wow!!
it looks really nice!!!!
thanks for the code, I'm going to have a look at it right now

Hmm, not sure what you mean.  If you are asking if I could put the applets up to be viewed in a browser, I cannot (i think) because they use openGL for the rendering.  If this isn't what you mean, then talk me through it.  

And yes, these were user controlled.  Mouse click and drag creates a ripple point.  And yeah, these are rather wave-like, but for the actual program, the waveheight multiplier is toned down a bit so they seem more like ripples than rogue waves.

Looks great, flight.  

I was really in to waves for awhile, and wrote a bunch of simulations based on a similar type of algorithm to what you're using.  Sorry if I've posted these already in the past!

The full "educational" applet:
http://web.mit.edu/mdanzig/www/waves2d.htm

Some variations:
http://web.mit.edu/mdanzig/www/rings.htm ,
http://web.mit.edu/mdanzig/www/field.htm

A Shockwave3D version (warning, this one can be kind of flakey, and will definitely hose browsers on a Mac, for reasons I've never quite figured out):
http://web.mit.edu/mdanzig/www/sw_waves.htm

I can probably dig up the source code if you're interested, but I think I did these in 0068 or something, so it won't be up to date.  I also had a 3d version of the Processing ones, but I think the source was lost when my laptop was stolen awhile back (bastards!).  

In any case, yours looks much better.  I really like the lighting effects you've added!  Have you tried taking 8 samples at each point, rather than 4?  I found that smoothed mine out quite a bit.  Also, what I found really great about this algorithm is that reflections/diffraction/interference falls right out of it when you start adding "walls" (see the first one I posted for an example).  Basically you just fix the positions of elements that are flagged as walls, and the waves will bounce right off them... good times.

Anyways, great work!

-mike
 
ps.  just started visiting this site again after an extended absence, and I'm really impressed with the new versions of Processing.  The OpenGL stuff is great, and everything seems much faster in general.  Good work, everyone!

Well, the way I did the refraction stuff is a total hack, and not based on any real physics.  Basically, I have the "wave field" superimposed over the background image, and use it like a shader or something to modify the pixels that get drawn underneath it.  For the refraction effect, at each pixel I look at the magnitude of the wave field at that point, and calculate a new pixel from the original image to draw, based on a pre-set bias direction.  

So for example, if I'm trying to decide what pixel to draw under the field at (i,j), I look at the magnitude of the field at that point and calculate a pixel offset in the background image.  I think for the ones I linked up there it's just something like (i+offsetx, j+offsety) where offsetx and offsety are just integers proportional to the magnitude of the wave at (i,j).

This gives a kind of fake refraction effect, since the pixels that get drawn in an area with a big wave are from pixels in the backround image that are far to the upper left or lower right of the pixels in question.  Heh, sorry if that was a bad explanation.

-mike