Ripple Tank vs Flocking Simulator
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Ripple Tank
Explore wave phenomena with a realistic ripple tank simulation. Create and save your own experiments to visualize concepts like interference, diffraction, and refraction. Ideal for students and educators seeking an interactive learning tool.
- Wave generation with finger touch
- Demonstrates interference and diffraction
- Visualizes refraction and resonance
- Includes Doppler effect examples
- Create and save custom experiments
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A simulation of a ripple tank, or wave tank. Make waves with your finger, or view examples including such wave phenomena as interference, diffraction (single slit, double slit, etc.), refraction, resonance, and the Doppler effect. Create your own experiment and save it for future reference.
Flocking Simulator
Explore emergent behavior and steering rules with a "boids" simulation. Adjust forces like separation, alignment, and cohesion to create lifelike motion. Experiment with visual options and observe instant reactions to your changes.
- Adjustable flocking forces (separation, alignment, cohesion)
- Customizable perception radius, speed, and steering
- Visual options: boid shape, color modes, debug overlays
- Real-time swarm reaction to parameter changes
- Learning emergent behavior and steering rules
- Generative visuals and relaxing motion
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Flocking Simulator is a real-time “boids” playground where simple rules create surprisingly lifelike motion. Build your perfect swarm by adjusting the core forces: • Separation, Alignment, Cohesion • Perception radius, max speed, max steer • Drag (friction), noise (jitter), bias • Optional wall bouncing Visual options: • Triangle or circle boids • Color modes: Solid, Velocity, Rainbow • Debug overlays: vision radius, direction vectors, stats/FPS Great for: • Learning emergent behavior and steering rules • Generative visuals and relaxing motion • Quick experiments—change a slider and watch the swarm react instantly Note: Fast motion and bright colors may affect users sensitive to motion.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Flocking Simulator at Free against Ripple Tank's $5.99. Flocking Simulator also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.4). Ripple Tank's advantage is ratings volume (7 vs 2) and iOS requirement (7.0 vs 15.1). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Flocking Simulator is free to download; Ripple Tank costs $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Flocking Simulator holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 2 respectively.
| Parameter | Ripple Tank | Flocking Simulator |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $5.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.4 (7 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 85.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 7 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 7.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 43 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Falstad.com | Victor Rodriguez |
Customer experience
Ripple Tank
Flocking Simulator
In-app purchases
Ripple Tank
No in-app purchases
Flocking Simulator
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Ripple Tank free?
Is Flocking Simulator free?
Which has better reviews, Ripple Tank or Flocking Simulator?
Do Ripple Tank or Flocking Simulator have ads?
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