Simple chase.

[RobertB]

I just tried "Alt-dragging" a set of ON effects to create a chase.

While it worked, just like the video, I had two problems.

1.  My model has 23 nodes (it is a non-pixel Marty Fan) and I could only work with the first 11 nodes or the last 12 nodes, but not all 23. Wouldn't scroll down to select more nodes.

2.  If I "Alt-drag" too far (past my desired end point), it wouldn't let me go backwards.

Is this normal? Using latest version 4.1.13

Didn't try the backwards thing... but the #1 did for me as well.

[jeffl]

The alt-drag doesn't work for me (almost never). As I drag over it sit, then sometimes it moves.  Usually once I drag once I can't get it to move again.  At first I thought it was my machine but it sits idle during the process.   I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong or if it's just a windows thing.

[flyinverted]

If you set your effect size to the smallest timing mark size in the sequence ie 20/50/100MS, then you can't drag/stagger the effects.

Try placing effects on a timing mark that is 1 second long and then drag it for the stagger and it will work.


-Steve

[Gilrock]

Currently the alt-drag won't move until you pull it far enough that every effect you are pulling has at least a minimum timing interval between it and the last effect.  So if you have 10 effects and you have a 50ms sequence you gotta pull it over 500ms before it will move.  I struggled with how to handle this because the result is there are spots you can't stop at.  The problem is the effects aren't tied to each other so if I were to let you drop them anywhere I would need to round to the nearest interval which means sometimes 2 effects may align on the exact same timing which means once you drop it you would never be able to drag it back to where it started and still have them all aligned.

[RobertB]

Hey Gil,
Please forgive my stupidity ;-)  I am still just a newbie on this. Understand some of what you said, other parts I don' :-)
I tried one second timing marks.
Dropped in a "On" effect (one color).
I highlighted all 24 strings in the pixel tree and hit the "o" key to turn on everything in the one second time slot.
With it still highlighted I pushed down the "alt" key and left clicked on the right grab bar of the one second timing mark.
I dragged this out to 10 seconds (one time), 20 seconds another time and 40 seconds another time. I had timing marks set at one second intervals.
In all cases strings 1 to 6 would not drag out to the right. It stayed in the one second time slot while everything else moved o the right. Is this normal?

[jeffl]

Currently the alt-drag won't move until you pull it far enough that every effect you are pulling has at least a minimum timing interval between it and the last effect.  So if you have 10 effects and you have a 50ms sequence you gotta pull it over 500ms before it will move.  I struggled with how to handle this because the result is there are spots you can't stop at.  The problem is the effects aren't tied to each other so if I were to let you drop them anywhere I would need to round to the nearest interval which means sometimes 2 effects may align on the exact same timing which means once you drop it you would never be able to drag it back to where it started and still have them all aligned.

Would it be easier add something like LOR uses for chases?  Create a single effect, highlight the area to chase (forward or back ) and then hit a key to have it calculate the chase? 

[Gilrock]

I have no idea what you got going on unless I start seeing some video or a screenshot.  When you select a group to alt drag you should be grabbing the right edge of the bottom effect in the selection.  So when you said you grabbed the right bar of the second timing mark I gotta take a guess as to whether you are actually trying to grab a timing mark or whether you are on the effect.  Are you grabbing up in the timing mark row because that would be wrong.  Have you see an alt drag accomplished in any of our videos?

[Gilrock]

Currently the alt-drag won't move until you pull it far enough that every effect you are pulling has at least a minimum timing interval between it and the last effect.  So if you have 10 effects and you have a 50ms sequence you gotta pull it over 500ms before it will move.  I struggled with how to handle this because the result is there are spots you can't stop at.  The problem is the effects aren't tied to each other so if I were to let you drop them anywhere I would need to round to the nearest interval which means sometimes 2 effects may align on the exact same timing which means once you drop it you would never be able to drag it back to where it started and still have them all aligned.

Would it be easier add something like LOR uses for chases?  Create a single effect, highlight the area to chase (forward or back ) and then hit a key to have it calculate the chase?

I love software.  If this was hardware everyone would hate us if we copied a competitor.  In software everyone gets mad at us if we don't...lol.

[jeffl]

Currently the alt-drag won't move until you pull it far enough that every effect you are pulling has at least a minimum timing interval between it and the last effect.  So if you have 10 effects and you have a 50ms sequence you gotta pull it over 500ms before it will move.  I struggled with how to handle this because the result is there are spots you can't stop at.  The problem is the effects aren't tied to each other so if I were to let you drop them anywhere I would need to round to the nearest interval which means sometimes 2 effects may align on the exact same timing which means once you drop it you would never be able to drag it back to where it started and still have them all aligned.

Not mad.  I'm just hungry.  Stealing code is one thing.  Borrowing ideas with potential and making them better is something we all do everyday.

Would it be easier add something like LOR uses for chases?  Create a single effect, highlight the area to chase (forward or back ) and then hit a key to have it calculate the chase?

I love software.  If this was hardware everyone would hate us if we copied a competitor.  In software everyone gets mad at us if we don't...lol.

[RobertB]

Ok,
Yeah. It's still doing it and I see why. With 24 strings, you can't get that on one screen. You have to do "shift, click" in order to get everything. That works to get what is on the screen to move. However when you scroll back up to the 6 strings that are not showing, they do not move.

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[Gilrock]

Ok,
Yeah. It's still doing it and I see why. With 24 strings, you can't get that on one screen. You have to do "shift, click" in order to get everything. That works to get what is on the screen to move. However when you scroll back up to the 6 strings that are not showing, they do not move.

What's funny is now you gave me enough info I don't need a video.  Unfortunately all the underlying methods I use to move effects only operate on visible rows.  For now you'll either have to just do it in two phases or manually adjust things.

[RobertB]

Ok Gil,
Understand. I really appreciate what you guys have done and also how you put up with the newbies ;-)

Let me ask you this. I was actually testing out my PA in the bandroom today and had the 2014 version of the video I mentioned before. No music on my phone (to save space) but a couple of my Christmas light videos ;-) I noticed how much better the chase did with my pixel tree than it did with the incan mega tree. I generally try to match up some of my sweeps and chases with the simple chase function in LOR. Maybe there is a better way to what I have been doing???  So that really is my question. If you look at 2:07 you will see what I am talking about. The mini trees are dumb pixels (6ft, 4ft and 2ft ones). The larger tree to the left (10ft) is a pixel tree.  Better way of doing this???
https://youtu.be/G9mR2L8_pog

[Gilrock]

The video is only 2:07 long and that's where you told me to look.

[Phrog30]

Ok,
Yeah. It's still doing it and I see why. With 24 strings, you can't get that on one screen. You have to do "shift, click" in order to get everything. That works to get what is on the screen to move. However when you scroll back up to the 6 strings that are not showing, they do not move.

Do you have grid spacing set to small? If not, set to small and see if it will fit on the screen.

[RobertB]

Too funny Gil. Sorry about that ;-)
Long day yesterday. About 1:35 :-)

On the spacing. You can't change the vertical spacing. They were already pretty small. I do know that is how LOR fixes that issue when looking at a large group. However, I didn't make a side by side comparison. As I said, NC's is pretty small already.