Dynamic Graphic Range Control

Dynamic Graphic Range Control (DGRC)

This is one of the hottest ideas I have come up with if I do say so myself. I must say that I think it would be phenomenal as far as providing easier control with less eventing.

If you are familiar with Photoshop then you have already seen what this looks like, though it is for a different purpose.

This object looks/works like this:

When you run the setup, it has a window with:

- A time range, (maybe hours, minutes, seconds ala MMF timer)

- Possibly a x,y to x,y range for the control to function within a range of movement.

- A range to control like: 0 to 128, etc.

- A graph that allows you to draw straight or curved lines.

Possibly a way to set the baseline. When you are creating rotations, for instance, you might want 0 in the middle, rather than the bottom, so that you can rotate clockwise/counter clockwise. There may also be situations where you want positive/negative numbers generated.

There are then the conditions/expressions/actions to go with it. Looping and ping-pong would be good options. Of course, actions would include: play/start, pause, reverse. Speed might be controllable and you could set all the timing and such from actions, as well.

Examples:

I want to set the transparency of an object to go simply from opaque to transparent over a specific time. I draw a straight line, (two points) from one corner to another. I can have it go from opaque to transparent, or have two lines that take it from opaque to transparent to opaque again. This would eb great for having a picture flash in and out of view, or fade-in/out with a throbbing effect, etc.

I want to rotate an object in complex ways. I set the range from 0 to 360. I could draw straight lines or curves so that the rotation will go from one degree to another then back with flexiblity.

I could also use this for varying speed and other variables by simple setting an object's action to this object, (as per the PhazziX).

You could also load preset curves for ease-of-use and save ones that you have drawn.

Finally, it would be nice to have this object able to popup during runtime for realtime manipulation of the created curve, but that is optional. That might create some extra work/control to make it useful.

This is something we could contract if someone wanted to take a shot at it. Of course, that is, if you see the potential here.

I thought about something like this the while ago.

However, I don't think we can change the rotation angle of an active object from an extension, can we?

Oh unless this thing just comes up with numbers and there is an "on update" condition which lets us change it ourselves? In which case it wouldn't be too hard to make either.

I don't know about that. I would hope that scale and angle could be accessed and controlled by extensions, but I guess we would have to find out.

I think your second post is closer to the mark, actually. Yes, you would simply set whatever object settings you want to control to what this object puts out. In fact, wouldn't it be more flexible for various objects, this way?

It would be nice to be able to "assign" an object to this one and then control each aspect as desired, but that is not absolutely necessary.

I am glad you see the potential here. It came to me while I was thinking about settings for ActiveObject+. This would be a better, and more flexible, way to control these things and being able to save graphs and load them would be kind of like custom movements are for moving objects, methinks. Lots of time, tweaking, events, actions saved.

Also, it is even compatible with FDD ideas because you could use this object and "trigger" it to start when you wanted it to, but have the rest of the process result automatically. Just thinking.

So, are you familiar with the graphical aspect of this, (as per Photoshop, etc.) and is that something you can pull off? It would be really great and another innovation!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jax

However, I don't think we can change the rotation angle of an active object from an extension, can we?

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Well, I'm doing it in the phizix object when actives are attached to physic bodies...

Really? I mean the "Set angle", not the animation direction. I know setting the animation direction is possible.

Yep, setting the angle!...

This is my code, although it has changed in the HWA release...

obj->roc.rcAngle = (long)ang;

Also don't forget to flag the active for update...

obj->roc.rcChanged = true;

Crazy!

Well, fine then! This is entirely possible. FDD will probably have features like this then, but if anybody wants to do it before then, that's fine.

Remember we do have the problem that right now objects can not be listed at edit-time though.

>Remember we do have the problem that right now objects can not be listed at edit-time though.

Can you fill me in more on what that implies for extensions? Can that issue be addressed in future versions?

Thanks.

It'd just mean you'd have to choose the object at run-time, not edit time. Or you'd have to write in its name.

- Jack

I see. Not a big deal, then.

I'm rather excited about the potential for this one. It fits right in with the simplicity idea of using MMF2 and takes the PhazziX idea, (Still very useful) several steps forward.

I assume we would have start, stop, pause, reverse, and looping. Looping would probably have two types, ey? The first type loops around from end to the start. The second loops by going back and forth.

Again, I think the potentials are good for scale and angle as well as being able to curve, stutter, retrograde, etc. speed settings, transparency, you name it. So, I would imagine that even if you could control a specific attribute in an object, having raw numbers available in slots would allow this to apply to any circumstance.

Coolness all around!

Has PhazziX been released yet? It makes sense to me for it to be part of this, really.

Not yet that I know of. I think z33z is on some other stuff right now.

I mean, I have used it in experiments and I still prefer it to manually eventing phases like that, (more flexible and easily alterable with better readability) but there is a certain degree of complexity that does detract from the ease-of-use factor.

I think we all see that drawing the effect, (and using and saving presets) will make for a more visual and simple way to do this. Of course, we will see if I am right when we have something to play with ;)