osx and some idea

[mix]

Hi to all,
I'm back, with some idea for the development team ;)

First thing, as a osx user, I always wish to see sunlite work under mac. But this time I'm not requesting (would be awesome have a native version, but I imagine the problem with the various library u have used in the software)
This time I have a good news: sometimes I try your software in a wrapper software that use wine engine to execute windows software under mac-linux, called crossover. The last time I've tried, it was totally unusable, this time I've see that the software seam to work. I've tried many feature and the only one that have problem is the XY area, all the other part seam to work.
At the moment I haven't an interface, so could not test if the interface work (probably not). But I think that if the dev team work with the crossover team (http://www.codeweavers.com/services/), finally we can have sunlite under osx :D

And now, an idea that I have in mind from much time for sunlite, that can make it speeder for some lightjockey.
As a developer I'll try to explain in a developer view.
The idea come from the session view of ableton live, a music composition software.
In this window you can prepare loop of audio or midi content and arrange in a grid (a matrix). If you know how it work, go after the next paragraph.

You can trigger this content (called clip) clicking on them and they will start.
When you trigger a clip on the same column of a previous triggered one, it will stop the previous when start.
Every row of clip can be triggered with a trigger row command placed at the right of the row (all the clip in the row will start)
At the bottom of a column there's a stop button that stop the active clip on the column.
There's a stop all button that stop all the clip.
Every clip can be a loop or a once time content and the trigger action can be done in different mode:
Restart (on first trigger it start, if retriggered it restart the content)
Toggle (every time is pressed it switch between start and stop of the clip)
Momentary (the clip continue until you release it)

This is a panoramic view of how that work, now, how can it be integrated in sunlite?
I've think that in this way: it's a new window, like the console window, that a user can open.
The user can drag switch or scene from the normal sunlite page to this grid, and this grid only work as a luncher.
Every row became a scene, and you can combine element from different scene

So, why implement this?
I can list you some example of usage:
-let say I come in a new club with my sunlite. I've the list of the light and i create a series of page, one for light type, so i have the basic switch and scene for that light.
Now i wanna fast create some master scene that include all the light.
I have only to drag the switch i like on a row. Next i duplicate the row and change some switch.
If i use the column in the right way, probably i will have for example a "stage scanner color" column and i can switch from color to color while and other scene is running,
-let say i have to program a theatrical show.
Instead of have big scene button with all the step, i can have all the step as row, so i can have a visual feedback on what the next light scene will be with the clip name and simply move on the next row every time
-let say I'm during a show, running some scene from different page that I've created adding element, and i would save them, and reuse later. I can save it i a row, and even duplicate the row and made some variation to it on the fly adding switch to the row.

So this matrix can add more benefit to sunlite, like the ability to improvise and, probably a big one, the possibility to use in the right way many controller like the launchpad or apc 20/40, or monome, like many other audio and video software are doing (for example resolume for the video) or, if you make that like the fl studio version, it can use the touchscreen capability of windows 8.

This is a first implementation idea (i can be more technically if you need) but I've got two other implementation step:
The second step, very useful in club or live event, is to use the internal clock or music analyzed clock to make the clip (switch o scene) triggered in time:
When you trigger a clip it start in time with the clock. An advanced musical clock, with bar and beat would be awesome, 'couse in this way the light can be triggered for example a second before the start of a musical phrase and perfectly change at the musical bar change (it make huge effect when you completely change all the light, perfectly in time ;))
I know there's an internal clock, it only have to be powered up and there's the need of an option for any clip (and a global quantization option) the select in witch quantization time the clip will start when triggered (it can be none for example for flashing a key)

The third implementation step is make a second "motor" that take care of what clip are launched. This clip "overwrite" (following the ltp or htp settings) the current dmx value of other clip, without disabling it.
So you can stop all the current triggered clip with a particular button, an the previous value, created with the normal sunlite page come back.
So you can momentary overwrite all with different improvised scene, and than come back to the normality.
The dmx channel in the clip from the new window, completely overwrite the value from normal button, although a normal button is triggered after a clip (that's the hard thing, 'couse it require a sort of an other instance of the project that work above, with the same button, that if make an output, that output have the priority on the other instance output)

I've many other idea and implementation that come from this other (for example a teatral stepper mini panel that control the passage from the rows, triggering the clip, with an eventual crossfade) if your interested in it.

I've tried to explain the idea, sorry if it's confused, if you don't understand it, please, give a try to the ableton live and watch some tutorial on how to use it.

I think that your software can be the first one that can become the most dj friendly light software, with this feature, and permit to use many controller that are usefulness with the current console editor if sunlite (it's hard and long to map 64 key of a launchpad)

Thanks and sorry for the english mistakes ;)
Regards
Mix

[simonB]

Regarding Mac support, install Windows 7 on bootcamp. I do this on my mac and it works perfect. The OS has never crashed in 3 years.

Regarding the matrix view. This could be nice. I don't use Abelton but I do use Resolume and NI Maschine so I understand the concept. This would be a big feature to implement. We'll put on our ideas list for the future.