault caustics, 4-point Archimedes sailing physics, Dawn/Day/Golden/Night moods, and procedural spatial Web Audio.

03 / Scene, Simulation & Optical Highlights

  1. 01Scene & Scale: Metric +Y up world spanning a +11.5 m to +21.0 m western crown rotunda & Fresnel lighthouse beacon, +5.8 m to +10.8 m lime-stucco villa & wisteria-draped terrace linked by an arched stone viaduct, -2.8 m to +4.5 m tidal waterwheel mill & C-curved ashlar mole, and the navigable Arco Azul sea-arch (>= 9.5 m span, >= 8.2 m crown clearance).
  2. 02Live Simulation: 60 Hz deterministic fixed-step simulation driving 4-point Archimedes Gerstner wave buoyancy, points-of-sail polar aerodynamics (In Irons stall, heel, taut dynamic sheet rigging & Arco Azul navigation), a rotating 12 RPM dual-beam Fresnel beacon, a meshing 1.75x ratio tidal clockwork bevel/spur drive & crane, traveling wind across sails/awning/flora, banking gulls, schooling fish, and a gliding eagle ray.
  3. 03Optics & Rendering: HalfFloatType HDR pipeline with AgXToneMapping, 4096x4096 PCFSoftShadowMap, sky-baked PMREM IBL (uShowSunDisc = 0 during bake), selective bloom, thin-lens distance-faded DoF, three-zone Beer-Lambert optical water with chromatic seabed & shaded grotto vault caustics, lacy Kelvin V-wake, Night #1ef5d8 shoreline bioluminescence, and four distinct lighting moods (Dawn, Day, Golden, Night + 00:00–24:00 time scrubber).
  4. 04User Controls: Bottom bar (Sanctuary, Harbor & Vault, Terrace & Viaduct, Observatory & Mill, From Above, Sail), free OrbitControls zoom/drag-orbit/pan in all modes, WASD/Arrow manual sailing, [V] Chase / 1st-person Tiller Helm toggle, [H] Cinema mode, and Tune ↗ (popover="manual") for live Time, Wind, Chop, Caustics, Beacon Beam, Observatory Cutaway / Shutter, and procedural spatial Web Audio (Sound: Off/On + Sound Foghorn).
Three.jsWebGL2GLSLBlender 5.2build123d

04 / Element-by-Element Build Breakdown

Asset foundry provenance — CAD, Blender Cycles PBR, 3D-Gen, TSL/GLSL & procedural audio

Observatory Rotunda & Cutaway Dome
Blender 5.2 + Cycles PBR

Travertine & whitewashed masonry rotunda with DomeAzimuthPivot, split ShutterLeftPivot / ShutterRightPivot, CutawaySector, Zodiac mosaic floor, and interior mahogany/brass ObservatoryRefractorTube

Equatorial Refractor, Orrery, Fresnel Beacon, Astrolabe, Mill Clockwork & Lanterns
Parametric CAD (build123d) + Cycles PBR

Exact metric mechanical assemblies with clean gear teeth, sheave grooves, pulley blocks, external crane heel sheave, and 1.75x bevel/spur transmission ratio

Dual-Sail Barca Cutter & Terrace Furniture
Blender 5.2 + Cycles PBR

Double-ended carvel-planked hull (6.50 m x 2.10 m), flush interior frames/slatted floorboards synced to water shader cutout, slatted teak table/chairs, blown glass (IOR 1.52) lemon goblets

Karst Cliffs & Arco Azul Sea-Arch
Local TripoSG Pipeline + Blender Repair

Reconstructed locally on-device via the local TripoSG pipeline: UV-preserved stratified karst headland massifs, subdivided watertight Arco Azul sea-arch mesh (0 OBB intrusions), world-space triplanar limestone detail, and intertidal barnacle zone

Villa, Viaduct, Mole, Mill House & Coastal Flora/Wildlife
Blender + Local TripoSG Pipeline + Parametric Three.js

Reconstructed locally on-device via the local TripoSG pipeline: enclosed stucco villa w/ individual 3D Teja Árabe terracotta roof tiles & hinged louvered shutters, arched viaduct stairs, curved stone mole, smooth ovate flora + wisteria/bougainvillea pergola, Posidonia, gulls, fish schools, amphorae, and eagle ray

Optical Water, Sky, Clouds, Boat Physics & Spatial Audio
Three.js r187 + Custom GLSL + Web Audio

Three-zone Beer-Lambert water + seabed/vault caustics + breadcrumb wake + hull cutout shader; dynamic atmospheric sky/stars/Moon + layered clouds; polar sailing & Web Audio surf/wind/foghorn synth

Lighting & Surface Materials
CC0 Poly Haven HDRIs & 2K PBR Textures

Sky/env IBL calibration plus 2K AO/Diffuse/Roughness/ARM/Normal sets (cobblestone_floor_04, rustic_stone_wall_02, painted_plaster_wall, terracotta_floor_tiles, sandstone_cracks, coast_sand_rocks_02, wood_planks_dirt, bark_brown_02)

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