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erv
10-28-2009, 12:44 AM
checking the previous thread to extract important feature requests :

* Including a software volume control or setting (other than the vol POT itself)
* New architecture for v5... departing from the v2,3,4 a bit
* More boards available overall, more often (hopefully!).
* less parts, smaller board, easier to built (for me)
* Some different parts removed; another better one to replace them
* Overall cost NOT increased
* Increasing the current to 2000mA
* maximum backward capacilities
* enhanced sound quality + louder
* Allowing the flicker options to affect poweron and poweroff (power on flicker is already there). Options to enable or disable those fx
* probably a sound fx config file and a specific led config file, we'll see
* new audio engine (my problem) - more efficient
* wav support (works for a year when I initially planned V5 but... no time). Doesn't change anything from the reading of the sound files actually since WAV = 95% RAW
* more accent LEDs (multi purpose)
* option do get the accent LEDs go crazy during lockup => use an altleds.txt sequence just like on my chestbox controller or blaster core. If altleds.txt, lockup doesn't
affect accent led sequencing, hence no additionnal parameter is needed.
* improved safety for the board with optionnal settings depending if you target absolute newbie proof or extended performance
* more gesture recognition
* more sound slots. Maybe, like 4 power on sounds for instance.
* nova mute-on-da-go proposal to temporarly mute the saber instead of jumping in a muted sound font
* separate accelerometer with mini daughter board : NO
* separate SD card on mini daughter board : NO. (for both it's been proved you can fit CF in tiny spaces, you don't need that. Engineer a little bit your saber instead of asking CF to self adapt to any situation. It's already pretty "adaptable".
* enhanced clash flash WITH flickering and shimmering during clash / lockup with separate timings from the luxeon (ideal for creating even more chaotic fx and contre point)
* pre scan to find automatically how many files to use : probably not. I'm not convinced of that. Fixed sound fonts would be easier to handle for everyone.
* RGB *mixing*. NO. I'd need 3 current regulator that will NEVER FIT. You guys want rainbow sabers, cool. CF isn't just PWM dimming / chopping voltage to the led, it's a complete servoing system. The current RGB selection system will probably remain, maybe extended to 4 dices control so that the great ledengin leds could be used to their full potential. As for on board PE, no neither, there are probably like less than 1% of people wanting a color changing saber and I don't want to increase the size of the board for that. If you need the feature, you'll need to wire up external PEs somewhere in the hilt.
* 25V support : no. I tested many things and stepping down from high voltage to the core voltage of CF is an issue. It generate a lot of useless heat. I prefer to improve the current if can generate so that the 2 cell setup remains the best solution for everyone instead of wiring dices in serie. V5 will be compatible with at least 12 / 13V and won't feat a 3 cell setup anyway.
* more switch options. I got a request to add the ultrasound delayed power off to handle poor switches with a lot of bouncing. APOP handles that already and I'm not fully conviced but why not.
* ramp up fx timing : param to select if matching the power on sound duration, or custom duration. Extension of the "quick on" current param.
* same for the power off I suppose.
* a param to define if gesture recognition starts immediatly if ramp up time < poweron sound length
* separate gesture detection "rate & flow" from the visual fx. Right now, the clash rate is limited by the shimmer duration. It's convenient for user's BUT... to be accurate, shimmer clash is one thing, and clash gesture is something else. User might like a very speedy sequence of clashes even if the shimmer fx of each clash is interrupted. Another parameter like a the "swing" one that limits the swing rate (I'm sorry, my motion regognition algo is "too" fast ;) ).
* multiple power on with saber orientation selection (3 sounds)
* multiple power off with saber movement/idle selection (2 sounds)
* Press & release aux = entering blaster mode. Further swings = more Blasters. Wait for the end of a blaster sound OR clash interrupt blaster mode

pretty good as a start, isn't it ? Many of those are in the burner for a year. But House Shot First :mrgreen:

Malaki Skywalker
10-28-2009, 01:15 AM
I think that covers just about everything *Mouth waters*

Only other thing I can think of is for Accent LED bar graphs getting the option to go crazy during a lock up sequence to represent the Saber is taking some serious stick

Cheers Erv' :cool:

ARKM
10-28-2009, 01:23 AM
Support for stereo playback of stereo RAW (or WAV) files and, of course, 2 speaker outputs on the board. One for the left channel and one for the right. No I'm not kidding.

I don't see much use for it in the saber building/using community so I know it's impractical and most likely will never happen.... but I have a use for it, thus the request. :D

H@rrY89
10-28-2009, 01:29 AM
I've Discussed this idea with Malaki and It is a Feature that I would absolutley love to see in the next CF Version.

I was talking to my dad one day about how the lightsabers in star wars always seem to have different ignitions. We threw a few theories at each other and we came up with this:

The Theory we have is that when a Lightsaber is held at different angles it affects the ignition sound of the saber.

The way we came up with the theory is from Episode III. Anakin uses his saber throughout the move and the ignition sounds are relitivley the same. Then he goes to Jedi Temple to kill off the remining Jedi and his saber has a Sith like Ignition. Now most people would claim it's to add to the tension of the scene which it does very well, but what if it were the lightsaber itself that causes the sound.

So My Idea is called Angular Ignition.

When the saber is in idle mode the accel is still on, instead of one "saberoff" setting you have maybe 2 or 3 instead that corrorspond with some angles. How many angles is up to Erv of course but lets say he uses three angles:

90 Degree

180 Degree

-90 Degree

Here is how the ignition works:

90 Degree = saberon1

180 Degree = saberon2

-90 Degree = saberon3

Anything in between you can still have a basic ignition e.g. saberon.

Anywho, thats just my idea. Hope you Like it Erv. It would be an honor to see this feature on CF v5 :)

Onli-Won Kanomi
10-28-2009, 01:38 AM
Sounds great...especially if "smaller board" means narrower rather than shorter...12-13V YAY!...and best of all: "More boards available overall, more often (hopefully!)" :-)

Novastar
10-28-2009, 01:43 AM
Arkm, I hate to be aggressively negative, but... that is a very stupid idea then. It's the kind of idea that (AGAIN) is asking CF to "bend to the will of 1%"... or in this case... far LESS than 1% of users.

Your request would be best as a private message/project for Erv and you to work out on your own, versus ask for such an option to be forced upon the board. Stereophonic output is not as simple as "adding another channel". It complicates things quite a bit, for the record...

Now that THAT is out of the way... Erv... I think you covered SO many things, it shows the sheer dedication you have to everyone! Picking through every comment, remembering all the "requested" stuff... awesome!

The only thing I could add for now:

* Vib Motor pad... and/or some kind of option to do this through the LED pads. But then again, I think we've discussed this privately... to have a pad that reacts on parameters such as:

~ on clash = motor spins
~ on lockup = " " "
~ on hum = " " "

...this sort of thing. I suppose I am modifying what I initially proposed, but things could be 0-xxx, where 0=no motor spinning upon the event, and as xxx changes, the motor is more drastically vibrating. Max # is irrelevant so long as you get a value that suits a nice ramping. Maybe 0-256. So... something like:

clash_vib= 128
lock_vib=256
hum_vib=64

...would yield strongest/crazy vibrations on lockup, and weakest/normal ones on hum, etc. Maybe a "pulsing" factor could be introduced, or something to figure into the way the blade current behaves would help the motor to be less "static" when it WAS on.

*WHEW* That was a mouthful, but... I think it makes things pretty nice if a motor was present (motor.txt???)... :)

Novastar
10-28-2009, 01:46 AM
...The Theory we have is that when a Lightsaber is held at different angles it affects the ignition sound of the saber. So My Idea is called "Angular Ignition".

...90 Degree = saberon1, 180 Degree = saberon2, -90 Degree = saberon3

Anything in between you can still have a basic ignition e.g. saberon.

Anywho, thats just my idea. Hope you Like it Erv. It would be an honor to see this feature on CF v5 :)

BRILLIANT IDEA, HARRY!!! THAT ONE IS ONE IN A MILLION!!! :) That would really make great use of the "random" sounds being more oriented to the motion detection... good job!

erv
10-28-2009, 02:29 AM
seconded. I love it. The angular measurement is already used for pitch shifting and that's a great selection technique for an ignition sound. I'll add it to the list of features. Plus it's easy to make.
thanks for that brillant contribution. Let me reformulate it by inverting the angular mapping to the file # and let me call dibs on that reverse angular power on selection or RAPOS. You'll get a free cardboard CF for your idea ;)

more seriously. I love it (bis, adlib).

As for the motor pad, it will require a power xtender and a resistor, or I'll need to provide a specific motor. That's not as generic as expected. But at least the control pad could be here. The motor.txt isn't a bad idea per say. However, you need to consider :
- vibrating motors have a slow startup, and for a reaction to a clash, you'll never really feel their vibration, most of the sensation being visual and the physical smack of the blade.
- I do like the possibility to define how the motor should pulse
- however (again) so far a pulsing vibration is possible with wiring the motor as a mirror of the luxeon

I'm not sending the idea to the trash, I'm trying to see how current setup could be adapted and I don't want to add too much pads or dedicated things.

stereo / sound mixing. I already designed something but it adds more parts and doesn't increase the ease of use. It then adds even more complexity to the dynamic mixing level of the sound fonts. Add a fader on the hum over fx, people will ask for faders on individual fx, I see it coming. We end with audio enginneer skills to make sound fonts, plus it depends so much on the speaker and setup.

I'm honnestly still very happy of the premixed sound font, the way I initially implemented it back in 2005. That's with some true audio experience and background that I found how to properly play the files with the illusion the module is polyphonic. Some people still think that it's difficult to make a soundfont because it's about the RAW. Nope, it's about general understanding of digital audio, spectrum and DSP. And having some hear of course.
I've heard other things like "I'm working on that font with protools". LOL, same idea as saying you using a CNC so you'll end with a brillant result. Unfortunatly no. I could have an Ibanez JS sig edition, I'll still be playing satriani's music like a *smelly brown material*. And give JS an aria pro II and he'll make you cry.
Using big words like CNC, CAD program, 3D, RPM (rapid prototyping machines), or ProTools will not create your skills from nothing. Novastar is using movie smucker and goldwave, just like I do. I use SoundForge too cause it can do batch processing & conversion, it's just about "faster", not "better".

saber building hobby requires, as I've said many times, a lot of cummulated layers of skills. You feel lost about wiring a CF, make soundfonts, choose the right optics and blades, luxeon binning ? that's normal.

ARKM
10-28-2009, 03:08 AM
Arkm, I hate to be aggressively negative, but... that is a very stupid idea then. It's the kind of idea that (AGAIN) is asking CF to "bend to the will of 1%"... or in this case... far LESS than 1% of users.

Your request would be best as a private message/project for Erv and you to work out on your own, versus ask for such an option to be forced upon the board. Stereophonic output is not as simple as "adding another channel". It complicates things quite a bit, for the record...

I are not stoopeed! *grunt*

Thus why I said...
"I don't see much use for it in the saber building/using community so I know it's impractical and most likely will never happen (EDIT: <that part meaning that if it did happen, it wouldn't be just because one person, like me for example, asked for it)... but I have a use for it, thus the request."

In other words, I knew it was unrealistic and that it would never happen. My request, while a possible useful option for me, was for the most part, a joke. Sure, I'd like to see it (thus why I stated "No. I'm, not kidding.") but I realize that for many good, valid reasons, I most likely never will.

I would never ask someone to bend to my will so I'm guessing you were using that phrase figuratively. Asking someone to "bend to their will" would be making a demand, not a request. As I'm sure you know, there is quite a difference in meaning between the words "request" and "demand". A request is just that, a request... no matter how outlandish or impractical... and just to be clear, I was making a request.

Anywho, while I have yet to experience a CF in person, I have seen/heard them on the net as well as read the testimonials. From everything I've seen/heard, the CF is by far the best saber board on the market and is an excellent product. I hope to someday get my hands on one to experience it in person... and sell it in a hilt for tons of money if possible. Hey, at least I'm honest. :) That said, thank you Erv for making such a fine product and "catering" to us Star Wars/lightsaber fans... and thanks Nova, for making sound fonts and youtube videos that demonstrate what this wonderful product can do... show off. ;)

Malaki Skywalker
10-28-2009, 04:33 AM
Woohoo! Glad you shared it Harry and even better, its being implemented! All those conversations and its the real thing! :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:

Congrats mate!

cardcollector
10-28-2009, 07:40 AM
Would it be possible to have two sounds running at the same time?

Like, the regular saber sound and then a programmable song in the Background?

Anatim
10-28-2009, 07:41 AM
I like Harry's idea a lot!
What about if you use an analogical thing for the poweroff:
fast movement + poweroff = short poweroff
no movement + poweroff = normal poweroff

Clockwork
10-28-2009, 08:14 AM
* more switch options. I got a request to add the ultrasound delayed power off to handle poor switches with a lot of bouncing. APOP handles that already and I'm not fully conviced but why not.


Perhaps instead of a poweron switch and a aux switch, it could be simply switch 1 and switch 2, and a configuration file could set the parameters. That way if people wanted it to act similar to an ultrasound (I agree with Erv, I don't understand why) they could just use the Ultrasound switch.conf.

erv
10-28-2009, 11:11 AM
Would it be possible to have two sounds running at the same time?
Like, the regular saber sound and then a programmable song in the Background?


http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showpost.php?p=150175&postcount=8
It's not going to be a smooth roadmap if people don't read what I post.


anatim : indeed , totally possible ! I can still measure gesture just prior the power off. However, it won't be motion recognition per say, Just define a threshold somewhere and select on the fly which power off to play. 3 power on, 2 poweroff. Novastar is gonna eat me for dinner.

switch1/2 : not bad. I'm just afraid to confuse people even more in the wiring with no "functionnal identity" for the switches. You're excused, you've been in the rfx project for a while, correct ? (no pun or jk intended, it's a usual issue with open hardware)

FenderBender
10-28-2009, 11:26 AM
The motion acuated poweron/off fonts is brilliant.




Also, what the hell is wrong with an Aria Pro II? I bought one for 5 bucks in mint condition and I can melt face with it. It rocks:D

Invisas1979
10-28-2009, 11:57 AM
Ok so this may sound stupid but it is a serious question regarding a sound font.
Would it be possible to have a stun gun sound that works with the clash/flash????

I've got some parts going on my new saber which in RP could work quite like a stun, if the saber were wired that way.

Not all jedi like to use the force to incapacitate a foe, especially when stealth and a stun function would be great.

Re Harry's idea. Spot on. I like the idea of a multi directional ignition too, even energy should sound different traveling in a different direction.

acerocket
10-28-2009, 12:31 PM
I'd like to see a feature where I can throw a CF in a box of parts and it will build itself a saber to hosue it.

In all seriousness, Erv, you are a king among men. I can't recall many small business' that take customer input so serious. I applaud you for all the work you have done and are planning on doing.

My only request (and it's kind of addressed in your list) is that I would love a form factor that fits inside a 1" bore. I would even be willing to sacrifice a little width for added length in need be. Smaller is better, but I doubt you can get it to .75" wide and 1" long.;)

DJMoonbass
10-28-2009, 01:31 PM
I've heard other things like "I'm working on that font with protools". LOL, same idea as saying you using a CNC so you'll end with a brillant result. Unfortunatly no. I could have an Ibanez JS sig edition, I'll still be playing satriani's music like a *smelly brown material*. And give JS an aria pro II and he'll make you cry.
Using big words like CNC, CAD program, 3D, RPM (rapid prototyping machines), or ProTools will not create your skills from nothing. Novastar is using movie smucker and goldwave, just like I do. I use SoundForge too cause it can do batch processing & conversion, it's just about "faster", not "better".

saber building hobby requires, as I've said many times, a lot of cummulated layers of skills. You feel lost about wiring a CF, make soundfonts, choose the right optics and blades, luxeon binning ? that's normal.


oh i can do it, did i say it would be easy? NO i did not. but i work in the midi lab and recording studio at my college all the time, pretty much everyday. protools is one of multiple programs i like to work with, protools is my personal favorite because it is user friendly. will i fail the first time? absolutley... will i give up? no i wont. why? because i know i can make it. i dont deny that i have a ton of things to learn about audio. yes i have a TON. my knowledge is noob compared to nova. But i have people that can help me with the proper settings to make it work. you dont need to doubt my skill when you dont even know what skills i do and dont have. and to put it in text i will probably never be as good as nova but all the same i do look up to him as an inspirational person in the audio world, im not mad or anything i just want to make things clear.;) and i never said it was a font. just an activation sound. fonts are, im sure, more complicated.

that was long

as for the CF v5. im not making any suggestions because i know nothing of the CF but i have to say that h@rrys idea was brilliant. way to go. and erv this board is going to be awesome. once again you amaze me.;)

Onli-Won Kanomi
10-28-2009, 02:21 PM
My only request (and it's kind of addressed in your list) is that I would love a form factor that fits inside a 1" bore. I would even be willing to sacrifice a little width for added length in need be. Smaller is better, but I doubt you can get it to .75" wide and 1" long.;)

Thats kinda what I meant hoping "smaller" meant narrower not shorter Ace...if Erv had to INCREASE board length to 3", 4" or more but could reduce width to 3/4" by doing so there would be some awesome sound possibilities for certain *coughKorbanthSithPlanetParkscough* hilts and other NARROW inside but plenty LONG hilts...if CF components would allow such a layout that is...just a thought...

erv
10-28-2009, 02:28 PM
Also, what the hell is wrong with an Aria Pro II? I bought one for 5 bucks in mint condition and I can melt face with it. It rocks:D

nothing... it's just that I've heard a lot of people saying oh... that's what you have, sorry. Just like I said, Some people believe you can't do great things with something that is cheap or doesn't have the "reputation" of a big brand.
Myself I don't own one. I just deserve a squier :mrgreen:

DJ : so what I said sent some echo ? then don't turn off the sonar. Be aware that you can't drop Burk in the Ocean without getting some tides and waves. If you feel wet, it's normal. Don't panic. Get a towel.
Now get back and read what you wrote. I don't think most of us post here saying "here's my uber cool custom rainbow saber I designed last night". Checkout build logs. FACTS + FEATURES + TECHNIQUES.
Simplicity is elegant. Go to the point. Post about your actual work. Not what you plan to do at school during the coffee break.
As for protools being user friendly, I'll pass that one to our sound engineers. That's a good one.
Indeed, that was long.

FenderBender
10-28-2009, 02:51 PM
Protools is as user friendly as a spiked suppository wrapped in sandpaper.

killphil
10-28-2009, 03:02 PM
What about different sensitivity values for the swings? There could be 3 or 4 different values and one could designate any one of the values to any of the 8 swings.

The result I have in mind, would be to get the lighter sounding swings on simple gestures, the medium swings on an average gesture, and the more intense or even double swings could only be activated when spinning the saber or extremely intense swings.

It would take more time for the end user to get it configured just right (don't want the spinning double swing sounds on the most simple gesture), but the end result would be that much more of a lifelike experience.

Could that be done?

grayven
10-28-2009, 03:15 PM
That's already there. Killphil.

rand [0-2]: set the selection mode for reading the clash and swing sounds. With value 0, random play is active : when a clash or swing occurs, the sound is randomly chosen in the 8 available slots. With value 1, the sound is played in sequence (slot 1, then 2 etc.). If the user requires a single sound, simply duplicate 8 times the same sound in the 8 slots. In this very case, the random flag will have no effect. We’ve added another mode of sound selection activated by the gesture itself. With the random mode set to 2, the hardness of a clash or a swing is measured and scaled from 1 to 8. Ordering your sounds from 1 to 8 as well, from soft to hard, and the measured gesture hardness will pick the corresponding sound ! With the random mode set to 3 we get a random mode that ensures no triggering the same sound twice in a sequence (in 99% of cases). Finally, with mode 4, it’s the time elapsed between 2 consecutive movements that will decide which sound is played (see parameters gtsl et gtsh for more details on this mode)

killphil
10-28-2009, 03:25 PM
OK, I had absolutely no idea.

So to get it straight: I need to name all my swing sounds (1 being the lowest gesture, 8 being the highest gesture). It will play the sounds corresponding to the force I utilize in a single gesture?

I'll have to give it a try (assuming this feature is available for CF's 4.0 and 4.1).

I respectfully withdraw my suggestion in that case.

Thanx for the heads up, Gravy.

Novastar
10-28-2009, 06:19 PM
Some general guidelines BEFORE posting to this thread with an idea/concept (sorry it HAS to be done, or this thread will turn into a... "brown, smelly substance"... while the last batch of v4.3 is still fresh outta the oven):

* Have a point.
* Keep the thread on-topic to the best of your ability.
* Have at least SOME experience, usage, or knowledge about CF
* You have to have read through Erv's .PDF AT LEAST ONCE. No exceptions. Twice or more is recommended. Not kidding. Do you know how many times I've read every bit of ALL of them? If I can do it, you MUST too. You're not immune to reading.
* You already know that your suggestion... A) has not been implemented in some form... B) has not been continuously told "no, never" to...
* You didn't just come up with the idea 30 seconds ago. If you did.. chances are that it's quite obvious you haven't thought it through.
* You have some critical thinking involved that makes you think "Hmm... I'm PRETTY sure this wouldn't require re-engineering CF from the ground up, and/or make Erv do tons and tons of extra work for a feature that is barely noticeable."

Now I am as guilty as some others for suggesting somewhat "implausible" ideas... but my concepts generally obey the above concerns. Again, for the example, you don't see me asking for 25v input capabilities... but I speak of possibilities for motors or whatever.

On that note, again--Harry & Malaki, that latest idea was friggin' AWESOME! And no, Erv, I don't mind if we then have 3 possible poweron sounds and 3 possible poweroffs...

Worst comes to worse... people can simply copy a poweron/off sound x3 if they don't have extras... mix new ones themselves... or someday we'll have a "compendium to the compendium" CD??!?! lol

erv
10-29-2009, 05:06 AM
OK, I had absolutely no idea.
So to get it straight: I need to name all my swing sounds (1 being the lowest gesture, 8 being the highest gesture). It will play the sounds corresponding to the force I utilize in a single gesture?
Thanx for the heads up, Gravy.


indeed, that was implemented that way. Not sure when but it's there since V2. something I think.
You now have FIVE random modes (typo mistake in the manual,

#define RANDOM_SOUNDS 0
#define LINEAR_SOUNDS 1
#define EXPRESSIVE_SOUNDS 2
#define RANDOMX_SOUNDS 3
#define TIMED_SOUNDS 4

** random is simple random, with possible repeat

** linear is file1 to file 8 in sequence, then loop (great for certain choreographies)

** expressive use the gesture dynamic range defined by for instance high swing and lowswing param in the SD card and split it into 8 "zone". Depending on the "force" of the gesture, the swingxx file is selected accordingly to the found swing "zone".

** random X is random seq with no repeat inside a set of 8 triggered sound
(you might get in rare cases things like 4 7 3 2 5 1 8 6 / 6 4 1 2 7 8 5 3)

** TIMED (it's there since V4 I think) : the consecutive time between 2 identical events (2 swings, 2 clashes) is analysed on a time scale defined by params gtsl and gtsh. This time "window" is split in 8 zones again, and you have to order you sounds from the shortest to the longest (feature partially proprose by eandori). It doesn't solve "I trigger a double swing when I do a simple one", the double swing being IN THE SOUNDFILE itself. However, you can number this file as 8 so that you're sure to trigger it only when you have an important delay between 2 swings, so that it's more natural.
The board is smart but I cannot predict what next move you'll do LOL :lol:

Now it's indeed in the PDF (no prob phil). This document isn't perfect, some pics aren't up to date, some illustrations are slightly different than how it looks in real but the param description and loads of detail are there.
Thanks nova for the heads up / warning etc

xl97
10-29-2009, 09:25 AM
probably a sound fx config file and a specific led config file, we'll see

hmm.. I kinda like this approach for some reason..

I think its my past experince as a designer/developer..

separating visual vs. code.... or more appropriately.. code from content..

keeping the config files separate may help on focusin on the issues at hand.. or stopping the 'poopy finger' form being in the wrong file/variables.. ;)

this is 'sorta' a similar approach I took on a particular RFX version... (I can send it to you later if you like Erv) :)

core vars
vs.
visual vars
vs.
technical vars


a main file, and two supporting files audio & visual

soud settings and led settings..

probably getting to be overkill with all that.. but I liked your comment.

cardcollector
10-29-2009, 10:49 AM
http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showpost.php?p=150175&postcount=8
It's not going to be a smooth roadmap if people don't read what I post.


Sorry, my bad.

I am already saving up for this. (yeah, I'm going to need that long...)

cannibal869
10-29-2009, 04:13 PM
<sigh>... First off, I would like to be able to BUY one before I make any suggestions or comment...

So I guess what I'm sayin' is I'd like to see more made in the next batch... but then again, wouldn't we all??;)

8lade
10-29-2009, 08:09 PM
oh i can do it, did i say it would be easy? NO i did not. but i work in the midi lab and recording studio at my college all the time, pretty much everyday. protools is one of multiple programs i like to work with, protools is my personal favorite because it is user friendly. will i fail the first time? absolutley... will i give up? no i wont. why? because i know i can make it. i dont deny that i have a ton of things to learn about audio. yes i have a TON. my knowledge is noob compared to nova. But i have people that can help me with the proper settings to make it work. you dont need to doubt my skill when you dont even know what skills i do and dont have. and to put it in text i will probably never be as good as nova but all the same i do look up to him as an inspirational person in the audio world, im not mad or anything i just want to make things clear.;) and i never said it was a font. just an activation sound. fonts are, im sure, more complicated.

that was long

as for the CF v5. im not making any suggestions because i know nothing of the CF but i have to say that h@rrys idea was brilliant. way to go. and erv this board is going to be awesome. once again you amaze me.;)

Right...

Having worked for about 6 years as an audio engineer/producer I can tell you that protools is probably THE hardest audio program out there...especially if you are new to audio recording/mixing!
Have a look at cubase to start with (which is quite good and more user friendly)then if you decide to do so you can move to some more complicated software.
And on another note...you will never ever need the capabilities of such a software in order to make a saber sound font because good as it may be, in the end you will have to downsample your audio files ( in plain words you'll loose most of the "sound quality")
Hope my post helps

Cheers

Chris

PS:sorry for hijacking Erv...will try and post some new ideas on my following posts.

Mcich
10-30-2009, 03:02 AM
since Harry's idea I have been thinking of one like his as well, but for the force sounds, I have trouble trying to get the 2nd force sound kicking in at times, however if like the poweron idea you were to hold the hilt at certain angles and then initiate the force power then it could work out being a little bit easier, that being said it would also allow more force powers to be on a soundbank.

I can't really think up anything that can make the CF any greater, before we know it Erv will be building a soundboard that talks to us like Hal, ah Hal how I miss you.

erv
11-01-2009, 04:37 AM
good idea, it's sort of part of the "gesture recognition" techniques improvments, taking more in consideration the gesture flow to make certain combo easier.
Force & force clash vs lockup is a difficult one. If you have difficulties triggering them, try increasing a bit the lockup parameter to allow more time to execute the gesture after pressing aux.

Malaki Skywalker
11-01-2009, 11:02 AM
More on the gesture side of thing, I had an idea with Blaster deflect to give that ultimate realism. Once you have activated a blaster deflect sound via Aux, you can swing the saber activating the second Blaster deflect sound, third and so on. Just in case you miss that Aux now and then ;)

sekrogue1985
11-01-2009, 03:10 PM
my wallet bleeds severally as it is...why must you twist the knife more?!

Sunrider
11-01-2009, 04:01 PM
Sorry if this was already covered by the 120 page threads. It would be cool to be able to activate a favorite SW theme track during normal operation.:p

Novastar
11-01-2009, 10:26 PM
Sorry if this was already covered by the 120 page threads. It would be cool to be able to activate a favorite SW theme track during normal operation.:p1. iSaber mode.
2. Mix your favorite song with a hum sound (lowering the hum waaaay down). The hum sound will be particularly long, but... if you want to hear it, there you go. Also--it will naturally "restart" if you trigger a swing, clash, blaster, etc. There is no way to avoid this.

I did things with "music" in about as clever as a way as could be with the "Indiana Jones" and "Kung Fu" fonts (CD#1). To some extent, even the "Thrasher!" font has a little bit of this idea (CD#2), but it's not quite as extensive.

3. Put the music sound/file into... well... force, force2, lockup, or whatever you like. I personally think "force2" would be the best solution for this, as it is not accidentally triggered often... and if you WANTED to trigger it--it's right there, ready to go.

As a matter of "FYI" with all of this... there really is no limit to the size of each sound file. At least--it's doubtful you'd ever have a sound file that would cause CF any problems. For example, if a swing sound, clash sound or lockup sound was 3 minutes long... it probably wouldn't give CF a problem.

erv
11-02-2009, 03:21 AM
More on the gesture side of thing, I had an idea with Blaster deflect to give that ultimate realism. Once you have activated a blaster deflect sound via Aux, you can swing the saber activating the second Blaster deflect sound, third and so on. Just in case you miss that Aux now and then ;)

1) Not compatible with current force fx
Press aux and wave = force Fx
2) how do you then leave the blaster deflection mode. Secondary problem cause you can still have a clash interrupting a blaster sequence.

BUT:
you can still have press and release = Blaster
further swings = more blasters
wait the end of a blaster sound OR get a clash => leave blaster mode

overall, good idea :-)

erv
11-02-2009, 03:28 AM
Only other thing I can think of is for Accent LED bar graphs getting the option to go crazy during a lock up sequence to represent the Saber is taking some serious stick

solution added in the first post. Use of an altleds.txt file like on blaster core or chestbox core.

I've edited the first post to add some contribution.

Novastar
11-03-2009, 12:37 AM
Additionally (not to be overkill, but)...

with the "blaster" sounds, we all have MANY choices these sounds could be for. That is... they are not limited to "blaster only" sounds.

Pressing the aux button could trigger "lightning"... or "choking"... or anything you dream up! :) Just depends on the imagination. Remember CF is *FULL* of possibilities. :D

Additionally, I've taken the "liberty"(?) of making some of the blaster sounds on the CDs... umm... how do I say this--more robust. That is--sometimes triggering a blaster sound will trigger "more than one" sound...

Such as the "Episode IV" (both versions, both CDs) sound of Luke on the Millenium Falcon blocking three shots from that little round floating sphere thing.

In this way, you can have a sequence of effects chained together, and mimic the goofy motions you want (of blocking, or whatever).

The moral is: each "blaster" sound:

* Can be any length
* Can be any sound
* Is open to your imagination

Much like the force and force2 sounds. They are not limited to being "all about" a particular sound. They can be ANYTHING. Anything you like. :)

erv
11-03-2009, 02:06 AM
indeed,

anatim for instance dupplicate the force sounds to all blasters too so that he can trigger force with the aux button. Sound slots can be affected to anything, it's just *your* context.

Novastar
11-09-2009, 12:35 AM
Just thought of another one, after Watto made a comment on my CD#2 thread, in that he was hoping to further tweak his configs and had used my suggestions on the CD#2 to help...

I don't know why I didn't think of this before, but... here's how to explain the idea:

* Ok, it's true we have blade flicker and glow settings
* They can be adjusted to have no flicker, minor flicker, major flicker... and the same for pulse/glowing, etc.
* Same with ramping... it can be somewhat "shy" or quick, etc.

The thing is:

* Voltage provided by cells affects these...
* Voltage required by the LED (and other components) affects these...

The result is:

* We don't really know how saber X with 7.2v and blahblah LED will look...
* Neither would the EXACT SAME VALUES with saber Y with 6v and hohum LED end up looking the same

So... I am wondering if there is possibly some kind of "adjustment" value sets that the user can provide... sort of like a "voltage key" to give CF a better idea on how to treat flicker gradients, and overall pulse stuff.

Does any of that make sense? The point would be... if you set "101" to a certain value for a flicker option on saber X... it will look PRETTY DARN CLOSE to saber y with the same "101" value.

Everyone get what I'm puttin' down? :D

erv
11-09-2009, 02:17 AM
I do get it pretty well, that's why I'd like to "re format" the parameters for the next version so that it's overall non dependant of the power supply voltage. Parameters that are affected by the battery voltage are flicker depth and the shimmer effect which depth is fixed (but variable timing), however it's not expressed in a percentage of the luxeon driver.
To be adjusted so that effects look the same all along the battery run time.

Luke-SkyMarcher
11-13-2009, 08:04 AM
I was just thinking... since you're adding more accent LED's, could you make it so that you can have more than just 1 LED blink in idle mode?

When reading the list of upgrades, it occurred to me that if the total number of accent LED's reaches 8, one could use the LED segment display like LDM did
http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?t=9517
and have it display the bank number in idle mode.

And on any other saber it might just be cool to have not just different led's but different numbers of led's blink in idle for different sound fonts.

erv
11-13-2009, 09:44 AM
actually I was thinking about 7 like my PLI :rolleyes:
It's BTW called a 7 segment display. Indeed, the blinking "pattern" when idle can be a combination of all segments. As for the dot of such a display, it can still be wired as a luxeon mirroring accent LED.
Also, why not, even if a bit overkill, I was thinking of adding an iddle.txt then, to define what the accent leds pads would do during idle. Another sequencer for the idle mode. Like random, step sequencer, or ask the accent led to display the PLI when idle.
so led.txt : normal accent led seq
alt.txt : lockup led seq (like the alternate seq of my chestbox core)
idle.txt : led seq during idle, plus other possible parameters.

Novastar
12-09-2009, 05:42 AM
Hmmm... it just occurred to me Erv--we could "re-visit" the idea of attempting to allow CF to produce certain sounds that explain to the user what may be wrong if something fails...

Remember how you and I created all those "prefix", "suffix" and "mid suffix" sounds? The ones that spoke out: "syntax error" or "file not found", etc.?

Well... INITIALLY I alerted us to the fact that we couldn't use these because success with them was predicated on the fact that the user would ALSO have to get their sounds loaded up correctly in the FIRST PLACE... so although it wasn't totally useless... the error-catching sound-system was flawed.

But if you're doing a v5... you *COULD* have the error sounds get programmed into the firmware... so that instead of getting BEEP, BEEEEEP, beep...

we'd get things like:

* Sound Bank 1... file not found
* Font Description 4... file not found
* Configuration File 6... syntax error

or whatever. We could even have firmware error catching if you know how CF would react if there was an LED or acc error.

Not sure about all this though... the real question is... do we think it will SOLVE MORE PROBLEMS vs. how much work it creates??!?

Hard to say... but--consider it something where I'm "re-suggesting" it! :) I still have the silly little message files I recorded before we decided to abort the whole thing, heheh... :-D

winger
01-21-2010, 06:16 AM
Maybe this idea isn't viable at all, but...

What about creating the possibility for the current "bargraph remote control pad" to send data/(power) signals to separate "add on boards" (like for instance : (RGB) current regulators), that won't find a place on the actual CF board?

Second : Currently you have the choice of either the RGB setup, or the sequencing led display. Would it be possible to change this to an and/and situation? (Possibly with the use of an add on board?)

I'm thinking this way, there would be specific expansion options on CF if people wish to have these. While not causing problems for the "basic" user.

erv
01-21-2010, 08:27 AM
it's a matter of room on the board and since I'm planning to have things even smaller on V5, that's probably not going to happen (you still need to fit those wiring pads somewhere).
Overall I'm not a big fan of RGB & color mixing. To me, a saber is a saber, color changing has nothing to see with the movies so...
I've been asked this also for TFU : he changes the crystal => you can still change the LED.
Color switching has been demonstrated in various sabers, sometimes retrofitting a fancy flashlight : most of the time, it's not current regulated, in the best case it's voltage chopped, which isn't the right electronic solution to me.

CF already supports color switching and adjustable tint (for purple for instance) is really easy to do, as demonstrated by our friends Vader's Vault.
To me, it's important to keep going with reliabilty, size concerns and growing things like clash flash, which goes with spectacular results, rather than color changing.
If I was making a R2 control board like the JEDI controller, everything would be possible, it's easy wen you can fit a board that is 5"x5", here, it's slightly different.

no hard feelings, thanks for proposing and keeping the topic alive !

Erv'

winger
01-21-2010, 08:40 AM
Thanks for the elaborate answer Erv. :cool: I was just tossing some idea's around. Who knows, one might have turned out to even be usefull.
The RGB thing was merely used as an example. The "networking" thing might be worth keeping in the back of the shelve, for the future.

I'll sit back and wait to see wait V5 is going to bring to the saber building community. Keep up the good work. It's much appreciated.

John
-winger-

Sunrider
01-21-2010, 11:37 AM
Hey would it be possible to have a pwm output signal pad. As leds are using more & more current like the ssr-90 it would be awesome to be able to modulate a 3 or 5 amp cc driver with the CF.:D

Novastar
01-21-2010, 09:18 PM
Hey would it be possible to have a pwm output signal pad. As leds are using more & more current like the ssr-90 it would be awesome to be able to modulate a 3 or 5 amp cc driver with the CF.:DThat is a pretty darn good idea, Sun! :) How funny too, since Yoda & I were ~just~ on the phone talking a little about clash flash ideas.

I am hoping that we see something like:

led = xxx (main LED current, we are used to this, duh)
xled = xxx (flash circuit current)
xflashd = xxx (delay of flash that we are used to... but it would also determine the amount to stay on & off during a lockup for strobing/pulsing)

But I will say also:

* Currently, if you use any kind of 4-up LED, and each requires ~3.7v...
* Wire 2 for main LED, the other 2 for the XLED...
* Use a ~7.2v pack
* Main LED pair does just fine... and other 2 won't really need much of a resistor for the direct line 7.2v "pop" for the flash on clash...
* If the clash circuit "strobes" on lockup... even during this time, it would be tough to destroy/overdrive/overheat the LED due to the fact that it is not "officially" constantly on

Great idea, though Sunrider... it might be really cool for people to be able to hook up the clash flash LED setup without worry of getting the right resistor!

Donnovan Sunrider
01-21-2010, 09:35 PM
My only request for the V5 so far is for it to continue to have through-hole barrels for as many of the pads as possible. Those help immensely.

Count Malik
01-25-2010, 10:10 AM
[QUOTE=Donnovan Sunrider;159590]My only request for the V5 so far is for it to continue to have through-hole barrels for as many of the pads as possible. Those help immensely.[/QUOTE

I agree! lol idk on new features for v5 personally idk how it can get any better than how it is now! haha :rolleyes:

TroyO
01-25-2010, 01:37 PM
Dumb newb question... what's a "PE"?

As in "If you need the feature, you'll need to wire up external PEs somewhere in the hilt."

xl97
01-25-2010, 02:59 PM
PE = Power Extenders..

little pcb's/boards that Erv sells as well..

I got mine from his site(I thought)..but I dont see them currently..

Novastar
01-25-2010, 03:42 PM
Mmm.... on that note (about the power extenders)... although I ~think~ Erv is going to do something with V5 that will sort of "merge" that into the main board (not sure on that)...

...IF the power extenders remain, my only request is that they allow for driving more current. I believe the current ones are something akin to ~350mA (not sure)... and so more like ~1A would be nice.

ALTHOUGH... (duh)... if the clash/flash option is made to be on the v5... AND it then has parameters and so forth--I don't suppose this is all that relevant, heheh. :)

TroyO
01-25-2010, 04:14 PM
Ahhh, yes.. I know what those are.. just wasn't making the leap from the acronym to the device.

Thx!

mihunai
01-28-2010, 02:44 AM
From what i heard from Erv', those PE's can take 2A....
I think....

mTm

xwingband
01-28-2010, 04:53 PM
From what i heard from Erv', those PE's can take 2A....
I think....

mTm

Yeah, they were a direct tap to the power and amped the PWM from those outputs. I wasn't aware of a limit, but I'm not surprised as it's probably the practical limit of the components.

Novastar
01-29-2010, 12:32 AM
Actually... you guys might be right! I *thought* Erv told me not to feed much more that 350mA or whatever through... but Yoda (Michael) told me otherwise, along with a few others...

Anyhow... I think you can indeed spit out quite a bit of current... at least 1.2 or 1.3A as far as Goodman says...

So... yeah... my whole "not sure" comment was definitely important there!! What I really should do is meter what is going through there... but... I've been so busy teaching classes with the sabers and maintaining them all--it's been tough to get "playtime" + experiment time.

mihunai
02-01-2010, 03:08 AM
actually I was thinking about 7 like my PLI :rolleyes:
It's BTW called a 7 segment display. Indeed, the blinking "pattern" when idle can be a combination of all segments. As for the dot of such a display, it can still be wired as a luxeon mirroring accent LED.
Also, why not, even if a bit overkill, I was thinking of adding an iddle.txt then, to define what the accent leds pads would do during idle. Another sequencer for the idle mode. Like random, step sequencer, or ask the accent led to display the PLI when idle.
so led.txt : normal accent led seq
alt.txt : lockup led seq (like the alternate seq of my chestbox core)
idle.txt : led seq during idle, plus other possible parameters.

There is something i would like to add to this.
Would it be possible to run a different animation during activation and shutdown?

So you could have it scroll up, down from the center or one side etc...

Another (perhaps trivial) idea is to have the blinkies dimmable.
So at night you can use a more dimmed font, so they dont blind you, and during brighter parts of the day a brighter font, so you can see them at all.

just spitballing here.

mTm

Madcow
02-01-2010, 09:17 PM
About bar graph/accent led animations... I had a couple thoughts.

1. Accent LED Animation during menu? Or better yet...
2. Accent LEDs act as PLI during menu! (4 LED = Full power, 1 LED = low batt).

I can't wait for v. 5!!!

Kant Lavar
02-04-2010, 03:19 PM
About bar graph/accent led animations... I had a couple thoughts.

1. Accent LED Animation during menu? Or better yet...
2. Accent LEDs act as PLI during menu! (4 LED = Full power, 1 LED = low batt).

I can't wait for v. 5!!!

Oooh. Go with that second one. That'd be an awesome idea.

(And hopefully I'll get my hands on one of the damn things this time. :mrgreen: )

Count Malik
02-04-2010, 04:10 PM
just a thought but what about pulsing accent ect... kinda like what you guys were sayin with the different fonts...

Blue Fox
02-05-2010, 12:16 PM
Many good ideas here. :D Erv, you have your hands full.
The thing I would love to see would be compatibility for string LED blades. I'm picky like that I guess. sorry. and definitely more available so that their not all swallowed up by the power buyers.

FenderBender
02-05-2010, 12:31 PM
Power buyers? I guess I don't understand what that means. Erv' set limits on the number of boards each person could buy. Everyone who has the $ at the time of the sale and shows up on time, has the same opportunity as anyone else.

widowmaker
02-06-2010, 02:36 PM
i havnt found any threads on this so i appologize if i missed it. but i would like to see VU meter capabilities if possible. or should i keep making seperate boards?

Novastar
02-08-2010, 03:47 AM
i havnt found any threads on this so i appologize if i missed it. but i would like to see VU meter capabilities if possible. or should i keep making seperate boards?If I am interpreting what I think you mean by "VU meter", it is indeed on Crystal Focus, although possibly not how you'd expect/request. It only functions in the "iSaber" mode, in other words--during the "music player" mode.

I suppose if you are requesting that feature during the actual usage of the saber... it COULD be tied in to the saber sounds. At least... I think.

widowmaker
02-08-2010, 06:32 PM
how about a Fingertip/Fingerprint Recognition system? that way no one but you can use your saber. would need an external scanner to program the recognition to memorize your prints. or voice activation/recognition. i think that is do able. might need the bluetooth set up.

doesnt sound reasonable i know but its a nice concept.

Sláinte

Novastar
02-09-2010, 12:57 AM
You posted this on another thread... and... although it's an interesting idea--Crystal Focus would not need to be altered in order to "chain" such a concept/circuit/idea in there.

Essentially, the "poweron" setup for all CF boards allow a momentary switch or latching switches (N/O or N/C--your choice). Once the fingerprinting circuit & logistics were in play... it'd be a matter of wiring it in AS the switch leads.

Now... whether or not the fingerprinting circuit provides the "proper" amount of current and voltage (in other words... not too much, not too little)... it could be wired into the poweron switch lead and the GND or battery - leads. Bingo. Otherwise? No such luck.

But altering CF ~just~ for such a purpose would be unneeded excess firmware bloat, heheh. Since maybe 1% of saber users would have such a setup.

xl97
02-09-2010, 08:52 AM
I have played with several brands of finger printer recognition systems before..(U.R.U & Targus)

for quickly locking/un-locking your computer..etc..

the 'sensor' itself is a device.....that could be used/hooked up to the 'CF' (or whatever)..

however.. there would still need to be a way to add the 'drivers' to the 'board' so it can read/recognize & control the sensor..

so something 'extra' would need to be added so the sensor could communicate with the board in the end...and then send a 'signal' (perhaps digital?) to say yes or no.

IMHO.. would be waaay to much work for something (as Nova stated) less than 1% would probably use.

maybe cool for a novelty factor (at first).. but not for a practical, gab my saber, ignite and go! approach.

mihunai
02-19-2010, 04:33 AM
One more suggestion for V5, a USB connection,
or something simililar so you dont have to open up the hilt to change the soundfonts.

mTm

erv
02-19-2010, 04:57 AM
long story made short + in a nutshell
"no, never".
this has been discussed since 2005 and pops out from time to time, you'll find reasons why I've decided not to walk this design path on this forum and on others.

#1 if your saber is well designed, access to the SD card is painless. Also, you have 6 sound banks in the sabers, so the actual "need" to change sound font is rare.

#2 where would fit a USB plug ? are you sure it won't break ? I *do* have experience with USB.

#3 : ideally it would be with an embedded mass storage driver on CF. Sure, ready made software on internet exist for that but it would KILL the real time OS I've designed. I keep believing that a saber life is being used as a saber, spinned, clashed etc, not hooked to a computer. Main usage indicates efforts should be done for proper motion sensing, not for font changing, at least if I have to choose between the 2.

However, I agree that "testing" soundfont is still questionnable : I've solved that long ago by having a bench setup for CF + speaker + resonnant chamber + eventually a dummy hilt. V5 will provide also something new for sound font designers and configuration file tweakers (aside of my saber sound mixer software that is here since like 2006, I'll port it to Max5 for a ***ier user interface).

mihunai
02-19-2010, 07:30 AM
I was thinking about something like this:
http://i689.photobucket.com/albums/vv256/Mihunai/CF5.jpg

mTm

erv
02-19-2010, 07:53 AM
even better now, with a satellite plug. Good luck for finding a generic way of installing a flat connector on a rounded hilt.
Believe me, there are some differences between a CAD software and real life. Sorry to sound harsh but I've been there before and those considerations now date from 2005.

note that I'm not saying it's not possible to place a USB plug on a saber, I'm just stating it's a bad idea.

JamoUp
02-19-2010, 08:32 AM
actually I was thinking about 7 like my PLI :rolleyes:
It's BTW called a 7 segment display. Indeed, the blinking "pattern" when idle can be a combination of all segments. As for the dot of such a display, it can still be wired as a luxeon mirroring accent LED.
Also, why not, even if a bit overkill, I was thinking of adding an iddle.txt then, to define what the accent leds pads would do during idle. Another sequencer for the idle mode. Like random, step sequencer, or ask the accent led to display the PLI when idle.
so led.txt : normal accent led seq
alt.txt : lockup led seq (like the alternate seq of my chestbox core)
idle.txt : led seq during idle, plus other possible parameters.

Could you add programable/selectable sounds to go along with the blinkies while idle? Like an electric discharge sound or some force wave sounds. Kind of like the reload sounds on BlasterCore. Also a tone, chime, or beep to go along with the low battery LED?

Maybe an option to "double click" the aux button when in idle mode to turn the sounds on and off?

Crystal Chambers
02-19-2010, 08:32 AM
If USB was a viable option the port could be anywhere, like a pommel, or as proven by recharge ports and use of activation boxes...there are lots of mounting options.

I guess I need to work on designing inside my hilt because even getting the US 2.5 to run stable has been difficult for me but I have alot of challenges in mine for a noob. When I do get it running smooth it is not coming apart for a very long time.

I must admit I have no idea what's involved in utilizing USB and how it would interfere with motion sensors etc., but I have to say the best thing about CF would be making your own fonts so anything that makes changing fonts easier sounds good. After all this hobby is seems to be largely dominated by a DIY community.

Then again getting CF seems to be so hard I don't even wanna think about...:(

Crystal Chambers
02-19-2010, 08:39 AM
Could you add programable/selectable sounds to go along with the blinkies while idle? Like an electric discharge sound or some force wave sounds. Kind of like the reload sounds on BlasterCore. Also a tone, chime, or beep to go along with the low battery LED?

Maybe an option to "double click" the aux button when in idle mode to turn the sounds on and off?

Sounds like a neat idea to me...or anything to replace the force push sound cause that sound coming from a saber never made sense to me.

I wanna make fonts so bad....from fan belts, fridges, crackles, hiss and hums...I WANT ONE!!!


oops...didn't mean to double post I though Jamo posted after me.

erv
02-19-2010, 08:52 AM
Sounds like a neat idea to me...or anything to replace the force push sound cause that sound coming from a saber never made sense to me.

the "force" fx is nothing but a proposed use of a sound slot in the theme of a soundfont.
Sounds are changeable, remember ? :confused:
In many fonts, Novastar changed blaster deflections to movie quotes, force was turned into lightning etc. It can be anything. Apples aren't always red.

the idea of a idle sounds isn't bad per say but I expect a powered off saber.... silent... For a revealed crystal chamber and what and idle sound could be, see what can be done with a 4.x here

http://www.youtube.com/user/MadcowGenesis#p/u/7/n0jc2-tO0HY

also, idle sounds are still possible with iSaber.

PhoenixReborn
02-19-2010, 09:41 AM
Bluetooth or Wifi to install soundfonts would be kinda awesome.

erv
02-19-2010, 09:49 AM
Bluetooth or Wifi to install soundfonts would be kinda awesome.

There must be a constest. BT is about as wrong as USB as a standard, aside other troubles. Wifi sucks about 300 mA to work, and requires a TCP/IP stack.
Stop considering parameter update is something you need to do all the time.

Now I would appreciate you guys start focusing about possible *saber* features, rather than trying to fit a computer or a smartphone in a saber hilt. We're talking about real hilts, not telescopic hasbro 2" handle powered by a car battery.
Thanks.

acerocket
02-19-2010, 10:02 AM
Can I get a QuadCore processor, a 21" flat screen monitor, a wireless keyboard/mouse setup and a 500GB HD on my CF? I want to use my saber to draw 3D renders.:D:D:D:D:D

Jonitus
02-19-2010, 10:37 AM
Strange thought, but hear me out:

Can the CF differentiate the length of time the switch is pushed? Instead of registering it as a binary value of either on or off, is there a way the CF can determine the time the switch is depressed?

I ask, because if the capability for additional startup sounds in a soundbank exists, then wouldn't it be cool to be able to select the different start-ups based on the length of time the switch is depressed? A very brief press could be an almost instant activation like on the "Assassin" font, and a long press could be like the ignition Vader did in his duel with Luke on Bespin.

mihunai
02-19-2010, 11:28 AM
I am sorry if the BT idea not plausible and/or have been asked before.
Unfortunately i do not know what comes to play to add such functions,
that is why i asked.

My apologies for the inconvenience.

mTm

Novastar
02-20-2010, 06:34 PM
Can the CF differentiate the length of time the switch is pushed?The answer is unequivocally yes (IF the button is a momentary), as... we have tap = "blaster", hold down = "lockup". Lockup can actually be initiated a bit quicker too, by altering the parameter in the current config file (v2-v4).

In fact, a "double-click" COULD offer something else. :D

Granted, NONE of that could work for a latching power on switch (at least, I don't think). :(

Still, it sounds like a neat idea on determining whether the user 'wants' a quick power on sound--or a longer one... so... like CF could have thresholds for length of power on, and maybe it's like:

poweron1=0.0001 (or whatever) to 0.125
poweron2=0.125 (or whatever) to xxxxx
poweron3=xxxxx to yyyyy
" " 4 = etc.

Now... I also think Erv may also be utilizing a different idea on that thus far (I think it was Anatim's idea??) regarding the angle at which the saber is oriented when the power button is depressed. Further... we've been discussing MOTION being tied in, heheh. :) As in... you know... you "snap" your wrist/saber out plus touch/slide the power button... bam! Quick on. :D

erv
04-05-2010, 08:22 AM
I do use time measurements a lot in CF, like to differentiate lockup or blasters.
The problem for selecting many sounds from a simple duration is a HCI question : if you have no feedback for what you're doing, and unless you're extremely good for counting time in your head, you'll end selecting the wrong sound.
Reason why the angular selection of the poweron sound is a great idea, since we have a much better reference on that (except musicians who would be able to count time better than I do).

I appologize, I've been away from those forums and from the CF threads in particular.
Also, I have decided to sort of have the CF topics "bow off" from TCSS forums now Strydur is getting a sound board. I understand that I have been allowed to talk about CF here for a quite a while, and I want to thank TCSS for that. Please understand *I* don't move away, and it's not in a negative way or mood,
I think it's important to leave some fresh air for the expected new board, and also because I don't have much time for forums. I closed my own forums for a while now (reason was it was only in french) and it was time to get things centralized in a single place, otherwise, I can't answer all the questions.

I'll be happy to keep talking here about sound boards in general, or even CF issues if that contributes to the overall knowledge base TCSS forums is, however, if you have specific questions or feature request, I'll prefer to see it asked here :
http://www.fx-sabers.com/forum/index.php?board=66.0

that's not about "competition", it's just a convient way for me to be more efficient and to be in the respect & ethic I've been following from the beginning.
If something is requiring my attention in here, you can PM or email me, as usual, I try to answer daily.

Erv'