Hi everyone!
We’re burning through the year at quite an alarming rate, but I’ve been working extremely hard. I’m mostly on refinements, bug fixes and user guide writing, but I’ve also spent time making some test code for Ether Dreams.
User guide
Still working on this a little a time, progress is slow but consistent. It’s just a huge undertaking! I have now completed the top 3 requested chapters from the poll, and I’m working on the 4th. Since the last update I’ve completed :
- Graphics and canvas system
- MIDI send / receive
- Organising your clip deck
- Clip editor Fundamentals, Creators, and Oscillators
Sometimes when I’m writing I’ll realise that something is confusing, so I’ll write it how I want it to be rather than how it is. So then I have to actually code it up so it matches the user guide! It’s actually really effective and can be a time saver. But you may notice some inconsistencies, which will be resolved in the next release, which I hope to do in the next week or two.
SVG import and sequences
I’ve undertaken a major overhaul of the SVG import to give you the best chance of success :
- Use fills as masks
Any filled shapes in the SVG will now appear as a mask, covering over content underneath - Add outlines to filled shapes
Often users would get confused as to why nothing was appearing and sometimes this would be because there are no outlines on anything. This setting converts fills to outlines. - Invert black lines
Another reason why you wouldn’t see anything is because everything is black. This option changes them to white.
These three options are automatically enabled if you need them to see your graphics. And this available on both the Shape Creator and the Anim Creator.
Node refinements and fixes
There’s been a lot of tidying up in the oscillator nodes, re-ordering settings, changing terminology and adding hover info boxes to help make things clearer. I’ve changed :
- speed to duration
- min value / max value becomes range min and range max
- Square wave pulse mod becomes pulse width
- Sawtooth wave circular becomes cylic range compensation and is disabled unless steps is enabled.
I’ve also added a “random” noise option to the Noise Oscillator for those who prefer extra chaos compared to the more organic default Simplex noise.
The Sound input settings are now clearer with a cute visualiser bar that shows the current level and how the gate and limit settings affect it.
Ether Dream tests
I’ve designed a test app to verify that Ether Dreams work how they’re meant to. It’s extremely difficult and time consuming work but it’s highlighted some inconsistencies with how the different ED versions work, and it’s been instrumental in making the DAC code more solid.
Shows
I’m doing an installation of Polaris at a light festival in Sussex at the end of February. This will be a great chance to test out the Laser Cube protocol in a live environment. If you wanna come let me know!
Next release
Hopefully mid Feb.
Zoom call
Kinda tricky to get my head into communicating with humans but I’ll aim to book this in for the next release.
Thanks everyone for your continuing support!
Seb