Orbit View and Navigation

Orbiter's web and standalone apps have two views: the Orbit view for ambient listening and the Instruments view for hands-on sound design.

Orbit View

The Orbit view is what you see when you first open Orbiter. It shows a planetary visualisation with orbiting planets around a central sun, rendered with flowing Perlin noise fields. This is a minimal, meditative entry point with no text or controls visible.

• Play — tap the sun at the centre of the screen to start playback
• Explore — tap anywhere outside the sun to reveal a bottom bar, then tap "Explore" to enter the Instruments view

The Orbit view is designed for ambient listening. Once playback starts, the planets orbit and the sound evolves on its own.

Instruments View

The Instruments view overlays controls onto the planetary backdrop. Here you can:

• Switch between the Handpan, Gong, and Sound Bowl
• Adjust each instrument's sound parameters (brightness, reverb, decay, volume, and more)
• Choose from factory presets for each instrument
• Select scales and tuning
• Control the generative sequencer
• Set a sleep timer
• Choose a scene preset (Sleepy, Calm, or Melodic)

Tap the close button to return to the Orbit view at any time. Your settings are preserved.

Audio Unit Plugin Mode

When running as an AUv3 Audio Unit extension on iOS, Orbiter skips the Orbit view and opens directly into the Instruments view. The sequencer is hidden in plugin mode since the host DAW controls transport.